The Message of German Fairy Tales - Complete Edition - Volume 1
Author: Undine; Jens
Date: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The spiritual Message of German Fairy Tales

Fairy tale texts by the Brothers Grimm and others with interpretations

Undine & Jens
Complete Edition - Volume 1 - July 2025
www.fairytales.pushpak.de

Table of contents

Introduction
Jorinda and Joringel
Iron John
The Old Woman in the Wood
Hansel and Grethel
Rumpelstiltskin
Mother Holle
The Story of the Youth who went forth to learn what Fear was
Little Red-Cap
Hans in Luck
Godfather Death
The Godfather
One-Eye, Two-Eyes and Three-Eyes
Rapunzel
Faithful John
The Wonderful Musician
The White Snake
The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs
The Girl Without Hands
Briar-Rose (or Sleeping Beauty)
Our Lady’s Child
The Frog-King, or Iron Henry
Sweet Porridge
Cat and Mouse in Partnership
The Fisherman and his Wife
The Golden Bird
The Twelve Brothers
The Seven Ravens
Little Snow-White and the seven dwarfs
The Six Servants
The Poor Man and the Rich Man
Gambling Hansel
Clever Grethel
The Wolf and The Seven Little Kids
The Valiant Little Tailor
The Wise Servant
Fundevogel (Bird-foundling)
Doctor Knowall
Story of the Brahman Harisarman
The Spirit in the Bottle
The Pea Trial (The Princess and the Pea)
The Seven Swabians
Thumbling
The Crystal Ball
The emperor’s new clothes
Rat King Birlibi
The Ditmarsh Tale of Wonders
The Robber Bridegroom
The Poor Boy in the Grave
Simeli Mountain
Strong Hans
The Old Man and his Grandson
Allerleirauh (All-kinds-of-Fur)
The Origin of Stories
The Okerlo (I-Man)
Hans Stupid
The Drummer
Swan Prince
The Six Swans
The poor Girl and the Star-Money
Death and the Goose Herder
The Fox and the Geese
The Goose-Girl at the Well
The Golden Goose
The Goose-Girl
King Thrushbeard
Saint Solicitous
The old witch
The Jew among Thorns
The Princess and the blind Blacksmith
The Hare and the Hedgehog
Literature

Introduction

Welcome to the mystical world of old fairy tales. They seem remnants of ancient times, when there were no washing machines, cars, airplanes and supermarkets. Those tales don’t talk of computers or mobiles and still touch us deep inside.

It is strange, but human problems seem to be the same. Greed, hate and illusion, and we still fight for or against nature according to personal interests, just as in those days. Fairy tales are the dinosaurs of our culture. Actually they are extinct, but diligently collectors like the Brothers Grimm preserved the leftovers, at least to save the fossilized letters. But just as dinosaurs can come to life in the imagination of our children, so can also fairy tales. Maybe this is the only reason why they still exist. They have a message for us, otherwise they would have disappeared a long time ago.

Nowadays even psychologists are discovering fairy tales as an access to, or even a therapy for children and adults. That is really a wonder in our scientific times. Apparently, our rational minds urgently need to look from the narrow house that we have built over many years, at least through a small window from time to time in the vastness and depth of a fantastic, almost irrational world. And why not add a little inquiring magic to our defined scientific knowledge, that we usually believe in? Not to create new definitions, oh no, that’s not the goal of this book. This is not about proving any beliefs as true or false. Here are some ideas to think about, to make the mind a little more flexible, to look at the usual things just from a different point of view and maybe here and there to open a small window. Of course, in the end it is also about truth, but in a much higher sense than on the conceptual level. For it is no longer a secret that the good old fairy tales have multiple levels. And as a person develops from a small child to an old man, these levels can open one after the other. The great trick here is the contradictions in the stories, which become increasingly clear according to intellectual development. In the worst case, it says at the age of 20: “Such a nonsense, these fairy tales have nothing to do with this world!” That could then be the end of the fairy tale. Or the magic awakes, and the fairy tale gets really interesting...

Well, a long story cut short, we would like to give some suggestions for a deeper understanding of the old fairy tales. For this, we have come up with a few symbols that should accompany the reader on the journey, so that the petrified letters are not quite so lifeless in the long line and the children’s eyes have something to look at. The two triangles for female and male have a long tradition as symbols. In medieval alchemy they also stood for the reddish fire and the bluish water, or for wind and earth. Their harmonious connection would be the hexagonal star. Accordingly, we generally use a hexagon here for nature.

The circle and the sphere symbolize the sun, which gives light to the events, and the golden ball that rolls along the path of destiny. The eyes point to life, which is everywhere to be discovered, and the arms and legs to the living work. Some symbols have been borrowed from Indian culture, and we hope that others will be self-evident. Thus, on the following pages, you will find some fairy tale texts, such as those written by the Brothers Grimm some 200 years ago, together with our comments and interpretations. For the purpose of differentiation in the e-book, the fairy tale texts begin with the symbol ✻ and our comments and interpretations with the symbol ✎.

With all good wishes,
Undine & Jens

Jorinda and Joringel

✻ There was once an old castle in the midst of a large and thick forest, and in it an old woman who was a witch dwelt all alone. In the day-time she changed herself into a cat or a screech-owl, but in the evening she took her proper shape again as a human being. She could lure wild beasts and birds to her, and then she killed and boiled and roasted them. If any one came within one hundred paces of the castle he was obliged to stand still, and could not stir from the place until she bade him be free. But whenever an innocent maiden came within this circle, she changed her into a bird, and shut her up in a wicker-work cage, and carried the cage into a room in the castle. She had about seven thousand cages of rare birds in the castle.

✎ In most fairy tales, old witches, or enchantresses, are considered evil, something that has almost taken on a life of its own nowadays. But only evil? Is that possible? We do not think so. Because everywhere, where there is a minus, there also must be a plus. Old witches seem evil and yet cause good, because they are symbols of the acting nature. In theory we can divide our world into two principles, the physical aspect resp. nature charged with feelings and concepts, and the pure, wholesome mind. One works and creates, the other indicates the direction. The mind can do nothing without action, feelings and thoughts. Nature goes off course without the leading mind and gets caught up in painful extremes. Both belong together and are in fact not separate. But there are symbols in every fairy tale that make us think about what works and weaves and creates in our inside and thus also outside.

We think, the witch in this tale represents passion, greed and lust at the beginning of the story. He who carries these feelings unbridled in himself and comes too close to temptation as represented by the witch, is captured by her. For too much of something can paralyze and even overwhelm us, thus causing us to surrender completely to the witch.

✻ Now, there was once a maiden who was called Jorinda, who was fairer than all other girls. She and a handsome youth named Joringel had promised to marry each other. They were still in the days of betrothal, and their greatest happiness was being together.

✎ The meaning of the names Jorinda and Joringel can only be speculated upon. The common ‘jo’ suggests that they may be destined for each other. The German names are Jorinde and Joringel. “Rinde” means bark and “Ringel” means ringlet. We can think of a tree with the outer bark and the inner annual rings, which also would mean the two belong together.

✻ One day in order that they might be able to talk together in quiet they went for a walk in the forest. “Take care,” said Joringel, “that you do not go too near the castle.” It was a beautiful evening; the sun shone brightly between the trunks of the trees into the dark green of the forest, and the turtle-doves sang mournfully upon the young boughs of the birch-trees. Jorinda wept now and then: she sat down in the sunshine and was sorrowful. Joringel was sorrowful too; they were as sad as if they were about to die. Then they looked around them, and were quite at a loss, for they did not know by which way they should go home.

✎ So here we are: a young couple in love, who wants to be alone in the forest. The lovebirds are cooing and the passion burns. Despite good intention and all restraint - avoiding the witch, that is lust - the passionate feelings are stronger and confuse their minds. Therefore, both suffer and complain. The temptation is great, and the witch lures them into her spell.

✻ The sun was still half above the mountain and half set. Joringel looked through the bushes, and saw the old walls of the castle close at hand. He was horror-stricken and filled with deadly fear. Jorinda was singing --

“My little bird, with the necklace red,
Sings sorrow, sorrow, sorrow,
He sings that the dove must soon be dead,
Sings sorrow, sor ---- jug, jug, jug.”

✎ The light of day fades and the dark forces take over. Although the two see the disaster coming, they are already caught before the witch actually appears in person.

✻ Joringel looked for Jorinda. She was changed into a nightingale, and sang “jug, jug, jug.” A screech-owl with glowing eyes flew three times round about her, and three times cried “to-whoo, to-whoo, to-whoo!” Joringel could not move: he stood there like a stone, and could neither weep nor speak, nor move hand or foot. The sun had now set. The owl flew into the thicket, and directly afterwards there came out of it a crooked old woman, yellow and lean, with large red eyes and a hooked nose, the point of which reached to her chin. She muttered to herself, caught the nightingale, and took it away in her hand.

Joringel could neither speak nor move from the spot; the nightingale was gone. At last the woman came back, and said in a hollow voice, “Greet thee, Zachiel. If the moon shines on the cage, Zachiel, let him loose at once.” Then Joringel was freed. He fell on his knees before the woman and begged that she would give him back his Jorinda, but she said that he should never have her again, and went away. He called, he wept, he lamented, but all in vain “Ah, what is to become of me?”

✎ The witch catches the bird and carries it away - Jorinda is now completely under the power of nature. Separated from all reason, she now functions only by feeling and instinct, thus falling into the realm of animals. The witch releases Joringel with the help of the Archangel Zachiel, who personifies coping with problems, divine justice, mercy, remembrance and forgiveness. His name means “commemorate the gods”. So, is this witch completely demonic and evil? Is there nothing divine in her? Rather not. She deliberately sends Joringel on a journey that will change him.

✻ Joringel went away, and at last came to a strange village; there he kept sheep for a long time. He often walked round and round the castle, but not too near to it. At last he dreamt one night that he found a blood-red flower, in the middle of which was a beautiful large pearl; that he picked the flower and went with it to the castle, and that everything he touched with the flower was freed from enchantment; he also dreamt that by means of it he recovered his Jorinda.

✎ The first two sentences are so brief, but so rich when they are related to a person’s mental development. Going to a strange village means retreating from the busy world that surrounded you, and becoming a hermit. Who guards the sheep, guards and controls his animal instincts, his thoughts and feelings - hard enough! The castle may also be a symbol of the hardened ego, which delimits itself with high walls and stands rigidly alone. And keeping an eye on the castle, but not getting too close to it, means: Of course, you will not get rid of your passions and your ego as long as you have a body. But observing them, respecting them, restraining them and keeping them at a distance so that they do not overwhelm you is the work of a master.

The Indian sage Dadaji writes: “There is a big misunderstanding in the world about lust. The Scriptures say that lust is a poison that prevents (spiritual) liberation. And many people agree. But I say ... lust is not the poison, but the lack of respect for lust, that is the poison. Be careful with the lust!” [Aptavani 1]

If you have attained a certain, spiritual purity and clarity, then dreams and visions can help you.

✻ In the morning, when he awoke, he began to seek over hill and dale if he could find such a flower. He sought until the ninth day, and then, early in the morning, he found the blood-red flower. In the middle of it there was a large dew-drop, as big as the finest pearl. Day and night he journeyed with this flower to the castle. When he was within a hundred paces of it he was not held fast, but walked on to the door.

✎ What was the goal of asceticism of the young man? The red flower certainly stands for love. But no longer the selfish, egotistical love that just wants to possess and enjoy. The dewdrop stands for clear, pure and holy water, a new consciousness. It is the pure and holy love that can truly give because it is not a slave of the passions.

✻ Joringel was full of joy; he touched the door with the flower, and it sprang open. He walked in through the courtyard, and listened for the sound of the birds. At last he heard it. He went on and found the room from whence it came, and there the witch was feeding the birds in the seven thousand cages. When she saw Joringel she was angry, very angry, and scolded and spat poison and gall at him, but she could not come within two paces of him. He did not take any notice of her, but went and looked at the cages with the birds; but there were many hundred nightingales, how was he to find his Jorinda again? Just then he saw the old woman quietly take away a cage with a bird in it, and go towards the door. Swiftly he sprang towards her, touched the cage with the flower, and also the old woman. She could now no longer bewitch any one; and Jorinda was standing there, clasping him round the neck, and she was as beautiful as ever! Then he changed all the other birds back into virgins and together with Jorinda he went home and they lived a long and happy life together.

✎ Yes, it is the selfless love which Jorinda brings out of the prison of her narrow, animal mind. The witch is unable to harm such a pure love, even though she tests the youth again by her rage. Moreover, when the witch is touched with the flower of selfless love, the temptation has lost all power and can no longer bind. And yet it was important that the witch once had power over the young people. For would Joringel have freely evolved without the painful loss? It is the task of nature to wake us up and to make us realize, how captivated we are, if we are a slave to our unrestrained passions, even if it is painful and an apparent loss. But only then we can seek the spiritual path to the selfless love that can conquer every witch and every demon.

Iron John

✻ There was once on a time a King who had a great forest near his palace, full of all kinds of wild animals. One day he sent out a huntsman to shoot him a roe, but he did not come back. “Perhaps some accident has befallen him,” said the King, and the next day he sent out two more huntsmen who were to search for him, but they too stayed away. Then on the third day, he sent for all his huntsmen, and said, “Scour the whole forest through, and do not give up until ye have found all three.” But of these also, none came home again, and of the pack of hounds which they had taken with them, none were seen more. From that time forth, no one would any longer venture into the forest, and it lay there in deep stillness and solitude, and nothing was seen of it, but sometimes an eagle or a hawk flying over it.

✎ There is obviously a conflict between the king standing for the civilized culture on the one hand and the forest with the wild nature on the other hand, just like the contrast between gold and iron. Nature appears hostile, and the hunters, who usually connect these two worlds, disappear inexplicably. At first one suspects their death and decides out of fear to stay away from hostile nature and to withdraw into urban culture. But as you will learn in the following, that was not the solution, because soon there will be a brave man who cannot accept this limit.

✻ This lasted for many years, when a strange huntsman announced himself to the King as seeking a situation, and offered to go into the dangerous forest. The King, however, would not give his consent, and said, “It is not safe in there; I fear it would fare with thee no better than with the others, and thou wouldst never come out again.” The huntsman replied, “Lord, I will venture it at my own risk, of fear I know nothing.”

The huntsman therefore betook himself with his dog to the forest. It was not long before the dog fell in with some game on the way, and wanted to pursue it; but hardly had the dog run two steps when it stood before a deep pool, could go no farther, and a naked arm stretched itself out of the water, seized it, and drew it under, When the huntsman saw that, he went back and fetched three men to come with buckets and bale out the water. When they could see to the bottom there lay a wild man whose body was brown like rusty iron, and whose hair hung over his face down to his knees. They bound him with cords, and led him away to the castle. There was great astonishment over the wild man; the King, however, had him put in an iron cage in his court-yard, and forbade the door to be opened on pain of death, and the Queen herself was to take the key into her keeping. And from this time forth every one could again go into the forest with safety.

✎ Here we have the famous swamp of nature, a hostile world where you can sink in at every step. And what do we do: drain and sterilize! We drive nature into a corner and then try to seize its essence. That sounds very simple at first. In our fairy tale a wild man appears who can be bound and imprisoned. Even if it sounds very strange to us today, at that time the essence of nature was expected to be a living being. Today we would be looking more for formulas, energies and particles that the mind can master. But for this fairy tale the essence was called “Iron John”. Why iron? Iron was a symbol of hardness and strength, and was used for armour, weapons, tools, etc., but it also rusted quickly. So it was a very raw metal, which could be refined by human art in many ways. Mastering iron, or nature, is considered one of the highest achievements of civilized humanity. Well, was that the final solution to the conflict between culture and nature?

One can also see another symbolism of King and Iron John: The king of a country represents the spiritual power in the country, which ensures order. The forest is the symbol of the disordered wild, which slumbers deep in nature and also in our subconscious. The power, for the king, should have a good relationship to the wilderness, because the order and the chaos both exist together in our world. But here the relationship between order and wilderness, i.e. the conscious and unconscious, seems to be disturbed, because the king no longer has access to the forest. The nature of the wild has even turned against the king (the unconscious torments the conscious), and he no longer knows how to deal with it, even when he has it in front of him. He wants to force it, because he can only see the outside, the surface, and he locks the iron-hard appearing also in an iron cage. He wants to suppress it, and forbids his people to come near him. Apparently the access to the forest is restored, but for a high price, because the unconscious is not understood and used, but suppressed.

Anyone who likes this train of thought is invited to follow it by himself in this tale…

✻ The King had a son of eight years, who was once playing in the court-yard, and while he was playing, his golden ball fell into the cage. The boy ran thither and said, “Give me my ball out.” “Not till thou hast opened the door for me,” answered the man. “No,” said the boy, “I will not do that; the King has forbidden it,” and ran away. The next day he again went and asked for his ball; the wild man said, “Open my door,” but the boy would not. On the third day the King had ridden out hunting, and the boy went once more and said, “I cannot open the door even if I wished, for I have not the key.” Then the wild man said, “It lies under thy mother’s pillow, thou canst get it there.” The boy, who wanted to have his ball back, cast all thought to the winds, and brought the key. The door opened with difficulty, and the boy pinched his fingers. When it was open the wild man stepped out, gave him the golden ball, and hurried away. The boy had become afraid; he called and cried after him, “Oh, wild man, do not go away, or I shall be beaten!” The wild man turned back, took him up, set him on his shoulder, and went with hasty steps into the forest. When the King came home, he observed the empty cage, and asked the Queen how that had happened? She knew nothing about it, and sought the key, but it was gone. She called the boy, but no one answered. The King sent out people to seek for him in the fields, but they did not find him. Then he could easily guess what had happened, and much grief reigned in the royal court.

✎ The gold, which appears to man as embodied sunlight, is much nobler than iron. It shines, shimmers, does not rust and is incomparably valuable. It can have a great purity and is therefore also a symbol of our true nature or the pure soul. So you can also find the golden ball in this fairy tale, which the boy owns quite naturally. But not only the boy in the fairy tale, every man has pure gold in his heart, namely the ability to change and to understand the truth, no matter who our worldly parents are or whether we are still conscious of this gold within us.

Why is the golden ball rolling right into the cage of Iron John? Obviously, the gold is attracted by the iron. The king’s son does not fear the contact with the wild nature, so he is not yet so grown stiff in culture and so-called civilization as the secular father. He still sees something in the wild man, which even makes him act against his father’s command. The key to the liberation of nature lies with the mother, but unused by her, for she also serves the narrow mind of the king. But what is this key to the liberation of nature?

Well, the boy pinches his finger when opening the cage, so he is burdened with pain and guilt because he disobeys his worldly father. And he repents of his deed and asks nature for help, not his worldly parents. The wild man recognizes the potential for change in the boy and takes him with him. The physical father is abandoned and a spiritual father takes his place.

✻ When the wild man had once more reached the dark forest, he took the boy down from his shoulder, and said to him, “Thou wilt never see thy father and mother again, but I will keep thee with me, for thou hast set me free, and I have compassion on thee. If thou dost all I bid thee, thou shalt fare well. Of treasure and gold have I enough, and more than any one in the world.” He made a bed of moss for the boy on which he slept, and the next morning the man took him to a well, and said, “Behold, the gold well is as bright and clear as crystal, thou shalt sit beside it, and take care that nothing falls into it, or it will be polluted. I will come every evening to see if thou hast obeyed my order.” The boy placed himself by the margin of the well, and often saw a golden fish or a golden snake show itself therein, and took care that nothing fell in. As he was thus sitting, his finger hurt him so violently that he involuntarily put it in the water. He drew it quickly out again, but saw that it was quite gilded, and whatsoever pains he took to wash the gold off again, all was to no purpose. In the evening Iron John came back, looked at the boy, and said, “What has happened to the well?” “Nothing, nothing,” he answered, and held his finger behind his back, that the man might not see it. But he said, “Thou hast dipped thy finger into the water, this time it may pass, but take care thou dost not again let anything go in.” By daybreak the boy was already sitting by the well and watching it. His finger hurt him again and he passed it over his head, and then unhappily a hair fell down into the well. He took it quickly out, but it was already quite gilded. Iron John came, and already knew what had happened. “Thou hast let a hair fall into the well,” said he. “I will allow thee to watch by it once more, but if this happens for the third time then the well is polluted, and thou canst no longer remain with me.”

On the third day, the boy sat by the well, and did not stir his finger, however much it hurt him. But the time was long to him, and he looked at the reflection of his face on the surface of the water. And as he still bent down more and more while he was doing so, and trying to look straight into the eyes, his long hair fell down from his shoulders into the water. He raised himself up quickly, but the whole of the hair of his head was already golden and shone like the sun. You may imagine how terrified the poor boy was! He took his pocket-handkerchief and tied it round his head, in order that the man might not see it. When he came he already knew everything, and said, “Take the handkerchief off.” Then the golden hair streamed forth, and let the boy excuse himself as he might, it was of no use. “Thou hast not stood the trial, and canst stay here no longer. Go forth into the world, there thou wilt learn what poverty is. But as thou hast not a bad heart, and as I mean well by thee, there is one thing I will grant thee; if thou fallest into any difficulty, come to the forest and cry, “Iron John,” and then I will come and help thee. My power is great, greater than thou thinkest, and I have gold and silver in abundance.”

✎ The wild man becomes the boy’s teacher. He leads him to the source, where his only job is to keep watch and maintain purity. A most amazing task! Anyone who has ever studied yoga and meditation will know how incredibly difficult it is to pass such a test. Just sitting, watching, seeing and recognizing without being entangled in it. First, you feel bored, because the thoughts have no distraction. Old feelings of guilt can also come up - the boy unconsciously sticks his aching finger into the golden spring. What happens? Refinement of the finger and this may be forgiveness.

What do fish and snakes stand for in this golden fountain, the pure essence of nature, truth and innermost being? Maybe for the pure soul and the elemental force of nature, swimming together in harmony. And when the boy looks into the spring, he sees his reflection. But he cannot look himself in the eye - he does not recognize yet, and so the well is polluted. How would the fairy tale have gone on if he had passed the test?

Despite everything, the boy experiences change. He is connected with some truth, what the golden spots on hand and head show. Only he cannot be “golden” yet. His teacher now knows that the next stage of his education is imminent: attentive action in the world, dealing with it in humility and patience, assuming responsibility and the associated maturing process. He sends him abroad - the motif that appears in so many fairy tales - and remains at his side as a trusting helper.

✻ Then the King’s son left the forest, and walked by beaten and unbeaten paths ever onwards until at length he reached a great city. There he looked for work, but could find none, and he had learnt nothing by which he could help himself. At length he went to the palace, and asked if they would take him in. The people about court did not at all know what use they could make of him, but they liked him, and told him to stay. At length the cook took him into his service, and said he might carry wood and water, and rake the cinders together. Once when it so happened that no one else was at hand, the cook ordered him to carry the food to the royal table, but as he did not like to let his golden hair be seen, he kept his little cap on. Such a thing as that had never yet come under the King’s notice, and he said, “When thou comest to the royal table thou must take thy hat off.” He answered, “Ah, Lord, I cannot; I have a bad sore place on my head.” Then the King had the cook called before him and scolded him, and asked how he could take such a boy as that into his service; and that he was to turn him off at once. The cook, however, had pity on him, and exchanged him for the gardener’s boy.

✎ The boy comes to strangers, and they like him. Even though he has never learned anything practical, he is welcomed because his nature has already changed and impresses others. But the boy hides his golden nature, he does not yet show his new consciousness. Maybe he would also be recognized as the son of a king, and perhaps sent back to the worldly father. He even pretends to be unclean with a rash on his head.

As with most fairy tales, Iron John also has many different versions, such as “The wild man”. In this version of the story, the wild man accommodates the boy himself as a gardener’s assistant at the royal court. But the boy has to sleep in the stable because he is so dirty and nobody wants to share the room with him. In the morning, when he wants to start his work in the garden, the wild man comes to meet him and sends him to wash and comb. While the boy is cleaning himself, the wild man works in the garden and makes it much nicer than the gardener himself ever could. You cannot express it better! If man respects his inner purity and works constantly to keep himself and his surroundings virtuous, then nature works of its own accord and gives him the fruits of his pure action.

✻ And now the boy had to plant and water the garden, hoe and dig, and bear the wind and bad weather. Once in summer when he was working alone in the garden, the day was so warm he took his little cap off that the air might cool him. As the sun shone on his hair it glittered and flashed so that the rays fell into the bed-room of the King’s daughter, and up she sprang to see what that could be. Then she saw the boy, and cried to him, “Boy, bring me a wreath of flowers.” He put his cap on with all haste, and gathered wild field-flowers and bound them together. When he was ascending the stairs with them, the gardener met him, and said, “How canst thou take the King’s daughter a garland of such common flowers? Go quickly, and get another, and seek out the prettiest and rarest.” “Oh, no,” replied the boy, “the wild ones have more scent, and will please her better.” When he got into the room, the King’s daughter said, “Take thy cap off, it is not seemly to keep it on in my presence.” He again said, “I may not, I have a sore head.” She, however, caught at his cap and pulled it off, and then his golden hair rolled down on his shoulders, and it was splendid to behold. He wanted to run out, but she held him by the arm, and gave him a handful of ducats. With these he departed, but he cared nothing for the gold pieces. He took them to the gardener, and said, “I present them to thy children, they can play with them.” The following day the King’s daughter again called to him that he was to bring her a wreath of field-flowers, and when he went in with it, she instantly snatched at his cap, and wanted to take it away from him, but he held it fast with both hands. She again gave him a handful of ducats, but he would not keep them, and gave them to the gardener for playthings for his children. On the third day things went just the same; she could not get his cap away from him, and he would not have her money.

✎ And so it continues - he keeps away not only from the king, the owner of secular power and the epitome of culture, but also from female charms. He neither boasts of his own spiritual gold, nor does he reach for the worldly gold offered to him. He does his duty, yet retreats from the usual habits of the people around him. But he is already trying to re-establish the harmony of culture and nature, because he brings the princess the wild, simple flowers, not the bred and magnificent.

✻ Not long afterwards, the country was overrun by war. The King gathered together his people, and did not know whether or not he could offer any opposition to the enemy, who was superior in strength and had a mighty army. Then said the gardener’s boy, “I am grown up, and will go to the wars also, only give me a horse.” The others laughed, and said, “Seek one for thyself when we are gone, we will leave one behind us in the stable for thee.” When they had gone forth, he went into the stable, and got the horse out; it was lame of one foot, and limped hobblety jig, hobblety jig; nevertheless he mounted it, and rode away to the dark forest. When he came to the outskirts, he called “Iron John,” three times so loudly that it echoed through the trees. Thereupon the wild man appeared immediately, and said, “What dost thou desire?” “I want a strong steed, for I am going to the wars.” “That thou shalt have, and still more than thou askest for.” Then the wild man went back into the forest, and it was not long before a stable-boy came out of it, who led a horse that snorted with its nostrils, and could hardly be restrained, and behind them followed a great troop of soldiers entirely equipped in iron, and their swords flashed in the sun. The youth made over his three-legged horse to the stable-boy, mounted the other, and rode at the head of the soldiers. When he got near the battle-field a great part of the King’s men had already fallen, and little was wanting to make the rest give way.

Then the youth galloped thither with his iron soldiers, broke like a hurricane over the enemy, and beat down all who opposed him. They began to fly, but the youth pursued, and never stopped, until there was not a single man left. Instead, however, of returning to the King, he conducted his troop by bye-ways back to the forest, and called forth Iron John. “What dost thou desire?” asked the wild man. “Take back thy horse and thy troops, and give me my three-legged horse again.” All that he asked was done, and soon he was riding on his three-legged horse. When the King returned to his palace, his daughter went to meet him, and wished him joy of his victory. “I am not the one who carried away the victory,” said he, “but a strange knight who came to my assistance with his soldiers.” The daughter wanted to hear who the strange knight was, but the King did not know, and said, “He followed the enemy, and I did not see him again.” She inquired of the gardener where his boy was, but he smiled, and said, “He has just come home on his three-legged horse, and the others have been mocking him, and crying, “Here comes our hobblety jig back again!” They asked, too, “Under what hedge hast thou been lying sleeping all the time?” He, however, said, “I did the best of all, and it would have gone badly without me.” And then he was still more ridiculed.”

✎ Our boy makes his next move. The time arrives to take responsibility, from which he does not shy away. But still he does not want to reveal himself and his abilities. Only the king’s daughter already suspects that the golden hair of the youth is associated with special qualities. But she is smart enough to wait until the right moment.

✻ The King said to his daughter, “I will proclaim a great feast that shall last for three days, and thou shalt throw a golden apple. Perhaps the unknown will come to it.” When the feast was announced, the youth went out to the forest, and called Iron John. “What dost thou desire?” asked he. “That I may catch the King’s daughter’s golden apple.” “It is as safe as if thou hadst it already,” said Iron John. “Thou shalt likewise have a suit of red armour for the occasion, and ride on a spirited chestnut-horse.” When the day came, the youth galloped to the spot, took his place amongst the knights, and was recognized by no one. The King’s daughter came forward, and threw a golden apple to the knights, but none of them caught it but he, only as soon as he had it he galloped away. On the second day Iron John equipped him as a white knight, and gave him a white horse. Again he was the only one who caught the apple, and he did not linger an instant, but galloped off with it. The King grew angry, and said, “That is not allowed; he must appear before me and tell his name.” He gave the order that if the knight who caught the apple, should go away again they should pursue him, and if he would not come back willingly, they were to cut him down and stab him. On the third day, he received from Iron John a suit of black armour and a black horse, and again he caught the apple. But when he was riding off with it, the King’s attendants pursued him, and one of them got so near him that he wounded the youth’s leg with the point of his sword. The youth nevertheless escaped from them, but his horse leapt so violently that the helmet fell from the youth’s head, and they could see that he had golden hair. They rode back and announced this to the King.

✎ Red - white - black
The boy comes to pass the same test three times. Why three times? The colours seem to make the difference. Let’s say: red stands for the stimulating, active, fiery aspect in the character of a human, white for purity, transfiguration and perfection and black for the sluggish, the immobile. Everyone who lives in the world needs his sufficient share of fire, light and rest. No action without fire. No wisdom without light, and action brings bad fruit. And without the balancing calm neither action nor wisdom is possible. If the three basic inclinations of the spirit are in harmony, then man is spiritually healthy. If one of the inclinations outweighs too much, the person becomes either hyperactive or dull and sluggish and no longer has a good effect on the world. Our boy passes the test in all three colours. He can only be recognized and touched under the influence of sluggish black.

✻ The following day the King’s daughter asked the gardener about his boy. “He is at work in the garden; the queer creature has been at the festival too, and only came home yesterday evening; he has likewise shown my children three golden apples which he has won.”

The King had him summoned into his presence, and he came and again had his little cap on his head. But the King’s daughter went up to him and took it off, and then his golden hair fell down over his shoulders, and he was so handsome that all were amazed. “Art thou the knight who came every day to the festival, always in different colours, and who caught the three golden apples?” asked the King. “Yes,” answered he, “and here the apples are,” and he took them out of his pocket, and returned them to the King. “If you desire further proof, you may see the wound which your people gave me when they followed me. But I am likewise the knight who helped you to your victory over your enemies.” “If thou canst perform such deeds as that, thou art no gardener’s boy; tell me, who is thy father?” “My father is a mighty King, and gold have I in plenty as great as I require.” “I well see,” said the King, “that I owe thanks to thee; can I do anything to please thee?” “Yes,” answered he, “that indeed you can. Give me your daughter to wife.” The maiden laughed, and said, “He does not stand much on ceremony, but I have already seen by his golden hair that he was no gardener’s boy,” and then she went and kissed him.

✎ This time the king’s daughter gets the ball finally rolling, because - lo and behold - the youth has matured. Finally he confesses: Yes, it’s me! He confesses to his golden faculties, for he has finally realized one fact deep inside: By his friendly connection to the Iron John - that is, the combination of wild nature and organizing culture - all the treasures of life are revealed to him insofar as he needs them. So it is time for him to regain his place in the world and to fulfil his duties as king’s son. He chooses the true bride, because she has long since recognized his golden heart. He can also meet his parents. As long as the development of his mind was still in progress, he had to avoid both his parents and their narrow conception of civilization and wild nature, as well as a passionate connection with a woman. But now, after his enlightenment he can live together with everybody.

✻ His father and mother came to the wedding, and were in great delight, for they had given up all hope of ever seeing their dear son again. And as they were sitting at the marriage-feast, the music suddenly stopped, the doors opened, and a stately King came in with a great retinue. He went up to the youth, embraced him and said, “I am Iron John, and was by enchantment a wild man, but thou hast set me free; all the treasures which I possess, shall be thy property.”

✎ Iron John is again recognizable as a benevolent king and spiritual father, since the youth restored the good connection of the worldly power with the wild nature.
Who had cursed nature as savage and hostile?
But now nature has regained her royal dignity, which man had taken from her. And we see that nature can be an excellent teacher to us, and truly, we receive all our wealth only from nature. Nature should be our friend, not our enemy. Then culture and nature can coexist.

P.S. The relation of the physical father of the youth to nature reminds us of the behaviour of our modern, scientific-material people. We do not ask, do not want to humbly approach the golden spring and maybe to restrain ourselves for a while, but we force nature with technology, chemistry and mass under our luxurious will. It still seems to work, because our supermarkets brag with overflowing shelves. But we are already allergic to all sorts of foods from our sprayed fields and enslaved cattle herds, and suffer from weird diseases not well known to science. Please help us, Iron John!

The Old Woman in the Wood

✻ A poor servant-girl was once travelling with the family, with which she was in service, through a great forest, and when they were in the midst of it, robbers came out of the thicket, and murdered all they found. All perished together except the girl, who had jumped out of the carriage in a fright, and hidden herself behind a tree. When the robbers had gone away with their booty, she came out and beheld the great disaster. Then she began to weep bitterly, and said, “What can a poor girl like me do now? I do not know how to get out of the forest, no human being lives in it, so I must certainly starve.” She walked about and looked for a road, but could find none. When it was evening she seated herself under a tree, gave herself into God’s keeping, and resolved to sit waiting there and not go away, let what might happen.

✎ A stately family comes into the wilderness where they meet the same law that prevails in their city: the stronger feeds on the weaker. But here in the forest they suddenly stand on the other side and become victims themselves. Why does this great contrast exist between city and forest? Why does the family meet with this fate? Do we see a presumptuous aristocracy that has lost its grounding in nature? Even the maid seems completely lost in the wild, but, at least, she stays alive.

Who are the robbers in the forest? What do they kill and rob so that no human soul lives in the forest? And how can you leave this wild forest?

In many fairy tales, there are recurring motifs that are not only dramatic stages of a story, but also typical chapters of a person’s life. For example, there is the sheltered person, who suddenly finds himself in danger and fear, separated from everything he knows. Like our maid, who has been protected by her lordship, and which is now hungry and lonely on her own. But helpers show themselves in need, if a person has confidence and a good heart. Such helpers can also be the dangers themselves, because they force us on the way to transformation.

✻ When, however, she had sat there for a while, a white dove came flying to her with a little golden key in its mouth. It put the little key in her hand, and said, “Dost thou see that great tree, therein is a little lock, it opens with the tiny key, and there thou wilt find food enough, and suffer no more hunger.” Then she went to the tree and opened it, and found milk in a little dish, and white bread to break into it, so that she could eat her fill. When she was satisfied, she said, “It is now the time when the hens at home go to roost, I am so tired I could go to bed too.” Then the dove flew to her again, and brought another golden key in its bill, and said, “Open that tree there, and thou wilt find a bed.” So she opened it, and found a beautiful white bed, and she prayed God to protect her during the night, and lay down and slept. In the morning the dove came for the third time, and again brought a little key, and said, “Open that tree there, and thou wilt find clothes.” And when she opened it, she found garments beset with gold and with jewels, more splendid than those of any king’s daughter. So she lived there for some time, and the dove came every day and provided her with all she needed, and it was a quiet good life.

✎ What is this key that can unlock the outer shell of things? And, as in many fairy tales, gold plays a key role again.
Everything can be unlocked and helpful with the golden key of knowledge. What a beautiful symbol! There is one life in every creature whose nature is kind and healing, if it is allowed to unfold and be recognized.

✻ Once, however, the dove came and said, “Wilt thou do something for my sake?” “With all my heart,” said the girl. Then said the little dove, “I will guide thee to a small house; enter it, and inside it, an old woman will be sitting by the fire and will say, ‘Good-day.’ But on thy life give her no answer, let her do what she will, but pass by her on the right side; further on, there is a door, which open, and thou wilt enter into a room where a quantity of rings of all kinds are lying, amongst which are some magnificent ones with shining stones; leave them, however, where they are, and seek out a plain one, which must likewise be amongst them, and bring it here to me as quickly as thou canst.”

✎ After the quiet life and the retreat from the busy world, the girl has matured and is ready to take responsibility and act again.

✻ The girl went to the little house, and came to the door. There sat an old woman who stared when she saw her, and said, “Good day my child.” The girl gave her no answer, and opened the door. “Whither away,” cried the old woman, and seized her by the gown, and wanted to hold her fast, saying, “That is my house; no one can go in there if I choose not to allow it.” But the girl was silent, got away from her, and went straight into the room. Now there lay on the table an enormous quantity of rings, which gleamed and glittered before her eyes. She turned them over and looked for the plain one, but could not find it.

While she was seeking, she saw the old woman and how she was stealing away, and wanting to get off with a bird-cage which she had in her hand. So she went after her and took the cage out of her hand, and when she raised it up and looked into it, a bird was inside which had the plain ring in its bill. Then she took the ring, and ran quite joyously home with it, and thought the little white dove would come and get the ring, but it did not.

✎ All the tests of courage were passed by the girl: she could be silent when it mattered, but could take action when she was hindered. She was neither distracted nor blinded by the precious treasure, but firmly pursued her goal, for her purpose was noble and pure.

What do we learn from the bird, who has the ring in his beak and sits in the witch’s cage? Maybe caught three times? The ring is caught in the beak of the greedy bird, the bird in the cage and the cage in the hand of the witch.

✻ Then she leant against a tree and determined to wait for the dove, and, as she thus stood, it seemed just as if the tree was soft and pliant, and was letting its branches down. And suddenly the branches twined around her, and were two arms, and when she looked round, the tree was a handsome man, who embraced and kissed her heartily, and said, “Thou hast delivered me from the power of the old woman, who is a wicked witch. She had changed me into a tree, and every day for two hours I was a white dove, and so long as she possessed the ring I could not regain my human form.” Then his servants and his horses, who had likewise been changed into trees, were freed from the enchantment also, and stood beside him. And he led them forth to his kingdom, for he was a King’s son, and they married, and lived happily.

✎ And again this beautiful symbol: The right companion, the truth, was hidden in the tree and in the animal. Because it is just one life, that may show itself in many different forms. You can recognize this one life and connect with the truth, when you see through the magic of the witch.

Why a simple ring? It may point to the connection of the King’s son with a simple girl. It is this simplicity of the girl, that surrenders to God when all seems hopeless, and suddenly receives the help of nature and the spirit that lives in nature. Finally, the simplicity even frees the enchanted spirit, and in this case helps the king’s son to become ‘human’ again. How he lost his ‘humanity’ is not explained further in this fairy tale. However he somehow has fallen into the witch’s hands and perhaps has experienced a catastrophe similar to that of the noble family at the beginning of the story.

The ring is also a very old symbol, on the one hand for connection, if it encloses something, and on the other hand for eternity, because it is without beginning and end. Even today we know the marriage and friendship rings. In this case the prince’s ring was in the witch’s hands. This means he was associated with a dark power that had banished him to nature, from which he could only occasionally rise as a dove. The nature of this dark power remains relatively open, at least you should not give it an answer or do not get involved with it. It is played again with the male-female symbolism and the usual witch, which causes separation. Finally, the male is freed from the compulsive bonds of nature, and man and woman unite. Then they live a rich and happy life and never feel lonely anymore.

As in the beginning, a stately retinue set in the forest, at the end another stately retinue leaves the forest. And the girl, who was a servant before, is now the bride of the king’s son. What a wonderful change happened in the forest along the way…

Hansel and Grethel

✻ Hard by a great forest dwelt a poor wood-cutter with his wife and his two children. The boy was called Hansel and the girl Grethel. He had little to bite and to break, and once when great scarcity fell on the land, he could no longer procure daily bread. Now when he thought over this by night in his bed, and tossed about in his anxiety, he groaned and said to his wife, “What is to become of us? How are we to feed our poor children, when we no longer have anything even for ourselves?” “I’ll tell you what, husband,” answered the woman, “Early to-morrow morning we will take the children out into the forest to where it is the thickest, there we will light a fire for them, and give each of them one piece of bread more, and then we will go to our work and leave them alone. They will not find the way home again, and we shall be rid of them.” “No, wife,” said the man, “I will not do that; how can I bear to leave my children alone in the forest? The wild animals would soon come and tear them to pieces.” “O, thou fool!” said she, “Then we must all four die of hunger, thou mayest as well plane the planks for our coffins.” and she left him no peace until he consented. “But I feel very sorry for the poor children, all the same,” said the man.

✎ How can we understand the words of the mother? They do not fit in our current and certainly not in the former world view. Every normal mother loves her children, protects her like a lioness, and rather starves herself than treating her children as cruelly as here in the fairy tale. So, let’s take a deeper look.

The worldly things seem to be well distinguishable: in good and evil, light and dark, male and female etc. The masculine stands in many philosophies for the spiritual in the world and the feminine stands for nature. The mind pervades all matter and is united with it. So the mind can guide us. If it is separated from matter, it can have no effect. Nature, in turn, needs guidance through the mind, otherwise there might be movement, but no development, neither to the higher nor to the lower. The two - often symbolically as father and mother or man and woman - depend on each other, can be found in all beings, add to each other and are not actually separated. From the interaction of mind and matter, and also man and woman, we are born into the world. The first things we learn are hunger and thirst. Who does not know this great dissatisfaction that usually drives us through our live? Spiritually speaking, hunger is only seeing the opposites: this is bad and this is good, this is what I want and this not... And we always want something, right? Therefore we are always hungry. Of course we need a certain distinction in our daily life in useful or dangerous, for or against, nature or spirit. That is the job of the mother. But if we are completely caught up in this picture of opposites, totally emerged in the mother, we are also trapped in hunger. The big goal is to realize that distinction is useful but not ultimate truth. Things are, what they are, neither good nor bad. Only our desires need a distinction in good or bad. It is the task of the Father to lead us to realize. If we experience this in the deepest heart, our spiritual hunger is satisfied and the worldly dissatisfaction disappears. Therefore, we have to go into the world, have to suffer and learn and gradually recognize. It is nature’s job to drive us to inner growth.

Therefore, the mother speaks in the fairy tale: we want to send our children into the world, so that they may recognize, satisfy hunger and thirst and return to us, to their origin. The dark forest is the symbol of the world. Ignorance blocks the sight in every direction. The world is a wilderness of fear in the struggle for survival. Yes, Mother Nature is so hard. She gives birth to us, leaves us alone and separates us from the true Father. Then we sit alone in the forest with the fire of life. And yet it is pure kindness and maternal love. When the children are mature, they should no longer cling to the mother. Mother Nature speaks: I can only appease your hunger for a short time. I cannot give you eternal happiness. I cannot make you happy forever. Do not cling to me! Stand on your own feet, act, recognize and then return to the Father.

✻ The two children had also not been able to sleep for hunger, and had heard what their mother had said to their father. Grethel wept bitter tears, and said to Hansel, “Now all is over with us.” “Be quiet, Grethel,” said Hansel, “do not distress thyself, I will soon find a way to help us.” And when the old folks had fallen asleep, he got up, put on his little coat, opened the door below, and crept outside. The moon shone brightly, and the white pebbles which lay in front of the house glittered like real silver pennies. Hansel stooped and put as many of them in the little pocket of his coat as he could possibly get in. Then he went back and said to Grethel, “Be comforted, dear little sister, and sleep in peace, God will not forsake us.” and he lay down again in his bed.

✎ Brother and sister can also be considered here as the principle “male and female, spirit and nature”. This does not mean in a narrow and misunderstood sense that Hansel thinks and Grethel only does what he says. As already mentioned, mind and nature are inseparable. Here they ideally always act in loving unison, which is the foundation of human development.

White pebbles in the moonlight are something pure and immortal, something the mind can find with confidence in God, meaning a pure life.

✻ When day dawned, but before the sun had risen, the woman came and awoke the two children, saying, “Get up, you sluggards! We are going into the forest to fetch wood.” She gave each a little piece of bread, and said, “There is something for your dinner, but do not eat it up before then, for you will get nothing else.” Grethel took the bread under her apron, as Hansel had the stones in his pocket.

✎ The day breaks also means: life begins, everyone gets something along the way into the world. The children, who are still depending on the mother, are sent into self-reliance for the first time.

✻ Then they all set out together on the way to the forest. When they had walked a short time, Hansel stood still and peeped back at the house, and did so again and again. His father said, “Hansel, what art thou looking at there and staying behind for? Mind what thou art about, and do not forget how to use thy legs.” “Ah, father,” said Hansel, “I am looking at my little white cat, which is sitting up on the roof, and wants to say good-bye to me.” The wife said, “Fool, that is not thy little cat, that is the morning sun which is shining on the chimneys.” Hansel, however, had not been looking back at the cat, but had been constantly throwing one of the white pebble-stones out of his pocket on the road.

✎ White animals stand in general for purity. The symbol could mean the pure, childlike nature of Hansel, which will soon change on the difficult path. But it could also mean that Hansel feels bound to his home, his friends and pets and does not want to leave them. Because normally you do not have to look back or stop to drop the pebbles. It befits Mother Nature to urge him to see the light of the morning sun, to open to knowledge.

✻ When they had reached the middle of the forest, the father said, “Now, children, pile up some wood, and I will light a fire that you may not be cold.” Hansel and Grethel gathered brushwood together, as high as a little hill. The brushwood was lighted, and when the flames were burning very high the woman said, “Now, children, lay yourselves down by the fire and rest, we will go into the forest and cut some wood. When we have done, we will come back and fetch you away.” Hansel and Grethel sat by the fire, and when noon came, each ate a little piece of bread, and as they heard the strokes of the wood-axe they believed that their father was near. It was, however, not the axe, it was a branch which he had fastened to a withered tree which the wind was blowing backwards and forwards. And as they had been sitting such a long time, their eyes shut with fatigue, and they fell fast asleep. When at last they awoke, it was already dark night. Grethel began to cry and said, “How are we to get out of the forest now?” But Hansel comforted her and said, “Just wait a little, until the moon has risen, and then we will soon find the way.” And when the full moon had risen, Hansel took his little sister by the hand, and followed the pebbles which shone like newly-coined silver pieces, and showed them the way. They walked the whole night long, and by break of day came once more to their father’s house. They knocked at the door, and when the woman opened it and saw that it was Hansel and Grethel, she said, “You naughty children, why have you slept so long in the forest? We thought you were never coming back at all!” The father, however, rejoiced, for it had cut him to the heart to leave them behind alone.

✎ This is a typical fairy tale text. On closer inspection, the actions themselves make little sense, but a lot of symbols can be seen. The fire warms us in life. The illusion makes us fall asleep in the forest of the world. The awakening happens in the dark. The moon unfolds his cool light of reason, and the white pebbles show the way home. So the pebbles and the moonlight make sure that brother and sister can return home.

This could be the end of the tale, but something is missing. The father is happy, but the mother is not. Because the real problem is not solved: The big hunger is still not satisfied. There are often several attempts or apparent repetitions in the fairy tale, because we have to go step by step and learn. Only very few people are granted the miracle to solve a big problem right at the first attempt...

✻ Not long afterwards, there was once more great scarcity in all parts, and the children heard their mother saying at night to their father, “Everything is eaten again, we have one half loaf left, and after that there is an end. The children must go, we will take them farther into the wood, so that they will not find their way out again; there is no other means of saving ourselves!” The man’s heart was heavy, and he thought “It would be better for thee to share the last mouthful with thy children.” The woman, however, would listen to nothing that he had to say, but scolded and reproached him. He who says A must say B, likewise, and as he had yielded the first time, he had to do so a second time also.

The children were, however, still awake and had heard the conversation. When the old folks were asleep, Hansel again got up, and wanted to go out and pick up pebbles, but the woman had locked the door, and Hansel could not get out. Nevertheless he comforted his little sister, and said, “Do not cry, Grethel, go to sleep quietly, the good God will help us.”

Early in the morning came the woman, and took the children out of their beds. Their bit of bread was given to them, but it was still smaller than the time before. On the way into the forest Hansel crumbled his in his pocket, and often stood still and threw a morsel on the ground. “Hansel, why dost thou stop and look round?” said the father, “Go on.” “I am looking back at my little pigeon which is sitting on the roof, and wants to say good-bye to me.” answered Hansel. “Simpleton!” said the woman, “That is not thy little pigeon, that is the morning sun that is shining on the chimney.” Hansel, however, little by little, threw all the crumbs on the path.

✎ And again the same farewell. A last look back at the father’s house, where the morning sun greets, with the desire in the heart, which we all hold within us, to return from our long journey and to be happy again at home. Here, too, we meet the illusion of ‘my dove’. Outside, things are reflected in the light of the sun, and inside in the light of consciousness. Mother Nature herself explains it here to the child.

Maybe the chimney has something to do with it. At least there usually appears smoke, which can take on all sorts of forms in the sunlight, that are as fading as any other thing in the world. And what does illusion have to do with hunger? Well, hunger comes from perishable food, and what is more perishable than illusion? We already know that the bread crumbs do not have the effect that Hansel hopes for, because how should transient things lead the way to the Father, to realization? The transitory belongs in the world, in becoming and passing away, and it is precisely out of this cycle that we need to liberate our mind, even if our body remains clinged to the world.

✻ The woman led the children still deeper into the forest, where they had never in their lives been before. Then a great fire was again made, and the mother said, “Just sit there, you children, and when you are tired you may sleep a little; we are going into the forest to cut wood, and in the evening when we are done, we will come and fetch you away.” When it was noon, Grethel shared her piece of bread with Hansel, who had scattered his by the way. Then they fell asleep and evening came and went, but no one came to the poor children. They did not awake until it was dark night, and Hansel comforted his little sister and said, “Just wait, Grethel, until the moon rises, and then we shall see the crumbs of bread which I have strewn about, they will show us our way home again.” When the moon came they set out, but they found no crumbs, for the many thousands of birds which fly about in the woods and fields, had picked them all up. Hansel said to Grethel, “We shall soon find the way,” but they did not find it. They walked the whole night and all the next day too from morning till evening, but they did not get out of the forest, and were very hungry, for they had nothing to eat but two or three berries, which grew on the ground. And as they were so weary that their legs would carry them no longer, they lay down beneath a tree and fell asleep.

✎ Before help can take effect, we usually have to suffer, whether pain, fatigue, hunger... These austerities purify the rubbish-strewn mind and can open what was previously hidden. Shamans also use asceticism and purification so that they can reach and help people spiritually.

✻ It was now three mornings since they had left their father’s house. They began to walk again, but they always got deeper into the forest, and if help did not come soon, they must die of hunger and weariness. When it was mid-day, they saw a beautiful snow-white bird sitting on a bough, which sang so delightfully that they stood still and listened to it. And when it had finished its song, it spread its wings and flew away before them, and they followed it until they reached a little house, on the roof of which it alighted; and when they came quite up to little house they saw that it was built of bread and covered with cakes, but that the windows were of clear sugar. “We will set to work on that,” said Hansel, “and have a good meal. I will eat a bit of the roof, and thou, Grethel, canst eat some of the window, it will taste sweet.” Hansel reached up above, and broke off a little of the roof to try how it tasted, and Grethel leant against the window and nibbled at the panes.

✎ Birds are symbols of the mind or thoughts. And the white, pure bird can rise in the purified soul. It is the good idea that follows destiny and makes the children take the next step on their journey. Just in time, before they starve. Anyone who trusts will be helped.

But why should Grethel eat from the window and Hansel from the roof? Maybe that reminds us of the symbolism of mind and nature. The windows could point to the food for the senses, which are our windows into the world. And the roof could point to the mind building a house out of abstract terms.

✻ Then a soft voice cried from the room,
“Nibble, nibble, gnaw,
Who is nibbling at my little house?”

The children answered,
“The wind, the wind,
The heaven-born wind.”

and went on eating without disturbing themselves. Hansel, who thought the roof tasted very nice, tore down a great piece of it, and Grethel pushed out the whole of one round window-pane, sat down, and enjoyed herself with it.

✎ This is symbolism at its best! Who lives in a house made of food and yet has an insatiable hunger? The greedy ego that is portrayed here as an old and ugly witch that brings us much suffering but also irresistible charms. And who blows around the house? It is the wind as a pure and heavenly spirit. When the doors and windows are closed, it cannot enter and exert its healing effect. Grethel already breaks a window and Hansel tears a hole in the roof, that really bothers the ego, and the witch comes out and goes to attack. Of course, in a deceitful way...

✻ Suddenly the door opened, and a very, very old woman, who supported herself on crutches, came creeping out. Hansel and Grethel were so terribly frightened that they let fall what they had in their hands. The old woman, however, nodded her head, and said, “Oh, you dear children, who has brought you here? Do come in, and stay with me. No harm shall happen to you.” She took them both by the hand, and led them into her little house. Then good food was set before them, milk and pancakes, with sugar, apples, and nuts. Afterwards two pretty little beds were covered with clean white linen, and Hansel and Grethel lay down in them, and thought they were in heaven.

The old woman had only pretended to be so kind; she was in reality a wicked witch, who lay in wait for children, and had only built the little bread house in order to entice them there. When a child fell into her power, she killed it, cooked and ate it, and that was a feast day with her. Witches have red eyes, and cannot see far, but they have a keen scent like the beasts, and are aware when human beings draw near. When Hansel and Grethel came into her neighbourhood, she laughed maliciously, and said mockingly, “I have them, they shall not escape me again!” Early in the morning before the children were awake, she was already up, and when she saw both of them sleeping and looking so pretty, with their plump red cheeks, she muttered to herself, “That will be a dainty mouthful!”

Then she seized Hansel with her shrivelled hand, carried him into a little stable, and shut him in with a grated door. He might scream as he liked, that was of no use. Then she went to Grethel, shook her till she awoke, and cried, “Get up, lazy thing, fetch some water, and cook something good for thy brother, he is in the stable outside, and is to be made fat. When he is fat, I will eat him.” Grethel began to weep bitterly, but it was all in vain, she was forced to do what the wicked witch ordered her.

✎ The children’s soul is an ancient symbol of the pure spirit who knows nothing about the sins of the world. And who seizes these pure souls to feed on their spirit? Again the greedy ego in the form of the witch. Killing, cooking and eating are the typical ways how living beings turn into food.

And why does the ego have red eyes? That could point to the fire of passion and desire. Short-sightedness probably means that a selfish person does not think beyond one’s own interests. The witch goes on crutches, because the selfish ego certainly has no reliable basis. And the animal-like sense of smell urges to compulsive actions that bind every selfish person. The whole thing culminates again in the basic theme of this fairy tale, the insatiable hunger. Because that’s the kind of greed: it imprisons the mind, fattens it until it becomes passive and manipulable (or ‘cookable’), and enslaves nature so that they both serve pleasure only.

✻ And now the best food was cooked for poor Hansel, but Grethel got nothing but crab-shells. Every morning the woman crept to the little stable, and cried, “Hansel, stretch out thy finger that I may feel if thou wilt soon be fat.” Hansel, however, stretched out a little bone to her, and the old woman, who had dim eyes, could not see it, and thought it was Hansel’s finger, and was astonished that there was no way of fattening him. When four weeks had gone by, and Hansel still continued thin, she was seized with impatience and would not wait any longer, “Hola, Grethel,” she cried to the girl, “be active, and bring some water. Let Hansel be fat or lean, to-morrow I will kill him, and cook him.” Ah, how the poor little sister did lament when she had to fetch the water, and how her tears did flow down over her cheeks! “Dear God, do help us!” she cried. “If the wild beasts in the forest had but devoured us, we should at any rate have died together.” “Just keep thy noise to thyself,” said the old woman, “all that won’t help thee at all.”

✎ This description reminds us of the typical fattening of a goose. This is the problem of the old fairy tales that many of their symbols came from the rural life and were taken for granted. And as these symbols disappeared from our lives, so did the fairy tales lose their power. That’s why it’s so hard for us today to understand what has been normal life over hundreds, if not thousands of years. We read in an old farmers book, “If you want to fatten young geese, you have to lock them up when they are one month old, so they’ll be made plump if there’s one more month left...”

But our Hansel has common sense, and tries a trick. Many people have already thought about the symbolism of the finger. The finger is probably the last part of the body to test a fattening’s success. For this reason, this place was often interpreted as the boy’s sexual development, although replacement with the ‘bonelet’ makes little sense in this respect. However, the finger is also part of the hand, and the hand is the symbol of action. Maybe the witch is actually checking to what extent the mind has already become idle and manipulable and has lost its power and toughness in the cage, so that the greedy ego can take over unhindered rule. Will he resist when the cage is opened?

Another interpretation would be that in reality the greedy ego cannot touch anything living. It always takes only something dead, like this little bone. It is also interesting how the witch uses nature in the form of Grethel to fatten and defeat the mind. And finally, it becomes clear again how mind and nature stick together, how Grethel wishes to have the common death rather than being separated, and in her great need even asks God for help. How ‘God’ intervenes in this fairy tale is a good question. An external intervention is actually not visible. So we must probably take on an inner work, because in those days God was never called in vain.

✻ Early in the morning, Grethel had to go out and hang up the cauldron with the water, and light the fire. “We will bake first,” said the old woman, “I have already heated the oven, and kneaded the dough.” She pushed poor Grethel out to the oven, from which flames of fire were already darting. “Creep in,” said the witch, “and see if it is properly heated, so that we can shut the bread in.” And when once Grethel was inside, she intended to shut the oven and let her bake in it, and then she would eat her, too. But Grethel saw what she had in her mind, and said, “I do not know how I am to do it; how do you get in?” “Silly goose,” said the old woman. “The door is big enough; just look, I can get in myself!” and she crept up and thrust her head into the oven. Then Grethel gave her a push that drove her far into it, and shut the iron door, and fastened the bolt. Oh! then she began to howl quite horribly, but Grethel ran away, and the godless witch was miserably burnt to death.

✎ Please notice another exquisite symbol: either one burns the desire in its own fire, or one is burned by the desire. This struggle usually lasts a long time, and while reason is locked up, we often do not know who is burning, the witch or we. Grethel seemed to have taken little initiative so far, but just like Hansel, she can use a trick, apply the right means and act decisively. This is again an indication that nature and spirit cannot really be separated. As they are harmoniously united, they can do great things.

✻ Grethel, however, ran like lightning to Hansel, opened his little stable, and cried, “Hansel, we are saved! The old witch is dead!” Then Hansel sprang out like a bird from its cage when the door is opened for it. How they did rejoice and embrace each other, and dance about and kiss each other! And as they had no longer any need to fear her, they went into the witch’s house, and in every corner there stood chests full of pearls and jewels.

✎ The fear of every loss ends, as soon as the greedy ego is defeated. Then you can enter the witch’s house without being enslaved. And if you no longer run after the things of the world, then nature gives abundantly and of its own accord.

✻ “These are far better than pebbles!” said Hansel, and thrust into his pockets whatever could be got in, and Grethel said, “I, too, will take something home with me.” and filled her pinafore full. “But now we will go away,” said Hansel, “that we may get out of the witch’s forest.”

✎ That too is wonderful: in this house of food, our body, there is not only the greedy witch, but also a treasure of jewels that can solve the original problem and put an end to the great hunger. When the witch is defeated, we can raise this treasure, the unparalleled wealth that never makes poor again. These jewels are better than the pebbles from the first attempt to solve the hunger problem. Now, there is only one more task, the return home to the Father.

✻ When they had walked for two hours, they came to a great piece of water. “We cannot get over.” said Hansel, “I see no foot-plank, and no bridge.” “And no boat crosses either,” answered Grethel, “but a white duck is swimming there; if I ask her, she will help us over.”

Then she cried,
“Little duck, little duck, dost thou see,
Hansel and Grethel are waiting for thee?
There’s never a plank, or bridge in sight,
Take us across on thy back so white.”

The duck came to them, and Hansel seated himself on its back, and told his sister to sit by him. “No,” replied Grethel, “that will be too heavy for the little duck; she shall take us across, one after the other.”

✎ Here again shows the magic of old fairy tales. They have many levels, and even small children can understand the simple story. But when the mind matures, contradictions suddenly show themselves, and one begins to think more deeply. So here is the question, where is the big water coming from? There was no mention of it on the way into the forest. It is probably a river that often divides different countries as a border, and here symbolically even different worlds. It’s about leaving the witch’s forest and not returning to the same world you came from.

Once again a white bird helps, the symbol of a pure mind. The pure mind can carry us over the ocean of the world, with its devouring waves of lust and greed, grief and enthusiasm, profit and loss. But we have to travel “al(l)one”, we have to be one with us and everything, on the way to the one without a second. Why? It is said that the path to knowledge is so narrow that one cannot go there in pairs (opposites like good and bad, black and white). In our fairy tale, it is not the narrow path, but the duckling, which can carry no great burden. For with great burdens a person sinks into the world, only an easy one can ascend. This also shows that the pearls and gems were certainly not heavy, worldly treasures, as one might suspect at first.

✻ The good little duck did so, and when they were once safely across and had walked for a short time, the forest seemed to be more and more familiar to them, and at length they saw from afar their father’s house. Then they began to run, rushed into the parlour, and threw themselves into their father’s arms. The man had not known one happy hour since he had left the children in the forest; the woman, however, was dead. Grethel emptied her pinafore until pearls and precious stones ran about the room, and Hansel threw one handful after another out of his pocket to add to them. Then all anxiety was at an end, and they lived together in perfect happiness.

✎ The return to the Father is the end of all spiritual worries, represented here by the pearls and gems, the precious treasure hidden in nature. The mother had died, that sounds hard at first. But what dies here is the illusion and not true nature. Life and knowledge move from nature to spirit, from mother to father. The separation is dead, the union lives. And the fairy tale is over...

✻ My tale is done, there runs a mouse, whosoever catches it, may make himself a big fur cap out of it.

Rumpelstiltskin

✻ Once there was a miller who was poor, but who had a beautiful daughter. Now it happened that he had to go and speak to the King, and in order to make himself appear important he said to him, “I have a daughter who can spin straw into gold.” The King said to the miller, “That is an art which pleases me well; if your daughter is as clever as you say, bring her to-morrow to my palace, and I will try what she can do.”

And when the girl was brought to him he took her into a room which was quite full of straw, gave her a spinning-wheel and a reel, and said, “Now set to work, and if by to-morrow morning early you have not spun this straw into gold during the night, you must die.” Thereupon he himself locked up the room, and left her in it alone.

✎ The usual interpretation of this fairy tale is the victory of the young miller’s daughter all along the line: she saves her life, becomes queen, gets a child and can outsmart the Rumpelstiltskin to keep everything acquired. But, we are no longer so sure about this interpretation...

It begins - and as often happens in the development of a human being - with a dangerous plight. There is a mill that reminds us of the mill wheel of life, which is driven incessantly and turns endlessly in a circle. What for? It grinds and transforms the rough into something fine.

The miller in this mill now claims that his daughter can spin straw to gold. It is an open question whether he meant that literally, or rather wanted to express that she would be very skilful - in German we say: She has golden hands! His intention was definitely to brag to the king, who stands for wealth and prestige. His motive is not too praiseworthy, and so his words can hardly bear good fruit. The king now seems to take the words of the miller literally and even threatens the girl with death if she cannot do what her father has claimed.

But what does it mean to spin straw to gold? Straw and gold are two extremes that look similar at first glance. Straw was one of the farmer’s treasures, back in those days, when the cornstalks were not yet converted into dwarfs. The straw served as a place to sleep for humans and cattle and as a cheap building material. Or it was used for weaving mats, shoes, sandals, hats, baskets and beautiful jewellery. Well-dried straw has a golden colour, but is internally hollow and barely nutritious. Gold was the wealth of the rich and coins and precious jewellery were made from it.

Spinning can be interpreted in two ways. On the one hand, diligent work can turn everything into gold, and on the other hand one can make even colourful paper notes into valuable money by spinning a yarn. What is really valuable in life or not is a matter of fashion, mental education or imagination. At the end it’s about transforming something supposedly low into the most valuable thing people know. This transformation into gold was also the ultimate goal in alchemy and usually accompanied by a lot of magic, which often occurs in fairy tales. But most of the time, magic is a spiritual process, that means a spiritual development from the lower to the higher.

Gold stands for both wealth and longevity, as well as light, wisdom and thus a pure and golden soul. How do you get from the straw of life to a pure soul, which does not know greed and anger? You need to know how to live in harmony with nature and all beings. If you do not respect and love nature, or if you even think that you are surrounded only by lifeless things that you can force and use at will, then you set yourself up as a tyrannical ruler. A tyrant can kill and torture because he sees himself apart from others and has no compassion. He may think: What is the misery of others to me?! But those who have no compassion are inwardly cold and dead.

Well, the miller’s daughter no longer knows how to spin straw into gold using the power of nature. As long as she cannot do this, she is dead, at least in a spiritual way, because she has lost touch with living nature. That’s one possible way to interpret the first threat from the king. One can argue about the motivation of the king, whether he is greedy for gold, or whether he stands for the male power that challenges the feminine to develop.

✻ So there sat the poor miller’s daughter, and for her life could not tell what to do; she had no idea how straw could be spun into gold, and she grew more and more miserable, until at last she began to weep.

But all at once the door opened, and in came a little man, and said, “Good evening, Mistress Miller; why are you crying so?” “Alas!” answered the girl, “I have to spin straw into gold, and I do not know how to do it.” “What will you give me,” said the manikin, “if I do it for you?” “My necklace,” said the girl. The little man took the necklace, seated himself in front of the wheel, and “whirr, whirr, whirr,” three turns, and the reel was full; then he put another on, and whirr, whirr, whirr, three times round, and the second was full too. And so it went on until the morning, when all the straw was spun, and all the reels were full of gold.

✎ Who comes to help, if everything seems hopeless, even if it was not called? Nature itself, here as an unimpressive little man who willingly accepts the necklace in return. A chain stands symbolically for very different things: for connection as well as for dependence, for captivity and oppression and also for an exalted position. Since the little man gladly accepts the necklace, it could be meant that the miller’s daughter wants to honour the helper and restore her connection with nature. In any case, she wants to free herself from the risky situation in which she fears for her life.

✻ By daybreak the King was already there, and when he saw the gold he was astonished and delighted, but his heart became only more greedy. He had the miller’s daughter taken into another room full of straw, which was much larger, and commanded her to spin that also in one night if she valued her life. The girl knew not how to help herself, and was crying, when the door again opened, and the little man appeared, and said, “What will you give me if I spin the straw into gold for you?” “The ring on my finger,” answered the girl. The little man took the ring, again began to turn the wheel, and by morning had spun all the straw into glittering gold.

✎ A ring is a magical thing. It is self-contained in complete harmony and stands for eternity, unity, firmness and faith. The girl likes to give it to save herself, but has she learned what it means to be united with nature in love and respect?

We humans like to say: I grow fruit and forge iron. And we think, that leads us close to nature. But who basically let’s all the food grow and the elements submit? It is the nature that works, and we humans can only fit into the process and use what nature is willing to give. We have certainly learned to optimize or change some natural processes over the generations. And now we think we have everything under control and understood. But we rarely know the long-term consequences and fight often enough with unpleasant side effects that we did not have before. We do not want to see what the girl has right in front of her eyes: the little man spins the gold for her because she wants to give something back for the help.

✻ The King rejoiced beyond measure at the sight, but still he had not gold enough; and he had the miller’s daughter taken into a still larger room full of straw, and said, “You must spin this, too, in the course of this night; but if you succeed, you shall be my wife.” “Even if she be a miller’s daughter,” thought he, “I could not find a richer wife in the whole world.”

✎ The question is: is the king really that greedy? Why does he even offer the girl a marriage, such a sacred bond, when it’s all about money? Then he could just continue to press and threaten punishment. He already owns all the gold, so why the connection with a not befitting woman? Maybe he cares about the inner gold, the true treasure, namely the loving connection with nature. And with the third chamber, the girl has reached an inner maturity for him, with which he would like to unite.

✻ When the girl was alone the manikin came again for the third time, and said, “What will you give me if I spin the straw for you this time also?” “I have nothing left that I could give,” answered the girl. “Then promise me, if you should become Queen, your first child.” “Who knows whether that will ever happen?” thought the miller’s daughter; and, not knowing how else to help herself in this strait, she promised the manikin what he wanted, and for that he once more span the straw into gold.

And when the King came in the morning, and found all as he had wished, he took her in marriage, and the pretty miller’s daughter became a Queen.

A year after, she had a beautiful child, and she never gave a thought to the manikin. But suddenly he came into her room, and said, “Now give me what you promised.” The Queen was horror-struck, and offered the manikin all the riches of the kingdom if he would leave her the child. But the manikin said, “No, something that is living is dearer to me than all the treasures in the world.”

✎ The words of the little man seem to be cruel. To take a child away from the mother, what is that supposed to mean? Should that be taken literally? Especially since it is not mentioned what the little man is planning with the child. Again we have a symbol, that’s worth thinking about.

Nature is eternal becoming and passing away. And that is what life means - becoming and passing away and developing. Therefore, the little man needs something living, because with dead, so material treasures alone, there is no development. The connection to nature must be filled with life and not just understood as a profitable business at any price.

Not so long ago, people were certain that everything came from the womb of Mother Earth, all life, all food, all treasures. This one source of life, the Mother Goddess or Mother Nature, was worshipped and honoured by sacrificing. The sacrificial rite shows that people acknowledge that nothing living can ever belong to them, for all living beings, animals, plants and children come from Mother Nature alone and belong to her. Our life, body and food are only borrowed for a period of time and then go back to the Mother. To sacrifice symbolically means giving the Mother back what she already owns. It was common to sacrifice the first fruits of the field and thank for the rest, which secured the people’s needs and survival.

In Thanksgiving, there are still the remnants of this spiritual respect for nature, for the power of the divine. There was no need to take life for this rite, but the willingness to consider the new-born life was not selfish property, but part of Mother Nature’s generosity. There is the famous example in the Bible that God demands from Abraham his son Isaac. Was that a sign that God is cruel? Is the Rumpelstiltskin cruel? In the Bible, the sacrifice did not have to be done word for word because it is about the mental attitude. The point is not to regard one’s own child, and therefore one’s own life, as selfish possessions, and not to keep them under selfish desires. It’s about giving priority to life, not to property.

It is said that the girl agrees out of a dire strait. But what is the distress of the miller’s daughter on the third night? After all, the king no longer threatens her with death, but offers her tempting benefit. She could just go and say, “No, I will not give my child away and renounce the marriage to the king.” She does not. Maybe she is now greedy for an excellent position as a queen, and greed brings you really in distress. Although she has a certain connection to nature, because the little man still comes to her help, but she does not take the demanded reward seriously. In fact, she gives her promise without much thinking or understanding and soon forgets the whole thing. How can one forget that one has to give something back for one’s own development and the associated spiritual gain?

✻ Then the Queen began to weep and cry, so that the manikin pitied her. “I will give you three days’ time,” said he; “if by that time you find out my name, then shall you keep your child.”

✎ Knowing the name of a god, ghost or human was once essential to gain access to or even power over the other because the name stood for the nature of the being who wore it. With the knowledge of the name one had thus two possibilities: to put it to a good use or to misuse it. A good use means to acknowledge and honour the power of nature and to connect with its divinity. Selfishness leads us to the bad use: I want to have and keep and win for myself! With a great ego we separate ourselves from Mother Nature and tear ourselves and everything apart, that we consider in the light of egoism. We separate it into useful and hostile, in pleasant and unpleasant for us. We make life and the things that surround us a means to an end. When things or beings are useful and pleasant to us, we want to have them. If not, we reject them. We reduce humans, animals and plants to the level of tools that can be used or even thrown away at will. In the light of unity, nature is neither evil nor good. It is what it is. And above all, it is alive.

But back to the plot: Actually, the deal was clear and therefore fair. The girl made a promise, which the queen does not want to keep. And yet the little man gives the queen a second chance. But which one? Perhaps the little man wanted the queen to regain her living connection with nature, after she had forgotten everything in her new state. But does nature want anything? Well, nature constantly challenges us and wants to give us room for improvement. How we take the chance is up to us.

✻ So the Queen thought the whole night of all the names that she had ever heard, and she sent a messenger over the country to inquire, far and wide, for any other names that there might be. When the manikin came the next day, she began with Caspar, Melchior, Balthazar, and said all the names she knew, one after another; but to every one the little man said, “That is not my name.” On the second day she had inquiries made in the neighbourhood as to the names of the people there, and she repeated to the manikin the most uncommon and curious. “Perhaps your name is Shortribs, or Sheepshanks, or Laceleg?” but he always answered, “That is not my name.”

✎ Her own efforts don’t help the queen, wife and mother. Although she thinks at night, so in the dark, also called ignorance, but she gets no access to the little man, to nature. Why does the inner vision fail to help? Maybe because she is looking for something outside.

✻ On the third day the messenger came back again, and said, “I have not been able to find a single new name, but as I came to a high mountain at the end of the forest, where the fox and the hare bid each other good night, there I saw a little house, and before the house a fire was burning, and round about the fire quite a ridiculous little man was jumping: he hopped upon one leg, and shouted --

“To-day I bake, to-morrow brew,
The next I’ll have the young Queen’s child.
Ha! glad am I that no one knew
That Rumpelstiltskin I am styled.”

You may think how glad the Queen was when she heard the name! And when soon afterwards the little man came in, and asked, “Now, Mistress Queen, what is my name?” at first she said, “Is your name Conrad?” - “No.” “Is your name Harry?” - “No.” - “Perhaps your name is Rumpelstiltskin?” - “The devil has told you that! The devil has told you that!” cried the little man, and in his anger he plunged his right foot so deep into the earth that his whole leg went in; and then in rage he pulled at his left leg so hard with both hands that he tore himself in two.

✎ It is the messenger who, in the midst of the solitude of the forest, finds the little man in a place where Fox and Rabbit, two sworn enemies, salute each other. A place of timelessness and thus harmony, where external contradictions and role behaviour are void. In such a place the little man says: “I bake! I brew!” - because, as already mentioned, everything comes from nature. It is nature that basically transforms and creates everything. Man can only fit into the living work of nature and do his share.

The Queen does not get the deeper meaning of the speech, but only the message, how she does not need to keep her promise, because she wants to have her child for herself. A child that would not exist without the little man. She does not want to accept that every life belongs to nature. And so she does not want to take the next step in her spiritual development and to fill nature with life, namely with her own life. She does not see herself connected with the little man, but for her he is the enemy who wants to take something away from her personally. Is it any wonder that nature then feels cheated and angry? Those who do not want to recognize and develop, and think so selfishly, should rather not know the names of the nature spirits, so they cannot abuse them. This also reminds us of our modern science, which also seeks to understand nature with terms and categories in order to control it. Well, that’s not always good.

Accordingly, the little man’s reaction is consistent: Nature can exert wrathful powers, and human egoism, one of the devils of this world, breaks into two, what could be a harmonious and complementary unity.

A fairy tale usually ends with the victory of the good. One could say that the queen has won. From the point of view of the little man, nature has been used for stubborn purposes. And anyone who thinks about this fairy tale certainly draws different conclusions. But if you even try to think about the deeper meaning of a story, then the fairy tale certainly has a happy ending.

Mother Holle

✻ THERE was once a widow who had two daughters one of whom was pretty and industrious, whilst the other was ugly and idle. But she was much fonder of the ugly and idle one, because she was her own daughter; and the other, who was a step-daughter, was obliged to do all the work, and be the Cinderella of the house. Every day the poor girl had to sit by a well, in the highway, and spin and spin till her fingers bled.

Now it happened that one day the shuttle (original: the spindle) was marked with her blood, so she dipped it in the well, to wash the mark off; but it dropped out of her hand and fell to the bottom. She began to weep, and ran to her step-mother and told her of the mishap. But she scolded her sharply, and was so merciless as to say, “Since you have let the shuttle fall in, you must fetch it out again.” So the girl went back to the well, and did not know what to do; and in the sorrow of her heart she jumped into the well to get the shuttle.

✎ Lets have a look first at the often used drama of the stepmother, which prefers her biological daughter rather than her husband’s daughter. Do we sometimes have the feeling that nature does not treat us like a loving mother, but like a stepmother? Nature tortures and drives us constantly to laborious work, and seems to give all the happiness to others. Like the weeds, which obviously grow much easier in the garden than our crops, which require a lot of effort. There is no speaking about a father in this fairy tale. Maybe he is dead, at least he does not fulfil his role as a spiritual compensation to the nature of the mother. The external nature rules alone, and the balance seems disturbed.

The spindle, on which the life thread of fate winds, is bloody from suffering and falls into the well so that its water can purify it. We humans must follow this thread, which now disappears in the well. At first, Mother Nature seems to be ruthless and sends the maiden directly to her death. The fountain, the womb of nature, leads from the surface of the human society into the depth, into the dark essence of nature. And above all, it is the fear in our hearts that drives us on this fateful journey to follow our life thread.

✻ She lost her senses; and when she awoke and came to herself again, she was in a lovely meadow where the sun was shining and many thousands of flowers were growing. Along this meadow she went, and at last came to a baker’s oven full of bread, and the bread cried out, “Oh, take me out! Take me out or I shall burn; I have been baked a long time!” So she went up to it, and took out all the loaves one after another with the bread-shovel. After that she went on till she came to a tree covered with apples, which called out to her, “Oh, shake me! Shake me! We apples are all ripe!” So she shook the tree till the apples fell like rain, and went on shaking till they were all down, and when she had gathered them into a heap, she went on her way.

✎ The soul loses its ordinary worldly consciousness and awakens on another level. The girl comes to herself in a blissful world where the eternal sun shines and the everlasting flowers bloom. Whether this world is down or up does not seem to matter here anymore. You fall downwards and arrive upwards. Wonderful, here ends the rational intellect! And what does she find here in the deep essence of nature? That’s amazing. She finds the oven, which actually belongs to our house, and the apple tree, which stands in our fenced garden. But here she finds these things directly in the essence of nature. And she even hears the voices of nature asking her to act.

There’s a lot of truth in it, because basically it’s the nature that gives the grain and all the other ingredients and bakes the bread that humans live on. And basically it is nature that makes all the fruits grow and ripen. Not only those in the trees, but all the other fruits we reach for in life, all successes, riches and all happiness, but also suffering, illness, loss and failure. Anyone who recognizes this essence of nature could comfortably sit back and let nature do everything. And indeed, there is the danger that on this path of knowledge one will slip into lethargy and praise oneself to the skies, without paying attention to this earthly world. One may forget that man himself is part of nature and has to fulfil his task here, as well as the sun, the earth, the water, the plants and all other creatures.

And what is our job? Nature says it herself, for we can hear her voice as the creatures speak to us, as the oven asks us, and the apple tree calls us to serve diligently. Do we still hear this call of nature? Or is it drowned in the permanent call of our own desires? Nature calls us to action, so that we may reap the fruits of our deeds from the tree of life. But how? This is a big issue, which can be seen here in the fairy tale in excellent symbols. The oven, in which the breads are baked like bodies, reminds us of the birth of young children. After all, our bodies consist of food and serve food in the widest sense. Offspring is an important task in our world, and nowadays it is often put far behind. First comes the ego with the professional career, home and car, and then someday a family. The children are possibly just a “purchase” like many other things in life. Of course you can see it that way. Another possibility is to listen to the call of nature that there are many souls waiting to be born into this world. It is about more than a personal purchase, it is about life itself. Here one can serve nature in the deeper sense of a devotional sacrifice, despite all the efforts and hardships that are associated with it.

And what do the ripe apples tell us? You should pick the ripe fruits, but do not cling to them. The fruits are not yours personally. They belong to nature, and they should be left there. Leave them behind and go on! Attachment is not good. Let the whole be a whole, and do not try to separate it into ‘my’ and ‘your’. That’s a great message!

A similar message can be found in the biblical apple that Adam and Eve took in paradise. It is the grasping for the fruit that produces sin and suffering. This grasping and keeping was the reason, why the humans were thrown out of paradise and now have to fight hard for their existence. And when we sacrifice fruits or flowers in a temple or church, it is meant that the fruits of all deeds should not be personally taken, but belong to the whole, the deity. Then the whole world could be a paradise.

✻ At last she came to a little house, out of which an old woman peeped; but she had such large teeth that the girl was frightened, and was about to run away.

But the old woman called out to her, “What are you afraid of, dear child? Stay with me; if you will do all the work in the house properly, you shall be the better for it. Only you must take care to make my bed well, and shake it thoroughly till the feathers fly for then there is snow on the earth. I am Mother Holle.” As the old woman spoke so kindly to her, the girl took courage and agreed to enter her service. She attended to everything to the satisfaction of her mistress, and always shook her bed so vigorously that the feathers flew about like snow-flakes. So she had a pleasant life with her; never an angry word; and boiled or roast meat every day.

✎ The soul continues on its way and comes to the house of an old woman. That may seem very unusual to us, but there were times when everything was alive. Nature was full of spirit, imagined as living beings. They were called ghosts, elves, dwarves, gods and goddesses. And that was nothing extraordinary, but quite natural and completely normal. We can hardly imagine that today because our worldview has changed significantly in the last few centuries. That has brought us a technical revolution, but at the same time a lot of liveliness has been lost.

And so, here in the fairy tale, the soul meets the essence of nature in the form of an ancient female being, which often appears terribly to us outwardly, but is inwardly full of goodness. She asks us to be diligent and to help her fulfil her mission in the world. And we hear the wonderful message: As long as this harmony in action exists, as long as we reasonably listen to the voice of nature, we will have a good and peaceful life. We will not miss anything.

Much has been speculated about the name “Holle”. Certainly there will have been goddesses someday and somewhere, worshipped as the living essence of nature with similar or even the same name. But as always you do not know anything specific. What matters here is what role she plays in this fairy tale. And that’s reason enough to worship her as a goddess.

On a middle level of the fairy tale one can also discover the annual cycle. The girl awakens on a spring meadow, the bread is baked from summer grain, the apples are picked in autumn and in winter it is snowing when Mother Holle shakes the beds. Here, too, you can see how closely divine beings were connected to ordinary life. And you can also see that the bustling service to nature goes on all year round, in the meadows and fields, in the gardens and in the house.

✻ She stayed some time with Mother Holle, and then she became sad. At first she did not know what was the matter with her, but found at length that it was home-sickness: although she was many thousand times better off here than at home, still she had a longing to be there. At last she said to the old woman, “I have a longing for home; and however well off I am down here, I cannot stay any longer; I must go up again to my own people.” Mother Holle said, “I am pleased that you long for your home again, and as you have served me so truly, I myself will take you up again.”

✎ Now the question is: if the soul has found such a harmonious and painless life, why does she not stay there? This is another big topic that is symbolically described here with homesickness. Why does it draw the soul back to a world where she has to suffer from her stepmother, external nature and earthly worries? Well, in the Indian tradition, one speaks of karma, a guilt we carry with us from past actions. In the Christian context, it is probably the original sin.

Here in the fairy tale an exquisite symbol is used, namely the spindle, on which our life was wound like a thread, which then inevitably has to unwind again. The woven thread of life arises from bodily and mental actions, and the winding up is the personal identification with it, this strange imagination of “I” and “my”, from which a person is formed. Behind it stands the law of cause and effect. That’s nothing out of the ordinary. In classical physics one speaks of the law of energy conservation and in modern physics even of information preservation, which means that nothing can be lost in this universe, but only changed. For this reason, in our fairy tale, Mother Nature herself proclaims that it is good to return to the world. Because only there we can unwind the life thread of our karma spindle, which was previously wound up. This is the ‘homesickness’ that drives us through many years and lives harvesting our fruits until they are finally exhausted. So nature leads us on the path that is destined for us.

✻ Thereupon she took her by the hand, and led her to a large door. The door was opened, and just as the maiden was standing beneath the doorway, a heavy shower of golden rain fell, and all the gold remained sticking to her, so that she was completely covered over with it.

“You shall have that because you have been so industrious.” said Mother Holle; and at the same time she gave her back the shuttle which she had let fall into the well. Thereupon the door closed, and the maiden found herself up above upon the earth, not far from her mother’s house.

And as she went into the yard the cock was standing by the well-side, and cried:
“Cock-a-doodle-doo! Your golden girl’s come back to you!”

✎ It is spoken here of a gate, the gateway to this world. It is usually the birth from the womb that brings us into this world with a certain potential or karma. Accordingly, we experience a happy and golden life or a painful and unlucky one. The whole thing does not have to be considered too mystical. In practical terms, it is both the environment in which we are inevitably born and the backpack we bring along, which essentially shape our future lives. In this we usually have no choice, and it is called accumulated karma that determines our lives. We only have a certain choice of what kind of new fruits we put into our backpack.

In addition to physical birth, one often speaks of a second, spiritual birth in the sense of a higher knowledge or enlightenment. Such a thing could be meant here, even if the gate to the healing world is locked again, because truly, life is always progressing and still many challenges await us here. The girl is back where she came from but blessed with gold, the potential for a truly happy life.

One could also imagine that the girl actually died, spent some “time” in an ancestral world, and then was reborn with her good karma. It is important that she has developed further and now returns gilded. The rooster could mean our colourful world, loudly proclaiming its deeper nature everywhere. Therefore, he sits on the outer edge of the well, which is probably nothing more than the gate through which our girl returned to this world as a symbol of the connection with the deeper nature. Or as Goethe said: “As long as you do not have it, this die and become, you are only a gloomy guest on a dark earth.”

✻ So she went in to her mother, and as she arrived thus covered with gold, she was well received, both by her and her sister.

The girl told all that had happened to her; and as soon as the mother heard how she had come by so much wealth, she was very anxious to obtain the same good luck for the ugly and lazy daughter. She had to seat herself by the well and spin; and in order that her shuttle might be stained with blood, she stuck her hand into a thorn bush and pricked her finger. Then she threw her shuttle into the well, and jumped in after it.

She came, like the other, to the beautiful meadow and walked along the very same path. When she got to the oven the bread again cried, “Oh, take me out! Take me out! Or I shall burn; I have been baked a long time!” But the lazy thing answered, “As if I had any wish to make myself dirty?” and on she went. Soon she came to the apple-tree, which cried, “Oh, shake me! Shake me! We apples are all ripe!” But she answered, “I like that! One of you might fall on my head.” and so went on.

When she came to Mother Holle’s house she was not afraid, for she had already heard of her big teeth, and she hired herself to her immediately. The first day she forced herself to work diligently, and obeyed Mother Holle when she told her to do anything, for she was thinking of all the gold that she would give her. But on the second day she began to be lazy, and on the third day still more so, and then she would not get up in the morning at all. Neither did she make Mother Holle’s bed as she ought, and did not shake it so as to make the feathers fly up. Mother Holle was soon tired of this, and gave her notice to leave. The lazy girl was willing enough to go, and thought that now the golden rain would come. Mother Holle led her too to the great door; but while she was standing beneath it, instead of the gold a big kettleful of pitch was emptied over her. “That is the reward for your service.” said Mother Holle, and shut the door.

So the lazy girl went home; but she was quite covered with pitch, and the cock by the well-side, as soon as he saw her, cried out:
“Cock-a-doodle-doo! Your pitchy girl’s come back to you!”

But the pitch stuck fast to her, and could not be got off as long as she lived.

✎ Now comes the second part of the fairy tale. When we see that other people have become happy in some way, we quickly tend to imitate their path. Here, the soul listens to the voice of desire, to personally reach a particular goal, and to call the happiness that it sees in others it’s own. Even if such a soul goes outwardly the same way, it does not reach the same goal. Why? The girl does not have the same karma. She was not hardworking enough. Out of laziness she does not act where it would be necessary, and out of fear she does not reap the ripe fruits, though she hears the voice of nature. But another voice is much louder and drives her on the way to her selfish goal. She does not show any reverence for Mother Nature because she is intellectually predetermined. She does not serve the real mother, because she is intoxicated with pride and only thinks of her own interests. Does this sound familiar to us? In the end, instead of the hoped-for golden rain, she will end up with a pitchy rain that clings to her body a lifetime.

In German “having pitch - Pech haben” is a common expression for misfortune in life. This is obviously about the stickiness and attachment. Pitch was supposedly used in the Middle Ages to catch birds, which created the jinx or unlucky fellow - in German “the pitch bird - der Pechvogel”. Those who look deeper into themselves will realize that physical attachment and selfishness are closely related. This attachment to the illusion of “I” and “mine” and thus to the fruits of one’s own deeds becomes a major cause of personal suffering in the world, because the purity of the soul is lost by the stickiness of the mind.

Dear readers, let us therefore listen to the voice of nature as earth, forests, water, air and all other creatures speak to us and ask us to serve diligently and without greed, where it is necessary, to preserve a healthy natural balance. So every person can find his purpose in life and his place in this world.

The Story of the Youth who went forth to learn what Fear was

✻ A certain father had two sons, the elder of whom was sharp and sensible, and could do everything, but the younger was stupid and could neither learn nor understand anything, and when people saw him they said, “There’s a fellow who will give his father some trouble!” When anything had to be done, it was always the elder who was forced to do it; but if his father bade him fetch anything when it was late, or in the night-time, and the way led through the churchyard, or any other dismal place, he answered, “Oh, no, father, I’ll not go there, it makes me shudder!” for he was afraid. Or when stories were told by the fire at night which made the flesh creep, the listeners often said, “Oh, it makes us shudder!” The younger sat in a corner and listened with the rest of them, and could not imagine what they could mean. “They are always saying, it makes me shudder, it makes me shudder!’ It does not make me shudder,” thought he. “That, too, must be an art of which I understand nothing!”

✎ As the fairy tale of Mother Holle begins with a mother and two daughters, for whom the father is missing, this fairy tale begins with a father and two sons, whereby the mother is missing. This already indicates that it is less about the external nature but more about the inner mind. Also at the beginning there is an obvious contrast between the two sons. The older one was ’normal’ and the younger one was ’very strange’. He behaved completely differently than anyone else, because he lacked a little something in life - he knew no fear. And those who know no fear of neither punishment nor grief, naturally do not care about many things that seem very important to others.

Even our medicine knows such rare cases and speaks of a serious illness, because people without fear live very dangerously, because they do not avoid many perils. But our youth does not seem to be so badly off. He only wonders about this world around him. So this story is about playing with the idea of what it means to be free of fear. A condition we often wish for, but usually cannot even imagine. On the other side, it is just as hard for the boy to understand a feeling he has never experienced. The whole is a wonderful thought experiment, and the first discovery is that our youth is regarded by others as a fool.

✻ Now it came to pass that his father said to him one day, “Hearken to me, thou fellow in the corner there, thou art growing tall and strong, and thou too must learn something by which thou canst earn thy living. Look how thy brother works, but thou dost not even earn thy salt.” “Well, father,” he replied, “I am quite willing to learn something indeed, if it could but be managed, I should like to learn how to shudder. I don’t understand that at all yet.” The elder brother smiled when he heard that, and thought to himself, “Good God, what a blockhead that brother of mine is! He will never be good for anything as long as he lives! He who wants to be a sickle must bend himself betimes.” The father sighed, and answered him, “Thou shalt soon learn what it is to shudder, but thou wilt not earn thy living by that.”

✎ Here we already have the first effect of fearlessness. Our youth lacks the usual ambition to start a career and get on his way in this world, because he is not afraid of the blame of the world. He seems hopeless. Since on the question of the father, what he wants to learn in life, he chooses what he least understands around him.

His brother laughs at him, because what kind of person wants to learn something unpleasant like fear, to prosper in the world? He even sees it as a proud arrogance and recommends his younger brother to bend to the world, if he wants to be useful here. The father sighs, but sees no problem in learning to fear, because that’s what the world is for. The world will teach him anyway, but fear will not pay his life. These days, however, this is not so clear anymore, because in our market economy, you can even sell the fear. This is absurd, but business like insurances or horror movies are going great. So the second discovery is that our youth is also considered proud and arrogant.

✻ Soon after this the sexton came to the house on a visit, and the father bewailed his trouble, and told him how his younger son was so backward in every respect that he knew nothing and learnt nothing. “Just think,” said he, “when I asked him how he was going to earn his bread, he actually wanted to learn to shudder.” “If that be all,” replied the sexton, “he can learn that with me. Send him to me, and I will soon polish him.” The father was glad to do it, for he thought, “It will train the boy a little.” The sexton therefore took him into his house, and he had to ring the bell.

After a day or two, the sexton awoke him at midnight, and bade him arise and go up into the church tower and ring the bell. “Thou shalt soon learn what shuddering is,” thought he, and secretly went there before him; and when the boy was at the top of the tower and turned round, and was just going to take hold of the bell rope, he saw a white figure standing on the stairs opposite the sounding hole. “Who is there?” cried he, but the figure made no reply, and did not move or stir. “Give an answer,” cried the boy, “or take thyself off, thou hast no business here at night.”

The sexton, however, remained standing motionless that the boy might think he was a ghost. The boy cried a second time, “What dost thou want here? Speak if thou art an honest fellow, or I will throw thee down the steps!” The sexton thought, “He can’t intend to be as bad as his words.” uttered no sound and stood as if he were made of stone. Then the boy called to him for the third time, and as that was also to no purpose, he ran against him and pushed the ghost down the stairs, so that it fell down ten steps and remained lying there in a corner. Thereupon he rang the bell, went home, and without saying a word went to bed, and fell asleep. The sexton’s wife waited a long time for her husband, but he did not come back. At length she became uneasy, and wakened the boy, and asked, “Dost thou not know where my husband is? He climbed up the tower before thou didst.” “No, I don’t know,” replied the boy, “but some one was standing by the sounding hole on the other side of the steps, and as he would neither give an answer nor go away, I took him for a scoundrel, and threw him downstairs, just go there and you will see if it was he, I should be sorry if it were.” The woman ran away and found her husband, who was lying moaning in the corner, and had broken his leg.

✎ The great role that anxiety plays in our ordinary lives is shown by the many terms we use for it with a variety of nuances. It’s about respect, fear, anxiety and panic, including scare, horror, dread and dismay... Psychologists argue about the differences, but the people use these terms quite intuitively, as we do. So we would say here that our youth at least has respect, for he willingly follows his father, who now sends him into the training to the sexton, a church servant, who takes care of practical matters like a caretaker, among other things the ringing of the bell.

Well, this is about so-called education. This is a really big topic in which fear plays an essential role. If you have children, you will know this problem well. Children need their limits, they need to learn what to do and what to avoid, and here fear, in all its nuances, has a natural role to play, from respect for the parents to fear of pain, which warns of danger, so they stay close to their parents. Children without limits are fast becoming tyrants who undoubtedly do not do much good to themselves and their parents. The skill, of course, is to apply every mean reasonably in education, and to dose it carefully. Otherwise, the whole thing quickly backfires, as in our fairy tale.

To what extent this connection between sexton and ghost hints at the educational methods of ecclesiastical-secular institutions, one can only guess. Indeed, even in the Church, fear was often abused to oppress people or even to wage horrible wars, and accordingly great damage was done, which finally shattered the Church’s limbs. At least, our youth here is completely sensible in his view, feels challenged to fight, fights and even wins against an adult who has been completely surprised and overwhelmed by the boy’s reaction. Who should be blamed for this? Although the sexton meant well, the misfortune certainly did not hit him undeservedly.

✻ She carried him down, and then with loud screams she hastened to the boy’s father. “Your boy,” cried she, “has been the cause of a great misfortune! He has thrown my husband down the steps and made him break his leg. Take the good-for-nothing fellow away from our house.” The father was terrified, and ran thither and scolded the boy. “What wicked tricks are these?” said he, “The devil must have put this into thy head.” “Father,” he replied, “do listen to me. I am quite innocent. He was standing there by night like one who is intending to do some evil. I did not know who it was, and I entreated him three times either to speak or to go away.” “Ah,” said the father, “I have nothing but unhappiness with thee. Go out of my sight. I will see thee no more.”

“Yes, father,” (the youth answered) right willingly, “wait only until it is day. Then will I go forth and learn how to shudder, and then I shall, at any rate, understand one art which will support me.” “Learn what thou wilt,” spake the father, “it is all the same to me. Here are fifty thalers for thee. Take these and go into the wide world, and tell no one from whence thou comest, and who is thy father, for I have reason to be ashamed of thee.” “Yes, father, it shall be as you will. If you desire nothing more than that, I can easily keep it in mind.”

✎ But of course, who would agree with the boy here and say, “You did well!”? With this we come to the third discovery that our youth is even considered evil, which at that time was closely connected with the devil, the embodiment of evil. This ends in a kind of banishment, the father renounces his son and sends him away. But our youth also seems to have no problem with leaving his home and family. He likes to follow his father and does not blame him for this grave reproach. Here we see already a strange simplicity, about which we want to talk later. He readily embraces the challenges of the world and hopes one day to learn what people around him understand as “fear”.

✻ When day dawned, therefore, the boy put his fifty thalers into his pocket, and went forth on the great highway, and continually said to himself, “If I could but shudder! If I could but shudder!” Then a man approached who heard this conversation which the youth was holding with himself, and when they had walked a little farther to where they could see the gallows, the man said to him, “Look, there is the tree where seven men have married the ropemaker’s daughter, and are now learning how to fly. Sit down below it, and wait till night comes, and thou wilt soon learn how to shudder.” “If that is all that is wanted,” answered the youth, “it is easily done; but if I learn how to shudder as quickly as that, thou shalt have my fifty thalers. Just come back to me early in the morning.” Then the youth went to the gallows, sat down below it, and waited till evening came. And as he was cold, he lighted himself a fire, but at midnight the wind blew so sharply that in spite of his fire, he could not get warm. And as the wind knocked the hanged men against each other, and they moved backwards and forwards, he thought to himself, “Thou shiverest below by the fire, but how those up above must freeze and suffer!” And as he felt pity for them, he raised the ladder, and climbed up, unbound one of them after the other, and brought down all seven.

Then he stirred the fire, blew it, and set them all round it to warm themselves. But they sat there and did not stir, and the fire caught their clothes. So he said, “Take care, or I will hang you up again.” The dead men, however, did not hear, but were quite silent, and let their rags go on burning. On this he grew angry, and said, “If you will not take care, I cannot help you, I will not be burnt with you.” and he hung them up again each in his turn. Then he sat down by his fire and fell asleep, and next morning the man came to him and wanted to have the fifty thalers, and said, “Well, dost thou know how to shudder?” “No,” answered he, “how was I to get to know? Those fellows up there did not open their mouths, and were so stupid that they let the few old rags which they had on their bodies get burnt.” Then the man saw that he would not carry away the fifty thalers that day, and went away saying, “One of this kind has never come in my way before.”

✎ One big fear we usually carry around with us is the fear of death. This fear was an important instrument to keep people within the limits of law. Those who crossed these borders had to face the death penalty and usually ended up at the gallows, where one was hung up with the ropemaker’s daughter, the rope, and dangled in the wind. And it was important that everyone could see this punishment, to be deterred from further misdeeds. But even here, our youth is not afraid, even death does not scare him. Actually, he does not seem to understand what “death” means. He treats the dead like the living and blames them because they are not careful enough about the fire. And surely, if they had been more careful in life, they probably would not have come to this end.

He also does not seem to be overly attached to his money because he is prepared to give everything away, just as he was willing to leave his family and his father’s house behind. That would then be the fourth discovery, that our youth knows no attachment.

✻ The youth likewise went his way, and once more began to mutter to himself, “Ah, if I could but shudder! Ah, if I could but shudder!” A waggoner who was striding behind him heard that and asked, “Who art thou?” “I don’t know.” answered the youth. Then the waggoner asked, “From whence comest thou?” “I know not.” “Who is thy father?” “That I may not tell thee.” “What is it that thou art always muttering between thy teeth?” “Ah,” replied the youth, “I do so wish I could shudder, but no one can teach me how to do it.”

✎ Now it gets even more interesting. Our youth does not know who he is and where he comes from. Does he not have a name? Is he not following a path? Is he not a person? Even though he only follows his father’s command, let’s be honest: Can we imagine what we would be without an ego, without this imaginary “me”, this strange personality with character, name and address? For ordinary people like us, this is just as incomprehensible as fear and death are unimaginable for our youth.

At this point the story reminds us less of a terrible disease, than rather of the unbelievable reports of people who have achieved the so-called liberation or salvation of which the great religions speak. What are they freed from? From the illusion of the imaginary ego, and thus from the shackles of this world, from death, fear, attachment and sin or karma. Such people have always been very rare, and some of them seem to have received this great freedom as if they were accidentally buying a ticket and winning the lotto jackpot. At first, they are very surprised at what happened to them and cannot understand it themselves.

Two examples that we know about in our time are Eckhart Tolle and Dadaji. But surely, there are more in this world, but not every one of them became a famous teacher. And if this rare event occurs while still being a child, then perhaps we have a situation as in this fairy tale. Even at old age, such people still have what is called the pure simplicity that has already been mentioned. And here we come back to the four discoveries mentioned above, namely that their wisdom often seems like useless stupidity to others, and often they are even called proud, arrogant and vicious and get strangely insulted, because their nature seems so alien. They react unexpectedly, for they are free from worldly attachment, desire, hate and passion, and united with a higher truth. Only therefore they can allow themselves to live in this world without fear, which is otherwise necessary to set natural limits to our selfish inclinations. Therefore it is quite normal that other people, who have no access to this spiritual level, do not know what they are talking about.

✻ “Give up thy foolish chatter.” said the waggoner. “Come, go with me, I will see about a place for thee.” The youth went with the waggoner, and in the evening they arrived at an inn where they wished to pass the night. Then at the entrance of the room the youth again said quite loudly, “If I could but shudder! If I could but shudder!” The host who heard that, laughed and said, “If that is your desire, there ought to be a good opportunity for you here.” “Ah, be silent,” said the hostess, “so many inquisitive persons have already lost their lives, it would be a pity and a shame if such beautiful eyes as these should never see the daylight again.”

But the youth said, “However difficult it may be, I will learn it, and for this purpose indeed have I journeyed forth.” He let the host have no rest, until the latter told him, that not far from thence stood a haunted castle where any one could very easily learn what shuddering was, if he would but watch in it for three nights. The King had promised that he who would venture should have his daughter to wife, and she was the most beautiful maiden the sun shone on. Great treasures likewise lay in the castle, which were guarded by evil spirits, and these treasures would then be freed, and would make a poor man rich enough. Already many men had gone into the castle, but as yet none had come out again. Then the youth went next morning to the King, and said that if he were allowed he would watch three nights in the enchanted castle. The King looked at him, and as the youth pleased him, he said, “Thou mayest ask for three things to take into the castle with thee, but they must be things without life.” Then he answered, “Then I ask for a fire, a turning lathe, and a cutting-board with the knife.”

✎ The story continues full of wonderful symbols. A waggoner brings him to a host. His wife recognizes in the eyes of the boy already something special, maybe an unusual shine. And the host speaks of a castle in which there are incomparable treasures guarded by evil spirits. Could this be our body? Our dark spirits are certainly familiar to us, but what is the big treasure inside? And why is it so hard to leave this physical castle alive again? Of course, there is also a king of the castle, and those who pass the test win his daughter together with the royal dignity.

Here one could symbolically think of the soul that dwells in the body, of the pure spirit who flees from his castle, because there reign the spooky illusions. And the pure nature is the king’s daughter, with which the soul can reunite, if it has turned inward and defeated the spooky illusions. The three famous days of the test are then probably three years or even three decades in life. But time does not matter, because the journey is the goal. Thus, what follows is not only a description of how a fearless person can act, but also, probably, a way to approach even this spiritual level of fearlessness. The whole is described with many symbols and begins with the three useful tools for the path that leads into our inner world.

✻ The King had these things carried into the castle for him during the day. When night was drawing near, the youth went up and made himself a bright fire in one of the rooms, placed the cutting-board and knife beside it, and seated himself by the turning-lathe. “Ah, if I could but shudder!” said he, “But I shall not learn it here either.” Towards midnight he was about to poke his fire, and as he was blowing it, something cried suddenly from one corner, “Au, miau! How cold we are!” “You simpletons!” cried he, “What are you crying about? If you are cold, come and take a seat by the fire and warm yourselves.” And when he had said that, two great black cats came with one tremendous leap and sat down on each side of him, and looked savagely at him with their fiery eyes. After a short time, when they had warmed themselves, they said, “Comrade, shall we have a game at cards?” “Why not?” he replied, “But just show me your paws.” Then they stretched out their claws. “Oh,” said he, “what long nails you have! Wait, I must first cut them a little for you.” Thereupon he seized them by the throats, put them on the cutting-board and screwed their feet fast. “I have looked at your fingers,” said he, “and my fancy for card-playing has gone.” and he struck them dead and threw them out into the water.

But when he had made away with these two, and was about to sit down again by his fire, out from every hole and corner came black cats and black dogs with red-hot chains, and more and more of them came until he could no longer stir, and they yelled horribly, and got on his fire, pulled it to pieces, and wanted to put it out. He watched them for a while quietly, but at last when they were going too far, he seized his cutting-knife, and cried, “Away with ye, vermin.” and began to cut them down. Part of them ran away, the others he killed, and threw out into the fish-pond. When he came back he blew up the embers of his fire again and warmed himself.

✎ If night falls outside, our senses are more and more directed inwards, towards our spiritual world. Here you make yourself a bright fire, which gives the warmth of life and also the light to recognize something. Then you keep your tools ready, sit on the lathe and wait in full mindfulness, which is also called meditation. The lathe is a wonderful symbol here. To sit in meditation is to turn your head round and balance the opposites, so that the thoughts might not bump into something and get stuck everywhere, but can flow freely.

When the night was deepest and the fire, that is, the mindfulness, was neatly stoked again, two black cats appeared with fiery eyes, seeking the warmth of life. And when they felt well and alive, they wanted to play. But you should not play with such cats, because they have sharp claws and probably symbolize here wilfulness and deception, so the illusion (as you can read in the fairy tale “cat and mouse in partnership”). That’s the biggest obstacle on the spiritual path to liberation. The illusion binds us to this world and is the cause of fear and death. And anyone who has ever tried to defeat the illusion knows how sneaky it is. If one is slain, the next ones come in the form of endless thoughts from some holes of the mind. We have so many dark beings in us, and next to the black cats, the black dogs come out of desire and hate, who bark at us and pull on their chains so much that they are already glowing. Now it is time to use the tools, the clever means to ward off the spirits.

The carving bench is also an exquisite symbol. What do you do with it? You tuck in the raw wood and shape it with a knife. The same thing happens in mediation when one tries to transform the forms of the mind like a skilled craftsman. That works, and with some practice, many a nightmare can be transformed into peace, some hatred in love and some failure into success. It works because it has to do with illusion, and illusion can be changed into everything. That’s certainly a big help in life.

But the night is not over yet. Those who try will soon see the power with which new thoughts and illusions come and try to divert the focus, dispel or even quench the fire of mindfulness. You might equally look at it for a while, and then you should react, fight and, if possible, win and return to collect the remnants of the mindfulness and make it blaze up again. The best way to fight is with the famous Sword of Knowledge, and put the corpses back into the water. That is amazing. What could be meant by this water, the moat around the castle and the pond? Surely, those who seek spiritual struggle should not leave corpses behind, because at some point everything will come to life again. So they are best given back to nature, where they belong, into the water, from which our life originated, or even into this mystical sea of the mind, from which everything arises. In this way you bring everything back to its source.

✻ And as he thus sat, his eyes would keep open no longer, and he felt a desire to sleep. Then he looked round and saw a great bed in the corner. “That is the very thing for me.” said he, and got into it. When he was just going to shut his eyes, however, the bed began to move of its own accord, and went over the whole of the castle. “That’s right,” said he, “but go faster.” Then the bed rolled on as if six horses were harnessed to it, up and down, over thresholds and steps, but suddenly hop, hop, it turned over upside down, and lay on him like a mountain. But he threw quilts and pillows up in the air, got out and said, “Now any one who likes, may drive.” and lay down by his fire, and slept till it was day. In the morning the King came, and when he saw him lying there on the ground, he thought the spirits had killed him and he was dead. Then said he, “After all it is a pity, he is a handsome man.” The youth heard it, got up, and said, “It has not come to that yet.” Then the King was astonished, but very glad, and asked how he had fared. “Very well indeed,” answered he; “one night is over, the two others will get over likewise.” Then he went to the innkeeper, who opened his eyes very wide, and said, “I never expected to see thee alive again! Hast thou learnt how to shudder yet?” “No,” said he, “it is all in vain. If some one would but tell me!”

✎ Even with all mindfulness, at some point sleep comes. The symbolism reminds us of a dream that takes us away and makes us wander around. Our youth is relaxed and watches, how he is carried away. What would he have to fear? Only if it goes too far, because everything reverses and oppresses him, then he shakes off the dream and lies down again on his fire of mindfulness, until it becomes day.

Another interpretation would be how comfortable things actually affect our lives, from which we expect all our happiness in life. It all goes well for a while, and then, alley-opp! they turn upside down and come at us. It is said that with all the luxury we quickly lose the ground under our feet, the grounding in nature and the fire of mindfulness. As much as modern technology helps us, it also brings us attachment, restlessness and suffering. And often we mistake the wild back and forth of this hectic world with the liveliness of life. Who does not whirl around, is regarded as dead or at least boring, and you hear, “It’s a pity about his life!” Gandhi is said to have said once: “There is more to life, than increasing its speed.”

✻ The second night he again went up into the old castle, sat down by the fire, and once more began his old song, “If I could but shudder!” When midnight came, an uproar and noise of tumbling about was heard; at first it was low, but it grew louder and louder. Then it was quiet for awhile, and at length with a loud scream, half a man came down the chimney and fell before him. “Hollo!” cried he, “another half belongs to this. This is too little!” Then the uproar began again, there was a roaring and howling, and the other half fell down likewise. “Wait,” said he, “I will just blow up the fire a little for thee.” When he had done that and looked round again, the two pieces were joined together, and a frightful man was sitting in his place. “That is no part of our bargain,” said the youth, “the bench is mine.” The man wanted to push him away; the youth, however, would not allow that, but thrust him off with all his strength, and seated himself again in his own place.

✎ And it goes on in search of the fear within us. We already know the chimney from other fairy tales. It reminds us of soot and darkness, smoke and fog - a good source for the illusion. From this appears half a man. It is said that another great obstacle on the way to freedom from fear and death is thinking in opposites, such as hot and cold, good and evil, mine and yours, death and life. It is the nature of our intellect to distinguish and separate. And then we rack our brains, how we can put the parts back together into a whole that we have artificially separated before. The story reminds us also of a ghost-curse, that some beings must err in two halves through the world, until someone puts them together again, so that the spook ends. And with the joining together, life comes back where there were two dead ghost parts before.

The present symbolism is very interesting. The being that our youth unites and brings back to life now seems to press him. This danger always exists that our self-created beings displace our true essence within. Self-created are the roles we play in life (e.g. manager today and nursing case tomorrow), and also this weird ego, who appears as an independent being and is confronted with the rest of the world instead of being in harmony with it. In the worst case, even the ego begins to meditate. Well, our youth does not allow the ghost to oppress him. Why, when he is not afraid? He keeps his mindfulness and knows that it is nature that brings forth all creatures. Nature, mind and life are a whole. All the opposing parts that we see, seize and put into individual categories, certainly have their job and are useful for our daily life. But in truth, everything is connected and nothing can fall out of this whole.

✻ Then still more men fell down, one after the other; they brought nine dead men’s legs and two skulls, and set them up and played at nine-pins with them. The youth also wanted to play and said, “Hark you, can I join you?” “Yes, if thou hast any money.” “Money enough,” replied he, “but your balls are not quite round.” Then he took the skulls and put them in the lathe and turned them till they were round. “There, now, they will roll better!” said he. “Hurrah! now it goes merrily!” He played with them and lost some of his money, but when it struck twelve, everything vanished from his sight. He lay down and quietly fell asleep. Next morning the King came to enquire after him. “How has it fared with thee this time?” asked he. “I have been playing at nine-pins,” he answered, “and have lost a couple of farthings.” “Hast thou not shuddered then?” “Eh, what?” said he, “I have made merry. If I did but know what it was to shudder!”

✎ Now we come to a sensitive topic, the piety. Playing with human bones and bowling with skulls would certainly not be a problem for children. But many adults do not even dare to think about their deaths. To regard death and life as a game usually meets the toughest protest: “That’s a serious thing!” Yes, it certainly is for many people and often even a taboo, and there is something in it. But hereby, the opposites harden in our thoughts, and there is a great source of fear, the so-called mortal fear: “I will lose my life!” Eckhart Tolle asked: “How can you lose your life? Who are you? And what is your life?” Life is nothing you can own or possess. You are the one life, it can only change on the surface but never get lost.

Well, anyone who wants to overcome the fear of death someday, should play with these thoughts. In order that the heads do not bump so much and roll without obstacles and attachment, it is good to turn them round and round. Then the bowl rolls by itself, and when all the nine fall, death is defeated with death. This is a symbolism that you can certainly think about for a long time. Of course, you lose something of worldly possessions, but the spook disappears along with the inner fear that worries us so much.

✻ The third night he sat down again on his bench and said quite sadly, “If I could but shudder.” When it grew late, six tall men came in and brought a coffin. Then said he, “Ha, ha, that is certainly my little cousin, who only died a few days ago.” and he beckoned with his finger, and cried, “Come, little cousin, come.” They placed the coffin on the ground, but he went to it and took the lid off, and a dead man lay therein. He felt his face, but it was cold as ice. “Stop,” said he, “I will warm thee a little.” and went to the fire and warmed his hand and laid it on the dead man’s face, but he remained cold. Then he took him out, and sat down by the fire and laid him on his breast and rubbed his arms that the blood might circulate again. As this also did no good, he thought to himself, “When two people lie in bed together, they warm each other.” and carried him to the bed, covered him over and lay down by him. After a short time the dead man became warm too, and began to move. Then said the youth, “See, little cousin, have I not warmed thee?” The dead man, however, got up and cried, “Now will I strangle thee.”

“What!” said he, “is that the way thou thankest me? Thou shalt at once go into thy coffin again.” and he took him up, threw him into it, and shut the lid. Then came the six men and carried him away again. “I cannot manage to shudder,” said he. “I shall never learn it here as long as I live.”

✎ This is symbolism at its best! Six men bring in a corpse. Is it perhaps the five senses and the thinking that also carry death into our inner being? Our fearless hero does not see anything strange in it. He even feels very close to the dead and tries everything to give life to this cold body. And he succeeds. But what does the dead do? He wants to kill and reaches for death. This is the reason, why he had to die, therefore he’s a dead man. That’s the law of cause and effect. He has nothing to do with this realm of truth and life and so he comes back into the coffin, and as he came in he goes out again. Still no reason to be scared.

✻ Then a man entered who was taller than all others, and looked terrible. He was old, however, and had a long white beard. “Thou wretch,” cried he, “thou shalt soon learn what it is to shudder, for thou shalt die.” “Not so fast,” replied the youth. “If I am to die, I shall have to be present.” “I will soon seize thee,” said the fiend. “Softly, softly, do not talk so big. I am as strong as thou art, and perhaps even stronger.” “We shall see,” said the old man. “If thou art stronger, I will let thee go—come, we will try.” Then he led him by dark passages to a smith’s forge, took an axe, and with one blow struck an anvil into the ground. “I can do that better still.” said the youth, and went to the other anvil. The old man placed himself near and wanted to look on, and his white beard hung down. Then the youth seized the axe, split the anvil with one blow, and struck the old man’s beard in with it. “Now I have thee,” said the youth. “now it is thou who wilt have to die.” Then he seized an iron bar and beat the old man till he moaned and entreated him to stop, and he would give him great riches. The youth drew out the axe and let him go. The old man led him back into the castle, and in a cellar showed him three chests full of gold. “Of these,” said he, “one part is for the poor, the other for the king, the third is thine.” In the meantime it struck twelve, and the spirit disappeared; the youth, therefore, was left in darkness. “I shall still be able to find my way out,” said he, and felt about, found the way into the room, and slept there by his fire. Next morning the King came and said, “Now thou must have learnt what shuddering is?” “No,” he answered; “what can it be? My dead cousin was here, and a bearded man came and showed me a great deal of money down below, but no one told me what it was to shudder.” “Then,” said the King, “thou hast delivered the castle, and shalt marry my daughter.” “That is all very well,” said he, “but still I do not know what it is to shudder!”

✎ Who is this old man? A giant, a blacksmith with a long, white beard. And what is he forging? The fate, the world or even the chains that bind us to this world. He challenges our youth to a fight to the death. Wow, that far you have to come! But he answers: “Should I die, I must be present.” This is a huge sentence, that might really give you food for thoughts. The reverse would be: “If I’m not here personally, than I cannot die.” The only problem is the personal attachment of “I”.

Well, dark passages lead deep inside, where the mystical forge fire burns, from which everything is created. Equally mystical is the contest of who can struck the anvil farthest into the earth, like a nail in the wood. The old blacksmith shows his full power of nature and sinks the anvil at a single blow. Well, if we want to compete with these forces of nature, then of course we should use what makes us humans so powerful, namely the spiritual power. The symbolism of how to forge a sword, which eventually even splits the anvil on which it was forged, reminds us of the ancient Germanic myths of Siegfried and the blacksmith Regin. In our fairy tale it is an axe and in spiritual terms we speak of the sharp Sword of Knowledge that can penetrate into everything, even the hardest.

The anvil breaks and pinches the beard of the giant. This too is an old symbolism that we also find in “Snow White and Rose Red”. The beard seems to be a weak point of mighty beings, just as one can tame a wild bull by the nose-ring. Our youth also wins this last fight and is richly rewarded, but without promoting the ego. He finds his way back to his fire and sleeps peacefully until daylight. Still he could not find what people call fear.

✻ Then the gold was brought up and the wedding celebrated; but howsoever much the young King loved his wife, and however happy he was, he still said always, “If I could but shudder - if I could but shudder.” And at last the young queen was angry at this. Her waiting-maid said, “I will find a cure for him; he shall soon learn what it is to shudder.” She went out to the stream which flowed through the garden, and had a whole bucketful of gudgeons brought to her. At night when the young King was sleeping, his wife was to draw the clothes off him and empty the bucketful of cold water with the gudgeons in it over him, so that the little fishes would sprawl about him. When this was done, he woke up and cried, “Oh, what makes me shudder so?—what makes me shudder so, dear wife? Ah! now I know what it is to shudder!”

✎ The last picture of the ten ox herding pictures of Zen Buddhism, which are describing the spiritual path, shows the return to the world. So our youth marries the king’s daughter and deservedly becomes a young king in the world as well. This finally brings the female influence back into the game. He associates with nature, and so he learns that all the horror, fear and death that people like to talk about belong only to the external or the surface of the world. For verily, who attentively looks with the eye of truth into his inner being, will not find any fear. It is only our sensory impressions and thought constructions that come true to us. A wonderful fairy tale, and maybe we now know what shuddering is!

Little Red-Cap

✻ Once upon a time there was a dear little girl who was loved by every one who looked at her, but most of all by her grandmother, and there was nothing that she would not have given to the child. Once she gave her a little cap of red velvet, which suited her so well that she would never wear anything else; so she was always called ’Little Red-Cap.’

One day her mother said to her, “Come, Little Red-Cap, here is a piece of cake and a bottle of wine; take them to your grandmother, she is ill and weak, and they will do her good. Set out before it gets hot, and when you are going, walk nicely and quietly and do not run off the path, or you may fall and break the bottle, and then your grandmother will get nothing; and when you go into her room, don’t forget to say, ’Good-morning,’ and don’t peep into every corner before you do it.” “I will take great care.” said Little Red-Cap to her mother, and gave her hand on it.

✎ There is hardly a fairy tale that is as odd and illogical in its pure action as that of Little Red Cap, maybe better known as Red Riding Hood. Why does the girl know the wolf and yet does not know that he is dangerous? Why does the wolf ask about grandma’s dwelling place, where even Little Red Cap already knows that he knows it well? Why doesn’t he eat the girl first and afterwards the grandmother? How can a wolf swallow a whole person and is still not full? Why does he wear this strange disguise for Little Red Cap? Why does not the wolf wake up when his belly is cut open and why does he fall dead from a few rocks in the womb...? So many inconsistencies, and yet it is one of the most famous and well-known fairy tales that people keep and tell to this day. There must be something meaningful behind it!

That is exactly the fascination of our fairy tales. Such questions lead us to deeper and deeper levels. Even for the smallest children, Little Red Cap is a good lesson to follow the mother, to be careful in the forest and not to get off the track, where the wild animals live, but also to find the trust that there is always help and in the end everything will be fine. On a middle level you can see again the cycle of the seasons, when the wolf as a symbol of the winter swallows the warming sun and the greening nature, which then emerge again in spring. But the deeper level becomes really interesting:

The fact that the grandmother lives in the forest reminds us of the Great Mother, the nature. And who is loved so much by nature that she gives her everything she desires? It is the living soul, which is enveloped in love from the beginning. Nature even gives her a personality, here in the form of a cap in the colour of love and activity, with which the little soul becomes something special, she identifies with it and even gets a name from it. Only the soul lives in the village and the Great Mother in the forest, so the two are separated, although they love each other very much and cling to each other. This makes nature weak and sick, which the mother, wisdom, recognizes. She ensures that the two come together again and the soul even brings a gift, so food for nature. The wisdom also admonishes the pure soul, which is inexperienced in secular intrigues, not to stray from the right path, to advance straight to the essence of nature and not to be distracted, because the Little Red Cap is not to look curiously into the corners. Also, she should carefully guard the offering for nature, so not to break the bottle out of carelessness.

✻ The grandmother lived out in the wood, half a league from the village, and just as Little Red-Cap entered the wood, a wolf met her. Red-Cap did not know what a wicked creature he was, and was not at all afraid of him.

“Good-day, Little Red-Cap.” said he.
“Thank you kindly, wolf.”
“Whither away so early, Little Red-Cap?”
“To my grandmother’s.”
“What have you got in your apron?”
“Cake and wine; yesterday was baking-day, so poor sick grandmother is to have something good, to make her stronger.”
“Where does your grandmother live, Little Red-Cap?”
“A good quarter of a league farther on in the wood; her house stands under the three large oak-trees, the nut-bushes are just below; you surely must know it.” replied Little Red-Cap.

✎ The cake used to be a special food. Not easy to prepare and provided with many precious ingredients: honey as the first and often only sweetener, dried fruit and nuts for substance and even more sweetness, flour, fat and valuable, even healing spices - in other words, the whole wealth of nature was baked into a cake. Wine is also produced by a fermentation process that is not easy to control. It gives a different kind of sweetness and, if enjoyed in small quantities, grants strength, in large quantities rather drunkenness. Are here sweetness and drunkenness meant for physical and mental bliss and strength, the symbols of giving nature?

The grandmother lives among oaks and hazelnuts. The oak has always been a sacred tree that stands for power and strength. And the hazelnut grants fertility. These are also the basic characteristics of the Great Mother Nature: power and fertility.

✻ The wolf thought to himself, “What a tender young creature! What a nice plump mouthful; she will be better to eat than the old woman. I must act craftily, so as to catch both.” So he walked for a short time by the side of Little Red-Cap, and then he said, “See, Little Red-Cap, how pretty the flowers are about here why do you not look round? I believe, too, that you do not hear how sweetly the little birds are singing; you walk gravely along as if you were going to school, while everything else out here in the wood is merry.”

Little Red-Cap raised her eyes, and when she saw the sunbeams dancing here and there through the trees, and pretty flowers growing everywhere, she thought, “Suppose I take grandmother a fresh nosegay; that would please her too. It is so early in the day that I shall still get there in good time.” and so she ran from the path into the wood to look for flowers. And whenever she had picked one, she fancied that she saw a still prettier one farther on, and ran after it, and so got deeper and deeper into the wood.

✎ What does the wolf stand for in this fairy tale? Probably for insatiable hunger, a demon that inevitably attracts greed and thus malice. He deviously awakens first curiosity and then even desire in the still inexperienced soul. Although Little Red Cap thinks she is doing something good for her grandmother, her true motivation is desire. And one can hardly describe the desire even better: Desire makes us run after beautiful flowers, and those we have just picked are not enough for us, because the next, which we have not yet, seems to us much more beautiful now... And so we run and run after our wishes and never get enough. In doing so, we are getting further and further away from the path of moderation and virtue. That really makes the wolfish appetite really strong.

But why does the wolf have to swallow the grandmother before he can eat the girl? The Great Mother will always protect us. There is an extension at the end of this fairy tale in which this becomes clear. Another time the Little Red Cap goes to the grandmother, is again threatened by a wolf, but remains on the right path and makes it safely to the house of the grandmother. There the soul, the Little Red Cap, acts according to the advice of the Great Mother, and the wolf who besieges the house is defeated, before he can get too close to the girl and her grandmother.

✻ Meanwhile the wolf ran straight to the grandmother’s house and knocked at the door. “Who is there?” - “Little Red-Cap,” replied the wolf. “She is bringing cake and wine; open the door.” - “Lift the latch,” called out the grandmother, “I am too weak, and cannot get up.”

The wolf lifted the latch, the door flew open, and without saying a word he went straight to the grandmother’s bed, and devoured her. Then he put on her clothes, dressed himself in her cap, laid himself in bed and drew the curtains.

✎ Without the mindful, living soul that is right now distracted by passion, the house is unprotected, and the weak nature can be devoured by the eager hunger demon, mentally and physically. Like so many plants and animals have disappeared from our earth in the belly of the wolf under our greedy and ruthless methods of agriculture and factory farming. The greed even disguises itself as nature, only to continue to live and to eat and not to be recognized. It hides in our human nature with all the physical sense and action organs and also deep in our thoughts.

✻ Little Red-Cap, however, had been running about picking flowers, and when she had gathered so many that she could carry no more, she remembered her grandmother, and set out on the way to her.

She was surprised to find the cottage-door standing open, and when she went into the room, she had such a strange feeling that she said to herself, “Oh dear! how uneasy I feel to-day, and at other times I like being with grandmother so much.” She called out, “Good morning,” but received no answer; so she went to the bed and drew back the curtains. There lay her grandmother with her cap pulled far over her face, and looking very strange.

“Oh grandmother,” she said, “what big ears you have!”
“The better to hear you with, my child.” was the reply.
“But, grandmother, what big eyes you have!” she said.
“The better to see you with, my dear.”
“But, grandmother, what large hands you have!”
“The better to hug you with.”
“Oh but, grandmother, what a terrible big mouth you have!”
“The better to eat you with!”

And scarcely had the wolf said this, than with one bound he was out of bed and swallowed up Red-Cap.

✎ Only when we cannot stand it anymore, we stop the passionate collecting of everything that seems desirable to us. The German word for “passion” is “Leidenschaft” and clearly shows its own nature: after a short enjoyment, it creates (“schaffen”) suffering (“Leiden”). So our Little Red Cap does not even stop picking flowers until she can no longer carry the bouquet. In the vicinity of the Great Mother she becomes more conscious again, because now the distraction is fading a little. But why can’t she recognize the wolf in sheep’s clothing? Because she is more attached to the senses and not to the mind. She asks for eyes, ears, mouth and hands, because one can receive and hold something very well with them - again the desire is the priority. Only because this greedy wolf has previously devoured nature with the organs of sense and action, he can devour even the pure soul, otherwise he would have no power over it.

✻ When the wolf had appeased his appetite, he lay down again in the bed, fell asleep and began to snore very loud. The huntsman was just passing the house, and thought to himself, “How the old woman is snoring! I must just see if she wants anything.” So he went into the room, and when he came to the bed, he saw that the wolf was lying in it. “Do I find thee here, thou old sinner!” said he. “I have long sought thee!” Then just as he was going to fire at him, it occurred to him that the wolf might have devoured the grandmother, and that she might still be saved, so he did not fire, but took a pair of scissors, and began to cut open the stomach of the sleeping wolf. When he had made two snips, he saw the little Red-Cap shining, and then he made two snips more, and the little girl sprang out, crying, “Ah, how frightened I have been! How dark it was inside the wolf;” and after that the aged grandmother came out alive also, but scarcely able to breathe. Red-Cap, however, quickly fetched great stones with which they filled the wolf’s body, and when he awoke, he wanted to run away, but the stones were so heavy that he fell down at once, and fell dead.

✎ Who comes as a saviour when nature is in need? The consciousness. If the female stands for nature, then the male stands for the spirit, and both always belong together. So far, we were surrounded only by female beings, so now the balance is restored by the appearance of the hunter. And what is the task of consciousness? It should look carefully inside, recognize and intervene. Our hunter does his duty by not shooting the wolf, but cutting it open. First, he sees the red cap. This is the first layer that can be seen by looking inward. It is the personality, the ego-consciousness. If you look deeper, the soul itself shows up, and even more deeply the essence of nature. By looking at them without judging them, one frees them. So Little Red Cap and her grandmother jump out alive, because they cannot actually die, only temporarily disappear and change.

Why does the wolf, the greedy hunger, die of a few stones in the stomach? Well, maybe because he is no longer filled with life, and without life he can have no effect. Greed needs appropriate food, otherwise it dies. And that’s probably the way we can defeat the hungry demon in life. He lives on transitory things, and as long as he is provided with them, he remains strong and hungry. But what are those stones that fill the greedy demon’s stomach but are completely indigestible? That would have to be something eternal and imperishable. Maybe this is the solution. But it is very hard to find this eternal in our transient and fast changing world. Nevertheless, our fairy tale clearly states: It is the task of the soul to fetch the heavy stones, to toil, to overcome the greedy hunger with the help of the hunter, and to preserve Mother Nature.

✻ Then all three were delighted. The huntsman drew off the wolf’s skin and went home with it; the grandmother ate the cake and drank the wine which Red-Cap had brought, and revived, but Red-Cap thought to herself, “As long as I live, I will never by myself leave the path, to run into the wood, when my mother has forbidden me to do so.”

✎ If greed is defeated, it is truly a cause for joy. It was done in cooperation of nature and mind, man and woman - just as everything can be done in this cooperation. Since the soul has finally arrived at the Great Mother Nature, the gifts can strengthen and make her healthy again. And the soul has finally learned to follow the benevolent mother’s wisdom, even if all sorts of temptations crop up in the jungle of the world at any time. Well, that’s really a happy ending.

✻ It is also related that once when Red-Cap was again taking cakes to the old grandmother, another wolf spoke to her, and tried to entice her from the path. Red-Cap, was, however, on her guard, and went straight forward on her way, and told her grandmother that she had met the wolf, and that he had said “good-morning” to her, but with such a wicked look in his eyes, that if they had not been on the public road she was certain he would have eaten her up. “Well,” said the grandmother, “we will shut the door, that he may not come in.” Soon afterwards the wolf knocked, and cried, “Open the door, grandmother, I am little Red-Cap, and am fetching you some cakes.” But they did not speak, or open the door, so the grey-beard stole twice or thrice round the house, and at last jumped on the roof, intending to wait until Red-Cap went home in the evening, and then to steal after her and devour her in the darkness. But the grandmother saw what was in his thoughts. In front of the house was a great stone trough, so she said to the child, “Take the pail, Red-Cap; I made some sausages yesterday, so carry the water in which I boiled them to the trough.” Red-Cap carried until the great trough was quite full. Then the smell of the sausages reached the wolf, and he sniffed and peeped down, and at last stretched out his neck so far that he could no longer keep his footing and began to slip, and slipped down from the roof straight into the great trough, and was drowned. But Red-Cap went joyously home, and never did anything to harm any one.

Hans in Luck

✻ Hans had served his master for seven years, so he said to him, “Master, my time is up; now I should be glad to go back home to my mother; give me my wages.” The master answered, “You have served me faithfully and honestly; as the service was so shall the reward be.” and he gave Hans a piece of gold as big as his head. Hans pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket, wrapped up the lump in it, put it on his shoulder, and set out on the way home.

As he went on, always putting one foot before the other, he saw a horseman trotting quickly and merrily by on a lively horse. “Ah!” said Hans quite loud, “What a fine thing it is to ride! There you sit as on a chair; you stumble over no stones, you save your shoes, and get on, you don’t know how.” The rider, who had heard him, stopped and called out, “Hollo! Hans, why do you go on foot, then?” - “I must,” answered he, “for I have this lump to carry home; it is true that it is gold, but I cannot hold my head straight for it, and it hurts my shoulder.” - “I will tell you what,” said the rider, “we will exchange: I will give you my horse, and you can give me your lump.” - “With all my heart,” said Hans, “but I can tell you, you will have to crawl along with it.” The rider got down, took the gold, and helped Hans up; then gave him the bridle tight in his hands and said, “If you want to go at a really good pace, you must click your tongue and call out, “Jup! Jup!”

Hans was heartily delighted as he sat upon the horse and rode away so bold and free. After a little while he thought that it ought to go faster, and he began to click with his tongue and call out, “Jup! Jup!” The horse put himself into a sharp trot, and before Hans knew where he was, he was thrown off and lying in a ditch which separated the field from the highway. The horse would have gone off too if it had not been stopped by a countryman, who was coming along the road and driving a cow before him.

Hans got his limbs together and stood up on his legs again, but he was vexed, and said to the countryman, “It is a poor joke, this riding, especially when one gets hold of a mare like this, that kicks and throws one off, so that one has a chance of breaking one’s neck. Never again will I mount it. Now I like your cow, for one can walk quietly behind her, and have, over and above, one’s milk, butter and cheese every day without fail. What would I not give to have such a cow.” - “Well,” said the countryman, “if it would give you so much pleasure, I do not mind giving the cow for the horse.” Hans agreed with the greatest delight; the countryman jumped upon the horse, and rode quickly away.

Hans drove his cow quietly before him, and thought over his lucky bargain. “If only I have a morsel of bread -- and that can hardly fail me -- I can eat butter and cheese with it as often as I like; if I am thirsty, I can milk my cow and drink the milk. Good heart, what more can I want?” When he came to an inn he made a halt, and in his great content ate up what he had with him -- his dinner and supper -- and all he had, and with his last few farthings had half a glass of beer. Then he drove his cow onwards along the road to his mother’s village.

As it drew nearer mid-day, the heat was more oppressive, and Hans found himself upon a moor which it took about an hour to cross. He felt it very hot and his tongue clave to the roof of his mouth with thirst. “I can find a cure for this,” thought Hans; “I will milk the cow now and refresh myself with the milk.” He tied her to a withered tree, and as he had no pail he put his leather cap underneath; but try as he would, not a drop of milk came. And as he set himself to work in a clumsy way, the impatient beast at last gave him such a blow on his head with its hind foot, that he fell on the ground, and for a long time could not think where he was.

By good fortune a butcher just then came along the road with a wheel-barrow, in which lay a young pig. “What sort of a trick is this?” cried he, and helped the good Hans up. Hans told him what had happened. The butcher gave him his flask and said, “Take a drink and refresh yourself. The cow will certainly give no milk, it is an old beast; at the best it is only fit for the plough, or for the butcher.” - “Well, well,” said Hans, as he stroked his hair down on his head, “who would have thought it? Certainly it is a fine thing when one can kill a beast like that at home; what meat one has! But I do not care much for beef, it is not juicy enough for me. A young pig like that now is the thing to have, it tastes quite different; and then there are the sausages!” - “Hark ye, Hans,” said the butcher, “out of love for you I will exchange, and will let you have the pig for the cow.” - “Heaven repay you for your kindness!” said Hans as he gave up the cow, whilst the pig was unbound from the barrow, and the cord by which it was tied was put in his hand.

Hans went on, and thought to himself how everything was going just as he wished; if he did meet with any vexation it was immediately set right. Presently there joined him a lad who was carrying a fine white goose under his arm. They said good morning to each other, and Hans began to tell of his good luck, and how he had always made such good bargains. The boy told him that he was taking the goose to a christening-feast. “Just lift her,” added he, and laid hold of her by the wings; “how heavy she is -- she has been fattened up for the last eight weeks. Whoever has a bit of her when she is roasted will have to wipe the fat from both sides of his mouth.” “Yes,” said Hans, as he weighed her in one hand, “she is a good weight, but my pig is no bad one.” Meanwhile the lad looked suspiciously from one side to the other, and shook his head. “Look here,” he said at length, “it may not be all right with your pig. In the village through which I passed, the Mayor himself had just had one stolen out of its sty. I fear -- I fear that you have got hold of it there. They have sent out some people and it would be a bad business if they caught you with the pig; at the very least, you would be shut up in the dark hole.”

The good Hans was terrified. “Goodness!” he said, “Help me out of this fix; you know more about this place than I do, take my pig and leave me your goose.” - “I shall risk something at that game,” answered the lad, “but I will not be the cause of your getting into trouble.” So he took the cord in his hand, and drove away the pig quickly along a by-path.

The good Hans, free from care, went homewards with the goose under his arm. “When I think over it properly,” said he to himself, “I have even gained by the exchange: first there is the good roast-meat, then the quantity of fat which will drip from it, and which will give me dripping for my bread for a quarter of a year, and lastly the beautiful white feathers; I will have my pillow stuffed with them, and then indeed I shall go to sleep without rocking. How glad my mother will be!”

As he was going through the last village, there stood a scissors-grinder with his barrow; as his wheel whirred he sang --

“I sharpen scissors and quickly grind,
My coat blows out in the wind behind.”

Hans stood still and looked at him; at last he spoke to him and said, “All’s well with you, as you are so merry with your grinding.” - “Yes,” answered the scissors-grinder, “the trade has a golden foundation. A real grinder is a man who as often as he puts his hand into his pocket finds gold in it. But where did you buy that fine goose?”

“I did not buy it, but exchanged my pig for it.”
“And the pig?” - “That I got for a cow.”
“And the cow?” - “I took that instead of a horse.”
“And the horse?” - “For that I gave a lump of gold as big as my head.”
“And the gold?” - “Well, that was my wages for seven years’ service.”

“You have known how to look after yourself each time.” said the grinder. “If you can only get on so far as to hear the money jingle in your pocket whenever you stand up, you will have made your fortune.” - “How shall I manage that?” said Hans. “You must be a grinder, as I am; nothing particular is wanted for it but a grindstone, the rest finds itself. I have one here; it is certainly a little worn, but you need not give me anything for it but your goose; will you do it?” - “How can you ask?” answered Hans. “I shall be the luckiest fellow on earth; if I have money whenever I put my hand in my pocket, what need I trouble about any longer?”, and he handed him the goose and received the grindstone in exchange. “Now,” said the grinder, as he took up an ordinary heavy stone that lay by him, “here is a strong stone for you into the bargain; you can hammer well upon it, and straighten your old nails. Take it with you and keep it carefully.”

Hans loaded himself with the stones, and went on with a contented heart; his eyes shone with joy. “I must have been born with a caul,” he cried; “everything I want happens to me just as if I were a Sunday-child.” Meanwhile, as he had been on his legs since daybreak, he began to feel tired. Hunger also tormented him, for in his joy at the bargain by which he got the cow he had eaten up all his store of food at once. At last he could only go on with great trouble, and was forced to stop every minute; the stones, too, weighed him down dreadfully. Then he could not help thinking how nice it would be if he had not to carry them just then.

He crept like a snail to a well in a field, and there he thought that he would rest and refresh himself with a cool draught of water, but in order that he might not injure the stones in sitting down, he laid them carefully by his side on the edge of the well. Then he sat down on it, and was about to stoop and drink, when he made a slip, pushed against the stones, and both of them fell into the water. When Hans saw them with his own eyes sinking to the bottom, he jumped for joy, and then knelt down, and with tears in his eyes thanked God for having shown him this favour also, and delivered him in so good a way, and without his having any need to reproach himself, from those heavy stones which had been the only things that troubled him.

“There is no man under the sun so fortunate as I.” he cried out. With a light heart and free from every burden he now ran on until he was with his mother at home.

✎ This is certainly a fairy tale that every child should hear at least once, even though at first glance it does not seem like a fairy tale. There are neither witches nor ghosts or magic. Not even the animals speak, and people act very ordinary, except our Hans, who first appears as a loser in a world where everyone seeks personal advantage. He returns home from his apprenticeship and, on his burdensome journey through a chain of strange exchanges, loses the reward he has received for seven years serving, a great lump of gold. The great wonder of this story, however, is that our Hans has lost a lot in the end, but is not angry about it but rather overjoyed.

We think the message at the top level is directed first to our children and explains how easily you are cheated in this world and how quickly you can lose your wealth. So you should not be too naive, but careful and smart.

The story on a middle level would show the social decline from the rich upper class over the nobleman on the horse and the different levels of the farmers down to the scissors-grinder, which was probably one of the poorest craftsmen. In the end, our Hans is practically a day labourer who owns nothing and also shows no special skills, but can still be happy. These are, so to speak, the worldly levels of society, how one can gradually lose everything in life through unhappy business and descend socially, but do not have to despair of it. It is also evident in this story that all useful things in our world have their downsides and dangers. Property alone is not enough; you also have to learn how to handle and manage it. This requires a certain education, ability and experience in life, which our Hans obviously does not have. From this point of view you could call this fairy tale “The stupid Hans”.

But a proverb says: “Worldly lost is spiritually gained!” And so we would now like to try to interpret this fairy tale on a deeper, spiritual level. There is the question: what did our Hans learn during the seven years, for which he received so rich a salary that it is even exorbitant to the trainees nowadays? It does not seem like anything practical. Neither does he show any manual or peasant skill, nor any physical strength nor any ambition in business, except his spiritual advantage, to see in all situations the good and the happy, and to quickly let go of all that has been gained.

So it seems reasonable to assume that a spiritual teaching is meant here, which he has received from his master, teacher and thus spiritual father. In this regard, it is perhaps no accident that the lump of gold is compared to Hansen’s head, and in the symbolic sense is meant the teaching which he has received in his head and which is as precious as gold. Being happy everywhere is certainly something very valuable. What kind of teaching it was, however, remains open, because it is only spoken of the effect, and how this teaching at the beginning of his path was still very “top-heavy” and it needed the practical testing and experience in the world. Maybe that’s why he went his way from his spiritual father to his natural mother, so that the practice now follows the theory. Accordingly, one could also interpret the symbols that meet him on this path.

First, it is the impatience that often seduces us to move faster. That’s what the horse stands for, which Hans throws off in a fast run. Secondly, hunger and thirst drive us to reach for pleasure. That’s what the cow stands for, which used to fulfil almost all wishes of a farmer, but only gave our Hans a hard kick. Thirdly, the pig appears as the epitome of worldly happiness, idleness and a fat life, which quickly lead us astray. Fourth, the exchange of the white goose could symbolize grasping for worldly justice. This justice sometimes takes on very strange forms, especially when it comes to the personal ownership of animals or other living things. It is often felt that such secular laws have been set up to protect, above all, the interests of the great egos. No wonder our Hans is afraid of getting involved in it. He’s immediately leaving the fat pig behind in exchange for a white goose. This may be a sign of his innocence, while the other man leads the pig away on ’by-ways’. And fifth, the craft of the scissors-grinder is a symbol of professional success in the world, which promises us freedom and independence. Here, too, it is mentioned how the scissors-grinder naturally reaches into nature and gives our Hans a stone as if it were his property. We can smile about an ordinary field stone, but do it with diamonds, gold, or pearls and you found a way to create personal property.

But in the end the hard achieved goods falls into a deep well and disappear in the belly of nature. Every imaginary property is lost again. We would normally moan and feel cheated by nature. So you could even consider Hans’ way home as a lifetime from birth to death. For in the course of life, we humans should master all of this: impatience, passion, lethargy, and selfish acting. And what is left for our Hans in the end? Free of all burden and anxiety, he returns to his home and origin, to the Great Mother, from whom he was born. In the end our Hans has achieved what we all more or less consciously seek in life, namely the great happiness.

This is of course a terrible message for our modern world. It means, that true happiness is not about accumulating more and more property or becoming something special in the world. And there is a lot of truth in it. Because honestly, who is the richest man in the world? Of course, the one who can fulfil all his wishes. And in that sense, it would be the perfectly contented one who has fulfilled all his wishes and has found great happiness because he no longer wishes for anything and is thus independent and free. Can you imagine that?

Godfather Death

✻ A poor man had twelve children and was forced to work night and day to give them even bread. When therefore the thirteenth came into the world, he knew not what to do in his trouble, but ran out into the great highway, and resolved to ask the first person whom he met to be godfather.

✎ We often find this game with 12 and 13 in the old fairy tales. One could assume that it has to do with the moon months of the year, because there are years with 12 or 13 moon months. The thirteenth month, therefore, played a special role, and appeared like a whim of nature disturbing the ordinary rhythm, so that the number 13 was considered a lucky number in some areas and an unfortunate number in others. Well, even in our fairy tale, the thirteenth child was probably a child too much and now plays a special role. It is dedicated to nature, which is supposed to somehow serve as the godfather for the child.

✻ The first to meet him was the good God who already knew what filled his heart, and said to him, “Poor man, I pity thee. I will hold thy child at its christening, and will take charge of it and make it happy on earth.” The man said, “Who art thou?” “I am God.” “Then I do not desire to have thee for a godfather,” said the man; “thou givest to the rich, and leavest the poor to hunger.” Thus spake the man, for he did not know how wisely God apportions riches and poverty. He turned therefore away from the Lord, and went farther. Then the Devil came to him and said, “What seekest thou? If thou wilt take me as a godfather for thy child, I will give him gold in plenty and all the joys of the world as well.” The man asked, “Who art thou?” “I am the Devil.” “Then I do not desire to have thee for godfather,” said the man; “thou deceivest men and leadest them astray.”

✎ ’Do you believe in God?’ This question is often heard, and usually a clear confession is expected. However, if one asks what is meant by the term ’God’, then suddenly all clarity disappears, and we face different views. The biggest problem is that normally we can only think in opposites. And that is exactly what is expressed here in an excellent way. First, God is made a positive pole and stands for everything good in the world, and the devil becomes a negative pole and stands for everything bad. Later on God is accused that, despite his almightiness, he allows the evil and the unjust on earth. Therefore the doubts grow and one turns away. This is still the case today for many people. Who wants to trust a god who is unjust? But the question of justice is very difficult. What justice can there be for personal wealth and individual values? Who deserves how much in this world?

✻ He went onwards, and then came Death striding up to him with withered legs, and said, “Take me as godfather.” The man asked, “Who art thou?” - “I am Death, and I make all equal.” Then said the man, “Thou art the right one, thou takest the rich as well as the poor, without distinction; thou shalt be godfather.” Death answered, “I will make thy child rich and famous, for he who has me for a friend can lack nothing.” The man said, “Next Sunday is the christening; be there at the right time.” Death appeared as he had promised, and stood godfather quite in the usual way.

✎ Even in Hinduism, Yama is the God of righteousness, who takes the souls to the realm of the dead in order to judge and rule over them after they have left their bodies during death. This means reaping the fruits that you have accumulated in your life. We also speak of the Grim Reaper holding his scythe, because the scythe is an old symbol of the harvest. Some souls will reap happiness and others suffering. This judgment of the dead is a very old idea that we already find in ancient Egypt as well as in the Bible. Usually it is spoken of an impartial justice where the soul can no longer hide its merits and its debts accumulated in life. Here acts the law of cause and effect, and that is why we speak of true justice. Behind this, of course, stands the famous Law of Karma, which states that all our thoughts, words and deeds have their effect and none of it is lost, much like the law of physical energy conservation. This is understood in physics, but hardly believed in everyday life, and if so, then only in theory. We usually think that we can somehow escape our small and big sins as long as they remain secret. Why not? You can try it, because that’s what man lives for, to gain practical experience.

Death speaks here another great sentence: “He who has me as a friend cannot lack anything.” How is that meant? Normally, death is our greatest enemy, and we make life and death a polarity of good and bad because we can usually only think in opposites. Then we try to capture the good and get rid of the bad. How should this work? The more positive the good, the worse the bad. The more we selfishly cling to life, the greater the fear of death and disease becomes. It would be better to propitiate the opposites and also to have death as a friend. One says, whoever can completely dissolve the contrast of death and life, can even overcome death and find eternal life. This theme also runs through the Gospels of the Bible and it says: “Whoever wants to hold on to his life will lose it. But he who loses it in God will find it.” And how one creates death by holding on to life, one also creates poverty by holding on to wealth. First, poverty arises around us because we want to be richer than others, and then in the end we have to face poverty ourselves, because the law of karma works accordingly.

✻ When the boy had grown up, his godfather one day appeared and bade him go with him. He led him forth into a forest, and showed him a herb which grew there, and said, “Now shalt thou receive thy godfather’s present. I make thee a celebrated physician. When thou art called to a patient, I will always appear to thee. If I stand by the head of the sick man, thou mayst say with confidence that thou wilt make him well again, and if thou givest him of this herb he will recover; but if I stand by the patient’s feet, he is mine, and thou must say that all remedies are in vain, and that no physician in the world could save him. But beware of using the herb against my will, or it might fare ill with thee.”

✎ The boy is led into nature to learn something special. In other versions of this tale, this teaching lasts three years, sitting silently at the feet of his teacher. There are things that man can learn through rational thinking by words and writings. Other things are learned through intuition and a deeper view and this requires inner silence, so that you can hear the soft voices of nature. These are the godparents gifts of nature, on the one hand the knowledge about the healing and on the other hand the view on the nature of illness, in this case on death itself. Even today a good doctor should have the necessary intuition in addition to the medical knowledge, in order to perceive the soft voices of nature, and to be aware that although he can give the right medication, but the effect is in the hands of nature. The big question is, how much you can and should force nature? The warning is clearly stated: Beware of abuse of the abilities given to you! This reminds us of the oath of Hippocrates, which unfortunately is no longer binding for our doctors today.

✻ It was not long before the youth was the most famous physician in the whole world. “He had only to look at the patient and he knew his condition at once, and if he would recover, or must needs die.” So they said of him, and from far and wide people came to him, sent for him when they had any one ill, and gave him so much money that he soon became a rich man. Now it so befell that the King became ill, and the physician was summoned, and was to say if recovery were possible. But when he came to the bed, Death was standing by the feet of the sick man, and the herb did not grow which could save him. “If I could but cheat Death for once,” thought the physician, “he is sure to take it ill if I do, but, as I am his godson, he will shut one eye; I will risk it.” He therefore took up the sick man, and laid him the other way, so that now Death was standing by his head. Then he gave the King some of the herb, and he recovered and grew healthy again. But Death came to the physician, looking very black and angry, threatened him with his finger, and said, “Thou hast overreached me; this time I will pardon it, as thou art my godson; but if thou venturest it again, it will cost thee thy neck, for I will take thee thyself away with me.”

Soon afterwards the King’s daughter fell into a severe illness. She was his only child, and he wept day and night, so that he began to lose the sight of his eyes, and he caused it to be made known that whosoever rescued her from death should be her husband and inherit the crown. When the physician came to the sick girl’s bed, he saw Death by her feet. He ought to have remembered the warning given by his godfather, but he was so infatuated by the great beauty of the King’s daughter, and the happiness of becoming her husband, that he flung all thought to the winds. He did not see that Death was casting angry glances on him, that he was raising his hand in the air, and threatening him with his withered fist. He raised up the sick girl, and placed her head where her feet had lain. Then he gave her some of the herb, and instantly her cheeks flushed red, and life stirred afresh in her.

✎ Now the story takes the human course. Since Adam and Eve, it has always been the same problem: we reach for the fruits of our actions and seek personal gain, first in wealth, then in fame, and finally in rule. And so we abuse the abilities, which nature has given us, for selfish goals. Why does it work? Where is the righteousness of death, which was so praised in the beginning? Why does death tolerate the deceit of the doctor? Of course, it works, because we should never forget that humans too are part of nature and have their open space here. But reason tells us that something like that cannot last long. Who disregards the warnings of nature, will have to bear the consequences. And nature is very patient with us, warns us many times and always gives us the chance to learn. In the end it says: Who wants to cheat death, comes under his rule. Because you cannot cheat nature, only yourself.

✻ When Death saw that for a second time he was defrauded of his own property, he walked up to the physician with long strides, and said, “All is over with thee, and now the lot falls on thee.” and seized him so firmly with his ice-cold hand, that he could not resist, and led him into a cave below the earth. There he saw how thousands and thousands of candles were burning in countless rows, some large, others half-sized, others small. Every instant some were extinguished, and others again burnt up, so that the flames seemed to leap hither and thither in perpetual change. “See,” said Death, “these are the lights of men’s lives. The large ones belong to children, the half-sized ones to married people in their prime, the little ones belong to old people; but children and young folks likewise have often only a tiny candle.”

✎ And how does Mother Nature teach us? She shows us her inner essence as far as you want and can see it. And certainly, our doctor had the competency. The light of life is also an ancient symbol. It is like a candle that burns slowly and in the end it goes out. It is even said that the size of the candle and thus the length of life are in some way predetermined. This can be very calming for some people because you do not have to worry about it all the time. But you can think about how you can have an influence on whether the light burns calmly or stormily. It is also said that “the flames seemed to leap back and forth in constant change”. That's very well-worded and reminds us of the apparent wandering of the soul, which is also called rebirth.

Of course that’s a great topic. There are many different theories, from enthusiastic blind faith to total rejection. To what extent nature cares about our theories, is difficult to say, because somehow these theories are also part of nature and contribute to the whole. Surprisingly, even our modern science cannot give a plausible answer to the question of the origin of earthly life. In this regard, some even seek refuge in extra-terrestrials, claiming that our life came to Earth on meteorites from somewhere in space. Our science likes to look outward, while our doctor is led inside, into this dark cave of our being, which is seldom enlightened by the light of consciousness. But how does life come about? Who lights these lights? Certainly, the law of cause and effect also plays an essential role here, and just as the clouds in the sky develop under certain conditions, somehow what we call life and soul also arise under certain conditions. How far these conditions reach and how deep the roots of the causes are depend on how far one can think, and in the end perhaps even the whole universe is connected with it.

Another question is, if there is a personal soul that wanders through world and lifes. Of course, our identity card and the record in the family register have a certain truth, similar to the purchase contract for a house and the registration in the land register. But we also know that even the forces of nature hardly adhere to these boundaries of property. And as it blows away or burn the house of one person, the other is deprived of his health and finally even his body. Will it continue after death? Of course, somehow the world continues to revolve and everything we have thought, spoken and done in life is part of the whole and certainly will not be without effect. The extent to which one sees oneself in this way is left to one’s own imagination or modesty; everything from a depressive wastrel to an arrogant tyrant is possible.

✻ “Show me the light of my life,” said the physician, and he thought that it would be still very tall. Death pointed to a little end which was just threatening to go out, and said, “Behold, it is there.” “Ah, dear godfather,” said the horrified physician, “light a new one for me, do it for love of me, that I may enjoy my life, be King, and the husband of the King’s beautiful daughter.” -“I cannot,” answered Death, “one must go out before a new one is lighted.” - “Then place the old one on a new one, that will go on burning at once when the old one has come to an end.” pleaded the physician. Death behaved as if he were going to fulfil his wish, and took hold of a tall new candle; but as he desired to revenge himself, he purposely made a mistake in fixing it, and the little piece fell down and was extinguished. Immediately the physician fell on the ground, and now he himself was in the hands of Death.

✎  “Show me the light of my life!” Already this entreaty brings us death, because certainly our life light is never big enough. And the doctor naturally asks for a bigger one to enjoy his life. Can he ever come to a happy ending on this path? Well, nature makes sure that something like this will not happen, and death makes it very clear that you have to die to be born again with a new light. But still, our doctor tries to cheat death and wishes that his present candle, as soon as it has burned down, immediately kindles a new one. That probably means he does not want to leave this world to be born again, because he clings on his personal possessions. He wants to hold on to what is given to him only for a time.

Sure, you can try it! But in the end all our subtle efforts to trick nature by rational thinking must fail. The attempt of the doctor also fails, he only cheats himself and loses the little rest of his life. Because what you want to hold on to selfishly, you have to lose. Or as Goethe wrote: “For everything must fall into nothing that wants to persist in being.” One would think that this fairy tale has no good end. Because man loses and nature wins. But after all, death keeps its righteousness, and moreover one must assume that the light of our doctor was not gone forever, because otherwise no one could have told us of this mystical cave of life-lights. So maybe a happy ending, at least an instructive one.

There is a poem by Goethe [One and All] that goes well with this fairy tale.

One and All

To find ourselves in boundless being
Who would not vanish, gladly fleeing
From all that wearied and annoys;
No ardent wants, no wild desiring,
No duties strict, no orders tiring,
Such self-surrender each enjoys.
World-soul, come, let your force pervade us!
To combat the world-spirit aid us
And match our powers to these high stakes.
Then sympathetic spirits guide us,
As gentle masters walk beside us
To him who all things made and makes.
To take what’s made and then re-make it,
To fight rigidity and break it,
Eternal living action quest.
What never was grows real and fuller,
As pure clean suns, as worlds with colour,
And in becoming never rest.
It all must move, make new creations,
First take form, then transformations;
For moments it just seems held fast.
In all things life’s perpetuated,
And all must be annihilated
That existence strives to last.

The Godfather

✻ A poor man had so many children that he had already asked every one in the world to be godfather, and when still another child was born, no one else was left whom he could invite. He knew not what to do, and, in his perplexity, he lay down and fell asleep. Then he dreamt that he was to go outside the gate, and ask the first person who met him to be godfather. When he awoke, he determined to obey his dream, and went outside the gate, and asked the first person who came up to him to be god- father. The stranger presented him with a little glass of water, and said, “This is a wonderful water, with it thou canst heal the sick, only thou must see where Death is standing. If he is standing by the patient’s head, give the patient some of the water and he will be healed, but if Death is standing by his feet, all trouble will be in vain, for the sick man must die.” From this time forth, the man could always say whether a patient could be saved or not, and became famous for his skill, and earned a great deal of money. Once he was called in to the child of the King, and when he entered, he saw Death standing by the child’s head and cured it with the water, and he did the same a second time, but the third time Death was standing by its feet, and then he knew the child was forced to die.

✎ In this fairy tale we exceptionally rely on the version from the book of the Brothers Grimm of 1812, because we think it has lost a lot of meaning in later revisions. Therefore we had to adapt the translation by M. Hunt. The beginning of this fairy tale is basically the same as the previous one, only a little shorter. Interesting is maybe the second part. If godfather death came to the doctor or appeared before him in the other version, the doctor now goes to his godfather and visits him in his house. Here we should also be aware that even in the Middle Ages, the profession of a physician was very closely connected with natural history, alchemy and spirituality. Today we might call such a person a Shaman.

✻ Once the man thought he would visit the godfather, and tell him how he had succeeded with the water. But when he entered the house, it was such a strange establishment! On the first flight of stairs, the broom and shovel were disputing, and knocking each other about violently. He asked them, “Where does the godfather live?” The broom replied, “One flight of stairs higher up.” When he came to the second flight, he saw a heap of dead fingers lying. He asked, “Where does the godfather live?” One of the fingers replied, “One flight of stairs higher.” On the third flight lay a heap of dead heads, which again directed him to a flight beyond. On the fourth flight, he saw fishes on the fire, which frizzled in the pans and baked themselves. They, too, said, “One flight of stairs higher.” And when he had ascended the fifth, he came to the door of a room and peeped through the keyhole, and there he saw the godfather who had a pair of long horns. When he opened the door and went in, the godfather put the horns into bed in a great hurry and covered them up.

Then said the man, “Sir godfather, what a strange household you have! When I came to your first flight of stairs, the shovel and broom were quarrelling, and beating each other violently.” - “How stupid you are!” said the godfather. “That was the boy and the maid talking to each other.” - “But on the second flight I saw dead fingers lying.” - “Oh, how silly you are! Those were some roots of black salsify.” - “On the third flight lay a heap of dead men’s heads.” - “Foolish man, those were cabbages.” “On the fourth flight, I saw fishes in a pan, which were hissing and baking themselves.” When he had said that, the fishes came and served themselves up. “And when I got to the fifth flight, I peeped through the keyhole of a door, and there, godfather, I saw you, and you had long, long horns.” - “Oh, that is not true!”

✎ We already know from the last fairy tale that our doctor had the ability to see something that others around him did not see. Here are five staircases that lead up to the house of the godfather, this mystical being, which stands here beyond death and life. On the way upstairs we meet with strange symbols that can somehow be interpreted. For example, one could see in it a mental higher development. On the lowest level, the natural opposites are in conflict. The broom sweeps up and the shovel gathers it. Both are cleaning agents in the house. They say, “Climb higher!” There are many dead fingers on the second level. The fingers as part of the hand may indicate action, and they may be dead because at this stage, one no longer reaches out for the fruits of his deeds. Then the deeds no longer sow karmic seeds. The action without attachment speaks to us: “Climb higher!” On the third level you will find dead heads. This could mean that thinking, too, has reached a certain purity and has become free of attachment, so that we are no longer compulsively controlled and tormented by our thoughts. On the fourth level, there are fish that cook or fry themselves. The fish is a very old symbol and can stand for the life, which is closely connected to the water, and so it also may stand for the soul.

In the Christian context it could also mean Jesus, the Son of God, who sacrifices himself here on earth, so that we finally awake from our delusion. He broke the bread for supper and said: “Take, this is my body!” Then he seized the chalice, thanked and said: “Drink, this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which will be shed for all beings!” Why a supper? This food does not point to the fading day to receive some energy to work or walk, but to the eternal day to receive the pure and immortal consciousness that shines even when it is dark night in the world outside. And St. Augustine heard in awe a voice from above, saying, “I am the food of the strong. Grow and you will enjoy me! But you will not turn me into you, like the food of your flesh, you will be transformed into me. [Confessions 7.10]”

Here, too, the fish sacrifice themselves by cooking themselves, that means changing, working on themselves, making themselves soft and flexible and dissolving the hardened ego. It also reminds of the old witches with their witch-cauldrons, in which the whole world was magically cooked. Or think of the idea of hell, where the hardest sinners are cleaned in boiling cauldrons, until their ego falls apart and is finally released. The goal is a higher development, and so we find a door on the fifth level and there we look first through a small hole on a being that can take on all forms and wear any mask. What a great thing! On this mental level, all opposites disappear, which normally occupy our thoughts so much. In his case the devil shows up, who is often illustrated with two horns, which probably point to his animal and opposing nature, and who is fundamentally against all the good. Thus, the devil quickly becomes the negative pole, in contrast to God as a positive pole, which leads to the eternal battle between the divine and the demonic. But if you look a little deeper, you will realize that even the devil is only a spiritual being who has to fulfil his God-given task in this world. Or as Goethe makes the devil say [Faust 1]:

(I am) Part of that Power, not understood,
Which always wills the Bad, and always works the Good.
…
I am the Spirit that Denies!
And justly so: for all things, from the Void
Called forth, deserve to be destroyed:
’Twere better, then, were naught created.
Thus, all which you as Sin have rated,—
Destruction,—aught with Evil blent,—
That is my proper element.
…
The modest truth I speak to thee.
If Man, that microcosmic fool, can see
Himself a whole so frequently,
Part of the Part am I, once All, in primal Night,—
Part of the Darkness which brought forth the Light…

It is said that sometimes God is so well disguised that even the wisest can barely recognize him. But if you go through the door on this fifth step, then he puts down his disguise and shows his true nature. And how does that show? All of these strange beings that our doctor perceives through his extended vision are something natural and normal. You do not have to fancy it when you see such “ghosts”. At the lowest level, natural opposites, often symbolized as male and female forces, are of great help to us in life and in every spiritual development. The fingers on the second level may be nothing more than the dark roots of action, from which, on the next step, the shaggy weed grows in our heads. We have a saying in German for “higgledy-piggledy”: “wie Kraut und Rüben - like cabbage and turnips”, which points to disorder and chaos. The fish eventually serve themselves as food to the Supreme Being, thus uniting with the Supreme. And the long devil horns? “Oh, you stupid and simple-minded man, that’s not true!”

Well, when we speak of liberation, salvation, awakening, or enlightenment, it’s all about the truth. Of course that’s a big talking point. But the question here is whether the strange beings that our doctor sees by his deeper vision really exist and are true, because other people do not seem to see them. Is that all nonsense when you see such “strange spirits”?

Maybe a little philosophical excursion: What is reality? Normally it is everything that has an effect. And sure, these strange creatures have their effect, otherwise we could not philosophize here. In practice, illness and death naturally have their effect.

And what is truth? This is usually what we recognize and therefore accept as truth. And above all, it’s about the proven practical use in life, that is relative truth. For example, if I’m in Chemnitz and ask someone how to get to Berlin, then maybe he says, “Northbound.” That would be a relative truth to me personally, depending on my point of view and my goal. For someone else who is in Hamburg, for example, that would be a lie. Thus, we may also consider these “strange spirits” as relative truths that correspond to the spiritual developmental stage of our physician. They play an important role in his life, and are useful to him. But when we speak of spiritual awakening or enlightenment, it is all about the absolute truth, and it is said that all that we perceive with our ordinary senses is not absolute, but relative truth, what you can even call ignorance or illusion, because every human recognizes it differently and confused according to his experiences and views. This could be meant here with the last sentence at the highest level of spiritual development, that one finally realizes that all these visible things are not an absolute truth.

When we speak of five stages of development as well as doctor and cure, we should also mention Paracelsus, who as a doctor in the 16th century explained the disease and, accordingly, the healing of a human with five levels. It starts on the physical level, from the psychosomatic and spiritual to the divine level. He himself has tried everything in life to achieve mastery to the fifth and highest levels in this physical house, his body.

At the German Wikipedia we read about him [Paracelsus]: According to Paracelsus, medicine is based on knowledge of nature and of God. On the one hand empirical findings and on the other - and far more importantly - the consideration of the big picture are necessary for the understanding of things and thus also of the diseases and their correct treatment: “For man can only be understood from the macrocosm, not out of himself. Only the knowledge of this agreement (or unity) completes the doctor. He knows the world, and with it the human beings, who together are only one thing and not two, which is confirmed by experience. The layman sees the surface. To see the interior, the secret is reserved for the doctor.” (Opus Paramirum). For Paracelsus, the material body is merely a part of the complete body, which is largely invisible to the ordinary observer. However, anyone who participates in the divine enlightenment, the divine fire through continuous work on himself (inner transformation), can see the world with different eyes, i.e. “In the light of nature” (Opus Paramirum), and only such a man would be good as a doctor, because: “It is wrong in medicine to draw his knowledge of hearsay and reading. But one must ask oneself: how did the first teach? And the one who taught him, shall teach us. The force of nature in the fire is also our teacher.” and “The fire but makes visible what else is in the dark. According to this method, the science should be presented.” (Opus Paramirum).

One-Eye, Two-Eyes and Three-Eyes

✻ There was once a woman who had three daughters, the eldest of whom was called One-eye, because she had only one eye in the middle of her forehead, and the second, Two-eyes, because she had two eyes like other folks, and the youngest, Three-eyes, because she had three eyes; and her third eye was also in the centre of her forehead. However, as Two-eyes saw just as other human beings did, her sisters and her mother could not endure her. They said to her, “Thou, with thy two eyes, art no better than the common people; thou dost not belong to us!” They pushed her about, and threw old clothes to her, and gave her nothing to eat but what they left, and did everything that they could to make her unhappy.

✎ The problem that stands here at the beginning of this fairy tale is certainly familiar to all of us. We usually want to be something special in life and stand out from the grey normality. What is that good for? Our personality is formed by such thinking, and that is what the ego feeds on. This happens on a small scale with each individual person and on a large scale with nations and humanity itself, which tries to rise above nature. Certainly, this aspiration is an important stimulation of human development, but it also has its downsides, which show itself mainly in arrogant pride. And so it might happen that you want to rise yourself at the expense of others. And since this is again a plus-minus polarity, it often seems easier to humiliate others in order to elevate oneself than to really develop oneself higher. Such behaviour leads to hate, oppression and meanness, which is called mobbing nowadays.

So One-eye and Three-eyes feel special, because one is below and the other above the normal. The parody is that they think they are exceptionally beautiful and hate their middle sister like poison. Maybe they have some doubts about their own perception. This can certainly be explained psychologically. It is interesting that the mother is also on their side, and thus reminds us of the usual stepmother of other fairy tales, where the power of the father is missing. She also plays a malignant role here in contrast to the true mother, which we will now get to know.

✻ It came to pass that Two-eyes had to go out into the fields and tend the goat, but she was still quite hungry, because her sisters had given her so little to eat. So she sat down on a ridge and began to weep, and so bitterly that two streams ran down from her eyes. And once when she looked up in her grief, a woman was standing beside her, who said, “Why art thou weeping, little Two-eyes?” Two-eyes answered, “Have I not reason to weep, when I have two eyes like other people, and my sisters and mother hate me for it, and push me from one corner to another, throw old clothes at me, and give me nothing to eat but the scraps they leave? To-day they have given me so little that I am still quite hungry.” Then the wise woman said, “Wipe away thy tears, Two-eyes, and I will tell thee something to stop thee ever suffering from hunger again; just say to thy goat,

“Bleat, my little goat, bleat,
Cover the table with something to eat.”

and then a clean well-spread little table will stand before thee, with the most delicious food upon it of which thou mayst eat as much as thou art inclined for, and when thou hast had enough, and hast no more need of the little table, just say,

“Bleat, bleat, my little goat, I pray,
And take the table quite away,”

and then it will vanish again from thy sight.” Hereupon the wise woman departed. But Two-eyes thought, “I must instantly make a trial, and see if what she said is true, for I am far too hungry.” and she said,

Bleat, my little goat, bleat,
Cover the table with something to eat.”

and scarcely had she spoken the words than a little table, covered with a white cloth, was standing there, and on it was a plate with a knife and fork, and a silver spoon; and the most delicious food was there also, warm and smoking as if it had just come out of the kitchen. Then Two-eyes said the shortest prayer she knew, “Lord God, be with us always, Amen.” and helped herself to some food, and enjoyed it.

And when she was satisfied, she said, as the wise woman had taught her,

“Bleat, bleat, my little goat, I pray,
And take the table quite away.”

and immediately the little table and everything on it was gone again. “That is a delightful way of keeping house!” thought Two-eyes, and was quite glad and happy.

✎ Our two-eyed girl was so desperate that her tears flowed. Desperate tears have a great power and can ask for help from other compassionate beings. And suddenly unexpected help may appear as if a miracle had happened. Here, too, a “wise woman” reveals herself in the middle of nature, giving a special spell. And what appears at first sight like an incredible miracle that only children believe in is actually a deeper truth. After all, it is always Mother Nature who gives us all food and covers the table abundantly, if we treat her in the right way and are grateful. You should always be aware of this gratefulness, at least during meals. Do you remember? It used to be a common practice to pray and thank God before eating. “Be our guest at all times!” That means, of course, that the Divine should be present all the time, not just with meals.

The goat is a very common symbol as a food and sacrificial animal and is often associated with Mother Nature as a divine being. If we can find a spiritual connection to her, she can give us the keys to her riches. Nature may even show herself as a living being, and the key may be a plain spell with much power, similar to the mantras of Far Eastern traditions. This power is a secret that is difficult to understand, but certainly closely linked to our faith. In the end we are probably the ones who give the spell its great spiritual power. The best thing is, of course, if you can be practically convinced of the effect. And in our fairy tale despair and trust are so great that the spell works even at the first time. It does not always have to be that way, because many famous mantras must be murmured thousands of times to show their practical effect.

✻ In the evening, when she went home with her goat, she found a small earthenware dish with some food, which her sisters had set ready for her, but she did not touch it. Next day she again went out with her goat, and left the few bits of broken bread which had been handed to her, lying untouched. The first and second time that she did this, her sisters did not remark it at all, but as it happened every time, they did observe it, and said, “There is something wrong about Two-eyes, she always leaves her food untasted, and she used to eat up everything that was given her; she must have discovered other ways of getting food.” In order that they might learn the truth, they resolved to send One-eye with Two-eyes when she went to drive her goat to the pasture, to observe what Two-eyes did when she was there, and whether any one brought her anything to eat and drink. So when Two-eyes set out the next time, One-eye went to her and said, “I will go with you to the pasture, and see that the goat is well taken care of, and driven where there is food.” But Two-eyes knew what was in One-eye’s mind, and drove the goat into high grass and said, “Come, One-eye, we will sit down, and I will sing something to you.” One-eye sat down and was tired with the unaccustomed walk and the heat of the sun, and Two-eyes sang constantly,

“One eye, wakest thou?
One eye, sleepest thou?

until One-eye shut her one eye, and fell asleep, and as soon as Two-eyes saw that One-eye was fast asleep, and could discover nothing, she said,

“Bleat, my little goat, bleat,
Cover the table with something to eat.”

and seated herself at her table, and ate and drank until she was satisfied, and then she again cried,

“Bleat, bleat, my little goat, I pray,
And take the table quite away.”

and in an instant all was gone. Two-eyes now awakened One-eye, and said, “One-eye, you want to take care of the goat, and go to sleep while you are doing it, and in the meantime the goat might run all over the world. Come, let us go home again.” So they went home, and again Two-eyes let her little dish stand untouched, and One-eye could not tell her mother why she would not eat it, and to excuse herself said, “I fell asleep when I was out.”

Next day the mother said to Three-eyes, “This time thou shalt go and observe if Two-eyes eats anything when she is out, and if any one fetches her food and drink, for she must eat and drink in secret.” So Three-eyes went to Two-eyes, and said, “I will go with you and see if the goat is taken proper care of, and driven where there is food.” But Two-eyes knew what was in Three-eyes’ mind, and drove the goat into high grass and said, “We will sit down, and I will sing something to you, Three-eyes.” Three-eyes sat down and was tired with the walk and with the heat of the sun, and Two-eyes began the same song as before, and sang,

“Three eyes, are you waking?”

but then, instead of singing,

“Three eyes, are you sleeping?”

as she ought to have done, she thoughtlessly sang,

“Two eyes, are you sleeping?”

and sang all the time,

“Three eyes, are you waking?
Two eyes, are you sleeping?”

Then two of the eyes which Three-eyes had, shut and fell asleep, but the third, as it had not been named in the song, did not sleep. It is true that Three-eyes shut it, but only in her cunning, to pretend it was asleep too, but it blinked, and could see everything very well. And when Two-eyes thought that Three-eyes was fast asleep, she used her little charm,

“Bleat, my little goat, bleat,
Cover the table with something to eat.”

and ate and drank as much as her heart desired, and then ordered the table to go away again,

“Bleat, bleat, my little goat, I pray,
And take the table quite away.”

and Three-eyes had seen everything. Then Two-eyes came to her, waked her and said, “Have you been asleep, Three-eyes? You are a good care-taker! Come, we will go home.” And when they got home, Two-eyes again did not eat, and Three-eyes said to the mother, “Now, I know why that high-minded thing there does not eat. When she is out, she says to the goat,

“Bleat, my little goat, bleat,
Cover the table with something to eat.”

and then a little table appears before her covered with the best of food, much better than any we have here, and when she has eaten all she wants, she says,

“Bleat, bleat, my little goat, I pray,
And take the table quite away.”

and all disappears. I watched everything closely. She put two of my eyes to sleep by using a certain form of words, but luckily the one in my forehead kept awake.” Then the envious mother cried, “Dost thou want to fare better than we do? The desire shall pass away.” and she fetched a butcher’s knife, and thrust it into the heart of the goat, which fell down dead.

✎ The two sisters now want to learn the secret through which they had initially lost their power over two-eyed girl. And so it goes on with spells. Our Two-eyes had not only learned a few words from the wise fairy, but also the general ability to use the power of words. This works fine at first, but then she makes a mistake and through this carelessness she loses her goat. One would like to say that it was stupid of her. But such mistakes are important in life for us to develop. We also learn that special forces are always accompanied by the necessary mindfulness. Anyone who is absentminded cannot hope for beneficial effects.

We already know the nature of the false mother from other fairy tales. It symbolizes our superficial nature of illusion that veils and even wants to kill the true essence. Sure, the illusion knows that everything superficial disappears when the true essence reveals itself. And so the mother does not even try to gain the magic of the goat, but kills her immediately after the famous motto: What cannot be, must go! It is interesting that she still helps our two-eyed little girl, and we read below about the meaning of the sacrifice of the goat.

✻ When Two-eyes saw that, she went out full of trouble, seated herself on the ridge of grass at the edge of the field, and wept bitter tears. Suddenly the wise woman once more stood by her side, and said, “Two-eyes, why art thou weeping?” - “Have I not reason to weep?” she answered. “The goat which covered the table for me every day when I spoke your charm, has been killed by my mother, and now I shall again have to bear hunger and want.” The wise woman said, “Two-eyes, I will give thee a piece of good advice; ask thy sisters to give thee the entrails of the slaughtered goat, and bury them in the ground in front of the house, and thy fortune will be made.” Then she vanished, and Two-eyes went home and said to her sisters, “Dear sisters, do give me some part of my goat; I don’t wish for what is good, but give me the entrails.” Then they laughed and said, “If that’s all you want, you can have it.” So Two-eyes took the entrails and buried them quietly in the evening, in front of the house-door, as the wise woman had counselled her to do.

Next morning, when they all awoke, and went to the house-door, there stood a strangely magnificent tree with leaves of silver, and fruits of gold hanging among them, so that in all the wide world there was nothing more beautiful or precious. They did not know how the tree could have come there during the night, but Two-eyes saw that it had grown up out of the entrails of the goat, for it was standing on the exact spot where she had buried them. Then the mother said to One-eye, “Climb up, my child, and gather some of the fruit of the tree for us.” One-eye climbed up, but when she was about to get hold of one of the golden apples, the branch escaped from her hands, and that happened each time, so that she could not pluck a single apple, let her do what she might. Then said the mother, “Three-eyes, do you climb up; you with your three eyes can look about you better than One-eye.” One-eye slipped down, and Three-eyes climbed up. Three-eyes was not more skilful, and might search as she liked, but the golden apples always escaped her. At length the mother grew impatient, and climbed up herself, but could get hold of the fruit no better than One-eye and Three-eyes, for she always clutched empty air. Then said Two-eyes, “I will just go up, perhaps I may succeed better.” The sisters cried, “You indeed, with your two eyes, what can you do?” But Two-eyes climbed up, and the golden apples did not get out of her way, but came into her hand of their own accord, so that she could pluck them one after the other, and brought a whole apronful down with her. The mother took them away from her, and instead of treating poor Two-eyes any better for this, she and One-eye and Three-eyes were only envious, because Two-eyes alone had been able to get the fruit, and they treated her still more cruelly.

✎ Again desperation with bitter tears and the help of the true mother. And what is she advising this time? Do not grieve for the outward of the goat. Take the inward, the guts, and give them into fertile soil. And now a wonderful tree grows with golden branches and fruits. Well, at this point we cannot help but get back to the spiritual level. Of course, the whole thing reminds us of the tree of eternal life, with the everlasting branches and fruits that only a pure soul can reap. However, those who are attached to superficial things, such as the false mother with her two proud daughters, have no access here and always reach into the blank, even if the eternal fruits are attractive to them. For they live on perishable fruits of the tree of worldly knowledge, as it had symbolically begun with Adam and Eve.

The other way is the true knowledge of eternal life, namely to know the imperishable innermost essence of all things. From this tree you can reap the eternal fruits of gold. But why are her sisters so jealous again, even though our Two-eyes willingly wants to give and share everything? This is a very strange phenomenon that we have known since ancient times. Many wise men, who went the way of knowledge and were ready to give their wisdom to others, already fell prey to these flames of envy and hate. Isn’t that absurd? So we are curious how our fairy tale will continue.

✻ It so befell that once when they were all standing together by the tree, a young knight came up. “Quick, Two-eyes,” cried the two sisters, “creep under this, and don’t disgrace us!” and with all speed they turned an empty barrel which was standing close by the tree over poor Two-eyes, and they pushed the golden apples which she had been gathering, under it too. When the knight came nearer he was a handsome lord, who stopped and admired the magnificent gold and silver tree, and said to the two sisters, “To whom does this fine tree belong? Any one who would bestow one branch of it on me might in return for it ask whatsoever he desired.” Then One-eye and Three-eyes replied that the tree belonged to them, and that they would give him a branch. They both took great trouble, but they were not able to do it, for the branches and fruit both moved away from them every time. Then said the knight, “It is very strange that the tree should belong to you, and that you should still not be able to break a piece off.” They again asserted that the tree was their property. Whilst they were saying so, Two-eyes rolled out a couple of golden apples from under the barrel to the feet of the knight, for she was vexed with One-eye and Three-eyes, for not speaking the truth. When the knight saw the apples he was astonished, and asked where they came from. One-eye and Three-eyes answered that they had another sister, who was not allowed to show herself, for she had only two eyes like any common person. The knight, however, desired to see her, and cried, “Two-eyes, come forth.” Then Two-eyes, quite comforted, came from beneath the barrel, and the knight was surprised at her great beauty, and said, “Thou, Two-eyes, canst certainly break off a branch from the tree for me.” - “Yes,” replied Two-eyes, “that I certainly shall be able to do, for the tree belongs to me.” And she climbed up, and with the greatest ease broke off a branch with beautiful silver leaves and golden fruit, and gave it to the knight. Then said the knight, “Two-eyes, what shall I give thee for it?” - “Alas!” answered Two-eyes, “I suffer from hunger and thirst, grief and want, from early morning till late night; if you would take me with you, and deliver me from these things, I should be happy.” So the knight lifted Two-eyes on to his horse, and took her home with him to his father’s castle, and there he gave her beautiful clothes, and meat and drink to her heart’s content, and as he loved her so much he married her, and the wedding was solemnized with great rejoicing.

✎ Because this fairy tale has been dominated so far only by the feminine, of course, at some point the masculine comes into play. This happens in the form of a knight, who probably symbolizes the spiritual side in the play of nature and spirit. So he immediately asks for the tree and seeks the pure soul, which is connected with this tree. For the eternal fruits are an expression of the inner, essential spirit, while the perishable fruits are an expression of external, superficial nature. The two selfish sisters are quickly unmasked because they have no true connection to this eternal tree and cannot reap its golden fruits. In the end, the spirit releases nature from its suffering and leads the pure soul into a pure world, which could also be called Paradise. Some people might claim that the knight was mainly interested in the gold and silver from the tree, but in the end he is more interested in the good soul and does not ask further about the golden tree.

✻ When Two-eyes was thus carried away by the handsome knight, her two sisters grudged her good fortune in downright earnest. “The wonderful tree, however, still remains with us,” thought they, “and even if we can gather no fruit from it, still every one will stand still and look at it, and come to us and admire it. Who knows what good things may be in store for us?” But next morning, the tree had vanished, and all their hopes were at an end. And when Two-eyes looked out of the window of her own little room, to her great delight it was standing in front of it, and so it had followed her.

✎ The desire for the beautiful shiny gold was obviously more with the two sisters, who cling to the surface and even want to keep this tree as their personal property. But we clearly read that the tree of eternal life belongs to the pure soul much more than its external house, which is left behind as a place of suffering, while the tree follows the pure soul on its own accord. This is a wonderful symbol of true knowledge, in which one no longer has to fear that it will be lost again, like all the transient things and lessons of this world.

✻ Two-eyes lived a long time in happiness. Once two poor women came to her in her castle, and begged for alms. She looked in their faces, and recognized her sisters, One-eye, and Three-eyes, who had fallen into such poverty that they had to wander about and beg their bread from door to door. Two-eyes, however, made them welcome, and was kind to them, and took care of them, so that they both with all their hearts repented the evil that they had done their sister in their youth.

✎ And this transience of outward forms and concepts is also clearly described in this last section, how the proud sisters fell into poverty and even lost their mother. But even this fairy tale has a happy ending, because they reap the compassion of their sister and regret their malignity.

In summary, this fairy tale can be regarded as a wonderful plea for the value of normality. The Buddha, too, has taught the middle way to avoid all extremes in every direction, to overcome opposites, and to find the inner centre. There is certainly in every life a time where a young person should prove and also surpass himself. But chasing outer extremes in life, comparing oneself to others and being special, is certainly not salutary and leads into our “modern poverty,” as this fairy tale also describes it. It creates a huge ego full of envy, hatred and desire with great attachment and illusion. And you miss the most important thing in life, to discover the true meaning and to find the tree of eternal life with the golden branches and fruits.

Rapunzel

✻ There were once a man and a woman who had long in vain wished for a child. At length the woman hoped that God was about to grant her desire. These people had a little window at the back of their house from which a splendid garden could be seen, which was full of the most beautiful flowers and herbs. It was, however, surrounded by a high wall, and no one dared to go into it because it belonged to an enchantress, who had great power and was dreaded by all the world. One day the woman was standing by this window and looking down into the garden, when she saw a bed which was planted with the most beautiful rampion (Rapunzel), and it looked so fresh and green that she longed for it, and had the greatest desire to eat some. This desire increased every day, and as she knew that she could not get any of it, she quite pined away, and looked pale and miserable. Then her husband was alarmed, and asked, “What aileth thee, dear wife?” - “Ah,” she replied, “if I can’t get some of the rampion, which is in the garden behind our house, to eat, I shall die.” The man, who loved her, thought, “Sooner than let thy wife die, bring her some of the rampion thyself, let it cost thee what it will.”

✎ At the beginning of this fairy tale stands once again the contrast between masculine and feminine, which also stands at the beginning of the Bible, where it originated from a holistic being through separation. This polarity or opposition, which strives again for unification, becomes the engine of the development of a whole world, both on the large and small scale. How this engine works and what forces show their effect is described in our fairy tale with symbols of everyday life. From the desire of man and woman, nature becomes pregnant to give birth to the soul begotten by the spirit. The small window in the house reminds us of our senses, which look with a limited view out of the body into the external nature, into this wonderful garden, where the fruits of our desires grow.

However, this garden is in the power of an enchantress, who makes wonderful things appear by illusion. The human reach for these things with the power of desire, whereby one can regard the feminine side as the demanding force and the masculine side as the knowing and acting force. These forces play with each other like fire and water. But the game between male and female should not be referred too much to our outer gender. Everyone has both sides in them. It’s all about essential symbolism, which of course also shows itself in the outer world and in the roles that we play. We now read how the desire develops day by day and the fulfilment of our wishes becomes the only goal in life.

✻ In the twilight of evening, he clambered down over the wall into the garden of the enchantress, hastily clutched a handful of rampion, and took it to his wife. She at once made herself a salad of it, and ate it with much relish. She, however, liked it so much, so very much, that the next day she longed for it three times as much as before. If he was to have any rest, her husband must once more descend into the garden. In the gloom of evening, therefore, he let himself down again; but when he had clambered down the wall he was terribly afraid, for he saw the enchantress standing before him. “How canst thou dare,” said she with angry look, “to descend into my garden and steal my rampion like a thief? Thou shalt suffer for it!” - “Ah,” answered he, “let mercy take the place of justice, I only made up my mind to do it out of necessity. My wife saw your rampion from the window, and felt such a longing for it that she would have died if she had not got some to eat.”

Then the enchantress allowed her anger to be softened, and said to him, “If the case be as thou sayest, I will allow thee to take away with thee as much rampion as thou wilt, only I make one condition, thou must give me the child which thy wife will bring into the world; it shall be well treated, and I will care for it like a mother.” The man in his terror consented to everything, and when the woman was brought to bed, the enchantress appeared at once, gave the child the name of Rapunzel, and took it away with her.

✎ As in life, here too our fairy tale takes its course. Human desire cannot be fulfilled so easily. Even though we usually do not believe it, every satisfied pleasure only triples the desire. The twilight reminds us here of the dimming of pure consciousness, so that the man does not want to accept the given limits of nature and reaches for the foreign fruits. Rapunzel, rampion bellflower, is a congener of the common harebell. It has a long white spindle-shaped root which is eaten raw like a radish, and has a pleasant sweet flavour. Its leaves and young shoots are also used in salads. And of course the man will eventually be caught by the enchantress in the form of illusion and must pay a high price for it. For the growing soul is already being sold to the illusion of the world even before the girl was born. We do not come into this world as a pure and unencumbered soul, but bear the burden of our parents and ancestors. We should also think about this in our lives, and become aware of the responsibility for our children and their children’s children.

✻ Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful child beneath the sun. When she was twelve years old, the enchantress shut her into a tower, which lay in a forest, and had neither stairs nor door, but quite at the top was a little window. When the enchantress wanted to go in, she placed herself beneath this, and cried,

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down thy hair to me.”

Rapunzel had magnificent long hair, fine as spun gold, and when she heard the voice of the enchantress she unfastened her braided tresses, wound them round one of the hooks of the window above, and then the hair fell twenty ells down, and the enchantress climbed up by it.

✎ Well, the soul is separated from her parents, is raised by an enchantress and does not know her true origin. As soon as the girl reaches the fertile age, when the feminine and masculine start to feel the longing for unification, she is locked up in a lonely tower in the midst of nature, to which the masculine is denied access. For the illusion knows that it loses the soul as soon as she reunites with the male spirit of knowledge. And what is this tower? It reminds us again of our material body with the little window of the senses, where we live in a top-heavy world of concepts and limited vision and would like to rise above nature in a proud tower. The Bible speaks of a similar tower, the Tower of Babel. Here too, man wanted to rise from nature to heaven in a strange way, with a tower of burned bricks and pitch as mortar. Who does not think of our fossilized concepts and sticky illusions, from which we build the defence tower of our ego? Do we really want to free ourselves from the limits of nature in this way?

The twelve years may point to the coming of puberty, but also to the dawn of the thirteenth year, which often points to something out of the ordinary, as the thirteenth moon month in the solar year plays an extraordinary role. The only access into the head of the young soul should be the enchantress herself, and of course there will be a spell to open the way. The hair plays a special role in this fairy tale, such as finely spun gold, which on the one hand indicates a certain purity of the soul, but on the other hand reminds of the illusions that we have in our heads. Perhaps it also means the intertwined thoughts that can be both, the path of illusion and the path to liberation. The length of the hair with 20 ells, so about 12 meters, is of course fairy tale and would imply an age of 100 years at a hair growth of 12cm a year. This is always the wonderful thing about a fairy tale, that one notices with growing spirit, that many things are “dragged in by the hair”, which is the German phrase for “far-fetched”. And so our soul draws the illusion in the form of the enchantress in her head.

Our hair has always played an important role in human history. For one thing, the hair expresses our inner essence. Let’s think of the wild hair of the hippie era, the extravagant hairstyles and wigs in the rococo, the aggressive cock’s combs of the punks, the ascetic hairstyles of the monks, the matted hair of the Indian yogis and perhaps our own attempts, to find a suitable identity in a certain hairstyle. But it is said that hair is just like antennas, which can send messages to the outside and also receive them. That is obvious in the animal kingdom, because there we know the whiskers of for example the cats. It is also reported about the ancient witches that they wore their hair long and open to receive the messages of the spirits. Anyway, at least our hair is connected to our feelings, and in our fairy tale it plays an important role. And as the cats wander disoriented without whiskers, likewise, when we are trapped in our tower and fail to receive the true spirit that can liberate us from this prison, we may err in our lives, drawing in more and more illusions.

We also find in the Bible the commandment that women should wear their heads covered, but bare the men (for example, 1 Corinthians 11). Well, as far as the feminine power of desire works outward and wants to pull in the illusion, it certainly makes sense to protect the head and ward off the outer influences. And as far as the male power works inward and receives the holy spirit of liberation, one should open the head and switch all the antennas to reception. For that reason, one probably takes off the hat when one approaches someone superior or even enters a temple of God.

✻ After a year or two, it came to pass that the King’s son rode through the forest and went by the tower. Then he heard a song, which was so charming that he stood still and listened. This was Rapunzel, who in her solitude passed her time in letting her sweet voice resound. The King’s son wanted to climb up to her, and looked for the door of the tower, but none was to be found. He rode home, but the singing had so deeply touched his heart, that every day he went out into the forest and listened to it. Once when he was thus standing behind a tree, he saw that an enchantress came there, and he heard how she cried,

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down thy hair.”

Then Rapunzel let down the braids of her hair, and the enchantress climbed up to her. “If that is the ladder by which one mounts, I will for once try my fortune.” said he, and the next day when it began to grow dark, he went to the tower and cried,

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down thy hair.”

Immediately the hair fell down and the King’s son climbed up.

✎ The good news is that the growing soul cannot be locked forever in the tower of illusion. The connection with the male principle is essential and cannot be prevented. Of course, here we first see the prince on the upper level of the story, who, attracted by the singing, accepts the challenge. And what girl does not wish to be conquered by a real prince? The deeper level, of course, is again the spirit that conquers nature in the form of knowledge. The true spirit, the pure consciousness, is the true king, and his son is the seeking spirit who is on the way to true knowledge, which, of course, is not separated from nature. So he first observes nature and finds an access.

✻ At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man such as her eyes had never yet beheld, came to her; but the King’s son began to talk to her quite like a friend, and told her that his heart had been so stirred that it had let him have no rest, and he had been forced to see her. Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would take him for her husband, and she saw that he was young and handsome, she thought, “He will love me more than old Dame Gothel does.” and she said yes, and laid her hand in his. She said, “I will willingly go away with thee, but I do not know how to get down. Bring with thee a skein of silk every time that thou comest, and I will weave a ladder with it, and when that is ready I will descend, and thou wilt take me on thy horse.” They agreed that until that time he should come to her every evening, for the old woman came by day.

✎ What at first looks like an amorous adventure is also a great thing on the spiritual level, where deeper insights often find their way into our consciousness suddenly and in a strange way. They, too, seem very alien at first, and we are afraid of them. But when we listen to their message and find trust, we quickly unite with them, and they find their access to our being ever easier. This is the famous spiritual wedding, also described in the Song of Solomon, which promises the way to liberation from the reign of illusion. This “yes” is very important on the spiritual path.

✻ The enchantress remarked nothing of this, until once Rapunzel said to her, “Tell me, Dame Gothel, how it happens that you are so much heavier for me to draw up than the young King’s son; he is with me in a moment.” - “Ah! thou wicked child.” cried the enchantress, “What do I hear thee say! I thought I had separated thee from all the world, and yet thou hast deceived me!” In her anger she clutched Rapunzel’s beautiful tresses, wrapped them twice round her left hand, seized a pair of scissors with the right, and snip, snap, they were cut off, and the lovely braids lay on the ground. And she was so pitiless that she took poor Rapunzel into a desert where she had to live in great grief and misery.

✎ The road to liberation is naturally full of obstacles. We make mistakes and reveal ourselves. In an older version of this fairy tale the girl says at this point: “Tell me Mrs. Gothel, my clothes become so tight and do not want to fit any more.” Well, the new love shows itself, first in partiality and later even in a pregnancy, which of course also refers to the mind on the deeper level. The Bible would say, “She became pregnant with the Holy Ghost!” But the illusion does not give up so quickly and uses the weapons of nature: separation, sorrow, and blindness. There is hardly a soul which can avoid this bitter path of purification. In addition, the girl is even cut off the hair that was previously her spiritual approach. And as the cats wander about without whiskers, so too must the soul err in life if she lacks the antennas to receive the spiritual messages that can liberate her.

Sure, every child asks at some point, why did not the prince just cut off the hair and tied it to the window hook, so that both could climb down one after the other. That’s the magic of the fairy tale, because there are deeper and deeper lessons waiting behind such questions. For, evidently, it is the way of illusion to cut off something and act wily, and the way of the mind is to build a ladder of pure silk so that the soul can come down from its top-heavy prison tower.

“Gothel” supposedly means “godmother” and says at least that she cares well for the soul but is not the true mother. But it can also be just any name that the soul uses here because she does not know her true mother. This often happens when we associate something unknown with a concept and then believe that we know the essence.

✻ On the same day, however, that she cast out Rapunzel, the enchantress in the evening fastened the braids of hair which she had cut off to the hook of the window, and when the King’s son came and cried,

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
Let down thy hair,”

she let the hair down. The King’s son ascended, but he did not find his dearest Rapunzel above, but the enchantress, who gazed at him with wicked and venomous looks. “Aha!” she cried mockingly, “Thou wouldst fetch thy dearest, but the beautiful bird sits no longer singing in the nest; the cat has got it, and will scratch out thy eyes as well. Rapunzel is lost to thee; thou wilt never see her more.” The King’s son was beside himself with pain, and in his despair he leapt down from the tower. He escaped with his life, but the thorns into which he fell, pierced his eyes. Then he wandered quite blind about the forest, ate nothing but roots and berries, and did nothing but lament and weep over the loss of his dearest wife.

✎ Yes, the illusion can be that deceitful. It banishes the true soul, takes her place, overwhelms the mind and blinds him. Maybe that’s what we call the illusory ego. Then our mind is wandering through nature, full of suffering, and unable to rediscover the soul.

✻ Thus he roamed about in misery for some years, and at length came to the desert where Rapunzel, with the twins to which she had given birth, a boy and a girl, lived in wretchedness. He heard a voice, and it seemed so familiar to him that he went towards it, and when he approached, Rapunzel knew him and fell on his neck and wept. Two of her tears wetted his eyes and they grew clear again, and he could see with them as before. He led her to his kingdom where he was joyfully received, and they lived for a long time afterwards, happy and contented.

✎ And yet the happy ending is unstoppable. After a period of suffering, which is always also a time of purification and trial, it naturally joins what belongs together, because in truth it is inseparable. Any illusion is transient and cannot last forever. The imperfect opposing poles, though separated long and long, recognize each other, and reunite to perfection. The suffering of the soul heals spiritual blindness, and then the mind leads the soul into the kingdom of his father, the true ruler. And if they have not died (in our reason), then they still live there happily united. That may be the end of our fairy tale, but of course not the end of the world. It continues to turn, because even this union was not fruitless. A new pair of twins was born, a boy and a girl, who will hopefully learn from this fairy tale and develop accordingly.

Faithful John

✻ There was once on a time an old king who was ill, and thought to himself, “I am lying on what must be my death-bed.” Then said he, “Tell Faithful John to come to me.” Faithful John was his favourite servant, and was so called, because he had for his whole life long been so true to him. When therefore he came beside the bed, the King said to him, “Most faithful John, I feel my end approaching, and have no anxiety except about my son. He is still of tender age, and cannot always know how to guide himself. If thou dost not promise me to teach him everything that he ought to know, and to be his foster-father, I cannot close my eyes in peace.” Then answered Faithful John, “I will not forsake him, and will serve him with fidelity, even if it should cost me my life.” On this, the old King said, “Now I die in comfort and peace.” Then he added, “After my death, thou shalt show him the whole castle: all the chambers, halls, and vaults, and all the treasures which lie therein, but the last chamber in the long gallery, in which is the picture of the princess of the Golden Dwelling, shalt thou not show. If he sees that picture, he will fall violently in love with her, and will drop down in a swoon, and go through great danger for her sake, therefore thou must preserve him from that.” And when Faithful John had once more given his promise to the old King about this, the King said no more, but laid his head on his pillow, and died.

✎ Who is the old king who ruled the world and now becomes ill and dies? He should be something superior, otherwise he would not be here at the beginning of this great fairy tale. Is it perhaps even the Great Father, God or the true spirit? “The true spirit dies and God is dead!” This reminds us of Friedrich Nietzsche, who writes in the third book of his ’Gay Science’:

“Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up or down? Are we not straying, as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is not night continually closing in on us? Do we not need to light lanterns in the morning? Do we hear nothing as yet of the noise of the gravediggers who are burying God? Do we smell nothing as yet of the divine decomposition? Gods, too, decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was the holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves?”

That may sound very gloomy at first. But what is the big problem when the true and healing spirit dies and God is dead in us, so to speak? Who rules the world in his place? Only the personal ego of “I want!”? And who then could be our good John, whom the king, as the dearest and most faithful servant, entrusts to guide his still ignorant son, and to serve and help him? We cannot help but think of the Bible, where John is found in various roles as Gospel writer, Baptist, and even Prophet in Revelation. And who really serves, guides and even enlightens us inwardly even as faithfully as John? Every human being has such a helper inside, more or less conscious. There are different terms for him.

In the Bible, he is also called “Paraclete”, the helper in the form of the salutary or holy spirit. We just want to call him ’reason’ or ’wisdom’ here, which perhaps most people are familiar with these days. And what mission does the reason get from the old king? Show the growing soul everything in this world, but save it from the fall into illusion! This also reminds us, of course, of the famous words in paradise when God spoke to man: “You may eat of all the trees in the garden, but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For on the day you eat of him, you must die of death. [Bible, Genesis 2]” Of course, we already suspect that the king did not accidentally mention this particular chamber and did not arrange the picture in vain, just as God did not in vain put the tree of worldly knowledge in paradise and warned against it. But our king has full confidence in his faithful servant that everything will be fine in the end.

✻ When the old King had been carried to his grave, Faithful John told the young King all that he had promised his father on his deathbed, and said, “This will I assuredly perform, and will be faithful to thee as I have been faithful to him, even if it should cost me my life.” When the mourning was over, Faithful John said to him, “It is now time that thou shouldst see thine inheritance. I will show thee thy father’s palace.” Then he took him about everywhere, up and down, and let him see all the riches, and the magnificent apartments, only there was one room which he did not open, that in which hung the dangerous picture. The picture was, however, so placed that when the door was opened you looked straight on it, and it was so admirably painted that it seemed to breathe and live, and there was nothing more charming or more beautiful in the whole world. The young king, however plainly remarked that Faithful John always walked past this one door, and said, “Why dost thou never open this one for me?” - “There is something within it,” he replied, “which would terrify thee.” But the King answered, “I have seen all the palace, and I will know what is in this room also.” and he went and tried to break open the door by force. Then Faithful John held him back and said, “I promised thy father before his death that thou shouldst not see that which is in this chamber, it might bring the greatest misfortune on thee and on me.” - “Ah, no,” replied the young King, “if I do not go in, it will be my certain destruction. I should have no rest day or night until I had seen it with my own eyes. I shall not leave the place now until thou hast unlocked the door.”

Then Faithful John saw that there was no help for it now, and with a heavy heart and many sighs, sought out the key from the great bunch. When he had opened the door, he went in first, and thought by standing before him he could hide the portrait so that the King should not see it in front of him, but what availed that? The King stood on tip-toe and saw it over his shoulder. And when he saw the portrait of the maiden, which was so magnificent and shone with gold and precious stones, he fell fainting to the ground. Faithful John took him up, carried him to his bed, and sorrowfully thought, “The misfortune has befallen us, Lord God, what will be the end of it?” Then he strengthened him with wine, until he came to himself again. The first words the King said were, “Ah, the beautiful portrait! Whose is it?” - “That is the princess of the Golden Dwelling.” answered Faithful John. Then the King continued, “My love for her is so great, that if all the leaves on all the trees were tongues, they could not declare it. I will give my life to win her. Thou art my most Faithful John, thou must help me.”

✎ And of course it comes, as it had to come, the forbidden attracts the young soul especially and no reason seems to help against the great desire. On the upper level the palace of the father is described with the many chambers. On a middle level one can see the same picture as the diversity of external nature and on a deeper level as our mind with all the concepts, ideas and memories. And there are really certain pictures that have been waiting to overwhelm us since time immemorial. Of course, this includes, above all, the urge to the opposite sex, with all the strange ideals that have been implanted in us and that can rob us of our self-control. This is the mighty power of Eros, the passionate love.

Fortunately, reason comforts us again and again and helps us along this path, which is probably inevitable in every life. And who is the beautiful picture here? This question alone is most memorable, just as the answer: the ’king’s daughter of the golden dwelling’. Such puns probably point to a deeper level of symbolic meaning. And so here again meet the male and female principles, which strive for harmonious union. Because each of them has what the other one lacks. The male has the essential gold and the female has the outer forms. Of course, the ’golden dwelling’ also reminds of an outer shell that covers the inner being. This is not so simple, because actually we live in a ’golden dwelling’. The external wealth is much more important in our society than the intrinsic values such as virtue and truthfulness. But where does this lead, if one seeks happiness and indulges oneself only in external, fast transient forms and no longer in the inner, true being?

✻ The faithful servant considered within himself for a long time how to set about the matter, for it was difficult even to obtain a sight of the King’s daughter. At length he thought of a way, and said to the King, “Everything which she has about her is of gold: tables, chairs, dishes, glasses, bowls, and household furniture. Among thy treasures are five tons of gold; let one of the goldsmiths of the kingdom work these up into all manner of vessels and utensils, into all kinds of birds, wild beasts and strange animals, such as may please her, and we will go there with them and try our luck.”

The King ordered all the goldsmiths to be brought to him, and they had to work night and day until at last the most splendid things were prepared. When everything was stowed on board a ship, Faithful John put on the dress of a merchant, and the King was forced to do the same in order to make himself quite unrecognizable. Then they sailed across the sea, and sailed on until they came to the town wherein dwelt the princess of the Golden Dwelling.

✎ Of course, it is hard for the reason to approach this feminine side of our soul that loves the outside so much. But he is not stupid and of course takes advantage of this contrast to eventually reunite both poles. Thus he lets the raw gold of the king be beautifully shaped, so that the forms are pleasing to the feminine. For outer form and inner being naturally belong together and attract each other accordingly. Then it goes by ship over the sea. This expresses the fact that the two opposites are still far apart, and one can even say that in this field of tension between male and female arises this whole wide world, the ocean of life, which is to be mastered. All the persons and things we find in this world are any disguises of the Supreme Being, the pure Spirit, or even God. And the most common disguise is the merchant who wants to trade as an independent person in the world (“to act”) and of course wants to win a lot.

✻ Faithful John bade the King stay behind on the ship, and wait for him. “Perhaps I shall bring the princess with me,” said he, “therefore see that everything is in order; have the golden vessels set out and the whole ship decorated.” Then he gathered together in his apron all kinds of gold things, went on shore and walked straight to the royal palace. When he entered the courtyard of the palace, a beautiful girl was standing there by the well with two golden buckets in her hand, drawing water with them. And when she was just turning round to carry away the sparkling water she saw the stranger, and asked who he was. So he answered, “I am a merchant.” and opened his apron, and let her look in. Then she cried, “Oh, what beautiful gold things!” and put her pails down and looked at the golden wares one after the other. Then said the girl, “The princess must see these, she has such great pleasure in golden things, that she will buy all you have.” She took him by the hand and led him upstairs, for she was the waiting-maid. When the King’s daughter saw the wares, she was quite delighted and said, “They are so beautifully worked, that I will buy them all of thee.” But Faithful John said, “I am only the servant of a rich merchant. The things I have here are not to be compared with those my master has in his ship. They are the most beautiful and valuable things that have ever been made in gold.” She wanted to have everything brought to her there, but he said, “There are so many of them that it would take a great many days to do that, and so many rooms would be required to exhibit them, that your house is not big enough.” Then her curiosity and longing were still more excited, until at last she said, “Conduct me to the ship, I will go there myself, and behold the treasures of thy master.”

✎ Thus, reason approaches the feminine side of our soul and awakens her personal interest in the beautiful forms of gold. Here one could ponder what is meant in the deeper sense with the beautiful gold that appears so truly, valuable and imperishable and can take on so many wonderful forms? What is the true essence of all things in this world? A modern scientist would perhaps speak of energy and information, from which everything arises. It is basically nothing else than the age-old concept of the ’spirit’, which, unfortunately, has almost become a swear word in our science. Of course, we all got into this hot water together. The religions of the past centuries have severely abused their power, and so, of course, came a hard countermovement in the guise of modern science. Let us hope that this vain dispute between spirit and nature will soon settle again, and that the concept of ’spirit’ may once again play a role in the natural universe, as it used to be taken for granted in everyday life. In this ancient sense, we also want to use it here, although in the same way one could also speak of energy and information.

✻ On this Faithful John was quite delighted, and led her to the ship, and when the King saw her, he perceived that her beauty was even greater than the picture had represented it to be, and thought no other than that his heart would burst in twain. Then she got into the ship, and the King led her within. Faithful John, however, remained behind with the pilot, and ordered the ship to be pushed off, saying, “Set all sail, till it fly like a bird in air.” Within, however, the King showed her the golden vessels, every one of them, also the wild beasts and strange animals. Many hours went by whilst she was seeing everything, and in her delight she did not observe that the ship was sailing away. After she had looked at the last, she thanked the merchant and wanted to go home, but when she came to the side of the ship, she saw that it was on the deep sea far from land, and hurrying onwards with all sail set. “Ah,” cried she in her alarm, “I am betrayed! I am carried away and have fallen into the power of a merchant I would die rather!” The King, however, seized her hand, and said, “I am not a merchant. I am a king, and of no meaner origin than thou art, and if I have carried thee away with subtlety, that has come to pass because of my exceeding great love for thee. The first time that I looked on thy portrait, I fell fainting to the ground.” When the princess of the Golden Dwelling heard that, she was comforted, and her heart was inclined unto him, so that she willingly consented to be his wife.

✎ So this spirit, which can take any form, lures the feminine side of our soul to the ship, which, under the command of reason, then quickly leaves the shore and sails on the ocean of life. On the upper level of the story, of course, this is a crafty kidnapping that seems unfair to us today, but in ancient times it was one of the usual conquests of kings. As an ordinary merchant, that would surely have been a crime at that time, but when he showed his true nature, the lovers found themselves. But, as so often in life, the happy ending has not yet been reached.

✻ It happened, however, while they were sailing onwards over the deep sea, that Faithful John, who was sitting on the fore part of the vessel, making music, saw three ravens in the air, which came flying towards them. On this he stopped playing and listened to what they were saying to each other, for that he well understood. One cried, “Oh, there he is carrying home the princess of the Golden Dwelling.” “Yes,” replied the second, “but he has not got her yet.” Said the third, “But he has got her, she is sitting beside him in the ship.” Then the first began again, and cried, “What good will that do him? When they reach land a chestnut horse will leap forward to meet him, and the prince will want to mount it, but if he does that, it will run away with him, and rise up into the air with him, and he will never see his maiden more.” Spake the second, “But is there no escape?” - “Oh, yes, if any one else gets on it swiftly, and takes out the pistol which must be in its holster, and shoots the horse dead with it, the young King is saved. But who knows that? And whosoever does know it, and tells it to him, will be turned to stone from the toe to the knee.” Then said the second, “I know more than that; even if the horse be killed, the young King will still not keep his bride. When they go into the castle together, a wrought bridal garment will be lying there in a dish, and looking as if it were woven of gold and silver; it is, however, nothing but sulphur and pitch, and if he puts it on, it will burn him to the very bone and marrow.” Said the third, “Is there no escape at all?” - “Oh, yes,” replied the second, “if any one with gloves on seizes the garment and throws it into the fire and burns it, the young King will be saved. But what avails that? Whosoever knows it and tells it to him, half his body will become stone from the knee to the heart.”

Then said the third, “I know still more; even if the bridal garment be burnt, the young King will still not have his bride. After the wedding, when the dancing begins and the young Queen is dancing, she will suddenly turn pale and fall down as if dead, and if some one does not lift her up and draw three drops of blood from her right breast and spit them out again, she will die. But if any one who knows that were to declare it, he would become stone from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot.” When the ravens had spoken of this together, they flew onwards, and Faithful John had well understood everything, but from that time forth he became quiet and sad, for if he concealed what he had heard from his master, the latter would be unfortunate, and if he discovered it to him, he himself must sacrifice his life. At length, however, he said to himself, “I will save my master, even if it bring destruction on myself.”

✎ Ravens are often described in fairy tales and legends as wise messengers of destiny and reveal what is still in the dark. Not everyone can hear their voices, but the reason in our fairy tale obviously had this power. Forecasting future events is another topic that is considered unscientific today. That is probably the reason why we more and more have to face events whose effects nobody could scientifically foresee, such as pollution, nuclear bombs, media obsession and consumption binge. For our reason is increasingly dominated by the raw, rational intellect and loses the fine antennas of higher intuition. But foresight is nothing unusual. An attentive reason looks at the causes and can estimate the effects from them. The more careful one looks, the farther and clearer the vision can become. And that this passionate conquest of love will still meet great obstacles, should be clear to every reason.

The details are of course spectacular, on the one hand for the outer story and on the other hand as symbols with a deeper meaning. The first two obstacles threaten more the male side and the last obstacle the female side. Of particular interest here is the question why the reason will petrify when he expresses these foreseen events and their solution? That is a strange phenomenon. Well, hardly anyone believes in such revelations, and the speaker quickly becomes unreliable and muzzled - petrified, so to speak. But if people only want to believe and hold on to it, then a petrified reason arises, because one no longer seeks a solution, loses the sense of change and development and becomes blind to all other information. Just think of the Bible’s Revelation, which made some people wait for the end of the world every day and see only dark signs everywhere. The message of our fairy tale is clear: do not talk so much, but act with the best of intentions!

✻ When therefore they came to shore, all happened as had been foretold by the ravens, and a magnificent chestnut horse sprang forward. “Good,” said the King, “he shall carry me to my palace,” and was about to mount it when Faithful John got before him, jumped quickly on it, drew the pistol out of the holster, and shot the horse. Then the other attendants of the King, who after all were not very fond of Faithful John, cried, “How shameful to kill the beautiful animal, that was to have carried the King to his palace!” But the King said, “Hold your peace and leave him alone, he is my most faithful John, who knows what may be the good of that!”

✎ Now let us try to interpret these strange events. The fiery, galloping horse could stand here for the passionate desire that can carry us away in adventurous and even dangerous way. This happens in practical life as well as on spiritual paths. Then reason should rise and hit the wild horse with its own weapons before it takes our soul away. A practical weapon would be, for example, the starvation of our desires. It often happens that in our hearts as well as in the outside, different voices arise that do not understand and criticize sharply. Then the soul should trust the reason and remain firm, even if it does not seem rational.

✻ They went into the palace, and in the hall there stood a dish, and therein lay the bridal garment looking no otherwise than as if it were made of gold and silver. The young king went towards it and was about to take hold of it, but Faithful John pushed him away, seized it with gloves on, carried it quickly to the fire and burnt it. The other attendants again began to murmur, and said, “Behold, now he is even burning the King’s bridal garment!” But the young King said, “Who knows what good he may have done, leave him alone, he is my most faithful John.”

✎ The next obstacle could be pride and vanity. Then we decorate ourselves with dangerous things that can burn us quickly, even if they initially look excellent. This is the artificial or even the imaginary, which, though appearing like gold and silver, has no true essence, but is quickly withering. Again, it is important to trust the reason, if he burns these things before our eyes.

✻ And now the wedding was solemnized: the dance began, and the bride also took part in it; then Faithful John was watchful and looked into her face, and suddenly she turned pale and fell to the ground as if she were dead. On this he ran hastily to her, lifted her up and bore her into a chamber then he laid her down, and knelt and sucked the three drops of blood from her right breast, and spat them out. Immediately she breathed again and recovered herself, but the young King had seen this, and being ignorant why Faithful John had done it, was angry and cried, “Throw him into a dungeon.”

✎ Now comes the great day of the wedding, when husband and wife reunite. Again, highest mindfulness is required for the reason. On the one hand, it often happens that after the marriage in the dance of life a spouse is so oppressed that he or she literally loses his life. But oppression is not the way to resolve opposites. On the other hand, on the spiritual path, at the point where the opposites reunite, there is always the danger of falling into nihilism, which deprives nature and also reason of all meaning. No meaning, no life. Then reason should feed on the blood of nature and restore nature to life. This giving and taking is a basic principle of nature and should be preserved in a good marriage as well as trust. The number three could stand here for life itself, since it reminds us of the Holy Trinity. But here ends the trust of our soul in reason, and the king apparently sees in this shameless act the dishonour of his wife, which calls for appropriate punishment. Thus, in the end, nature lives, but reason should die.

✻ Next morning Faithful John was condemned, and led to the gallows, and when he stood on high, and was about to be executed, he said, “Every one who has to die is permitted before his end to make one last speech; may I too claim the right?” - “Yes,” answered the King, “it shall be granted unto thee.” Then said Faithful John, “I am unjustly condemned, and have always been true to thee.” and related how he had hearkened to the conversation of the ravens when on the sea, and how he had been obliged to do all these things in order to save his master. Then cried the King, “Oh, my most Faithful John. Pardon, pardon bring him down.” But as Faithful John spoke the last word he had fallen down lifeless and become a stone.

✎ Fate takes its course. The trust is lost, and the higher reason must die and end in petrifaction as he tries to justify himself. This is a wonderful and memorable symbol.

✻ Thereupon the King and the Queen suffered great anguish, and the King said, “Ah, how ill I have requited great fidelity!” and ordered the stone figure to be taken up and placed in his bedroom beside his bed. And as often as he looked on it he wept and said, “Ah, if I could bring thee to life again, my most faithful John.” Some time passed and the Queen bore twins, two sons who grew fast and were her delight. Once when the Queen was at church and the two children were sitting playing beside their father, the latter full of grief again looked at the stone figure, sighed and said, “Ah, if I could but bring thee to life again, my most faithful John.” Then the stone began to speak and said, “Thou canst bring me to life again if thou wilt use for that purpose what is dearest to thee.” Then cried the King, “I will give everything I have in the world for thee.” The stone continued, “If thou wilt cut off the heads of thy two children with thine own hand, and sprinkle me with their blood, I shall be restored to life.”

The King was terrified when he heard that he himself must kill his dearest children, but he thought of faithful John’s great fidelity, and how he had died for him, drew his sword, and with his own hand cut off the children’s heads. And when he had smeared the stone with their blood, life returned to it, and Faithful John stood once more safe and healthy before him.

✎ King and queen, spirit and nature, are now reunited, but reason, the holy and healing spirit, is petrified and stands only as an idol in the corner of their bedroom. But the king at least feels great remorse on an intellectual level and wishes that higher reason may live again. So it often happens in life that we have to lose something first to realize its true value. But even this time of suffering was not in vain, it became fruitful and a pair of twins came into the world. Interestingly, there were two sons and not the usual son and daughter couple. This may already indicate that the opposites in this relationship of man and woman were still present, but not so distinct.

And how can you bring reason back to life? The confidence must be restored and that usually requires a serious test as well, because a lip service is not enough here. Of course, the test is hard, and the king is to sacrifice his beloved, to which he clings to in this world. This reminds us of a similar saying in the Bible: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” Here we are just as frightened as the king of our fairy tale, and ask ourselves, “That should be reasonable?” Of course, this is not about hating the beings, but about selfish and thus partisan attachment to the creatures, which has to be cut off with the famous sword of knowledge. This is a truly great sacrifice that the soul offers here, and from this flows the pure blood of eternal life, which not only brings reason to life.

Of course, you should be very careful with such proof of faith, especially when it comes to worldly goals. Unfortunately, it has often been abused. Horrible wars were thus waged for political purposes, where reason was completely petrified. Therefore, always the greatest attention is required. Because the path to spiritual liberation is very narrow. And that’s obviously what our fairy tale is all about, otherwise we would not have to make such a big sacrifice.

✻ He said to the King, “Thy truth shall not go unrewarded.” and took the heads of the children, put them on again, and rubbed the wounds with their blood, on which they became whole again immediately, and jumped about, and went on playing as if nothing had happened.

✎ The truthfulness of such a sacrifice is, of course, recognized in the effect. The true reward is the true life. Everything else is death and transient illusion. And what does the feminine side of our soul say about this sacrifice? Will she react in opposition?

✻ Then the King was full of joy, and when he saw the Queen coming he hid Faithful John and the two children in a great cupboard. When she entered, he said to her, “Hast thou been praying in the church?” “Yes,” answered she, “but I have constantly been thinking of Faithful John and what misfortune has befallen him through us.” Then said he, “Dear wife, we can give him his life again, but it will cost us our two little sons, whom we must sacrifice.” The Queen turned pale, and her heart was full of terror, but she said, “We owe it to him, for his great fidelity.” Then the King was rejoiced that she thought as he had thought, and went and opened the cupboard, and brought forth Faithful John and the children, and said, “God be praised, he is delivered, and we have our little sons again also,” and told her how everything had occurred. Then they dwelt together in much happiness until their death.

✎ Wonderful, even the last test is passed! All three are now in harmony. The usual contrasts between man, woman and reason have been overcome. They can live united without quarrel, and that is really a reason for great bliss. You could say these three are the life. Without reason it would only be a back and forth in nature. But reason gives the whole thing a direction to develop. The more harmoniously these three are united and the less they argue with each other, the happier life is. Wonderful, that could be the great message and thus the happy ending of our fairy tale.

The Wonderful Musician

✻ There was once a wonderful musician, who went quite alone through a forest and thought of all manner of things, and when nothing was left for him to think about, he said to himself, “Time is beginning to pass heavily with me here in the forest, I will fetch hither a good companion for myself.” Then he took his fiddle from his back, and played so that it echoed through the trees. It was not long before a wolf came trotting through the thicket towards him. “Ah, here is a wolf coming! I have no desire for him!” said the musician; but the wolf came nearer and said to him, “Ah, dear musician, how beautifully thou dost play! I should like to learn that, too.” “It is soon learnt,” the musician replied, “thou hast only to do all that I bid thee.” “Oh, musician,” said the wolf, “I will obey thee as a scholar obeys his master.” The musician bade him follow, and when they had gone part of the way together, they came to an old oak-tree which was hollow inside, and cleft in the middle. “Look,” said the musician, “if thou wilt learn to fiddle, put thy fore paws into this crevice.” The wolf obeyed, but the musician quickly picked up a stone and with one blow wedged his two paws so fast that he was forced to stay there like a prisoner. “Stay there until I come back again,” said the musician, and went his way.

After a while he again said to himself, “Time is beginning to pass heavily with me here in the forest, I will fetch hither another companion,” and took his fiddle and again played in the forest. It was not long before a fox came creeping through the trees towards him. “Ah, there’s a fox coming!” said the musician. “I have no desire for him.” The fox came up to him and said, “Oh, dear musician, how beautifully thou dost play! I should like to learn that too.” “That is soon learnt,” said the musician. “Thou hast only to do everything that I bid thee.” “Oh, musician,” then said the fox, “I will obey thee as a scholar obeys his master.” “Follow me,” said the musician; and when they had walked a part of the way, they came to a footpath, with high bushes on both sides of it. There the musician stood still, and from one side bent a young hazel-bush down to the ground, and put his foot on the top of it, then he bent down a young tree from the other side as well, and said, “Now, little fox, if thou wilt learn something, give me thy left front paw.” The fox obeyed, and the musician fastened his paw to the left bough. “Little fox,” said he, “now reach me thy right paw,” and he tied it to the right bough. Then he had examined whether they were firm enough, he let go, and the bushes sprang up again, and jerked up the little fox, so that it hung struggling in the air. “Wait there till I come back again,” said the musician, and went his way.

Again he said to himself, “Time is beginning to pass heavily with me here in the forest, I will fetch hither another companion,” so he took his fiddle, and the sound echoed through the forest. Then a little hare came springing towards him. “Why, a hare is coming,” said the musician, “I do not want him.” “Ah, dear musician,” said the hare, “how beautifully thou dost fiddle; I, too, should like to learn that.” “That is soon learnt,” said the musician, “thou hast only to do everything that I bid thee.”

“Oh, musician,” replied the little hare, “I will obey thee as a scholar obeys his master.” They went a part of the way together until they came to an open space in the forest, where stood an aspen-tree. The musician tied a long string round the little hare’s neck, the other end of which he fastened to the tree. “Now briskly, little hare, run twenty times round the tree!” cried the musician, and the little hare obeyed, and when it had run round twenty times, it had twisted the string twenty times round the trunk of the tree, and the little hare was caught, and let it pull and tug as it liked, it only made the string cut into its tender neck. “Wait there till I come back,” said the musician, and went onwards.

The wolf, in the meantime, had pushed and pulled and bitten at the stone, and had worked so long that he had set his feet at liberty and had drawn them once more out of the cleft. Full of anger and rage he hurried after the musician and wanted to tear him to pieces. When the fox saw him running, he began to lament, and cried with all his might, “Brother wolf, come to my help, the musician has betrayed me!” The wolf drew down the little tree, bit the cord in two, and freed the fox, who went with him to take revenge on the musician. They found the tied-up hare, whom likewise they delivered, and then they all sought the enemy together.

The musician had once more played his fiddle as he went on his way, and this time he had been more fortunate. The sound reached the ears of a poor wood-cutter, who instantly, whether he would or no, gave up his work and came with his hatchet under his arm to listen to the music. “At last comes the right companion,” said the musician, “for I was seeking a human being, and no wild beast.” And he began and played so beautifully and delightfully that the poor man stood there as if bewitched, and his heart leaped with gladness. And as he thus stood, the wolf, the fox, and the hare came up, and he saw well that they had some evil design. So he raised his glittering axe and placed himself before the musician, as if to say, “Whoso wishes to touch him let him beware, for he will have to do with me!” Then the beasts were terrified and ran back into the forest. The musician, however, played once more to the man out of gratitude, and then went onwards.

✎ The story is simple: a musician is bored on his way through the wilderness, and so he plays some music because he wishes for a companion. Attracted by the beautiful music, three animals come out of the dark forest and follow him uninvited. The minstrel wants to get rid of them with evil tricks. But the traps he chooses do not last long, only the lumberjack can finally drive the animals away. For him, who only listens and does not want anything from the minstrel, he plays thankfully and beautifully and ... continues on his own path, alone. A really strange story that strongly demands that we represent the whole external event in our inner being, where the dark forest stands for the subconscious, out of which our animal instincts arise.

The symbolism for animals has certainly changed significantly over time. We believe today that the wolf was a power animal, a wise teacher and a spiritual companion during the Germanic era, and that in the Middle Ages it was associated with greediness, insatiable hunger and cruelty. To this day, the hare is fearful in stories and the fox is crafty. But anyone who really observes animals not only recognizes some basic patterns in their behaviour, but also many different characters. Not every fox is equally brave or cunning, and wolves in their pack tend to cultivate compassion and harmonious coexistence more consistently than some people in their family. To what extent do wolf, fox and hare stand here for greed, insidiousness and fearfulness, we want to leave open, but they certainly stand for animal instincts that stick stubbornly to one, even if one does not welcome them or wants to have them. That no real animals can be meant seems clear to us, because the three usually do not make common cause with each other, even if they could talk. And the usual, exaggerated three-time repetition is also already familiar to us from other fairy tales and one’s own mind, because mental change usually takes a lot of time and frequent repetition.

But what attracted the animals? It was the wonderful music of the minstrel. A magic that nobody can escape. And immediately the animals want to be able to play so nicely, they want to cherish the rapture and own what seems desirable to them. Does this sound familiar to you? This thirst for something we do not have or master, and we think it will make us happy? And the thirst is persistent in our behaviour and cannot be easily put in its place. You can suppress it for a while and ignore it, but to really get rid of it, other means are needed. The minstrel first chooses the cunning to get rid of the pressing urges at least in the short term. He cannot kill or chase the animals away, he can only bind them, how they bind us, and for the time being leave them behind. In general, he can only captivate them because they have already bound themselves with their own desire. It was not the final solution, but it gives him enough space and time to meet the right fellow on his way, who can truly help him.

Each animal is tied up in a different way. And if we want to stay briefly with the above-mentioned characteristics of the animals: The greedy wolf gets its paws trapped, as the passion binds us to selfish deeds. The cunning fox is lifted into the air because guile does not have a solid ground under its feet. And the fear? Well, the rabbit runs in a circle until the noose of fear strangles his breath and even life, and he cannot move anymore. This is certainly not about animal abuse, but an excellent picture for human characteristics and their effects!

When the minstrel meets the simple woodcutter, he says: “Finally a man!” For us, the question arose immediately: What distinguishes us humans from the animals? Even science can no longer clearly define the limits, because such “typically human” qualities as compassion, diligence, common sense or personality can be found by impartial observation in many animals and even some plants. So what does the lumberjack have what the animals of the forest do not have? As an antidote to the animal instincts, we might accept some self-knowledge based on reason and apprehension. And if the forest stands for the dark, the unconscious, then the lumberjack is the ordering force in chaos that works with the axe, the sharp blade of knowledge. Also, the lumberjack must have a higher cognition, because he has already left the attachment behind. It is enough for him to listen and enjoy the moment. It does not even occur to him to gain and control the music. He does not want to own anything and does not even have to say a word to the minstrel. He can perceive the moment as it is, without asking for more. And therefore he is aware, and just this awareness and the demonstration of one’s own knowledge are sufficient for the animal instincts to return to where they came from.

But who or what is the minstrel, who was initially so busy with his own thoughts and then felt bored? Yes, those who think a lot also know the boredom, this tormenting vacuum, which is so unpopular with us, that we want to fill it with hectic activity and all the resources of today’s techno-media world. Telephoning while driving, listening to music while jogging, watching TV and talking to others at the same time, feeding the baby while typing SMS... Boredom, which used to be called leisure, is an important thing. Those who allow the boredom can dive into their own dark forest, which is not only a home for animal instincts, but also for harmony, creativity, knowledge and in the end even true peace.

Well, as the title of the fairy tale says, it is a “wonderful” musician, a figure full of wonders and surprises, and probably no ordinary musician. He masters harmony in the form of most delightful music, and thus appears to us as a perfect poetry that, like selfless love, is able to unite the separated. It is not for nothing that he seeks the ordering power in the form of reason. Once rational knowledge and fairy-tale poetry have met, their connection will be fruitful for a long time to come. The woodcutter is not sad that the magical music moves on, because he does not want to hold on to it. And the minstrel, who gratefully moves on, after reason freed him from the animal impulses, no longer feels alone.

Because: “Poetry is truth that lives in beauty.”
Robert Gilfillan (1798 - 1850), Scottish poet

One can go even further in the interpretation of minstrel (in German: Spielmann - lit. playing man) and lumberjack and must not stop at the interaction of poetry and reason in one’s own mind. After all, the development of our mind in the course of a lifetime is quite similar to the great and the whole in the world, nature and the divine.

We are familiar with playing children. Adults may still play with musical instruments or at parties against boredom. But if a construction worker described his work as a game, that would be strange. And if a man plays with life itself, namely with his own ideas, concepts, ideals and feelings, then we are almost afraid of such a man. At the same time, we know it from painting, music or poetry. The art that banishes the playful, only craves for money or fame and is produced as if on an assembly line, loses its true meaning. It will no longer be able to lift us, but pulls us down into the ordinary and materialistic world. In Hinduism, there is the term “Lila” for this playful, the divine play of life. Many Westerners are afraid of this idea and say: “Life is not a game! It is a serious matter!”

Hermann Hesse also dealt with this topic in a very profound way in his book “The Glass Bead Game [Glasperlenspiel]”. There, for example, he has his protagonist say: “’Playing’ has several meanings, but most importantly, it means something that takes the employee particularly seriously and sternly. The game of the child is played with the utmost seriousness. The play of the musicians is celebrated like worship. Any card or parlour game is characterized by the fact that it is less serious than ’life’, but that it has very firm rules, and that each player complies more closely with these rules and submits much more to their sense than most people in ’real’ life do it with the rules of reason... To this sense of the game now stands the seriousness of political beliefs, aspirations... in contrast. What is lacking here is the humility of knowing that one only plays and is a child and has God above him. Instead of acting, thinking, one speaks with an exaggerated, blind, and other raping gravity...”

Withered leaf [Hermann Hesse]

Every blossom wants to fruit,
Every morning wants to be evening,
Eternal is not on earth
As the change, as the escape.
Even the most beautiful summer wants
Once autumn and wilting feel.
Hold, leaf, patiently,
If the wind wants to kidnap you.
Play your game and do not fight back,
Let it quietly happen.
Let the wind that breaks you,
Blow you home.

The minstrel may also be a symbol of the higher intelligence that playfully unfolds the perfect art of poetry and harmony of music. This intelligence wanders through the universe, takes on a variety of forms, connects with a variety of bodies, becomes one of the strangest beings and is always a seeker. The word ’Spielmann’ means a male being, perhaps even the one and eternal spirit, who plays with the variety of transient forms. Why does he play this strange game? He seeks without really knowing what he is looking for. He is driven by thoughts and a strange boredom. Therefore, the mind wanders all on his own through nature, making its wonderful song sound, playing with the forms of life and walking on and on. He plays with the animals and binds them through their own being. He is happy about the man who works hard in nature, who leads a simple life and finds this powerful weapon with which he can overcome the animal instincts.

Playing of the flute [Hermann Hesse]

At a house at night through shrub and tree
A window shimmered softly,
And there in the invisible room
A flute player stood and blew.
It was a song so well-known
It flowed so kindly into the night,
As if every country were home,
As if every path was accomplished.
It was the world’s secret meaning
Revealed in his breath,
And willingly the heart surrendered,
And all time became present.

The White Snake

✻ A long time ago there lived a king who was famed for his wisdom through all the land. Nothing was hidden from him, and it seemed as if news of the most secret things was brought to him through the air. But he had a strange custom; every day after dinner, when the table was cleared, and no one else was present, a trusty servant had to bring him one more dish. It was covered, however, and even the servant did not know what was in it, neither did any one know, for the King never took off the cover to eat of it until he was quite alone.

This had gone on for a long time, when one day the servant, who took away the dish, was overcome with such curiosity that he could not help carrying the dish into his room. When he had carefully locked the door, he lifted up the cover, and saw a white snake lying on the dish. But when he saw it he could not deny himself the pleasure of tasting it, so he cut off a little bit and put it into his mouth. No sooner had it touched his tongue than he heard a strange whispering of little voices outside his window. He went and listened, and then noticed that it was the sparrows who were chattering together, and telling one another of all kinds of things which they had seen in the fields and woods. Eating the snake had given him power of understanding the language of animals.

✎ The fairy tale begins with a mystical king who is described here as the epitome of wisdom. He attains this wisdom from a strange food, a white snake. The symbolism for snakes could not be more contradictory and eludes any rigid categorization. Sometimes it is a miracle medicine, sometimes dangerous poison, sometimes strength and agility, sometimes deceit and malice. In Europe, we know the serpent from the staff of Aesculapius, a symbol that stands for the wonderful and selfless help of the doctor. In the Indian epics, the serpent is an elemental force that holds and sustains the earth. In yoga, it is also a deep-rooted energy that rests in every living thing. But at the same time you could talk about the dangerousness of the poisonous snake... Well, that’s how it goes when it comes to something alive. The power itself is neither good nor bad, it is changing and constantly in motion just like life itself. It depends on the situation and the motives of those involved, whether something is good and wholesome, or rather the opposite. A white snake at least points to something pure and healing, which has special abilities or can lend them. And again, this fairy tale is not so much about being proud of a particular ability and feeling special about it, but more about how it’s used.

We certainly know from our own lives that it is not enough for us to simply listen to and serve a wise king. Once human curiosity awakens, there is no stopping it, and we are urged to attain the great wisdom for ourselves. But what does it mean to understand nature? At the time, when this fairy tale arose in the “Dark Middle Ages” there were other opinions than today. There are many ways to understand nature and find wisdom. Even in modern research, we learn a lot from nature. Although we do not directly understand their language, but we find formulas and equations that describe the lives of animals and plants. This is also a possible way, but it depends on how we use our knowledge. And this is exactly the point, where wheat and chaff are separated. Is it about selfish dominance and maximum profits without thinking of the consequences that do not directly affect us? Or do we recognize our bonds to nature, gratefully return what we receive, and practise compassion?

✻ Now it so happened that on this very day the Queen lost her most beautiful ring, and suspicion of having stolen it fell upon this trusty servant, who was allowed to go everywhere. The King ordered the man to be brought before him, and threatened with angry words that unless he could before the morrow point out the thief, he himself should be looked upon as guilty and executed. In vain he declared his innocence; he was dismissed with no better answer.

In his trouble and fear he went down into the courtyard and took thought how to help himself out of his trouble. Now some ducks were sitting together quietly by a brook and taking their rest; and, whilst they were making their feathers smooth with their bills, they were having a confidential conversation together. The servant stood by and listened. They were telling one another of all the places where they had been waddling about all the morning, and what good food they had found; and one said in a pitiful tone, “Something lies heavy on my stomach; as I was eating in haste I swallowed a ring which lay under the Queen’s window.” The servant at once seized her by the neck, carried her to the kitchen, and said to the cook, “Here is a fine duck; pray kill her.” “Yes,” said the cook, and weighed her in his hand; “she has spared no trouble to fatten herself, and has been waiting to be roasted long enough.” So he cut off her head, and as she was being dressed for the spit, the Queen’s ring was found inside her.

The servant could now easily prove his innocence; and the King, to make amends for the wrong, allowed him to ask a favour, and promised him the best place in the court that he could wish for. The servant refused everything, and only asked for a horse and some money for travelling, as he had a mind to see the world and go about a little.

✎ What does the ring of the queen mean? If we regard the ring as a symbol of unity and connectedness, the story indicates that there was a breach somewhere in the kingdom. It is correct that the servant comes immediately under suspicion. Although he was not involved in the disappearance of the ring, but in terms of the forbidden bowl, he was not reliable, since he could not tame his curiosity and thus deceived his king. But he draws the consequences and renounces a career at court. His path is not quiet service, but adventure and curiosity. In doing so, he does not brag about his newfound ability to hear the voices of nature, but uses it only as occasion arises. Likewise, the king acted at the beginning of the fairy tale. So we see, there is already something of a king in the servant.

✻ When his request was granted he set out on his way, and one day came to a pond, where he saw three fishes caught in the reeds and gasping for water. Now, though it is said that fishes are dumb, he heard them lamenting that they must perish so miserably, and, as he had a kind heart, he got off his horse and put the three prisoners back into the water. They quivered with delight, put out their heads, and cried to him, “We will remember you and repay you for saving us!”

He rode on, and after a while it seemed to him that he heard a voice in the sand at his feet. He listened, and heard an ant-king complain, “Why cannot folks, with their clumsy beasts, keep off our bodies? That stupid horse, with his heavy hoofs, has been treading down my people without mercy!” So he turned on to a side path and the ant-king cried out to him, “We will remember you one good turn deserves another!”

The path led him into a wood, and here he saw two old ravens standing by their nest, and throwing out their young ones. “Out with you, you idle, good-for-nothing creatures!” cried they; “We cannot find food for you any longer; you are big enough, and can provide for yourselves.” But the poor young ravens lay upon the ground flapping their wings, and crying, “Oh, what helpless chicks we are! We must shift for ourselves, and yet we cannot fly! What can we do, but lie here and starve?” So the good young fellow alighted and killed his horse with his sword, and gave it to them for food. Then they came hopping up to it, satisfied their hunger, and cried, “We will remember you one good turn deserves another!”

✎ The youth shows compassion, which is not entirely impartial. For what would he have done if the horse had asked for mercy and assistance? But if we are honest, there is no such thing as impartial help. We act in the appropriate situations as we deem necessary. But we are never independent. If we help one, another must suffer. In no situation we can avoid violence or death, just as assistance and goodness are omnipresent. Sometimes we realize that, but most of the time we focus only on our intentions. Already with every breath millions of small creatures die in our bodies, because our immune system is also partisan. In the long run we cannot avoid crushing the ants or small snails while crossing a meadow. So what matters at the end? Probably the intention. It makes a big difference whether we want to help the raven unselfishly or kill the horse for selfish motives. When the servant sacrificed the duck, it was because he feared punishment. Now, on his way of development, the youth is acting out of selfless motives.

✻ And now he had to use his own legs, and when he had walked a long way, he came to a large city. There was a great noise and crowd in the streets, and a man rode up on horseback, crying aloud, “The King’s daughter wants a husband; but whoever sues for her hand must perform a hard task, and if he does not succeed he will forfeit his life.” Many had already made the attempt, but in vain; nevertheless when the youth saw the King’s daughter he was so overcome by her great beauty that he forgot all danger, went before the King, and declared himself a suitor.

✎ What is often described in the fairy tale as a marriage between a beautiful bride and a brave bridegroom is in the higher sense the connection with the true companion. And what is the true companion? The inner truth, the oneness with the creation, this highest goal in life. It is obvious that the way to this goal is painstaking, and we also need help to deal with apparently unsolvable tasks. Whether we receive the necessary help depends also on whether we are willing to give and help. And it is also important if we are willing to face the seemingly impossible tasks at all. Because that’s what human endeavour is all about: Life will always give us serious trials. But if we do not give up and try again and again, then help and development are possible.

✻ So he was led out to the sea, and a gold ring was thrown into it, in his sight; then the King ordered him to fetch this ring up from the bottom of the sea, and added, “If you come up again without it you will be thrown in again and again until you perish amid the waves.” All the people grieved for the handsome youth; then they went away, leaving him alone by the sea.

He stood on the shore and considered what he should do, when suddenly he saw three fishes come swimming towards him, and they were the very fishes whose lives he had saved. The one in the middle held a mussel in its mouth, which it laid on the shore at the youth’s feet, and when he had taken it up and opened it, there lay the gold ring in the shell. Full of joy he took it to the King, and expected that he would grant him the promised reward.

But when the proud princess perceived that he was not her equal in birth, she scorned him, and required him first to perform another task. She went down into the garden and strewed with her own hands ten sacks-full of millet-seed on the grass; then she said, “To-morrow morning before sunrise these must be picked up, and not a single grain be wanting.”

The youth sat down in the garden and considered how it might be possible to perform this task, but he could think of nothing, and there he sat sorrowfully awaiting the break of day, when he should be led to death. But as soon as the first rays of the sun shone into the garden he saw all the ten sacks standing side by side, quite full, and not a single grain was missing. The ant-king had come in the night with thousands and thousands of ants, and the grateful creatures had by great industry picked up all the millet-seed and gathered them into the sacks.

Presently the King’s daughter herself came down into the garden, and was amazed to see that the young man had done the task she had given him. But she could not yet conquer her proud heart, and said, “Although he has performed both the tasks, he shall not be my husband until he has brought me an apple from the Tree of Life.”

The youth did not know where the Tree of Life stood, but he set out, and would have gone on for ever, as long as his legs would carry him, though he had no hope of finding it. After he had wandered through three kingdoms, he came one evening to a wood, and lay down under a tree to sleep. But he heard a rustling in the branches, and a golden apple fell into his hand. At the same time three ravens flew down to him, perched themselves upon his knee, and said, “We are the three young ravens whom you saved from starving; when we had grown big, and heard that you were seeking the Golden Apple, we flew over the sea to the end of the world, where the Tree of Life stands, and have brought you the apple.” The youth, full of joy, set out homewards, and took the Golden Apple to the King’s beautiful daughter, who had now no more excuses left to make. They cut the Apple of Life in two and ate it together; and then her heart became full of love for him, and they lived in undisturbed happiness to a great age.

✎ The last two sentences were the reason why we chose this fairy tale: They ate the apple of the tree of life together, and her former hard and proud heart was filled with love...

What does the tree of life stand for? As a child I thought it had something to do with eternal life. But no fairy tale is about living forever. You live happily to the end. Age and death are quite natural. So even in fairy tales, the length of life is not important, but how one lives. And now, many years later, I have a faint idea that an ’eternal life’ has nothing to do with living forever. But how can you explain that and put it into words?

Over time, a tree forms many leaves, flowers and fruits, including roots and bark, and everything dies down again. Then the tree just makes new leaves and roots, and so it goes on until its end of life is reached. The tree of life can be imagined in a similar way. It is constantly making new leaves and flowers, some die soon, some live longer. Only the tree of life itself is permanent, no matter how often it loses leaves and fruits and renews them again. It is the same with life itself. It constantly takes on many different forms, some are quickly gone, and others exist longer. The forms are always transient, but life itself remains and does not go away, however often the forms may change, pass away and re-emerge. We can now cling to this human body and weep with much suffering about the form we are wearing at the moment. But we can also see the big picture, the life itself, and accept without complaining what is obvious: our body is perishable, but life remains. Then we are also united with the whole, we can see how that glorious and wonderful life pulsates in everything that surrounds us and rejoice in it without any selfishness. And what is selfless joy? Unselfish love that fills the heart of the princess at the moment when she shares the apple of the tree of life with her true companion. She has truly digested this food, for it lets the stubborn pride disappear, and life itself is left over. And life itself is nothing but pure love.

The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs

✻ There was once a poor woman who gave birth to a little son; and as he came into the world with a caul on, it was predicted that in his fourteenth year he would have the King’s daughter for his wife. It happened that soon afterwards the King came into the village, and no one knew that he was the King, and when he asked the people what news there was, they answered, “A child has just been born with a caul on; whatever any one so born undertakes turns out well. It is prophesied, too, that in his fourteenth year he will have the King’s daughter for his wife.”

The King, who had a bad heart, and was angry about the prophecy, went to the parents, and, seeming quite friendly, said, “You poor people, let me have your child, and I will take care of it.” At first they refused, but when the stranger offered them a large amount of gold for it, and they thought, “It is a luck-child, and everything must turn out well for it.” they at last consented, and gave him the child.

✎ What is a ’caul’? An external body that brings the creature good luck in this world, and that not only purely statistically, but predestined by fate. So we see again that a child is not a blank sheet when it is born into this world. In India, it is spoken of karma in this regard, inherited from the sins and merits of past lives. In the Christian world one speaks above all of original sin and less of inheritance. But where there is a minus, there must also be a plus, and it is certainly not in vain if we do much good in life and help others, even if the good fruits do not show up right away. Maybe you will enjoy this happiness only in the next life, like our lucky child in this fairy tale. He was even predicted the royal dignity, from which the reigning king immediately felt threatened. This happens in the outer world, but also on the spiritual level in our inside, where not always the noblest forces lead the rule. And so we want to read how a meritorious person masters the obstacles of this world.

✻ The King put it in a box and rode away with it until he came to a deep piece of water; then he threw the box into it and thought, “I have freed my daughter from her unlooked-for suitor.” The box, however, did not sink, but floated like a boat, and not a drop of water made its way into it. And it floated to within two miles of the King’s chief city, where there was a mill, and it came to a stand-still at the mill-dam. A miller’s boy, who by good luck was standing there, noticed it and pulled it out with a hook, thinking that he had found a great treasure, but when he opened it there lay a pretty boy inside, quite fresh and lively. He took him to the miller and his wife, and as they had no children they were glad, and said, “God has given him to us.” They took great care of the foundling, and he grew up in all goodness.

It happened that once in a storm the King went into the mill, and he asked the mill-folk if the tall youth was their son. “No,” answered they, “he’s a foundling. Fourteen years ago he floated down to the mill-dam in a box, and the mill-boy pulled him out of the water.” Then the King knew that it was none other than the luck-child which he had thrown into the water, and he said, “My good people, could not the youth take a letter to the Queen; I will give him two gold pieces as a reward?” - “Just as the King commands.” answered they, and they told the boy to hold himself in readiness. Then the King wrote a letter to the Queen, wherein he said, “As soon as the boy arrives with this letter, let him be killed and buried, and all must be done before I come home.”

The boy set out with this letter; but he lost his way, and in the evening came to a large forest. In the darkness he saw a small light; he went towards it and reached a cottage. When he went in, an old woman was sitting by the fire quite alone. She started when she saw the boy, and said, “Whence do you come, and whither are you going?” - “I come from the mill,” he answered, “and wish to go to the Queen, to whom I am taking a letter; but as I have lost my way in the forest I should like to stay here over night.” - “You poor boy,” said the woman, “you have come into a den of thieves, and when they come home they will kill you.” - “Let them come,” said the boy, “I am not afraid; but I am so tired that I cannot go any farther.” and he stretched himself upon a bench and fell asleep.

Soon afterwards the robbers came, and angrily asked what strange boy was lying there? “Ah,” said the old woman, “it is an innocent child who has lost himself in the forest, and out of pity I have let him come in; he has to take a letter to the Queen.” The robbers opened the letter and read it, and in it was written that the boy as soon as he arrived should be put to death. Then the hard-hearted robbers felt pity, and their leader tore up the letter and wrote another, saying, that soon as the boy came, he should be married at once to the King’s daughter. Then they let him lie quietly on the bench until the next morning, and when he awoke they gave him the letter, and showed him the right way.

And the Queen, when she had received the letter and read it, did as was written in it, and had a splendid wedding-feast prepared, and the King’s daughter was married to the luck-child; and as the youth was handsome and agreeable she lived with him in joy and contentment.

✎ Well, that’s how a lucky child lives. Circumstances are progressing to good, and even the aberrations add to his happiness. His life is preserved, the mill of the world lovingly welcomes him, and virtuous people care for him. Even the wild robbers have pity on the boy, and though they bring so much evil to the world, they do much good in this case. Such a meritorious man radiates far into his surroundings. If only one in a hundred people had such meritorious charisma, then our whole world would be much friendlier. Such people are like bright lights that drive the darkness away. So we see that it pays to accumulate virtuous merits in life that bless everyone.

✻ After some time the King returned to his palace and saw that the prophecy was fulfilled, and the luck-child married to his daughter. “How has that come to pass?” said he; “I gave quite another order in my letter.”

So the Queen gave him the letter, and said that he might see for himself what was written in it. The King read the letter and saw quite well that it had been exchanged for the other. He asked the youth what had become of the letter entrusted to him, and why he had brought another instead of it. “I know nothing about it,” answered he; “it must have been changed in the night, when I slept in the forest.” The King said in a passion, “You shall not have everything quite so much your own way; whosoever marries my daughter must fetch me from hell three golden hairs from the head of the devil; bring me what I want, and you shall keep my daughter.” In this way the King hoped to be rid of him for ever. But the luck-child answered, “I will fetch the golden hairs, I am not afraid of the Devil.” thereupon he took leave of them and began his journey.

✎ Just as the parents already had great confidence in his good destiny, our lucky child also has a healthy self-confidence. What should he be afraid of? But the evil king does not give up. Who is this false king? At a deeper level, everyone will find him within themselves. It is a being that seeks only his own benefits, and has even managed to seize the rule of the world. He intrigues and lies to preserve his personal rule. And everything that threatens him is ruthlessly attacked. This, of course, reminds us of our beloved ego, who has risen to the king in our body-castle. And the wrathful king does everything to keep the reason away from the soul, and makes him meet the greatest challenges, which might break him. This method is often quite successful in ordinary life. But we already suspect that such a rule cannot last long.

The reason is forced to go to hell and fetch three golden hairs from the devil’s head. What does that mean? Why does the devil have golden hair on his head? This is a wonderful symbol! Gold stands for the true and the imperishable, even for the divine. And that can be found at the devil? Well, due to this mental polarity of god and devil, one should not imagine that both are far apart and you have to walk long to get from one to the other. These two poles are like a battery, where plus and minus meet inside and, so to speak, stand back to back, like the famous Janus face. Plus and minus poles only appear to the outside, god and devil. And the farther you go out, the bigger is the separation and accordingly the tension. That’s why our lucky child is probably going to the inside. And this mystical way into the own essence is described in the following with many symbols.

✻ The road led him to a large town, where the watchman by the gates asked him what his trade was, and what he knew. “I know everything.” answered the luck-child. “Then you can do us a favour,” said the watchman, “if you will tell us why our market-fountain, which once flowed with wine has become dry, and no longer gives even water?” - “That you shall know,” answered he; “only wait until I come back.”

Then he went farther and came to another town, and there also the gatekeeper asked him what was his trade, and what he knew. “I know everything.” answered he. “Then you can do us a favour, and tell us why a tree in our town which once bore golden apples now does not even put forth leaves?” - “You shall know that,” answered he; “only wait until I come back.”

Then he went on and came to a wide river over which he must go. The ferryman asked him what his trade was, and what he knew. “I know everything.” answered he. “Then you can do me a favour,” said the ferryman, “and tell me why I must always be rowing backwards and forwards, and am never set free?” - “You shall know that,” answered he; “only wait until I come back.”

✎ The path into the inside or the hereafter leads through two gates and over a water. The guards ask him about the state of his knowledge. Without higher or deeper knowledge you probably will not get there. Our lucky child always answers: “I know everything! And I’ll answer your questions when I return from this trip to the inside.” That’s a wonderful saying! Because the truth is hidden in each of us. There the great wisdom or omniscience waits to be discovered. Everyone can find it inside. There is the biggest treasure hidden. But still, this pure well does not bubble with divine nectar, and the tree of life bears no eternal fruit. And so, in endless cycles, through birth and death, we wander between the hereafter and the here, and travel across the river of death without ever being redeemed. This river of the death with the ferryman is a very ancient and widespread symbol. It is already found among the ancient Egyptians as well as among the ancient Greeks and Germans or in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

✻ When he had crossed the water he found the entrance to Hell. It was black and sooty within, and the Devil was not at home, but his grandmother was sitting in a large arm-chair. “What do you want?” said she to him, but she did not look so very wicked. “I should like to have three golden hairs from the devil’s head,” answered he, “else I cannot keep my wife.” - “That is a good deal to ask for,” said she; “if the devil comes home and finds you, it will cost you your life; but as I pity you, I will see if I cannot help you.” She changed him into an ant and said, “Creep into the folds of my dress, you will be safe there.” - “Yes,” answered he, “so far, so good; but there are three things besides that I want to know: why a fountain which once flowed with wine has become dry, and no longer gives even water; why a tree which once bore golden apples does not even put forth leaves; and why a ferry-man must always be going backwards and forwards, and is never set free?” “Those are difficult questions,” answered she, “but only be silent and quiet and pay attention to what the devil says when I pull out the three golden hairs.”

✎ In the realm of the dead he finds the entrance to the dark hell. There he first meets the grandmother of the devil. The ’great mother’ reminds us of mother nature, which naturally also exists there and sits in the arm-chair (in German: Sorgenstuhl - ’caring chair’). That means, she cares for the wellbeing of the beings who live in her kingdom. Of course, our lucky child is well received also here in hell and finds help. For that he is turned into an ant. For truly, whoever wants to attain the Great Spirit must physically become very small. And how does it work? It is quite simple because we are here in a spiritual realm where the mind can take on any form.

✻ As the evening came on the devil returned home. No sooner had he entered than he noticed that the air was not pure. “I smell man’s flesh,” said he; “all is not right here.” Then he pried into every corner, and searched, but could not find anything. His grandmother scolded him. “It has just been swept,” said she, “and everything put in order, and now you are upsetting it again; you have always got man’s flesh in your nose. Sit down and eat your supper.”

When he had eaten and drunk he was tired, and laid his head in his grandmother’s lap, and before long he was fast asleep, snoring and breathing heavily. Then the old woman took hold of a golden hair, pulled it out, and laid it down near her. “Oh!” cried the devil, “What are you doing?” - “I have had a bad dream,” answered the grandmother, “so I seized hold of your hair.” - “What did you dream then?” said the devil. “I dreamed that a fountain in a market-place from which wine once flowed was dried up, and not even water would flow out of it; what is the cause of it?” - “Oh, ho! If they did but know it,” answered the devil; “there is a toad sitting under a stone in the well; if they killed it, the wine would flow again.”

He went to sleep again and snored until the windows shook. Then she pulled the second hair out. “Ha! What are you doing?” cried the devil angrily. “Do not take it ill,” said she, “I did it in a dream.” “What have you dreamt this time?” asked he. “I dreamt that in a certain kingdom there stood an apple-tree which had once borne golden apples, but now would not even bear leaves. What, think you, was the reason?” - “Oh! If they did but know.” answered the devil. “A mouse is gnawing at the root; if they killed this they would have golden apples again, but if it gnaws much longer the tree will wither altogether. But leave me alone with your dreams: if you disturb me in my sleep again you will get a box on the ear.”

The grandmother spoke gently to him until he fell asleep again and snored. Then she took hold of the third golden hair and pulled it out. The devil jumped up, roared out, and would have treated her ill, but she quieted him once more and said, “Who can help bad dreams?” - “What was the dream, then?” asked he, and was quite curious. “I dreamt of a ferry-man who complained that he must always ferry from one side to the other, and was never released. What is the cause of it?” “Ah! The fool,” answered the devil; “when any one comes and wants to go across he must put the oar in his hand, and the other man will have to ferry and he will be free.”

✎ When it gets dark in the mind, the devil comes home. And he smells people already at a great distance. That stands to reason, because he was created by human thought itself. And as they fight each other, they also magically attract each other. After all, the devil is nothing but a personalization of our own sins, which take us to the judgment of truth or of God. The fact that our lucky child is not immediately recognized and condemned here already indicates a certain spiritual purity. The accusation that the devil throws everything together here is certainly no coincidence, because this term comes from the ancient Greek ’Diabolos’, which means something like ’jumbler’ or ’confuser’. Well, when the devil sleeps, you should use the time to defeat him, by this great recognition that he otherwise conceals. This, of course, is suggested in a wonderful symbolism, that may be difficult to understand.

The first question associated with the first golden hair refers to the well, which no longer gives wine. This fountain reminds us of the biblical story when Jesus said to the Samaritan, “Whoever drinks of this (worldly) water will be thirsting again. But whoever drinks of the water I give him will never thirst. But the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water that swells into eternal life. “And the wine reminds us of the divine nectar, as Jesus changed the worldly water in heavenly wine at the great wedding feast of the soul, that even symbolizes his own blood at the sacrament. Of course, there is also the worldly wine that intoxicates us, but this is obviously not meant here. And what is the answer? A toad sits in the depth and blocks the spring. The toad is an ancient symbol of an earthly being that comes out of the darkness, and is often associated with sin, deadly poison and greed. One should probably search in this direction, in the depth, to find out what blocks the fountain of truth in us.

The second golden hair is connected to the question why the tree of life brings no more eternal fruit and threatens to wither. This tree can be found not only at the beginning of the Bible, but in almost all ancient cultures. By the ancient Germanic people, for example, it was called Yggdrasil, who symbolizes the entire cosmos as a world tree. And as in our fairy tale a mouse gnaws at the root and threatens the tree, so it is there the dragon Nidhöggr, and in the Indian Mahabharata white and black rats are described [MHB 11.6]. All these are surely symbols of the ravages of time that gnaw at every creature. Of course, this all-encompassing impermanence is a great challenge that must be mastered on the way to truth in order to free oneself from the fetters of illusion. As long as you have not defeated this enemy, everything is threatened and there can be no eternal fruits. Even if it’s just a little grey mouse, that lives in the dark and is hard to find.

The third question for the third golden hair concerns the mystical ferryman, who is constantly rowing from bank to bank on the river of death, bringing the soul to the hereafter and back into this world in endless circles. Who is this ferryman who has meanwhile become tired of the eternal back and forth and asks for salvation? We should be aware that on the journey into our inner self, of course, we only ever meet ourselves. The self takes on all forms and works in every being. Inside are no ’others’ anymore. So this ferryman is a wonderful symbol that points far into the depths. Who is it that moves this body and lets this soul wander through the worlds? And what is the deliverance from all wanderings? The question may seem absurd to us at first. Because our modern ideals wish to travel through the world for as long as possible and as far as possible, to always see new things and never come to rest.

This is probably due to our modern worldview that life ends with death. Therefore we are hardly aware of this eternal cycle. So why should we look for salvation when everything comes to an end with death? That is probably also the reason why we nowadays take so little responsibility for the future generations on this earth and, above all, only think about ourselves. But practically, life goes on and on. For millions of years, people have been born who learn from their parents and go the same way over and over again. Even if they think they are doing everything differently and better, very few are really as free as our lucky child in this fairy tale. And those who really become aware of this endless hamster wheel may at some point ask for salvation in order to free themselves from this cycle of birth and death.

And what is the answer to this question in the fairy tale: “Give up the oar and do not stick to it! Then you are free... “Extremely amazing! Similarly, the Mahabharata speaks: “The wise, however, mounts a boat with sails and crosses the water without effort. When he arrives on the other shore, he leaves the boat behind, because he is free from the thought of ’mine.’ [MHB 14.50]” Granted, that is a very confusing message for us, because in this ’mine’ we seek great happiness these days in life.

✻ As the grandmother had plucked out the three golden hairs, and the three questions were answered, she let the old serpent alone, and he slept until daybreak.

✎ So it’s the great mother, the nature, that helps us to true knowledge. And then you should leave this mystical serpent alone, who is perhaps just a fire breathing angel, until the time comes again, that he must fulfil his task in this universe.

✻ When the devil had gone out again the old woman took the ant out of the folds of her dress, and gave the luck-child his human shape again. “There are the three golden hairs for you.” said she. “What the Devil said to your three questions, I suppose you heard?” - “Yes,” answered he, “I heard, and will take care to remember.” - “You have what you want,” said she, “and now you can go your way.” He thanked the old woman for helping him in his need, and left hell well content that everything had turned out so fortunately.

When he came to the ferry-man he was expected to give the promised answer. “Ferry me across first,” said the luck-child, “and then I will tell you how you can be set free.” and when he reached the opposite shore he gave him the devil’s advice: “Next time any one comes, who wants to be ferried over, just put the oar in his hand.” He went on and came to the town wherein stood the unfruitful tree, and there too the watchman wanted an answer. So he told him what he had heard from the devil: “Kill the mouse which is gnawing at its root, and it will again bear golden apples.” Then the watchman thanked him, and gave him as a reward two asses laden with gold, which followed him. At last he came to the town whose well was dry. He told the watchman what the devil had said: “A toad is in the well beneath a stone; you must find it and kill it, and the well will again give wine in plenty.” The watchman thanked him, and also gave him two asses laden with gold.

✎ As our lucky child now returns to this world, he solves all the riddles and wins the eternal reward, which is symbolized here again with lots of gold. Wonderful in this fairy tale is that the evil-minded king sent our lucky child on this mystical journey, which was so gainful for him. Yes, everyone has his task in the world.

✻ At last the luck-child got home to his wife, who was heartily glad to see him again, and to hear how well he had prospered in everything. To the King he took what he had asked for, the devil’s three golden hairs, and when the King saw the four asses laden with gold he was quite content, and said, “Now all the conditions are fulfilled, and you can keep my daughter. But tell me, dear son-in-law, where did all that gold come from? This is tremendous wealth!” - “I was rowed across a river,” answered he, “and got it there; it lies on the shore instead of sand.” - “Can I too fetch some of it?” said the King; and he was quite eager about it. “As much as you like.” answered he. “There is a ferry-man on the river; let him ferry you over, and you can fill your sacks on the other side.” The greedy King set out in all haste, and when he came to the river he beckoned to the ferry-man to put him across. The ferry-man came and bade him get in, and when they got to the other shore he put the oar in his hand and sprang out. But from this time forth the King had to ferry, as a punishment for his sins.

✎ Now husband and wife - in this fairy tale one could also speak of reason and soul - are reunited happily, and the lucky child has become a true king. And the false king? His passion makes him reach for the material gold. But it is precisely this selfish desire that binds him to the cycle of the world, and so he now has to painstakingly row back and forth. That’s probably the big problem of our ego: it just cannot let go...

✻ Perhaps he is ferrying still? If he is, it is because no one has taken the oar from him.

The Girl Without Hands

✻ A certain miller had little by little fallen into poverty, and had nothing left but his mill and a large apple-tree behind it. Once when he had gone into the forest to fetch wood, an old man stepped up to him whom he had never seen before, and said, “Why dost thou plague thyself with cutting wood, I will make thee rich, if thou wilt promise me what is standing behind thy mill?” - “What can that be but my apple-tree?” thought the miller, and said, “Yes.” and gave a written promise to the stranger. He, however, laughed mockingly and said, “When three years have passed, I will come and carry away what belongs to me.” and then he went. When the miller got home, his wife came to meet him and said, “Tell me, miller, from whence comes this sudden wealth into our house? All at once every box and chest was filled; no one brought it in, and I know not how it happened.” He answered, “It comes from a stranger who met me in the forest, and promised me great treasure. I, in return, have promised him what stands behind the mill; we can very well give him the big apple-tree for it.” - “Ah, husband,” said the terrified wife, “that must have been the devil! He did not mean the apple-tree, but our daughter, who was standing behind the mill sweeping the yard.”

✎ The fairy tale symbolically begins with a mill. This whole world can be regarded as a mill, which slowly but surely grinds up the gross into something fine, because everywhere the opposites rub against each other like millstones. Our science also says that the Universe continues to expand and eventually all gross matter becomes light and energy again. We find something similar in the Mahabharata: “And like an oil mill crushes the sesame seeds, the world is oppressed and crushed by death in this wheel for good oiling.” [MHB 12.211]

And what is the poverty of the miller? He only has his life and the mill in which he has to work hard. What was then referred to as worldly poverty can scarcely be imagined today in rich Europe. But this poverty has only changed. For just as the devil used the miller’s poverty to gain power over him through wealth, today it is certainly not different. Just think of the funding devil who is now governing our economy. Worldly wealth creates binding. And for that, we often make huge sacrifices: our families break and the children suffer, we bear mental ill-health and burnout, but the worst sacrifice is our truthfulness. If we still lie for wealth, then the devil has undoubtedly a hold on us. And here, too, we should not consider the devil so much as an external being living out there somewhere, but as a part of us, that dominates us from inside. To seek the devil outside is very dangerous. Because in the next step you start a war against any persons or even entire nations, who are demonized for political or all sorts of other purposes. Unfortunately, we know this too well from our history. Let us think only of the great religious wars or the delusion of the Inquisition. That was certainly not the way to defeat the devil. On the contrary, he probably laughed scornfully, as in our fairy tale.

But what does it mean to commit oneself to the devil? The ’Devil Pact’ is a very old and famous symbol of a strange barter when man loses his soul for any riches, abilities or other worldly things. In the Christian environment, the devil pact became in time the epitome of the ideological betrayal of the ecclesial community and politically heavily abused. But the problem is actually much deeper. What makes this bartering so reprehensible that in the end you even claim that the devil would cheat you? It can only be talked of cheat when you get something of lower value for something more valuable by deception. So the question is, what is the real value of the soul of a living being compared to worldly wealth? And that’s really a big question in this fairy tale. It starts with the apple tree, which the miller would like to give without hesitation to the devil. We already know this symbol as a tree of life from other fairy tales. And just this apple tree becomes his own daughter. That is certainly no accidence. Because truly, our children are the tree of life, which continues to grow over the generations. And especially in the children you can still see the pure soul. What power such a pure soul has and how weak a sold soul is, we read below:

✻ The miller’s daughter was a beautiful, pious girl, and lived through the three years in the fear of God and without sin. When therefore the time was over, and the day came when the Evil-one was to fetch her, she washed herself clean, and made a circle round herself with chalk. The devil appeared quite early, but he could not come near to her. Angrily, he said to the miller, “Take all water away from her, that she may no longer be able to wash herself, for otherwise I have no power over her.” The miller was afraid, and did so. The next morning the devil came again, but she had wept on her hands, and they were quite clean. Again he could not get near her, and furiously said to the miller, “Cut her hands off, or else I cannot get the better of her.” The miller was shocked and answered, “How could I cut off my own child’s hands?” Then the Evil-one threatened him and said, “If thou dost not do it thou art mine, and I will take thee thyself.” The father became alarmed, and promised to obey him. So he went to the girl and said, “My child, if I do not cut off both thine hands, the devil will carry me away, and in my terror I have promised to do it. Help me in my need, and forgive me the harm I do thee.” She replied, “Dear father, do with me what you will, I am your child.” Thereupon she laid down both her hands, and let them be cut off. The devil came for the third time, but she had wept so long and so much on the stumps, that after all they were quite clean. Then he had to give in, and had lost all right over her.

✎ Yes, this ideal of purity sounds ridiculous today and is even banished into the drawer of superstition. Nevertheless, we now want to try to think a little deeper about this purity and its value. The girl knew that the devil wanted to fetch her and lived without sin for three years. We all have this chance to use our given time. But what does it mean to live without sin? This is a very difficult question, and generally it is said that one lives in such a way that one accumulates nothing in thoughts, words and deeds, which later develops into something painful. This at least corresponds to the principle that sin leads to suffering and merit to happiness. Therefore, the girl won a certain purity and finally meets three major tests, which are described here symbolically. The first test reminds one of the outer purity of the body, the second of the purity of action and the third of the inner purity of devotion.

Outer purity is a matter of order, honour and mindfulness in life. It works within certain limits like a protecting spell against vice and sin. The purity of action is a matter of motivation. Why do we act - for selfish or selfless reasons? And the purity of devotion is the greatest thing a human being can achieve in life, for it overcomes egoism.

And what are the tears of the girl? Tears are also an expression of cleansing. They don’t only cleanse the eye by their antibacterial effect, but also the soul through internal processes. So she passes all three exams, but in a way that we would not really consider as great happiness in life. This brings us to a sensitive point when it comes to what we personally understand by happiness and suffering in life. What seems relatively clear at first sight becomes more and more subjective on closer inspection, and in the end each person has a different idea of personal happiness. This is also what the miller experiences:

✻ The miller said to her, “I have by means of thee received such great wealth that I will keep thee most delicately as long as thou livest.” But she replied, “Here I cannot stay, I will go forth, compassionate people will give me as much as I require.” Thereupon she caused her maimed arms to be bound to her back, and by sunrise she set out on her way, and walked the whole day until night fell.

✎ This is typical: the miller has sold his daughter, who could also be considered as his own soul, for worldly wealth but still wants to keep her and thinks that he can now pamper her and make her happy with the acquired riches. Even if we do not want to believe it, it does neither work in ordinary life nor in our fairy tale. The miller had lost his daughter long ago, and in that sense his own soul. Therefore she leaves him full of pure devotion and confidence in her fate.

The chopped hands are of course a particularly memorable symbol. To strengthen it, she lets her arms tie on her back. Our hands are practically linked to action in this world. The cutting off of both hands was not in vain used as a punishment for gross theft. For many people, it is a terrible idea that they can no longer act. Because action is a major part of our personality. Especially for the ego, it is very important that “I” can do this or that. This results in our entire life story, with which we identify ourselves. In this way, action connects us with the world. But what is so important to our ego becomes a big problem when it comes to the salvation from these bonds to the world. Therefore one would need the freedom from action, which is expressed excellently in this symbolism of the voluntarily severed hands of a pure soul. She is no longer acting in this world, at least not personally, but still wears a sentient body that experiences happiness and suffering. This is hard to imagine, but is clearly described below:

✻ Then she came to a royal garden, and by the shimmering of the moon she saw that trees covered with beautiful fruits grew in it, but she could not enter, for there was much water round about it. And as she had walked the whole day and not eaten one mouthful, and hunger tormented her, she thought, “Ah, if I were but inside, that I might eat of the fruit, else must I die of hunger!” Then she knelt down, called on God the Lord, and prayed. And suddenly an angel came towards her, who made a dam in the water, so that the moat became dry and she could walk through it. And now she went into the garden and the angel went with her. She saw a tree covered with beautiful pears, but they were all counted. Then she went to them, and to still her hunger, ate one with her mouth from the tree, but no more. The gardener was watching; but as the angel was standing by, he was afraid and thought the maiden was a spirit, and was silent, neither did he dare to cry out, or to speak to the spirit. When she had eaten the pear, she was satisfied, and went and concealed herself among the bushes.

✎ The used symbolism is probably very similar to the biblical story. The pure soul prays to God, and an angel appears who fulfils her wish without her having to act personally. And just as in the Old Testament, Moses divided the deep sea to reach the Promised Land, so the girl reaches a Paradise Garden after passing a moat. It is probably the parody of the story that she also eats a fruit from the tree, which of course reminds us of the apple of Adam and Eve. But what is the difference? It is said that in the Middle Ages the pear tree was worshiped as a symbol of the Mother of God because of its pure white flowers, and the pear was considered a symbol of female fertility. Moreover, she cannot grasp the fruit with her own hands and shows no further attachment, but then she makes herself small and hides. She certainly does not eat the pear out of desire, but only to preserve her body. And so we also get an answer to the question of why such a pure soul without worldly attachment still tries to preserve her body. She still has a role to play in this world, and that is probably what the pear symbol stands for.

✻ The King to whom the garden belonged, came down to it next morning, and counted, and saw that one of the pears was missing, and asked the gardener what had become of it, as it was not lying beneath the tree, but was gone. Then answered the gardener, “Last night, a spirit came in, who had no hands, and ate off one of the pears with its mouth.” The King said, “How did the spirit get over the water, and where did it go after it had eaten the pear?” The gardener answered, “Some one came in a snow- white garment from heaven who made a dam, and kept back the water, that the spirit might walk through the moat. And as it must have been an angel, I was afraid, and asked no questions, and did not cry out. When the spirit had eaten the pear, it went back again.” The King said, “If it be as thou sayest, I will watch with thee to-night.”

✎ Who believes in angels today? Well, hopefully a few children. But basically that’s not so unbelievable. Such spiritual beings exist in all ancient cultures as personifications of all kinds of powers that one can experience in spirit and in nature on different levels. And just as the gods and demons in India all descended from the same father, so did the angels descend from the Great Father, each one plays a definite role, and one even became the devil. This is actually completely normal, because all the forces that work in nature have to work in opposites, otherwise this world would have lost its balance long ago and collapsed. But how can one see these spiritual beings? Well, as far as they have an effect in nature, we can all perceive them. It is only a question of how careful and sensitive we are in this direction. That a pure soul can see the angel is obvious. But that also the gardener and the king can see the angel points to no ordinary king.

✻ When it grew dark the King came into the garden and brought a priest with him, who was to speak to the spirit. All three seated themselves beneath the tree and watched. At midnight the maiden came creeping out of the thicket, went to the tree, and again ate one pear off it with her mouth, and beside her stood the angel in white garments. Then the priest went out to them and said, “Comest thou from heaven or from earth? Art thou a spirit, or a human being?” She replied, “I am no spirit, but an unhappy mortal deserted by all but God.” The King said, “If thou art forsaken by all the world, yet will I not forsake thee.” He took her with him into his royal palace, and as she was so beautiful and good, he loved her with all his heart, had silver hands made for her, and took her to wife.

✎ As we watch how the connection between the king and the girl develops, we remember the male role of the mind. That the pears are counted is probably not stinginess, but a symbol of intelligence, which provides for the order in nature. He even gives the soul artificial hands, since the mind can create all sort of tools or even an artificial world. This fits in with the saying: “If you are abandoned by all the world, I will not leave you.” For, even if everything material and physical leaves us, the spirit remains.

On the other hand, the girl says, “I am not a ghost, but a poor girl, abandoned by all except God.” This recalls the famous beatitude of Jesus, which says, “Blessed are you poor, for the kingdom of God is yours...” What kind of poverty is meant here? There is no selfish possession in true bliss, not even in thought. Every “Mine” and “Yours” has become one, and that is the kingdom of God. Sounds good, but:

✻ After a year the King had to take the field, so he commended his young Queen to the care of his mother and said, “If she is brought to bed take care of her, nurse her well, and tell me of it at once in a letter.” Then she gave birth to a fine boy. So the old mother made haste to write and announce the joyful news to him. But the messenger rested by a brook on the way, and as he was fatigued by the great distance, he fell asleep. Then came the Devil, who was always seeking to injure the good Queen, and exchanged the letter for another, in which was written that the Queen had brought a monster into the world. When the King read the letter he was shocked and much troubled, but he wrote in answer that they were to take great care of the Queen and nurse her well until his arrival. The messenger went back with the letter, but rested at the same place and again fell asleep. Then came the Devil once more, and put a different letter in his pocket, in which it was written that they were to put the Queen and her child to death. The old mother was terribly shocked when she received the letter, and could not believe it. She wrote back again to the King, but received no other answer, because each time the Devil substituted a false letter, and in the last letter it was also written that she was to preserve the Queen’s tongue and eyes as a token that she had obeyed.

✎ Well, since the devil did not get control over the pure soul, he has a try on the next generation and starts to intrigue again. The king himself gives the opportunity because he has to act and fight in the world outside. The falsification of messages is a very common symbol for the devil. It is not for nothing that people misunderstand each other so often that even a well-meant message turns into the opposite and becomes the cause of strife and separation. Even though both parties have great confidence in each other, the devil manages to separate man and woman, so to speak reason and soul.

✻ But the old mother wept to think such innocent blood was to be shed, and had a hind brought by night and cut out her tongue and eyes, and kept them. Then said she to the Queen, “I cannot have thee killed as the King commands, but here thou mayst stay no longer. Go forth into the wide world with thy child, and never come here again.” The poor woman tied her child on her back, and went away with eyes full of tears. She came into a great wild forest, and then she fell on her knees and prayed to God, and the angel of the Lord appeared to her and led her to a little house on which was a sign with the words, “Here all dwell free.” A snow-white maiden came out of the little house and said, “Welcome, Lady Queen,” and conducted her inside. Then they unbound the little boy from her back, and held him to her breast that he might feed, and then laid him in a beautifully-made little bed. Then said the poor woman, “From whence knowest thou that I was a queen?” The white maiden answered, “I am an angel sent by God, to watch over thee and thy child.” The Queen stayed seven years in the little house, and was well cared for, and by God’s grace, because of her piety, her hands which had been cut off, grew once more.

✎ When the soul is separated from reason, it goes back into the great wilderness of nature. But our pure soul does not despair of it, and willingly abandons the wealth she has enjoyed with the king. She obeys her destiny and weeps the cleansing tears that we already know from the beginning of the story. Because of her purity, she finds the “house of grace” in the depths of nature, where everyone can live freely. For nature nourishes every being, and as far as one is free from debts, so far one does not have to pay for it. Thus, the pure soul is received by a pure angel who cares for mother and child quite differently than the devil with his wealth. And here in nature even her natural hands grow again. Because Mother Nature gives us not only the physical food, but also the physical ability to act. And when the divine grace is added, then action reaches a much higher and selfless level. Even this great trust in nature and mind is certainly a priceless value of a pure soul.

✻ At last the King came home again from the war, and his first wish was to see his wife and the child. Then his aged mother began to weep and said, “Thou wicked man, why didst thou write to me that I was to take those two innocent lives?” and she showed him the two letters which the Evil-one had forged, and then continued, “I did as thou badest me.” and she showed the tokens, the tongue and eyes. Then the King began to weep for his poor wife and his little son so much more bitterly than she was doing, that the aged mother had compassion on him and said, “Be at peace, she still lives; I secretly caused a hind to be killed, and took these tokens from it; but I bound the child to thy wife’s back and bade her go forth into the wide world, and made her promise never to come back here again, because thou wert so angry with her.” Then spake the King, “I will go as far as the sky is blue, and will neither eat nor drink until I have found again my dear wife and my child, if in the meantime they have not been killed, or died of hunger.”

Thereupon the King travelled about for seven long years, and sought her in every cleft of the rocks and in every cave, but he found her not, and thought she had died of want. During the whole of this time he neither ate nor drank, but God supported him.

✎ The king keeps his promise that he will never leave his female half, and goes on a great search. What does it mean if he did not eat and drink for seven years? That sounds like a fairy tale, but makes sense if you look at the king as a symbol of the spirit. Then it is a time of severe asceticism, when the spirit renounces all external food and lives only from God. Through this cleansing for seven years, he also reaches the pure place where the pure soul lives.

There are already many theories about the number seven. Practically, it is very popular in spiritual matters. The Bible begins with the story of God creating the world in seven days, reminiscent of the cycle of our seven-day week. Similarly, a child comes to school at the age of 7, youth consecration is at 14 and at 21 adulthood begins. So here, too, a development cycle could be meant that had an important meaning for the king. Because:

✻ At length he came into a great forest, and found therein the little house whose sign was, “Here all dwell free.” Then forth came the white maiden, took him by the hand, led him in, and said, “Welcome, Lord King,” and asked him from whence he came. He answered, “Soon shall I have travelled about for the space of seven years, and I seek my wife and her child, but cannot find them.” The angel offered him meat and drink, but he did not take anything, and only wished to rest a little. Then he lay down to sleep, and put a handkerchief over his face.

✎ When it comes to spiritual development, it’s all about finding knowledge. The cloth on the face could symbolize the veil that hinders our true vision, and sleep lets us sink into illusion and unconsciousness.

✻ Thereupon the angel went into the chamber where the Queen sat with her son, whom she usually called “Sorrowful,” and said to her, “Go out with thy child, thy husband hath come.” So she went to the place where he lay, and the handkerchief fell from his face. Then said she, “Sorrowful, pick up thy father’s handkerchief, and cover his face again.” The child picked it up, and put it over his face again. The King in his sleep heard what passed, and had pleasure in letting the handkerchief fall once more. But the child grew impatient, and said, “Dear mother, how can I cover my father’s face when I have no father in this world? I have learnt to say the prayer, ’Our Father, which art in Heaven,’ thou hast told me that my father was in Heaven, and was the good God, and how can I know a wild man like this? He is not my father.” When the King heard that, he got up, and asked who they were. Then said she, “I am thy wife, and that is thy son, Sorrowful.” And he saw her living hands, and said, “My wife had silver hands.” She answered, “The good God has caused my natural hands to grow again.” and the angel went into the inner room, and brought the silver hands, and showed them to him. Hereupon he knew for a certainty that it was his dear wife and his dear child, and he kissed them, and was glad, and said, “A heavy stone has fallen from off mine heart.” Then the angel of God gave them one meal with her, and after that they went home to the King’s aged mother. There were great rejoicings everywhere, and the King and Queen were married again, and lived contentedly to their happy end.

✎ Much has happened during the seven years, so it is no wonder that the king did not recognize his wife at first, especially because the artificial hands had suddenly become natural again. And when asked who she is, the soul answers this time: “I am your wife, and that is your son Sorrowful.” The mind attains knowledge, the soul knows who she is, and in the end are spirit, soul, and Mother Nature happily united. That may be the mystical wedding that so many ancient scriptures speak of, as well as the famous Song of Solomon in the Bible.

What may still confuse us on this happy ending is the name “Sorrowful” that her son wears. One might first think of Jesus or his mother Mary, who are often worshiped as “rich in pain” (German: Schmerzensreiche). But maybe, we are even meant, since we have not won this great fight yet and have not yet reached the high goal. Do we know our true father? Or do we always put the cloth on his face, so that he sleeps and cannot see anything? And our pain and suffering, not just our own, but the suffering of all our ancestors that we inherited - is that perhaps our real wealth? Because honestly, when it comes to true knowledge, cleansing and learning, suffering is a much better teacher than all the short-lived happiness that we enjoy on earth without knowing the deeper truth.

And that leads us back to the questions that we asked ourselves in the beginning: What is the value of a pure soul and what do we consider to be happiness in our lives? It is sometimes a great comfort when we start to sense that all suffering in life does not happen to us in a purely accidental or meaningless way, but has a deeper meaning to be comprehended and used.

Briar-Rose (or Sleeping Beauty)

✻ A long time ago there were a King and Queen who said every day, “Ah, if only we had a child!” but they never had one. But it happened that once when the Queen was bathing, a frog crept out of the water on to the land, and said to her, “Your wish shall be fulfilled; before a year has gone by you shall have a daughter.” What the frog had said came true, and the Queen had a little girl who was so pretty that the King could not contain himself for joy, and ordered a great feast.

✎ The fairy tale begins with a royal couple that has long remained barren. Finally, the frog, as a creature of the water, promised a child. This indicates that the queen was not sitting in a standard bathtub but was bathing in a natural body of water, perhaps even with a ritualistic background. Because the water is closely connected with what we call life. Our body is mostly water, we grow up in a bubble of amniotic fluid and the earthly life itself was created in the water. In the past, people were very aware of this connection with water and there were many rituals such as Christian baptism. Even today, the ritual bath for devout Hindus in sacred rivers or lakes plays an important role in India. Accordingly, one was grateful when the beings of nature had answered the wishes of the people, which was always a good reason to celebrate.

✻ He invited not only his kindred, friends and acquaintance, but also the Wise Women, in order that they might be kind and well-disposed towards the child. There were thirteen of them in his kingdom, but, as he had only twelve golden plates for them to eat out of, one of them had to be left at home.

The feast was held with all manner of splendour, and when it came to an end the Wise Women bestowed their magic gifts upon the baby: one gave virtue, another beauty, a third riches, and so on with everything in the world that one can wish for. When eleven of them had made their promises, suddenly the thirteenth came in. She wished to avenge herself for not having been invited, and without greeting, or even looking at any one, she cried with a loud voice, “The King’s daughter shall in her fifteenth year prick herself with a spindle, and fall down dead.” And, without saying a word more, she turned round and left the room.

They were all shocked; but the twelfth, whose good wish still remained unspoken, came forward, and as she could not undo the evil sentence, but only soften it, she said, “It shall not be death, but a deep sleep of a hundred years, into which the princess shall fall.”

✎ Even today, it is still common to bless the birth of a child with good wishes. We should be glad that our rational science has not completely suppressed such traditions. The influence of good or bad wishes on another person actually belongs there to superstition because it is scientifically not provable. But in former times people still felt dependent on nature and her spirits and even invited the fairies to the great festival, which could also be called fate goddesses. Here we meet again the famous game of the numbers 12 and 13. That the king has only 12 golden plates and cannot invite the 13th fairy, has certainly a symbolic meaning. Most likely is the role of the thirteenth Moon-month in the solar year, which appears only irregularly every two to three years. So here might stand the golden plates for the twelve months of the solar year. That would mean that the king wishes for his daughter only reliable things, such as virtue, beauty and wealth. He prefers to keep away anything random, unpredictable, unfortunate or irrational from his child and does not invite this 13th fairy. This already suggests the essence of what our king symbolically stands for in this fairy tale. But the accidental and unhappy cannot be eliminated from life, even if we would like to.

Therefore the 13th fairy comes to the celebration of the birth and takes revenge for her disregard with the curse that the king’s daughter should fall dead at fifteen years. The twelfth fairy uses her blessing and turns that death into a hundred-year sleep. Here we probably meet the core issue of the story, namely the big question of what life and death actually mean.

What seems to us to be quite clear at first sight is, on a deeper level, a wide field for reflection and can lead to many higher cognitions. What is the difference between death and deep sleep, when you think of rebirth? And what is the difference between life and dreams when you think of the great awakening? Already in the old Mahabharata [MHB 12.203] is spoken of these three natural states of consciousness, namely dreamlike waking, dreamlike sleeping and dreamless sleeping. The dreamless waking would then be the great awakening or self-knowledge, the greatest that one can achieve in life. But the way to reach it is not so easy:

✻ The King, who would fain keep his dear child from the misfortune, gave orders that every spindle in the whole kingdom should be burnt. Meanwhile the gifts of the Wise Women were plenteously fulfilled on the young girl, for she was so beautiful, modest, good-natured, and wise, that every one who saw her was bound to love her.

✎ If we consider the king here as rational thinking or intellect, then this would be a typical reaction. Does this sound familiar to us? Let’s just think of book burning, machine breakers or energy-saving lamps! Because the intellect is primarily focused on the external, he tends to oppose the effects rather than the causes. Our modern science also suffers from this curse of the rational intellect. We are looking for a solution to environmental pollution and climate catastrophe by developing many new machines and inventions that sell well. Only few people think about the root causes such as selfishness, greed and waste. Of course, this way you cannot do big business.

✻ It happened that on the very day when she was fifteen years old, the King and Queen were not at home, and the maiden was left in the palace quite alone. So she went round into all sorts of places, looked into rooms and bed-chambers just as she liked, and at last came to an old tower. She climbed up the narrow winding-staircase, and reached a little door. A rusty key was in the lock, and when she turned it the door sprang open, and there in a little room sat an old woman with a spindle, busily spinning her flax.

“Good day, old dame,” said the King’s daughter; “what are you doing there?” - “I am spinning,” said the old woman, and nodded her head. “What sort of thing is that, that rattles round so merrily?” said the girl, and she took the spindle and wanted to spin too. But scarcely had she touched the spindle when the magic decree was fulfilled, and she pricked her finger with it. And, in the very moment when she felt the prick, she fell down upon the bed that stood there, and lay in a deep sleep.

✎ Parents cannot protect their children forever. They pass on their inheritance, and then comes the time for each person to go their own way. And so the young soul began to explore everything around her curiously. Finally she came to the old tower, which is certainly an important symbol here. A winding staircase leads on this tower, that is, you rise in circles ever higher and away from the ground. Upstairs, the soul finds a tight little room where an old woman is spinning the fate. Already from Germanic mythology we know the Norns, who spin the threads of fate at the bottom of the Tree of Life. This symbolism is very old. And of course the small little room in the tower reminds us of our upper storey. And the inheritance from her parents is not only the virtues, but also the curse of the intellect, that the soul, as soon as she enters this room full of thoughts, reaches for her own destiny and wants to spin it by herself, to determine her own fate. Then she freezes quickly and falls into a strange sleep, which of course does not always have to be as deep as in our fairy tale. The rusty key on the small door is certainly no accidence, because this little door, where the living could come into our mind, is rarely used. Usually it stays locked up and everything else comes through the windows of the senses into our tower of the body, which we so vehemently defend with the ego. And if, nevertheless, something alive comes in, then we make sure that it freezes quickly.

This solidification in our upper storey is nothing new. Even Goethe complained in [Faust 1]:

Ah, me! This dungeon still I see.
This drear, accursed masonry,
Where even the welcome daylight strains
But dusky through the painted panes.
Hemmed in by many a toppling heap
Of books worm-eaten, gray with dust,
Which to the vaulted ceiling creep,
Against the smoky paper thrust, -
With glasses, boxes round me stacked
And instruments together hurled,
Ancestral lumber, stuffed and packed, -
Such is my world: and what a world!

And do I ask, wherefore my heart
Falters, oppressed with unknown needs?
Why some inexplicable smart
All movement of my life impedes?
Alas! In living Nature’s stead,
Where God his human creature set,
In smoke and mould the fleshless dead
And bones of beasts surround me yet!

✻ And this sleep extended over the whole palace; the King and Queen who had just come home, and had entered the great hall, began to go to sleep, and the whole of the court with them. The horses, too, went to sleep in the stable, the dogs in the yard, the pigeons upon the roof, the flies on the wall; even the fire that was flaming on the hearth became quiet and slept, the roast meat left off frizzling, and the cook, who was just going to pull the hair of the scullery boy, because he had forgotten something, let him go, and went to sleep. And the wind fell, and on the trees before the castle not a leaf moved again. But round about the castle there began to grow a hedge of thorns, which every year became higher, and at last grew close up round the castle and all over it, so that there was nothing of it to be seen, not even the flag upon the roof.

✎ That’s really the case, this rational solidification of our thinking stains the whole world and spreads. Soon we are surrounded only by dead or paralyzed things. And the higher we get in this tower and leave the ground, the more lifeless this world becomes. After all, plants, animals, and even humans are just dead numbers that you can count and make a profit with. Someone may say, “Such nonsense, our modern world is not dead! Humanity has never developed as fast as it does today.” Yes, but one would have to think about the question of what life really means. What really makes life alive? All the hectic back and forth is certainly not an essential feature of life. Then every comet of stone and ice would be more alive than we, because it races through space much faster than we do on our highways. - Is not life above all a matter of the mind? How open are we to spiritual things these days? How flexible is our mind? How close do we still feel connected to the big picture? Can we still feel the life, even in the water, in the fire and in the wind? Or are we already surrounded by a growing thorn hedge and resist any attempt to be conquered by a higher mind?

✻ But the story of the beautiful sleeping “Briar-Rose,” for so the princess was named, went about the country, so that from time to time kings’ sons came and tried to get through the thorny hedge into the castle. But they found it impossible, for the thorns held fast together, as if they had hands, and the youths were caught in them, could not get loose again, and died a miserable death.

After long, long years a King’s son came again to that country, and heard an old man talking about the thorn-hedge, and that a castle was said to stand behind it in which a wonderfully beautiful princess, named Briar-Rose, had been asleep for a hundred years; and that the King and Queen and the whole court were asleep likewise. He had heard, too, from his grandfather, that many kings’ sons had already come, and had tried to get through the thorny hedge, but they had remained sticking fast in it, and had died a pitiful death. Then the youth said, “I am not afraid, I will go and see the beautiful Briar-Rose.” The good old man might dissuade him as he would, he did not listen to his words.

✎ The name Briar-Rose is evidently the famous symbol that the beautiful roses are always associated with thorns that defend themselves painfully. Here, of course, we again think of our pure soul as the epitome of beauty and love that awakens and blossoms like a beautiful rose under the spring sun. But until then, of course, we are defending ourselves against the higher mind, against the pure reason, which tries again and again to win us over. But until the time is not ripe for it, of course, it fails on our walls and fades in the thick thorny scrub.

In the Song of Solomon of the Bible we read the following alternating song in a similarly symbolic way: “Like a rose among the thorns, so is my friend among the daughters. Like an apple tree among the wild trees, so is my friend among the sons. I sit under the shadow that I desire, and his fruit is sweet in my throat. ... - I swear to you, daughters of Jerusalem, to the deer or to the hinds in the field, that you do not wake up my friend nor excite her until she likes it herself. [Bible, Song of Solomon 2]”

✻ But by this time the hundred years had just passed, and the day had come when Briar-Rose was to awake again. When the King’s son came near to the thorn-hedge, it was nothing but large and beautiful flowers, which parted from each other of their own accord, and let him pass unhurt, then they closed again behind him like a hedge. In the castle-yard he saw the horses and the spotted hounds lying asleep; on the roof sat the pigeons with their heads under their wings. And when he entered the house, the flies were asleep upon the wall, the cook in the kitchen was still holding out his hand to seize the boy, and the maid was sitting by the black hen which she was going to pluck. He went on farther, and in the great hall he saw the whole of the court lying asleep, and up by the throne lay the King and Queen. Then he went on still farther, and all was so quiet that a breath could be heard, and at last he came to the tower, and opened the door into the little room where Briar-Rose was sleeping. There she lay, so beautiful that he could not turn his eyes away; and he stooped down and gave her a kiss. But as soon as he kissed her, Briar-Rose opened her eyes and awoke, and looked at him quite sweetly.

Then they went down together, and the King awoke, and the Queen, and the whole court, and looked at each other in great astonishment. And the horses in the court-yard stood up and shook themselves; the hounds jumped up and wagged their tails; the pigeons upon the roof pulled out their heads from under their wings, looked round, and flew into the open country; the flies on the wall crept again; the fire in the kitchen burned up and flickered and cooked the meat; the joint began to turn and frizzle again, and the cook gave the boy such a box on the ear that he screamed, and the maid plucked the fowl ready for the spit.

And then the marriage of the King’s son with Briar-Rose was celebrated with all splendour, and they lived contented to the end of their days.

✎ There is probably only one thing the ego cannot force in this world and that is the deliverance from that curse to force everything. But when the time is right, the thorn-hedge opens as if by itself and transforms into a sea of flowers. When the true spirit kisses us awake, we awaken and everything around us to the true life, like the frozen winter nature under the spring sun. That may be the great awakening from the dreamy sleep in our narrow mind, the great marriage of the soul with the Holy Spirit. And this is not the end of life after the symbolic hundred years, but the fulfilment of life when we are freed from the narrow defensive tower of our ego and united with eternal life itself.

Therefore, our mind should never freeze, especially not in childhood. The irrational, the unpredictable and even the misfortune demand their natural place in life. For this reason, fairy tales are an important thing, especially for children. We also say very clearly: "Children need fairy tales!"

Dedicated to the welfare of our children and grandchildren.

Our Lady’s Child

✻ Hard by a great forest dwelt a wood-cutter with his wife, who had an only child, a little girl three years old. They were, however, so poor that they no longer had daily bread, and did not know how to get food for her. One morning the wood-cutter went out sorrowfully to his work in the forest, and while he was cutting wood, suddenly there stood before him a tall and beautiful woman with a crown of shining stars on her head, who said to him, “I am the Virgin Mary, mother of the child Jesus. Thou art poor and needy, bring thy child to me, I will take her with me and be her mother, and care for her.” The wood-cutter obeyed, brought his child, and gave her to the Virgin Mary, who took her up to heaven with her. There the child fared well, ate sugar-cakes, and drank sweet milk, and her clothes were of gold, and the little angels played with her.

✎ This is a wonderful fairy tale that does justice to fairy tale art. You cannot better connect the different levels and form the necessary contradictions, to slowly unlock the deeper levels. It begins with the woodchopper and his wife, who could no longer feed their only child - a three-year-old girl who, compared to her hard-working parents, certainly needed only a small share of the ‘daily bread’. But the worried woodchopper gives it to another mother who promised the child a carefree heaven. On the upper level, which corresponds to a children’s mind, this is certainly a comfort. Because in the past it was not unusual that even small children were given to a related or known foster family or even to a monastery. This happened not only among the poor but also among the rich and even princes. In this regard, we should be aware that the role of our children in family and society has changed significantly in recent centuries. The fact that the householder here determines the fate of the child points to a real bygone time. In Christianity, the Church increasingly took over the law, and today a child belongs more to the state and the mother than to the father.

Of course, at the deeper level of this story, we again meet spiritual symbolism. There is the woodchopper as a male being who works with the symbolic axe in nature, in the great forest of the world. We have already written a lot about male and female polarity. Out of this polarity arises our soul, who is here a little girl. And in the morning, when the mind awakens and everything appears in the light, he goes out into the world of forms and accomplishes his sorrowful work. The worldly poverty in the story could also mean pure poverty, that is freedom from attachment to all personal possessions. This beautiful mother appears not in vain to him, whose crown is the whole universe with the endless sea of stars. She introduces herself as the Holy Mother, who in her perfect purity gave birth to the Son of God. It is truly a great vision to see this whole universe as a living being in which all life unfolds. This vision reminds us of the mystical body of God in Christianity or the cosmic man in Hinduism. There, for example, we read in the Mahabharata: “This body was the abode of the Vedas (wisdom), and the firmament with all its stars and constellations became the crown of his head. The beautiful sunbeams became his long hair, upper and lower world his two ears, the earth his forehead...” [MHB 12.348] Such a view does not have to contradict our modern, scientific spirit. We, too, know that everything is interconnected, that the chains of cause and effect pervade the entire universe and that man does not live independently of the rest of nature. And to entrust one’s soul to this entirety, appears to us in this fairy tale as a way to the great bliss of heaven.

✻ And when she was fourteen years of age, the Virgin Mary called her one day and said, “Dear child, I am about to make a long journey, so take into thy keeping the keys of the thirteen doors of heaven. Twelve of these thou mayest open, and behold the glory which is within them, but the thirteenth, to which this little key belongs, is forbidden thee. Beware of opening it, or thou wilt bring misery on thyself.” The girl promised to be obedient, and when the Virgin Mary was gone, she began to examine the dwellings of the kingdom of heaven. Each day she opened one of them, until she had made the round of the twelve. In each of them sat one of the Apostles in the midst of a great light, and she rejoiced in all the magnificence and splendour, and the little angels who always accompanied her rejoiced with her. Then the forbidden door alone remained, and she felt a great desire to know what could be hidden behind it, and said to the angels, “I will not quite open it, and I will not go inside it, but I will unlock it so that we can just see a little through the opening.” - “Oh, no,” said the little angels, “that would be a sin. The Virgin Mary has forbidden it, and it might easily cause thy unhappiness.” Then she was silent, but the desire in her heart was not stilled, but gnawed there and tormented her, and let her have no rest. And once when the angels had all gone out, she thought, “Now I am quite alone, and I could peep in. If I do it, no one will ever know.” She sought out the key, and when she had got it in her hand, she put it in the lock, and when she had put it in, she turned it round as well. Then the door sprang open, and she saw there the Trinity sitting in fire and splendour. She stayed there awhile, and looked at everything in amazement; then she touched the light a little with her finger, and her finger became quite golden. Immediately a great fear fell on her. She shut the door violently, and ran away. Her terror too would not quit her, let her do what she might, and her heart beat continually and would not be still; the gold too stayed on her finger, and would not go away, let her rub it and wash it never so much.

✎ Two seven-year cycles have passed and the child enters the adolescence. The little soul is now being tested and asked to take responsibility. And this is about nothing small, but about the whole kingdom of heaven. Of course, this is very important for children, and on the upper level of this fairy tale one could think of twelve doors with teachers who transfer the understanding of the world to experience its happiness and glory. But it is just as important for children to adhere to established limits, to obey the words of their parents and to observe the secular laws. It is very important to learn to master the inner passion and desire, even if the curiosity is great. Because children who know no limits will certainly not bring much good to their parents and themselves. Children should trust their parents that their word is law. This is obviously also the message of this fairy tale for the child spirit, that by obedience you can save yourself from al lot of suffering.

The Christian symbolism stands on the deeper level. First of all we remember the commandment of God in Paradise: “And the Lord God commanded man, saying, Thou shalt eat of all sorts of trees in the garden; but you shall not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; for what day you eat of it, you will die of death.” [Bible, Genesis 2.16] The twelve apostles are the worldly messengers of the faith, who are worshiped as saints full of glory. The 13th Apostle is then probably God himself, the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. However, approaching this unity is not easy and requires a certain purity that our soul obviously does not possess yet. For, of course, this divine oneness threatens to devour everything egocentrically personal, which is usually so dear to us, and the ego feels the great fear of its death by losing everything in this unity. And yet the soul has touched the supernatural divine, for this golden and true is in all of us, even if we do not want to admit it and try to get rid of it or at least ignore it.

We already know the game of 12 and 13 from other fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty. Here, too, the 13 has a special position, suggests the irrational, and one cannot even say clearly whether it was now a luck or misfortune for our little soul to open the 13th door.

✻ It was not long before the Virgin Mary came back from her journey. She called the girl before her, and asked to have the keys of heaven back. When the maiden gave her the bunch, the Virgin looked into her eyes and said, “Hast thou not opened the thirteenth door also?” - “No,” she replied. Then she laid her hand on the girl’s heart, and felt how it beat and beat, and saw right well that she had disobeyed her order and had opened the door. Then she said once again, “Art thou certain that thou hast not done it?” - “Yes,” said the girl, for the second time. Then she perceived the finger which had become golden from touching the fire of heaven, and saw well that the child had sinned, and said for the third time, “Hast thou not done it?” - “No,” said the girl for the third time. Then said the Virgin Mary, “Thou hast not obeyed me, and besides that thou hast lied, thou art no longer worthy to be in heaven.”

✎ This is a clear message for the child’s spirit. The girl did not obey her mother’s commandment and in addition lied to her three times. Of course this requires punishment. And just as God has thrown Adam and Eve out of Paradise into a sorrowful world, here, too, the little soul is thrown out of heaven.

But as the mind matures and begins to think more deeply, suddenly new questions arise: How could the divine mother, who is really omnipotent, just fail so completely in the upbringing of her child? Were the teachings of the Twelve Apostles so ineffective? What was the sin of opening this thirteenth door to the Divine? Why did she deliberately arouse the child’s curiosity and even give her the key to that door? Why does she give the girl a key that she is not allowed to use? And why does the really pure girl lie to her mother as stubbornly as a naughty child, after living in heaven for so long and even touching the divine?

✻ Then the girl fell into a deep sleep, and when she awoke she lay on the earth below, and in the midst of a wilderness. She wanted to cry out, but she could bring forth no sound. She sprang up and wanted to run away, but whithersoever she turned herself, she was continually held back by thick hedges of thorns through which she could not break. In the desert, in which she was imprisoned, there stood an old hollow tree, and this had to be her dwelling-place. Into this she crept when night came, and here she slept. Here, too, she found a shelter from storm and rain, but it was a miserable life, and bitterly did she weep when she remembered how happy she had been in heaven, and how the angels had played with her. Roots and wild berries were her only food, and for these she sought as far as she could go. In the autumn she picked up the fallen nuts and leaves, and carried them into the hole. The nuts were her food in winter, and when snow and ice came, she crept amongst the leaves like a poor little animal that she might not freeze. Before long her clothes were all torn, and one bit of them after another fell off her. As soon, however, as the sun shone warm again, she went out and sat in front of the tree, and her long hair covered her on all sides like a mantle. Thus she sat year after year, and felt the pain and misery of the world.

✎ That should be a sufficient dreadful punishment for every child’s spirit. Especially the dumbness, the exclusion and loneliness. The hard deprivations in the wild nature may meet more the older children with appropriate experience.

At a deeper level, here we see the sinking into the earthly wilderness. The thorn hedges could symbolize the constraints we are subjected to without the soul being able to escape from them. For Christian circumstances, this story is a daring game, because you might think that the human soul falls into the animal kingdom and lives here like an animal among animals. In Buddhism and Hinduism, this is a common notion of being born again among animals and even plants, to experience there the miserable suffering that one has accumulated through his own sins: “Verily, O Bharata, who has accumulated sin, loses his high status as a human and must take his birth in lower forms down to the plants. Whoever follows his desires cannot know virtue and justice. He who commits sin, but seeks repentance through vows and renunciations, will experience happiness and suffering, and must live with great anxiety in the heart ...” [MHB 13.111] We can only escape these constraints when a higher mind arises. That is why we speak of the superior reason that distinguishes a person from the animal.

✻ One day, when the trees were once more clothed in fresh green, the King of the country was hunting in the forest, and followed a roe, and as it had fled into the thicket which shut in this bit of the forest, he got off his horse, tore the bushes asunder, and cut himself a path with his sword. When he had at last forced his way through, he saw a wonderfully beautiful maiden sitting under the tree; and she sat there and was entirely covered with her golden hair down to her very feet. He stood still and looked at her full of surprise, then he spoke to her and said, “Who art thou? Why art thou sitting here in the wilderness?” But she gave no answer, for she could not open her mouth. The King continued, “Wilt thou go with me to my castle?” Then she just nodded her head a little. The King took her in his arms, carried her to his horse, and rode home with her, and when he reached the royal castle he caused her to be dressed in beautiful garments, and gave her all things in abundance. Although she could not speak, she was still so beautiful and charming that he began to love her with all his heart, and it was not long before he married her.

✎ The higher spirit reappears here as a hunting king. And on his quest he cuts the dense thorn hedge with the sharp sword of knowledge, frees the beautiful soul from her constraints in nature and unites with her. But still she remains silent and cannot speak a human word like the animals. What should she say? Who on earth would believe this fairy tale to have fallen from heaven? As long as our ego-I rules, it is certainly better that we do not know too much about the life before we are born. It is already a big burden to personally identify with the things of this life. This ignorance is also in the interest of our ego, which likes to think of itself as an extraordinary individual that has never existed in this world before and will never again. Sure, that’s a strange aspiration...

✻ After a year or so had passed, the Queen brought a son into the world. Thereupon the Virgin Mary appeared to her in the night when she lay in her bed alone, and said, “If thou wilt tell the truth and confess that thou didst unlock the forbidden door, I will open thy mouth and give thee back thy speech, but if thou perseverest in thy sin, and deniest obstinately, I will take thy new-born child away with me.” Then the Queen was permitted to answer, but she remained hard, and said, “No, I did not open the forbidden door.” and the Virgin Mary took the new-born child from her arms, and vanished with it. Next morning, when the child was not to be found, it was whispered among the people that the Queen was a man-eater, and had killed her own child. She heard all this and could say nothing to the contrary, but the King would not believe it, for he loved her so much.

When a year had gone by the Queen again bore a son, and in the night the Virgin Mary again came to her, and said, “If thou wilt confess that thou openedst the forbidden door, I will give thee thy child back and untie thy tongue; but if thou continuest in sin and deniest it, I will take away with me this new child also.” Then the Queen again said, “No, I did not open the forbidden door.” and the Virgin took the child out of her arms, and went away with him to heaven. Next morning, when this child also had disappeared, the people declared quite loudly that the Queen had devoured it, and the King’s councillors demanded that she should be brought to justice. The King, however, loved her so dearly that he would not believe it, and commanded the councillors under pain of death not to say any more about it.

✎ On the upper level, this story becomes more and more absurd, and one wonders if the girl is really so stubborn and stupid as to sacrifice her own children, her human language, her honour, and her worldly happiness for her pride, even though she already has lived in heaven, touched the divine and felt great repentance in the hell of wilderness, which she still remembers well. So we cannot help but go to an even deeper level and ask ourselves bigger questions. Is this really about the little confession to have opened the 13th door? Any ego would turn its pride from right to left in the face of the promised gain, saying, “Yes, I did!” If we were not even proud to say, “I’ve owned the keys of Heaven, opened the door to God and even touched Him personally!” Would not that be a wonderful victory for our ego to have won the divine besides all earthly things?

✻ The following year the Queen gave birth to a beautiful little daughter, and for the third time the Virgin Mary appeared to her in the night and said, “Follow me.” She took the Queen by the hand and led her to heaven, and showed her there her two eldest children, who smiled at her, and were playing with the ball of the world. When the Queen rejoiced thereat, the Virgin Mary said, “Is thy heart not yet softened? If thou wilt own that thou openedst the forbidden door, I will give thee back thy two little sons.” But for the third time the Queen answered, “No, I did not open the forbidden door.” Then the Virgin let her sink down to earth once more, and took from her likewise her third child.

✎ Now comes the third test, and Virgin Mary even took the young soul by the hand, led her to heaven and showed her the children as they played godlike with the globe. Is not that a wonderfully great and deep view, which already points to a high mental development? This is certainly not the way of a stubborn ego, and we must look deeper here. Is it still the fear of the 13th door? What does the soul deny here so vehemently that she is constantly banished to earth and has to endure so much deprivation and suffering?

✻ Next morning, when the loss was reported abroad, all the people cried loudly, “The Queen is a man-eater! She must be judged.” and the King was no longer able to restrain his councillors. Thereupon a trial was held, and as she could not answer, and defend herself, she was condemned to be burnt alive. The wood was got together, and when she was fast bound to the stake, and the fire began to burn round about her, the hard ice of pride melted, her heart was moved by repentance, and she thought, “If I could but confess before my death that I opened the door.” Then her voice came back to her, and she cried out loudly, “Yes, Mary, I did it.” and straightway rain fell from the sky and extinguished the flames of fire, and a light broke forth above her, and the Virgin Mary descended with the two little sons by her side, and the new-born daughter in her arms. She spoke kindly to her, and said, “He who repents his sin and acknowledges it, is forgiven.” Then she gave her the three children, untied her tongue, and granted her happiness for her whole life.

✎ After all, the soul is even condemned by the world, and even the king cannot help her with all his reason. And the crowd was not so wrong. Is not the queen responsible for the disappearance of her children? Or should we hold the divine mother responsible? And what good would it have been for the Queen to tell people the tale of the Virgin Mary?

But finally, her suffering reaches a point where even the last remnants of egocentric pride break down and the great fear of death dissolves in the heart, so that it becomes free and mobile again. That is the great grace that is hidden behind every suffering. And with that we have arrived at the Happy-End:

Well, the holy mother certainly has not failed in education, nor the apostles in their salutary teachings. Even the opening of the thirteenth door and the touch of the Divine Trinity were not the cause of all the suffering of the soul. Every soul possesses the mystical ‘key ring’ to heaven and even the divine gold of eternal truth. But we vehemently deny it, and that is our great sin. And the painful way the soul has to go through all regions of nature is certainly not an unnecessary path for which one should blame Mother and Father or God and Goddess. And this ‘I did it!’ proclaimed here at the end of this tale as the word of salvation, which extinguishes all the flames of fire, reveals the great light, and brings down the heavenly life to the earth, can no longer be an ordinary selfishness that identifies with personal acts. Because beyond the small ego-I, there is a much larger I, which is denied by our little ego with good reason vehemently. This is probably what our fairy tale speaks on a very deep level. This great I, which is also called the ‘self’, plays like the children with this world globe and also appears in the form of the holy mother with the star crown, the apostle and the holy trinity. It can also be called the great, all-pervading love that overcomes all sin. Jesus also speaks of this great I in the Bible and says, “I am the way and the truth and the life; nobody comes to the father because of me. If you knew me, you also knew my father.” [Bible, John 4.6]

This could complete the circle of this fairy tale and explain the problem with the 13th door. For as long as the small ego-I is still alive and denies the great I, one should not open this door out of desire. Otherwise, it may easily happen that our little ego claims, “I am the way and the truth and the life; nobody comes to the father because of me. If you knew me, you also knew my father. “Then the little ego-I would rise to the deity and reach for the tree of eternal life. This of course has catastrophic consequences, which we certainly all know well.

Thus, this fairy tale as a whole reminds us of the difficult road to salvation, with which obviously our ancestors here in Europe have also been intensively involved. It is self-evident that our beloved little ego must die on this way and that this process does not take place without deprivation and suffering. Who wants to achieve everything, must also give everything. That’s fair and just. And yet we gladly cherish the hope of returning to Paradise with the fluttering flag of our ego, together with all worldly pomp, and if not by spiritual means, then we will at least force it on the material way. Whether the guards with the flaming sword can be tricked or forced by machine power? Well, you can try it...

The Frog-King, or Iron Henry

✻ In old times when wishing still helped one, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun itself, which has seen so much, was astonished whenever it shone in her face. Close by the King’s castle lay a great dark forest, and under an old lime-tree in the forest was a well, and when the day was very warm, the King’s child went out into the forest and sat down by the side of the cool fountain, and when she was dull she took a golden ball, and threw it up on high and caught it, and this ball was her favourite plaything.

✎ There is probably no fairy tale that has been interpreted as often as this one. This indicates that it has touched many generations. So we also want to try and especially examine the symbolic level a little closer. “In old days, when wishing still helped, there lived a king...” That’s already a good thing to ponder about in our times, because for our rational mind, the effect of spiritual wishing is still a great mystery. We believe in the effects of chemical substances, we wonder about placebo effects and homeopathy, but when it comes to Reiki or the like, that’s going beyond a joke. And now someone wants to say that a pure wish can help! Remember the usual “Bless you!” after sneezing. Well, that really only works, if the king lives, that is, if the spirit is alive. And the fact that the mind has the power to make you sick or healthy is indeed something that everyone in life can experience, but that nevertheless hardly fits into our scientific worldview, which is primarily about the material. But in our fairy tale we want to turn a blind eye and try to play with these symbols. The daughters of the king, the spirit, could then be our souls, of which the youngest, of course, is always the most beautiful. The castle or even the castle of the king could be our body, the great dark forest the wilderness of nature, the lime tree the tree of life and the well the accumulated karma from which our destiny flows. At this well, the soul plays with the golden ball, the very essence of our life, in the heat of desire, which of course is closely connected to boredom.

✻ Now it so happened that on one occasion the princess’s golden ball did not fall into the little hand which she was holding up for it, but on to the ground beyond, and rolled straight into the water. The King’s daughter followed it with her eyes, but it vanished, and the well was deep, so deep that the bottom could not be seen. On this she began to cry, and cried louder and louder, and could not be comforted. And as she thus lamented, some one said to her, “What ails thee, King’s daughter? Thou weepest so that even a stone would show pity.” She looked round to the side from whence the voice came, and saw a frog stretching forth its thick, ugly head from the water. “Ah! Old water-splasher, is it thou?” said she; “I am weeping for my golden ball, which has fallen into the well.”

✎ This true essence of life quickly slides out of the soul’s hand and disappears into the bottomless well from which her destiny flows. The whole thing is obviously associated with suffering and of course the soul is crying over the loss. A frog speaks to her, symbolizing the essence of the water. The water is again a symbol of life, because the water is closely linked to our lives. A person can only live a few days without water, our body consists mostly of water, we grow up in a amniotic sac full of water and the earthly life itself was created in the water.

✻ “Be quiet, and do not weep,” answered the frog, “I can help thee, but what wilt thou give me if I bring thy plaything up again?” - “Whatever thou wilt have, dear frog,” said she “my clothes, my pearls and jewels, and even the golden crown which I am wearing.” The frog answered, “I do not care for thy clothes, thy pearls and jewels, or thy golden crown, but if thou wilt love me and let me be thy companion and play-fellow, and sit by thee at thy little table, and eat off thy little golden plate, and drink out of thy little cup, and sleep in thy little bed if thou wilt promise me this I will go down below, and bring thee thy golden ball up again.” - “Oh, yes,” said she, “I promise thee all thou wishest, if thou wilt but bring me my ball back again.” She, however, thought, “How the silly frog does talk! He lives in the water with the other frogs and croaks, and can be no companion to any human being!”.

✎ And this ‘life’ promises the soul some help to find the true essence, the golden ball, that has gone lost. But what does the frog claim for his help? No pearls or gemstones, but an intense connection of life and soul. And that is what the soul initially promises without actually knowing what it means. For she does not believe that she could associate herself with this simple form of life, though she is already addressed in a human way.

In another version of this tale, the basic problem was explained by the fact that the water of life in this well had clouded. This reminds us of the illusion that obscures our view. And the frog as a symbol of life promised there with a beautiful saying:

“When you want to be my sweetheart,
I will give you bright, clear waters.”

✻ But the frog when he had received this promise, put his head into the water and sank down, and in a short time came swimming up again with the ball in his mouth, and threw it on the grass. The King’s daughter was delighted to see her pretty plaything once more, and picked it up, and ran away with it. “Wait, wait!” said the frog, “Take me with thee. I can’t run as thou canst.” But what did it avail him to scream his croak, croak, after her, as loudly as he could? She did not listen to it, but ran home and soon forgot the poor frog, who was forced to go back into his well again.

✎ The frog fulfilled his promise, but the king’s daughter is still in doubt. What kind of a strange couple is here looking for each other? The symbolism is brilliant. On the one hand you can see the frog as a spirit trapped in nature, and on the other hand the princess as nature, trapped in the mind. For the frog is trapped in its natural form, which appears ugly to the princess, and the princess is trapped in the spiritual form of her artificial home and court life, which in turn challenges the frog to act as a representative of natural life:

✻ The next day when she had seated herself at table with the King and all the courtiers, and was eating from her little golden plate, something came creeping splish splash, splish splash, up the marble staircase, and when it had got to the top, it knocked at the door and cried, “Princess, youngest princess, open the door for me.” She ran to see who was outside, but when she opened the door, there sat the frog in front of it. Then she slammed the door to, in great haste, sat down to dinner again, and was quite frightened. The King saw plainly that her heart was beating violently, and said, “My child, what art thou so afraid of? Is there perchance a giant outside who wants to carry thee away?” - “Ah, no,” replied she, “it is no giant, but a disgusting frog.”

“What does the frog want with thee?” - “Ah, dear father, yesterday when I was in the forest sitting by the well, playing, my golden ball fell into the water. And because I cried so the frog brought it out again for me, and because he insisted so on it, I promised him he should be my companion, but I never thought he would be able to come out of his water! And now he is outside there, and wants to come in to me.”

In the meantime it knocked a second time, and cried,
“Princess! youngest princess!
Open the door for me!
Dost thou not know what thou saidst to me
Yesterday by the cool waters of the fountain?
Princess, youngest princess!
Open the door for me!”

Then said the King, “That which thou hast promised must thou perform. Go and let him in.” She went and opened the door, and the frog hopped in and followed her, step by step, to her chair. There he sat still and cried, “Lift me up beside thee.” She delayed, until at last the King commanded her to do it. When the frog was once on the chair he wanted to be on the table, and when he was on the table he said, “Now, push thy little golden plate nearer to me that we may eat together.” She did this, but it was easy to see that she did not do it willingly. The frog enjoyed what he ate, but almost every mouthful she took choked her. At length he said, “I have eaten and am satisfied; now I am tired, carry me into thy little room and make thy little silken bed ready, and we will both lie down and go to sleep.”

The King’s daughter began to cry, for she was afraid of the cold frog which she did not like to touch, and which was now to sleep in her pretty, clean little bed. But the King grew angry and said, “He who helped thee when thou wert in trouble ought not afterwards to be despised by thee.” So she took hold of the frog with two fingers, carried him upstairs, and put him in a corner.

✎ It cannot be described more impressively how these two opposites meet. The exalted spirit in court in the form of the princess, who closes her mind to nature, and the ugly nature in the form of a slippery frog, which challenges all the ideals of the princess. He asks her several times: “Daughter of the King, open the door for me! - Open yourself to the spirit of life!” And the old king fulfils his duty perfectly. Truly, we want such a genuinely pure spirit to be our king even today! And the princess was certainly well educated by him, follows and trusts her father, at least to a certain point:

✻ But when she was in bed he crept to her and said, “I am tired, I want to sleep as well as thou, lift me up or I will tell thy father.” Then she was terribly angry, and took him up and threw him with all her might against the wall. “Now, thou wilt be quiet, odious frog!” said she. But when he fell down he was no frog but a king’s son with beautiful kind eyes. He by her father’s will was now her dear companion and husband.

✎ Here we probably reach the spectacular highlight of our fairy tale, which usually also means a change. The situation escalates, the frog threatens with the father, and the princess displays her natural powers and throws the ugly frog angrily against the wall, for finally peace to come. This may sound like animal abuse today, where we like to keep hamsters, mice and even frogs as petting animals at home. But this is certainly about the symbolism, namely to break the outer form in which life was trapped. Truly, a pure and free-moving mind without attachment would go unimpressed through every wall and not even leave a trace. An overly hardened mind clinging to its physical form would break and die painfully. Our frog was obviously somewhere in between, for he transformed his outer shape into a king’s son, with which at the same time the hate of the princess changed into love. And certainly not just because it was the will of her father. Of course, this story symbolizes a process of spiritual change, which takes place especially inside the princess. The princess becomes aware of how the outer form of the frog breaks and the royal spirit is seen which was hidden behind this form. This is a typical process of awakening, when in all forms of nature one can first see the great life and then even the purely spiritual and divine. We already notice here, how the spirit of princess and frog start to meld.

From another point of view, the princess as a female being could also symbolize nature itself. We are certainly aware of the fact that nature attacks our lives hard and likes to throw us against many walls. Here the walls are death, great losses or other obstacles that seem invincible to us. And only very rarely our mind is so free and mobile that we go through unimpressed. Usually a part of us breaks and changes. And the harder we are, the more threatening and hostile nature becomes for us, and in the end we even fear our utter downfall. Already Goethe had Mephisto say in the name of nature:

In every way you are lost; -
The elements are conspired with us,
And destruction is out there.

The chorus of the angels answers later:

Whoever strives,
We can redeem. [Faust II]

And so here too the frog sought the favour of the princess, just like the spirit seeks the soul, so that in the end both can be united and redeemed from the curse.

✻ Then he told her how he had been bewitched by a wicked witch, and how no one could have delivered him from the well but herself, and that to-morrow they would go together into his kingdom.

✎ This sentence is very interesting and memorable, that only the soul can redeem the spirit from the well of karma. And that is certainly what life is all about, namely to restore the harmonious unity of mind, soul and nature and not to find any isolated solution that can only bring limited happiness. Whoever is the evil witch who curses our minds remains open in this fairy tale. In the Bible, it was the crafty snake that hissed the passionate “I” into Eve’s ear. In Germanic mythology it is Loki as the father of the Midgard Serpent, who causes chaos to the world. In the Indian Mahabharata we read of the demons Madhu and Kaithabha, who robbed the truth in the form of the Vedas and brought the world back into swing [e.g. MHB 12.348]. In practical life, it is above all the illusion that enchants and bewitches us, because we rarely wish for something truthful.

✻ Then they went to sleep, and next morning when the sun awoke them, a carriage came driving up with eight white horses, which had white ostrich feathers on their heads, and were harnessed with golden chains, and behind stood the young King’s servant faithful Henry. Faithful Henry had been so unhappy when his master was changed into a frog, that he had caused three iron bands to be laid round his heart, lest it should burst with grief and sadness. The carriage was to conduct the young King into his kingdom. Faithful Henry helped them both in, and placed himself behind again, and was full of joy because of this deliverance. And when they had driven a part of the way, the King’s son heard a cracking behind him as if something had broken. So he turned round and cried, “Henry, the carriage is breaking.”

“No, master, it is not the carriage. It is a band from my heart, which was put there in my great pain when you were a frog and imprisoned in the well.” Again and once again while they were on their way something cracked, and each time the King’s son thought the carriage was breaking; but it was only the bands which were springing from the heart of faithful Henry because his master was set free and was happy.

✎ The rising sun has always been a symbol of awakening from the sleep of illusion, into which soul and spirit had fallen. And onwards goes the wonderful symbolism of the carriage, which takes the soul through this earthly life and hopefully brings her back to her true realm at some point. Eight white horses with white feathers on their heads already indicate a pure spirit led by the golden chains of eternal truth. The Eight is often used as a figure of perfection, and in Christianity the eighth day is considered the day of resurrection. A yogi would perhaps here see the bodily carriage of the soul, drawn by the five senses, thought, consciousness, and destiny, who have reached a certain purity. And what does the faithful Henry mean as a true servant of the spirit? Well, similar to the fairy tale of the faithful John, we can here think of reason, which is always a faithful servant to the spirit and the soul. Of course, when the mind was banished to nature, reason was full of worries, which were expressed by iron bands that press the life. What are the three bands here, is left to our imagination. One might think of the worries of death, of separation or illusion, which broke away from reason with a loud crack on this wedding journey of mind and soul, because now his Lord was redeemed and happy.

Finally, perhaps a few thoughts on the title “The Frog King or Iron Henry”, which was probably chosen by the Brothers Grimm to underline the deeper message of this fairy tale. Accordingly, we have the choice of whether we want to live as a quacking frog like an animal, or use the iron Henry as a servant, to raise us with true reason to a dignified humanity. Well, it’s all about bringing mind, soul, and body together in harmony, overcoming the evil witch’s curse, untying the bonds that bind us to suffering, and returning to our true kingdom.

After all, it is reason that is supposed to distinguish man from animals. Otherwise, we end up having to endure the mockery of nature, as Goethe lets Mephisto speak to God in [Faust I]:

“The little god of the world sticks to the same old way,
And is as whimsical as on Creation’s day.
Life somewhat better might content him,
But for the gleam of heavenly light which Thou hast lent him
He calls it Reason thence his power’s increased,
To be far beastlier than any beast.”

Sweet Porridge

✻ There was a poor but good little girl who lived alone with her mother, and they no longer had anything to eat. So the child went into the forest, and there an aged woman met her who was aware of her sorrow, and presented her with a little pot, which when she said, “Cook, little pot, cook.” would cook good, sweet porridge, and when she said, “Stop, little pot.” it ceased to cook. The girl took the pot home to her mother, and now they were freed from their poverty and hunger, and ate sweet porridge as often as they chose. Once on a time when the girl had gone out, her mother said, “Cook, little pot, cook.” And it did cook and she ate till she was satisfied, and then she wanted the pot to stop cooking, but did not know the word. So it went on cooking and the porridge rose over the edge, and still it cooked on until the kitchen and whole house were full, and then the next house, and then the whole street, just as if it wanted to satisfy the hunger of the whole world, and there was the greatest distress, but no one knew how to stop it. At last when only one single house remained, the child came home and just said, “Stop, little pot.” and it stopped and gave up cooking, and whosoever wished to return to the town had to eat his way back.

✎ A little fairy tale with great meaning. The upper level is about the well-known hunger that people have always struggled with. To finally solve this problem is a dream that we, of course, still pursue today. The first idea is the land of milk and honey: food as a flat rate, and above all most tasty! And in a way, we’ve also managed to get our modern economy to produce so much food that we hardly know where to put it. Think of the famous butter mountain or surplus milk of the EU. That’s why we can afford to destroy all the fruits and vegetables that do not fit the ideal in large quantities, often 50% of a whole crop. And yet we absolutely need more and more bumper crops, which we force - for all one is worth - with a lot of chemistry and poison. It is as if one only hears everywhere: “Cook little pot!” And the greater the profit, the less reason seems to be present. Modern mass-production of food is obviously a magic pot that is hard to control. But at least we try, even if the practical strategies often appear absurd and in the general abundance, the obesity has already become widespread disease all over the earth.

Accordingly, we find here in the fairy tale two generations, mother and daughter, which represent a development that obviously was an important topic already in the past. What the older generation has started, the next generation must learn to master. This may be the message and the challenge for our children, that they use their virtue to control the development of this world, and not to drown in it. This is of course expressed childlike, according to the motto: “Oh Mummy, don’t you know how to use this device properly?” That’s how the generations grow. For example, let’s think about driving a car. If it used to be about speeding up in the past, today’s generation must first of all learn to brake and stop in a controlled manner in order to avoid major catastrophes in the dense traffic chaos. But this generation will also make waves, and the next one will probably have to learn to master the onboard computer and all the safety systems, and be patient in the morning until all the necessary updates have been installed until the car finally starts. So every generation causes its own ripples, which the subsequent ones then have to pay for. The same applies to our general abundance, which is causing e.g. obesity, which primarily affects our children, and to many, other sweet desires that quickly turn into vice and addiction...

On the middle level, we can also unite mother and daughter in one person, and consider ourselves as our egocentric person along with human reason. The ego wants to makes us different from others. From this distinction of “mine” and “yours” the spiritual hunger arises, and reason goes on a quest into the forest of the world, where it meets the age-old Mother Nature, who already knows what she seeks.

When we look at animals and plants in nature, we see that they are given more or less food. Nature itself sets the limits here, and this system has been formed over a long period of time to work relatively well and healthily. Sometimes there is plenty and sometimes hunger. In this way, nature and living beings form a large and intelligent organism that organizes, regulates and optimizes itself. This is called today ecosystem. In this way, nature provides the necessary nourishment for all living beings according to their level of development. This means here in the fairy tale: “the old woman knew about her misery...” And that we humans today receive from nature as great gifts as enormous amounts of energy, chemistry and machines, corresponds to our level of development. And what is the deeper meaning? Our reason should grow and learn to use it meaningfully. And so the daughter not only gets the ‘pot’ as a material gift, but also the knowledge to manage it. But if reason is not at home and our egocentric person reaches for the gifts of nature, then all reasonable limits are quickly exceeded. And what was once a great blessing is now going wild and becomes a great curse until reason returns.

Think of the ‘pot’ of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. They come from living beings who, like us, fought for their lives long ago and accumulated these amounts of energy in their bodies. They are, so to speak, our ancestors, to whom we owe this energy. And how well do we deal with it? Don’t you just hear everywhere, ‘Cook pot!’? Or remember the ‘pot’ of nuclear energy! If reason is not at home, then every blessing quickly becomes a curse. Even the animals in the forest have their ‘pots’, but they are only as big as necessary. As humans, we are certainly no exception, even our ‘pots’ are only as big as necessary. But as the fairy tale already says, these are still pots. Because the higher the person develops, the bigger the ‘pots’ get, even up to the flat rate in paradise. Today, we can hardly imagine such huge ‘pots’ in paradise as no one could have imagined the ‘pot’ of atomic energy or of complicated machines even a few hundred years ago. Yet, for a very long time there have been stories of ancient wise men talking about wishing wells, cows, trees, and the like, such as the famous story of the sage Vasishta in Indian Ramayana [RAMA 1.52], who, as a poor hermit with his only cow, fed a whole army and even woke the envy of the rich king.

But the whole fairy tale really makes sense on an even deeper, spiritual level. Again, there is a great hunger, a craving for spiritual food, which we certainly know well. And then the saying is no longer ‘Cook pot!’ but, ‘Cook head!’. So it is all about the beloved thoughts that often boil over like a sweet porridge and swamp and suffocate everything around it. Today, this also includes the enormous amount of information that floods us with the modern media every day. This ‘pot’ could also be called a mass production of knowledge. The Internet is probably a typical expression of this development. Only a hundred years ago we wanted to use this knowledge as a healthy diet and abolish the rotten food of superstition. But now it is already boiling over and flooding everything. And only when it attacks the ‘last house’, namely our own, then reason comes back and banishes this mush. But all our descendants, who still want to work in this country, now have to eat through this porridge of knowledge. Especially those who have a bad or no mental digestion can maybe manage that. The more profound thinkers will eventually be left behind with a chronic spiritual fatness, while the shallow wise guys have clear advantages. Does that sound familiar to us? Maybe this spiritual fatness is even the true cause of the general obesity...

And if we dive into our inner being, then this fairy tale could also be about the restraint of our own flood of thoughts, which rolls over us every day. This rambling thinking is basically a gift of nature that should develop our human reason. For this we were given this ‘pot’ or ‘head’, but not only with the commandment, ‘Cook head!’, but also, ‘Stop head!’. And that brings us into the realm of spiritual practice and speaks of meditation, prayer and yoga, where the focus is primarily on the restraint of restless thoughts. It states: “Whoever seeks true knowledge should restrain his speech and thoughts with the help of reason. [MHB 12.236]” There are various remedies for this restraint of overcrowding thoughts in yoga. One means can be the speaking of mantras, such as, ‘Stop head!’. Anyone who wants can give it a try.

And so the circle of our fairy tale is complete: “Once upon a time there was a poor, good girl who lived alone with her mother ...” For the best way to calm down wild thoughts is to end up with pure poverty and true oneness in unity with the Great Mother. What does ‘oneness’ mean? For our little ego it is as dreadful as death. For our true self, it is perfect salvation, great contentment and bliss, the happy ending of every fairy tale.

Cat and Mouse in Partnership

✻ A certain cat had made the acquaintance of a mouse, and had said so much to her about the great love and friendship she felt for her, that at length the mouse agreed that they should live and keep house together. “But we must make a provision for winter, or else we shall suffer from hunger,” said the cat, “and you, little mouse, cannot venture everywhere, or you will be caught in a trap some day.” The good advice was followed, and a pot of fat was bought, but they did not know where to put it. At length, after much consideration, the cat said, “I know no place where it will be better stored up than in the church, for no one dares take anything away from there. We will set it beneath the altar, and not touch it until we are really in need of it.” So the pot was placed in safety, but it was not long before the cat had a great longing for it, and said to the mouse, “I want to tell you something, little mouse; my cousin has brought a little son into the world, and has asked me to be godmother; he is white with brown spots, and I am to hold him at the christening. Let me go out to-day, and you look after the house by yourself.” - “Yes, yes,” answered the mouse, “by all means go, and if you get anything very good, think of me, I should like a drop of sweet red christening wine too.” All this, however, was untrue; the cat had no cousin, and had not been asked to be godmother. She went straight to the church, stole to the pot of fat, began to lick at it, and licked the top of the fat off. Then she took a walk upon the roofs of the town, looked out for opportunities, and then stretched herself in the sun, and licked her lips whenever she thought of the pot of fat, and not until it was evening did she return home. “Well, here you are again,” said the mouse, “no doubt you have had a merry day.” - “All went off well.” answered the cat. “What name did they give the child?” - “Top off!” said the cat quite coolly. “Top off!” cried the mouse, “That is a very odd and uncommon name, is it a usual one in your family?” - “What does it signify,” said the cat, “it is not worse than Crumb-stealer, as your god-children are called.”

Before long the cat was seized by another fit of longing. She said to the mouse, “You must do me a favour, and once more manage the house for a day alone. I am again asked to be godmother, and, as the child has a white ring round its neck, I cannot refuse.” The good mouse consented, but the cat crept behind the town walls to the church, and devoured half the pot of fat. “Nothing ever seems so good as what one keeps to oneself.” said she, and was quite satisfied with her day’s work. When she went home the mouse inquired, “And what was this child christened?” - “Half-done.” answered the cat. “Half-done! What are you saying? I never heard the name in my life, I’ll wager anything it is not in the calendar!”

The cat’s mouth soon began to water for some more licking. “All good things go in threes,” said she, “I am asked to stand godmother again. The child is quite black, only it has white paws, but with that exception, it has not a single white hair on its whole body; this only happens once every few years, you will let me go, won’t you?” - “Top-off! Half-done!” answered the mouse, “They are such odd names, they make me very thoughtful.” - “You sit at home,” said the cat, “in your dark-grey fur coat and long tail, and are filled with fancies, that’s because you do not go out in the daytime.” During the cat’s absence the mouse cleaned the house, and put it in order, but the greedy cat entirely emptied the pot of fat. “When everything is eaten up one has some peace,” said she to herself, and well filled and fat she did not return home till night. The mouse at once asked what name had been given to the third child. “It will not please you more than the others.” said the cat. “He is called All-gone.” - “All-gone,” cried the mouse, “that is the most suspicious name of all! I have never seen it in print. All-gone; what can that mean?” and she shook her head, curled herself up, and lay down to sleep.

From this time forth no one invited the cat to be godmother, but when the winter had come and there was no longer anything to be found outside, the mouse thought of their provision, and said, “Come, cat, we will go to our pot of fat which we have stored up for ourselves we shall enjoy that.” - “Yes,” answered the cat, “you will enjoy it as much as you would enjoy sticking that dainty tongue of yours out of the window.” They set out on their way, but when they arrived, the pot of fat certainly was still in its place, but it was empty. “Alas!” said the mouse, “Now I see what has happened, now it comes to light! You a true friend! You have devoured all when you were standing godmother. First top off, then half done, then… ” - “Will you hold your tongue,” cried the cat, “one word more, and I will eat you too.” - “All gone” was already on the poor mouse’s lips; scarcely had she spoken it before the cat sprang on her, seized her, and swallowed her down. Verily, that is the way of the world.

✎ At the top level, this fairy tale is relatively clear. Cat and mouse are natural enemies. Therefore, the mouse should beware of the cat and do not trust her, because it is indeed the nature of the cat that she likes to eat mice. Even if the cat shows a good character and has the best intentions, as soon as her hunger awakes, there is no stopping her. This is the power of nature and it should be accepted in nature. So it does not make much sense to blame the cat. The mouse should be careful and stay away from the cat. This eating and being eaten is the normal case in nature. Although man tries to get out of this system, he too relies on natural food. And there is probably no food that other beings do not have to suffer from. Even our artificial chemistry, which should provide us with an independent solution here, is very troublesome to the natural ecosystem, drawing even greater circles of destruction than slaughtering a pig or harvesting a cabbage head. So if you look at it more deeply, then man is still a part of nature, even if he thinks he is something special, which of course every cat also does.

At a deeper level, this conflict of interest can also be transferred to our inside. Then you could consider the grey mouse as our reason and the cat as our passionate ego. The nature of the two can be studied very well on the basis of this fairy tale. There is, first of all, reason, which seeks the good and ideal, but in this house of our body usually has to live with or even wants to live with the ego. Of course, the ego wishes for a safe supply for the future and has little faith in others because it knows itself well enough. According to the motto: “What I think and do myself, I also trust the others to do!” So it decides for a place where it expects a certain security, namely the church. But it does not take long for egoistic desire to awaken and lie to our reason. And it often happens that the egotistical desire hides behind the special lie of helping others and doing them good. A strong reason would have the opportunity to tame the ego. But our little mouse lets itself be seduced, believes the lie and even enthuses about enjoyment. With this, reason first loses its ‘skin’. And every desire that is fulfilled, and every lie that is accepted, lets reason fade away, until it is swallowed up in the end by the greedy ego. That is how life goes...

Anyone who has already been able to observe this game inside will also know the deceptive sense of relief when a desire has been fulfilled in the short term. But this nice feeling is quickly gone, as we read in this fairy tale. And even if the pot is empty and you think that the desire will now keep quiet, it was not the solution, because quickly the greedy ego seeks the next object and snatches it...

If we really want to solve this problem of the cat and mouse inside, we should end up on the side of the mouse and strengthen the reason that it becomes steadfast and can no longer be overwhelmed by lies. This truthfulness is a really big challenge and, of course, starts with these very little lies that we allow ourselves daily to gain very small benefits. And that does not start with the ‘others’ out there, but in our own heads. In this regard, one could still think a lot about this inner dilemma of different interests. A similar story about the coexistence of cat and mouse can be found in the ancient Indian epic of the Mahabharata [MHB 12.138], where many of these aspects are discussed in more detail.

The altar could also be considered as one’s own body, with the lights of the five senses and the thinking as well as the cross symbolizing the Holy Trinity. Inside, both reason and ego live with the pot of accumulated merit, which the greedy ego likes to consume, ideally along with reason.

Maybe another thought about the trust that the egoistic cat has just in the church. Today, in the face of our fast-moving society, many people seek some support in religious communities. This is certainly good, so that the spiritual dimension in our lives gets not completely lost. However, it becomes problematic when it is above all the greedy ego, that seeks there for protection, confirmation and personal fulfilment. This can be seen in the many hundreds of religious groups who are hostile to each other. You join in a certain group, as if you were joining a party and fighting for political goals. Because this is typical of egoism, that of course you want to be something special, to stand out and look down to ‘others’. How can there be so many rock-solid differences, if the spiritual way is to dissolve the hardened superficial views and to find the deeper truth? This is mainly due to selfishness, because our ego is the most threatened by truth and then usually reacts like the cat at the end of our fairy tale: Snap, and truth and reason are gone in the greedy throat.

The Fisherman and his Wife

✎ This fairy tale was originally published in Low German by the Brothers Grimm. It is very interesting because it questions several images that we like to draw from our European past. On the upper level, one can think about the alleged suppression of women in society, and on the spiritual level, the alleged stupidity of the people of the Dark Ages, who could not even invent a washing machine or a car. Granted, it’s really hard to look at our historical past with our worldview today. Here we would go with Goethe, who writes in [Faust I]:

Listen, my friend: the ages that are past
Are now a book with seven seals protected:
What you the Spirit of the Ages call
Is nothing but the spirit of you all,
Wherein the Ages are reflected.

✻ There was once on a time a Fisherman who lived with his wife in a miserable hovel close by the sea, and every day he went out fishing. And once as he was sitting with his rod, looking at the clear water, his line suddenly went down, far down below, and when he drew it up again, he brought out a large Flounder. Then the Flounder said to him, “Hark, you Fisherman, I pray you, let me live, I am no Flounder really, but an enchanted prince. What good will it do you to kill me? I should not be good to eat, put me in the water again, and let me go.” “Come,” said the Fisherman, “there is no need for so many words about it; a fish that can talk I should certainly let go, anyhow,” with that he put him back again into the clear water, and the Flounder went to the bottom, leaving a long streak of blood behind him. Then the Fisherman got up and went home to his wife in the hovel.

✎ Brilliant! Already the beginning of our fairy tale uses many symbols, which we already know from other fairy tales, and call for an interpretation on a spiritual level. Husband and wife live in a small hut, in Low German called ‘Pißputt - chamber pot’, so probably not very fragrant. This reminds us again of the male and female polarity that lives in our body, which does not always smell like violets. Because, in principle, our body is a walking compost heap that digests food to create fertile ground for future development.

The sea is mainly water as an element and symbol of life. Here the fisherman sits patiently, like a meditating yogi, until the water of his mind becomes ever clearer and he looks deeper and deeper to the bottom. From there, with the fishing rod of mindfulness, he brings up a wondrous being who lives there at the bottom. The flounder is an excellent symbol for this, because it usually hides on the bottom of the sea in the sand, and only the eyes still show. And as he catches this being with his spiritual rod, he hears that it is not an ordinary being, but a haunted son of a king. The king reminds us once again of the spirit that reigns everywhere, and the enchanted Son reminds us of an embodied spirit who had to take on that form through a fateful desire. It is not new in the spiritual world that one can regard everything in nature as an embodied or solidified mind. Modern science would probably be talking about energy and information, which is basically the same thing. Of course, once you have a body, the question of death becomes urgent immediately. But the ‘man’ sees things deeper, realizes his true nature and gives it back to the clear water of life. The wondrous being returns to the bottom, but showing a trail of blood behind him that perhaps symbolizes the general suffering or karma that all embodied beings must endure. Then the fisherman rises from his ‘meditation’ and returns to his transient body, where his feminine side awaits him:

✻ “Husband,” said the woman, “have you caught nothing to-day?” “No,” said the man, “I did catch a Flounder, who said he was an enchanted prince, so I let him go again.” “Did you not wish for anything first?” said the woman. “No,” said the man; “what should I wish for?” “Ah,” said the woman, “it is surely hard to have to live always in this dirty hovel; you might have wished for a small cottage for us. Go back and call him. Tell him we want to have a small cottage, he will certainly give us that.” - “Ah,” said the man, “why should I go there again?” - “Why,” said the woman, “you did catch him, and you let him go again; he is sure to do it. Go at once.” The man still did not quite like to go, but did not like to oppose his wife, and went to the sea.

When he got there the sea was all green and yellow, and no longer so smooth; so he stood and said,

“Flounder, flounder in the sea,
Come, I pray thee, here to me;
For my wife, good Ilsabil,
Wills not as I’d have her will.”

Then the Flounder came swimming to him and said, “Well, what does she want, then?” - “Ah,” said the man, “I did catch you, and my wife says I really ought to have wished for something. She does not like to live in a wretched hovel any longer; she would like to have a cottage.” - “Go, then,” said the Flounder, “she has it already.”

✎ As this story unfolds, on a spiritual level we can again see the pair of ego and reason that lives in this house of the body like cat and mouse. And as soon as they come together, the ego asks about the profit, of which pure reason is only surprised. What else should one win or wish for in the world if one has already looked to the very bottom of life with a clear mind? But the ego does not give up so quickly and urges reason until he gives in and asks the creative power in the ocean of life to design certain forms. Here spirit acts upon spirit, and so, under the will of the ego, this whole world arises. Wanting in thoughts and actions moves the mind, so stirs up the sea and makes its clarity disappear.

The little saying, which runs like a mantra through the whole fairy tale, starts in Low German with: Mantje, Mantje, Timpe Te, flounder, flounder in the sea… Mantje means ‘little man’, and in this regard, one could interpret the saying as follows:

You (male) spirit in the hidden, creator in the sea of life, the selfish desire drives me against all reason.

And the being says, “Go on, you already have it...” Excellent! After all, it is the living nature that gives us everything, even life itself. And the purer our desire, the more powerful it is, and the faster nature gives us. Therefore, a proverb says: “Everything that man can think, he can also create.” The greedy ego thinks in doing so: “I want to win and possess it!” But the pure reason knows: “I already have it, even if it is not there yet.” This difference is probably the big secret of contentment.

✻ When the man went home, his wife was no longer in the hovel, but instead of it there stood a small cottage, and she was sitting on a bench before the door. Then she took him by the hand and said to him, “Just come inside, look, now isn’t this a great deal better?” So they went in, and there was a small porch, and a pretty little parlour and bedroom, and a kitchen and pantry, with the best of furniture, and fitted up with the most beautiful things made of tin and brass, whatsoever was wanted. And behind the cottage there was a small yard, with hens and ducks, and a little garden with flowers and fruit. “Look,” said the wife, “is not that nice!” - “Yes,” said the husband, “and so we must always think it, now we will live quite contented.” - “We will think about that.” said the wife. With that they ate something and went to bed.

✎ Then his wife took him by the hand and said, “Come in...” That’s probably the way our mind comes into a body. And pure reason advises contentment and says, “As it is, it is good!” - What do you feel about the word ‘contentment’? For many people today it is almost a swear word for a vice. Because dissatisfaction is the engine of our society, that is to say: buy, buy and buy! It does not have to be completely wrong, otherwise it would not have arisen. But you should think about it at least once. Because you might own everything: family, house, company or even whole countries. But without contentment it is never enough and just as good as nothing. While with contentment you can be really happy with just a few. But what does the greedy ego mean?

✻ Everything went well for a week or a fortnight, and then the woman said, “Hark you, husband, this cottage is far too small for us, and the garden and yard are little; the Flounder might just as well have given us a larger house. I should like to live in a great stone castle; go to the Flounder, and tell him to give us a castle.” - “Ah, wife,” said the man, “the cottage is quite good enough; why should we live in a castle?” - “What!” said the woman; “Just go there, the Flounder can always do that.” - “No, wife,” said the man, “the Flounder has just given us the cottage, I do not like to go back so soon, it might make him angry.” - “Go,” said the woman, “he can do it quite easily, and will be glad to do it; just you go to him.”

The man’s heart grew heavy, and he would not go. He said to himself, “It is not right.” and yet he went. And when he came to the sea the water was quite purple and dark-blue, and grey and thick, and no longer so green and yellow, but it was still quiet. And he stood there and said

“Flounder, flounder in the sea,
Come, I pray thee, here to me;
For my wife, good Ilsabil,
Wills not as I’d have her will.”

“Well, what does she want, then?” said the Flounder. “Alas,” said the man, half scared, “she wants to live in a great stone castle.” - “Go to it, then, she is standing before the door.” said the Flounder.

✎ If reason does not control the greedy ego, it knows no boundaries. But it is said that it is as heavy as to control the wind. And every satisfied wish makes it even harder. The greedy ego feeds on it, wants to manifest more and more, wants to surround itself with high walls and identify with special forms and possessions. As a result, our mind melts, and the illusion obstructs the clear view into the depths.

✻ Then the man went away, intending to go home, but when he got there, he found a great stone palace, and his wife was just standing on the steps going in, and she took him by the hand and said, “Come in.” So he went in with her, and in the castle was a great hall paved with marble, and many servants, who flung wide the doors; and the walls were all bright with beautiful hangings, and in the rooms were chairs and tables of pure gold, and crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and all the rooms and bed-rooms had carpets, and food and wine of the very best were standing on all the tables so that they nearly broke down beneath it. Behind the house, too, there was a great court-yard, with stables for horses and cows, and the very best of carriages; there was a magnificent large garden, too, with the most beautiful flowers and fruit-trees, and a park quite half a mile long, in which were stags, deer, and hares, and everything that could be desired. “Come,” said the woman, “isn’t that beautiful?” - “Yes, indeed,” said the man, “now let it be; and we will live in this beautiful castle and be content.” - “We will consider about that,” said the woman, “and sleep upon it.” Thereupon they went to bed.

✎ Why does not the woman go to the palace alone? Why is she waiting for her husband? On the mental level, these poles of male and female resemble a battery that moves us like a motor. And the deeper you look, the less the poles can be separated, as you cannot buy the plus and minus poles of batteries individually. And the further one goes out, the more separation we see, until the usual divorce. Therefore, we read in the Bible: “What God has united, man should not divorce.” [Bible, Mark 10.9] For every separation is a source of illusion and suffering. Moreover, it is probably the dumbest thing when one separates from reason. Surely our scientific-technical age is also good, but the reason should always be there, which reminds us: “Now we want to live with it and be content!”

✻ Next morning the wife awoke first, and it was just daybreak, and from her bed she saw the beautiful country lying before her. Her husband was still stretching himself, so she poked him in the side with her elbow, and said, “Get up, husband, and just peep out of the window. Look you, couldn’t we be the King over all that land? Go to the Flounder, we will be the King.” - “Ah, wife,” said the man, “why should we be King? I do not want to be King.” - “Well,” said the wife, “if you won’t be King, I will; go to the Flounder, for I will be King.” - “Ah, wife,” said the man, “why do you want to be King? I do not like to say that to him.” - “Why not?” said the woman; “Go to him this instant; I must be King!” So the man went, and was quite unhappy because his wife wished to be King. “It is not right; it is not right.” thought he. He did not wish to go, but yet he went.

And when he came to the sea, it was quite dark-grey, and the water heaved up from below, and smelt putrid. Then he went and stood by it, and said,

“Flounder, flounder in the sea,
Come, I pray thee, here to me;
For my wife, good Ilsabil,
Wills not as I’d have her will.”

“Well, what does she want, then?” said the Flounder. “Alas,” said the man, “she wants to be King.” “Go to her; she is King already.”

✎ And again the greedy ego thinks: “I want to become something special!” And pure reason knows: “I am already, even if it is not there yet.” That is probably the biggest secret of contentment, the ‘man’ in us knows. Nevertheless, the ocean of life is getting more and more agitated. We know something similar in the Indian stories of the churning of the ocean, when gods and demons united to obtain the nectar of immortality [e.g. MHB 1.17]. In these stories many waves with desirable things arose from the ocean but also a poison that threatened to destroy everything.

✻ So the man went, and when he came to the palace, the castle had become much larger, and had a great tower and magnificent ornaments, and the sentinel was standing before the door, and there were numbers of soldiers with kettle-drums and trumpets. And when he went inside the house, everything was of real marble and gold, with velvet covers and great golden tassels. Then the doors of the hall were opened, and there was the court in all its splendour, and his wife was sitting on a high throne of gold and diamonds, with a great crown of gold on her head, and a sceptre of pure gold and jewels in her hand, and on both sides of her stood her maids-in-waiting in a row, each of them always one head shorter than the last.

Then he went and stood before her, and said, “Ah, wife, and now you are King.” - “Yes,” said the woman, “now I am King.” So he stood and looked at her, and when he had looked at her thus for some time, he said, “And now that you are King, let all else be, now we will wish for nothing more.” - “Nay, husband,” said the woman, quite anxiously, “I find time pass very heavily, I can bear it no longer; go to the Flounder - I am King, but I must be Emperor, too.” - “Alas, wife, why do you wish to be Emperor?” - “Husband,” said she, “go to the Flounder. I will be Emperor.” - “Alas, wife,” said the man, “he cannot make you Emperor; I may not say that to the fish. There is only one Emperor in the land. An Emperor the Flounder cannot make you! I assure you he cannot.” - “What!” said the woman, “I am the King, and you are nothing but my husband; will you go this moment? Go at once! If he can make a king he can make an emperor. I will be Emperor; go instantly.” So he was forced to go. As the man went, however, he was troubled in mind, and thought to himself, “It will not end well; it will not end well! Emperor is too shameless! The Flounder will at last be tired out.”

With that he reached the sea, and the sea was quite black and thick, and began to boil up from below, so that it threw up bubbles, and such a sharp wind blew over it that it curdled, and the man was afraid. Then he went and stood by it, and said,

“Flounder, flounder in the sea,
Come, I pray thee, here to me;
For my wife, good Ilsabil,
Wills not as I’d have her will.”

“Well, what does she want, then?” said the Flounder. “Alas, Flounder,” said he, “my wife wants to be Emperor.” - “Go to her,” said the Flounder; “she is Emperor already.”

So the man went, and when he got there the whole palace was made of polished marble with alabaster figures and golden ornaments, and soldiers were marching before the door blowing trumpets, and beating cymbals and drums; and in the house, barons, and counts, and dukes were going about as servants. Then they opened the doors to him, which were of pure gold. And when he entered, there sat his wife on a throne, which was made of one piece of gold, and was quite two miles high; and she wore a great golden crown that was three yards high, and set with diamonds and carbuncles, and in one hand she had the sceptre, and in the other the imperial orb; and on both sides of her stood the yeomen of the guard in two rows, each being smaller than the one before him, from the biggest giant, who was two miles high, to the very smallest dwarf, just as big as my little finger. And before it stood a number of princes and dukes.

Then the man went and stood among them, and said, “Wife, are you Emperor now?” - “Yes,” said she, “now I am Emperor.” Then he stood and looked at her well, and when he had looked at her thus for some time, he said, “Ah, wife, be content, now that you are Emperor.” - “Husband,” said she, “why are you standing there? Now, I am Emperor, but I will be Pope too; go to the Flounder.” - “Alas, wife,” said the man, “what will you not wish for? You cannot be Pope; there is but one in Christendom; he cannot make you Pope.” - “Husband,” said she, “I will be Pope; go immediately, I must be Pope this very day.” - “No, wife,” said the man, “I do not like to say that to him; that would not do, it is too much; the Flounder can’t make you Pope.” - “Husband,” said she, “what nonsense! If he can make an emperor he can make a pope. Go to him directly. I am Emperor, and you are nothing but my husband; will you go at once?” Then he was afraid and went; but he was quite faint, and shivered and shook, and his knees and legs trembled. And a high wind blew over the land, and the clouds flew, and towards evening all grew dark, and the leaves fell from the trees, and the water rose and roared as if it were boiling, and splashed upon the shore; and in the distance he saw ships which were firing guns in their sore need, pitching and tossing on the waves. And yet in the midst of the sky there was still a small bit of blue, though on every side it was as red as in a heavy storm. So, full of despair, he went and stood in much fear and said,

“Flounder, flounder in the sea,
Come, I pray thee, here to me;
For my wife, good Ilsabil,
Wills not as I’d have her will.”

“Well, what does she want, then?” said the Flounder. “Alas,” said the man, “she wants to be Pope.” “Go to her then,” said the Flounder; “she is Pope already.”

✎ How do you become king, pope or anything in this world? It is a creative power, an ego-will that shapes these forms. And all these are small and big waves that arise on the eternal sea of life, change, overlay, clash and pass away. And the more this sea gets churned up, the bigger the waves become and the more painfully they beat each other. Or as Zen Buddhism says:

Mind churned, all things churned,
Spirit still, everything still,
And nothing has a name.

✻ So he went, and when he got there, he saw what seemed to be a large church surrounded by palaces. He pushed his way through the crowd. Inside, however, everything was lighted up with thousands and thousands of candles, and his wife was clad in gold, and she was sitting on a much higher throne, and had three great golden crowns on, and round about her there was much ecclesiastical splendour; and on both sides of her was a row of candles the largest of which was as tall as the very tallest tower, down to the very smallest kitchen candle, and all the emperors and kings were on their knees before her, kissing her shoe. “Wife,” said the man, and looked attentively at her, “are you now Pope?” - “Yes,” said she, “I am Pope.” So he stood and looked at her, and it was just as if he was looking at the bright sun. When he had stood looking at her thus for a short time, he said, “Ah, wife, if you are Pope, do let well alone!” But she looked as stiff as a post, and did not move or show any signs of life. Then said he, “Wife, now that you are Pope, be satisfied, you cannot become anything greater now.” - “I will consider about that.” said the woman. Thereupon they both went to bed, but she was not satisfied, and greediness let her have no sleep, for she was continually thinking what there was left for her to be.

The man slept well and soundly, for he had run about a great deal during the day; but the woman could not fall asleep at all, and flung herself from one side to the other the whole night through, thinking always what more was left for her to be, but unable to call to mind anything else. At length the sun began to rise, and when the woman saw the red of dawn, she sat up in bed and looked at it. And when, through the window, she saw the sun thus rising, she said, “Cannot I, too, order the sun and moon to rise? Husband,” said she, poking him in the ribs with her elbows, “wake up! Go to the Flounder, for I wish to be even as God is.” The man was still half asleep, but he was so horrified that he fell out of bed. He thought he must have heard amiss, and rubbed his eyes, and said, “Alas, wife, what are you saying?” - “Husband,” said she, “if I can’t order the sun and moon to rise, and have to look on and see the sun and moon rising, I can’t bear it. I shall not know what it is to have another happy hour, unless I can make them rise myself.” Then she looked at him so terribly that a shudder ran over him, and said, “Go at once; I wish to be like unto God.” - “Alas, wife,” said the man, falling on his knees before her, “the Flounder cannot do that; he can make an emperor and a pope; I beseech you, go on as you are, and be Pope.” Then she fell into a rage, and her hair flew wildly about her head, and she cried, “I will not endure this, I’ll not bear it any longer; wilt thou go?” Then he put on his trousers and ran away like a madman.

✎ So our fairy tale takes its course, which we certainly know more or less from our lives. The description is psychologically very fine, and one should pay attention to the many small allusions that symbolize the usual drama in our mind very profoundly. Reason desperately struggles like Don Quixote against the windmills, the mind becomes more and more agitated and the possessive ego torments itself increasingly. What should be our joy in life, turns into unbearable agony. So we approach the highlight of our fairy tale:

✻ But outside a great storm was raging, and blowing so hard that he could scarcely keep his feet; houses and trees toppled over, the mountains trembled, rocks rolled into the sea, the sky was pitch black, and it thundered and lightened, and the sea came in with black waves as high as church-towers and mountains, and all with crests of white foam at the top. Then he cried, but could not hear his own words,

“Flounder, flounder in the sea,
Come, I pray thee, here to me;
For my wife, good Ilsabil,
Wills not as I’d have her will.”

“Well, what does she want, then?” said the Flounder. “Alas,” said he, “she wants to be like unto God.” - “Go to her, and you will find her back again in the dirty hovel.”

And there they are living still at this very time.

✎ Wow! Words like thunder and then: great silence...

Even a Zen Koan would turn pale here. We shiver and say to our children: “You see, that’s what you get! If you are too greedy, you lose everything in the end.”

But if you look deeper, the question is: Has the flounder fulfilled the wish or not? Why do not the wishing and wanting start all over again? Where is the greedy ego suddenly gone? And where is reason? Would not one have expected any scandal, death or at least a punishment? No, the woman is now God and sits with her husband again in the poor fisherman’s hut “to this very day”, as if they had even found the nectar of immortality as the gods in the Indian story of the churning of the ocean. This is really hard to understand and requires a deeper consideration.

So we first ask ourselves: Who or what is God? The great ruler who is even mightier, more splendid and more revered than the Pope in the Middle Ages? Or the satisfied fisherman who sits lonely and looks into the depths of the clear water? Even Jesus is described as the son of a simple craftsman and has found his disciples among poor fishermen. Buddha was a royal son, who later lived as a propertyless wandering monk. So where is God to look for? And is reason the winner or the greedy ego at the end of our fairy tale?

If one studies this wonderful fairy tale from the beginning to the end, the merit of pure reason, which at the beginning has already recognized the being at the bottom of life, certainly plays a central and deciding role. The rest of the story can be thought of as fate or karma, which must necessarily be experienced and lived through. This does not mean that everyone has to act out this ego delusion as extreme as Ilsabil. But one should not believe that the greedy ego just goes away by thinking or discussing. This is usually a tough fight that keeps us pushing on to the edge of despair, as the story describes very realistically. But the message is clear: if reason remains constant, and is always present as a patient and loving mediator and is not seized and overwhelmed by the delusion of greed, then it becomes the key to solving the great problem of our greedy ego. And in the end, one asks oneself, “Where is the greedy ego suddenly gone, who was wife, prince, king, emperor and pope?” Then an echo could come from the depths and ask: “Was it actually there at all?”

And so the circle of our fairy tale is complete. Here we are again with the waves that run like a thread through the whole story, and the flounder as being on the bottom of the sea of life. If someday we sit by the sea like poor fishermen watching the play of the waves, maybe we too can look into the depths and realize that waves and sea are one. Then the enchanted flounder may rise and also speak to our wave: “Go on, you are already...” In India, this story would probably end with the famous Sanskrit mantra: “Tat tvam asi.” - “You are that.”

A few last words to our introductory remarks of this fairy tale: In history lessons and many a successful movie, the image of the Middle Ages was rather one-sided. People, they say, were mostly poor, dirty, oppressed, uneducated and plagued by devastating epidemics because they did not even know simple hygiene. Only slowly does this arrogant stereotype change. Because whoever could invent such multi-layered stories that are so easy to tell and reveal such deep knowledge of the human consciousness and its spiritual development, could not - with all due respect! - be completely stupid. Certainly, the interests of the time were not focused on technological development, and people had to physically perform and endure much more than we do today. But they had more spiritual wealth, because obviously they did not need to explain the moral of such stories, they intuitively understood what is difficult for us today. It was not better or worse at the time - it was different and not at all despicable.

The Golden Bird

✻ In the olden time there was a king, who had behind his palace a beautiful pleasure-garden in which there was a tree that bore golden apples. When the apples were getting ripe they were counted, but on the very next morning one was missing. This was told to the King, and he ordered that a watch should be kept every night beneath the tree.

The King had three sons, the eldest of whom he sent, as soon as night came on, into the garden; but when midnight came he could not keep himself from sleeping, and next morning again an apple was gone. The following night the second son had to keep watch, it fared no better with him; as soon as twelve o’clock had struck he fell asleep, and in the morning an apple was gone. Now it came to the turn of the third son to watch; and he was quite ready, but the King had not much trust in him, and thought that he would be of less use even than his brothers: but at last he let him go. The youth lay down beneath the tree, but kept awake, and did not let sleep master him. When it struck twelve, something rustled through the air, and in the moonlight he saw a bird coming whose feathers were all shining with gold. The bird alighted on the tree, and had just plucked off an apple, when the youth shot an arrow at him. The bird flew off, but the arrow had struck his plumage, and one of his golden feathers fell down. The youth picked it up, and the next morning took it to the King and told him what he had seen in the night. The King called his council together, and every one declared that a feather like this was worth more than the whole kingdom. “If the feather is so precious,” declared the King, “one alone will not do for me; I must and will have the whole bird!”

✎ This fairy tale also begins with many symbols that quickly lead us to a spiritual level. We do not want to forget that symbols cannot be defined uniformly. They are like fingers that point to something much larger that is hard to explain. So here we see the king as the ruling spirit, the world as the playground of the spirit, and the famous apple tree as the tree of life with the golden fruits of eternal life, strangely vanishing. The sons of the king could be regarded as our souls who have a certain task to accomplish in this world. And this task is about nothing less than the golden apples of the tree of life. It reveals the Bible’s vision of the Tree of Eternal Life, and the Night Watch reminds us of the capture of Jesus when his disciples fell asleep, and he said, “Watch and pray that you do not fall into contempt! The spirit is willing; but the flesh is weak.” [Bible, Matthew 26:41]

This constant mindfulness is a very important exercise on the spiritual path, so that one does not always fall back into the dream state of illusion. For this, the yogis sit and meditate to direct their minds to the true and to recognize the cause that makes us perishable beings who must fear death. And of the three brothers, of course, it was again the most simple-minded, who probably showed in the world the least passion and who had the power to this mindfulness. So he recognized the golden bird in the moonlight, i.e. in the cool and clear light of the mind that shines in the night when the outer world is silent. Although this bird settles on the tree of life, it does not stay, but quickly flies away with our everlasting fruits. For the eternal or the truth is not dead, but alive like a golden bird, which visits us every day, but escapes again and again, when we sink back into the dream of illusion, catch it or shoot our arrows at it, with what here probably the thoughts are meant. For it is well known that rational thoughts cannot grasp the eternal truth. This truth can neither be caught in the web of concepts nor hit with the arrows of thoughts. Thus, this golden bird also reminds us of the mystical Phoenix, which, in the sense of “die and become”, likewise symbolizes the eternal life that one cannot hold on to.

At least our young man already has so much merit that he receives a small feather at his attempt, which expresses the incomparable value of the golden bird. And now, the search is really going on. This is the usual way in nature that we are fed with something small in order to achieve the great.

✻ The eldest son set out; he trusted to his cleverness, and thought that he would easily find the Golden Bird. When he had gone some distance he saw a Fox sitting at the edge of a wood, so he cocked his gun and took aim at him. The Fox cried, “Do not shoot me! And in return I will give you some good counsel. You are on the way to the Golden Bird; and this evening you will come to a village in which stand two inns opposite to one another. One of them is lighted up brightly, and all goes on merrily within, but do not go into it; go rather into the other, even though it seems a bad one.” - “How can such a silly beast give wise advice?” thought the King’s son, and he pulled the trigger. But he missed the Fox, who stretched out his tail and ran quickly into the wood.

So he pursued his way, and by evening came to the village where the two inns were; in one they were singing and dancing; the other had a poor, miserable look. “I should be a fool, indeed,” he thought, “if I were to go into the shabby tavern, and pass by the good one.” So he went into the cheerful one, lived there in riot and revel, and forgot the bird and his father, and all good counsels.

✎ The first son relies on his intellect and fails because he sees the world with a rational mind focused on personal gain. He meets the fox, who is considered a smart animal in nature. And as the fox behaves with his “reasonable advice” throughout the fairy tale, we can assume that he is used here as a symbol of reason and wisdom, which can intuitively communicate in us and often gives strange advice that our ordinary intellect sometimes does not understand. The first son rejects the sound advice and even tries to kill reason altogether. So of course he goes the usual way of the greedy ego and loses himself in the tavern of this world, which beguiles the senses, without thinking further about the true meaning of his journey and returning home. It is also typical of our greedy ego that it sees foolishness in reason and reason in foolishness.

✻ When some time had passed, and the eldest son for month after month did not come back home, the second set out, wishing to find the Golden Bird. The Fox met him as he had met the eldest, and gave him the good advice of which he took no heed. He came to the two inns, and his brother was standing at the window of the one from which came the music, and called out to him. He could not resist, but went inside and lived only for pleasure.

✎ The second son is not faring better. He has it even harder because he follows the example of his older brother. The number three is often used for such symbolism. While the two stands more for nature, where the opposing polarities reign and oscillate endlessly, in the three we find yet another dimension for a reasonable development to higher goals. Think of the Christian Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which is often used on the spiritual level. Or the three natural qualities of passion, darkness, and goodness in the realm of nature, as described in Hindu philosophy as the essence of all developments [e.g. MHB 12.212 or 12.280]. These three qualities are present in all creatures, but in different proportions, similar to our three basic colours of red, blue and yellow, from which all other colours can be mixed to the even full harmony of white. So we could also consider these three sons as symbols of passion, darkness and goodness: the fiery passion of desire and cleverness, the dark lethargy of illusion and lies, and the bright kindness of reason and wisdom. Therefore, the two elder sons are attracted to the vicious life, drowning in the tavern of the world. They forget their real purpose in life. In contrast, the youngest son is described as good-natured and grateful and obviously still has a close connection to reason. Such people are often ridiculed and underestimated in society because they don’t have a disposition to either passion, cunning or fraud to achieve their goals.

✻ Again some time passed, and then the King’s youngest son wanted to set off and try his luck, but his father would not allow it. “It is of no use,” said he, “he will find the Golden Bird still less than his brothers, and if a mishap were to befall him he knows not how to help himself; he is a little wanting at the best.” But at last, as he had no peace, he let him go. Again the Fox was sitting outside the wood, and begged for his life, and offered his good advice. The youth was good-natured, and said, “Be easy, little Fox, I will do you no harm.” - “You shall not repent it,” answered the Fox; “and that you may get on more quickly, get up behind on my tail.” And scarcely had he seated himself when the Fox began to run, and away he went over stock and stone till his hair whistled in the wind. When they came to the village the youth got off; he followed the good advice, and without looking round turned into the little inn, where he spent the night quietly.

The next morning, as soon as he got into the open country, there sat the Fox already, and said, “I will tell you further what you have to do. Go on quite straight, and at last you will come to a castle, in front of which a whole regiment of soldiers is lying, but do not trouble yourself about them, for they will all be asleep and snoring. Go through the midst of them straight into the castle, and go through all the rooms, till at last you will come to a chamber where a Golden Bird is hanging in a wooden cage. Close by, there stands an empty gold cage for show, but beware of taking the bird out of the common cage and putting it into the fine one, or it may go badly with you.” With these words the Fox again stretched out his tail, and the King’s son seated himself upon it, and away he went over stock and stone till his hair whistled in the wind.

When he came to the castle he found everything as the Fox had said. The King’s son went into the chamber where the Golden Bird was shut up in a wooden cage, whilst a golden one stood hard by; and the three golden apples lay about the room. “But,” thought he, “it would be absurd if I were to leave the beautiful bird in the common and ugly cage.” so he opened the door, laid hold of it, and put it into the golden cage. But at the same moment the bird uttered a shrill cry. The soldiers awoke, rushed in, and took him off to prison. The next morning he was taken before a court of justice, and as he confessed everything, was sentenced to death. The King, however, said that he would grant him his life on one condition -- namely, if he brought him the Golden Horse which ran faster than the wind; and in that case he should receive, over and above, as a reward, the Golden Bird.

✎ Well, the good-natured son first lets himself be led by reason and is not seduced by the vices of the world. The fact that he is carried on the tail of the fox could mean that one should not sit on the back of reason and ride it like a horse, but should be led and carried by it. There is always the danger that our ego will even force reason and want to control it for its own purposes. But the good-natured son follows reason and lets himself be carried to a wondrous castle, in whose innermost chamber he can find the golden bird. This castle could be our body in which the soul is enclosed. And the path to the inside is also known to be the way to the golden truth of life.

Of course, the scene reminds us again of a yogi sitting in silence, so that all thoughts and senses are silent, like the soldiers and their king. Only then the mind is clear and you can look to the bottom. In this way, the good-natured one finds the living truth together with the eternal fruits. Here, too, we meet with the advice of reason to trust in the simple and not to be seduced by the outer splendour of gold. But this is not that simple, because the desire is deep-seated in our being and difficult to overcome. So the rational intellect awakens again, and the son tries to put the truth in a golden cage, because of course it should be something special. This is a wonderful symbol and masterfully used here. For with the intellect the selfish thoughts and senses awaken immediately and condemn this daring deed. Why? Our ego is a natural enemy of truth because it knows deep inside that it must go down in truth. Therefore, our ego usually condemns everything that seeks the truth, and if it cannot kill the attacker, it complicates the search with ever new demands. Because this desire for more and more is its essence. And so the search continues:

✻ The King’s son set off, but he sighed and was sorrowful, for how was he to find the Golden Horse? But all at once he saw his old friend the Fox sitting on the road. “Look you,” said the Fox, “this has happened because you did not give heed to me. However, be of good courage. I will give you my help, and tell you how to get to the Golden Horse. You must go straight on, and you will come to a castle, where in the stable stands the horse. The grooms will be lying in front of the stable; but they will be asleep and snoring, and you can quietly lead out the Golden Horse. But of one thing you must take heed; put on him the common saddle of wood and leather, and not the golden one, which hangs close by, else it will go ill with you.” Then the Fox stretched out his tail, the King’s son seated himself upon it, and away he went over stock and stone until his hair whistled in the wind.

Everything happened just as the Fox had said; the prince came to the stable in which the Golden Horse was standing, but just as he was going to put the common saddle upon him, he thought, “It will be a shame to such a beautiful beast, if I do not give him the good saddle which belongs to him by right.” But scarcely had the golden saddle touched the horse than he began to neigh loudly. The grooms awoke, seized the youth, and threw him into prison. The next morning he was sentenced by the court to death; but the King promised to grant him his life, and the Golden Horse as well, if he could bring back the beautiful princess from the Golden Castle.

✎ As we know it from our lives, many things turn around in circles again and again until the problem is finally solved. In this way nature leads us. Our good-natured son is not faring better. On the upper level, here we could say to our children, “How can you be so stupid and make the same mistake again!?” But honestly, that happens to us all the time. And so the game keeps on going with a golden horse running faster than the wind. This symbol reminds us of the pure spirit that can pervade the entire universe in a moment. And it also makes sense, because the golden bird of the pure truth of eternal life naturally includes a pure spirit. And the pure spirit, in turn, requires a pure nature, which is first to be won in the form of the beautiful princess from the golden castle. This brings us back to a trinity that can be seen here as spirit, nature and eternal life.

✻ With a heavy heart the youth set out; yet luckily for him he soon found the trusty Fox. “I ought only to leave you to your ill-luck,” said the Fox, “but I pity you, and will help you once more out of your trouble. This road takes you straight to the Golden Castle, you will reach it by eventide; and at night when everything is quiet the beautiful princess goes to the bathing-house to bathe. When she enters it, run up to her and give her a kiss, then she will follow you, and you can take her away with you; only do not allow her to take leave of her parents first, or it will go ill with you.” Then the Fox stretched out his tail, the King’s son seated himself upon it, and away the Fox went, over stock and stone, till his hair whistled in the wind.

When he reached the Golden Castle it was just as the Fox had said. He waited until midnight, when everything lay in deep sleep, and the beautiful princess was going to the bathing-house. Then he sprang out and gave her a kiss. She said that she would like to go with him, but she asked him pitifully, and with tears, to allow her first to take leave of her parents. At first he withstood her prayer, but when she wept more and more, and fell at his feet, he at last gave in. But no sooner had the maiden reached the bedside of her father than he and all the rest in the castle awoke, and the youth was laid hold of and put into prison.

✎ Again, reason carries our good-natured son to the golden castle, where he is to win the love of the beautiful princess. The bath at night reminds us of the old Easter customs, where virgins went silently to wells at night, washed themselves there and drew Easter water. The night is generally a time of purification, not only in sleep but also in meditation. Because when everything is dark and sleeping outside, the inner light can awaken. And the new challenge of nature here is probably the secular attachment to father and mother. We find similar things in the Bible, where it says, “He who loves father or mother more than me, he is not worthy of me.” [Bible Matthew 10:37] So the challenges are getting harder and harder.

Dadaji also said, “What is true love? That’s the love that does not come and go. Only true love is constant and always the same. True love is divine love. Any other love that falters and increases and decreases is not true love, but personal attachment...” [Aptavani 1,117]

✻ But our youth is not ready yet, guided more by intellect and feelings than by reason, so that in the end he is trapped again. Therefore, the next challenge needs to be mastered:

The next morning the King said to him, “Your life is forfeited, and you can only find mercy if you take away the hill which stands in front of my windows, and prevents my seeing beyond it; and you must finish it all within eight days. If you do that you shall have my daughter as your reward.”

The King’s son began, and dug and shovelled without leaving off, but when after seven days he saw how little he had done, and how all his work was as good as nothing, he fell into great sorrow and gave up all hope. But on the evening of the seventh day the Fox appeared and said, “You do not deserve that I should take any trouble about you; but just go away and lie down to sleep, and I will do the work for you.” The next morning when he awoke and looked out of the window the hill had gone. The youth ran, full of joy, to the King, and told him that the task was fulfilled, and whether he liked it or not, the King had to hold to his word and give him his daughter.

✎ What does this symbol of the mountain mean, which blocks the view of the king from the windows? Here we think again of the body with the five senses through which the mind looks like through five windows into the world. And what hinders our true view? This could mean all the many accumulated things, as well as prejudice, lies, illusion, ignorance, and sin. In India, one would speak of the Karma Mountain, which has to be removed here. Of course this is a huge challenge, because we usually only see the tip of the iceberg. And only with our intellect we will not make much progress. This probably also means the seven days of our worldly week, which are constantly spinning in a circle. On the mystical eighth day, which is considered to be the day of resurrection in Christianity, pure reason appears and carries off the mountain, without the youth having to act personally. Because the ego-I cannot accomplish this work personally. Therefore one speaks here of the grace of pure reason or knowledge. And so the good-natured youth also wins the pure soul or nature as his female half.

✻ So the two set forth together, and it was not long before the trusty Fox came up with them. “You have certainly got what is best,” said he, “but the Golden Horse also belongs to the maiden of the Golden Castle.” - “How shall I get it?” asked the youth. “That I will tell you,” answered the Fox; “first take the beautiful maiden to the King who sent you to the Golden Castle. There will be unheard-of rejoicing; they will gladly give you the Golden Horse, and will bring it out to you. Mount it as soon as possible, and offer your hand to all in farewell; last of all to the beautiful maiden. And as soon as you have taken her hand swing her up on to the horse, and gallop away, and no one will be able to bring you back, for the horse runs faster than the wind.” All was brought to pass successfully, and the King’s son carried off the beautiful princess on the Golden Horse.

The Fox did not remain behind, and he said to the youth, “Now I will help you to get the Golden Bird. When you come near to the castle where the Golden Bird is to be found, let the maiden get down, and I will take her into my care. Then ride with the Golden Horse into the castle-yard; there will be great rejoicing at the sight, and they will bring out the Golden Bird for you. As soon as you have the cage in your hand gallop back to us, and take the maiden away again.

✎ Now it’s about bringing the whole thing home. Of course, the ego waits on the various levels like a hungry vulture for its profit. Again, reason helps with the golden horse, i.e. the pure spirit. Still, it is important not to get overwhelmed by the great joy of the profit, but to seize the true with a pure spirit and to go the way back to the origin, to the Father. This time the young man follows the reason, the great work succeeds and one would like to think, now all is done.

✻ When the plan had succeeded, and the King’s son was about to ride home with his treasures, the Fox said, “Now you shall reward me for my help.” - “What do you require for it?” asked the youth. “When you get into the wood yonder, shoot me dead, and chop off my head and feet.” - “That would be fine gratitude,” said the King’s son. “I cannot possibly do that for you.” The Fox said, “If you will not do it I must leave you, but before I go away I will give you a piece of good advice. Be careful about two things. Buy no gallows’-flesh, and do not sit at the edge of any well.” And then he ran into the wood.

✎ But now it suddenly gets more complicated. Why should he kill the fox, the reason that has served him so well so far? The problem of attachment is really very subtle. Any means that helped us along the way must be released at the right time. This reminds us of Buddha’s famous words: “As a raft, monks, I want to teach you the lesson, fit for escape, not for clinging. Hear that and pay attention to my speech.” But here the youth is lacking confidence again, and he cannot bring himself to do it. He even does not take the further advice seriously, which warns of attachment and carelessness.

✻ The youth thought, “That is a wonderful beast, he has strange whims; who is going to buy gallows’-flesh? And the desire to sit at the edge of a well it has never yet seized me.” He rode on with the beautiful maiden, and his road took him again through the village in which his two brothers had remained. There was a great stir and noise, and, when he asked what was going on, he was told that two men were going to be hanged. As he came nearer to the place he saw that they were his brothers, who had been playing all kinds of wicked pranks, and had squandered all their wealth. He inquired whether they could not be set free. “If you will pay for them,” answered the people; “but why should you waste your money on wicked men, and buy them free.” He did not think twice about it, but paid for them, and when they were set free they all went on their way together.

They came to the wood where the Fox had first met them, and, as it was cool and pleasant within it, whilst the sun shone hotly, the two brothers said, “Let us rest a little by the well, and eat and drink.” He agreed, and whilst they were talking he forgot himself, and sat down upon the edge of the well without foreboding any evil. But the two brothers threw him backwards into the well, took the maiden, the Horse, and the Bird, and went home to their father. “Here we bring you not only the Golden Bird,” said they; “we have won the Golden Horse also, and the maiden from the Golden Castle.” Then was there great joy; but the Horse would not eat, the Bird would not sing, and the maiden sat and wept.

✎ With that, the youth falls back into the darkness of the world, for he is overwhelmed by his brothers, who in fact could be regarded as passion and deceit, and actually were as good as dead. But of course, who would not save his biological brothers from distress? Or was his compassion in the wrong place? That is why it is said that our compassion should always be connected with wisdom and reason. This is not about destroying passion and idleness in the world completely, but to avoid their superiority, since they take us to the gallows or drop us into the well. They destroy reason, virtue and justice without the goodness of wisdom and gratitude. Then of course, profit and success lack the true spirit that gives them real life.

✻ But the youngest brother was not dead. By good fortune the well was dry, and he fell upon soft moss without being hurt, but he could not get out again. Even in this strait the faithful Fox did not leave him: he came and leapt down to him, and upbraided him for having forgotten his advice. “But yet I cannot give it up so,” he said; “I will help you up again into daylight.” He bade him grasp his tail and keep tight hold of it; and then he pulled him up.

“You are not out of all danger yet,” said the Fox. “Your brothers were not sure of your death, and have surrounded the wood with watchers, who are to kill you if you let yourself be seen.” But a poor man was sitting upon the road, with whom the youth changed clothes, and in this way he got to the King’s palace. No one knew him, but the Bird began to sing, the Horse began to eat, and the beautiful maiden left off weeping. The King, astonished, asked, “What does this mean?” Then the maiden said, “I do not know, but I have been so sorrowful and now I am so happy! I feel as if my true bride- groom had come.” She told him all that had happened, although the other brothers had threatened her with death if she were to betray anything.

The King commanded that all people who were in his castle should be brought before him; and amongst them came the youth in his ragged clothes; but the maiden knew him at once and fell upon his neck. The wicked brothers were seized and put to death, but he was married to the beautiful maiden and declared heir to the King.

✎ This up and down makes this story very realistic. Because that’s the way it goes in life, and you should always have enough confidence that after each down there comes an up again. Anyway, reason helps and brings the youth back to the light. But there is already the next challenge, to remain unrecognized before the guards of the forest. What is so superficially described is very difficult at the mental level. Because this is not about changing a few clothes, but letting go of your own identity, to which we usually cling extremely. This includes our name, body and profession as well as our personal history and the outward appearance. This letting go is the incomparable wealth of true poverty or asceticism. With this the youth reaches the court of his father unrecognized. Only the truth of mind, life and nature recognize him, because he is connected with the truth in an inner way and not by external forms. This, in turn, is recognized by the ruling spirit in the form of the king. He judges the bad lie, unites the separated and passes on his rule to the truly worthy.

✻ But how did it fare with the poor Fox? Long afterwards the King’s son was once again walking in the wood, when the Fox met him and said, “You have everything now that you can wish for, but there is never an end to my misery, and yet it is in your power to free me.” and again he asked him with tears to shoot him dead and to chop off his head and feet. So he did it, and scarcely was it done when the Fox was changed into a man, and was no other than the brother of the beautiful princess, who at last was freed from the magic charm which had been laid upon him. And now nothing more was wanting to their happiness as long as they lived.

✎ As mentioned before, every unsolved problem keeps coming up, until it is finally solved. And so the king’s son can finally decide to redeem the fox. What does it mean to cut off his head and paws? Considering the whole story, it’s probably about overcoming the last remnant of the ego-I, which is still hidden in reason and personally identifies itself in the body with thoughts, sense perception, and actions, that is, the head and hands. And the spirit that was hidden in the fox now reveals himself as the brother of the princess of the golden castle, i.e. a being of eternity.

Thus, this fairy tale describes how reason is confined to a narrow body in order to unite the opposites of male and female in true love, to find the golden bird of eternal life, and finally to be redeemed from this physical prison. This symbolism is then certainly the highlight of this fairy tale, which we can only theoretically refer to, like with a finger on the map, so to speak. On this high spiritual level, passion, lie, illusion, pride, attachment, ego and even personal identity disappear. We see how in our story everything is connected on the spiritual level, as every being plays its role and has its place in life. Then basically there is only one mind that embodies itself in different forms and builds a large, living organism. Father, son, reason, soul and nature become a whole, a great sea, on which the individual waves play with and against each other. Finally, the usual opposites of man and woman come together in the mystical marriage of true love, our fairy tale ends and the great bliss begins.

This is a most amazing story, and it could even mean the salvation or deliverance that the great religions speak of. And again, we should not think that this awakening is something very special or completely out of the ordinary. Then we would put the golden bird of truth back in a golden cage and make a lot of noise about it, as happens occasionally. But it takes place more in the simple and hidden. Think of Jesus in the quiet desert, the Buddha in his lonely asceticism, or Krishna in the secluded shepherd’s village, even though their light shone forth over the whole world. None of them needed a golden cage for the truth.

The Twelve Brothers

✻ There were once on a time a king and a queen who lived happily together and had twelve children, but they were all boys. Then said the King to his wife, “If the thirteenth child which thou art about to bring into the world, is a girl, the twelve boys shall die, in order that her possessions may be great, and that the kingdom may fall to her alone.” He caused likewise twelve coffins to be made, which were already filled with wood shavings, and in each lay the little pillow for the dead, and he had them taken into a locked-up room, and then he gave the Queen the key of it, and bade her not to speak of this to anyone.

The mother, however, now sat and lamented all day long, until the youngest son, who was always with her, and whom she had named Benjamin, from the Bible, said to her, “Dear mother, why art thou so sad?”

“Dearest child,” she answered, “I may not tell thee.” But he let her have no rest until she went and unlocked the room, and showed him the twelve coffins ready filled with shavings. Then she said, “My dearest Benjamin, thy father has had these coffins made for thee and for thy eleven brothers, for if I bring a little girl into the world, you are all to be killed and buried in them.” And as she wept while she was saying this, the son comforted her and said, “Weep not, dear mother, we will save ourselves, and go hence.” But she said, “Go forth into the forest with thy eleven brothers, and let one sit constantly on the highest tree which can be found, and keep watch, looking towards the tower here in the castle. If I give birth to a little son, I will put up a white flag, and then you may venture to come back, but if I bear a daughter, I will hoist a red flag, and then fly hence as quickly as you are able, and may the good God protect you. And every night I will rise up and pray for you in winter that you may be able to warm yourself at a fire, and in summer that you may not faint away in the heat.”

✎ The fairy tale starts out strangely and initially makes little sense on the pure plot level. Why should a peaceful king react so cruelly? Where did the sudden tension come from between king and queen, who had previously lived together in harmony? Why does the king respect the girl more than his sons, so that he wants to leave all his wealth and the kingdom to her? Usually the oldest son was intended to be the heir to the throne at that time. This theme, which revolves around several brothers and a sister, also runs through other fairy tales such as “The Seven Ravens” or “The Six Swans”, and is supposedly widespread and very old. We find a similar symbolism in “Snow White” with the seven dwarfs or even in the Indian epic Mahabharata, where five sons of gods married a woman in order to free Mother Earth from an unbearable burden. So let us assume that the deeper message was still a matter of course at that time and touched many people. Accordingly, we are now trying to shed some light on the spiritual level.

We start from the usual polarity between male and female, so that we consider the king as the ruling spirit and the queen as the birth giving nature, who lived together peacefully and had sons whose symbolism we want to seek more on the spiritual side because of their gender. Their specific meanings remain relatively unclear in this and other fairy tales. The symbolism reminds us of the passage in the Bible when Jesus said to the Samaritan Woman: “You have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband...” Master Eckhart says: “Which were the five Men? They were the five senses with which she had sinned with, and that is why they were dead. “In this regard, one might assume that the king did not want to kill his sons at all. Perhaps he only recognized that when the daughter was born, the sons would meet with her death, and had the coffins ready once before. That makes sense at least as far as one regards death and transience primarily as a principle of nature. That is why he gives the queen the key to the coffins and foresees that nature will rule and that the spirit as a male principle will lose its dominion. He probably even knows how the whole story develops, how Mother Nature has to give birth to her daughter and how she kindly tries to look after her sons, too.

We already know the game with 13 from “Sleeping Beauty”. Our fairy tale could also refer to the extraordinary role of the thirteenth lunar month in the solar year, which only appears irregularly every two to three years. Because it is said that in the very beginning this whole world and the diversity of nature originated from a small disturbance of a harmonious balance. It is similarly described at the beginning of the Bible when Eve lets herself be seduced by the soft hissing of the snake and the self-consciousness awakens with the knowledge of good and bad, from which then desire and hate arose as well as this whole big world in which we human beings have to struggle. So the red flag of passion is hoisted on the tower of corporeality, and not the white flag of a pure spirit.

✻ After she had blessed her sons therefore, they went forth into the forest. They each kept watch in turn, and sat on the highest oak and looked towards the tower. When eleven days had passed and the turn came to Benjamin, he saw that a flag was being raised. It was, however, not the white, but the blood-red flag which announced that they were all to die. When the brothers heard that, they were very angry and said, “Are we all to suffer death for the sake of a girl? We swear that we will avenge ourselves! Wheresoever we find a girl, her red blood shall flow.”

✎ It is described here in an excellent way that we can never completely separate spirit and nature. With the birth of the feminine side of the soul, which represents the self-consciousness and reaches for the apple in paradise, a stark contrast arises, which brings about death. In principle, this happens in every person, whether woman or man. So our own, actually egoistic spirit is turned against us. Our friend becomes our enemy.

✻ Thereupon they went deeper into the forest, and in the midst of it, where it was the darkest, they found a little bewitched hut, which was standing empty. Then said they, “Here we will dwell, and thou Benjamin, who art the youngest and weakest, thou shalt stay at home and keep house, we others will go out and get food.” Then they went into the forest and shot hares, wild deer, birds and pigeons, and whatsoever there was to eat; this they took to Benjamin, who had to dress it for them in order that they might appease their hunger. They lived together ten years in the little hut, and the time did not appear long to them.

✎ The mind now sinks deeper and deeper into nature and finally ends in an ‘enchanted house’, which of course reminds us of our own body, where the senses also live and, as well known, there is a lot of hunger that needs to be satisfied. Benjamin means something like ‘lucky child’ and in the description above reminds of the reason, our youngest and normally weakest child of spiritual development, which stays in the head at home and ‘prepares’ everything, while the five senses hunt for food with their worldly thinking.

✻ The little daughter which their mother the Queen had given birth to, was now grown up; she was good of heart, and fair of face, and had a golden star on her forehead. Once, when it was the great washing, she saw twelve men’s shirts among the things, and asked her mother, “To whom do these twelve shirts belong, for they are far too small for father?” Then the Queen answered with a heavy heart, “Dear child, these belong to thy twelve brothers.” Said the maiden, “Where are my twelve brothers, I have never yet heard of them?” She replied, “God knows where they are, they are wandering about the world.” Then she took the maiden and opened the chamber for her, and showed her the twelve coffins with the shavings, and pillows for the head. “These coffins,” said she, “were destined for thy brothers, but they went away secretly before thou wert born,” and she related to her how everything had happened; then said the maiden, “Dear mother, weep not, I will go and seek my brothers.

✎ Who is this little daughter? Perhaps it is we ourselves who at some point will begin with internal purification, wash the old clothes, and find twelve strange shapes or principles there, about which we are very surprised. In Indian philosophy, for example, one speaks here of the five organs of action (hands, feet, mouth, anus, genitals), the five senses (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin), thoughts and reason. The thirteenth principle would then be self-consciousness, which later embodies itself as the ego and wants to rise to become king of the body, control the senses and, of course, possess all wealth, as the great king foresaw at the beginning of our fairy tale. If we become aware of these forms inside, then we too could ask Mother Nature: “Who do these forms belong to?” And she says: “These are your brothers who wander around somewhere in the world because they are threatened with death.” She shows us the empty coffins as proof. And maybe we will answer then: “Dear mother, do not cry, I want to go and find my brothers to deliver them from their wandering.”

✻ So she took the twelve shirts and went forth, and straight into the great forest. She walked the whole day, and in the evening she came to the bewitched hut. Then she entered it and found a young boy, who asked, “From whence comest thou, and whither art thou bound?” and was astonished that she was so beautiful, and wore royal garments, and had a star on her forehead. And she answered. “I am a king’s daughter, and am seeking my twelve brothers, and I will walk as far as the sky is blue until I find them.” She likewise showed him the twelve shirts which belonged to them. Then Benjamin saw that she was his sister, and said, “I am Benjamin, thy youngest brother.” And she began to weep for joy, and Benjamin wept also, and they kissed and embraced each other with the greatest love. But after this he said, “Dear sister, there is still one difficulty. We have agreed that every maiden whom we meet shall die, because we have been obliged to leave our kingdom on account of a girl.” Then said she, “I will willingly die, if by so doing I can deliver my twelve brothers.”

“No,” answered he, “thou shalt not die, seat thyself beneath this tub until our eleven brothers come, and then I will soon come to an agreement with them.”

She did so, and when it was night the others came from hunting, and their dinner was ready. And as they were sitting at table, and eating, they asked, “What news is there?” Said Benjamin, “Don’t you know anything?” “No,” they answered. He continued, “You have been in the forest and I have stayed at home, and yet I know more than you do.” “Tell us then,” they cried. He answered, “But promise me that the first maiden who meets us shall not be killed.” “Yes,” they all cried, “she shall have mercy, only do tell us.”

Then said he, “Our sister is here,” and he lifted up the tub, and the King’s daughter came forth in her royal garments with the golden star on her forehead, and she was beautiful, delicate, and fair. Then they were all rejoiced, and fell on her neck, and kissed and loved her with all their hearts.

✎ So we now go out into nature and look for the true spirit that belongs to these forms. First we look outside in the world. In the evening, when it gets dark outside, we also go inside our haunted house and find a boy who understands us, namely reason, which is really our ‘lucky child’, i.e. Benjamin. And when it gets dark outside, of course all the senses, thoughts and actions return to the inside. You’ve probably hunted a lot in the world, but the real news come from reason. Perhaps that is why the saying came about: “Nothing new under the sun...” And so they are reunited with their sister, who is ready to sacrifice herself to her brothers and to serve them.

✻ Now she stayed at home with Benjamin and helped him with the work. The eleven went into the forest and caught game, and deer, and birds, and wood-pigeons that they might have food, and the little sister and Benjamin took care to make it ready for them. She sought for the wood for cooking and herbs for vegetables, and put the pans on the fire so that the dinner was always ready when the eleven came. She likewise kept order in the little house, and put beautifully white clean coverings on the little beds, and the brothers were always contented and lived in great harmony with her.

✎ This will certainly work out for a few years as long as the self-consciousness is humble and serves and follows reason. Then it helps in our body house with the good preparation and digestion of the food, maintains the inner order and ensures that the senses, actions and thoughts maintain a certain purity. That would be a happy life as long as our inner principles live together in unity and harmony.

✻ Once on a time the two at home had prepared a beautiful entertainment, and when they were all together, they sat down and ate and drank and were full of gladness. There was, however, a little garden belonging to the bewitched house wherein stood twelve lily flowers, which are likewise called students.* She wished to give her brothers pleasure, and plucked the twelve flowers, and thought she would present each brother with one while at dinner. But at the self-same moment that she plucked the flowers the twelve brothers were changed into twelve ravens, and flew away over the forest, and the house and garden vanished likewise. And now the poor maiden was alone in the wild forest, and when she looked around, an old woman was standing near her who said, “My child, what hast thou done? Why didst thou not leave the twelve white flowers growing? They were thy brothers, who are now for evermore changed into ravens.” The maiden said weeping, “Is there no way of delivering them?”

✎ (* Studenten-Nelken, or Studenten-Lilien, are a species of small pinks, and are so called because they are much worn by the students of various universities, in the button-hole of their coats. They are sometimes called Federnelken (Feather-pink, or "sop in the wine"). The brothers Grimm themselves, in the notes to "De drei Vgelkens," speak of this flower as the narcissus.)

✻  “No,” said the woman, “there is but one in the whole world, and that is so hard that thou wilt not deliver them by it, for thou must be dumb for seven years, and mayst not speak or laugh, and if thou speakest one single word, and only an hour of the seven years is wanting, all is in vain, and thy brothers will be killed by the one word.”

✎ At the age of twelve or thirteen, we change significantly. It seems as if a new personality is awakening in our soul, of which it is often said that the innocence of our childhood is now lost. That could explain the symbolism here, that a certain pride awakens in the girl and she breaks the twelve lilies, which are generally a symbol of purity. It is up to our imagination why they are also called students here. At least our senses are often as curious and diligent as students... Since the spirit wanted to create something special, the sensory and action organs fall into impurity with thinking and reason and symbolically fly out into the world as black ravens, so that also the tidy house with the clean garden disappears that has protected the soul. In this way, a new personality emerges from self-awareness with a growing ego, which we commonly call ‘puberty’. The youth suddenly stands in the middle of the world’s wild forest and often feels alone and abandoned by everyone. A difficult time begins with some crises, and young people often even lapse into a great boycott of silence, so that even the parents can barely find access. That may be at least the middle level of our fairy tale, on which young people can recognize themselves in this situation and gain confidence that this experience is nothing extraordinary and that at some point the redeeming king appears:

✻ Then said the maiden in her heart, “I know with certainty that I shall set my brothers free,” and went and sought a high tree and seated herself in it and span, and neither spoke nor laughed. Now it so happened that a king was hunting in the forest, who had a great greyhound which ran to the tree on which the maiden was sitting, and sprang about it, whining, and barking at her. Then the King came by and saw the beautiful King’s daughter with the golden star on her brow, and was so charmed with her beauty that he called to ask her if she would be his wife. She made no answer, but nodded a little with her head. So he climbed up the tree himself, carried her down, placed her on his horse, and bore her home. Then the wedding was solemnized with great magnificence and rejoicing, but the bride neither spoke nor smiled. When they had lived happily together for a few years, the King’s mother, who was a wicked woman, began to slander the young Queen, and said to the King, “This is a common beggar girl whom thou hast brought back with thee. Who knows what impious tricks she practises secretly! Even if she be dumb, and not able to speak, she still might laugh for once; but those who do not laugh have bad consciences.” At first the King would not believe it, but the old woman urged this so long, and accused her of so many evil things, that at last the King let himself be persuaded and sentenced her to death.

✎ At some point this dream will come true, the king’s son appears, recognizes the great beauty, takes the beloved on his white horse and leads her into his wonderful kingdom. Then a big wedding is celebrated and everything is beautiful, if there was no wicked mother-in-law...

If we now go to a deeper level, we can see the great problem of the impurity of our senses and actions by the flight of the black ravens. At some point we stand in the wild forest of the world and recognize how our own senses deceive us, how unreliable our actions and thoughts are, and how death and impermanence threaten us everywhere. Then we could meet the ancient mother who asks us: “How have you been dealing with your senses and thoughts so far? What did you do with them?” Then we could sadly answer: “Is there no redemption at all? Can’t we regain purity?” And she says, “It’s very difficult. There is only one way and that is restraint, the way of asceticism, the great silence. And you will only achieve success at the end of the path.” This is particularly difficult, because we usually want to see the first successes after just a few steps. Well, do we have the courage? Do we have the great confidence that the ruling spirit will save us, like the wise king in fairy tales? This great King, who recognizes us by the sign on our forehead, that is, by our disposition, which is literally ‘written on our forehead’, as is also spoken in the Bible of the ‘seal of God’ on the forehead [Bible, Revelation 9.4]. Are we ready for the great mystical marriage between spirit and nature? Can we overcome the ego within us? Or do we fear the wicked mother-in-law who denies us the expected love and respect for the world, so that we open our mouths and scold loudly to protect ourselves from adversity?

✻ And now a great fire was lighted in the courtyard in which she was to be burnt, and the King stood above at the window and looked on with tearful eyes, because he still loved her so much. And when she was bound fast to the stake, and the fire was licking at her clothes with its red tongue, the last instant of the seven years expired. Then a whirring sound was heard in the air, and twelve ravens came flying towards the place, and sank downwards, and when they touched the earth they were her twelve brothers, whom she had delivered. They tore the fire asunder, extinguished the flames, set their dear sister free, and kissed and embraced her. And now as she dared to open her mouth and speak, she told the King why she had been dumb, and had never laughed. The King rejoiced when he heard that she was innocent, and they all lived in great unity until their death. The wicked step-mother was taken before the judge, and put into a barrel filled with boiling oil and venomous snakes, and died an evil death.

✎ Wow! Which person can have so much trust? That can only be true love, which is not even afraid of death. Selfless love redeemed the brothers from their animal wandering, and the pure brothers in turn redeemed the soul from its ego curse. They put out the red flames of passion that are threatening to burn us. And with pure senses, deeds, thoughts and reason, she can now speak truly. The ruling spirit recognizes the purity of the soul, the mystical marriage in unity is perfect, and the impure, deceitful nature also reaps the fruits of its deeds and has to perish painfully. That’s the end of the tale.

The Seven Ravens

✻ There was once a man who had seven sons, and still he had no daughter, however much he wished for one. At length his wife again gave him hope of a child, and when it came into the world it was a girl. The joy was great, but the child was sickly and small, and had to be privately baptized on account of its weakness. The father sent one of the boys in haste to the spring to fetch water for the baptism. The other six went with him, and as each of them wanted to be first to fill it, the jug fell into the well. There they stood and did not know what to do, and none of them dared to go home. As they still did not return, the father grew impatient, and said, “They have certainly forgotten it for some game, the wicked boys!” He became afraid that the girl would have to die without being baptized, and in his anger cried, “I wish the boys were all turned into ravens.” Hardly was the word spoken before he heard a whirring of wings over his head in the air, looked up and saw seven coal-black ravens flying away.

✎ We would like to continue our journey with this fairy tale because it probably deals with the same subject as “The Twelve Brothers” from a slightly different perspective. Here there is no king and queen at the beginning but just man and woman like Adam and Eve in the Bible. And up to the transformation of the sons into ravens, this story even sounds very realistic. But now let’s look deeper and consider the symbolism:

The seven sons could again symbolize the five senses with thought and reason and the daughter the self-consciousness, with which we shift the whole story into our inner being. It should be noted that not the woman as a symbol for nature wants the daughter, but the man as a symbol for the spirit. And his wish is so great that the woman really gives birth to a girl after the seven sons. But because she seems small and powerless, the fear arises in the man immediately that he might lose his little self again and now demands a quick baptism to sanctify the little self. This is a memorable symbol because it really happens often that people use church baptism primarily to affirm and sanctify their ego. The senses with thought and reason should serve him and fetch the baptismal water from the eternal spring. But in a hurry they lose the means with which they want to scoop the holy water and now they don’t know what to do next. Perhaps this remedy was completely useless for such a baptism. Because actually the senses should not sanctify the ego-consciousness, but the ego-consciousness should sanctify the senses. Well, finally the father gets angry and curses his sons because they are preventing the blessing he has envisioned for the little ego.

✻ The parents could not recall the curse, and however sad they were at the loss of their seven sons, they still to some extent comforted themselves with their dear little daughter, who soon grew strong and every day became more beautiful. For a long time she did not know that she had had brothers, for her parents were careful not to mention them before her, but one day she accidentally heard some people saying of herself, “that the girl was certainly beautiful, but that in reality she was to blame for the misfortune which had befallen her seven brothers.” Then she was much troubled, and went to her father and mother and asked if it was true that she had had brothers, and what had become of them? The parents now dared to keep the secret no longer, but said that what had befallen her brothers was the will of Heaven, and that her birth had only been the innocent cause. But the maiden laid it to heart daily, and thought she must deliver her brothers. She had no rest or peace until she set out secretly, and went forth into the wide world to trace out her brothers and set them free, let it cost what it might. She took nothing with her but a little ring belonging to her parents as a keepsake, a loaf of bread against hunger, a little pitcher of water against thirst, and a little chair as a provision against weariness.

✎ The self-consciousness that gives us every identity as a human being is really a being that on the one hand appears very weak and vulnerable like the little girl, so that we are often afraid of losing it along with our lives. On the other hand, it is extremely powerful, has created this whole world, can wage mighty wars and cause great suffering. But it can also save us when it is purified from illusion, desire and anger. Basically, our whole life revolves around this self-awareness. Moreover, the pure self-consciousness could even be God himself, as Jesus also says in the Bible: “I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me. If you knew me, you also knew my father. [Bible, John 4.6]” So the daughter (or ego consciousness) leaves her father and mother and goes into the world to redeem her brothers (i.e. the senses with thought and reason). Here, too, we hear the biblical vision that Christ came into this world and took on all the suffering in order to redeem us.

In Hindu philosophy, too, this self-awareness plays a fundamental role in the creation myth (for example, in [Markandeya Purana chap. 45]). Of course, this high rating comes first of all from the practical experience that every person can have in life. Certainly, no scientist would claim that he works without self-awareness. Formerly, modern science only spoke of energy as the basis of the universe. Today one hears more and more of the concept of information, which is just as difficult to grasp as mind or consciousness, and basically means the same. It is said, that the famous German physicist Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976), who researched in quantum mechanics, has said: “The first drink from the cup of science makes atheistic, but at the bottom of the cup God is waiting.” We can find this cup again at the end of our fairy tales.

We ourselves have studied physics and computer science and are often very surprised how difficult it is for today’s scientists to use the concept of spirit. It is actually obvious that thoughts can move our arms and legs and be creative. And that this spiritual power does not play a minor role in our life should also be obvious. The same goes for the spiritual values such as virtue, wisdom, compassion and truthfulness. Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) was one of the most influential physicists of our time, who vehemently described himself as an ‘atheist’. But he also said: “Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing.” We ask ourselves, of course: Who does he mean by the little word ‘itself’? This self can be the great key that is closely related to “I am”. Surely it is normal and good to seek the truth in the outer world first. But then you should also look inside and above all in yourself, like our little girl here in the fairy tale, who starts the great search for this spiritual being with her body and the memory of her origin.

✻ And now she went continually onwards, far, far, to the very end of the world. Then she came to the sun, but it was too hot and terrible, and devoured little children. Hastily she ran away, and ran to the moon, but it was far too cold, and also awful and malicious, and when it saw the child, it said, “I smell, I smell the flesh of men.” On this she ran swiftly away, and came to the stars, which were kind and good to her, and each of them sat on its own particular little chair. But the morning star arose, and gave her the drumstick of a chicken, and said, “If thou hast not that drumstick thou canst not open the Glass mountain, and in the Glass mountain are thy brothers.”

✎ There have really been people who flew to the moon, where it is terribly cold, gruesome and evil. And if the sun weren’t so unbearably hot, we would have left our footprints there too. The morning star is usually a planet, mostly Venus, which is the brightest point on the horizon before sunrise. Nowadays we think of dead celestial bodies that are out there flying across space. At that time they were still alive and able to speak to us. And on a spiritual level it can even be found inside us. Anyone who has already dealt with yoga may know that there is talk of one half of the sun and one half of the moon in our body. The moon is our left and feminine side, the sun our right and masculine side. If one of these sides dominates and becomes our personality, then we speak of man and woman, and that usually means the end of innocent childhood, which could perhaps be meant here by eating little children. In yoga we find the so-called chakras or energy centers in the middle of our body, which are usually represented as stars or mandalas. There are also seven in number and can be assigned to the five elements and sensory experiences plus thinking and reason. It begins at the lower end of the spine with the element earth and the associated smell, then water with the taste in the genital area, fire with the visibility in the navel area, wind with the feelings in the chest, space with the sounds in the throat, thinking with thoughts on the forehead and reason with pure consciousness on the cortex. You can say that each chakra sits on its own special chair.

We do not want to claim here that Indian yogis told our fairy tales and kept them for a long time. But yoga is primarily about practical experience and less about theoretical philosophies, systems and concepts. Every person can have these experiences in his own way, no matter where he lives in the world, if he looks carefully into his body. Then one finds, for example, the earth at the end of the intestine, the water in the bladder, the fire in the upper intestine and stomach, the wind in the lungs, the space in the throat, the thoughts and reason in the head and the sun and moon as the two halves of the brain. And if you look even more carefully, you will find centers of feelings, energy channels, relationships, blockages and much more. You don’t necessarily need yoga training for this. On the contrary, too many terms and expectations can even have a destructive effect here. Yoga is a practical way. So why shouldn’t our ancestors in Europe have had similar experiences? Let us think, for example, of the famous picture by Johann Georg Gichtel (1638-1710) from the heyday of medieval alchemy, when many people tried to find the way to truth, to the so-called “Philosopher’s Stone” (in German: stone of wisdom) through the transformation and synthesis of inner and outer experiences. For example, the inner chakras were connected with the seven outer wandering stars (Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, moon and sun). They were called “furnaces of the soul”: [anthrowiki.at/Johann_Georg_Gichtel]:

The morning star could also mean the third eye of ‘insight’ on the forehead, which can give us together with the human mind a key to the mountain of glass. For this, the symbol of a chicken leg is used, which is supposed to remind of a sacrificial animal. Because without sacrifice you cannot get to the glass mountain where the brothers are imprisoned. This mountain of glass can also be found in other fairy tales. Here it could be a symbol for our inner being. Because it often happens that we see the problems in us, such as bad habits, fears, anger, lies, etc., but cannot find any access to our inner being and run into invisible walls at every attempt. Glass also reminds of the essence of the illusion or of our spiritual crystallization within. And when it comes to redeeming the senses with thinking and reason, then we certainly have to turn inside and find an access. In yoga this means the cleaning of the chakras, which one can try with concentration of mind and breathing exercises.

✻ The maiden took the drumstick, wrapped it carefully in a cloth, and went onwards again until she came to the Glass mountain. The door was shut, and she thought she would take out the drumstick; but when she undid the cloth, it was empty, and she had lost the good star’s present. What was she now to do? She wished to rescue her brothers, and had no key to the Glass mountain. The good sister took a knife, cut off one of her little fingers, put it in the door, and succeeded in opening it. When she had gone inside, a little dwarf came to meet her, who said, “My child, what are you looking for?” “I am looking for my brothers, the seven ravens,” she replied. The dwarf said, “The lord ravens are not at home, but if you will wait here until they come, step in.” Thereupon the little dwarf carried the ravens’ dinner in, on seven little plates, and in seven little glasses, and the little sister ate a morsel from each plate, and from each little glass she took a sip, but in the last little glass she dropped the ring which she had brought away with her.

✎ Well, the chicken leg somehow got lost, which is supposed to mean that the old shaman or witch rites with their animal sacrifices were also lost. However, it is better to make your own sacrifice than to sacrifice others. You certainly don’t have to cut your finger off for this. A great sacrifice nowadays is pausing quietly for a few minutes. Then one sacrifices the external action for the inner spiritual view. As part of the hand, this finger could also be a symbol for the sacrifice of action. Such a sacrifice can be made not only in silent meditation, but also in everyday activity by spiritual sacrificing the fruits of actions to something higher. Then you no longer identify with the fruits of your actions in order to nourish the greedy ego. And that is really a great and extremely difficult sacrifice, which is described for example in the famous Bhagavad Gita [MHB 6.27].

We should of course start slowly with a few minutes of quiet contemplation. Perhaps our mountain of glass will open up and an inner voice will sound and help us. For this, at least a dwarfish part of reason should still be at home, even if all other senses wander around with all thoughts in the world, and we have to wait patiently until they return. In the meantime we can practice our spiritual concentration, let the self-awareness wander with the breath from chair to chair, i.e. from chakra to chakra, and taste from each plate and drink from each cup. This is a wonderful and highly recommended meditation. It means practically: We start with the lowest chakra and remember the scent of the earth, the taste of the water, the light of the fire, the feeling of the wind, the sound of space, the thoughts of thought and the pure consciousness of reason. And in the last cup we give the mystical ring of the union of male and female, i.e. sun and moon, the great marriage of opposites.

✻ Suddenly she heard a whirring of wings and a rushing through the air, and then the little dwarf said, “Now the lord ravens are flying home.” Then they came, and wanted to eat and drink, and looked for their little plates and glasses. Then said one after the other, “Who has eaten something from my plate? Who has drunk out of my little glass? It was a human mouth.” And when the seventh came to the bottom of the glass, the ring rolled against his mouth. Then he looked at it, and saw that it was a ring belonging to his father and mother, and said, “God grant that our sister may be here, and then we shall be free.” When the maiden, who was standing behind the door watching, heard that wish, she came forth, and on this all the ravens were restored to their human form again. And they embraced and kissed each other, and went joyfully home.

✎ When the senses and thoughts return, they feel that their food has been touched by a cleansing consciousness in order to redeem them from their wandering and their animal nature. The great opposites, that previously seemed incompatible to us, are now beginning to dissolve and a wonderful feeling of unity arises. Then our true self-consciousness can slowly emerge, which has been purified from illusion, desire and hate and no longer appears as greedy ego, but shines as true love and perfect bliss in human form. Hence, we are returning to our true origin, whereby this fairy tale also finds a happy ending.

Little Snow-White and the seven dwarfs

✎ Because it is said in the human world “All good things come in threes”, we would like to put this famous fairy tale with the seven dwarfs behind the seven mountains, which has given thought to many generations, in a row to “The twelve brothers” and “The seven Ravens“. That fits well, because here the same topic is probably looked at from a slightly different point of view. On the upper level, this fairy tale is a wonderful message for our children to practice the time-honoured virtues such as compassion, helpfulness, humility and truthfulness and not to be seduced by the greedy ego and the addiction to external beauty. On a middle level we see the usual development of a child from the mothers desire to have children through the carefree childhood, the household duties, the puberty with severe crisis up to the great love with the hoped for dream wedding. And on the deeper level we can find a wonderful journey into our inner being, where the great battle takes place between the greedy ego and the pure self-consciousness, between “I want!” and “I am.”

✻ Once upon a time in the middle of winter, when the flakes of snow were falling like feathers from the sky, a queen sat at a window sewing, and the frame of the window was made of black ebony. And whilst she was sewing and looking out of the window at the snow, she pricked her finger with the needle, and three drops of blood fell upon the snow. And the red looked pretty upon the white snow, and she thought to herself, “Would that I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as the wood of the window-frame.” Soon after that she had a little daughter, who was as white as snow, and as red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony; and she was therefore called Little Snow-White. And when the child was born, the Queen died.

✎ The fairy tale begins with a queen who wants a perfect child. If we had previously symbolized the king as the ruling spirit, we can see the queen here as the ruling nature. Nature looks through her window at perfect beauty and wishes for a corresponding embodiment. Obviously, the King granted her wish and a beautiful child was born. However, as the fairy tale goes on, the pure Mother Nature seems to disappear with the birth of the child and transforms into a new queen with a terrible ego full of desire, hatred and illusion, which is looking for the perfect beauty especially in her own looks. Today we would say: “Typical isolated solution! If that will work out...”

Great symbolism is used here for this development. At the beginning, there is the famous needle prick that leads the thread of fate, which sends the soul on its way through happiness and suffering. Like the mind, nature strives for a harmony that is commonly referred to as ‘beauty’. If we speak of the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit from a spiritual point of view, then from a natural point of view we can also see three fundamental principles that work everywhere in nature. There is a long tradition of symbolizing these principles with the three colours of white, red and black. We find these colours, for example, in the ancient Song of Songs, where the soul presumably describes its body: “My friend is white and red, chosen from among many thousands. His head is the finest gold. His curls are frizzy, black as a raven. His eyes are like the eyes of the pigeons on the streams, washed with milk and are in abundance. His cheeks are like spice gardens, where balsam herbs grow. His lips are like roses dripping with flowing myrrh ... [Bible, Song of Songs 5.10]” We will even find the raven and the dove mentioned later in the fairy tale.

Similarly, the old Indian epic Mahabharata says about the so-called three Gunas or natural qualities: “Under the influence of Tamas he gets the dark and illusory, under the influence of Rajas he burns with passion, and through Sattwa he achieves what is cheerful and kind. This is how the three colours white, red and black are created. All these colours (and their mixtures) belong to nature (the Prakriti). [MHB 12.303]”

There is a certain ingenuity in this, because one could explain the whole process of the creation of the spiritual and natural world with these three principles in a relatively simple way and perfectly good. That doesn’t necessarily contradict our current science of the laws of nature. Gravity, for example, is part of the principle of Tamas, the inertia that tends to attract and solidify, the frame made of dark ebony, so to speak, which limits and holds everything together in nature. The famous big bang resembles the pinprick mentioned above, which sets everything in motion with a few drops of passion or energy and lets the world appear in the bright light of our consciousness.

However, what is the perfect beauty in the world? Goethe said: “Beauty is a manifestation of secret natural laws that would have remained hidden from us forever without its appearance.” Accordingly, we could also look for beauty in the inner qualities of nature, as the saying goes: “True beauty comes from within.” We already know from the famous golden ratio that beauty does not always mean uniform symmetry. In our fairy tale, too, the following symbol stands for perfect beauty: three drops of red passion on a wide field of white goodness or purity, which is held together in a dark frame of inertia that keeps order. If we could find such harmony in our consciousness, a great deal would certainly have been achieved. And this beautiful child is even born, but meets a terrible opponent in the world, namely an ego full of desire, hatred and illusion, which seems to rule this world like an all-powerful queen and is hostile to all true purity and harmony. This is really a big challenge in our life.

✻ After a year had passed the King took to himself another wife. She was a beautiful woman, but proud and haughty, and she could not bear that any one else should surpass her in beauty. She had a wonderful looking-glass, and when she stood in front of it and looked at herself in it, and said

“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall,
Who in this land is the fairest of all?”

the looking-glass answered

“Thou, O Queen, art the fairest of all!”.

Then she was satisfied, for she knew that the looking-glass spoke the truth.

✎ The mirror is a common symbol for our self-consciousness, since we recognize ourselves in it as a person and identify with an image. The more desire, hatred and illusion arise in us, the more the self-consciousness changes into a greedy ego, which becomes the cause of great passion, which of course also creates great suffering. We think these two poles, the real and the illusory self, so to speak, are the subject of this whole fairy tale. The tricky thing is, as long as our greedy ego gets enough nourishment and reassurance, it feels really good. Therefore, we like to believe the mirror that confirms our desired image and see the truth in it, although it is only an image. This is not only the case with vain women today, but also with proud men and many scientists who like to believe in objective measured values and see more truth in them than in subjective experiences. Of course, our measuring instruments reflect certain properties of nature, but by no means all, and like the image in a mirror, the measured values should not be confused with the truth. Otherwise, it leads to the point that everything, that cannot be measured, is defined as false and untrue, as can be seen well in the example of homeopathy.

We owe these measuring magic mirrors on the one hand our modern progress, but on the other hand, we also owe them a lot of passion and blind egoism, which lives freely according to the motto: “Devil-may-care!” because it feels extremely threatened in its illusion bubble. And what is threatening illusion the most? The truth, of course, the pure awareness, that we can see here growing up in the form of Snow-White. Because perfect beauty beyond all illusory ideals is basically a pure and harmonious consciousness, which one can also call true love.

✻ But Snow-White was growing up, and grew more and more beautiful; and when she was seven years old she was as beautiful as the day, and more beautiful than the Queen herself. And once when the Queen asked her looking-glass

“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall,
Who in this land is the fairest of all?”

it answered

“Thou art fairer than all who are here, Lady Queen.
But more beautiful still is Snow-White, as I ween.”.

Then the Queen was shocked, and turned yellow and green with envy. From that hour, whenever she looked at Snow-White, her heart heaved in her breast, she hated the girl so much. And envy and pride grew higher and higher in her heart like a weed, so that she had no peace day or night. She called a huntsman, and said, “Take the child away into the forest; I will no longer have her in my sight. Kill her, and bring me back her heart as a token.” The huntsman obeyed, and took her away; but when he had drawn his knife, and was about to pierce Snow-White’s innocent heart, she began to weep, and said, “Ah, dear huntsman, leave me my life! I will run away into the wild forest, and never come home again.” And as she was so beautiful the huntsman had pity on her and said, “Run away, then, you poor child.” “The wild beasts will soon have devoured you,” thought he, and yet it seemed as if a stone had been rolled from his heart since it was no longer needful for him to kill her. And as a young boar just then came running by he stabbed it, and cut out its heart and took it to the Queen as proof that the child was dead. The cook had to salt this, and the wicked Queen ate it, and thought she had eaten the heart of Snow-White.

✎ This is how it happens: The greedy ego cannot bear it if the reflection in the mirror does not correspond to its wishes. Instead of further developing itself internally, it tries to change the external world until its own autocratic image is correct again. Then it feels a certain relief for a short time. Does that sound familiar to us? The greedy ego even sends death into the world in the form of a hunter, so that its image can be put back in order, and demands a token in order to feel safe. You can already see how difficult it is to ‘preserve’ an illusion. Yet we try our best in life with it. The hunter is not doing better, for how could he kill such a pure being? In the course of the fairy tale we shall see that it is even impossible to kill the pure self-consciousness. This is mainly due to the fact, that death is only an image that the greedy ego creates for itself out of fear for its illusion bubble. As long as we regard external images as truth and do not recognize the inner true being, there will also be this fear of death.

✻ But now the poor child was all alone in the great forest, and so terrified that she looked at every leaf of every tree, and did not know what to do. Then she began to run, and ran over sharp stones and through thorns, and the wild beasts ran past her, but did her no harm. She ran as long as her feet would go until it was almost evening; then she saw a little cottage and went into it to rest herself. Everything in the cottage was small, but neater and cleaner than can be told. There was a table on which was a white cover, and seven little plates, and on each plate a little spoon; moreover, there were seven little knives and forks, and seven little mugs. Against the wall stood seven little beds side by side, and covered with Snow-White counterpanes. Little Snow-White was so hungry and thirsty that she ate some vegetables and bread from each plate and drank a drop of wine out of each mug, for she did not wish to take all from one only. Then, as she was so tired, she laid herself down on one of the little beds, but none of them suited her; one was too long, another too short, but at last she found that the seventh one was right, and so she remained in it, said a prayer and went to sleep.

✎ In this way, the struggle rages within us, and the pure consciousness is liked to be banished deep into nature. However, it doesn’t give up that easily, it goes its way through suffering and all obstacles until it enters the inside of our physical house. While reason was at least at home in the last two fairy tales, all the residents have flown out here. Only the external things suggest seven residents, who are all still small and pure here, which reminds us of the small body of a still innocent child and where the world is still relatively in order. The different beds symbolize the fact that there are seven different beings, and if we think of the five senses along with thought and reason from the last fairy tale of the seven ravens, then the self-consciousness could fit best into the bed of thoughts or even reason. Before it goes to sleep here, it goes from chair to chair and nibbles on the food of the senses. Then it commands itself to God and finds rest. What does that mean? It probably means the same as the beginning of the famous prayer: “Our Heavenly Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven ... [Bible, Luke 11.2]” So not: “My name, My kingdom and My will be done ...” This can really be a great key to find inner peace.

✻ When it was quite dark the owners of the cottage came back; they were seven dwarfs who dug and delved in the mountains for ore. They lit their seven candles, and as it was now light within the cottage they saw that some one had been there, for everything was not in the same order in which they had left it. The first said, “Who has been sitting on my chair?” The second, “Who has been eating off my plate?” The third, “Who has been taking some of my bread?” The fourth, “Who has been eating my vegetables?” The fifth, “Who has been using my fork?” The sixth, “Who has been cutting with my knife?” The seventh, “Who has been drinking out of my mug?” Then the first looked round and saw that there was a little hole on his bed, and he said, “Who has been getting into my bed?” The others came up and each called out, “Somebody has been lying in my bed too.” But the seventh when he looked at his bed saw little Snow-White, who was lying asleep therein. And he called the others, who came running up, and they cried out with astonishment, and brought their seven little candles and let the light fall on little Snow-White. “Oh, heavens! Oh, heavens!” cried they, “What a lovely child!” and they were so glad that they did not wake her up, but let her sleep on in the bed. And the seventh dwarf slept with his companions, one hour with each, and so got through the night.

✎ Here, too, the senses, thoughts and reason return to their home in the evening, when it gets dark outside in the world, after having worked hard all day in the world. This inner contemplation has become rare these days. Artificial light and modern media bind the senses to the outside world even after work, and worldly worries haunt us up to sleep and dream. It’s a shame, we live almost exclusively in a 2D world and miss the third dimension of depth in us, where real life takes place. Because there we could find these mystical dwarfs behind the seven mountains, who work in secret and are physically so small or subtle that you can hardly see them. Perhaps at that time one imagined our senses and thinking as such small beings who live in our body and look for their respective nourishment in nature. Nowadays you can think of our small nerve cells that do their hard work in the eye, ear, etc. When their sensory consciousness returned from working in the world, they lit their light inside their house and of course noticed that something had changed here and that a previously unknown consciousness had entered. First they noticed it in their food and then in their sleeping places, where they usually come to rest. The fact that their beds are covered with snow-white sheets also goes well with the senses, of which one says: “He who sleeps does not sin.” But one bed was already occupied, and they were amazed at the pure beauty that they saw there. Here, too, one can only speculate about the differences between the dwarfs. Everyone seems to have a slightly different inclination, and the symbolism relates to a normal meal with chair, knife and fork, plate and mug, bread, vegetables and wine. It is difficult to say whether certain clues are hidden there. At least this symbolism also fits the five senses. Because they have a seat in certain sensory organs, use certain tools like knives and forks, they learn and collect memories as on plates and in cups, they have their respective nourishment and, as sensory awareness, their own light. This could also explain the fact that reason sleeps one after the other with the other senses and thinking while its bed is occupied by the purer consciousness. That would be good and could already symbolize a higher inner development.

Comparing our body with a house, a castle or a city is a very old symbolism that we also find in the Indian Mahabharata: “The body is compared with a city. Reason is its king, and the thinking residing in the body is like a minister who brings matters to the king who should decide them. The sense organs are the citizens employed by thinking ... [MHB 12.254]”

✻ When it was morning little Snow-White awoke, and was frightened when she saw the seven dwarfs. But they were friendly and asked her what her name was. “My name is Snow-White,” she answered. “How have you come to our house?” said the dwarfs. Then she told them that her step-mother had wished to have her killed, but that the huntsman had spared her life, and that she had run for the whole day, until at last she had found their dwelling. The dwarfs said, “If you will take care of our house, cook, make the beds, wash, sew, and knit, and if you will keep everything neat and clean, you can stay with us and you shall want for nothing.” “Yes,” said Snow-White, “with all my heart,” and she stayed with them. She kept the house in order for them; in the mornings they went to the mountains and looked for copper and gold, in the evenings they came back, and then their supper had to be ready. The girl was alone the whole day, so the good dwarfs warned her and said, “Beware of your step-mother, she will soon know that you are here; be sure to let no one come in.”

✎ At some point a purer awareness awakens in us that is initially afraid of the dwarfs of the senses. But our senses and thoughts don’t have to be dangerous or, as sometimes said, ‘sinful’. They can also become our friends, make friends with the purer self-consciousness, and even warn and protect us from the greedy ego of the evil stepmother. The senses here in the tale are happy that they have now found a purer awareness, which keeps their house tidy and prepares their food well. We should also wish for something like this in our body, because the greedy ego usually cares far too much about external things and only seeks its happiness there. And inside, chaos often arises, large piles of rubbish accumulate, and it’s so grey and dark that we don’t have to be surprised when depression or strange fears overtake us. For whatever reason should the dwarfs light their lights in a house where there is nothing pure, beautiful and harmonious?

✻ But the Queen, believing that she had eaten Snow-White’s heart, could not but think that she was again the first and most beautiful of all; and she went to her looking-glass and said

“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall,
Who in this land is the fairest of all?”

and the glass answered

“Oh, Queen, thou art fairest of all I see,
But over the hills, where the seven dwarfs dwell,
Snow-White is still alive and well,
And none is so fair as she.”

Then she was astounded, for she knew that the looking-glass never spoke falsely, and she knew that the huntsman had betrayed her, and that little Snow-White was still alive. And so she thought and thought again how she might kill her, for so long as she was not the fairest in the whole land, envy let her have no rest. And when she had at last thought of something to do, she painted her face, and dressed herself like an old pedlar-woman, and no one could have known her. In this disguise she went over the seven mountains to the seven dwarfs, and knocked at the door and cried, “Pretty things to sell, very cheap, very cheap.” Little Snow-White looked out of the window and called out, “Good-day, my good woman, what have you to sell?” “Good things, pretty things,” she answered; “stay-laces of all colours,” and she pulled out one which was woven of bright-coloured silk. “I may let the worthy old woman in,” thought Snow-White, and she unbolted the door and bought the pretty laces. “Child,” said the old woman, “what a fright you look; come, I will lace you properly for once.” Snow-White had no suspicion, but stood before her, and let herself be laced with the new laces. But the old woman laced so quickly and laced so tightly that Snow-White lost her breath and fell down as if dead. “Now I am the most beautiful,” said the Queen to herself, and ran away.

Not long afterwards, in the evening, the seven dwarfs came home, but how shocked they were when they saw their dear little Snow-White lying on the ground, and that she neither stirred nor moved, and seemed to be dead. They lifted her up, and, as they saw that she was laced too tightly, they cut the laces; then she began to breathe a little, and after a while came to life again. When the dwarfs heard what had happened they said, “The old pedlar-woman was no one else than the wicked Queen; take care and let no one come in when we are not with you.”

✎ Oh yes, it’s not easy for such a greedy ego. It feels betrayed by everyone and even by death and must really do everything itself in the end. Therefore, it thinks up the next crime. It disguises itself and appears in the form of a trader with beautiful goods. Indeed, it can seduce the pure self-consciousness, appeals to the first of the three drops of passion, takes advantage of the great good nature and attacks the snow-white body. The corset is certainly not an accidental symbol and probably stands for the obsession with outer beauty, which for a long time was pursued far beyond common sense. Interestingly, here it is the dwarfs, i.e. the senses with thoughts and reason, who release the ego-consciousness from its constraints. In the two previous fairy tales, it was vice versa, and the ego-consciousness released the senses, thoughts and reason from their animal bonds. This is not really a contradiction, because it is just one consciousness that shows itself in different forms and struggles with itself. Even the greedy ego is basically just pure consciousness, otherwise it would never have been able to find Snow-White behind the seven mountains in this little house and trade with her.

What are these seven mountains? There are probably seven outward forms, behind which seven natural forces are hidden in the form of the dwarfs. First, this reminds us of our physical coverings, behind which the self-consciousness is hidden inside. In practice, it is the walls that we build around ourselves in order to feel like an independent person. These covers also include the five senses with thought and reason, which envelop our true self-inside so that we cannot recognize it. The dwarfs could then symbolize the sense-consciousness associated with every sense. Because the sense-consciousness that digs for treasure in the world is dwarfish as long as it is tied up in our little body. Such ideas were shown in symbolic drawings as an aid to meditation. Medieval alchemy also used them for their own purposes, and thanks to the advent of printing, some of them have been passed on. Let’s think, for example, of the Vitriol seven pointed star from the 16th century:

Here one could interpret the following: On the left side, there is the ruling spirit in the form of a sun king with sceptre and shield on the golden lion of knowledge or the philosopher’s stone, which rules the fire-breathing primordial dragon in the cave. This dragon is like the hissing serpent of Adam and Eve or the Kundalini serpent in yoga. In practice, we are usually fighting with a fire-breathing ego-dragon full of burning passion. On the right side is the moon goddess with the bow of sensual love as the ruling nature over the living beings, which are represented here as a large fish in the water. The cosmic man with pure consciousness inside the circle holds the elements fire and air in the form of candles and fish bladder and stands on the two elements earth and water. His embodiment is the large triangle of soul, spirit and body (anima, spiritus and corpus), and his origin lies in the inner consciousness or pure spirit, which is symbolized there as a smaller triangle. A salamander burns in the fire of purification and change above the animal soul with the worldly sun. Above the spirit is a bird with the cool moon of knowledge in the dark, which reminds us of the white bird of intuition that we find, for example, in Hansel and Gretel, or the white dove as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. In the middle one can see the wings of the Hermes wand as a symbol of the unity of opposites and the spiritual ascent.

The seven-pointed star symbolizes the seven wandering stars (Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and Moon) with the seven chemical elements (lead, tin, iron, gold, copper, mercury and silver) similar to the seven chakras in our body. In between there is a sequence of images that symbolizes our human development from dark ignorance with the rule of death through purification, knowledge and insight to the resurrection to eternal life. In the outer circle, you can read the Latin inscription “Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem” with the initials VITRIOL, in English: “Search inside the earth, through purification you will find the hidden stone.” That could also mean: “Explore the depths of nature with your five senses, thinking and reason, and find the hidden eternal and immortal spirit on the path of purification.” The tips of the seven-pointed star also remind us of the seven dwarfs with their pointed caps behind the seven mountains in the sense of the seven natural forces behind the seven planets and elements, which of course are closely connected to our five senses and thinking, and behind which pure consciousness or God can be found.

However, such diagrams should not be confused with the systematics of our modern science. It should not be viewed as the truth itself, but as a means of concentration and memory that can be used on the path to truth. They represent the same principle as the old fairy tales, and here too it is good to fathom the depths and not get stuck in the superficial design.

In India such aids are called a mandala or yantra. In our case you could imagine the following:

Then the six corners of the star, which consists of the two triangles of male and female, with the inner circle of reason would be the seven mountains around pure consciousness. In this symbolism, the three body covers or levels can be clearly recognized, which are mentioned in yoga, namely the outer gross cover symbolized as a square, the middle subtle cover as a star and the inner spiritual cover as a circle. On the subtle level, we can find all the fairy-tale beings such as dwarfs, trolls, fairies and elves who work as a link between our material body and our spiritual being. Scientifically, one could speak of nerve cells here, small and intelligent cells, so to speak, which connect matter and spirit. The greedy ego in the form of the evil mother-in-law passes through the outer two covers of the body and the senses and tries to poison our pure self-consciousness behind the ‘seven mountains with the seven dwarfs’.

What are these poisons of consciousness? In general, one speaks here of desire, hatred and illusion or attachment, rejection and ignorance. That is why the dwarfs and above all reason say: “Never let the greedy ego in if we are not with you and the gates of the senses are open!”

✻ But the wicked woman when she had reached home went in front of the glass and asked

“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall,
Who in this land is the fairest of all?”

and it answered as before

“Oh, Queen, thou art fairest of all I see,
But over the hills, where the seven dwarfs dwell,
Snow-White is still alive and well,
And none is so fair as she.”

When she heard that, all her blood rushed to her heart with fear, for she saw plainly that little Snow-White was again alive. “But now,” she said, “I will think of something that shall put an end to you,” and by the help of witchcraft, which she understood, she made a poisonous comb. Then she disguised herself and took the shape of another old woman. So she went over the seven mountains to the seven dwarfs, knocked at the door, and cried, “Good things to sell, cheap, cheap!” Little Snow-White looked out and said, “Go away; I cannot let any one come in.” “I suppose you can look,” said the old woman, and pulled the poisonous comb out and held it up. It pleased the girl so well that she let herself be beguiled, and opened the door. When they had made a bargain the old woman said, “Now I will comb you properly for once.” Poor little Snow-White had no suspicion, and let the old woman do as she pleased, but hardly had she put the comb in her hair than the poison in it took effect, and the girl fell down senseless. “You paragon of beauty,” said the wicked woman, “you are done for now,” and she went away. But fortunately it was almost evening, when the seven dwarfs came home. When they saw Snow-White lying as if dead upon the ground they at once suspected the step-mother, and they looked and found the poisoned comb. Scarcely had they taken it out when Snow-White came to herself, and told them what had happened. Then they warned her once more to be upon her guard and to open the door to no one.

✎ Again, the greedy ego looks in the mirror. This mirror can be found not only in the outer material world, but also in the inner, spiritual world. It is consciousness itself that perceives itself and its surroundings with the help of the senses, thinking and reason. This ‘perception’ is nothing other than looking in a mirror. And this perception has to be cleaned and kept pure, as if you were holding a mirror pure, so that the image is falsified as little as possible. In Zen Buddhism it is said:

The body is like the tree of knowledge,
Consciousness is like a clear mirror,
Always polish it with zeal,
Don’t let dust adhere to it.

Now one could ask: Does the greedy ego come from outside or inside? Both! It comes from within, as far as our self-consciousness develops into a greedy ego through desire, hatred and illusion. It comes from outside as far as we invite desire, hatred and illusion and let them in. One is Snow-White as our inner consciousness and the other the Queen as the external ruling nature. This question of inside and outside has a lot to do with the separation of “mine” and “yours” or “I” and “others”. The pure consciousness really cares little about these limits. It works from the outside as from the inside, and in this regard, no one is completely independent. Everyone also affects other people, and even in the womb we are exposed to the effects of the ‘ruling nature’. Whoever recognizes this becomes aware of his responsibility towards all beings in this world.

The second drop of passion now also shows its effect, the greedy ego finds an access through vanity, regarding the black hair like ebony. The symbol reminds us of hours of combing, hairdressing and applying makeup in front of the mirror in order to shape our external ideal. Thereby, the poison of desire, hatred and illusion comes into our inner being, paralyzes the real life and lets the pure consciousness sink into a dream world. But, even this poison could not completely kill the pure consciousness, just numb it for a while. Again, the dwarfs can help, find the toxic cause and free Snow-White from it. Finally, reason again warns of the greedy ego.

✻ The Queen, at home, went in front of the glass and said

“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall,
Who in this land is the fairest of all?”

Then it answered as before

“Oh, Queen, thou art fairest of all I see,
But over the hills, where the seven dwarfs dwell,
Snow-White is still alive and well,
And none is so fair as she.”

When she heard the glass speak thus she trembled and shook with rage. “Snow-White shall die,” she cried, “even if it costs me my life!” Thereupon she went into a quite secret, lonely room, where no one ever came, and there she made a very poisonous apple. Outside it looked pretty, white with a red cheek, so that every one who saw it longed for it; but whoever ate a piece of it must surely die. When the apple was ready she painted her face, and dressed herself up as a country-woman, and so she went over the seven mountains to the seven dwarfs. She knocked at the door. Snow- white put her head out of the window and said, “I cannot let any one in; the seven dwarfs have forbidden me.” “It is all the same to me,” answered the woman, “I shall soon get rid of my apples. There, I will give you one.” “No,” said Snow-White, “I dare not take anything.” “Are you afraid of poison?” said the old woman; “look, I will cut the apple in two pieces; you eat the red cheek, and I will eat the white.” The apple was so cunningly made that only the red cheek was poisoned. Snow-White longed for the fine apple, and when she saw that the woman ate part of it she could resist no longer, and stretched out her hand and took the poisonous half.

But hardly had she a bit of it in her mouth than she fell down dead. Then the Queen looked at her with a dreadful look, and laughed aloud and said, “White as snow, red as blood, black as ebony-wood! this time the dwarfs cannot wake you up again.” And when she asked of the Looking-glass at home

“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall,
Who in this land is the fairest of all?”

it answered at last

“Oh, Queen, in this land thou art fairest of all.”

Then her envious heart had rest, so far as an envious heart can have rest.

✎ Every attempted murder makes the greedy ego more and more angry and aggressive. It’s unbearable when you can’t force your personal goals. Then the ego seems to develop even more intelligence than our reason, comes up with the most insidious ideas, hides behind the most beautiful forms and is very difficult to recognize. Therefore, the third drop of passion demands its right, the self-consciousness does not keep gates and windows closed, but pokes its head out curiously. This time the poison disappears in the red mouth due to the desire for pleasure, can work from within and the magic mirror confirms: The goal has finally been reached!

Does that sound familiar to us? Aren’t our apples in the supermarket particularly attractive and tempting on the outside? We accomplish this with a lot of poison, as the saying goes: “All show and no substance!” This is a very insidious story that makes wide circles, and our greedy ego naturally plays a major role here.

✻ The dwarfs, when they came home in the evening, found Snow-White lying upon the ground; she breathed no longer and was dead. They lifted her up, looked to see whether they could find anything poisonous, unlaced her, combed her hair, washed her with water and wine, but it was all of no use; the poor child was dead, and remained dead. They laid her upon a bier, and all seven of them sat round it and wept for her, and wept three days long. Then they were going to bury her, but she still looked as if she were living, and still had her pretty red cheeks. They said, “We could not bury her in the dark ground,” and they had a transparent coffin of glass made, so that she could be seen from all sides, and they laid her in it, and wrote her name upon it in golden letters, and that she was a king’s daughter. Then they put the coffin out upon the mountain, and one of them always stayed by it and watched it. And birds came too, and wept for Snow-White; first an owl, then a raven, and last a dove. And now Snow-White lay a long, long time in the coffin, and she did not change, but looked as if she were asleep; for she was as white as snow, as red as blood, and her hair was as black as ebony.

✎ This time the dwarfs couldn’t help, maybe because the toxic cause was no longer visible from the outside. At least that fits with our senses, which can usually only recognize external things. When the living light of consciousness is dim in us, of course there arises a great inner grief that we would call a typical depression today. However, it is good never to lose hope and at least to keep the outward form. Then we build a glass coffin inside, write our name on it and at least guard this ideal. Such a person who is drowning in depression with dimmed consciousness even deserves the sympathy of wild animals, which here could symbolize in detail the natural qualities of passion, darkness and goodness, that work everywhere in nature. At least we find the raven and the dove in the above quote from the Song of Songs. As a typical bird of prey, the owl could represent passion. Anyone who has experienced depression will know what is being talked about here and asks himself the big question: Where on earth can you find salvation now?

✻ It happened, however, that a king’s son came into the forest, and went to the dwarfs’ house to spend the night. He saw the coffin on the mountain, and the beautiful Snow-White within it, and read what was written upon it in golden letters. Then he said to the dwarfs, “Let me have the coffin, I will give you whatever you want for it.” But the dwarfs answered, “We will not part with it for all the gold in the world.” Then he said, “Let me have it as a gift, for I cannot live without seeing Snow-White. I will honour and prize her as my dearest possession.” As he spoke in this way the good dwarfs took pity upon him, and gave him the coffin. And now the King’s son had it carried away by his servants on their shoulders. And it happened that they stumbled over a tree-stump, and with the shock the poisonous piece of apple which Snow-White had bitten off came out of her throat. And before long she opened her eyes, lifted up the lid of the coffin, sat up, and was once more alive. “Oh, heavens, where am I?” she cried. The King’s son, full of joy, said, “You are with me,” and told her what had happened, and said, “I love you more than everything in the world; come with me to my father’s palace, you shall be my wife.” And Snow-White was willing, and went with him, and their wedding was held with great show and splendour.

✎ Fortunately, alongside the ruling nature, there is still a ruling spirit who sends his son to redeem consciousness from the darkness. This does not happen through money or gold, of course, but through the great compassion and grace of true love. It is this spirit that carries everything, or at least allows it to be carried, including our self-consciousness. And what else in life we consider as suffering when we stumble over obstacles on the way, that ultimately serves our awakening from the dark dream of illusion. So here, in the fairy tale even the awakening to real life could be meant, as the wonderful words say: “Oh God, where am I? - You are with me!” The soul finally returns to the father, where the mystical marriage of the unity between man and woman or spirit and nature is celebrated. This unity, where all opposites dissolve and every mirror loses its objectivity, is something very big that one can no longer conceive with ordinary thoughts.

There was the following mystical answer to the above-mentioned Zen saying about the mirror from a kitchen boy named Huineng, who then became a famous Zen master in China:

Basically, there is no tree of knowledge.
No clear mirror is set up.
In the origin there is no thing.
Whereupon should dust lay on?

✻ But Snow-White’s wicked step-mother was also bidden to the feast. When she had arrayed herself in beautiful clothes she went before the Looking-glass, and said

“Looking-glass, Looking-glass, on the wall,
Who in this land is the fairest of all?”

the glass answered

“Oh, Queen, of all here the fairest art thou,
But the young Queen is fairer by far as I trow.”

Then the wicked woman uttered a curse, and was so wretched, so utterly wretched, that she knew not what to do. At first she would not go to the wedding at all, but she had no peace, and must go to see the young Queen. And when she went in she knew Snow-White; and she stood still with rage and fear, and could not stir. But iron slippers had already been put upon the fire, and they were brought in with tongs, and set before her. Then she was forced to put on the red-hot shoes, and dance until she dropped down dead.

✎ And what happens to the greedy ego? Well, it curses itself to great agony, and of course, in the end the illusion bubble has to burst apart, otherwise it would not have become an illusion bubble. What sounds so archaic here with the iron slippers is nowadays a widespread torture. You can call it, for example, “burn-out”. We run and dance on the fiery feet of passion and can’t stop until we’re completely burned out. What more can you say about it? If three drops of passion were so painful for our Snow-White, what do we expect when nowadays passion is set above all virtue and reason and floods our whole world?

The Six Servants

✻ In former times there lived an aged Queen who was a sorceress, and her daughter was the most beautiful maiden under the sun. The old woman, however, had no other thought than how to lure mankind to destruction, and when a wooer appeared, she said that whosoever wished to have her daughter, must first perform a task, or die. Many had been dazzled by the daughter’s beauty, and had actually risked this, but they never could accomplish what the old woman enjoined them to do, and then no mercy was shown; they had to kneel down, and their heads were struck off. A certain King’s son who had also heard of the maiden’s beauty, said to his father, “Let me go there, I want to demand her in marriage.” “Never,” answered the King; “if you were to go, it would be going to your death.” On this the son lay down and was sick unto death, and for seven years he lay there, and no physician could heal him. When the father perceived that all hope was over, with a heavy heart he said to him, “Go thither, and try your luck, for I know no other means of curing you.” When the son heard that, he rose from his bed and was well again, and joyfully set out on his way.

✎ After the twelve brothers, seven ravens and seven dwarfs, we would like to think a little more about the six servants of this fairy tale, in order to perhaps shed more light on the mysticism of such fairy tales. The story first speaks of a beautiful virgin who, through her feminine charms, attracts young men in droves. However, no one was able to win her because she was ruled by a sorceress who made the highest demands, so that the young men first lost their hearts and then their heads. Practically, this often happens in life. What mother does not want the best of all men to be a husband for her daughter? And above all, the great mother nature. That love can really make one sick, and that one plunges into great adventures against all reason is certainly also known. For our children the message will then be: With a lot of courage, perseverance and love, the necessary helpers will appear at the right time, and everything can be achieved in life! Wonderful...

However, what kind of great force is that, what we call ‘love’? We can find this power on different levels, from the physical attraction between the positive and negative poles of simple magnets to the love of children for father and mother, the love for the own body, possessions and pleasures up to vice and addiction, but also the love for the opposite sex up to the pure love to God. Love is a tremendous force that moves us all. And the same principle, which is described here as the great early love, we also find on the spiritual path to true love. That makes such fairy tales interesting for all ages, from children to wise old men.

Many well-known symbols reveal a deeper meaning to us. We again meet a king as the ruling spirit, his son as our masculine side, the enchanting queen as the often capricious character of nature and her daughter as our feminine side. These two polarities look for their union within us in the mystical wedding. However, the way there is difficult and full of obstacles. It is not uncommon for the spiritual path to start with a long period of great crises, the tricky seven years, when no doctor can help us anymore. And when everything seems hopeless and all worldly hope disappears, then our spirit may also say: “Now arise and go the great way to happiness! Your usual knowledge will no longer help you.”

✻ And it came to pass that as he was riding across a heath, he saw from afar something like a great heap of hay lying on the ground, and when he drew nearer, he could see that it was the stomach of a man, who had laid himself down there, but the stomach looked like a small mountain. When the fat man saw the traveller, he stood up and said, “If you are in need of any one, take me into your service.” The prince answered, “What can I do with such a great big man?” “Oh,” said the Stout One, “this is nothing, when I stretch myself out well, I am three thousand times fatter.” “If that’s the case,” said the prince, “I can make use of thee, come with me.” So the Stout One followed the prince, and after a while they found another man who was lying on the ground with his ear laid to the turf. “What art thou doing there?” asked the King’s son. “I am listening,” replied the man. “What art thou listening to so attentively?” “I am listening to what is just going on in the world, for nothing escapes my ears; I even hear the grass growing.” “Tell me,” said the prince, “what thou hearest at the court of the old Queen who has the beautiful daughter.” Then he answered, “I hear the whizzing of the sword that is striking off a wooer’s head.” The King’s son said, “I can make use of thee, come with me.” They went onwards, and then saw a pair of feet lying and part of a pair of legs, but could not see the rest of the body. When they had walked on for a great distance, they came to the body, and at last to the head also. “Why,” said the prince, “what a tall rascal thou art!” “Oh,” replied the Tall One, “that is nothing at all yet; when I really stretch out my limbs, I am three thousand times as tall, and taller than the highest mountain on earth. I will gladly enter your service, if you will take me.” “Come with me,” said the prince, “I can make use of thee.” They went onwards and found a man sitting by the road who had bound up his eyes. The prince said to him, “Hast thou weak eyes, that thou canst not look at the light?” “No,” replied the man, “but I must not remove the bandage, for whatsoever I look at with my eyes, splits to pieces, my glance is so powerful. If you can use that, I shall be glad to serve you.” “Come with me,” replied the King’s son, “I can make use of thee.” They journeyed onwards and found a man who was lying in the hot sunshine, trembling and shivering all over his body, so that not a limb was still. “How canst thou shiver when the sun is shining so warm?” said the King’s son. “Alack,” replied the man, “I am of quite a different nature. The hotter it is, the colder I am, and the frost pierces through all my bones; and the colder it is, the hotter I am. In the midst of ice, I cannot endure the heat, nor in the midst of fire, the cold.” “Thou art a strange fellow!” said the prince, “but if thou wilt enter my service, follow me.” They travelled onwards, and saw a man standing who made a long neck and looked about him, and could see over all the mountains. “What art thou looking at so eagerly?” said the King’s son. The man replied, “I have such sharp eyes that I can see into every forest and field, and hill and valley, all over the world.” The prince said, “Come with me if thou wilt, for I am still in want of such an one.”

✎ What sounds so funny and amazing to our children on the narrative level, of course, calls for a deeper contemplation. Anyone who has studied yoga will likely recognize these servants. Similar abilities are already mentioned in the Mahabharata in the Indian yoga system, namely the eight siddhis [MHB 12.317]. Now the narrator of this fairy tale was certainly not an Indian yogi, but obviously, there were people here in Europe with deep insights who described similar experiences only in different terms.

Practically everyone can find these extraordinary or even supernatural servants or abilities within themselves, as far as one is ready to do so. The symbolism used here is closely related to the known body functions. That means: The fat one reminds of a limitless digestion, whereby it is not only about material nourishment, but above all also about spiritual things, which are often much more difficult to ‘digest’. Let us think of terrible memories, trauma or even simple insults that we often carry around with us for a lifetime. Even more difficult are the common illusions that we love so much. The next servant concerns hearing, which can develop to the point of clairaudience, so that we become aware of very subtle things that remain hidden from other people. The tall one reminds us of our thoughts, which can wander through the entire universe and reach great depths just in a moment, as long as they are not walled in. The destroying look reminds us of a view that can penetrate everything and thus dissolve any external form. You should of course be very careful with this. The frosty one is probably the power to control our feelings so that we can even consciously transform them into the opposite, not only heat in cold or cold in heat but also hatred in love or enemies in friends, which can give us great freedom. At the end, there is the eye of clairvoyance or foresight, which will recognize everything and will certainly be a good servant on the spiritual path. Because without foresight, we often do things, that are well meant, but turn into the opposite in the long term.

Seen in this way, this joke story full of strange symbols already takes on a deeper dimension. It could mean the extraordinary abilities that one can find on the spiritual path through appropriate practice and merit. These abilities are found more on a spiritual level than on a physical level, so that one also speaks of subtle abilities. At least, it is a normal effect of meditation, silence and prayer, that the ordinary senses become more and more sensitive and can perceive things that remain hidden from others. Now we are curious to see how these special skills are used:

✻ And now the King’s son and his six servants came to the town where the aged Queen dwelt. He did not tell her who he was, but said, “If you will give me your beautiful daughter, I will perform any task you set me.” The sorceress was delighted to get such a handsome youth as this into her net, and said, “I will set thee three tasks, and if thou art able to perform them all, thou shalt be husband and master of my daughter.” “What is the first to be?” “Thou shalt fetch me my ring which I have dropped into the Red Sea.” So the King’s son went home to his servants and said, “The first task is not easy. A ring is to be got out of the Red Sea. Come, find some way of doing it.” Then the man with the sharp sight said, “I will see where it is lying,” and looked down into the water and said, “It is sticking there, on a pointed stone.” The Tall One carried them thither, and said, “I would soon get it out, if I could only see it.” “Oh, is that all!” cried the Stout One, and lay down and put his mouth to the water, on which all the waves fell into it just as if it had been a whirlpool, and he drank up the whole sea till it was as dry as a meadow. The Tall One stooped down a little, and brought out the ring with his hand. Then the King’s son rejoiced when he had the ring, and took it to the old Queen. She was astonished, and said, “Yes, it is the right ring. Thou hast safely performed the first task, but now comes the second. Dost thou see the meadow in front of my palace? Three hundred fat oxen are feeding there, and these must thou eat, skin, hair, bones, horns and all, and down below in my cellar lie three hundred casks of wine, and these thou must drink up as well, and if one hair of the oxen, or one little drop of the wine is left, thy life will be forfeited to me.” “May I invite no guests to this repast?” inquired the prince, “no dinner is good without some company.” The old woman laughed maliciously, and replied, “Thou mayst invite one for the sake of companionship, but no more.”

✎ They say this world is a riddle and whoever solves it wins immortality. That is Mother Nature’s great challenge. Of course, we can also understand these tasks superficially, that we should fetch the material treasures from the depths of the sea and the earth, which nature has hidden there, or develop into competitive athletes in eating and drinking. However, if we look at it on a deeper level, the first task may remind us to find the unity in the sea of the world, which is symbolized here again as a ring. This sea is red like love and passion. The lofty thoughts carry us and can find unity when we digest, overcome and penetrate the superficial forms and views that dance like waves on the sea. The second task could relate to the mountain of karma that we have accumulated with thoughts, words and deeds and that we need to consume and above all digest on the spiritual path of purification. Here, too, it’s about fat oxen in the sense of our ego and a lot of wine in the sense of illusion and intoxication.

✻ The King’s son went to his servants and said to the Stout One, “Thou shalt be my guest to-day, and shalt eat thy fill.” Hereupon the Stout One stretched himself out and ate the three hundred oxen without leaving one single hair, and then he asked if he was to have nothing but his breakfast. He drank the wine straight from the casks without feeling any need of a glass, and he licked the last drop from his finger-nails. When the meal was over, the prince went to the old woman, and told her that the second task also was performed. She wondered at this and said, “No one has ever done so much before, but one task still remains,” and she thought to herself, “Thou shalt not escape me, and wilt not keep thy head on thy shoulders! This night,” said she, “I will bring my daughter to thee in thy chamber, and thou shalt put thine arms round her, but when you are sitting there together, beware of falling asleep. When twelve o’clock is striking, I will come, and if she is then no longer in thine arms, thou art lost.” The prince thought, “The task is easy, I will most certainly keep my eyes open.” Nevertheless he called his servants, told them what the old woman had said, and remarked, “Who knows what treachery may lurk behind this. Foresight is a good thing— keep watch, and take care that the maiden does not go out of my room again.” When night fell, the old woman came with her daughter, and gave her into the prince’s arms, and then the Tall One wound himself round the two in a circle, and the Stout One placed himself by the door, so that no living creature could enter. There the two sat, and the maiden spake never a word, but the moon shone through the window on her face, and the prince could behold her wondrous beauty. He did nothing but gaze at her, and was filled with love and happiness, and his eyes never felt weary. This lasted until eleven o’clock, when the old woman cast such a spell over all of them that they fell asleep, and at the self-same moment the maiden was carried away.

✎ The third task reminds of the perfect lover who never gets tired. But anyone who has ever tried probably knows that one cannot find immortal happiness in nature. That is why we prefer to consider the spiritual level here, too, and this reminds us of self-knowledge regarding the big question: “Who am I?” Those who practice meditation will soon understand what is described here in the fairy tale in a romantically amusing way and that it is not as simple as the prince first suspects it. Indeed, it is of course the hardest of the three tasks. It certainly takes a lot of merit until Mother Nature might grant us a view on our pure soul in meditation for at least a few moments. Great care is required for this, but usually we fall asleep after a short time or wander with our thoughts into the world. Then it is always good when the moon shines and the beauty of our pure soul becomes visible in this clear light of the spirit. But the magical illusion of nature, which is also called Maya in India, is difficult to overcome and here also overwhelms our king’s son, although he certainly came far.

This task of keeping the consciousness awake also reminds us of a parable in the Bible, which deals with five virgins each, who could stand for our five senses, who have more or less merit for the light of an alert consciousness. Because without this “oil” one sits in the dark: “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. But five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish took oil in their lamps; but they did not take oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. As the bridegroom paused, they all became sleepy and fell asleep. At midnight there was a cry: Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him! Then all these virgins got up and decorated their lamps. But the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps will go out. Then the wise answered and said, Not so, lest we and you fail; but go to the shopkeepers and buy for yourselves. And as they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding, and the door was locked...”

✻ Then they all slept soundly until a quarter to twelve, when the magic lost its power, and all awoke again. “Oh, misery and misfortune!” cried the prince, “now I am lost!” The faithful servants also began to lament, but the Listener said, “Be quiet, I want to listen.” Then he listened for an instant and said, “She is on a rock, three hundred leagues from hence, bewailing her fate. Thou alone, Tall One, canst help her; if thou wilt stand up, thou wilt be there in a couple of steps.”

“Yes,” answered the Tall One, “but the one with the sharp eyes must go with me, that we may destroy the rock.” Then the Tall One took the one with bandaged eyes on his back, and in the twinkling of an eye they were on the enchanted rock. The Tall One immediately took the bandage from the other’s eyes, and he did but look round, and the rock shivered into a thousand pieces. Then the Tall One took the maiden in his arms, carried her back in a second, then fetched his companion with the same rapidity, and before it struck twelve they were all sitting as they had sat before, quite merrily and happily. When twelve struck, the aged sorceress came stealing in with a malicious face, which seemed to say, “Now he is mine!” for she believed that her daughter was on the rock three hundred leagues off. But when she saw her in the prince’s arms, she was alarmed, and said, “Here is one who knows more than I do!” She dared not make any opposition, and was forced to give him her daughter. But she whispered in her ear, “It is a disgrace to thee to have to obey common people, and that thou art not allowed to choose a husband to thine own liking.”

✎ Our king’s son evidently had enough merit, since his servants had the power to rediscover the pure soul that had once again vanished far into the depths of the world under the mountains of illusion. In addition, they could even remove all obstacles and bring it back into consciousness. Here you can see what power mindfulness and thoughts can have. Therefore, the spirit wins the pure soul. However, nature has its own ideas about freedom. It cannot be won that easily:

✻ On this the proud heart of the maiden was filled with anger, and she meditated revenge. Next morning she caused three hundred great bundles of wood to be got together, and said to the prince that though the three tasks were performed, she would still not be his wife until some one was ready to seat himself in the midst of the wood, and bear the fire. She thought that none of his servants would let themselves be burnt for him, and that out of love for her, he himself would place himself upon it, and then she would be free. But the servants said, “Every one of us has done something except the Frosty One, he must set to work,” and they put him in the middle of the pile, and set fire to it. Then the fire began to burn, and burnt for three days until all the wood was consumed, and when the flames had burnt out, the Frosty One was standing amid the ashes, trembling like an aspen leaf, and saying, “I never felt such a frost during the whole course of my life; if it had lasted much longer, I should have been benumbed!”

✎ It is said, that great dangers await on the yoga path shortly before the goal. One danger is the proud exultation of victory, which can kindle a fire of passion. For this, it is certainly good to control the emotions and to transform the passionate pride into cool serenity. Then you just have to sit and wait.

✻ As no other pretext was to be found, the beautiful maiden was now forced to take the unknown youth as a husband. But when they drove away to church, the old woman said, “I cannot endure the disgrace,” and sent her warriors after them with orders to cut down all who opposed them, and bring back her daughter. But the Listener had sharpened his ears, and heard the secret discourse of the old woman. “What shall we do?” said he to the Stout One. But he knew what to do, and spat out once or twice behind the carriage some of the sea-water which he had drunk, and a great sea arose in which the warriors were caught and drowned. When the sorceress perceived that, she sent her mailed knights; but the Listener heard the rattling of their armour, and undid the bandage from one eye of Sharp-eyes, who looked for a while rather fixedly at the enemy’s troops, on which they all sprang to pieces like glass. Then the youth and the maiden went on their way undisturbed, and when the two had been blessed in church, the six servants took leave, and said to their master, “Your wishes are now satisfied, you need us no longer, we will go our way and seek our fortunes.”

✎ Those, who have achieved their goal and maintain their mindfulness, can also fend off all other attacks by worldly demons using the remembered water of life to dissolve all opposites with real insight. This water, which the fat man drank from the sea of the world, digested and transformed it for the spiritual path, is a wonderful symbol. We find something similar in the Indian epic Mahabharata, when Saint Agastya drank up the ocean to help the gods to victory in their fight against the demons [MHB 3.105].

The second danger is that the yogi will cling to the supernatural abilities that have served him so well up to now. One must also be able to let go of at the right time. This is very important on the spiritual path. That is why good teachers warn against placing too high hopes on supernatural abilities on the spiritual path; otherwise, one has to fail again because of one’s own egoistic expectations. Not everyone needs such abilities. When they appear at the right time, use them wisely, never brag about them, and when their service is done, let them go again. This is the way.

✻ Half a league from the palace of the prince’s father was a village near which a swineherd tended his herd, and when they came thither the prince said to his wife, “Do you know who I really am? I am no prince, but a herder of swine, and the man who is there with that herd, is my father. We two shall have to set to work also, and help him.” Then he alighted with her at the inn, and secretly told the innkeepers to take away her royal apparel during the night. So when she awoke in the morning, she had nothing to put on, and the innkeeper’s wife gave her an old gown and a pair of worsted stockings, and at the same time seemed to consider it a great present, and said, “If it were not for the sake of your husband I should have given you nothing at all!” Then the princess believed that he really was a swineherd, and tended the herd with him, and thought to herself, “I have deserved this for my haughtiness and pride.” This lasted for a week, and then she could endure it no longer, for she had sores on her feet.

And now came a couple of people who asked if she knew who her husband was. “Yes,” she answered, “he is a swineherd, and has just gone out with cords and ropes to try to drive a little bargain.” But they said, “Just come with us, and we will take you to him,” and they took her up to the palace, and when she entered the hall, there stood her husband in kingly raiment. But she did not recognize him until he took her in his arms, kissed her, and said, “I suffered much for thee, and now thou, too, hast had to suffer for me.” And then the wedding was celebrated, and he who has told you all this, wishes that he, too, had been present at it.

✎ The last great task is humility in order to overcome even the last remnants of personal pride, conceit and cockiness of our nature, which usually bind us to the magic of illusion. With the same humility, the king’s son appeared in the queen’s palace and carefully avoided boasting of his royal dignity. Now the young bride is also tested as our female half and passes this difficult test. Only now, the great mystical wedding can be celebrated in true love in the father’s castle. The great goal has been achieved and the opposites are united in truth.

The symbolism of the whole fairy tale reminds us of the famous wedding in Canaan: “But Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. And when there was insufficient wine, the mother of Jesus said to him, You have no wine. Jesus said to her: Woman, what have I to do with you? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants: Do whatever he tells you. But there were six stone water jugs set there according to the method of Jewish purification, and each one went in two or three measures. Jesus said to them: Fill the water jars with water. And they filled it up to the top. And he said to them, Now draw up and bring it to the master of the food. And they did it. But when the food master tasted the wine, which had been water, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who drew the water knew it), the food master called the bridegroom and said to him: Everyone gives good wine to the first, and when they are drunk, then the lesser ones; you’ve kept the good wine so far. [Bible, John 2.2]”

Here, too, we find the great mystical wedding, the mother who challenges the spirit that does not fear death, the servants and the five senses with thinking as six water jugs for purification, the ennobling of worldly water into pure wine to nectar of immortality, reason as the master of the food and finally the great knowledge. The same great path is outlined in our fairy tale. In this sense, it would be much desirable that we can also be there at this big wedding...

The Poor Man and the Rich Man

✻ In olden times, when the Lord himself still used to walk about on this earth amongst men, it once happened that he was tired and overtaken by the darkness before he could reach an inn. Now there stood on the road before him two houses facing each other; the one large and beautiful, the other small and poor. The large one belonged to a rich man, and the small one to a poor man. Then the Lord thought, “I shall be no burden to the rich man, I will stay the night with him.” When the rich man heard someone knocking at his door, he opened the window and asked the stranger what he wanted. The Lord answered, “I only ask for a night’s lodging.” Then the rich man looked at the traveller from head to foot, and as the Lord was wearing common clothes, and did not look like one who had much money in his pocket, he shook his head, and said, “No, I cannot take you in, my rooms are full of herbs and seeds; and if I were to lodge everyone who knocked at my door, I might very soon go begging myself. Go somewhere else for a lodging,” and with this he shut down the window and left the Lord standing there.

✎ The term “God” is maybe the most mysterious inheritance that we have accepted from our ancestors. Many speak of it, but no one can say what it actually is. Basically, it is about the truth that man has sought in a living spirit over many thousands of years in order to explain the world around us. It was only in the last few centuries that modern people began to look for truth in dead matter, especially externally, and so the living concept of God has been disappeared more and more from our lives. Interestingly, this started another development, represented in our technical revolution. This is certainly not a coincidence, because our worldview is of course closely linked to our thinking and acting. Now we hope that this development is only one round on the eternal spiral and that the living concepts of ‘spirit’ and ‘God’ will soon find a proper place in our worldview again. The first sentence of the tale may then mean that God used to walk alive among people on earth and was not yet thought of somewhere far away, banished into heaven or the realm of superstition.

The beautiful symbolism that God knocks on our house is widespread in fairy tales. On the one hand, it points to the holy hospitality that one should see God in every guest, and on the other hand to our own being, that we should let the Spirit of God into us. Master Eckhart already said: “Because there is a great evil in the fact that man moves God into the distance; for whether man walks in the distance or in the near: God never goes far, he remains constantly near; and if he cannot stay inside, he does not go further than before the door. [Eckhart p.78]”

Correspondingly, we read in this fairy tale how our material wealth with the matching attachment to external things affects our views and behaviour, so that even today many people hardly allow anything spiritual to touch them and even less get involved with it. Only when their material world is unbearably threatened by illness, loss or other suffering a door can open to let in something higher.

✻ So the Lord turned his back on the rich man, and went across to the small house and knocked. He had hardly done so when the poor man opened the little door and bade the traveller come in. “Pass the night with me, it is already dark,” said he; “you cannot go any further to-night.” This pleased the Lord, and he went in. The poor man’s wife shook hands with him, and welcomed him, and said he was to make himself at home and put up with what they had got; they had not much to offer him, but what they had they would give him with all their hearts. Then she put the potatoes on the fire, and while they were boiling, she milked the goat, that they might have a little milk with them. When the cloth was laid, the Lord sat down with the man and his wife, and he enjoyed their coarse food, for there were happy faces at the table. When they had had supper and it was bed-time, the woman called her husband apart and said, “Hark you, dear husband, let us make up a bed of straw for ourselves to-night, and then the poor traveller can sleep in our bed and have a good rest, for he has been walking the whole day through, and that makes one weary.” “With all my heart,” he answered, “I will go and offer it to him;” and he went to the stranger and invited him, if he had no objection, to sleep in their bed and rest his limbs properly. But the Lord was unwilling to take their bed from the two old folks; however, they would not be satisfied, until at length he did it and lay down in their bed, while they themselves lay on some straw on the ground. Next morning they got up before daybreak, and made as good a breakfast as they could for the guest. When the sun shone in through the little window, and the Lord had got up, he again ate with them, and then prepared to set out on his journey.

✎ You can see here that poor people have it easy sometimes. The saying goes: “It is difficult to be satisfied with a little, but to be satisfied with a lot is even more difficult.” In practical life, of course, it is primarily about intellectual poverty, which means not clinging to personal possessions. Otherwise, even a mendicant monk could manage to cling more to his begging bowl than a businessman to his company. So we read here of the great ideal of poverty, namely to have selfless compassion for all beings and willingly give everything that is desired. How difficult it is in life, especially in our materially rich world, everyone has surely already experienced. Then you might ask yourself: Should you give the beggar something, even though you already suspect a trickery or that the money immediately flows into alcohol? Do you donate aid organizations that make millions in profits with it? Moreover, is money really a universal remedy that brings good long-term benefits? Such questions are often difficult to answer, especially as long as you expect a special profit from the donation and actually turn it into a moral business: I give money and get a clear conscience. Yes, that is not easy and reminds us of the famous saying from the Bible: “But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be hidden; and your father, who sees into the hidden, will repay you publicly.” Perhaps one could also translate it like this: “Give with reason and compassion and not with selfish intention!”

This is where the father, the ruling spirit, comes into play, who rewards those gifts that weaken our ego or at least prevent it from growing. This requires a great deal of trust, because as soon as you expect a personal gain, you have already lost. It happened to the greedy rich man in our fairy tale who wanted to hold onto his property. Let’s now read what happens to the humble poor:

✻ But as he was standing at the door he turned round and said, “As you are so kind and good, you may wish three things for yourselves and I will grant them.” Then the man said, “What else should I wish for but eternal happiness, and that we two, as long as we live, may be healthy and have every day our daily bread; for the third wish, I do not know what to have.” And the Lord said to him, “Will you wish for a new house instead of this old one?” “Oh, yes,” said the man; “if I can have that, too, I should like it very much.” And the Lord fulfilled his wish, and changed their old house into a new one, again gave them his blessing, and went on.

✎ The poor did not expect profit, and so they are granted three wishes. Does anyone still believe in wishes nowadays? Well, at least we wish each other all the best for birthdays or other celebrations. But do we still believe in the working power of thoughts? Usually we are just a plaything of our thoughts. Therefore, some wishes come true and some don’t.

Nevertheless, we all know from everyday experience: The power of our thoughts can move the body, keep it healthy, but also make it sick. Then one speaks of a psychosomatic illness. However, when a patient tries to heal in the same way with the power of thoughts, it usually fails. Why? We often forget the most important thing about the power of thoughts, something that is known as merit. If the necessary causes do not exist, even the hardest will cannot force an effect. The same law of cause and effect prevails here as it is explained in physics. Therefore, the poor people in our fairy tale had the necessary merit to be granted the three wishes for their happiness. And how do you achieve this necessary merit? In India one speaks of the so-called karma, which we accumulate in life through thoughts, words and actions. In practice, it is about intellectual abilities, a potential similar to a battery, which one charges in a way that our wishes can come true. That’s why we go to school for many long years nowadays and try hard at work. In this way, above all, egoism, desire and other passions are charged, with which our many desires for material wealth can be fulfilled. The old fairy tales, however, speak more of another kind of merit that can be achieved on the path of the well-known virtues of humility, contentment, compassion, truthfulness and justice. Goethe also writes about this spiritual connection between merit and happiness in [Faust II]:

How closely linked are Luck and Merit,
Is something fools have never known.
Had they the Wise Man’s Stone, I swear it,
There’d be no Wise Man for the Stone.

In our fairy tale, the rich man also imagines that he has something that others do not. Only this imagination makes him rich. For this, he looks through the window of his senses at the poor who live “across from him”. It is a strange joy, on which our ego feeds, which is quickly gone in the flow of time.

✻ The sun was high when the rich man got up and leaned out of his window and saw, on the opposite side of the way, a new clean-looking house with red tiles and bright windows where the old hut used to be. He was very much astonished, and called his wife and said to her, “Tell me, what can have happened? Last night there was a miserable little hut standing there, and to-day there is a beautiful new house. Run over and see how that has come to pass.” So his wife went and asked the poor man, and he said to her, “Yesterday evening a traveller came here and asked for a night’s lodging, and this morning when he took leave of us he granted us three wishes -- eternal happiness, health during this life and our daily bread as well, and besides this, a beautiful new house instead of our old hut.” When the rich man’s wife heard this, she ran back in haste and told her husband how it had happened. The man said, “I could tear myself to pieces! If I had but known that! That traveller came to our house too, and wanted to sleep here, and I sent him away.” “Quick!” said his wife, “get on your horse. You can still catch the man up, and then you must ask to have three wishes granted you.”

✎ Merit and happiness do not remain hidden in the world. Therefore, Mother Nature gave us the envy, so that we will strive and want to gain what we see as good in others. But the big question is: by what means? Here, too, nature teaches us and guides us with appropriate experiences. So now, the rich man tries to force the three wishes. Can it work? Can you force God? Yes and no. Because, if you create the necessary causes, you can even force God.

Meister Eckhart said: “The thought sometimes occurred to me that man can come to the point of being able to force God in timeliness. If I were to stand up here and say to someone: “Come up!” That would be difficult (for him). But if I said: “Sit down there!” That would be easy. So does God. When man humbles himself, God cannot withhold himself in his own goodness from sinking and pouring himself into the humble man, and to the least of all man he communicates himself most of all and gives himself completely to him. What God gives is his being, and his being is his goodness and his goodness is his love. [Eckhart p.259]”

This topic also runs through many old Indian stories, and there, too, it is mainly about penance and asceticism, with which one can fulfil all wishes. An interesting example is the story of Ravana in the Ramayana, who practiced the harshest asceticism and even sacrificed his body to fulfil his great desire for world domination. Above all, he sacrificed his heads, of which he had several [Ramayana 7.10]. We would say: Typical head person! That is a most memorable symbolism. Because we are trying to do the same thing today in the material field. Of course, it works, but as long as the spiritual foundation is not reliable, it is said that all these desires are built on sand, like the world domination of Ravana.

✻ The rich man followed the good counsel and galloped away on his horse, and soon came up with the Lord. He spoke to him softly and pleasantly, and begged him not to take it amiss that he had not let him in directly; he was looking for the front-door key, and in the meantime the stranger had gone away, if he returned the same way he must come and stay with him. “Yes,” said the Lord; “if I ever come back again, I will do so.” Then the rich man asked if might not wish for three things too, as his neighbour had done? “Yes,” said the Lord, he might, but it would not be to his advantage, and he had better not wish for anything; but the rich man thought that he could easily ask for something which would add to his happiness, if he only knew that it would be granted. So the Lord said to him, “Ride home, then, and three wishes which you shall form, shall be fulfilled.”

✎ Therefore, it now happens that God also grants three wishes to the rich man, but already knows that he lacks the necessary merit and spiritual purity so that the wishes cannot bring him happiness. Yes, sometimes it is really better when our wishes remain unfulfilled, similar to the situation with small children whose reason is not yet ripe. You shouldn’t make every wish come true for them either, otherwise you will raise little gluttons who will then grow bigger and bigger. There are certainly enough people in our world who want to force great happiness in life with a lot of rational understanding but little reason.

✻ The rich man had now gained what he wanted, so he rode home, and began to consider what he should wish for. As he was thus thinking he let the bridle fall, and the horse began to caper about, so that he was continually disturbed in his meditations, and could not collect his thoughts at all. He patted its neck, and said, “Gently, Lisa,” but the horse only began new tricks. Then at last he was angry, and cried quite impatiently, “I wish your neck was broken!” Directly he had said the words, down the horse fell on the ground, and there it lay dead and never moved again. And thus was his first wish fulfilled. As he was miserly by nature, he did not like to leave the harness lying there; so he cut it off, and put it on his back; and now he had to go on foot. “I have still two wishes left,” said he, and comforted himself with that thought. And now as he was walking slowly through the sand, and the sun was burning hot at noon-day, he grew quite hot-tempered and angry. The saddle hurt his back, and he had not yet any idea what to wish for. “If I were to wish for all the riches and treasures in the world,” said he to himself, “I should still to think of all kinds of things later on, I know that, beforehand. But I will manage so that there is nothing at all left me to wish for afterwards.” Then he sighed and said, “Ah, if I were but that Bavarian peasant, who likewise had three wishes granted to him, and knew quite well what to do, and in the first place wished for a great deal of beer, and in the second for as much beer as he was able to drink, and in the third for a barrel of beer into the bargain.” Many a time he thought he had found it, but then it seemed to him to be, after all, too little. Then it came into his mind, what an easy life his wife had, for she stayed at home in a cool room and enjoyed herself. This really did vex him, and before he was aware, he said, “I just wish she was sitting there on this saddle, and could not get off it, instead of my having to drag it along on my back.” And as the last word was spoken, the saddle disappeared from his back, and he saw that his second wish had been fulfilled. Then he really did feel warm. He began to run and wanted to be quite alone in his own room at home, to think of something really large for his last wish. But when he arrived there and opened the parlour-door, he saw his wife sitting in the middle of the room on the saddle, crying and complaining, and quite unable to get off it. So he said, “Do bear it, and I will wish for all the riches on earth for thee, only stay where thou art.” She, however, called him a fool, and said, “What good will all the riches on earth do me, if I am to sit on this saddle? Thou hast wished me on it, so thou must help me off.” So whether he would or not, he was forced to let his third wish be that she should be quit of the saddle, and able to get off it, and immediately the wish was fulfilled. So he got nothing by it but vexation, trouble, abuse, and the loss of his horse; but the poor people lived happily, quietly, and piously until their happy death.

✎ It is now very vividly described how the thoughts of the rich man get entangled in the superficial problems of the world and cannot find the great thing that makes us really rich and happy. To those who cannot tame their thoughts, they become an enemy. Then we lose our reason, which could easily carry us, like the rich man loses his horse, and have to laboriously walk with the heavy ego on our backs. After all, what good is a saddle without a horse? What use is the will without merit or thinking without reason?

Of course, we are hardly familiar with the symbolism of the horse these days. It has been replaced by the car, which has now become the epitome of freedom. For us, the saddle is the comfortable car seat with belt and airbag that promises us safety and power. So the saddle could also be a symbol for our ego in this fairy tale, which wants to dominate everything and commands it according to its own will, even if we are only riding a dead horse and the connection to reason or real life has been lost. Then of course, it becomes even more difficult to find the really big thing in life, because our thoughts keep getting lost in worldly worries. Therefore, the man scolds his wife, who sits on her high horse at home and orders him around, in which he recognizes the cause for his torture. In this way, his second wish also goes wrong. However, nature, our feminine side, leads us further here and clearly shows: “What use are all the riches in the world to me if I cannot get down from the insatiable ego.” That is why she speaks to her man, the spirit, which symbolizes our masculine side: “You have wanted me up here, now bring me down again!” At least the third wish with the painful experience could have a healing effect on the future development of the rich man. Yes, nature always means well for us, and above all in suffering and loss lies the grace of experience that enables us to learn. The poor had obviously already learned it and stayed content and happy in the new house. Because only in abundance we can see how true our virtue is.

Gambling Hansel

✻ Once upon a time there was a man who did nothing but gamble, and for that reason people never called him anything but Gambling Hansel, and as he never ceased to gamble, he played away his house and all that he had. Now the very day before his creditors were to take his house from him, came the Lord and St. Peter, and asked him to give them shelter for the night. Then Gambling Hansel said, “For my part, you may stay the night, but I cannot give you a bed or anything to eat.”

✎ After reading the last fairy tale of the poor and the rich about virtue and merit, where the fronts appeared relatively clear, we would now like to examine this fairy tale of a gambler a little more closely, which treats the same topic from a different perspective and appears initially as a parody of the usual ideals of God and virtue. We certainly already know from our own life that the question of true virtue is not so simple in practice, for our human virtues quickly freeze into external ideals and the deeper meaning gets lost. The tale speaks of a notorious gambler who reminds us of a vicious life in which all reason disappears, and people usually fall into sin and addiction. However, when our Gambling Hansel had lost everything, even his house, which could also mean his body, God came to him with St. Peter. According to the usual understanding, one would have assumed that the devil would now move in with him and not God. Therefore, we have to suppose that he was an honest person who played without any cheating. Moreover, if you look at it more deeply, a great truth is already hidden here: because whoever plays really honestly in this world loses all personal possessions as far as his egoism disappears and the divine is winning. That is the blessing of truthfulness.

But what does gambling have to do with truthfulness? A lot, because basically we play for a lifetime, only grown-ups no longer want to see their painstakingly concreted sandcastles of their own home, car, career, etc. as a game. Personal property becomes truth and we lose ourselves in illusion. Yet it’s just a game that nature plays with us. Because in the end even our own body goes back into the cycle of nature and the last shirt is known to have no pockets. One can become aware of this true poverty, as it probably also happened to our Gambling Hansel, and so it makes sense that God came to him, knocked on his door, and he did not refuse entry. With this, he let the divine light into his inner night, so to speak.

A similar symbolism of three persons or principles is found in many ancient cultures and religions. The three-way relationship used here between God, Peter and Gambling Hansel can also be understood as playing field, play and player, as father, spirit and son, or as sun, moon and earth. And what used to be explained relatively popularly with these symbolic means is nowadays described in a scientific way in physical systems, such as field, wave and particle, or in mathematical formulas such as E = ½v²m or E = c²m. In this fairy tale, too, natural principles are expressed which man has apparently observed for a long time, and not only in material nature, but also in spiritual nature. As far as one regards the energy or the field as something fundamental and determining today, God used to be referred to as the Father or Lord of everything in former times.

✻ So the Lord said he was just to take them in, and they themselves would buy something to eat, to which Gambling Hansel made no objection. Thereupon St. Peter gave him three groschen, and said he was to go to the baker’s and fetch some bread. So Gambling Hansel went, but when he reached the house where the other gambling vagabonds were gathered together, they, although they had won all that he had, greeted him clamorously, and said, “Hansel, do come in.” “Oh,” said he, “do you want to win the three groschen too?” On this they would not let him go. So he went in, and played away the three groschen also.

✎ Whoever is deeply aware of this true poverty receives everything in life as a gift, even daily bread. But we must strive for it and respect what is given and not embezzle it. But how about the three pennies that belong to God? If someone comes and tells us, “Give it to me!”, should we say, “Please take, it’s not mine,” or should we refuse the gift? Our Hansel accepted the invitation and gave everything, although he already knew that he would lose everything. We find a similar story as a framework in the old Indian epic Mahabharata [MHB 2.59]. Here Yudhishthira is challenged by a notorious cardsharp to play dice and loses everything, wealth, kingdom, brothers, himself and even his wife. He played knowing he was going to lose everything. One occasionally reads interpretations that claim that Yudhishthira became addicted to gambling, although in this epic he embodied the divine Dharma of virtue and justice. Our Gambling Hansel could be suspected in a similar way.

✻ Meanwhile St. Peter and the Lord were waiting, and as he was so long in coming, they set out to meet him. When Gambling Hansel came, however, he pretended that the money had fallen into the gutter, and kept raking about in it all the while to find it, but our Lord already knew that he had lost it in play. St. Peter again gave him three groschen, and now he did not allow himself to be led away once more, but fetched them the loaf.

✎ Well, Hansel was obviously not quite so sinful; otherwise, God would not have gone to meet him as well. He probably even smiled when Gambling Hansel played as if the three pennies had fallen into the murky puddle of this world, where we like to poke around to find great riches. So the game was repeated once more, and this time he fetched bread with the three pennies of St. Peter. In view of the wine that is discussed next, this bread reminds us of the mystical body of Christ. To receive this body from God in the Lord’s Supper is, according to Christian symbolism, the great way to heaven, and it is not for nothing that Saint Peter is also considered the guardian of the heavenly door, presumably in the form of the three pennies, which again remind of the Holy Trinity who gives the key.

✻ Our Lord then inquired if he had no wine, and he said, “Alack, sir, the casks are all empty!” But the Lord said he was to go down into the cellar, for the best wine was still there. For a long time he would not believe this, but at length he said, “Well, I will go down, but I know that there is none there.” When he turned the tap, however, lo and behold, the best of wine ran out! So he took it to them, and the two passed the night there.

✎ In Christian symbolism, wine stands for the blood of Christ, and we find this nectar of eternal life deep inside us, even if we usually do not want to believe it and look for it somewhere outside.

✻ Early next day our Lord told Gambling Hansel that he might beg three favours. The Lord expected that he would ask to go to Heaven; but Gambling Hansel asked for a pack of cards with which he could win everything, for dice with which he would win everything, and for a tree whereon every kind of fruit would grow, and from which no one who had climbed up, could descend until he bade him do so. The Lord gave him all that he had asked, and departed with St. Peter.

✎ Whoever reaches this inner profoundness and drinks the nectar, of course, gets the famous three wishes fulfilled. And what does our Gambling Hansel want? Eternal life and imperishable fruits, only not on a spiritual level as eternal bliss, but on a worldly level, so that he never has to lose again in the world and no one can steal the fruits from his tree. Of course, we all like to have fulfilled such a wish. Actually, there is nothing to be said against it, because our external world is basically only a spiritual world. Somehow, that doesn’t seem like a good way to go, and so we will read in the following how our Hansel is developing:

✻ And now Gambling Hansel at once set about gambling in real earnest, and before long he had gained half the world. Upon this St. Peter said to the Lord, “Lord, this thing must not go on, he will win, and thou lose, the whole world. We must send Death to him.” When Death appeared, Gambling Hansel had just seated himself at the gaming-table, and Death said, “Hansel, come out a while.” But Gambling Hansel said, “Just wait a little until the game is done, and in the meantime get up into that tree out there, and gather a little fruit that we may have something to munch on our way.” Thereupon Death climbed up, but when he wanted to come down again, he could not, and Gambling Hansel left him up there for seven years, during which time no one died.

✎ People have been thinking for a long time about this difficult topic of how to live forever in this world and win everything. And to this day, this topic haunts not only the heads of the great company bosses and state politicians. Even leading medical professionals are seriously researching an immortality pill that will prevent our bodies from aging and dying. St. Peter, however, says in our fairy tale as the guardian of heaven: “This is not going well!” People knew this before, and there are many ancient traditions all over the world, which say that the cosmic order, which we live in, is not a stupid coincidence, but has a certain ingenuity or intelligence. It is even said that this order is God himself. In practice, we can experience the whole universe as a large and intelligent organism, which, like our own body, maintains, organizes, regulates and optimizes itself. And of course there are many forces fighting against each other to keep the system stable. These forces were previously imagined as living, subtle beings who were called, for example, angels and devils, fairies and witches, or gods and demons. Every force has its place in this organism, and so death fulfils its task as a balance to birth. It is certainly not easy to understand this large organism that has formed and optimized over unimaginable periods of time. But humans have always tried hard at it and found profound insights that were previously expressed in symbolic stories. Today we have systematic models, definitions and formulas of our science. The more profoundly you understand this organism, the better you can integrate yourself as a human being and work for the better. The fact that we are wreaking havoc in nature these days is certainly an indication that we still have a lot to learn on our scientific paths. Therefore, we now read how Hansel fared on his way:

✻ So St. Peter said to the Lord, “Lord, this thing must not go on. People no longer die; we must go ourselves.” And they went themselves, and the Lord commanded Hansel to let Death come down. So Hansel went at once to Death and said to him, “Come down,” and Death took him directly and put an end to him. They went away together and came to the next world, and then Gambling Hansel made straight for the door of Heaven, and knocked at it. “Who is there?” “Gambling Hansel.” “Ah, we will have nothing to do with him! Begone!” So he went to the door of Purgatory, and knocked once more. “Who is there?” “Gambling Hansel.” “Ah, there is quite enough weeping and wailing here without him. We do not want to gamble, just go away again.”

✎ How would an ambitious scientist who plays with atomic energy, genetic engineering, toxic chemicals and the like react today when he hears the voice inside: “Don’t do that, it will not work well!” Our Hansel obeyed the command and even endured death without protest. This obedience still expresses a certain purity that even leads him to the gate of heaven. At that time, the soul was still imagined to rise after death through the purifying purgatory or directly to heaven in accordance with its deeds, or sink down into hell. Our Hansel actually wanted to continue playing in the world and even got the blessing for it. So what should Heaven do with him? Or purgatory, where it really isn’t fun? The interesting question is here: “Who is there?” This means that his soul is still in the ‘outer world’, and he even keeps his name. With this, he goes to hell:

✻ Then he went to the door of Hell, and there they let him in. There was, however, no one at home but old Lucifer and a few crooked devils, since the straight devils were busy with their evil work in the world. And no sooner was Hansel there than he sat down to gamble again. Lucifer, however, had nothing to lose, but his mis-shapen devils, and Gambling Hansel won them from him, as with his cards he could not fail to do. And now he was off again with his crooked devils, and they went to Hohenfuert and pulled up a hop-pole, and with it went to Heaven and began to thrust the pole against it, and Heaven began to crack.

✎ Well, at least in hell or underworld the old devil was ready to play, because hell is probably closest related to our normal world. The straight and crooked devils could allude to the fact that we like to employ the beautiful devils in our world and banish the ugly ones to hell. Gambling Hansel wins the ugly devils and continues to play in the world. The hop stalks in Hohenfuert (or Hohenfurth) could point to a male monastery in southern Bohemia that was founded in 1259 and grew many hops for brewing beer. That fits at least with the German-Bohemian dialect in which this fairy tale was originally told. The symbolism is reminiscent of the strange fact that a lot of beer was often brewed in the monasteries and that people liked to drink it, so that the alcohol devil was probably at home here too. Chroniclers report up to 4 litres a day. Similar to the beer, the won devils are supposed to bring the gambler to heaven. They use the hop sticks to lever out heaven, that is, probably to change the conceptual idea we usually have of heaven and the life there.

✻ So again St. Peter said, “Lord, this thing cannot go on, we must let him in, or he will throw us down from Heaven.” And they let him in. But Gambling Hansel instantly began to play again, and there was such a noise and confusion that there was no hearing what they themselves were saying.

✎ It seems to be working so far, Hansel goes to heaven and transforms it into a pub with lots of beer, games and fun. Why not? Because if we are honest, for many people this is the epitome of heaven. Who wants to rest peacefully on a cloud and be endlessly bored there?

✻ Therefore St. Peter once more said, “Lord, this cannot go on, we must throw him down, or he will make all Heaven rebellious.” So they went to him at once, and threw him down, and his soul broke into fragments, and went into the gambling vagabonds who are living this very day.

✎ But that does not go well for long either and is a typical wish of us humans that is not particularly farsighted. It may be good to have such experiences in youth, but looking for heaven and even the meaning of life in alcohol and noisy company is certainly not a sign of growing reason and wisdom, which should be our greatest wealth.

Well, here our fairy tale ends abruptly, so that we can say to our children: “You see, that’s what you get from overdoing your game and not doing anything decent with your life!” This may also be the message of this fairy tale, that one should preserve the higher order in this world and not seek the eternal and imperishable in material things of the external world. Because in the material world the spiritual unity is divided into the natural diversity, the illusion prevails and with it desire and hatred. These are certainly the best conditions that should drive us to search for eternal life, but to find it we also need the spiritual dimension of life. Therefore, it is surely a good thing if someone offers us the famous three wishes we do not only think about our material world.

With this, our Hansel is thrown out of heaven and his soul, which was already so close to the one, is divided again and given to the world to learn. This symbolism is very reminiscent of the Bible, where Adam was first separated into man and woman, ate from the tree of knowledge and, overwhelmed by the hissing of illusion, was thrown out of paradise with his Eve in order to spread himself out as humanity over the whole earth: “And the Lord God said, behold, Adam has become as one of us, and knows what is good and what is bad. Now, let him not stretch out his hand and break from the tree of life and eat and live forever! Then the Lord God showed him out of the Garden of Eden to build the field from which he was taken, and drove Adam out and camped the cherubim in front of the Garden of Eden with the bare sword, to guard the way to the tree of life. [Bible 1. Moses 3.22]”

This symbolism also tells us clearly that the tree of eternal life stands in a higher world to which one should seek the way and rise so that one can be admitted. The field of this world and our ephemeral body with all its happiness and suffering help us to do this. This happens in practically the same way as our children learn in play and gain important experiences for their future life.

Granted, such views are difficult to fit into our modern worldview. Nevertheless, there were obviously times when people lived much more in a spiritual world and had completely different goals in life than we have today. Our old fairy tales, the Bible and many other ancient scriptures all over the world indicate that there was once a worldview where the spiritual dimension still dominated life. The material nature was an effect of the spirit, its embodiment, so to speak. That is why one could also imagine a life after death and a wandering of the soul independently from the material body. With our technical revolution, this worldview has practically reversed and the age of dead machines began. The supremacy was given to material nature, so that the living spirit was degraded to an effect of matter or even disappeared completely from the worldview. Because of this, today we can no longer imagine a spirit that could live without a material body, and such fairy tales are considered completely unscientific and often even an expression of the great stupidity of our ancestors. But obviously they weren’t quite that stupid, because fairy tales like this confirm that people were already aware of this development towards the material side. Accordingly, today we are like the Gambling Hansel who only wants to play in the material world and win everything, levering out heaven and conquering hell. This is probably a necessary and logical phase in human development. It would be important that we never lose our honesty in this game with matter and sink into gambling addiction, vice and illusion. Because with this, even the brightest scientist could go blind and end up in arrogance as the Christian clergy once lost its credibility. There is certainly nothing wrong with playing with nature as long as we play honestly and are willing to learn from it.

Clever Grethel

✻ There was once a cook named Grethel, who wore shoes with red rosettes, and when she walked out with them on, she turned herself this way and that, and thought, “You certainly are a pretty girl!” And when she came home she drank, in her gladness of heart, a draught of wine, and as wine excites a desire to eat, she tasted the best of whatever she was cooking until she was satisfied, and said, “The cook must know what the food is like.”

It came to pass that the master one day said to her, “Grethel, there is a guest coming this evening; prepare me two fowls very daintily.” “I will see to it, master,” answered Grethel. She killed two fowls, scalded them, plucked them, put them on the spit, and towards evening set them before the fire, that they might roast. The fowls began to turn brown, and were nearly ready, but the guest had not yet arrived. Then Grethel called out to her master, “If the guest does not come, I must take the fowls away from the fire, but it will be a sin and a shame if they are not eaten directly, when they are juiciest.” The master said, “I will run myself, and fetch the guest.” When the master had turned his back, Grethel laid the spit with the fowls on one side, and thought, “Standing so long by the fire there, makes one hot and thirsty; who knows when they will come? Meanwhile, I will run into the cellar, and take a drink.” She ran down, set a jug, said, “God bless it to thy use, Grethel,” and took a good drink, and took yet another hearty draught.

Then she went and put the fowls down again to the fire, basted them, and drove the spit merrily round. But as the roast meat smelt so good, Grethel thought, “Something might be wrong, it ought to be tasted!” She touched it with her finger, and said, “Ah! How good fowls are! It certainly is a sin and a shame that they are not eaten directly!” She ran to the window, to see if the master was not coming with his guest, but she saw no one, and went back to the fowls and thought, “One of the wings is burning! I had better take it off and eat it.” So she cut it off, ate it, and enjoyed it, and when she had done, she thought, “The other must go down too, or else master will observe that something is missing.” When the two wings were eaten, she went and looked for her master, and did not see him. It suddenly occurred to her, “Who knows? They are perhaps not coming at all, and have turned in somewhere.” Then she said, “Hallo, Grethel, enjoy yourself, one fowl has been cut into, take another drink, and eat it up entirely; when it is eaten you will have some peace, why should God’s good gifts be spoilt?” So she ran into the cellar again, took an enormous drink and ate up the one chicken in great glee. When one of the chickens was swallowed down, and still her master did not come, Grethel looked at the other and said, “Where one is, the other should be likewise, the two go together; what’s right for the one is right for the other; I think if I were to take another draught it would do me no harm.” So she took another hearty drink, and let the second chicken rejoin the first.

When she was just in the best of the eating, her master came and cried, “Haste thee, Grethel, the guest is coming directly after me!” “Yes, sir, I will soon serve up,” answered Grethel. Meantime the master looked to see that the table was properly laid, and took the great knife, wherewith he was going to carve the chickens, and sharpened it on the steps. Presently the guest came, and knocked politely and courteously at the house-door. Grethel ran, and looked to see who was there, and when she saw the guest, she put her finger to her lips and said, “Hush! Hush! Get away as quickly as you can, if my master catches you it will be the worse for you; he certainly did ask you to supper, but his intention is to cut off your two ears. Just listen how he is sharpening the knife for it!” The guest heard the sharpening, and hurried down the steps again as fast as he could. Grethel was not idle; she ran screaming to her master, and cried, “You have invited a fine guest!” “Eh, why, Grethel? What do you mean by that?” “Yes,” said she, “he has taken the chickens which I was just going to serve up, off the dish, and has run away with them!” “That’s a nice trick!” said her master, and lamented the fine chickens. “If he had but left me one, so that some- thing remained for me to eat.” He called to him to stop, but the guest pretended not to hear. Then he ran after him with the knife still in his hand, crying, “Just one, just one,” meaning that the guest should leave him just one chicken, and not take both. The guest, however, thought no otherwise than that he was to give up one of his ears, and ran as if fire were burning under him, in order to take them both home with him.

✎ We certainly do not have to explain the nature of Clever Grethel in detail here; everyone probably knows that about himself. You could call it “the insatiable desire” that thinks after every fulfilled wish: “This one more, and then I’ll have peace!”. This goes on and on and at some point every means is okay, and so we call it nowadays even intelligence or “being clever” if we lie, cheat and play off other people for each other, and we are still proud of it. It is certainly good for our children to get to know the nature of desire in such a satirical form without raising the threatening finger. At some point, when they are so developed that they want to be master of their body and senses, then perhaps they try not to be deceived by this cook in her red shoes of passion. Such a selfish desire that quickly becomes an addiction has nothing to do with true beauty and will destroy friendship and sincere love over time.

This fairy tale is also a wonderful indicator that we can use to test ourselves. If we take Grethel’s side and praise and perhaps even envy her ‘hardened peasant’s cunning’, then we are probably on the wrong side of life. Because let’s be honest, she cannot control herself, is at risk of addiction, lies and cheats and creates fear and quarrel. These are of course very questionable ideals in life, but they are not entirely alien to us either.

With this, we already suspect that the whole story could also have a deeper message if we project the plot into our inner being, where at old age reason should be lord and king. The cook could mean our thoughts, which should ensure that the food that our senses have picked up is well prepared and digestible. When this cook, i.e. our thinking, gets lost in passion and lies to the point of addiction, our reason is lost. Because if a king cannot rely on his servants, since they betray and lie to him, then he soon loses his rule and the whole kingdom is in danger. Then it happens to reason, which should distinguish us as human beings, as to the master in this fairy tale. It is betrayed and lied to by the senses and thoughts and sinks into illusion on the level of sensual desire. We find something similar already in the ancient Indian Mahabharata in the description of the body city: “It is thinking that first connects amicably with passion and ignorance (or lies). But once stronger, they take the whole city, reason and senses, like a corrupt minister first weakens the king and then the people. Eventually, passion and ignorance take control of the whole body. [MHB 12.254]”

How could happiness or prosperity come into such a house as an honoured guest? It will run away in panic, like the guest in the fairy tale, and even with all the effort, we cannot stop it. This brings us to the question of what the strange guest actually means. Happiness and prosperity are probably a good interpretation at the intermediate level. You want them as a guest, and if they don’t appear, then you look for them out in the world until they finally knock on your door. However, it is doubtful whether you can attract them with two tasty fried chickens.

What role do these two chickens play, which reason desires from thoughts ‘finely dressed’ - like the master from the cook? Nowadays we usually see them only as useful as tasty food for us. Then of course, they must be dead, plucked, gutted, seasoned and fried. Nevertheless, there were also living beings that had their place in the world and could soar into the air. If we greedily reduce them only to the aspect of “my full stomach”, then we see them already as dead when they actually can still fly. Strangely enough, we fill our lives with many dead things that are supposed to make our life comfortable and beautiful. We race through the world with dead, terribly noisy and smelly machines; we even take to the skies and enjoy what we call freedom. Is that really life, lively action and something that makes us happy in the long term?

So the whole story reminds us of the great task of reason, namely to achieve true knowledge about nature and life. It’s about the big question: What is life and who am I? Therefore, knowledge and wisdom could also be meant with the guest on a deeper level, with which our reason should connect in old age. Then the knife would be a symbol of the famous sword of knowledge, with which we can cut off the tree of illusion at the root. Unfortunately, in our fairy tale, reason is not the real master of the house. It is ruled by desire and tries to grasp real life with sensual pleasure and insatiable desire. But in doing so reason only grasps dead opposites, which the two slaughtered roasted chickens can also symbolize. Accordingly, the knife or sword of knowledge is not used to cut off the root of the illusion, but to split and slaughter in order to generate ever-new opposites, such as greed and hate, good and bad, beautiful and ugly or mine and yours. Sure, that is not the way to recognize the One, and so the higher recognition of unity or self-awareness quickly runs away from us and flees, even if it has already knocked on our door. For such a greedy knowledge is not based on truth but on the blazing fire of passion.

In this regard, our fairy tale could also be an interpretation of the mystical Lord’s Supper stories from the Bible. Here, too, guests are invited who do not want to come. Here, too, it is about worldly attachment and the lust of the senses, which prevent the Lord’s Supper as the great knowledge of divine unity. Here, too, we find the sword, which cut off the servant’s ear after the Lord’s Supper when Jesus was captured. Moreover, the roasting chickens are reminiscent of the Easter lamb, where it says: “Where do you want us to prepare the Easter lamb for you to eat? ” [Bible, Matthew 26.17]. Only that in our fairy tale it is not Christ who invites us to the last supper of the worldly day, but a man who has not yet recognized the traitor in his own house, who is described here as an insatiable desire that cheats on him and sips away the wine of truth in the cellar. That’s why the whole thing was doomed to failure.

The symbolism of the Christian Lord’s Supper is difficult to understand these days, and we may think of the last meal or of depressed and suicidal people. However, apparently there were times when many people wished for this great liberation from worldly constraints. For them that first meal in life that one no longer eats for oneself was most desirable. It is, so to speak, the first food that does not change into a physical “mine”, but rather the “mine” changes into food, the mystical body of God, our true self. Or as it says in [Meister Eckhart, page 247]:

Saint Augustine dreaded this food; then a voice spoke to him in spirit: “I am the food of the great; grow and rise and eat me! (But,) you do not transform me into you, you are transformed into me.”

In this sense it is really a last meal, namely for the greedy and insatiable ego. In relation to this, people wondered intensely why this great supper or wedding meal was not accessible to ordinary people. And this question probably also gave rise to many symbolic stories, like our fairy tale here.

In a similar way, [Meister Eckhart, page 249] also dealt with this question, why it is so difficult for us to come to the Lord’s Supper, to which all people are invited:

That is why he says: “Everything is ready now.” But they do not come, those who are invited. The first says, “I have bought a hamlet, I can’t come.” The hamlet means everything that is earthly. As long as the soul has something in it that is earthly, it does not come to this feast. The second said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen; I can’t come, I have to look at them.” The five yoke oxen are the five senses. Every sense is divided into two parts, there are (therefore) five yokes. As long as the soul follows the five senses, it will never come to this feast. The third said, “I have taken a wife, I cannot come.” I have already said it many times: the man in the soul, that is reason. If the soul has turned straight up to God with reason, then the soul is “man” and is one and is not two; but when the soul turns down, it is a woman. With one thought and with a downward glance the soul puts on women’s clothes; neither do they come to this feast. Now our Lord speaks a grave word: “I truly say to you: none of these will ever enjoy my feast”.

The Wolf and The Seven Little Kids

✻ There was once on a time an old goat who had seven little kids, and loved them with all the love of a mother for her children. One day she wanted to go into the forest and fetch some food. So she called all seven to her and said, “Dear children, I have to go into the forest, be on your guard against the wolf; if he come in, he will devour you all skin, hair, and all. The wretch often disguises himself, but you will know him at once by his rough voice and his black feet.” The kids said, “Dear mother, we will take good care of ourselves; you may go away without any anxiety.” Then the old one bleated, and went on her way with an easy mind.

✎ This is probably one of the most famous fairy tales and has fascinated many children. The classic message is that the children should not open the door when they are home alone. All of our fears of scammers, burglars, child kidnappers and the like play a major role here. The protective shield for our children should be a well-dosed fear of evil, which is symbolized here in the form of the wild wolf that eats small children. This unpredictable wolf, about whom there are the wildest myths, stands in contrast to the cute little kids of our familiar pets. Such fears certainly have their useful place in the development of our children before reason is forming by the necessary experiences in life. The danger, of course, is that you will carry these fears around with you into old age because you somehow missed untying these knots and entering a deeper level. This was maybe the problem for earlier generations, because the wolf has been persistently hunted in Central Europe since the 15th century and practically exterminated over time. It is now under strict nature protection, but the fear of the animal in people’s minds seems to be unbroken.

Therefore, we would now like to try to shed a little more light on this fairy tale in order to cut through the outer symbolism of the wolf and to find the real villain. First, the mixture of animal fable and human world is striking, because goats actually live in the stable and not in a house with furniture in it. This alone suggests that the animals here play a symbolic role for animal beings that are alive in us humans. We find similar symbols in other fairy tales, such as Little Red Riding Hood or The Seven Ravens. When we now try to find these animal symbols in us, the first question that arises is: What do we need to protect in us and from whom? In ourselves, too, we find a mother who loves seven children, and think of our self-consciousness, which loves the five senses with thought and reason and naturally protects them. When our consciousness is directed outwards into the world, i.e. when it goes into the forest to collect food, then it is a matter of protecting the gates of our senses so that the ‘villain’ can not overwhelm them. Every sense has a certain sense consciousness that should pay attention to what we see, hear, taste, smell, feel, think and decide. And who is the ‘bad guy’ here? It is said: You can recognize him by his unkind words and sinful deeds. So we can assume that, here too, like with the wolf of Little Red Riding Hood, insatiable sensual desire is meant. And really, once this greed has seized us, it eats us up completely, first from the outside and then from the inside. With this, our self-consciousness changes into a greedy ego, which is dominated by desire, hatred and illusion. You can realize that outwardly from our words and actions.

✻ It was not long before someone knocked at the house-door and cried, “Open the door, dear children; your mother is here, and has brought something back with her for each of you.” But the little kids knew that it was the wolf, by the rough voice; “We will not open the door,” cried they, “thou art not our mother. She has a soft, pleasant voice, but thy voice is rough; thou art the wolf!” Then the wolf went away to a shopkeeper and bought himself a great lump of chalk, ate this and made his voice soft with it. Then he came back, knocked at the door of the house, and cried, “Open the door, dear children, your mother is here and has brought something back with her for each of you.” But the wolf had laid his black paws against the window, and the children saw them and cried, “We will not open the door, our mother has not black feet like thee: thou art the wolf.” Then the wolf ran to a baker and said, “I have hurt my feet, rub some dough over them for me.” And when the baker had rubbed his feet over, he ran to the miller and said, “Strew some white meal over my feet for me.” The miller thought to himself, “The wolf wants to deceive someone,” and refused; but the wolf said, “If thou wilt not do it, I will devour thee.” Then the miller was afraid, and made his paws white for him. Truly men are like that.

✎ So desire knocks repeatedly on our door and longs to be admitted, and that even with tricks and guile, especially in our world today, where we are bombarded with advertising everywhere. As long as our consciousness is not at home but wandering around the world, the danger is particularly great. Old home remedies are probably used here as symbols: the chalk for a soft voice and the bread dough against the bruise. At least the chalk helps against heartburn and thus indirectly against a rough voice when the stomach acid rises at night and irritates the voice box. The sourdough is supposed to have a cooling effect. Symbolically, it could mean that one artificially strives for a friendly voice. The dealer who gives him the chalk to whitewash his voice is probably our little inner huckster who feigns friendliness for worldly gain and tends to deceit and deceive. When it comes to the baker, we think of our ambition, who likes to use creativity to shape things the way we want them to be. The miller reminds us of our mindfulness, which should work in the mill of life and has a fine sense in form of our conscience that warns of the illusion of excessive desire. However, when this mindfulness is in the grip of greed, it becomes proud vanity that likes to whitewash our deeds with seemingly virtue and, as is well known, is also ruled by fear. With this, the greedy wolf can achieve its goal:

✻ So now the wretch went for the third time to the house-door, knocked at it and said, “Open the door for me, children, your dear little mother has come home, and has brought every one of you something back from the forest with her.” The little kids cried, “First show us thy paws that we may know if thou art our dear little mother.” Then he put his paws in through the window, and when the kids saw that they were white, they believed that all he said was true, and opened the door. But who should come in but the wolf! They were terrified and wanted to hide themselves. One sprang under the table, the second into the bed, the third into the stove, the fourth into the kitchen, the fifth into the cupboard, the sixth under the washing-bowl, and the seventh into the clock-case. But the wolf found them all, and used no great ceremony; one after the other he swallowed them down his throat. The youngest in the clock-case was the only one he did not find. When the wolf had satisfied his appetite he took himself off, laid himself down under a tree in the green meadow outside, and began to sleep.

✎ We may smile, but in practice, it is incredibly difficult to defend oneself against the treacherous desire. Once it has found its way inside, there is no stopping it. How could the senses hide from desire? The feeling escapes under the hard table top, which should perhaps serve as armour. The taste flees into the kitchen, where people eat. The smell hides in the oven, where otherwise the smell of cooked food or baked cakes arises. The hearing creeps into bed, where it does not have to hear anything under the thick pillow. The eye goes into the closet, where it is dark, the thoughts hide under the bowl, in which all laundry is usually washed, and the reason sticks in the clock case. Reason is of course the youngest child, because it is born last in our human development. The other senses are easy to find, the feeling under the shield, the taste and smell in the kitchen, the hearing under the pillow, the eye in the dark closet, where our beautiful clothes hang, and the thoughts under the washbasin, where they like to work and whip up a lot of foam. If desire had swallowed reason, then the fairy tale would certainly have ended here. Because when reason dies in us, there is no longer any hope of a contented and happy life.

Nevertheless, it is hiding in the clock case. What could that mean? The case is usually the resonance chamber for the striking mechanism of a clock. The meaning is difficult to understand these days, because the clocks used to strike not only to tell the time, but also to call people to the present. That is why there were many clocks with striking mechanisms even in the houses. The gong shook people out of their everyday worries and daydreams and reminded them of the presence of God. This constant mindfulness could be meant here, which can save reason from desire. We find something similar in the Indian tradition, as for example Dadaji reports: “Thereby the presence of this knowledge does not disappear, King Bharat had to be reminded of it all day long. For this, he had servants who rang a bell every fifteen minutes and shouted: “Attention, attention, stay awake, oh Bharat!” [Aptavani 1.8]”

✻ Soon afterwards, the old goat came home again from the forest. Ah! What a sight she saw there! The house-door stood wide open. The table, chairs, and benches were thrown down, the washing-bowl lay broken to pieces, and the quilts and pillows were pulled off the bed. She sought her children, but they were nowhere to be found. She called them one after another by name, but no one answered. At last, when she came to the youngest, a soft voice cried, “Dear mother, I am in the clock-case.” She took the kid out, and it told her that the wolf had come and had eaten all the others. Then you may imagine how she wept over her poor children.

✎ Even if we would like to avoid it nowadays, at some point we will turn our consciousness inwards again and recognize the chaos in our mind, where desire has raged. The senses no longer obey us when we call them because they are now under the control of desire and the greedy ego. This is a serious matter because the senses are our windows into the world. When the wolf puts his black paws on these windows, and they are ruled and smeared by desire, then we soon only see what greed paints on them. Then we sink into illusion and lose all truthfulness. With that, we are as good as dead inside and only live outside. And that’s really a big misery when it gets darker inside and a terrible depression threatens. Then we can only hope that at least reason is still hidden somewhere and answers our call.

✻ At length in her grief she went out, and the youngest kid ran with her. When they came to the meadow, there lay the wolf by the tree and snored so loud that the branches shook. She looked at him on every side and saw that something was moving and struggling in his gorged body. “Ah, heavens,” said she, “is it possible that my poor children whom he has swallowed down for his supper, can be still alive?” Then the kid had to run home and fetch scissors, and a needle and thread, and the goat cut open the monster’s stomach, and hardly had she made one cut, than one little kid thrust its head out, and when she cut farther, all six sprang out one after another, and were all still alive, and had suffered no injury whatever, for in his greediness the monster had swallowed them down whole. What rejoicing there was! Then they embraced their dear mother, and jumped like a tailor at his wedding. The mother, however, said, “Now go and look for some big stones, and we will fill the wicked beast’s stomach with them while he is still asleep.” Then the seven kids dragged the stones thither with all speed, and put as many of them into his stomach as they could get in; and the mother sewed him up again in the greatest haste, so that he was not aware of anything and never once stirred.

✎ Now it’s getting really fascinating. Is there really a way to defeat the insatiable desire in us and to free the senses again? Let’s read: First, one should find desire with the help of reason, preferably when it is asleep. Then one can observe it and realize that it has swallowed our senses alive. Now reason gets the necessary means so that consciousness can free the senses again. This strange operation is reminiscent of an analytical meditation in which one dissects a problem with skilful means, gets to the core and puts everything back together again. And when the senses and thought are finally freed, true love can awaken. However, what happens now to the animal being? Obviously, you can’t just kill it and leave it somewhere. Just as Little Red Riding Hood had to fetch the stones, so here it is the seven senses that carry the stones and fill the wolf’s belly with them. What kind of stones are these? It would have to be something that our desires can no longer nourish on and will perish. Since it usually feeds on perishable things, we are thinking here of something immortal and eternal, for which the stone is used as a symbol. Accordingly, in the Middle Ages there was much talk of the “Philosopher’s Stone”, which, as a summum bonum (highest goal) and universal remedy, can transform the base into something noble and our lower consciousness into a higher one, including the greedy ego into a pure consciousness or the so-called Supreme Self. This philosopher’s stone is reminiscent of a spiritual process of knowledge, perhaps even of the self-knowledge common in yoga, about which we read, for example, in the Indian Ashtavakra-Gita:
“In the world of diverse creatures, between Brahma and the smallest blade of grass, only self-knowledge has the power to profoundly renounce indulgence and suffering... Without “I” there is liberation. Where the “I” is at work, there is attachment. With this realization, both the desire and the hatred in life vanish… Through self-knowledge one reaches satisfaction, attains bliss and the highest being.”

This mystical knowledge of the Self, God, or truth does not only happen somewhere in thinking or reason, but extends across all senses to our entire perception, our entire being and our entire cosmos. Therefore, it is certainly no coincidence, that all the senses have to help to find the “Philosopher’s Stone”, which turns everything into gold or eternal truth. This completely pure essence of all things, which holds the world together in its innermost being, this true, eternal and immortal. It is completely unbearable for our greedy ego, and therefore it must perish with it. For in the presence of truth there can be no illusion.

The supper mentioned as a side note could allude to the biblical Lord’s Supper as the last perishing meal, and the tailor with his wedding reminds of a truly poor person and his union with the Supreme Self. However, the liberation from desire through self-knowledge or the “Philosopher’s Stone” is not a small thing that one attains in life on the side. It may even be the highest that one can ever achieve, namely to find the truth and thus the great release from the constraints of nature.

✻ When the wolf at length had had his sleep out, he got on his legs, and as the stones in his stomach made him very thirsty, he wanted to go to a well to drink. But when he began to walk and to move about, the stones in his stomach knocked against each other and rattled. Then cried he,

“What rumbles and tumbles against my poor bones?
I thought it was six kids, But it’s naught but big stones.”

And when he got to the well and stooped over the water and was just about to drink, the heavy stones made him fall in and there was no help, but he had to drown miserably. When the seven kids saw that, they came running to the spot and cried aloud, “The wolf is dead! The wolf is dead!” and danced for joy round about the well with their mother.

✎ Here, too, the greed of the wolf is addressed, this insatiable thirst that he tries to quench at the world’s well. This is the painful path of a greedy ego, which crams everything into itself with desire, hatred and illusion, without chewing and digesting sensibly, because its inner senses are dead or too deaf and reason hardly works anymore. Then hunger and thirst get bigger and bigger, and we get heavier and heavier not only physically, but above all mentally. It is long known: With this great burden, of course, nobody can ascend to heaven. One will sink into the lower worlds to Hell, where neglected digestion will be enforced in the fire of suffering. These are all symbols that we can recognize and experience on a small and large scale within ourselves and outside in the world.

When the desire in us is finally defeated, a great joy arises spontaneously, which is also called bliss. The liberated senses dance unburdened and freely with their mother, the pure consciousness, around the mystical fountain, from which the famous water of eternal life could now spring, which quenches the thirst forever.

The Valiant Little Tailor

✎ This fairy tale is of course full of symbolism again. We already encountered scissors, needles and thread as symbols for the tailor in the fairy tale of the wolf and the seven little kids. The tailor himself is also an extremely symbolic figure, because he cuts the fabric with scissors and sews the pieces back together with needle and thread to make clothes with which the rich make themselves outwardly beautiful, while he himself is often just a poor guy, who can barely afford to eat. But he meets a lot of people and should have intuition, creativity and a good knowledge of human nature in order to tailor the right clothes. In this regard, as a poor man with a job that requires a lot of concentration and patience, he is downright predestined for deeper insights into the human being.

✻ One summer’s morning a little tailor was sitting on his table by the window; he was in good spirits, and sewed with all his might. Then came a peasant woman down the street crying, “Good jams, cheap! Good jams, cheap!” This rang pleasantly in the tailor’s ears; he stretched his delicate head out of the window, and called, “Come up here, dear woman; here you will get rid of your goods.” The woman came up the three steps to the tailor with her heavy basket, and he made her unpack the whole of the pots for him. He inspected all of them, lifted them up, put his nose to them, and at length said, “The jam seems to me to be good, so weigh me out four ounces, dear woman, and if it is a quarter of a pound that is of no consequence.” The woman who had hoped to find a good sale, gave him what he desired, but went away quite angry and grumbling. “Now, God bless the jam to my use,” cried the little tailor, “and give me health and strength;” so he brought the bread out of the cupboard, cut himself a piece right across the loaf and spread the jam over it. “This won’t taste bitter,” said he, “but I will just finish the jacket before I take a bite.” He laid the bread near him, sewed on, and in his joy, made bigger and bigger stitches. In the meantime the smell of the sweet jam ascended so to the wall, where the flies were sitting in great numbers, that they were attracted and descended on it in hosts. “Hola! who invited you?” said the little tailor, and drove the unbidden guests away. The flies, however, who understood no German, would not be turned away, but came back again in ever-increasing companies. Then the little tailor at last lost all patience, and got a bit of cloth from the hole under his work-table [in German: “…from his hell”], and saying, “Wait, and I will give it to you,” struck it mercilessly on them. When he drew it away and counted, there lay before him no fewer than seven, dead and with legs stretched out. “Art thou a fellow of that sort?” said he, and could not help admiring his own bravery. “The whole town shall know of this!” And the little tailor hastened to cut himself a girdle, stitched it, and embroidered on it in large letters, “Seven at one stroke!” “What, the town!” he continued, “The whole world shall hear of it!” and his heart wagged with joy like a lamb’s tail.

✎ What now appears in the superficial story as a funny sway, should of course also remind of a deeper meaning, and so we would like to try to shed light on the symbolism. We already know the window and the advertising call, which penetrates his ears, from the fairy tale of Snow White, when the sorceress wanted to sell her apples. When the windows of our senses are open, the call of temptation and distraction can enter us and we turn our consciousness outward and reach for things. That makes effort in every direction, the peasant women has to climb the many stairs with her burden, and the tailor has to use his senses and make a decision. Here he certainly benefits from his poverty, which restrains him outwardly, but also annoys the woman because he only buys a small amount of her jam, which could symbolize the sweet and seductive food of the world, which promises us pleasure and strength. But he can also restrain himself internally and first finishes his work before he wants to give in to enjoyment. As is well known, that alone requires great bravery in us. In doing so, he makes a great discovery, because he observes the flies, which, like our thoughts, buzz in droves around the jam and pounce on the sweet temptation. Now, presumably, reason comes into play, and the little tailor takes a handkerchief and strikes. He took the cloth from ‘Hell’: “This is the name of a room under the workman’s table, in which he sticks his legs and which actually used to be the first place to stay for the pieces of waste. [Hess. Sheets S205]”

Even today, we still know the saying “killing two birds with one stone”. That means solving two problems at the same time. This brings up the big question, which seven problems solved the tailor here at one stroke? Remembering our interpretations of Snow White, the Seven Ravens, Six Servants, etc., it makes sense to think again of the five senses with thoughts and reason. At least the ear when calling the trader, the eye when looking out the window, the nose when smelling the jam, and the taste when hoping for sweet enjoyment are expressly mentioned. The feeling could be found in the effort of carrying it up as well as in anger, the restless thoughts in the flies and reason in his knowledge. And how does he solve the problem? Well, he brings the greedy thoughts to rest, and with that the problem of the five senses is solved all the sudden, too, because the mushed bread with the dead flies was certainly no longer a sweet seduction. In addition, he suddenly no longer has any appetite or hunger. At least symbolically, this could be seen as a kind of insight that the little tailor writes on his girdle so that it will never be forgotten again.

A girdle like this, which surrounds us like a magic ring, has a long tradition as a symbol. It stands for strength, power and domination, but also for purity. Think of the belt of Thor, who doubled his strength, or the belt of the dwarf king Laurin, which gave him the strength of twelve men. In modern NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), one would perhaps speak of an anchor for the new knowledge.

The city, which should experience everything, could initially mean our own body and the world our inner cosmos, if we map this fairy tale in our inner being in a spiritual way. Because a higher knowledge is only worth something if it affects our whole being. However, if you see this city in the outside world and the knowledge promises only worldly fame, the fairy tale becomes a funny sway, and the courage that the little tailor has gained by his insight appears as worldly arrogance in a children’s story, about which we smile at first. Until in time, we find a deeper level.

✻ The tailor put on the girdle, and resolved to go forth into the world, because he thought his workshop was too small for his valour. Before he went away, he sought about in the house to see if there was anything which he could take with him; however, he found nothing but an old cheese, and that he put in his pocket. In front of the door he observed a bird which had caught itself in the thicket. It had to go into his pocket with the cheese. Now he took to the road boldly, and as he was light and nimble, he felt no fatigue. The road led him up a mountain, and when he had reached the highest point of it, there sat a powerful giant looking about him quite comfortably. The little tailor went bravely up, spoke to him, and said, “Good day, comrade, so thou art sitting there overlooking the wide-spread world! I am just on my way thither, and want to try my luck. Hast thou any inclination to go with me?”

✎ When it comes to conquering the senses and thoughts, then certainly not killing is meant, but controlling. Because whoever has control over his senses, thoughts and reason and is no longer their slave, has really gained a lot of strength and power and can achieve everything in life, even if he appears physically weak. In order to provide us with proof of this, our little tailor is now leaving his domestic ‘hell’ and going into the world. In his house he only finds ‘old cheese’, perhaps the remains of his old thoughts, wishes and habits, and in front of the gate a bird that he frees and that becomes a symbol of his light journey into a larger and higher world. So he can easily get to the same mountain where the worldly giants come with a lot of physical strength, the violent people in our world, so to speak, who pursue their goals with a lot of rational and material violence. These are two ways to win the world. Nowadays we tend more towards the giants and try to achieve our goals with tremendous machine power, material energy and natural science. In this regard, the whole thing also reminds us of the famous fight between David and Goliath:

✻ The giant looked contemptuously at the tailor, and said, “Thou ragamuffin! Thou miserable creature!” - “Oh, indeed?” answered the little tailor, and unbuttoned his coat, and showed the giant the girdle, “There mayst thou read what kind of a man I am!” The giant read, “Seven at one stroke,” and thought that they had been men whom the tailor had killed, and began to feel a little respect for the tiny fellow. Nevertheless, he wished to try him first, and took a stone in his hand and squeezed it together so that water dropped out of it. “Do that likewise,” said the giant, “if thou hast strength?” - “Is that all?” said the tailor, “that is child’s play with us!” and put his hand into his pocket, brought out the soft cheese, and pressed it until the liquid ran out of it. “Faith,” said he, “that was a little better, wasn’t it?” The giant did not know what to say, and could not believe it of the little man. Then the giant picked up a stone and threw it so high that the eye could scarcely follow it. “Now, little mite of a man, do that likewise.” - “Well thrown,” said the tailor, “but after all the stone came down to earth again; I will throw you one which shall never come back at all,” and he put his hand into his pocket, took out the bird, and threw it into the air. The bird, delighted with its liberty, rose, flew away and did not come back. “How does that shot please you, comrade?” asked the tailor.

“Thou canst certainly throw,” said the giant, “but now we will see if thou art able to carry anything properly.” He took the little tailor to a mighty oak tree which lay there felled on the ground, and said, “If thou art strong enough, help me to carry the tree out of the forest.” - “Readily,” answered the little man; “take thou the trunk on thy shoulders, and I will raise up the branches and twigs; after all, they are the heaviest.” The giant took the trunk on his shoulder, but the tailor seated himself on a branch, and the giant who could not look round, had to carry away the whole tree, and the little tailor into the bargain: he behind, was quite merry and happy, and whistled the song, “Three tailors rode forth from the gate,” as if carrying the tree were child’s play. The giant, after he had dragged the heavy burden part of the way, could go no further, and cried, “Hark you, I shall have to let the tree fall!” The tailor sprang nimbly down, seized the tree with both arms as if he had been carrying it, and said to the giant, “Thou art such a great fellow, and yet canst not even carry the tree!”

✎ Such a violent person who trusts only in the physical cannot imagine that the spirit can be more powerful. Similarly, many scientists today still doubt whether there is any spiritual power at all. That is why the great powers of virtues such as truthfulness, humility or contentment are undervalued and often even disregarded in our society, just as the giant disregards the scrawny little tailor. The little tailor, however, shows his courage and there is a trial of strength, where the soft triumphs over the hard, the light over the heavy and the weak over the strong. Mental mobility is crucial so that one can transcend the usual limits of the rational intellect and think far beyond them. In this way the little tailor succeeds in the rationally impossible. If the giant had been a little more careful, he would probably have accused the little tailor of fraud, because our intellect clearly differentiates between stone, cheese and bird. But if you look deeper, you find more and more connections, and at the atomic level almost all differences disappear. Our ordinary intellect does not want to believe how much life there is in a cheese, let alone in a stone. Even the giant does not believe that the large crown of the tree is lighter than the much thinner trunk. We simply believe above all in the world of our five senses with the thoughts that our little tailor has conquered so that they no longer dominate him. Another difference can be seen in the fact that the giant tries with his ego to force everything by himself, while our little tailor trusts in life, lets the bird fly and himself be carried by the tree. So it is easy for him to win everywhere, because that is the great advantage of an agile mind that looks deeper and is not caught in the rational limits of the external world. But sure, a normal school teacher would certainly despair of such a student...

✻ They went on together, and as they passed a cherry-tree, the giant laid hold of the top of the tree where the ripest fruit was hanging, bent it down, gave it into the tailor’s hand, and bade him eat. But the little tailor was much too weak to hold the tree, and when the giant let it go, it sprang back again, and the tailor was hurried into the air with it. When he had fallen down again without injury, the giant said, “What is this? Hast thou not strength enough to hold the weak twig?” - “There is no lack of strength,” answered the little tailor. “Dost thou think that could be anything to a man who has struck down seven at one blow? I leapt over the tree because the huntsmen are shooting down there in the thicket. Jump as I did, if thou canst do it.” The giant made the attempt, but could not get over the tree, and remained hanging in the branches, so that in this also the tailor kept the upper hand.

✎ This is typical of violent people; they bend the branches of the tree of life down towards themselves to take hold of the higher fruits instead of rising themselves up, thus creating a lot of tension in life. Just as nowadays, for example, the tried and tested yoga is pulled down to our worldly level and degraded to wellness, with which one even wants to earn money instead of us soaring ourselves to spiritual heights. The same can be found in religions, sciences and even in the judiciary. That is the problem of especially spiritually heavy people that when they reach for the high fruits they cannot rise and have to bend down the branches of the tree of life. Our little tailor is light and flexible, can be lifted up and even comes down unscathed. Because verily, down here in the bushes of the world hunters are shooting everywhere, not only death, but also illness, old age, loss and suffering. Therefore, it is good if one is spiritually light and agile enough to be able to rise into higher worlds. The physically clumsy giant does not succeed and gets stuck in the thicket of the world.

✻ The giant said, “If thou art such a valiant fellow, come with me into our cavern and spend the night with us.” The little tailor was willing, and followed him. When they went into the cave, other giants were sitting there by the fire, and each of them had a roasted sheep in his hand and was eating it. The little tailor looked round and thought, “It is much more spacious here than in my workshop.” The giant showed him a bed, and said he was to lie down in it and sleep. The bed was, however, too big for the little tailor; he did not lie down in it, but crept into a corner. When it was midnight, and the giant thought that the little tailor was lying in a sound sleep, he got up, took a great iron bar, cut through the bed with one blow, and thought he had given the grasshopper his finishing stroke. With the earliest dawn the giants went into the forest, and had quite forgotten the little tailor, when all at once he walked up to them quite merrily and boldly. The giants were terrified, they were afraid that he would strike them all dead, and ran away in a great hurry.

✎ In our normal world, too, there are such spiritually easy-moving people. In fact, it would be good to live with them and learn from them. But the giants are uneasy about such people, because they fear what they cannot understand. At least our little tailor has the courage to do so, but avoids the giant’s bed. What kind of bed is that a giant rests on? This could mean success, fame, fortune and the like. Then it would be understandable that our little tailor would rather retire to a quiet corner, because such seductive beds are very dangerous on the spiritual path. Therefore, he stays alive, and the giants now completely despair when they see the unbelievable that threatens their whole worldview. But do they change their view of the world? No, they run away, because then they can continue to ignore what they do not want to understand.

✻ The little tailor went onwards, always following his own pointed nose. After he had walked for a long time, he came to the court-yard of a royal palace, and as he felt weary, he lay down on the grass and fell asleep. Whilst he lay there, the people came and inspected him on all sides, and read on his girdle, “Seven at one stroke.” - “Ah!” said they, “What does the great warrior here in the midst of peace? He must be a mighty lord.” They went and announced him to the King, and gave it as their opinion that if war should break out, this would be a weighty and useful man who ought on no account to be allowed to depart. The counsel pleased the King, and he sent one of his courtiers to the little tailor to offer him military service when he awoke. The ambassador remained standing by the sleeper, waited until he stretched his limbs and opened his eyes, and then conveyed to him this proposal. “For this very reason have I come here,” the tailor replied, “I am ready to enter the King’s service.” He was therefore honourably received, and a separate dwelling was assigned him.

✎ Now it gets really interesting, because it goes to the king, to the ruling spirit within us, to celebrate the mystical wedding and to win the whole kingdom. Our little tailor has the best requirements; he is carefree and courageous, controls his senses and remains calm. His belt helps him even in sleep, and the king receives him to use his services. One must first come this far on the spiritual path in order to meet this king within oneself and consciously serve him. Really, this process is like an awakening from a long dream, for which the ruling spirit and its emissaries have to wait a long time.

✻ The soldiers, however, were set against the little tailor, and wished him a thousand miles away. “What is to be the end of this?” they said amongst themselves. “If we quarrel with him, and he strikes about him, seven of us will fall at every blow; not one of us can stand against him.” They came therefore to a decision, betook themselves in a body to the King, and begged for their dismissal. “We are not prepared,” said they, “to stay with a man who kills seven at one stroke.” The King was sorry that for the sake of one he should lose all his faithful servants, wished that he had never set eyes on the tailor, and would willingly have been rid of him again. But he did not venture to give him his dismissal, for he dreaded lest he should strike him and all his people dead, and place himself on the royal throne.

✎ This symbolism is wonderfully designed and one might think that our ordinary sensory consciousness, which has served the king well so far, is withdrawing in the face of the higher consciousness of our tailor. The king, however, is sceptical and doubts whether the one is really better than the whole group of his previous servants. Can we trust the higher consciousness, which is awakening in us, or do we prefer to stick with the old habits? Is it a new illusion or a real truth? Such doubts are normal on the spiritual path, and many trials lie ahead:

✻ He thought about it for a long time, and at last found good counsel. He sent to the little tailor and caused him to be informed that as he was such a great warrior, he had one request to make to him. In a forest of his country lived two giants, who caused great mischief with their robbing, murdering, ravaging, and burning, and no one could approach them without putting himself in danger of death. If the tailor conquered and killed these two giants, he would give him his only daughter to wife, and half of his kingdom as a dowry, likewise one hundred horsemen should go with him to assist him. “That would indeed be a fine thing for a man like me!” thought the little tailor. “One is not offered a beautiful princess and half a kingdom every day of one’s life!” - “Oh, yes,” he replied, “I will soon subdue the giants, and do not require the help of the hundred horsemen to do it; he who can hit seven with one blow, has no need to be afraid of two.”

The little tailor went forth, and the hundred horsemen followed him. When he came to the outskirts of the forest, he said to his followers, “Just stay waiting here, I alone will soon finish off the giants.” Then he bounded into the forest and looked about right and left. After a while he perceived both giants. They lay sleeping under a tree, and snored so that the branches waved up and down. The little tailor, not idle, gathered two pocketsful of stones, and with these climbed up the tree. When he was half-way up, he slipped down by a branch, until he sat just above the sleepers, and then let one stone after another fall on the breast of one of the giants. For a long time the giant felt nothing, but at last he awoke, pushed his comrade, and said, “Why art thou knocking me?” - “Thou must be dreaming,” said the other, “I am not knocking thee.” They laid themselves down to sleep again, and then the tailor threw a stone down on the second. “What is the meaning of this?” cried the other. “Why art thou pelting me?” - “I am not pelting thee,” answered the first, growling. They disputed about it for a time, but as they were weary they let the matter rest, and their eyes closed once more. The little tailor began his game again, picked out the biggest stone, and threw it with all his might on the breast of the first giant. “That is too bad!” cried he, and sprang up like a madman, and pushed his companion against the tree until it shook. The other paid him back in the same coin, and they got into such a rage that they tore up trees and belaboured each other so long, that at last they both fell down dead on the ground at the same time. Then the little tailor leapt down. “It is a lucky thing,” said he, “that they did not tear up the tree on which I was sitting, or I should have had to spring on to another like a squirrel; but we tailors are nimble.” He drew out his sword and gave each of them a couple of thrusts in the breast, and then went out to the horsemen and said, “The work is done; I have given both of them their finishing stroke, but it was hard work! They tore up trees in their sore need, and defended themselves with them, but all that is to no purpose when a man like myself comes, who can kill seven at one blow.” - “But are you not wounded?” asked the horsemen. “You need not concern yourself about that,” answered the tailor, “They have not bent one hair of mine.” The horsemen would not believe him, and rode into the forest; there they found the giants swimming in their blood, and all round about, lay the torn-up trees.

✎ Even the first test is very difficult because it is about defeating two giants who could symbolize the opposites that usually rule us. These include life and death, mine and yours, possessions and loss, warm and cold, beautiful and ugly, rich and poor and many other opposites that we normally struggle with in the world. Overcoming these polarities is a very great challenge on the spiritual path to unity and, as we know, they cannot be conquered directly. Because as soon as you fight against one pole, the opposite pole is automatically strengthened. Therefore, the symbolism is excellently described here, how one stimulates the opposites so that they destroy themselves. This is reminiscent of the usual analytics in meditation. You really have to be very careful not to saw off the branch on which you are sitting. Here, too, mental agility plays a decisive role, and one should pay attention to the many small nuances in the text when reading. After all, one could really get to the point where the opposites can no longer harm us. Because as long as one is dominated by opposites, one is also dominated by illusion and cannot recognize the truth. Similarly, it is said in the Indian Mahabharata:
“Oh son, become master of your senses, overcome the opposites of heat and cold, hunger and thirst as well as the inner wind. And when you have mastered it (like a yogi) then practice righteousness (Dharma). Walk the wholesome path of truth and honesty, freedom from anger and malice, self-restraint and renunciation as well as benevolence and compassion. Constantly be established in the truth, resolutely devoted to justice, and abandon all deception and illusion. Scrape your living on the remains of food after gods and guests have been fed. Your body is just as fading as the foam on the waves of the sea. The soul lives unbound in it, like a bird sitting in a tree. The multiple connections with all the pleasant things are extremely short-lived. Why, oh son, do you sleep in such forgetfulness? Your enemies (the passions) are always quick and alert. They are always ready and waiting for their opportunity. Why are you so deluded not to see them? [MHB 12,322]”

Much would have been achieved, if the opposites of nature annihilate each other, and one could feel very close to the great goal of kingship in the realm of nature. But:

✻ The little tailor demanded of the King the promised reward; he, however, repented of his promise, and again bethought himself how he could get rid of the hero. “Before thou receivest my daughter, and the half of my kingdom,” said he to him, “thou must perform one more heroic deed. In the forest roams a unicorn which does great harm, and thou must catch it first.” - “I fear one unicorn still less than two giants. Seven at one blow, is my kind of affair.” He took a rope and an axe with him, went forth into the forest, and again bade those who were sent with him to wait outside. He had not to seek long. The unicorn soon came towards him, and rushed directly on the tailor, as if it would spit him on its horn without more ceremony. “Softly, softly; it can’t be done as quickly as that,” said he, and stood still and waited until the animal was quite close, and then sprang nimbly behind the tree. The unicorn ran against the tree with all its strength, and struck its horn so fast in the trunk that it had not strength enough to draw it out again, and thus it was caught. “Now, I have got the bird,” said the tailor, and came out from behind the tree and put the rope round its neck, and then with his axe he hewed the horn out of the tree, and when all was ready he led the beast away and took it to the King.

✎ The unicorn is a great mystery that people have pondered for a long time. It appeared already at 400 BC in a Greek text by Ktesias of Knidos: “In India there are wild donkeys that are like horses, only larger. The body is white, the head purple, and the eyes dark blue. On their foreheads, they have a horn, which is a cubit long. Filed off particles of the same are put into a potion and are a means of protection against deadly substances ...” At least one can find many stories in the ancient Indian epics about a boar who, as a divine incarnation (Varaha), lifts the sunken earth out of the water with just one tusk raised. Nowadays one often hears the opinion that it actually referred to a rhinoceros or the extinct Elasmotherium with a much longer horn. However, what is important is the symbolism used here. And because the unicorn stands in contrast to the common animals with two horns and is often even painted as if two horns were twisted together to form one horn, after defeating the opposites we naturally think of achieving unity in which all opposites disappear. Strangely enough, this unity seems very dangerous to us at first and threatens to “impale” us. But that is understandable, because above all our ordinary ego is mortally threatened, which of course lives from the feeling of separation and can no longer exist in unity. However, this ego problem is certainly not spared anyone on the spiritual path and has to be solved somehow. Here, too, some dangers lurk along the way, because the idea of unity can easily lapse into nihilism, which denies and destroys everything around and routes every meaning in life. So you have to pass this test, too, and capture the one so skilfully that you don’t kill the life in the process. How to do this is of course not easy, but it is ingeniously indicated here by connecting the one with life and nature, for which the tree could stand as a symbol. An older version of the fairy tale from [1812] says it even more clearly: “When the tailor saw this, he moved, put the rope around the neck of the unicorn, which he had taken with him, and tied it to the tree, went out to his fellows, to show them his victory over the unicorn, afterwards to know this to the king...”.

The Christian mystic Meister Eckhart (1260-1328) also expresses this knowledge of unity in his traditional sermons with incomparable depth. There you can read, for example:
“When I flowed out of God, all things said: God is. But this cannot save me, because here I recognize myself as a creature. But in breaking through, where I am free of my own will and the will of God and all his works and God himself, I am above all creatures and I am neither “God” nor creature, rather I am what I was and what I will remain now and forever. Then I receive an upswing that should bring me above all angels. In this upswing I receive such great wealth that God cannot be enough for me with all that he is as “God” and with all his divine works; for in this breakthrough it is granted to me that I and God are one. There I am what I was, and there I neither lose nor gain, because I am an immovable cause that moves all things. Here God does not find a place (anymore) in man, because man achieves with this poverty what he has been eternally and will always remain. Here God is one with the spirit, and that is the most real poverty that one can find. - If you don’t understand this speech, don’t worry your heart with it. For as long as a person does not resemble this truth, he will not understand this speech for so long. Because it is an undisguised truth that has come directly from the heart of God. [Eckhart, Sermon 32]”

✻ The King still would not give him the promised reward, and made a third demand. Before the wedding the tailor was to catch him a wild boar that made great havoc in the forest, and the huntsmen should give him their help. “Willingly,” said the tailor, “that is child’s play!” He did not take the huntsmen with him into the forest, and they were well pleased that he did not, for the wild boar had several times received them in such a manner that they had no inclination to lie in wait for him. When the boar perceived the tailor, it ran on him with foaming mouth and whetted tusks, and was about to throw him to the ground, but the active hero sprang into a chapel which was near, and up to the window at once, and in one bound out again. The boar ran in after him, but the tailor ran round outside and shut the door behind it, and then the raging beast, which was much too heavy and awkward to leap out of the window, was caught. The little tailor called the huntsmen thither that they might see the prisoner with their own eyes. The hero, however, went to the King, who was now, whether he liked it or not, obliged to keep his promise, and gave him his daughter and the half of his kingdom. Had he known that it was no warlike hero, but a little tailor who was standing before him, it would have gone to his heart still more than it did. The wedding was held with great magnificence and small joy, and out of a tailor a king was made.

✎ What remains after overcoming the opposites and finding unity? Even after that, this world does not disappear. It continues to function normally. Only now, through our easy and spiritual agility, we have the power to overcome or heal the heavy, wild, animal and instinctual nature. In the physical world one speaks here of genes and compulsive wiring of our brain, in the spiritual world of habits, inclinations, original sin and accumulated karma from this and many other lives. The third test now appears. And the symbolism is also good, because the wild animal that lives in us is caught here in the holy temple of God and the physical ego-like nature is raised to a spiritual, divine level. This sacred temple can even be spread over the whole universe. That was the common way to transform the wild hostility of nature into a friendly divinity. Similarly, the Bible begins with God creating nature and seeing that everything was good. This cosmic embodiment of God can also be found in the ancient Indian texts in the form of the entire universe. This is difficult to understand, however, and one should not abuse this symbolism. Because until one has not passed the two previous exams, it is certainly not salutary to regard everything as divine and to blame God for one’s own sins. Master Eckhart says on this matter:
“Our Masters ask the question, whether angels are grieved when man commits sin? We say: no! Because they look into the righteousness of God and grasp in it all things in him (= in God) as they are in God. Therefore, they cannot grieve. [Eckhart, Sermon 51]”

Therefore, our little tailor wins the king’s daughter, and spirit and nature celebrate their mystical wedding. But only half the kingdom has been won and the great bliss has not yet been achieved, because obviously one big question is still open: “Who am I?”

✻ After some time the young Queen heard her husband say in his dreams at night, “Boy, make me the doublet, and patch the pantaloons, or else I will rap the yard-measure over thine ears.” Then she discovered in what state of life the young lord had been born, and next morning complained of her wrongs to her father, and begged him to help her to get rid of her husband, who was nothing else but a tailor. The King comforted her and said, “Leave thy bed-room door open this night, and my servants shall stand outside, and when he has fallen asleep shall go in, bind him, and take him on board a ship which shall carry him into the wide world.” The woman was satisfied with this; but the King’s armour-bearer, who had heard all, was friendly with the young lord, and informed him of the whole plot. “I’ll put a screw into that business,” said the little tailor. At night he went to bed with his wife at the usual time, and when she thought that he had fallen asleep, she got up, opened the door, and then lay down again. The little tailor, who was only pretending to be asleep, began to cry out in a clear voice, “Boy, make me the doublet and patch me the pantaloons, or I will rap the yard-measure over thine ears. I smote seven at one blow. I killed two giants, I brought away one unicorn, and caught a wild boar, and am I to fear those who are standing outside the room.” When these men heard the tailor speaking thus, they were overcome by a great dread, and ran as if the wild huntsman were behind them, and none of them would venture anything further against him. So the little tailor was a king and remained one, to the end of his life.

✎ Now suddenly a new danger appears from nature, so that the greatest care is still required. The symbolism is very interesting: If the king is here more on the side of his daughter than on the side of an unknown hero, then it would symbolically mean that the ruling spirit is more on the side of nature than on the side of a person who does not know himself. Now let’s encounter the next challenge on the way, namely the so-called self-knowledge.

And who could be the king’s armour-bearer, who bears the arms of the ruling spirit? Intuition, reason or knowledge - something is warning our little tailor. So one also recognizes a change in this last section, because first he speaks in the dream as a servant who is under the rule of his master, and then he consciously speaks as a master to the servants while he is awake. With this, the suffering of the world flees, which is otherwise constantly threatening and terrifying. The poor tailor, who was once a servant of his senses and body, has now become a spiritual tailor-king who rules the fabric of nature with cubit, scissors, needle and thread. Moreover, if at the beginning of the fairy tale it is said that he sewed with “all his might”, he now sews with “all his spiritual strength”. Because he conquered the five senses and thinking with reason with one stroke, overcame the opposites, won the unity and restrained the animal being in himself. Wonderful! This spiritual development finally culminates in the fact that one can recognize one’s true self, to which the famous Bhagavad-Gita says:
“The self is never born, nor does it ever die. It knows no growth and no passing away. It is unborn, immortal, eternal and ancient. It does not die with the body. Whoever has recognized it as indestructible, immortal and immutable, how could he kill, be killed or still want to kill? Just as a person takes off worn-out clothes and puts on new ones, so the embodied self throws off the worn-out bodies and appears as other, new bodies, so to speak. Weapons don’t split it, fire does not burn it, water does not wet it, and winds don’t ravage it. Nobody can split it, burn it, wash it away or dry it out. It is immutable, all pervading, permanent, reliable and eternal. So it is called unfolded, inconceivable and immutable. If this being is truly recognized, you no longer have to complain about it. [MHB 6.26]”

This is how high man can develop and rise from the constraints of nature. And in that regard he was certainly a good king who could control himself and was no longer controlled by nature. He had conquered the passion of the senses and thoughts and was no longer a slave to desire, hatred and illusion. This is probably the fundamental difference between a tyrant and a good king.

Admittedly, this whole interpretation sounds just as adventurous as the fairy tale itself. But truly, our life can be so adventurous, and we can reach such worlds. The spiritual paths are of course just as diverse as the old fairy tales, because everyone experiences these paths differently. This is probably why so many fairy tales have come about that look at and describe similar principles in very different ways. This is the typical variety of practical ways and experiences that are not yet fully shaped by rational concepts. However, today it is difficult to understand the used symbolism, which may have been as natural in the past as a television film is now. Who cares about spiritual worlds today? Mind and spirit are just ghosts from the dark ages of superstition for many people. Accordingly, we often only see the outer shell of the traditional fairy tales and smile at the stupidity of our medieval ancestors. But even that is still better than forgetting our old fairy tales completely. At least this fairy tale about the brave little tailor could be over 500 years old. Martin Montanus published the essence of the second half in a book as early as 1557. Because the tailors’ guilds are said to have emerged just in the 12th century, the tale must have been born somewhere in between in order to spread widely in Europe.

The Wise Servant

✻ How fortunate is the master, and how well all goes in his house, when he has a wise servant who listens to his orders and does not obey them, but prefers following his own wisdom. A clever John of this kind was once sent out by his master to seek a lost cow. He stayed away a long time, and the master thought, “Faithful John does not spare any pains over his work!” As, however, he did not come back at all, the master was afraid lest some misfortune had befallen him, and set out himself to look for him. He had to search a long time, but at last he perceived the boy who was running up and down a large field. “Now, dear John,” said the master when he had got up to him, “hast thou found the cow which I sent thee to seek?” “No, master,” he answered, “I have not found the cow, but then I have not looked for it.” “Then what hast thou looked for, John?” “Something better, and that luckily I have found.” “What is that, John?” “Three blackbirds,” answered the boy. “And where are they?” asked the master. “I see one of them, I hear the other, and I am running after the third,” answered the wise boy.

Take example by this, do not trouble yourselves about your masters or their orders, but rather do what comes into your head and pleases you, and then you will act just as wisely as prudent John.

✎ The core of this fairy tale was already used by Martin Luther (1483-1546) to interpret a Bible psalm and therefore seems to have originated far before that. We would like to use it to shed some light on a problem that was and is often discussed, especially with regard to the Bible, and not only in the context of the Protestant Reformation. The big question is, how far can we go in interpreting sacred texts like the Bible that are officially considered the words of the Lord, namely God? How far can one differ from the official opinion? Some even say that you are not allowed to interpret anything and have to take every word literally. So without thinking. However, how is that supposed to work? Every word that ears or eyes bring into us can only be interpreted in the way that we have learned in corresponding terms, how we were influenced and understand them for ourselves. We should be aware of this, because in this respect we have a certain responsibility for what we think and do. Of course, we learn from our surroundings and inevitably orientate ourselves towards the opinion of others. Many expressions are already deeply imprinted in our memory in childhood. In addition, the social school system and the public media go to great lengths to ensure that people have relatively uniform terms and that we do not sink into the chaos of Babel. Just as Goethe has Mephisto say in [Faust I]:

So, Friend (my views to briefly sum),
First, the collegium logicum.
There will your mind be drilled and braced,
As if in Spanish boots 'twere laced,
And thus, to graver paces brought,
'Twill plod along the path of thought,
Instead of shooting here and there,
A will-o'-the-wisp in murky air.

This is certainly good and useful for a society, but it also has its downsides. Because in old age, when wisdom wants to develop, it is often very difficult to make such frozen concepts flexible again. But it is precisely this mental mobility that should be our greatest wealth, which can distinguish us from animals and free us from the compulsive rule of nature. Because mental agility is the precondition for true freedom. We are spiritually bound without mental agility and can only think in narrow channels. In this regard, it makes little sense to seek truth in definitions or certain points of view, even if some people even claim they hold the authentic opinion of Jesus or Buddha. It is probably better to crack open these tough nuts and get to the core. This is the way to go if you want to know the message hidden behind the words. It certainly doesn’t work without mental agility.

God gives us the nuts, but he doesn’t crack them. [Old saying]

✻ How fortunate is the master… when he has a wise servant who listens to his orders…

✎ Presumably, our fairy tale here refers primarily to the Bible, the Lord and his word, so to speak. And we should listen, because we are his servants in the human body, which is like the temple of God. In practice, we are all sent as “living beings” into nature to look for something specific. That could be the cow, which is supposed to fulfil our worldly desires and promise certain wealth and happiness in life. This symbol, of course, comes from a long time ago. You can still find it in the Old Testament in the form of the golden cow or in the sacred cows of ancient Indian stories, when people still lived as farmers and ranchers. Before agriculture and cattle breeding, trees were worshiped that could give many fruit. Today it is mainly dead things like machines, which promise us wealth and happiness in life. But even earlier it was known that this worldly happiness is difficult to hold onto:

God gives the cow, but not the rope. [Old saying]

If one regards the servant as a symbol for our self-consciousness, which is based on the worldly mind, then it may make sense to reach for worldly happiness. But if you see the higher reason of mankind in it, you could only see the cow as an incentive to set off in the first place and look for lasting and therefore better happiness.

✻ Something better, and that luckily I have found… Three blackbirds…

✎ The three blackbirds remind us of the three ravens from the fairy tale of the faithful John and could also symbolize messengers or paths that reveal what is in the dark for our worldly mind. Because birds can rise up from the earth into the air, symbolically from the material to the spiritual sphere.

✻ I see one of them, I hear the other, and I am running after the third…

✎ The answer of the servant could thus relate to the three essential principles of knowledge, namely seeing in relation to the world of forms, hearing in relation to the world of concepts and acting in relation to the world of deeds. On the spiritual path, for example, one speaks of seeing a higher truth, hearing the divine word and searching for knowledge and redemption. Similar principles can also be found in the Bible, only in a slightly different order:

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For whoever asks receives, and whoever searches will find and whoever knocks will be opened. [Bible, Matthew 7.7]

✻ As, however, he did not come back at all, the master was afraid lest some misfortune had befallen him, and set out himself to look for him.

✎ In addition, the fairy tale also describes how the Lord, so to speak the Spirit of God, not only sends us on a search into the world, but also cares for us and speaks to us on this path. It is important that we become active, and not just on a physical level. A similar subject is dealt with in the Bible in the parable of the three servants with the entrusted talents:

The Kingdom of heaven is like a man, going on a journey. He summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents (money, property or fortune), to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have in abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless servant, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [Schlachter Bible, Matthew 25.14]

Here, too, it is a matter of using your own skills and actively working with the entrusted goods in order to increase them, and not just remain passive and fear your own initiative. On the other hand, the fearful servant, who does not want to take any risk and only wants to hold onto the entrusted goods, is severely punished, because he is obviously not acting in the interests of his master. Unfortunately, this parable does not mention what would have happened to a servant who had lost the entrusted goods through his actions. But a similar question was asked in the Indian Bhagavad-Gita and answered: “What happens to him who, despite diligence and trust, cannot tame himself in this yoga and remains unsuccessful in his great devotion? ... Neither here nor later does such a person get lost. Because nobody who acts in a healthy way goes into perdition ... [MHB 6.30]”

The famous Christian mystic Meister Eckhart (1260-1328) also used the parable of the entrusted talents in his sermons and spoke in a very profound way:

“Good, loyal servant! Because you have been loyal about little things, that’s why I want to place you over all my possessions.” Well, now pay attention to what the “little one” is about and to which this person was loyal. Everything that God created in heaven and on earth and that is not himself is small before him. Above all, this good servant has been faithful. Why is that so, I want to show you. God set this servant between time and eternity. He was not assigned to either (of both), but was free in reason and in will and also in relation to all things. With his reason he passed through all things that God created; with his will he let go of all things and also of himself and of everything that God created that is not God himself. With his reason he received them and gave God praise and honour for them and handed them over to God in his unfathomable nature and also to himself, insofar as he was created. There he left himself and all things, so that he never (again) touched himself or any created thing with his created will. Truly! whoever were faithful in such a way would have such inexpressible great joy in God that if one took this joy away from him, one would completely take away his life and his being and his divinity.
But I’ll say more - don’t be frightened! because this joy is near you and is in you! - None of you is so rude, no matter how small in comprehension, or so far removed from the fact that you cannot find this joy in yourself with joy and with knowledge as it is truthful, even before you come out of this church today, yes, before I finish my sermon today; you can just as surely find, experience and have it in yourself as God is God and I am human! Be certain of that, because it is true, and the truth itself says it ... [Eckhart, Sermon 27, S275]

With this, Meister Eckhart already shows how deeply one can think about just a single sentence with mental agility and go the whole path of knowledge from seeing and hearing to reaching happiness, as it is also indicated in our fairy tale. Similarly, one could probably write a longer book on the parable of the entrusted talents. Because the symbolism of the servant, to whom the master entrusts his property and then lets him act freely, is really a wide field for reflection. A servant is not the owner, and so he should act in the interests of the Lord without considering the entrusted goods and profits as his property. This selfless action without attachment with the necessary wisdom is not for nothing the essence of all great religions.

✻ Take example by this, do not trouble yourselves about your masters or their orders…

✎ One should be careful with this last sentence of the fairy tale, because this is where opinions differ. Of course, we don’t have to worry about our Lord when it comes to God. He can’t lose anything, not even a cow. And the commandments of the Bible, which one likes to interpret as strict orders, should certainly not become blind dogmas that one follows without hesitation. It would be better to work with the symbolism and work up the content mentally. For one can already guess from the example of Meister Eckhart what we will lose if we only want to hold onto this rich spiritual heritage outwardly and literally like a worldly cow. The Bible in particular is a dynamic work with many levels that can be penetrated layer by layer to the core. And Meister Eckhart also spoke about this profundity:

The writing laughs at young children at first and attracts the child to itself; but in the end, if one wants to comprehend the Scriptures, they make fun of wise people; and no one is so simple-minded that he cannot find in it what is right for him; and again nobody is so wise that, if he wants to comprehend them, he does not find them (each time) deeper and more in them. Everything that we can hear here (in the world) and everything that can be said to us, everything in it has a further, hidden meaning. Because everything we understand here is so unequal to what it is in itself and what it is in God as if it were not at all. [Eckhart, Sermon 24, S263]

✻ …but rather do what comes into your head and pleases you…

✎ This development is a long way, and it is certainly not possible without your own diligence, delight, ideas and intuition. This sharpens the famous sword of knowledge or wisdom in order to cut off the snares of our illusions and to expose the view of the truth. The crux of the matter here is of course our self-awareness. If it develops into a greedy ego that uses and interprets the Bible or similar works for selfish purposes in order to attack others, to sow quarrels and discord, to establish dogmas or to gain personal advantage, the whole thing naturally misses the point and backfires. The selfless path is very narrow, and you cannot take too much luggage with you, be it books, ideologies, party friends, companions or enemy images. Here the democratic principle that the external majority wins, obviously fails, because internal unity wins here.

✻ …and then you will act just as wisely as prudent John.

✎ So you usually walk this path lonely and humbly like a wandering monk without possessions through a temple door that is so low that you have to bow deeply:

“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide, and the way that leads to damnation is wide; and there are many of them who walk on it. And the gate is narrow and the way that leads to life is narrow; and there are few of them who find it.” [Bible, Matthew 7.13]

Finally, we would like to cite the version of Martin Luther for comparison, who used the parable under the heading “Interpretation of the 101st Psalm of the behaviour of secular rulers especially”. It is from the point of view of a church leader in a more sarcastic and worldly sense, although we with Luther actually suspected that he wanted to give the people a certain spiritual freedom. So he wrote:

“The inconsistent mercury, where you want it to be, there is no left, what they should do, they can’t do that, but what they choose, they have to do it...

So in the household, when servants and maids do what they think is good, but let be what they are called, still want to have done well. They adorn a house nicely, and are quite useful and gracious servants. Yes, like the servant with the three blackbirds, about how his master sends him to look for the lost cow, and he stays away so long that his master runs after him to see where he is. When he almost got close to him, he asked the servant: “Did you find the cow?” - “No”, said the servant, “but I found something better.” - “What did you find?” - “Three blackbirds.” - “Where do you have them?” The servant said: “I see one, I hear the other, and I hunt the third.” - Isn’t that a clever, hardworking servant? Shouldn’t a householder get rich with such servants?

Here belong those who are said to be: They pick up a spoon and crush a bowl ...” (probably: They pay more attention to the insignificant than to the more important.) [Luther Ex S302]

✻ So, rather do what comes into your head and pleases you…

✎ Hans-Peter Dürr, a leading physicist at the Max Planck Institute, spoke briefly in an interview in 1997 on the subject of mental mobility:
Nature plays like a child with a certain premonition ... If you can’t think of anything, you behave like matter and are a bore. Matter is curdled, solidified spirit that can no longer think of anything. That is why we should not take the matter so seriously, but rather people who are always thinking of something new… [Source: YouTube]

Fundevogel (Bird-foundling)

✻ There was once a forester who went into the forest to hunt, and as he entered it he heard a sound of screaming as if a little child were there. He followed the sound, and at last came to a high tree, and at the top of this a little child was sitting, for the mother had fallen asleep under the tree with the child, and a bird of prey had seen it in her arms, had flown down, snatched it away, and set it on the high tree.

The forester climbed up, brought the child down, and thought to himself, “Thou wilt take him home with thee, and bring him up with thy Lina.” He took it home, therefore, and the two children grew up together. The one, however, which he had found on a tree was called Fundevogel, because a bird had carried it away. Fundevogel and Lina loved each other so dearly that when they did not see each other they were sad.

✎ For our children it is certainly a magical story how nobody can get lost in this world if you trust your siblings and stick together. Then you can survive any adventure and even defeat an evil witch. For adults, the beginning of this fairy tale might already sound very strange and challenges us to look for a deeper symbolism.

Therefore, we want to try our hand at it: The forester is a man who watches and rules over a forest, and here reminds us of the ruling spirit over the designed nature. The sleeping mother could be the material nature that has sunk into the unconscious, and sleeps like a stone under the tree of life or like mother earth under our feet. Her child would then be us, a conscious being that was created by the spirit and physically born by nature. The great power of passion or desire has seized us and placed us in the great tree of life, which offers many fruits. Here the ruling spirit finds us - because Fundevogel means something like foundling - and connects us with our feminine side, who appears here as the biological daughter of the forester. Everyone has these two poles, which are inseparable linked, but do not always love each other as they do in this fairy tale. We usually do not know our real, spiritual parents, and so, like a foundling, stepparents raise us, who, in this version of the fairy tale, act as forester and old cook.

✻ The forester, however, had an old cook, who one evening took two pails and began to fetch water, and did not go once only, but many times, out to the spring. Lina saw this and said, “Hark you, old Sanna, why are you fetching so much water?” “If thou wilt never repeat it to any one, I will tell thee why.” So Lina said, no, she would never repeat it to any one, and then the cook said, “Early to-morrow morning, when the forester is out hunting, I will heat the water, and when it is boiling in the kettle, I will throw in Fundevogel, and will boil him in it.”

✎ If we consider forester and cook as polarity here, similar to king and queen in other fairy tales, then we come back to the ruling spirit and the ruling nature. This nature often appears hostile to us and is often symbolized as a stepmother or old witch who has magical powers and works with the power of illusion. The cauldron is an ancient symbol that reminds us of how our minds are cooked, transformed and prepared in nature. And what is it prepared for? In terms of evolution, it should of course be about a development from the lower to the higher. We find something similar in “Hansel and Gretel”, when Hansel should be cooked and Gretel should be baked. The cauldron could symbolize the painful aspect of nature with regard to our development, from the birth in the womb, through all our suffering and burning pains in life to the boiling cauldrons in hell. We already find such descriptions in the ancient Indian epics, such as:

“Birth is already painful and difficult to bear. As they grow in the womb, all creatures are boiled in the pungent, sour, and bitter body juices, surrounded by urine, slime, and faeces. There they have to live in a helpless state within the uterus and are repeatedly pushed and squeezed. So you can see how those beings who desire meat are cooked completely helplessly in the womb. And after they have had various births, they are still cooked in the hell Kumbhipaka (in large cauldrons).” [MHB 13.116]

Of course, this is a process of purification, as it is everywhere in nature, which often appears painful and hostile to us. Anyone who has a vegetable garden may have already noticed that nature apparently loves weeds, snails and lice more than our carefully tended lettuce plants. This is a great secret of nature, because it loves death for the sake of birth, sickness for the sake of health, diversity for the sake of unity, impermanence for the sake of eternity, the struggle for the sake of peace and separation for the sake of connectedness. That is why nature often appears hostile to us, because we primarily see the surface and do not recognize its deeper reason and meaning. Similarly, in this fairy tale, the cook appears to us as a witch who tries to cook the spirit in nature’s cauldron. And if we’re honest, then our feminine side knows this secret of nature and could reveal it to us if we only had as much trust as Fundevogel:

✻ Betimes next morning the forester got up and went out hunting, and when he was gone the children were still in bed. Then Lina said to Fundevogel, “If thou wilt never leave me, I too will never leave thee.” Fundevogel said, “Neither now, nor ever will I leave thee.” Then said Lina, “Then will I tell thee. Last night, old Sanna carried so many buckets of water into the house that I asked her why she was doing that, and she said that if I would promise not to tell any one she would tell me, and I said I would be sure not to tell any one, and she said that early to-morrow morning when father was out hunting, she would set on the kettle full of water, throw thee into it and boil thee; but we will get up quickly, dress ourselves, and go away together.” The two children therefore got up, dressed themselves quickly, and went away.

✎ The symbolism is wonderful! If we find this connectedness or unity of male and female or spirit and nature in us, then we can escape the cauldron of hostile nature and overcome the illusion of the witch who enchants us. The danger is of course especially great on the morning of the worldly day, when the spirit goes hunting into the world. So what do we do first? We try to flee from the apparently hostile nature, preferably to the end of the world or to the edge of the forest, as it is said here in the fairy tale.

✻ When the water in the kettle was boiling, the cook went into the bed- room to fetch Fundevogel and throw him into it. But when she came in, and went to the beds, both the children were gone. Then she was terribly alarmed, and she said to herself, “What shall I say now when the forester comes home and sees that the children are gone? They must be followed instantly to get them back again.”

✎ Well, of course, nature cannot accept this escape. The symbolism is very interesting. First, a bedroom is mentioned, where we usually sink into a dream world. It used to be known that one could wake up from the everyday dream world and thus escape hostile nature. Second, it is said that the cook, who at the end of the fairy tale is also referred to as a witch in the sense of a hostile nature, is afraid of the forester. So nature knows about her dependence on her master and must fear him, especially when his biological child, the young soul, is lost. We will also read later that the cook tries above all to get the girl back and to get rid of the boy. Moreover, she assumes that the girl, as the forester’s biological daughter, also had an aversion to the adopted boy, who was suddenly supposed to be her brother, otherwise, she would not have revealed her intention to cook the boy. Therefore, the hostile or opposing nature pursues us everywhere and tries to hold on to one part and get rid of the other part. But where could we escape from hostile nature? The problem lies within ourselves!

✻ Then the cook sent three servants after them, who were to run and over- take the children. The children, however, were sitting outside the forest, and when they saw from afar the three servants running, Lina said to Fundevogel, “Never leave me, and I will never leave thee.” Fundevogel said, “Neither now, nor ever.” Then said Lina, “Do thou become a rose- tree, and I the rose upon it.” When the three servants came to the forest, nothing was there but a rose-tree and one rose on it, but the children were nowhere. Then said they, “There is nothing to be done here,” and they went home and told the cook that they had seen nothing in the forest but a little rose-bush with one rose on it. Then the old cook scolded and said, “You simpletons, you should have cut the rose-bush in two, and have broken off the rose and brought it home with you; go, and do it at once.”

✎ Who are these three servants of nature? They are not explained in more detail in this fairy tale, and so we first remember the three colours of red, white and black, which are known from other fairy tales and are described in the Indian stories as the three qualities of nature, namely passion, goodness and darkness. One could also think of desire, hatred and ignorance, which are often explained as the driving forces in the wheel of life, or just of birth, old age and death. They all work in the natural realm of opposites. However, if the opposites in us are overcome and united, then they can no longer appeal to us or achieve anything.

The symbol of the rose bush resembles the vine in the Bible: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him brings much fruit, because without me you cannot do anything.” [Bible, Joh. 15.5] This also fits the saying “Never leave me, and I will never leave you.” This unity of spirit and nature, the much-described mystical marriage, is the great way to the highest wealth. But nature doesn’t seem to like this marriage and keeps pushing for separation in the game of opposites. What kind of force is working here? The fairy tale says it is the three servants, and in practice above all the passionate desire and the darkness of illusion. If we look at our scientific world today, we find something similar. We passionately reach for the outer forms of nature and do not want to know anything about the inner, spiritual world. We reach for the beautiful roses and fear the thorny rose bush. We desire the grapes and regard the vine branches only as a tiresome means to an end. This is the game of illusion, which envelops us in darkness. That is the witch, who enchants and cooks us in the cauldron.

✻ They had therefore to go out and look for the second time. The children, however, saw them coming from a distance. Then Lina said, “Fundevogel, never leave me, and I will never leave thee.” Fundevogel said, “Neither now, nor ever.” Said Lina, “Then do thou become a church, and I’ll be the chandelier in it.” So when the three servants came, nothing was there but a church, with a chandelier in it. They said therefore to each other, “What can we do here, let us go home.” When they got home, the cook asked if they had not found them; so they said no, they had found nothing but a church, and that there was a chandelier in it. And the cook scolded them and said, “You fools! why did you not pull the church to pieces, and bring the chandelier home with you?”

✎ Why can the female side do magic or enchant so well? This makes sense at least insofar as sorcery has to do with illusion and illusion is a property of changeable nature, even if we often wish to conjure permanent things. Of course, this cannot be done without the power of the spirit, that is why spirit and nature are never separate, and one could even say that nature is nothing other than enchanted spirit. Therefore, it is possible that man can purify himself on the spiritual path and free himself from the constraints of nature with its servants of desire, hatred and illusion. If spirit and nature were two completely different things, the great mystical marriage of union would be impossible. This affinity is also the reason why the spirit can transform itself and, through the magic of the illusion, take on different physical forms.

So next appears a church with a chandelier inside. At the middle level, one could see here the religious and secular power that should be united and prioritized, while the witch tries to seize only the secular power and destroy the religious. For a long time it was evidently normal in human society for the secular rule of kings and princes to be placed under the religious guidance of wise men and priests. At least we know from the ancient Indian scriptures the caste system in which the Kshatriyas (the kings and warriors) subordinated themselves to the Brahmins (the priests, wise men and teachers) and took care of their protection. In addition, many symbolic stories are passed down, especially in the Mahabharata, of how a society falls into decline and perishes in war, when the kings miss their tasks or the Brahmins reach for worldly power. Something similar can be found in the history of Christianity when the leaders of the Church reached for worldly power and wealth. The effects are well known: spiritual decline, dogmatism, fanaticism, religious wars, fragmentation through the Reformations and, finally, worldwide ruin. Sure, who would trust spiritual rulers who cannot even rule themselves?

With this a new intellectual elite developed, which was able to prove its ability to master nature with objective science. The scientific and technological revolution took its course, and the age of the dead machines began. However, already two hundred years after the invention of the steam engine and two devastating world wars with panzers, bombs, poison gas and over 70 million people killed, our earth was facing an all-destructive nuclear war. This already makes it clear that the truthfulness of our scientists is crumbling too, because the new, intellectual elite also grasps for the power, fame and wealth of the world, becomes dependent on it and bribed. Accordingly, it says in the Bible: “You are the salt of the earth. If the salt is no longer salting, what should you use to salt? It is no longer of any use than to be thrown away and let people trample it under foot.” [Bible, Matthew 5.13]

On a deeper level, the church walls can also be seen as a symbol of restraint and the chandelier as our human nature (the famous crown of creation), which should learn to control itself in the course of its development. Today we are more inclined to the nature of the witch and try to break the limits of nature in order to develop an unbridled desire. This is obviously the modern epitome of “freedom”. Here, self-control should be the top priority, especially for the leading intellectual elite of a society. Because as long as the spirit cannot control itself, it is under the control of others, is clinging, dependent, corruptible and cannot be truthful (see e.g. MHB 12.251). Without truthfulness, illusion reigns, and illusion is certainly not something that can be trusted for a long time. They say a life like this is built on sand. Many powerful rulers have already experienced this. The last great example was probably the fall of socialism.

✻ And now the old cook herself got on her legs, and went with the three servants in pursuit of the children. The children, however, saw from afar that the three servants were coming, and the cook waddling after them. Then said Lina, “Fundevogel, never leave me, and I will never leave thee.” Then said Fundevogel, “Neither now, nor ever.” Said Lina, “Be a fishpond, and I will be the duck upon it.” The cook, however, came up to them, and when she saw the pond she lay down by it, and was about to drink it up. But the duck swam quickly to her, seized her head in its beak and drew her into the water, and there the old witch had to drown. Then the children went home together, and were heartily delighted, and if they are not dead, they are living still.

✎ “Neither now, nor ever!” could also mean: “Now or never!” This saying, which runs like a mantra through the whole fairy tale, has great significance on the spiritual path, because the truth can only be found in the present, in the here and now. Some even say that past and future are just illusions that we mentally project. In this ‘now’ everything happens, including our physical and mental growth in constant change. Therefore, the siblings are now changing into the connection between pond and duck. The spirit is the pond and nature is the duck that swims on its surface. This is an amazing symbol to think about long and deep.

The water has always had a very mystical meaning. It is not only the medium in the cauldron, but is also seen as the basis of life itself, not only physically but above all mentally. So it says right at the beginning of the Bible:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was desolate and empty, and it was dark on the deep; and the Spirit of God floated on the water. And God said: Let there be light! and there was light ...” [Bible, Genesis 1.1]

It sounds similar in the Indian scriptures:
“In ancient times I gave the water the name Nara. And since the water is my home, my Ayana, I am called Narayana (the one who is at home in the water or who is resting on the water). Oh dear Dwija, I am Narayana, the cause of all things, the Eternal and Immutable. I am the creator of all things and also their destroyer. I am Vishnu, Brahma and Indra, the lord of all gods.” [MHB 3.189]

Therefore, one speaks of the mystical sea of causes, from which the whole creation arises and enters back into it again at the end. From the Big Bang, so to speak, through the creation of our universe with its countless galaxies, to the dissolution in an unimaginably vast sea of homogeneity. And all the physical forms that we see and with which we identify are like this physical duck that swims on the spiritual sea of causes.

Now the witch tries to drink up the pond to take hold of the duck, just as we try to take hold of nature nowadays by draining her spiritually. We read accordingly, what can happen, because in the end nature seizes us and lets us drown miserably in the sea of illusion. Therefore, it is not good to be on the side of the witch to grasp nature without spirit. Goethe also lets his Mephisto speak on this subject in [Faust I]:

He who would study organic existence,
First drives out the soul with rigid persistence;
Then the parts in his hand he may hold and class,
But the spiritual link is lost, alas!
Encheiresin natures*, this Chemistry names,
Nor knows how herself she banters and blames!
(*to seize nature)

Whoever has recognized the unity, lets the witch sink into the sea of causes with all her magic power, frees himself from the illusion and returns home happily, to the true father. This is probably nothing more than the age-old path to immortal bliss, as can also be found in the great religions. So whoever hasn’t died is still alive ...

Doctor Knowall

✎ This fairy tale is about a really big question that is already pointed out in the heading: What is omniscience? To do this, we should first ask: What is knowledge? Knowledge plays a large, if not the largest role in our lives and has a lot to do with who and what we are. Therefore, this fairy tale begins with a short but highly ingenious and memorable symbolism that is very fitting for our natural being:

✻ There was once on a time a poor peasant called Crab, who drove with two oxen a load of wood to the town, and sold it to a doctor for two thalers.

✎ Our body is pulled by our will like an ox cart. This will is often divided into two parts and shaped by worldly contradictions. Therefore, it talks of two oxen pulling us here. Of course, it goes best if both pull in the same direction. With regard to the division, one can speak of a higher and a lower will. The lower will can harden into a heavy ego, and one often says: “You are as stubborn as an ox!” And the higher will follows the higher reason and over time makes us light and free, heavenly, so to speak.

And what do these oxen pull? A cart full of firewood. If the car is our body, then the firewood could be our karma, the potential in the form of merit and sin that we accumulate in life and carry around with us. This is also very closely related to our knowledge. The yogis try to burn this firewood in a steadily calm flame in order to get rid of it and not to accumulate new one. For us, under the rule of the lower will, it usually becomes the fire of passion, and we diligently gather more and more firewood. Then we drive our cartload to the world’s marketplace for trading.

And who is trading with it? A poor farmer named Crab. Here we could see our strange self-consciousness, which often feels very poor, full of dissatisfaction and is therefore always looking to gain more and more in action. That, in turn, has a lot to do with our knowledge. In simplified terms, one could say: Consciousness is active or effective knowledge. And self-consciousness is locally and temporally ego-bound knowledge, whereby a corporeal being with its life story arises or gets effected. Just as the farmer tills his field and scatters the seeds in order to harvest much fruit, so the self-consciousness works in the field of the world. This field can be seen very broadly and profoundly. In practice, it is shapeable nature, and meanwhile some scientists even speak of the subtle, morphogenetic, information field, matrix-, zero point or psi field and rely primarily on the findings of quantum physics. The symbolism of the farmer is not limited to the field of agriculture. There are also others who, for example, care more about animals, such as the shepherd, whom we often find in the Bible (for example in the Song of Songs), or Krishna as a cowherd in the Indian Puranas.

And why is he called Crab? Perhaps one thought of the large crabs that defend and feed themselves with their powerful claws. But it is also said that the element of a crab is water, the primordial element of life, which symbolically stands for the eternal source of life. With regard to this source of life one also speaks of eternal consciousness, which only appears to be perishable insofar as it is personally bound to perishable things, identifies with them and becomes self-consciousness. The Crab could thus also symbolize the ego-consciousness up to the hardened ego.

Today, when we think of crab*, we think primarily of the dreaded disease that is so deadly to us (*There is one word in German for Cancer and Crab: Krebs). Interestingly, here, too, individual body cells play an important role, which no longer want to serve the entire organism and which multiply independently and unrestrained. This is also a kind of egoism when individual cells only think of themselves and no longer work for the benefit of the whole organism.

And what does our poor peasant, the self-consciousness, sell himself for to the world? For “two thalers”, which again remind of the worldly dualities or opposites. Above all, this includes the duality of happiness and suffering, and our ego still hopes at some point to have one side of the coin without the other. In this way we are bound to the world of opposites, where the ego fights for “its personal survival”, just like the farmer for his livelihood.

Finally, there is still the question: To whom does the “I” sell? To “a doctor”, a particularly intelligent being who becomes a teacher for us. Moreover, who is our teacher in life? You can also see that very far and deeply. Some even say: “The whole world is our teacher.” And just as Crab becomes the key to knowledge in the fairy tale, so the doctor becomes the way there.

Now one could say: What an imagination! Is this all hidden in the sentence: “Once upon a time there was a poor peasant named Crab, who drove a load of wood into town with two oxen and sold it to a doctor for two thalers.”? Yes, this sentence at the beginning of the fairy tale is a wonderful example of the symbolic language of earlier times, with which one expressed the deepest knowledge about spirit and nature. It’s a shame that today we can hardly imagine how much profound knowledge is behind the symbolism of such simple, but often ingenious stories, because today we think in different ways. If you had written E = mc² on the board back then, they would probably have looked just as incomprehensible as we see their stories as primitive children’s fairy tales today. Strangely enough, we believe that people today are far more intelligent than they were a few thousand years ago, which cannot be justified genetically, physically or in the light of our behaviour on earth. In the past, people certainly looked intensively for knowledge and pursued science, only with different goals and correspondingly also with other means, in order to formulate and pass on knowledge in an understandable language.

By the way: A similar symbolism of the body cart pulled by two oxen can also be found in the ancient Indian collection of fables “Panchatantra”, where even a crab plays its part. In general, this whole fairy tale has a very strong relation to Indian tradition, as we shall see later.

✻ When the money was being counted out to him, it so happened that the doctor was sitting at table, and when the peasant saw how daintily he ate and drank, his heart desired what he saw, and he would willingly have been a doctor too. So he remained standing a while, and at length inquired if he too could not be a doctor. “Oh, yes,” said the doctor, “that is soon managed.” “What must I do?” asked the peasant. “In the first place, buy thyself an A B C book of the kind which has a cock on the frontispiece; in the second, turn thy cart and thy two oxen into money, and get thyself some clothes, and whatsoever else pertains to medicine; thirdly, have a sign painted for thyself with the words, “I am Doctor Knowall,” and have that nailed up above thy house- door.”

✎ This beautifully describes the task of envy in this world. You see something as good, desire it, want to own it too and are ready to make sacrifices for it. That is the natural essence of self-consciousness. Moreover, the whole thing always has to do with knowledge. If you look at it more deeply, even our whole world consists only of knowledge, or to put it more up-to-date, information. Above all, our ego is based on knowledge and knows: Knowledge promises power, wealth and prosperity. The title “Doctor” is the epitome of a person full of knowledge - not only in our fairy tale. It is therefore exactly what our poor farmer wants to be. We usually go for this to school for many long years, study and pass numerous exams.

However, the advice in our fairy tale seems a bit mocking at first sight. First, buy yourself knowledge that makes you proud like a rooster. Second, sell your will to the world and acquire the typical image of a doctor. Third, be confident, have a title and proclaim it everywhere. - Well, it is said that this still works today... Only with “Doctor Knowall” one must be more careful today, because mankind has now accumulated so much knowledge that the universal scholars have practically died out for over 100 years, and even in the individual disciplines such as mathematics or physics there are hardly any scholars who have mastered the entire knowledge of their subject.

But how can such a “bought doctor” work? Any sensible person should know whether someone is telling the truth or just speaking blah-blah. However, it does not seem to be that easy in practice. Why?

Well, this brings us closer to the core of the fairy tale, the question of the truth of knowledge. Knowing everything or omniscience would mean being able to truthfully answer any question on any subject. However, who decides whether the answer is true or false? And that raises the delicate question: Is there absolutely true knowledge at all? If you examine it more deeply, you will find that our worldly knowledge is always only relatively true, relative to a certain goal or point of view, a certain model, a certain person or worldview. Let us think, for example, of the great dispute over the heliocentric view of the world. Today we know that neither the earth nor the sun is in the centre. The Big Bang Theory even says that there is no centre anywhere in the universe. On the other hand, let’s think of the example of our classical physics, which has managed to build a world view in which the power of the spirit simply no longer exists. Yet it is the most important force in our everyday life experience with which every scientist works. Even so, classical physics still works in practical life because it is relatively true and useful. But it is not absolutely true, as confirmed by quantum physics and the theory of relativity, but they cannot answer all questions either. String theory was next developed, and so it will probably go on forever...

To be honest: If there really were absolute knowledge in this form, humankind would certainly have found it after many millions of years, because there has never been a lack of ingenious people. It is not for nothing that our language has two terms for it, namely belief and knowledge. In higher things, one should speak of belief and always be aware that all worldly knowledge is only relatively true. As soon as one imagines absolute knowledge, one is stuck in a certain point of view and a higher development towards the whole is blocked. That ends quickly in the knowledge of letters in the clever ABC books for proud roosters. This is dangerous, because absolute knowledge makes you proud, and pride makes you blind. This can become so absurd that rational people argue about a “true belief or faith” and even wage terrible wars for it. Who comes up with such ideas? Faith is a path that should lead to the highest summit. And as we know, there are always many paths that lead to the summit. Every culture has its own ways, and maybe even every human being. And rarely do these paths lead directly to the goal. It’s not for nothing that our earth is round, and that’s how everyone arrives at some point.

By the way, Hans Christian Andersen also wonderfully portrayed the topic of the knowledge of letters from ABC books for the proud rooster in his fairy tale “The ABC Book”.

✻ The peasant did everything that he had been told to do. When he had doctored people awhile, but not long, a rich and great lord had some money stolen. Then he was told about Doctor Knowall who lived in such and such a village, and must know what had become of the money. So the lord had the horses put in his carriage, drove out to the village, and asked Crabb if he were Doctor Knowall? Yes, he was, he said. Then he was to go with him and bring back the stolen money. “Oh, yes, but Grethe, my wife, must go too.”

✎ He had not doctored much. This is important, and we assume he hasn’t sold much knowledge yet. Is it good to sell knowledge? At least in the ancient Indian scriptures it was a great sin to sell the Vedas, that is, to get paid as a teacher or doctor. The ancient shamans also supposedly did not heal for money. For us today it is completely normal that you can buy and sell everything. Those doctors, who feel bound by their Hippocratic Oath, are dying out, and one can no longer be sure how far it is about the patient or the business. Authorized signatories instead of chief physicians are increasingly ruling even our hospitals. Moreover, it has long been normal to sell knowledge in science. These are strange views, because scientists and medical professionals have learned most of their knowledge from others. Nevertheless, some are of the firm opinion that they own their knowledge personally, like the rich nobleman his money in our fairy tale. This is also a form of absolute knowledge that the self-consciousness imagines, and the bigger the ego, the harder this imagination...

However, why is it important here that our poor farmer has not yet done a lot of work? He still takes his feminine side with him. That means: He still has a connection to nature, so he is not completely “overly intellectual” or trapped in his imagination.

✻ The lord was willing, and let both of them have a seat in the carriage, and they all drove away together. When they came to the nobleman’s castle, the table was spread, and Crabb was told to sit down and eat. “Yes, but my wife, Grethe, too,” said he, and he seated himself with her at the table. And when the first servant came with a dish of delicate fare, the peasant nudged his wife, and said, “Grethe, that was the first,” meaning that was the servant who brought the first dish. The servant, however, thought he intended by that to say, “That is the first thief,” and as he actually was so, he was terrified, and said to his comrade outside, “The doctor knows all: we shall fare ill, he said I was the first.” The second did not want to go in at all, but was forced. So when he went in with his dish, the peasant nudged his wife, and said, “Grethe, that is the second.” This servant was just as much alarmed, and he got out. The third did not fare better, for the peasant again said, “Grethe, that is the third.”

✎ Sure, on a first level one could say: whoever commits injustice reaps a guilty conscience that haunts him, so that he has to live in constant fear and at some point has to reveal himself. That is already good news to ponder.

In addition, a deeper and most wonderful symbolism appears. Who are these servants who steal personal property? We would suspect that the usual principles of nature are meant again here: the four servants as symbols for the four elements of medieval alchemy, namely earth, water, fire and wind. The comparison with the food that the sensory organs serve us from the elements is also ingenious. Because everything that the self-consciousness grasps as wealth or nourishment in nature comes in principle from these elements and goes back into them, so that we first feel gifted and then again deprived. And what are they robbing us? This fairy tale is about money that reminds us of our merits, with which we can fulfil our wishes. In other versions of the story it is also gold, which indicates the loss of truth, or a precious ring, which reminds of the loss of unity. Nature can give us all this, but it can also take it away. The more holistically we recognize nature, the more we gain these three riches. The more our self-consciousness grows into an ego that only wants to keep, and the further we separate ourselves from nature, the more we have to fear the loss. Goethe also has his Mephisto say in [Faust II]:

In every way shall ye be stranded
The elements with us are banded,
And ruin is the certain fate.

Recognizing these principles of nature was considered great knowledge, and so it is also stated in [Faust I]:

Who knows not their sense
(These elements),
Their properties
And power not sees,
No mastery he inherits
Over the Spirits.

However, how does our poor peasant recognize the elements of nature? In a completely different way than we are used to with conceptual or rational knowledge. He has his feminine side with him. He is connected with nature and with the whole field around him, this mystical field that we mentioned at the beginning. In this way he speaks to nature, and the field answers indirectly, as if by itself, intuitively, so to speak. This is the big advantage when you are still connected to the whole and not only live in your own limited head.

The human being in the play of the four elements - [Petrarca 1532]
(Water and earth are shaky, wind drifts and fire draws)

On a deeper level one can even recognize the principle of how the self-consciousness in the form of the farmer interacts with the material elements in the form of the servants through its connection with nature in the form of his wife. The self-consciousness means its nourishment, and the material elements feel addressed and react in a kind of resonance. Wow! Here, in a symbolic way, a really big question is addressed: How can consciousness move matter? How can a thought move our arms or legs? And the fairy tale even says that this interaction is actually based on a misunderstanding, which reminds us of the ancient Indian idea that our view of this world is primarily dominated by illusion (in Sanskrit “Maya”). This also underlines that our knowledge is always only relatively true, so that human development is like a learning process of trial and error, which everyone can observe in himself, but in any case in others, or as the saying goes: “To err is human!” In Goethe’s [Faust I], even God himself proclaims:

While Man’s desires and aspirations stir,
He cannot choose but err.

The fourth had to carry in a dish (with crabs) that was covered, and the lord told the doctor that he was to show his skill, and guess what was beneath the cover. The doctor looked at the dish, had no idea what to say, and cried, “Ah, poor Crab.” When the lord heard that, he cried, “There! he knows it, (so) he (also) knows who has the money!”

With the fourth element, the task becomes even more complicated, and the big question arises as to the life that is hidden in this element. Our farmer feels that he cannot solve this riddle with his own knowledge, from the ABC book of a thousand terms, so to speak. He becomes aware of his inability, can no longer help himself, admits his personal need and says: “Ah, poor Crab!” Yes, that is the big answer: It is me, the crab as a symbol for that self-awareness that brings the elements to life. This is especially true of water, the element of life that is our fourth servant. Goethe already sang a song of praise to this wonderful insight in [Faust II]:

Hail! All hail! with newer voices;
How my spirit rejoices,
By the True and the Beautiful penetrated
From Water was everything first created
Water doth everything still sustain!
Ocean, grant us thine endless reign!

Similarly, one finds the parable of Jesus walking on water in the Bible. Again, it is probably not about the material element, but about trust in life as our spiritual basis. Also the use of water for Christian baptism certainly has a lot to do with it.

✻ On this the servant looked terribly uneasy, and made a sign to the doctor that he wished him to step outside for a moment. When therefore he went out, all four of them confessed to him that they had stolen the money, and said that they would willingly restore it and give him a heavy sum into the bargain, if he would not denounce them, for if he did they would be hanged. They led him to the spot where the money was concealed.

✎ Now something happens that is probably a very great achievement on the spiritual path. The power of the natural elements falters; they ask us out and allow us, so to speak, a look behind the scenes. Those who can look at nature “from the outside” in this way, even if it is only for a short moment, have already gained a lot and recognize where the real wealth lies. And of course, you can’t reveal much about it, because what could you say about that which is outside of nature? That is why it is also called the unformed. Furthermore, as the fairy tale says, it would be a stupid “denunciation” to blame the principles of nature for our suffering if we lose what we imagine to be our “personal possessions”.

Wanderer at the edge of the world - [Flammarion 1888]
(on the left the circling spheres of the four elements)

In Buddhism one speaks in this regard of emptiness, the great characteristic of everything. Goethe also felt this unformed and called it the realm of the mothers, which can also be described as the sea of causes and practically corresponds to the mystical field of the formable nature that we mentioned at the beginning. With this idea of emptiness, the secular Doctor Faust also changed inwardly into a spiritual priest, and it says in [Faust II]:

And hadst thou swum to farthest verge of ocean
And there the boundless space beheld,
Still hadst thou seen wave after wave in motion,
Even though impending doom thy fear compelled.
Thou hadst seen something, in the beryl dim
Of peace-lulled seas the sportive dolphins swim;
Hadst seen the flying clouds, sun, moon, and star:
Naught shalt thou see in endless Void afar,
Not hear thy footstep fall, nor meet
A stable spot to rest thy feet…

…Escape from the Created
To shapeless forms in liberated spaces!
Enjoy what long ere this was dissipated!
There whirls the press, like clouds on clouds unfolding;
Then with stretched arm swing high the key thou’rt holding!

At last a blazing tripod tells thee this,
That there the utterly deepest bottom is.
Its light to thee will then the Mothers show,
Some in their seats, the others stand or go,
At their own will : Formation, Transformation,
The Eternal Mind’s eternal recreation,
Forms of all creatures, there are floating free.
They’ll see thee not; for only wraiths they see.

With this vision of emptiness, Goethe can even question transience and death, and writes at the end of [Faust II]:

Tis past!
Past! Stupid word.
If past, then why?
Past and pure Naught, complete monotony!
What good for us, this endlessly creating,
What is created then annihilating?
“And now tis past!” Why read a page so twisted
Tis just the same as if it ne’er existed,
Yet goes in circles round as if it had, however:
I’d rather choose, instead, the Void for ever.

This “pure nothing” or “eternal emptiness” was also known in Christianity. Meister Eckhart says, for example: “All creatures are pure nothing. I am not saying that they are of little value or anything at all: they are nothing. What has no being is nothing. All creatures have no being because their being depends on the presence of God. If God turned away from all creatures for a moment, they would be annihilated. [Eckhart, Sermon 4]”

✻ With this the doctor was satisfied, and returned to the hall, sat down to the table, and said, “My lord, now will I search in my book where the gold is hidden.” The fifth servant, however, crept into the stove to hear if the doctor knew still more. The Doctor, however, sat still and opened his A B C book, turned the pages backwards and forwards, and looked for the cock. As he could not find it immediately he said, “I know you are there, so you had better show yourself.” Then the fellow in the stove thought that the doctor meant him, and full of terror, sprang out, crying, “That man knows everything!”

✎ In alchemy, too, there was a fifth element above the four material elements, namely the quintessence of the spirit, from which our self-consciousness also arises. To recognize this, it was good that he could no longer find the proud rooster in the ABC book. Because a proud ego cannot and never wants to recognize its true nature, i.e. its true origin. It is always reflecting in the elements of nature and loves the illusion of personal identification and personal possession. It is in there, like in an oven (because our body is like a furnace of spiritual and material food), in which the fire of passion burns with the accumulated firewood, and yet it has to get out at some point. And it is said that whoever recognizes this spiritual quintessence of everything and thus himself, achieves true omniscience. Therefore, omniscience does not mean to accumulate more and more knowledge, but to recognize the essential quintessence from which all knowledge arises.

Interestingly, this would mean that our modern natural science moves further and further away from omniscience, insofar as it only looks at the small part of external nature and ignores the spiritual. Scientists slowly become aware of how small this proportion is when, for example, they admit that they only know 4% of the material universe so far. The rest of 96% they refer to as dark matter and dark energy, where their seizable knowledge ends. In ancient Indian cosmology, the proportion of the material or visible world in the universe is only half a percent and the rest consists of spiritual worlds (see e.g. Vayu Purana 2.39).

Goethe already suspected that it is doubtful to want to know nature without spirit and wrote in [Faust I]:

Truly the fabric of mental fleece
Resembles a weaver’s masterpiece,
Where a thousand threads one treadle throw,
Where fly the shuttles hither and thither,
Unseen the threads are knit together,
And an infinite combination grows.
Then, the philosopher steps in
And shows, no otherwise it could have been:
The first was so, the second so,
Therefore the third and fourth are so;
Were not the first and second, then
The third and fourth had never been.
The scholars are everywhere believers,
But never succeed in being weavers.
He who would study organic existence,
First drives out the soul with rigid persistence.
Then the parts in his hand he may hold and class,
But the spiritual link is lost, alas!
Encheiresin natures*, this Chemistry names,
Nor knows how herself she banters and blames.
(*Seizing Nature)

But back to the fairy tale: Who is this mighty gentleman, for whom our poor peasant has so much respect? In other versions of this fairy tale, it’s even a king, and cheating on a king back then was not just a matter of honour, but a matter of life and death. Therefore, we want to shed a little more light on this figure. He is perhaps even the most important figure when it comes to the question of knowledge because he is testing us. If knowledge is not tested, we could actually imagine everything, as it is possible in a dream, where even the ordinary natural laws with their constraints of cause and effect no longer apply.

It is usually a seductive idea to dream ourselves in such a world where everything happens that we desire. That is probably the ego’s great dream. If the ego could dream forever, it would never want to wake up from this illusion. One would almost like to claim that it is the task of nature to challenge this self-consciousness again and again until it awakens from its illusion bubble, first from the dreamlike sleep and then from the dreamlike waking state, which we call the reality of the world. And how is it shaken up? With the hammer blows of opposites such as happiness and suffering, gain and loss, healthy and sick, life and death, which we experience through nature. From this point of view, nature would be our best friend because it tests how true our knowledge is. Goethe’s Doctor Faust also accepts this challenge from nature and speaks:

Canst thou with lying flattery rule me,
Until, self-pleased, myself I see,
Canst thou with rich enjoyment fool me,
Let that day be the last for me!
The bet I offer.

This is probably why the old sages liked to withdraw into the rough nature and renounced sensual pleasures in order to accept the challenge and to recognize the perfect truth. We like to go the other direction and try to bribe or rape nature so that we can deceive ourselves in sensual enjoyment as we wish. Just as it says in [Faust II]:

This masquerade resembles quite
As everywhere a dance of appetite.
I sought a lovely masked procession,
And caught such things, I stood aghast.
I’d give myself a false impression,
If this would only longer last…

✻ Then Dr. Knowall showed the count where the money was, but did not say who had stolen it, and received from both sides much money in reward, and became a renowned man.

✎ It used to be known: this omniscience or self-knowledge is the greatest wealth that can be found on earth. That is the true fame and eternal richness of both sides, spirit and nature, which no one can steal. This omniscience is not a worldly knowledge that distinguishes things and is getting more and more how the sweet porridge. It is the knowledge of unity or the great and impartial love with which the ego is released from its madness of personal possession. Or as Goethe says at the end of [Faust II]:

When every element
The mind’s high forces
Have seized, subdued, and blent
No Angel divorces
Twin -natures single grown,
That inly mate them:
Eternal Love, alone,
Can separate them.

It is extremely astonishing how this short fairy tale, which at first only seems like a stupid swaying, can unfold in a human head if one ponders on it for a long time. And it has surely not yet been found out everything here. This wonderful essence of fairy tales fascinates us over and over. It can already do a lot of good in the children’s minds. So we think, this fairy tale, too, motivates a child to learn from the ABC book in order to become something great in life and to earn wealth. But it also prepares the children that their knowledge will be tested, as here by a powerful lord who in other versions also appears as king, which makes this test even harder. And a child who is not yet aware of the principle of intuition could recognize with this fairy tale that it is better not to brag about imagined omniscience, but to learn reliable knowledge and attend secular school diligently. But the little person continues to develop, step by step a higher reason awakens, and at some point also the doubt about the meaning and reliability of our worldly knowledge. Or as it says in Goethe in [Faust I]:

I’ve studied now Philosophy
And Jurisprudence, Medicine,
And even, alas! Theology,
From end to end, with labour keen;
And here, poor fool! with all my lore
I stand, no wiser than before:
I’m Magister yea, Doctor hight,
And straight or cross-wise, wrong or right,
These ten years long, with many woes,
I’ve led my scholars by the nose,
And see, that nothing can be known!
That knowledge cuts me to the bone.

How big the question of the nature of knowledge was in the past is shown in the widespread use of this fairy tale theme. A lot of information can be found in the notes on House Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm’s, such as a reference to a very interesting twin fairy tale, which is said to have been recorded in India as early as the 1st or 2nd century. It can be found today in the 11th century work Kathasaritsagara. There is an English translation from the Sanskrit by Charles Henry Tawney of 1880. And because we are big fans of the old Indian texts, we will of course provide it here:

Story of the Brahman Harisarman

✻ There was a certain Brahman in a certain village, named Harisarman (“protected by Vishnu”). He was poor and foolish and in evil ease for want of employment, and he had very many children, that he might reap the fruit of his misdeeds in a former life. He wandered about begging with his family, and at last he reached a certain city, and entered the service of a rich householder called Sthuladatta (“gift of body”). He made his sons keepers of this householder’s cows and other possessions, and his wife a servant to him, and he himself lived near his house, performing the duty of an attendant. One day there was a feast on account of the marriage of the daughter of Sthuladatta, largely attended by many friends of the bridegroom, and merry-makers. And then Harisarman entertained a hope that he would be able to fill himself up to the throat with ghee and flesh and other dainties, together with his family, in the house of his patron. While he was anxiously expecting that occasion, no one thought of him. Then he was distressed at getting nothing to eat, and he said to his wife at night; “It is owing to my poverty and stupidity that I am treated with such disrespect here: so I will display by means of an artifice an assumed knowledge, in order that I may become an object of respect to this Sthuladatta, and when you get an opportunity, tell him that I possess supernatural knowledge.” He said this to her, and after turning the matter over in his mind, while people were asleep he took away from the house of Sthuladatta a horse on which his son-in-law rode. He placed it in concealment at some distance, and in the morning the friends of the bridegroom could not find the horse, though they searched in every direction. Then, while Sthuladatta was distressed at the evil omen, and searching for the thieves who had carried off the horse, the wife of Harisarman came and said to him - “My husband is a wise man, skilled in astrology and sciences of that kind; and he will procure for you the horse; why do you not ask him?” When Sthuladatta heard that, he called that Harisarman, who said, “Yesterday I was forgotten, but to-day, now the horse is stolen, I am called to mind,” and Sthuladatta then propitiated the Brahman with these words - “I forgot you, forgive me” - and asked him to tell him who had taken away their horse? Then Harisarman drew all kinds of pretended diagrams and said, - “The horse has been placed by thieves on the boundary line south from this place. It is concealed there, and before it is carried off to a distance, as it will be at close of day, quickly go and bring it.” When they heard that, many men ran and brought the horse quickly, praising the discernment of Harisarman. Then Harisarman was honoured by all men as a sage, and dwelt there in happiness, honoured by Sthuladatta. Then, as days went on, much wealth consisting of gold and jewels was carried off by a thief from the palace of the king. As the thief was not known, the king quickly summoned Harisarman on account of his reputation for supernatural knowledge. And he, when summoned, tried to gain time, and said “I will tell you to-morrow,” and then he was placed in a chamber by the king, and carefully guarded. And he was despondent about his pretended knowledge. Now in that palace there was a maid named Jihva (“tongue”), who, with the assistance of her brother had carried off that wealth from the interior of the palace: she, being alarmed at Harisarman’s knowledge, went at night and applied her ear to the door of that chamber in order to find out what he was about. And Harisarman, who was alone inside, was at that very moment blaming his own tongue, that had made a vain assumption of knowledge. He said - “O Tongue, what is this that you have done, through desire of enjoyment? Ill-conducted one, endure now punishment in this place.” When Jihva heard this, she thought in her terror, that she had been discovered by this wise man, and by an artifice she managed to get in where he was, and falling at his feet, she said to that supposed sage; - “Brahman, here I am, that Jihva whom you have discovered to be the thief of the wealth, and after I took it, I buried it in the earth in a garden behind the palace, under a pomegranate tree. So spare me, and receive the small quantity of gold which is in my possession.” When Harisarman heard that, he said to her proudly, “Depart, I know all this; I know the past, present and future: but I will not denounce you, being a miserable creature that has implored my protection. But whatever gold is in your possession you must give back to me.” When he said this to the maid, she consented and departed quickly. But Harisarman reflected in his astonishment; “Fate, if propitious, brings about, as if in sport, a thing that cannot be accomplished, for in this matter when calamity was near, success has unexpectedly been attained by me. While I was blaming my tongue (jihva), the thief Jihva suddenly flung herself at my feet. Secret crimes I see, manifest themselves by means of fear.” In these reflections he passed the night happily in the chamber. And in the morning he brought the king by some skillful parade of pretended knowledge into the garden, and led him up to the treasure, which was buried there and he said that the thief had escaped with a part of it. Then the king was pleased and proceeded to give him villages. But the minister, named Devajnanin (“god knows”), whispered in the king’s ear, “How can a man possess such knowledge unattainable by men, without having studied treatises; so you may be certain that this is a specimen of the way he makes a dishonest livelihood, by having a secret intelligence with thieves. So it will be better to test him by some new artifice.” Then the king of his own accord brought a new covered pitcher into which he had thrown a frog, and said to that Harisarman - “Brahman, if you can guess what there is in this pitcher, I will do you great honour to-day.” When the Brahman Harisarman heard that, he thought that his last hour had come, and he called to mind the pet name of frog which his father had given him in his childhood in sport, and impelled by the deity he apostrophized himself by it, lamenting his hard fate, and suddenly exclaimed there - “This is a fine pitcher for you, frog, since suddenly it has become the swift destroyer of your helpless self in this place.” The people there, when they heard that, made a tumult of applause, because his speech chimed in so well with the object presented to him, and murmured, - “Ah! a great sage, he knows even about the frog!” Then the king, thinking that this was all due to knowledge of divination, was highly delighted, and gave Harisarman villages with gold, umbrella, and vehicles of all kinds. And immediately Harisarman became like a feudal chief.

✎ The similarity with our German fairy tale is extremely astonishing, and especially the key scene with the symbolic water animal in the bowl is practically identical. Sometimes a snake is also used here, for example in the fairy tale of the “White Snake”, and a similar symbolism can be found in the fairy tale of the “Frog King” or the “Ghost in a Glass”. Finding the living being in the nature of the apparently dead elements is also considered the peak of knowledge here.

In addition, we find many common symbols in this Indian fairy tale, such as daughter and son-in-law, which remind of nature and spirit and of the mystical wedding, where our Brahman was ignored, the horse of the spirit that sounds like reason, which can carry us to the great goal, and also the king as ruler.

The symbolism of the servant called “tongue” as a sense organ probably also refers to the water element, which is indicated here as her brother. In ancient Indian philosophy there are not just four, but five major elements, which are assigned to the five sense organs as follows:

Earth - nose - smell
Water - tongue - taste
Fire - eye - visibility
Wind - feeling - tactility
Space - ear - sound

The ego-consciousness with the thoughts stands above these five elements, above them the universal intelligence with the higher reason and finally above all the unformed or sea of causes, which is reminiscent of the mystical field that we mentioned at the beginning. These are the eight principal levels of nature, which are often symbolized in circles, whereby the lower is always contained in the higher. And the Supreme Spirit or the pure self rules over everything (see e.g. Markandeya Purana, chapter 45). To recognize this self as the basic principle of life in everything leads to mystical self-knowledge. Whoever recognizes this quintessence knows everything, so that one can speak of true omniscience.

In this regard, three basic levels of knowledge can also be recognized in this Indian version of the fairy tale:

1) rational and conceptual knowledge
2) intuitive and symbolic knowledge
3) omniscience and self-knowledge

Rational knowledge is like finding the horse that you have hidden yourself, in the south, which was the direction of the realm of the dead in ancient India. In principle, this corresponds to our materialistic-scientific approach, the ABC knowledge or knowledge of the letters of dead concepts. We divide the entirety of nature with thousands of terms and are then proud to reassemble the terms into artificial systems. Our market economy is also based on this rational principle and knows that one must first generate a demand in order to sell something at a profit. For this, our ancient naturopathic medicine had to disappear first, so that scientific medicine could be recognized and artificially sell what it previously hid, just like the Brahman hid the horse. Wonderful symbolism! It was similar with the spirit in modern science, which was practically deleted from the worldview so that one could sell the rule over nature. And at some point science will also rediscover the spirit and uncover what it had previously covered in order to sell it for profit. The age-old belief in God did not fare any better, which for millennia could give us humans the confidence in something higher than material possessions. These are at least the dark sides of rational knowledge.

When one begins to doubt it, intuitive knowledge awakens in harmony with nature. A knowledge that, like the guilty servant in our fairy tale, reveals spontaneously. Nature begins to speak to us. We can hardly imagine that today, because our modern worldview has largely degraded nature to mindless or dead matter. Even animals are denied a consciousness that resembles the human one, not to mention plants or stones. Therefore, modern man is accordingly arrogant with nature. However, when the intuition awakens, everything around us can come alive and speak to us. In Zen Buddhism there is a beautiful saying for this:

The wooden man begins to sing.
The stone woman begins to dance.
Rational knowledge cannot do that.

And the more the narrow-minded ego dissolves, the larger dimensions open up to the omniscience of self-knowledge. This knowledge is no longer based on sense organs and thoughts, and one recognizes what one cannot recognize through the senses, such as the frog in a covered bowl or the living in matter.

Now some readers of this fairy tale may ask: “This dubious path of the simple-minded farmer is supposed to be the path to omniscience?” Well, that is basically our big problem, that we are always looking for something spectacular, some special knowledge that the physical ego can possess and with a swell of pride rise on the throne of truth. But what do we expect when we look behind the scenes of nature? What do we expect of the great truth that we can receive here? Omniscience is an essential knowledge that was formerly also called knowledge of God. Meister Eckhart speaks about it: “God is neither this nor that. And a master says: Whoever believes that he has known God and would thereby know something does not know God.” [Eckhart, Sermon 10]

It is astonishing that these three levels of knowledge, which can also be called conceptual, symbolic and divine, appear to us to be almost even more strong and clear in the German version of the fairy tale than in the Indian one. From this one could conclude that various motifs and symbols travelled from India to Europe, met with a profound understanding here, got adapted to the local culture and were even alive in the people for a long time. One could of course also imagine that the symbolism has migrated from Europe to India, because deep stories were loved there too. How the fairy tales really spread in the world is still a great mystery, for which there are various theories. A brief overview of this topic can be found, for example, in the article “The Origin and Character of the Folk Tale” by [Karl Ernst Maier].

The Spirit in the Bottle

✻ There was once a poor woodcutter who toiled from early morning till late night. When at last he had laid by some money he said to his boy, “You are my only child, I will spend the money which I have earned with the sweat of my brow on your education; if you learn some honest trade you can support me in my old age, when my limbs have grown stiff and I am obliged to stay at home.”

✎ This fairy tale deals in principle with the same topic as the previous one “Doctor Know-All”, but from a slightly different point of view that somehow seems “more modern” to us. Because the father is no longer the great goal and role model in life, but dissatisfied with himself and lives a life that he no longer wishes for his own son. That is strange. He does not try to change his life, like Doctor Know-All, but places his hope only in the son who will make him happy and feed and maintain him in old age. With this intention, he invests all his energy in money to buy his son worldly knowledge that is supposed to end the painful poverty.

The usual father symbolism changes from a positive pole, which previously attracted the son, to a negative pole, which repels the son. It’s really strange and interesting. How modern this reversal is can be seen today in many documentaries about some small villages or people somewhere in the middle of nowhere, where one can wait for the usual saying: “Our children have to go to the modern schools of the cities so that they can learn to lead a better and, above all, richer life. “They want to sacrifice their natural life, which has given them culture, wisdom and meaning over many hundreds or even thousands of years for an artificial life in the chaos of modern cities. This is a bizarre hope. Why can’t parents teach their children anything meaningful to earn a living from nowadays? What monopoly do city schools have on knowledge that must be bought? And what kind of special knowledge is that with which one can get “rich” in our modern world?

For that, the children separate from their parents, first mentally, because the parents are no longer role models, and then physically, because they leave their families and go to the cities to play the roles they have learned in modern schools. Accordingly, the documentaries mentioned usually end in great complaints that the old traditions are disappearing, a rich culture is extinguishing, and life in the old village becomes lonely and desolate.

✻ Then the boy went to a High School and learned diligently so that his masters praised him, and he remained there a long time. When he had worked through two classes, but was still not yet perfect in everything, the little pittance which the father had earned was all spent, and the boy was obliged to return home to him. “Ah,” said the father, sorrowfully, “I can give you no more, and in these hard times I cannot earn a farthing more than will suffice for our daily bread.” “Dear father,” answered the son, “don’t trouble yourself about it, if it is God’s will, it will turn to my advantage I shall soon accustom myself to it.”

✎ Well, luckily, there wasn’t enough money, and the son returned to his father once more. The tale does not much mention about the type of school. In view of the learned trust in God, one could think of a monastery school. That one has to do something for knowledge is an ancient and actually self-evident tradition. In the past, people “earned” their knowledge personally as servants, maidservants and apprentices. Only later, perhaps from the 13th century, were there schools where one could “acquire” knowledge for the parents’ money. And it was only with compulsory schooling around 1900 that school fees were abolished and financed through the state’s tax revenues. That was certainly a great social achievement, but since then there has been less talk of “earning” and “acquiring” but rather of compulsory “funnelling”. Accordingly, there are already visions of the future of how knowledge can be loaded electronically into the brain in order to save a lot of time and teachers. - But well, none of that existed in our fairy tale, and the son had to go back to his father at the end of the money.

When the father wanted to go into the forest to earn money by helping to pile and stack wood and also to chop it, the son said, “I will go with you and help you.” “Nay, my son,” said the father, “that would be hard for you; you are not accustomed to rough work, and will not be able to bear it, besides I have only one axe and no money left wherewith to buy another.” “Just go to the neighbour,” answered the son, “he will lend you his axe until I have earned one for myself.”

We already know the symbolism of firewood from Doctor Know-All. The memorable principle of firewood can also be found in all so-called fossil fuels such as coal, peat, natural gas and petroleum. In practical terms, it is energy, that plants and animals have accumulated in their bodies in the form of carbon compounds. That’s interesting, and it is said that our entire technological revolution was only possible with the development of fossil fuels. So, when we drive a car or heat our apartment today, we literally burn the corpses of living beings that have accumulated on this earth over millions of years. Moreover, if we continue like this, we will be able to burn off all this accumulated energy in a few years. Well somehow, nature doesn’t seem to be particularly happy about it on the whole.

The woodchopper goes even further, cutting down living trees to make firewood. He kills others to sustain himself. This is not unusual in this world. Behind this is a being that we call “I-consciousness”. And this I-consciousness needs the energy of “the other” in order to maintain itself mentally and physically. The firewood is also used as a symbol for the knowledge that is accumulated “personally” for this purpose. In Hinduism one speaks in this regard of karma and in Christianity of merit and sin. The more this I-consciousness hardens in a body, the more it becomes a selfish ego that only pursues its own interests. For such an ego, firewood consists primarily of passionate feelings. And certainly, such an ego is the poorest being in this world because it can never be satisfied. It is like the negative pole of a battery, which separates itself further and further from the positive pole with increasing voltage and thus becomes poorer and poorer.

Besides the ego, there is another intelligence in us, namely reason, which lives from learning and corresponding insight. Ego and reason are really a strange couple like father and son in this fairy tale. In a child, the ego awakens first, so its characteristics can most clearly be observed in children. Reason does not appear until many years later and develops very slowly through a long learning process. From this point of view, one could really say that the ego is the father of reason. And of course, the ego seeks to use reason for personal purposes throughout life. Therefore, the father sends his son to the school of the world and invests all his fortune so that he learns how to get rich.

There are two ways to do this: on the one hand, reason strengthens the ego, and on the other, reason weakens the ego. Therefore, in our fairy tale, too, reason, which has not yet finished learning, returns to the ego and also wants to become such an ego. However, because two negative poles naturally repel each other, there is initially a conflict, and the father is not enthusiastic about his son’s idea.

The father says there is only one axe in the house. That probably means: There can only be one king in this body, and reason is still far too weak for that. The axe is used as a symbol in many ways. Here it stands for the tool of the ego. It turns living trees into dead firewood. A symbol of violent separation. In doing so, it separates the tree trunk from the root, just as one uses the spiritual axe on the path of learning, in order to use the power of thought to endlessly split nature into rational terms that are practically dead without a root. In this, one recognizes the essence of I-consciousness, which is based on the natural principle of separation. Its tool is the divisive, rational or intellectual knowledge that one borrows in the form of learned knowledge (like the father should borrow the axe) in order to then possess it oneself. And reason earns it by serving the ego.

✻ The father then borrowed an axe of the neighbour, and next morning at break of day they went out into the forest together. The son helped his father and was quite merry and brisk about it. But when the sun was right over their heads, the father said, “We will rest, and have our dinner, and then we shall work as well again.” The son took his bread in his hands, and said, “Just you rest, father, I am not tired; I will walk up and down a little in the forest, and look for birds’ nests.” “Oh, you fool,” said the father, “why should you want to run about there? Afterwards you will be tired, and no longer able to raise your arm; stay here, and sit down beside me.”

✎ Well, the father is so poor that he cannot buy an axe for his only son. What kind of poverty is it, even though he is so strong and works hard? That is the ego’s big problem. The stronger it gets, the poorer it is. The more it works with the axe and splits firewood, the poorer it feels. It works mostly physically and little mentally. The father wants to leave the study to his son. And yet, life and learning always belong closely together, and learning may even be the higher meaning of our life.

The father or ego is dissatisfied and at the same time unable to learn. That is a terrible lot, and even more terrible is that many people share this lot today. We may feel that we learn a lot from the extensive use of television, newspapers, and other media. But that is deceptive, because the mass “funnelling” of knowledge is not yet learning. Learning is the processing of knowledge through mental movement. Nevertheless, where does mobility come from when the brain resembles a hopelessly overcrowded warehouse? How do you want to process something in this warehouse, which at some point resembles a garbage dump, when your senses and thoughts are constantly hyperactively directed outwards and deliver more and more knowledge? Just as the body becomes thicker and sluggish with overeating and poor digestion, so does our mind.

Even in Goethe’s time, completely without radio, television and internet, the doctor complained desperately in [Faust I]:

Ah, me! This dungeon still I see.
This drear, accursed masonry,
Where even the welcome daylight strains
But duskly through the painted panes.
Hemmed in by many a toppling heap
Of books worm-eaten, gray with dust,
Which to the vaulted ceiling creep,
Against the smoky paper thrust,
With glasses, boxes, round me stacked,
And instruments together hurled.
Ancestral lumber, stuffed and packed
Such is my world : and what a world !

Well what does learning mean? Wikipedia says about this term: “The ability to learn is a basic requirement for humans and animals to be able to adapt to the realities of life and the environment, to act sensibly and, if necessary, to change them in their own interest.”

Now let us think, for example, of our environmental problems that have been known for decades. Do we really want to claim that we modern people are particularly adaptive and mentally flexible? It is certainly normal for people to make mistakes, but the fact that they cannot and will not learn from them is a terrible fate. Accordingly, today we are extremely active physically and sensually, but mentally very sluggish and trapped in narrow paths, which means that we lack the necessary flexibility for learning.

So let us at least assume that the son in this fairy tale was still physically and mentally active. That might be a reason why he doesn’t want to rest at lunchtime, but instead wants to look for bird nests in the forest. What is meant by that? In times of hunger, the poor certainly ate everything, including wild birds with their eggs. But maybe it is about a different aspect. In the book “Die Spinnstube” from 1865 it is reported: “There used to be a teacher who instructed the boys in his school to make bird egg collections! - Terrible, thousands of nests had been destroyed for three years, because the birds’ eggs became a trade item among the boys, which made money because it was an ambition to have the most and rarest eggs. Finally, the ominous hustle and bustle was officially counteracted, but the wide area has been - poor of birds since then!”

Now one could assume that the son was in a similar school and had already learned the principles of the world from which the father promised himself the end of all poverty, namely to exploit and sell nature in order to enrich himself personally.

But we want to think positively, and so you can see in the symbol of the bird’s nest the “hatching” of knowledge that you have accumulated like colourful bird eggs. Then you sit down and use the knowledge to think. Ideally, of course, in such a way that the knowledge is “processed” and reduced to the essentials. The more one processes or digests of the burden of knowledge, the lighter one becomes until one can rise up like a bird with light wings.

✻ The son, however, went into the forest, ate his bread, was very merry and peered in among the green branches to see if he could discover a bird’s nest anywhere. So he went up and down to see if he could find a bird’s nest until at last he came to a great dangerous-looking oak, which certainly was already many hundred years old, and which five men could not have spanned. He stood still and looked at it, and thought, “Many a bird must have built its nest in that.” Then all at once it seemed to him that he heard a voice. He listened and became aware that someone was crying in a very smothered voice, “Let me out, let me out!” He looked around, but could discover nothing; nevertheless, he fancied that the voice came out of the ground. Then he cried, “Where art thou?” The voice answered, “I am here down amongst the roots of the oak-tree. Let me out! Let me out!”

✎ This reminds us of the old saying in the Bible: “He who seeks finds!” He is looking for colourful birds eggs in the branches of the trees and suddenly hears a voice from the root of a tree. The phenomenon that nature begins to speak to us is reminiscent of the intuitive knowledge that opens up to the student here. Mighty trees have always been a symbol of living nature. Let us think, for example, of the Germanic world tree Yggdrasil, where mystical sources lie underneath and Odin sacrificed an eye in order to acquire the secret knowledge at the roots. The tree is also called a knowledge tree. With this, we rediscover the great principle of learning, that processing knowledge is about getting to the roots and not getting lost in the branches. In this way, one can even approach the big question: “What is it that holds the world together at its core?”

✻ The scholar began to loosen the earth under the tree, and search among the roots, until at last he found a glass bottle in a little hollow. He lifted it up and held it against the light, and then saw a creature shaped like a frog, springing up and down in it. “Let me out! Let me out!” it cried anew, and the scholar thinking no evil, drew the cork out of the bottle. Immediately a spirit ascended from it, and began to grow, and grew so fast that in a very few moments he stood before the scholar, a terrible fellow as big as half the tree by which he was standing. “Knowest thou,” he cried in an awful voice, “what thy wages are for having let me out?” “No,” replied the scholar fearlessly, “how should I know that?” “Then I will tell thee,” cried the spirit; “I must strangle thee for it.” “Thou shouldst have told me that sooner,” said the scholar, “for I should then have left thee shut up, but my head shall stand fast for all thou canst do; more persons than one must be consulted about that.” “More persons here, more persons there,” said the spirit. “Thou shalt have the wages thou hast earned. Dost thou think that I was shut up there for such a long time as a favour. No, it was a punishment for me. I am the mighty Mercurius. Whoso releases me, him must I strangle.”

✎ Well, what can we find at the roots of nature? As modern science searched deeper and deeper a hundred years ago, they even penetrated into the atoms that were previously thought to be indivisible, and found the knowledge of vast amounts of energy. Obviously, they also heard the call: “Let me out!”, and the infamous atomic and nuclear weapons were developed. This resulted in an arms race between East and West, and it only took a few years before the voice could be heard: “If you release me, I’ll have to break your neck!” Wikipedia says: “Today, the development of the atomic bomb is considered by many to be the darkest chapter in the history of technology and science, and the atomic bomb has become the epitome of the curse of technology.” Evidently, our modern science has not found so much wisdom at the roots of nature. Why not? Well they found what they were looking for. And that was probably not the spirit of wisdom...

However, back to the fairy tale. Our student presumably uses his ax, goes deep to the roots and finds a glass, which he holds into the light of his consciousness and sees a living being in it, which moves and speaks to him. He opens this glass and a spirit comes out. Wow! “Spirit” is a very diverse term that has many meanings today. In order not to make it too complicated, we want to stick to the previous terms of knowledge and learning and say quite simply: Knowledge was locked in this glass bottle, so to speak, just like in our heads. Our body also resembles a glass bottle that is full of knowledge, enclosed by matter, but transparent in places, so that we can look outside with our sense organs. And when this knowledge begins to work or process, for example through thoughts, feelings or other reactions, one can speak of spirit. One could even postulate: When knowledge works, one speaks of spirit. When knowledge is processed, one speaks of learning. And on closer examination, even this difference disappears. In this sense, spirit meets spirit here in the fairy tale, and they talk to each other in a process of learning. All right, knowledge affects knowledge.

But who or what is Mercurius? This term was probably borrowed from alchemy, where there are different systems for it. In principle, Mercurius stands there as mercury for the liquid principle and is used for the spirit, mind or the soul. So, what happens when we open our body bottle and let the mind out? Then exactly happens what Mercurius announced, we lose our head, that is, our I-consciousness or ego. That is terrible and it means first of all: “I will lose my life!” But this sentence is worth thinking more deeply. Who is “I” and what is “life”? If the student had been terrified of it, the fairy tale would probably have been finished here. Similar to humanity if someone had lost his nerves during the Cold War and shot down the first atomic bomb. So we want to speak of great luck that humankind still exists, as well as our student, because now comes an extremely important experience, perhaps even the climax of the whole fairy tale:

✻ “Gently,” answered the scholar, “not so fast. I must first know that thou really wert shut up in that little bottle, and that thou art the right spirit. If, indeed, thou canst get in again, I will believe, and then thou mayst do as thou wilt with me.” The spirit said haughtily, “That is a very trifling feat,” drew himself together, and made himself as small and slender as he had been at first, so that he crept through the same opening, and right through the neck of the bottle in again. Scarcely was he within than the scholar thrust the cork he had drawn back into the bottle, and threw it among the roots of the oak into its old place, and the spirit was betrayed.

✎ How does the mind get into a bottle as tight as our body? Through arrogance and pride as aspects of our I-consciousness that hardens into an ego in the body. It locks itself up in this body, so to speak, as in a fortress made of matter, and tries to defend this “I”. Then we fight against illness, old age and loss and for health, property and success. Now we ask again, what is actually enclosed in this body bottle? Basically just knowledge: my name, my self-image, my worldview, my life story and everything I’ve learned in my life. The rest is matter and belongs to the elements of nature.

Interestingly enough, the fairy tale even gives an answer to the question why “I” am locked in this body bottle: “Do thou think that I was shut up there for such a long time as a favour? No, it was for my punishment.” Here, of course, we first think of an evil spirit who was locked up in this prison as punishment and buried in the earth. Since there is the famous story of Solomon, which probably also served as the basis of this fairy tale, who, as a powerful and wise king, could lock evil spirits in bottles and banish them with a mystical seal.

Nevertheless, maybe a spirit like you and me is meant here. At least the old religions speak of a debt that we have to settle here in the world. We have a certain task to accomplish, that obviously includes learning, and ultimately one speaks of a great liberation or redemption as achievement. Because no spirit wants to be locked in forever, and everything in nature seeks and pushes for freedom. So also our spirit in the bottle, who has now obviously recognized the power that captures him in the bottle and how he is “deceived” by the world. This also echoes what was known in ancient religions: This outer world works like an illusion that binds the spirit through attachment. But actually he is not betrayed by the world, but by the knowledge that he imagines about the world. The world even helps him to recognize and overcome his “proud self-deception” that has banished the spirit in the bottle.

✻ And now the scholar was about to return to his father, but the spirit cried very piteously, “Ah, do let me out! Ah, do let me out!” “No,” answered the scholar, “not a second time! He who has once tried to take my life shall not be set free by me, now that I have caught him again.” “If thou wilt set me free,” said the spirit, “I will give thee so much that thou wilt have plenty all the days of thy life.” “No,” answered the scholar, “thou wouldst cheat me as thou didst the first time.” “Thou art playing away thy own good luck,” said the spirit; “I will do thee no harm, but will reward thee richly.”

✎ As already said, everything somehow strives for freedom in nature. The worst imagination used to be to be trapped and tormented somewhere deep in the earth in a narrow hell from which there is no escape. The other pole was heaven with its almost limitless freedom and joy. In between lies our earthly world, where we sway between happiness and suffering, heaven and hell. So, of course, it was initially obvious to escape from this world into heaven. However, the wise men already thought a lot at that time and realized that in a plus-minus field you cannot grasp the plus pole alone. A positive pole is always connected to a negative pole, just as there is no single-pole battery. Therefore, they realized that true freedom consists in breaking the I-attachment to this field, the reason mentioned above why the spirit is bound in the bottle.

Certainly, this path requires an infinite amount of courage, which was previously referred to as “humility”, the courage to let go, the opposite of proud “arrogance”, the courage to hold on, which banishes the spirit in the bottle (the German words for courage - humility - arrogance are quite related: Mut - Demut - Hochmut). With this humility, one can even let go of familiar terms like “my life”. But the student shrinks back at first. Can you trust a spirit that wants to kill the ego? And yet the spirit beckons us and promises a life full of contentment where there is always enough. And that’s not a lie, because truly, an ego never has enough. However, the student still doubts and defends himself against it. This means “forfeiting happiness”, clinging to the transitory joys of the world and thus also to suffering. Only the promise “I will not harm you!” can engender confidence in the student to dare to try. This confidence is probably the greatest wealth that the ancient religions spoke of. Because, in contrast to the physical I-dependence of an ego, the true I or the always-being self cannot be killed because it was not born at all. That is, of course, an insight that maybe sounds here, but is difficult to achieve in life. Because that would mean that one could even overcome death.

✻ The scholar thought, “I will venture it, perhaps he will keep his word, and anyhow he shall not get the better of me.” Then he took out the cork, and the spirit rose up from the bottle as he had done before, stretched himself out and became as big as a giant. “Now thou shalt have thy reward,” said he, and handed the scholar a little bag (rag, cloth) just like a plaster, and said, “If thou spreadest one end of this over a wound it will heal, and if thou rubbest steel or iron with the other end it will be changed into silver.” “I must just try that,” said t he scholar, and went to a tree, tore off the bark with his axe, and rubbed it with one end of the plaster. It immediately closed together and was healed. “Now, it is all right,” he said to the spirit, “and we can part.” The spirit thanked him for his release, and the scholar thanked the spirit for his present, and went back to his father.

✎ He gets a rag as a present that works like a plaster. This term was used a little differently in the past than it is today. For example, one reads in a book from 1851: One of the best plasters is pure honey. Every flesh wound, whether it comes from a blow, stab or bruise, heals from it very quickly and happily. The procedure is as follows: First of all, wipe the wound clean with a soft linen cloth, but do not wash it with water or alcohol. Then you squeeze the wound together, and place a fourfold cloth generously coated with honey on it and a tight bandage around it...

Our fairy tale is probably mainly about the cloth, and because it was given by a spirit, we naturally think of a special knowledge. The cloth as a fabric was a common symbol for this, which Goethe also uses in [Faust I]:

Truly the fabric of mental fleece
Resembles a weaver’s masterpiece,
Where a thousand threads one treadle throws,
Where fly the shuttles hither and thither,
Unseen the threads are knit together,
And an infinite combination grows.
Then, the philosopher steps in
And shows, no otherwise it could have been:
The first was so, the second so,
Therefore the third and fourth are so;
Were not the first and second, then
The third and fourth had never been.
The scholars are everywhere believers,
But never succeed in being weavers.

What does it mean to become a weaver? That one becomes able to interweave knowledge and connect it with one another instead of becoming entangled in it. The Indian Sanskrit word “Tantra”, which can also be translated as “tissue” or “texture”, has a similar meaning. And so Tantra is a teaching that tries to connect with everything, not only in the sexual sense, as it is often sold today in the West, but comprehensively with nature, ancestors, people, gods, demons and all sorts of beings and creatures. The idea of unity is certainly behind it, with which you weave all knowledge into one cloth and find yourself in the whole. Philosophy is often accused of the opposite, that it entangles us more and more in knowledge, only to get stuck in a sticky web of concepts and views. That is probably also what Goethe meant in the above text.

There is also an ancient symbol for this web of knowledge, which is called Shrivatsa in India and adorns the breast of the god Vishnu. It is a so-called endless knot, which can be expanded endlessly as a fabric, and yet always consists of a single thread that has no beginning and no end. This fabric of the world also symbolizes Shri, the goddess of prosperity, who is close to Vishnu’s heart and, so to speak, his beloved wife:

Goethe also connected the fabric of the world with a spirit that can be found in earth or nature, and lets the earth spirit speak in [Faust I]:

In the tides of Life, in Action’s storm,
A fluctuant wave,
A shuttle free,
Birth and the Grave,
An eternal sea,
A weaving, flowing
Life, all-glowing,
Thus at Time’s humming loom ‘tis my hand prepares
The garment of Life which the Deity wears!

And why can such a spiritual tissue heal and refine iron into silver? Well, experience says there is knowledge that heals and there is knowledge that makes sick. In general, it is said: The separating knowledge makes dissatisfied and sick. The unifying knowledge makes you happy and healthy. In addition, the unifying knowledge leads to truth, refines the base iron into fine silver or even gold. In this fairy tale, these are probably the two sides of the interwoven knowledge: healing and ennobling.

Of course, the student immediately tries out his gift in nature. Incidentally, this is also a fundamental principle of our modern natural science. It even claims that only knowledge that can be confirmed in nature is true knowledge, and knowledge that cannot be confirmed in nature is false knowledge. This gave birth to experimental science, which objectively proves the truth of its knowledge, i.e. with visible objects. Wonderful! This finally did away with the superstitions of the old religions, which were often based only on a feeling, whether knowledge was good or bad, sin or merit, salutary or unwholesome. But now, science has appointed nature an incorruptible judge. And of course, nature obviously confirms the function of radio, television, computers and the Internet, but also the function of atomic bombs, poison weapons, pesticides, genetic engineering and so on, from which one concludes that natural science is true. However, what does nature confirm? It at least confirms that this knowledge has an effect. Does it also confirm whether it is good, wholesome and noble knowledge? It may be that these achievements are of great benefit to some people. But for nature as a whole? Doesn’t nature moan and complain about the effects of our science? Does it not cry out desperately: “Stop! Think about it! This is not a good way!”?

It is certainly important to try out every knowledge in nature. Perhaps it is even the purpose of our life here on earth. The old religions knew something similar. They spoke of a judgment that every person has to face in life and above all at the end of life. But what is the difference to the judgment faced by natural science? Well, in the ancient religions, nature was not dead, but the expression of a universal intelligence linked to a higher reason. It was “the living garment of the deity”. Therefore, nature was full of gods and goddesses, demons and spirits. All of this was done away with modern science. Science made nature a judge who, without reason, is only supposed to decide whether something works and no longer, whether it is also good and healing. And we act accordingly. One would even think that this was the great breakthrough in our technological age, the great achievement of mankind after 300,000 years of ignorant existence on this earth. Congratulations!

But well, our scholar was not quite that far in this fairy tale. First, he tests his gift on nature, inflicts a wound on it and heals it. With this he finds his knowledge confirmed as good and useful and separates himself from the liberated spirit. Why is he separating from it? Obviously, he still has a debt to settle in the world. At least he promised his father that he would earn the money for the axe. And, of course, he also feels responsible for his parents’ retirement provision. Therefore, he returns to his father, where after this excursion into the spirit realm the natural ticking-off lurks, which is supposed to bring us back to earth:

✻ “Where hast thou been racing about?” said the father; “why hast thou forgotten thy work? I said at once that thou wouldst never get on with anything.” “Be easy, father, I will make it up.” “Make it up indeed,” said the father angrily, “there’s no art in that.” “Take care, father, I will soon hew that tree there, so that it will split.” Then he took his plaster, rubbed the axe with it, and dealt a mighty blow, but as the iron had changed into silver, the edge turned: “Hollo, father, just look what a bad axe you’ve given me, it has become quite crooked.” The father was shocked and said, “Ah, what hast thou done? Now I shall have to pay for that, and have not the wherewithal, and that is all the good I have got by thy work.” “Don’t get angry,” said the son, “I will soon pay for the axe.” “Oh, thou blockhead,” cried the father, “wherewith wilt thou pay for it? Thou hast nothing but what I give thee. These are students’ tricks that are sticking in thy head, but thou hast no idea of wood-cutting.”

✎ Yes, nature drives us to activity, and especially our ego. Today, a certain hyperactivity is completely natural for many people, while some also fall into the opposite and live completely lethargic. This is also called “manic-depressive,” and such extremes are typical of a growing ego. In the past, too, this topic of activity or passivity on the spiritual path was often discussed. There is, for example, the famous story about Jesus: “There was a woman named Martha who took him into her house. And she had a sister, whose name was Maria; she sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to his speech. Martha, however, was very busy serving him. And she came up and said, Lord, don’t you ask my sister to let me serve alone? Tell her that she’ll work too! But Jesus answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you have much trouble; but only one thing is necessary. Maria chose the good part; that shall not be taken from her.” [Bible, Luke 10:38]

Sometimes it is certainly good to just relax and listen to the divine voice. It’s not easy nowadays, the world is loud and full of unrest and worry. In fact, for many people it is terrible to calm down and look inward. Because we first encounter there a chaotic rubbish dump of everything we have poured into our heads, large mountains of firewood or even explosives that are just waiting for a spark. Certainly, there is also a lot of good news, but we process that relatively quickly because we like to remember it often. The rest is blocked out and accumulated. Who wants to clean up there? You can do that later...

Well, our student is willing to work on it and of course uses the great knowledge that has been given to him. In this spirit he refines the axe from iron to silver. Sure, a sharp iron axe that can injure others will not help much with cleaning up our mind, since our injuries and wounds have accumulated here. It says: love and forgiveness heals every wound and dulls every weapon. The soft triumphs over the hard; the weak over the strong, just as flowing water can conquer even the hardest rock. This is a great work of sanctification and ennoblement that everyone should begin in his mind. Of course, the ego is frightened by this and complains sadly to the son that he is of no help. That stands to reason, because the father lives from firewood, just as the ego lives from passion. And it also stands to reason, that the ego cannot imagine how the seemingly weak reason can pay the accumulated debts.

✻ After a while the scholar said, “Father, I can really work no more, we had better take a holiday.” “Eh, what!” answered he, “Dost thou think I will sit with my hands lying in my lap like thee? I must go on working, but thou mayst take thyself off home.” “Father, I am here in this wood for the first time, I don’t know my way alone. Do go with me.” As his anger had now abated, the father at last let himself be persuaded and went home with him.

✎ When reason awakens with holistic knowledge, one gets tired of dividing the world with the axe of the distinguishing intellect. The ego is of course not enthusiastic, and yet it cannot be left behind so easily. The ego also has its purpose in life, otherwise it would certainly not be there. How else could we go through life? Therefore, in our fairy tale it leads the son back home from the wild forest. Very good.

✻ Then he said to the son, “Go and sell thy damaged axe, and see what thou canst get for it, and I must earn the difference, in order to pay the neighbour.” The son took the axe, and carried it into town to a goldsmith, who tested it, laid it in the scales, and said, “It is worth four hundred thalers, I have not so much as that by me.” The son said, “Give me what you have, I will lend you the rest.” The goldsmith gave him three hundred thalers, and remained a hundred in his debt. The son thereupon went home and said, “Father, I have got the money, go and ask the neighbour what he wants for the axe.” “I know that already,” answered the old man, “one thaler, six groschen.” “Then give him two thalers, twelve groschen, that is double and enough; see, I have money in plenty,” and he gave the father a hundred thalers, and said, “You shall never know want, live as comfortably as you like.” “Good heavens!” said the father, “how hast thou come by these riches?” The scholar then told how all had come to pass, and how he, trusting in his luck, had made such a good hit. But with the money that was left, he went back to the High School and went on learning more, and as he could heal all wounds with his plaster, he became the most famous doctor in the whole world.

✎ The goldsmith appears to us here as a symbolic opposite pole to the poor father, so to speak as a positive pole, which gives wealth, but in the form of nature also checks knowledge whether it is really noble. And when is knowledge noble? When it no longer hurts, but heals. When it no longer separates, but unites. These two poles of minus and plus can be found in the self-consciousness. For example, people used to speak of the demonic I, which clings to physical possessions, and of the divine I to which nature as a whole belongs. From this, the symbols of devils and angels or demons and gods emerged, in whose field of tension this whole world unfolds. And just as the father formerly used to be the positive pole on the side of the gods, so in our fairy tale the father appears as the negative pole on the side of the demons and embodies what we usually call egoism.

The proposed solution of this fairy tale is also interesting. It is said, that out of 400 thalers, 100 should be sacrificed to the positive pole, 100 to the negative pole and 200 to the beneficial knowledge that leads us to higher knowledge beyond this polarity. How important this polarity of self-consciousness is for our development, Goethe, for example, demonstrated in the most splendid way in his Faust. Similarly, in past cultures there are plenty of stories that deal with this polarity, for example in the ancient Indian Puranas.

A first effect of this wholesome knowledge shows itself in the sensible generosity of the son, which tries to avoid the extremes of avarice and waste. That is probably the most important thing on the path to reason. The less nature forces us into narrow paths and the more physical freedom man gains in nature, the more reason must be developed. This wholesome knowledge, which was formerly also called holy knowledge or holy spirit, is probably the greatest wealth that we can gain in this world on the path of natural development. For insofar as this knowledge heals all wounds, it makes us healthy, insofar as it ennobles, unites and elevates us, and insofar as it does not injure and is non-violent, it makes us satisfied. And as we know: satisfaction is the greatest wealth and the greatest freedom. Only contentment can free us from the attachment of insatiable desire. Only in this way can you really fulfil all your wishes.

Well, even if it’s just a fairy tale, we want to hope that in the future more doctors will become famous again who can heal with holistic knowledge.

The ghost in the glass - is homeopathy a fraud?

Once upon a time, there was a man who dragged himself through the streets of the city on his way home with a heavy burden of worry on his back. The day went bad, an important funding project had been rejected, a thousand pages written for the wastepaper basket, plus the accusation from the big boss that he was threatening many jobs and the prosperity of their families. Even the weather was dark and gloomy, everything was covered with thick clouds. Suddenly he was standing in front of a shop with a colourful shop window and remembered a melody from days long past. It happened to be a store for CDs & records, he went into it, didn’t hesitate and bought a music CD, maybe Simon & Garfunkel’s “Like a bridge over troubled water...” or John Lennon’s “Give Peace A Chance” - I don’t remember exactly - the man wasn’t the youngest either. At least there was a secret anticipation on the way home, then he pushed the plastic disc into his music tower and enjoyed the wonderful memory. The thick clouds above him disappeared, the load on his back became lighter, and suddenly he saw another chance for his project, which had already ended up in the trash. At the same time he pulled the plastic disc out of the tower, grabbed a magnifying glass, looked through it long and thoughtful, put the disc back in its case and in no time was back in the same shop where he had bought it. There he gave a long lecture to the salesperson that he had been cheated because he could not find a musician or any musical instrument in the plastic disc, as clearly shown on the cover. - The seller was horrified, nothing like this had happened to him before. Fortunately, however, he remembered a court ruling he had recently read in a newspaper. So he took a deep breath and explained to the man in an official voice: “The sale of music CDs is permitted even if neither a musician nor a musical instrument are included in the packaging, as they were shown on the cover, because the people who buy such CDs are generally informed that neither musicians nor musical instruments are materially contained.” At this, the man was horrified and shouted: “How can that be? That is completely unscientific! I’ve examined the thing very carefully!” The seller replied: “But you heard the music...”- “That doesn’t prove anything!” protested the scientist and left the shop furiously...

A bad fairy tale... It could be told better, but it will always remain unsatisfying, because something like this really happens today with the alternative medicine of homeopathy, and even the court judgment is not invented (www.lto.de), as if the courts had nothing more useful to do. Scientists in particular are waging a merciless struggle against homeopathy today, reminiscent of the methods of the medieval inquisition. Back then, too, it was a matter of fanatically using a lot of force to maintain a worldview, which was no longer tenable. And what was called “inquisition” back then is what science calls “falsification” today, which means: “We cannot say what is true, but we can say exactly what is wrong!” That sounds crazy, but that’s the way today among other things against homeopathy. Many people feel the effect, many could be cured with it, many doctors work successfully with it, and especially sports medicine and top athletes like to use it (www.sportaerztezeitung.com). However, the effect cannot be explained with our materialistic worldview so far, and so one speaks of imagination only, placebo and finally even of fraud. A huge media hype was stoked, and even famous scientists like Harald Lesch apparently like to blow this horn (see e.g. video: Homoeopathy self-made by Mai Thi Ngujen-Kim in the Lesch & Co laboratory). Pity!

Now we do not want to list and discuss all the arguments for and against homeopathy here. The internet is full of it. Most discussions end with the understanding that you always need a material carrier for information, similar to the data on a music CD. The information here are pressed or burned into various materials, but with water or sugar globules, which are often used as homeopathic carriers, such a principle cannot be scientifically explained. And without a carrier, there is of course no information. This is where discussions usually end. But is that true?

Information without a carrier? Well, even Harald Lesch says (Video: Kosmologie-1 12:30):

“There is a form of effect that is independent of the wearer.”

Other famous physicists who have studied modern quantum physics in depth go even further. Hans-Peter-Dürr says (Potsdam Memorandum 2005):

“Matter is basically not matter at all, but a relationship structure, a kind of shape or, in a certain way, carrierless ‘information’...”

Moreover, in an interview at P.M. Magazine 05/2007 he says:

“The fields in quantum physics are not only immaterial, but also affect completely different, larger spaces that have nothing to do with our familiar three-dimensional space. It is a pure information field - like a kind of quantum code. It has nothing to do with mass and energy. This information field is not only within me, but extends over the entire universe. The cosmos is a whole because this quantum code has no limit. There is only one thing...”

Anton Zeilinger says:

“Ultimately, it turns out that information is an essential building block of the world. At some point, we will have to say goodbye to the naive realism according to which the world itself exists without our intervention and independent of our observation.”

Thomas Görnitz differentiates between three levels for information and carrier (Evolution of the spiritual from quantum information, page 77):

1) Information that should be “here and now” needs a material medium such as paper or a brain.
2) Information that should be “now”, but is not limited to “here”, needs an energetic carrier such as photons, TV programs or cell phone calls.
3) Information without a carrier is neither “here nor now”, but always and everywhere.

And Ulrich Warnke even says (Information and Energy 11:30):

“Information is the primary substance of the universe...”

There are many other examples that could be cited. So we know that information is not bound to a carrier and can exist without a carrier, because every carrier consists practically only of information. And if such top-class scientists, who can look back on a long and intense life in the modern world of science, speak of such views, then they are certainly not completely plucked out of the air, as some younger scientists want to explain to us. Interestingly, the views coincide with what people have known for many thousands of years, or at least what has been passed down from them. Only the terms have changed, because in the past people spoke of spirit, intelligence, knowledge and consciousness, which were regarded as the basis of the entire universe. Why should we assume today that people were much more stupid then and did not know the fundamental essence of nature with which they lived so intensely and closely? Perhaps they even had a much deeper understanding of it, which is hardly accessible in artificial laboratories and offices, Maybe therefore they did not succumb to the extreme materialism that causes so much damage everywhere in nature today.

Historical? The principles that are used in homeopathy today have long been known. People knew, for example, that water can be conjured and energetically charged. You can already find stories in the ancient Indian Puranas in which water was consecrated for certain purposes, e.g.:
“One night during a ceremony the wise men had placed a vessel of consecrated water on the altar and retired to sleep. And fate would have it that the king awoke around midnight and was extremely thirsty. Because he didn’t want to wake any of the wise men, he looked around for something to drink. In doing so, he discovered the vessel with water, which was sacred and charged with fertile power through sacred texts, and drank it. When the Munis rose and saw that the water was gone, they asked, “Who drank this powerful water? The queen of Yuvanaswa should drink it and give birth to a powerful and brave son...” (Vishnu Purana 4.2)

The whole thing was also possible with food, such as rice pudding:
“Your mother didn’t do you any good when she changed the plates for the rice pudding. You will bear a most warlike and restless son. On the other hand, your mother will give birth to a great ascetic who will master all the Vedas. Because through the power of my asceticism I have put all the knowledge of the Vedas into this rice.” (Harivamsha Purana 1.27)

In addition, the water served as a carrier to realize curses, because everything is connected to water, such as:
“Now also furious, King Saudasa scooped water with his hands and was about to curse Vasishta, when his queen stopped him and said: “Oh king, the famous and great ascetic Vasishta is our teacher and priest. You shouldn’t curse him.” After these words of his queen, Saudasa poured the powerful water over his own feet, which immediately turned dark. From that time on, King Saudasa was also known as Kalmashapada (spotted feet).” (Ramayana 7.78)

Similarly, it is said in Chinese Daoism:
“Chen favours practices that involve conjuring water (fushui) and burning talisman paper, which is to be mixed with the medicine and cooked, not only in the context of epidemics and poisoning. He also uses such Daoist-inspired practices in the case of mind obsession and enchantment.” (Circulating passion)

Divide and multiply? Here, too, we could find many more examples. Another problem is that today many scientists who have gone through the materialistic school cannot imagine how one can increase an effect by dividing and shaking. Of course, when you divide matter, experience has shown that it becomes less. However, we also know when information is shared and “shaken” in the world, it becomes more and can have a correspondingly greater effect. A YouTube video that has been viewed a million times will therefore not be less, but more.

There is the famous parable of the “feeding of the five thousand” in the Bible:
“How much bread do you have? Go and see! And when they had found out, they said, five and two fish. And he told them that they should all sit down, table by table, on the green grass. And they sat down in groups of one hundred and fifty. And he took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people, and he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces, twelve baskets full, and of the fish. And those who ate there were five thousand men.” (Mark 6.38)

Yes, if you only share the food materially, it becomes less and less and everyone may only get a crumb. The message, however, of compassion and moderation, which is conveyed is becoming more and more effective, and this is our real nourishment, which can truly satiate us. That means: if people live contentedly and moderately, there is enough food for everyone. Similarly, in homeopathy you can multiply the message or information and thus increase the effect. Interestingly enough, this biblical parable even mentions the powers 50 and 100, which also play a major role in homeopathy. Coincidence? At least when it comes to passing on information, it is very important whether a teacher informs all students at the same time, or whether several teachers with small groups of students are formed in this way, which in turn produce new teachers. In addition, in the five loaves and two fish one can find the seven natural principles, which are reminiscent of the five elements with the senses and the two spirit principles that we have often spoken about. This biblical parable is not just about an outward instruction, but also about an inner process of development, that takes place in every human being.

Information? The term “information” in homeopathy could already explain a lot. But how is it that water or other substances can memorise information? Do they have a memory? Well, if information is the basis of the universe (as the physicists mentioned above suggest) then of course the whole universe would be a huge memory. That sounds crazy to us today, but people thousands of years ago already knew this too. If we believe today that we can get away with any sin, great or small, as long as no one finds out, then people used to know that God sees everything. Yes, it may sound trite to many because it was misused a lot, but in practice, this is about a universal memory. In order to avoid the term “God”, some scientists speak of the subtle, morphogenetic, information, matrix, zero point or psi field in this regard. In addition to the law of conservation of energy, there is also a law of conservation of information in science, which of course, like everything spiritual, cannot or may not be “scientifically” proven. That would mean that information could not be lost. It can change, but it is not lost. Therefore, when people in India speak of karma that one accumulates in life through thoughts, words and deeds, this also means this universal memory that persists even over many generations. Moreover, as one can read in the old Puranas, even the whole universe arises again and again from the information of what has previously dissolved. So the Big Bang is not a coincidence, like detonating a bomb and expecting it to become a house or even a person, but a development process based on accumulated information. The Bible probably means something similar when it says: “In the beginning was the word...”

Information transfer? This could explain a lot. While in classical homeopathy according to Hahnemann certain substances are still diluted and shaken, there are even experiences with a purely spiritual transfer of the information of the active ingredient to a carrier, as reported, for example, by a veterinarian using homeopathy known to us personally, whose name we keep confidential because of the impending inquisition. He mentally imagines the effect and potency of the medicine while inhaling and dispensing it into a bottle of distilled water while exhaling. Then the water is shaken, the label is stuck on and the “spirit in the glass” is ready. Incredible, but it works supposedly and underlines the ability that information can be transmitted independently of the carrier. It certainly takes a lot of practice, experience and talent. And interestingly, this method coincides with the above-mentioned traditions for consecrating or conjuring water, which not everyone was able to do at the time.

Hocus-pocus? How can this work? Here, too, the memory of the universe could be of help. As we may remember a beach vacation long ago, the water could also remember that it was already used as a homeopathic remedy. Now, one only has to think away the narrow limits of our little self-consciousness in this material body (which also consists for the most part of water), which usually believes that it would exist independently of everything. Then everything would be connected to the general memory of the universe, and this overarching memory between “spirit in man” and “spirit in glass” would at least be possible. That would mean that our consciousness is constantly having a more or less effect on all the things we concentrate on, such as the production, sale and consumption of food. We would then have to deal responsibly with our thoughts...

What is “memory” (in German: “Erinnerung”)? The word supposedly goes back to the Old High German “innaron”, which originally means: “Let someone internalise something or become aware of something.” This is a typical property of information. For example, the software for our computers, like the music on a CD, consists practically only of long rows of numbers, i.e. abstract patterns or formless information that can be transmitted via many different media. Each number reminds the hardware to do something specific. Software and hardware must harmonize with one another so that the computer can function properly. So information is capable of making a system work. The software reminds the system of its function, so to speak. This is how one says in homeopathy: “Similar things may be cured by similar things.” Of course, this assumes that a system has the ability to heal itself. It just needs to be remembered to activate the healing function. The human organism normally does this automatically, but you can certainly wake up or strengthen this memory, for example through appropriate food, medication, drugs, acupuncture, love, joy, music, singing, sleep, relaxation, prayer, autogenic training, hypnosis, meditation or homeopathic remedies. What is fraud about that?

How tall is an organism? When we speak of self-healing, one must of course also ask about the size of the organism that can sustain and heal itself. A human being usually represents such an organism, who has become an “independent” person with an official birth certificate, ID and name. But what does “my organism” include? My hands and feet? If I lose them, it is painful, but the function can be replaced and I live on. My internal organs? Even artificial machines can more or less replace them, over a certain period, just as all other organs only function for a certain period of time. My family or friends? Their loss is very painful, but they can be replaced. My house or car? If they break down, it’s painful, but they can be repaired or replaced. The air we breathe on earth? You lose a lot, but nowadays humans can even survive in artificial capsules for a few months in outer space. This list could go on for a long time, and it is certainly beneficial to think about how tall “I” actually am and what is connected with “my organism”.

How big is my consciousness? Few people are really fully aware of their true size. Most cannot even feel their heartbeat or internal organs until they become painfully ill. They only feel the widespread connection with their environment when the system is disturbed and sick. Why is that? Why do I think that my thoughts are limited to “my head”? Why do I believe in “mine” and “yours” at all? What kind of illusion is it that I only live for “myself”? This illusion is not tenable even from the material point of view, let alone from the spiritual point of view. - This mental illusion is called self-awareness and in the worst-case fanatical egoism. This power of illusion is very great and leads even to a state, where one cannot imagine that the water in the human body is connected to the water in the glass or that the spirit in the head is connected to the spirit in the glass. Even today many scientists still believe that they are completely independent observers of their experiments and that their consciousness has no influence - because on one side there is “I” and on the other side the world or nature. The television-famous physicist Harald Lesch certainly asks not unjustified: “What does the universe have to do with me?”

But well, we will not be able to explain the secrets of the spirit and homeopathy fundamentally here either. It will certainly take generations before our materialistic worldview of classical physics can open up again. Some scientists themselves speak of the fact that physics has been in a crisis for decades. And history teaches us: The more shaky a worldview becomes, the more aggressively and violently it is defended, which can be seen in the media these days.

Side effect? Finally, maybe a few thoughts on the effects of homeopathy. One often hears that homeopathy has no side effects. In principle, that makes little sense, because wherever there is an effect, there is also a side effect, because where there is a plus, there must always be a minus. We shouldn’t hope today that homeopathy can solve all of the problems we have with modern medicines, such as the antibiotic crisis. Anything you overdo will eventually have a negative impact. Ne quid nimis - nothing in excess! This certainly applies to homeopathy as well. For example, it is completely unclear what happens to the homeopathic rests that end up in sewage, in the soil or in the oceans. A similar extreme mass application, as with chemical drugs, can certainly not go without “side effects”. From this point of view, it is only to be welcomed, that health insurance companies do not pay for homeopathic remedies. This initially prevents extreme mass marketing and favours moderate use by experienced homeopaths, so that this ancient medicine can still bring many good things to people.

And our scientist? He spent a restless night, returned to the office the next morning, fished the funding application out of the wastepaper basket and tossed it restlessly back and forth. He saw all the formulas and long texts that were supposed to convince that crowd of bureaucrats in the department, but could not. Just why? The whole thing was scientifically proven... Then he remembered the magnifying glass in his pocket, took it out and looked at the paper. He looked for a long time, hours passed, and thoughtfully he sat in the office. Here, too, only small dots could be seen with which he wanted to apply for many millions of euros. Was that a fraud? He smiled in relief, gallantly slipped the stack of paper back into the small, round bin, looked out the window and was delighted with the green trees in the meadow opposite, where the birds jumped to and fro and chirped their songs. [2020]

The Pea Trial (The Princess and the Pea)

✻ Once upon a time there was a king who had an only son who wanted to get married and asked his father for a wife. “Your wish shall be granted, my son,” said the King, “but it is not acceptable for you to take someone other than a princess, and there is none to be around at the moment. In the meantime, I want to announce it; maybe someone will answer you from afar.” So there was an open letter, and it was not long before there were enough princesses. One came almost every day, but if someone asked about her birth and parentage, it turned out that it was not a princess, and she had to leave without having achieved anything. “If it goes on like this,” said the prince, “I will not have a wife in the end.” “Calm down, my son,” said the Queen, “before you know it, there will be one; happiness is often at the door, you just have to open it.”

✎ Yes, dear old aristocracy! When the general worldview was reversed at that time, and material values triumphed over spiritual ones, the old aristocratic class also had a hard time. Today we know the noble kings and princes, especially from this period of decline, as a degenerate human class who suffered from inbreeding, practiced their old spiritual values only externally and were already addicted to material things internally. Correspondingly, deception reigned, as in our fairy tale, and it was understandable that at that time the bourgeoisie said: “We can do better!” Science provided the foundation for it. After the bourgeoisie, the workers raised their fists and shouted: “We can do even better!” This is how materialism took its course, with all its ups and downs that we know not only from history. That too was certainly a logical and necessary development of nature, even if man believed that he was thereby freeing himself from the constraints of nature.

We should not forget, however, that there were also good times under the rule of noble kings and princes, about which our historiography naturally has little to report. A class or caste system does not only have its dark sides. It has given humankind meaning and stability in life for a long time. Understandably, this only works as long as people can subordinate themselves and perform their tasks, like the cells in an organism (see e.g. [Petrarca Chapter 1.16]). If everyone wants to be king, anti-authoritarian child rearing is supposed to work and happiness in life is based primarily on material possessions, then of course democracy is the better choice. Today we can hardly imagine any other worldview.

Accordingly, when looking for a real princess, we usually think of an outer appearance first. The problem of authenticity, however, is not that simple. Let’s take a look at the tomatoes in the supermarket, for example: They are called tomatoes, look like tomatoes and sometimes taste a little like tomatoes. But are they real tomatoes? In this regard, our children can become scared. Will they ever be able to enjoy a real tomato again? - The mother reminds to be patient: “One does not have to pursue happiness endlessly. Calm down, and then all you have to do is open the door and let happiness in.” Wonderful! Where did people get so much patience and trust from back then? Of course, in those times, the tomatoes were still growing in front of the door, and people were happy about the harvest only during a few months. A really terrible satisfaction, the death of any market economy...

✻ It really was just as the Queen had said. Soon afterwards, on a stormy evening, when wind and rain beat on the window, there was a violent knock on the gate of the royal palace. The servants opened the door and a beautiful girl entered, demanding to be brought before the king at once. The king wondered about the late visit and asked her where she was from, who she was, and what she wanted. “I come from a long way off,” she replied, “and I am the daughter of a mighty king. When your announcement arrived in my father’s realm and I became acquainted with the portrait of your son, I felt intense love for him and immediately set out on my way with the intention of becoming his wife.”

“That seems a little questionable to me,” said the king, “you don’t look like a princess to me either. Since when has a princess ever been traveling alone without any entourage and in such bad clothes?” “The entourage would only have hindered me,” she replied, “the colour on my clothes has faded in the sun and the rain washed them out completely. If you don’t think I am a princess, just send a message to my father.” “That is too complicated for me,” said the king, “an embassage cannot travel as fast as you can. People must have the time they need; it would be years before they came back. If you cannot prove in some other way that you are a princess, your wheat will not bloom here, and you do better make your way home again.” “Just let her stay,” said the Queen, “I want to put her to the test and I will know soon whether she is a princess.”

The queen herself went up the tower and had a bed made up in a splendid room. When the mattress was brought in, she put three peas on it, one on top, one in the middle and one on the bottom, then six soft mattresses were spread over them, linen sheets and a blanket of eider down. When everything was ready, she led the girl up to the bedroom. “After the long way you will be tired, my child,” she said, “get some sleep: tomorrow we will talk more.”

The day had scarcely dawned when the queen climbed the tower into the chamber. She thought to find the girl soundly asleep, but she was awake. “How did you sleep, my daughter?” she asked. “Miserable,” replied the princess, “I haven’t slept all night.” “Why, my child, wasn’t the bed good?” “I’ve never lain in a bed like this, hard from head to toe; it was as if I was lying on peas.” “I can see,” said the Queen, “you are a real princess. I will send you royal clothes, pearls and precious stones: adorn yourself like a bride. We want to celebrate the wedding today.”

✎ Well, presumably there were other demands on a real princess back then as well. However, what is symbolically expressed here in the fairy tale is a truly great message and, in short, means: Real tomatoes are extremely sensitive! They refuse to accept monoculture, maximum yields, mass production and long transport routes. They say real tomatoes really have taste and are healthy. They saw the sun, experienced wind and weather, heard the hum of insects and felt mother earth. In addition, even the real tomatoes originally come from far away, namely from Central and South America, and were already cultivated by the Mayans...

Nevertheless, if you look through the tomatoes, you can see on the symbolic level of this fairy tale the male role of the king as rational knowledge based on externals, the female role of the queen as intuitive knowledge that tests the inner being, the prince as the wishing spirit and the princess as the active nature. The seven great principles of nature can even be found in the seven mattresses. For example the four medieval elements of wind, fire, water and earth with the three soul forces of will, understanding and memory (Voluntas, Intellectus and Memoria, which Augustine and Master Eckhart also speak of, for example). However, one can also imagine the five senses, the self-consciousness with the thoughts and the universal intelligence with the reason. Moreover, what could the three peas mean that torment us in nature? In Buddhism, for example, people speak of desire, hatred and ignorance as the three main causes of all suffering: I want some things, I don’t want other things, and I don’t know the true essence of things. As the fairy tale clearly explains, these sufferings begin above the first mattress, i.e. above reason, and work through the self-consciousness and the five senses as far as into our body, which is based on them.

Because intelligence is the spiritual basis of nature among the seven levels and not any dead matter, the motto of the fairy tale is: Real nature is extremely sensitive! Not in the sense of a general weakness, as it is usually considered, but in the sense of an indestructible strength. It was not for nothing that the princess made the long way in wind and weather, and just out of love. That is the essence of Mother Nature. It is incomparably strong, has fought with the toughest conditions for billions of years to make this planet first blue and then green. From this point of view, it seems to be indestructible. At the same time, we are becoming more and more aware of how sensitive nature is and how sensitive are all the many balances that make life on earth and in our bodies possible.

And why did it happen that way? Modern science speaks of coincidences. Our fairy tale speaks of “intense love”, so that nature developed out of love for the spirit. That was once a wonderful vision that made a completely different view of nature possible. Nature was a place of learning, full of messages and symbols. The whole earth with mountains, rocks, clouds, seas, forests and fields was alive. The whole universe with all the planets and stars was one great living organism. Why was all alive? Because all was intelligent and sensitive. This intelligent sensitivity was the basis of nature, which could be found down to the smallest particles that attract, repel and react with one another. And people assumed the same principles governed their everyday lives.

Then, from around the 18th century, the great reversal in the worldview came, and life became a by-product of a dead nature, which is said to have arisen at some point through evolution from stupid coincidences. This marked the beginning of the age of dead machines. Goodbye horse, hello car! Even humans became machines of work, consumption and fighting, also called “human resources”. Natural sensitivity is now a major obstacle to the “Iron Man”. For many people these days, the point of being sensitive is just going to the doctor for pills. Sensitivity has become a great enemy. Tons of pain pills are consumed every year, a billion dollar business. The society seems to be geared at anaesthesia with drugs and alcohol and tries to constantly overexcite and dull the senses with horror films, scandal news, shock advertising, disco volume, etc. Some have to jump into the abyss on an elastic rope so that they can feel some life again. Our natural senses wither more and more, and with the senses, reason withers. Because if you are not sensitive you cannot learn from nature, and without this learning there is no reason. You might ask yourself: What would our world look like if people were more sensitive and could learn from it?

So what’s the point of sensitivity? A useless weakness of nature? Then our stunning strategy would certainly be appropriate and a good way to go. But if sensitivity is the true strength of nature, which should lead to reason, then today we would march with kettledrums and trumpets in a wrong or destructive direction on the way to happiness, and we miss again the great wedding, in which spirit and nature unite in harmony.

Well, what is the right way to happiness now? How should we live with nature? Is it good to reduce it to insensitive matter, like a dead machine that is supposed to make us happy? Is it good to control it with scientific laws so that it serves our wishes, like a marriage contract with a thousand constraints? There may well be men who desire a woman’s body without loving her being. Similarly, we desire nature, we cannot live without it, but we do not really want to love or respect it. We treat it accordingly and use violence to fight its sensitive nature. Sure, no marriage without a fight. The only question is: Should this struggle culminate in endless enmity and militant tyranny or end in harmonious love and mutual trust? That would be the happy ending of our fairy tale.

The Seven Swabians

✻ Seven Swabians were once together. The first was Master Schulz; the second, Jackli (Jacob); the third, Marli; the fourth, Jergli (George); the fifth, Michal (Michael); the sixth, Hans (Johannes); the seventh, Veitli (Veit): all seven had made up their minds to travel about the world to seek adventures, and perform great deeds. But in order that they might go in security and with arms in their hands, they thought it would be advisable that they should have one solitary, but very strong, and very long spear made for them.

Postcard Series by Georg Mühlberg (1863-1925), source goethezeitportal.de

This spear all seven of them took in their hands at once; in front walked the boldest and bravest, and that was Master Schulz; all the others followed in a row, and Veitli was the last. Then it came to pass one day in the hay-making month (July), when they had walked a long distance, and still had a long way to go before they reached the village where they were to pass the night, that as they were in a meadow in the twilight a great beetle or hornet flew by them from behind a bush, and hummed in a menacing manner. Master Schulz was so terrified that he all but dropped the spear, and a cold perspiration broke out over his whole body. “Hark! Hark!” cried he to his comrades, “Good heavens! I hear a drum.” Jackli, who was behind him holding the spear, and who perceived some kind of a smell, said, “Something is most certainly going on, for I taste powder and matches.”

At these words Master Schulz began to take to flight, and in a trice jumped over a hedge, but as he just happened to jump on to the teeth of a rake which had been left lying there after the hay-making, the handle of it struck against his face and gave him a tremendous blow. “Oh dear! Oh dear!” screamed Master Schulz. “Take me prisoner; I surrender! I surrender!” The other six all leapt over, one on the top of the other, crying, “If you surrender, I surrender too! If you surrender, I surrender too!” At length, as no enemy was there to bind and take them away, they saw that they had been mistaken, and in order that the story might not be known, and they be treated as fools and ridiculed, they all swore to each other to hold their peace about it until one of them accidentally spoke of it.

✎ Well, for children’s ears, this fairy tale is a funny farce that you can at least smile about and ask yourself: How can people be so stupid? As adults, we look more deeply at the meaning, and so here we meet again the seven wondrous principles from a symbolic point of view that run through so many old fairy tales and are nowhere clearly described. So here, too, we can only guess and, in view of many other fairy tales, remember the seven natural principles that can be found in every human being, namely the five senses with intellect and reason. These Seven arm themselves with a powerful spear, a tool for fighting, attacking, defending and even killing, a weapon that is supposed to promise safety and at the same time spreads a lot of fear. All seven are connected with this spear, similar to the fighting will that connects the parts of an organism in order to achieve certain goals.

Master Schulz is at the top. The name “Schulz” supposedly comes from “Schultheiss”, a small ruler like a village mayor. In this way, this figure reminds us of the mind with the fighting thoughts, which are an expression of our self-consciousness that has to defend itself as an ego against others. The last one on the pike is Mr Veitli. The name “Veit” supposedly comes from the Latin term “Vitus” and recalls Saint Vitus and life itself (“Vita”). From this point of view, we think of the principle of reason, which is an expression of a higher intelligence and is not for nothing at the end of the line in this fairy tale. In between, we could imagine the five senses that have a direct effect on the mind at the top and are also addressed in the text. However, one could also think of other principles that could be derived from biblical names such as Jacob, George, Michael and Johannes.

In this way, one can understand the seven Swabians with their spear as a symbol of a whole person who, so to speak, “travels about this world to seek adventures and perform great deeds”. What is now described in a sarcastic way in the fairy tale is deepest psychology, a wonderful look into the inwards of an ordinary person, in whom many fears and sufferings arise through ignorance. It can go so far that one only sees enemies everywhere and develops a psychotic fear. In this fear, you no longer know any reasonable boundaries; you jump over the useful fences in panic and create a lot of suffering, as is clearly described in the fairy tale.

This is of course mainly due to a weak reason, so that the mind takes the lead almost exclusively. The mind, however, is based primarily on thoughts that are shaped by the sensory impressions, and thus builds a world of thoughts in which every fantasy can become true. This creates a very distorted “reality” that often overestimates unimportant things and underestimates important things or completely ignores them. In this way, egoism develops, which naturally overestimates itself as a person. And as the fairy tale aptly says at the end of the above section, the illusion is maintained until there is no other way. That reminds us very much of the famous story “The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Hans Christian Andersen.

Wonderful to the point! What is missing or not working here is reason, the higher intelligence, which grants a holistic view and can see through the superficial things, so to speak, in order to recognize the essentials. That is the big difference between mind and reason: The mind dissects and considers the partial aspects; the reason unites and sees the whole and the essentials. This is what we lack most today, what is not promoted by politics, business and science and cannot be replaced by any material wealth. Because as long as one does not recognize the essentials in life, the world remains full of dangers, everything is perishable and the most terrible danger is one’s own death:

✻ Then they journeyed onwards. The second danger which they survived cannot be compared with the first. Some days afterwards, their path led them through a fallow-field where a hare was sitting sleeping in the sun. Her ears were standing straight up, and her great glassy eyes were wide open. All of them were alarmed at the sight of the horrible wild beast, and they consulted together as to what it would be the least dangerous to do. For if they were to run away, they knew that the monster would pursue and swallow them whole. So they said, “We must go through a great and dangerous struggle. Boldly ventured, is half won,” and all seven grasped the spear, Master Schulz in front, and Veitli behind.

Master Schulz was always trying to keep the spear back, but Veitli had become quite brave while behind, and wanted to dash forward and cried,
“Strike home, in every Swabian’s name,
Or else I wish ye may be lame.”

But Hans knew how to meet this, and said,
“Thunder and lightning, it’s fine to prate,
But for dragon-hunting thou’rt aye too late.”

Michal cried,
“Nothing is wanting, not even a hair,
Be sure the Devil himself is there.”

Then it was Jergli’s turn to speak,
“If it be not, it’s at least his mother,
Or else it’s the Devil’s own step-brother.”

And now Marli had a bright thought, and said to Veitli,
“Advance, Veitli, advance, advance,
And I behind will hold the lance.”

Veitli, however, did not attend to that, and Jackli said,
“Tis Schulz‘s place the first to be,
No one deserves that honour but he.”

Then Master Schulz plucked up his courage, and said, gravely,
“Then let us boldly advance to the fight,
And thus we shall show our valour and might.”

Hereupon they all together set on the dragon. Master Schulz crossed himself and prayed for God’s assistance, but as all this was of no avail, and he was getting nearer and nearer to the enemy, he screamed “Oho! Oho! ho! ho! ho!” in the greatest anguish. This awakened the hare, which in great alarm darted swiftly away. When Master Schulz saw her thus flying from the field of battle, he cried in his joy,
“Quick, Veitli, quick, look there, look there,
The monster’s nothing but a hare!”

✎ The hare as a new great danger is certainly a symbol here that one can think about for a long time. On the one hand, the hare is (in German) the epitome of an over-anxious being, the famous “Angsthase” (a scaredy-cat) who feels threatened by everything and quickly takes flight. On the other hand, it is said that hares sleep with their eyes open, which reminds us of the world of thoughts already mentioned, in which one can still dream while awake. To recognize this delusional fear in ourselves, which is mainly nourished by thoughts, is certainly an important step on the path of spiritual development. It is not that far-fetched, that it appears as a dangerous and wild animal, similar to a fire-breathing dragon, because the fear is very closely connected with our animal nature that is usually expressed in an aggressive ego. Fighting with this animal within us is surely one of the greatest challenges in human life.

Interestingly enough, Master Schulz, as mind, initially backs down, because he is actually a friend of the fearful ego, and Veitli, as reason, becomes brave and wants to attack. This is an important message, because practically only the higher reason with a holistic view can defeat the fearful animal being in us, and not the ego with the dissecting mind. To do this, reason would have to be powerful and stand as king at the front of the spear, to make decisions about the thoughts and five senses. But in our fairy tale the reason is weak and overwhelmed by the arguments of the senses, and so Master Schulz, as mind and ego, tries to fight the fearful being that he himself created. Well, what happens? Fear escapes, hides somewhere again, and the mind believes in its victory with joy, which of course can only be a mental or conceptual victory by the understanding: “The monster is a rabbit!” Wonderful! Much better would be an essential victory of reason over the animal egoism, which is a main reason for all our fears, but the fairy tale is apparently still a long way from that.

Another aspect is the devil, which is mentioned in the above discussion. Because where fear reigns, the devil is not far away, who is drawn as the enemy on the wall (of thoughts). And if it’s not the devil, then it’s his mother or his stepbrother, which probably means the fears of nature and death. Because with devil, nature and death you can stir up a lot of fear up to hysteria and panic, and that is nothing new in politics, because a nation full of fear can be abused for anything because people are no longer able to make reasonable decisions. Then one only has to direct the fear towards an appropriate goal, and one can wage the greatest wars against imaginary enemies or do the greatest business with imagined desires. What happiness do we hope for in a world that will soon be ruled only by fears? Here, too, the problem lies in the mind, which can be mentally manipulated and shaped, because the holistic view of reason is missing. What happens when reason is missing, which should be man’s greatest wealth, can be observed today all over the world, and our fairy tale continues accordingly.

✻ But the Swabian allies went in search of further adventures, and came to the Moselle, a mossy, quiet, deep river, over which there are few bridges, and which in many places people have to cross in boats. As the seven Swabians did not know this, they called to a man who was working on the opposite side of the river, to know how people contrived to get across. The distance and their way of speaking made the man unable to understand what they wanted, and he said “What? What?” in the way people speak in the neighbourhood of Treves. Master Schulz thought he was saying, “Wade, wade through the water,” and as he was the first, began to set out and went into the Moselle. It was not long before he sank in the mud and the deep waves which drove against him, but his hat was blown on the opposite shore by the wind, and a frog sat down beside it, and croaked “Wat, wat, wat.” The other six on the opposite side heard that, and said, “Oho, comrades, Master Schulz is calling us; if he can wade across, why cannot we?” So they all jumped into the water together in a great hurry, and were drowned, and thus one frog took the lives of all six of them, and not one of the Swabian allies ever reached home again.

✎ The fairy tale takes its course, and a great river appears as the third great challenge. This symbol reminds us of the river of life between birth and death, which must be crossed in life in order to reach the home bank safely without sinking into the swamp of the world. There is also a wonderful teaching from Buddha in the Palikanon (Majjhima Nikaya 22):

As a raft, you monks, I want to show you the teaching, suitable for escaping, not for holding on. Hear that, and pay close attention to my speech... In the same way, you monks, if a man, on a journey, came to an immense water, the bank on this side full of dangers and terror, the bank on the other side safe, free from terror, and there would be no ship to cross, no bridge on this side to reach the other bank. Then this man would think: “That is a tremendous water, the bank on this side full of dangers and horror, the bank on the other side safe, free from terror, and there is no ship to cross, no bridge on this side to get across. What if I now collected reeds and trunks, brushwood and leaves, put together a raft and using this raft, working with hands and feet, safely made it to the other bank? And the man, you monks, now collected reeds and trunks, brushwood and leaves, put together a raft and, using this raft, working with hands and feet, crossed safely to the other bank. And, saved, crossed, he would think: “This raft is really dear to me, with this raft I have reached the other bank safely, working with hands and feet. How if I now lift this raft on my head or on my shoulders and would go where I want?” What do you think of that, monks? Would this man, by doing such a thing, treat the raft properly? “Certainly not, O Lord!” So what should the man do, monks, to treat the raft properly? You monks, this man, saved, would then consider: “This raft is really dear to me, by means of this raft, working with my hands and feet, I got over safely to the other bank. What if I put this raft on the bank or consigned it to the tide and go where I want?” By doing this, verily, monks, this man would treat the raft properly. Likewise now, you monks, I have presented the teaching as a raft, suitable for escaping, not for holding on.

What kind of teaching can serve as a raft? It’s about developing a higher reason. For this, one should use the mind with the thoughts, not to accumulate and hold onto a lot of conceptual knowledge, but to use the knowledge and develop a higher insight. However, our Swabian allies knew nothing about it, and so Master Schulz had to sink with his mind and ego into the tough mud of the world and drowned all other natural principles including reason. Well, such a thing can happen to us on a small and a large scale.

And why did that happen? Because they first misunderstood the voice of nature and then the voice of life in the form of the frog. This is a wonderful symbolism, because living nature speaks to us all the time and always answers when we ask. But do we understand the message? Or are we just hearing what the ego wants to hear through the mind? As long as we only hear the voice of nature through the intellectual mind, it will always sound distorted and one-sided. Measuring instruments, statistics, formulas and numbers cannot lead us to the safe shore. Science has really brought us a lot of understanding, but hardly any reason. In order to hear the true voice of nature, we need a direct connection to nature again, not just a conceptual and scientific one.

In summary, one can say that this fairy tale addresses three great stages of development in humans, which one could also consider youth, adulthood and old age:

1) Knowledge of the nature of things so that the fear of external things disappears.
2) Knowledge and victory over the animal being in us, so that egoism disappears.
3) Reaching the safe shore without sinking into the swamp of the world, so that all fears and dreads disappear.

Each of these levels can only be reached if the previous one has been mastered. That is the real challenge of nature. We shouldn’t think that nature is as weak as it seems to us and needs our help. Nature always challenges us and plays its own game, and above all to help us. Here, too, reason is certainly a great goal, because without reason the whole mind is useless to us. Because in the mind, there are always many arguments for and against, such as arguments for war and arguments for peace, for armament and for disarmament, for chemical poisons and for environmental protection, for and against antibiotics and tons of pills, for and against drugs, for and against electro smog, for and against nuclear power, for and against wind turbines, for and against electric cars, for and against vacation flyers and drivers, etc. Whoever puts forward the better arguments, offers the better show, does more advertising and appears most convincing, people will follow like sheep. Three arguments in favour of toilet paper, and across the country toilet paper is sold out as if it were the most important thing in life (and it really happened during the coronavirus lockdown in Germany in March 2020). Where shall we end up? First this country was turned into a big department store, then a big hospital, and tomorrow it’s going to be a huge nursing home...

Well, that happens when people are no longer able to make useful decisions, and this is called: Sinking into the tough mud of the world and the driving waves, when the mind sticks or clings to external things with desire or hatred. Because the mind can only “distinguish” and more or less fanatically take a side. Reason can “decide” and settle the apparent opposites in a salutary way. Therefore, reason and not intellect should rule in an adult human being. Perhaps it is time to hear the message of nature holistically and to introduce the subject “reason” in our schools alongside all the sciences?

The immunologist Professor Dr. Stefan Hockertz says on Corona topic:

“The reaction of politics is disproportionate, it is authoritarian, it is bossy, it is beyond measure - no question about it - and we as citizens would rather expect to be informed and treated in a knowledge-based, reasonable and modest manner...” And he says at the end: “It is not the virus that makes us sick, the fear of it makes us sick.” (Source Interview at RS2 24.03.2020)

An Arabic fairy tale worth taking to heart

The wise Abubekr Ben Zechariah Al Rasi was riding to Baghdad when he saw with horror that a hideous figure was mounting on the animal behind him. “Who are you, stranger?” He asked. “I’m Cholera and I have to go into town to let five thousand people die. If you take me with you, you and your dear ones will be spared.”

Abubekr intended to move the cholera to mildness and bargained with it. From five thousand it went down to three thousand, then to a thousand, to five hundred, and finally to a hundred. When the wise man continued his petitions, Cholera exclaimed, “Well, let only fifty die; but now be satisfied, otherwise you will be the first one I will take.”

Now he allowed it to come with him, but after a week he regretted his kindness, because more than ten thousand people died of the fatal disease.

When, after some time, he rode to Damascus, he met Cholera again and reproached it for keeping its word so badly. Cholera, however, replied: “By the beard of the prophet, I have not lied to you! I only killed fifty! The others did not die from my breath, but from their unnecessary fear.”

(Source: Karl Friedrich May, Schacht und Hütte, Blätter zur Unterhaltung und Belehrung, No. 11, 1875/1876)

Thumbling

✻ There was once a poor peasant who sat in the evening by the hearth and poked the fire, and his wife sat and span. Then said he, “How sad it is that we have no children! With us all is so quiet, and in other houses it is noisy and lively.” “Yes,” replied the wife, and sighed, “even if we had only one, and it were quite small, and only as big as a thumb, I should be quite satisfied, and we would still love it with all our hearts.” Now it so happened that the woman fell ill, and after seven months, gave birth to a child, that was perfect in all its limbs, but no longer than a thumb. Then said they, “It is as we wished it to be, and it shall be our dear child;” and because of its size, they called it Thumbling. They did not let it want for food, but the child did not grow taller, but remained as it had been at the first, nevertheless it looked sensibly out of its eyes, and soon showed itself to be a wise and nimble creature, for everything it did turned out well.

✎ A wonderful fairy tale that apparently deals with the big question of what actually a “living being” or the “essence of life” is, which was formerly also referred to as the soul. The comparison of the soul with a little man of the size of a thumb is a very old symbolism that we already find several times in the ancient Indian scriptures of the Upanishads, such as:
The spirit as an inner soul is as big (or thick) as a thumb and is in the heart (or essence) of people. One should clearly distinguish it from the body, as one separates the fibres from the Munja grass. It should be recognized as pure and immortal, truly pure and immortal. (Kathaka Upanishad 6.17)

Anyway, we could not find anything about the origin of this symbolism there. At least the thumb is a important part of the hand that is necessary for action. In addition, the “thumb” used to be a common basic unit of measurement that was later called inches, as we now also use the “meter” as a basic unit for length measurements or kilograms for weights. By dividing and multiplying the whole dynamic range of lengths and weights can be described. Similarly, the concept of the soul may have been used as an essential “basic unit” for every living being. In this regard, the ancient Indian scriptures also speak of the Valakhilyas as thumblings, who have reduced their bodies, so to speak, to the most essential thing, namely the soul, and who therefore have the full power of the spirit:
The Valakhilyas are ascetics who have achieved perfection through renunciation and who dwell in the solar disk... They are no bigger than a thumb... Their only desire is renunciation, and through their righteous behaviour, they achieve the highest merits. [MHB 13.141]

People in all cultures have thought a lot about this soul, which mystically brings the body to life. Obviously, this fairy tale also deals with it and begins with the usual duality of man and woman as well as three forces that lead to the birth of the soul. The first force is the fire that the man stirs up, the necessary energy, so to speak, which we know today as an essential basis for matter and life. The second power is the woman’s spinning, the twisting of fibres into a thread. This symbolism is also ancient and can already be found in Nordic mysticism in the form of the Norns, who spin the threads of fate or life at the root of the world tree. We also know spinning as the twisting of knowledge into endlessly long chains of thoughts, which are then woven into ideas and thought patterns of all kinds. Therefore, our thread of life consists primarily of knowledge, and even modern physics is slowly becoming aware of the importance of information. The third force is a deeply rooted desire for creation, diversity and design. We can best study the tremendous effects in our modern times. However, man has also known this wish for a long time, and already in the Upanishads it is set at the beginning just like in this fairy tale:
Only the self (= soul) was here at the beginning, and it was alone. It wished: “If I had a wife, then I would procreate, then I would be rich, then I would do works”. That was its wish. Despite all desires, one does not want to achieve more than that. That is why a single person now wishes: “If I had a wife, then I would procreate, then I would be rich, then I would do works.” (Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad 4.17)

Whatever goal he desires, whatever desire he demands, all of this arises from his will. He wins it and grows up. (Chandogya-Upanishad)

Here we find three amazing basic forces, namely energy, knowledge and will, which in the Middle Ages were known as the three soul forces of Memoria, Intellectus and Voluntas (memory, intelligence and will). Therefore, the wish comes true, and a child is born who, so to speak, fulfils the minimum requirements of the mother and embodies the essentials of a person, because the mother falls ill during pregnancy and gives birth to a premature baby, a little boy whose body does not develop as usual. Such ideas were possible at that time because the general view of the world saw the spirit as the basis of matter. The body grew on the basis of spirit or soul and not like today, the spirit on the basis of the body. Similarly, we find the idea of the spirit in the glass, which we have already examined in the fairy tale of the same name, or the medieval idea of homunculus, as described, for example, in Goethe’s [Faust II] as a being looking for a body:

He asks thy counsel, he desires to be.
He is, as I myself have heard him say,
(The thing’s a marvel!) only born half-way.
He has no lack of qualities ideal,
But far too much of palpable and real.
Till now the glass alone has given him weight,
And he would fain be soon incorporate.

✻ One day the peasant was getting ready to go into the forest to cut wood, when he said as if to himself, “How I wish that there was any one who would bring the cart to me!” “Oh father,” cried Thumbling, “I will soon bring the cart, rely on that; it shall be in the forest at the appointed time.” The man smiled and said, “How can that be done, thou art far too small to lead the horse by the reins?” “That’s of no consequence, father, if my mother will only harness it, I will sit in the horse’s ear, and call out to him how he is to go.” “Well,” answered the man, “for once we will try it.” When the time came, the mother harnessed the horse, and placed Thumbling in its ear, and then the little creature cried “Gee up, gee up!” Then it went quite properly as if with its master, and the cart went the right way into the forest.

✎ A similar symbolism of the body’s wagon is used, which is loaded with firewood, as we have already examined in the fairy tale of Doctor Knowall. Only no oxen are harnessed, but a horse that is led by the little man in the ear. Here one can again recognize symbolically the will that Mother Nature harnesses to the body carriage and which now listens to the commands of the soul. In this way, our body is moved like a cart and loaded with firewood, which we more or less accumulate in life. This includes everything personal, such as our life story, our ego, our possessions and all merits and sins, which is called “karma” in Indian. So you can well imagine how fully laden our body car is nowadays. And what do we do with it now?

The soul, know, is the driver of the chariot, the body is the chariot, reason is the charioteer and the thinking is the reins. The senses are called the horses, the sense objects their goal, and the wise call the soul “the savourer”, bound to senses and thoughts. Whoever does not have the right reason, does not use thinking as a rein, has, like a charioteer bad horses, his senses not in control. (Kathaka Upanishad 3.3)

✻ It so happened that just as he was turning a corner, and the little one was crying “Gee up,” two strange men came towards him. “My word!” said one of them. “What is this? There is a cart coming, and a driver is calling to the horse, and still he is not to be seen!” “That can’t be right,” said the other, “we will follow the cart and see where it stops.” The cart, however, drove right into the forest, and exactly to the place where the wood had been cut. When Thumbling saw his father, he cried to him, “Seest thou, father, here I am with the cart; now take me down.” The father got hold of the horse with his left hand, and with the right took his little son out of the ear. Thumbling sat down quite merrily on a straw, but when the two strange men saw him, they did not know what to say for astonishment. Then one of them took the other aside and said, “Hark, the little fellow would make our fortune if we exhibited him in a large town, for money. We will buy him.” They went to the peasant and said, “Sell us the little man. He shall be well treated with us.” “No,” replied the father, “he is the apple of my eye, and all the money in the world cannot buy him from me.” Thumbling, however, when he heard of the bargain, had crept up the folds of his father’s coat, placed himself on his shoulder, and whispered in his ear, “Father, do give me away, I will soon come back again.” Then the father parted with him to the two men for a handsome bit of money. “Where wilt thou sit?” they said to him. “Oh, just set me on the rim of your hat, and then I can walk backwards and forwards and look at the country, and still not fall down.” They did as he wished, and when Thumbling had taken leave of his father, they went away with him. They walked until it was dusk, and then the little fellow said, “Do take me down, I want to come down.” The man took his hat off, and put the little fellow on the ground by the wayside, and he leapt and crept about a little between the sods, and then he suddenly slipped into a mouse-hole which he had sought out. “Good evening, gentlemen, just go home without me, (version of 1819: you have had me)” he cried to them, and mocked them. They ran thither and stuck their sticks into the mouse-hole, but it was all lost labour. Thumbling crept still farther in, and as it soon became quite dark, they were forced to go home with their vexation and their empty purses.

✎ Well, the big problem is that you can’t see the soul itself. You can only recognize it indirectly through its effects, how the little man leads the horse in the ear. This makes it very difficult, especially for our scientific-objective thinking, which only approves objects that are tangible to the senses as real. And what does the karma-laden soul do? First, it lets itself be sold to the world, and with that begins its adventurous but symbolic journey through the world in this fairy tale. It separates from father and mother and tries its luck. Every experience in this fairy tale is obviously connected with an insight or a message. The first message could be phrased as follows: Whoever wants to use the soul to represent something, to enrich oneself and to adorn oneself with it externally, loses it in the material and ends up empty-handed.

If someone declares something other than the soul to be valuable, one says, “He will lose what is valuable to him!” It sure will happen. That is why one should revere the soul alone as valuable. Whoever worships the soul alone as valuable, his valuable is not perishable. (Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad 1.4.8)

✻ When Thumbling saw that they were gone, he crept back out of the subterranean passage. “It is so dangerous to walk on the ground in the dark,” said he; “how easily a neck or a leg is broken!” Fortunately he knocked against an empty snail-shell. “Thank God!” said he. “In that I can pass the night in safety,” and got into it.

✎ When it comes to losing our souls or our lives, the greatest fear is of course the idea of death, and we fear that our consciousness will sink into eternal darkness. But as we read, the soul pushes again and again to light. The lighter and bigger the material world becomes, the darker and smaller the spiritual world becomes, and the fearful soul crawls into a body that, like a snail shell, narrows with every turn. Here, in a spiritually dark and narrow world, the soul believes to be safe. This is a major problem in our twisted worldview, especially today, and is probably the cause of the increasing widespread disease of depression. Millions of people in Germany alone are now suffering from severe depression. What do you expect when the senses focus only on external things, the bright light is only sought in a material world and darkness and mountains of rubbish grow inside? Obviously, environmental disaster and inward disaster are closely related. So, how does it go on in spiritual darkness?

✻ Not long afterwards, when he was just going to sleep, he heard two men go by, and one of them was saying, “How shall we contrive to get hold of the rich pastor’s silver and gold?” “I could tell thee that,” cried Thumbling, interrupting them. “What was that?” said one of the thieves in fright, “I heard some one speaking.” They stood still listening, and Thumbling spoke again, and said, “Take me with you, and I’ll help you.” “But where art thou?” “Just look on the ground, and observe from whence my voice comes,” he replied. There the thieves at length found him, and lifted him up. “Thou little imp, how wilt thou help us?” they said. “A great deal,” said he, “I will creep into the pastor’s room through the iron bars, and will reach out to you whatever you want to have.” “Come then,” they said, “and we will see what thou canst do.” When they got to the pastor’s house, Thumbling crept into the room, but instantly cried out with all his might, “Do you want to have everything that is here?” The thieves were alarmed, and said, “But do speak softly, so as not to waken any one!” Thumbling, however, behaved as if he had not understood this, and cried again, “What do you want? Do you want to have everything that is here?” The cook, who slept in the next room, heard this and sat up in bed, and listened. The thieves, however, had in their fright run some distance away, but at last they took courage, and thought, “The little rascal wants to mock us.” They came back and whispered to him, “Come, be serious, and reach something out to us.” Then Thumbling again cried as loudly as he could, “I really will give you everything, just put your hands in.” The maid who was listening, heard this quite distinctly, and jumped out of bed and rushed to the door. The thieves took flight, and ran as if the Wild Huntsman (version 1819: as if fire) were behind them.

✎ When the soul is in the dark and the inner light of wisdom is absent, two thieves appear. What are thieves? They reach for what is not theirs. Why two of them? You can only grasp something in the world of opposites. Who is the pastor? Actually a clergyman who should preserve spiritual wealth. Church and Wealth is a very sensitive topic, which has unfortunately been overdone into the absurd and is nowadays hardly understandable. However, we want to think positively and say: Where there is spiritual wealth, worldly wealth can also flourish. The thieves are aiming only for worldly wealth, not spiritual, and for this, they are betrayed by the soul. That is a wonderful symbolism.

The soul calls out, “Do you want to have everything?” Why do we want to be something special in life when we could be everything? Why do we want only a small part when we could have everything together as a whole? Here we meet again the famous game of polarities or opposites, which the soul grabs in ignorant darkness by means of desire and hatred. That is why our fairy tale also speaks of two thieves, and the soul should help them, but keep silence so that the guardian of wealth does not wake up.

Who protects wealth? Nature itself, symbolized here in the form of a maid who serves the pastor. What chases the thieves away when nature awakens? At that time, there was talk of sin that persecutes us through life to hell in order to be cleansed. It was said that one cannot withhold this sin, perhaps still in worldly life, but not in the spiritual world, or as one said earlier, before God.

The second message could be formulated in this way: Whoever wants to use the soul to acquire worldly wealth without spiritual wealth will be betrayed by sin. In short, the problem of our time: we want to be rich but not reasonable and wise...

Indeed, wealth is not dear for the sake of wealth, but wealth is dear for the sake of the soul... Indeed, the universe is not dear for the sake of the universe, but the universe is dear for the sake of the soul. (Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad 4.5.6)

✻ But as the maid could not see anything, she went to strike a light. When she came to the place with it, Thumbling, unperceived, betook himself to the granary (hayloft), and the maid, after she had examined every corner and found nothing, lay down in her bed again, and believed that, after all, she had only been dreaming with open eyes and ears.

✎ When talking about the soul, which is also called the psyche or the self, the senses should of course also be mentioned, their connection with nature, so to speak. Here only the eyes and ears are specifically mentioned, but the soul cannot be recognized directly with the other sense organs, just as the thieves were not able to recognize it. Because it is above spiritual principles that one can see, feel and even hear in a spiritual way. This is why our modern science has a hard time with it. Only little can be measured and calculated on this subjective level of nature, and the level of the soul is largely ignored and excluded from our modern view of the world. That draws ever-wider circles. Because we all hear the voice of the soul, but banish it to the realm of superstition, fantasy or the dream world. In this way, above all, intuitive reason is lost, with many values and virtues that were self-evident for humankind. The little rest of reason then only extends as far as one can calculate and experience with the senses.

✻ Thumbling had climbed up among the hay and found a beautiful place to sleep in; there he intended to rest until day, and then go home again to his parents. But he had other things to go through. Truly there is much affliction and misery in this world! When day dawned, the maid arose from her bed to feed the cows. Her first walk was into the barn, where she laid hold of an armful of hay, and precisely that very one in which poor Thumbling was lying asleep. He, however, was sleeping so soundly that he was aware of nothing, and did not awake until he was in the mouth of the cow, who had picked him up with the hay.

✎ What is indirectly addressed here used to be a sensitive topic, especially in Christianity. Do animals and plants have souls like humans? Do they also feel suffering and happiness in the world as humans do? The tale talks about hay, dried life, so to speak, in which the soul sleeps. Wonderful symbolism! The ancient cultures knew that everything in this world is soulful - not only people, animals and plants, but also mountains, lakes, rivers and even the whole earth. By this, our soul comes with the food into the body of a cow:

✻ “Ah, heavens!” cried he, “how have I got into the fulling mill?” but he soon discovered where he was. Then it was necessary to be careful not to let himself go between the teeth and be dismembered, but he was nevertheless forced to slip down into the stomach with the hay. “In this little room the windows are forgotten,” said he, “and no sun shines in, neither will a candle be brought. (version 1819: a light is not likely to be available either)”

✎ The soul comes into the walk-mill of the world, into the cycle of birth, old age and death as well as between the teeth of happiness and suffering. In this way, it also comes into a body, where it must first experience darkness and becomes dependent on the sense organs. How is such a body created? From food, especially from the bodies of other living beings that we consider killed. It is said, that a person at the age of 80 has consumed an average of over 60,000 kg of food, of which 5,000 kg are potatoes and 7,000 kg are meat. In this process, almost all atoms in the body are completely exchanged in an average of seven years.

The creatures are born of food.
All as they are on earth.
They have their life through food.
They go into food at last.
(Taittiriya Upanishad 2.2)

✻ His quarters were especially unpleasing to him, and the worst was, more and more hay was always coming in by the door, and the space grew less and less. Then, at length in his anguish, he cried as loud as he could, “Bring me no more fodder, bring me no more fodder (version 1819: no more new fodder).” The maid was just milking the cow, and when she heard some one speaking, and saw no one, and perceived that it was the same voice that she had heard in the night, she was so terrified that she slipped off her stool, and spilt the milk. She ran in the greatest haste to her master, and said, “Oh, heavens, pastor, the cow has been speaking!” “Thou art mad,” replied the pastor; but he went himself to the byre to see what was there. Hardly, however, had he set his foot inside than Thumbling again cried, “Bring me no more fodder, bring me no more fodder.” Then the pastor himself was alarmed, and thought that an evil spirit had gone into the cow, and ordered her to be killed.

✎ Well, how does the soul feel in such a body? There is now a large collection of near-death experiences, of which many people report how terrible it was to have to return to the tight and dark body. That is astonishing, because our soul did not like it here either. The worst part was all the food. We have already talked about the wagonload of firewood. Similar symbolism can also be seen in the hay, which in the form of dried grass is also killed life and is used as food. On a spiritual level, this also includes the many dead terms, images, views, definitions, etc. that we are consuming in large quantities today. We usually don’t even have the time to digest this mass of food reasonably well, like a cow takes its time to ruminate. Then maybe our soul will call out at some point, “Don’t bring me any more food!” Anyone who suddenly hears this voice in his own body could be as frightened as the maid doing the milking. Then one could choke this voice, or perhaps think about chasing a little less through the world and serving consumption. Just come to rest and consciously slow down... How much does a person actually need to be happy?

Drinking water and eating hay,
Milked out and sterile!
Oh! This sacrifice here,
It leads to unhappy worlds.
(Kathaka Upanishad 1.3)

The pastor’s reaction in our fairy tale is probably ambiguous. The fact that he must demonize and kill this human impulse of a cow corresponds initially to the usual dogmatic in Christianity according to the motto: “What cannot be is not allowed to be.” No one would probably have been surprised about a talking cow in ancient India. Beyond that, however, it is also a judgment of the “spiritual father” in nature, and this is how the third message could be formulated: Whoever uses the soul to nourish himself on the dead, the soul brings death to him.

Now, of course, the big question is: How can you feed yourself without killing? Oh dear, that’s hard to answer with our worldview. However, already in the Bible there is the commandment “You shall not kill!” Which is probably closely related to the second commandment “You shall not make yourself a dead picture!” This is precisely where our modern machine world suffers the most, in which nature is degraded to dead matter.

All of you, as you are, understand this soul as if it were something separate from you, and so you eat the food. But whoever worships this thumb-sized soul as a living whole will eat food in all worlds, in all beings, in all souls. (Chandogya-Upanishad 5.18.1)

✻ She was killed, but the stomach, in which Thumbling was, was thrown on the midden. Thumbling had great difficulty in working his way; however, he succeeded so far as to get some room, but just as he was going to thrust his head out, a new misfortune occurred. A hungry wolf ran thither, and swallowed the whole stomach at one gulp. Thumbling did not lose courage. “Perhaps,” thought he, “the wolf will listen to what I have got to say,” and he called to him from out of his stomach, “Dear wolf, I know of a magnificent feast for thee.” “Where is it to be had?” said the wolf. “In such and such a house; thou must creep into it through the kitchen-sink, and wilt find cakes, and bacon, and sausages, and as much of them as thou canst eat,” and he described to him exactly his father’s house.

✎ It continues with the most excellent symbolism, which of course we would like to examine more closely. A cow actually has four stomachs. The first, and largest, is called the rumen, weighs up to 12 kg, and wasn’t usually thrown on the dung. Perhaps one of the smaller stomachs is meant here, presumably thrown away out of proud contempt that often goes hand in hand with growing wealth. At least the cow was often used as a symbol of prosperity. That our soul gets out of the cow into an insatiable and greedy wolf who can be tempted with cake, bacon and sausage is certainly no coincidence. The more wealth, the more desire. You don’t have to explain that to anyone nowadays, because it can be observed and experienced everywhere. How the soul uses the wolf’s hunger to come back home and still makes fun of him, is not just a bone that you can chew on for a long time, you can even rack your brain about it. But first things are moving forward with great hope:

✻ The wolf did not require to be told this twice, squeezed himself in at night through the sink, and ate to his heart’s content in the larder. When he had eaten his fill, he wanted to go out again, but he had become so big that he could not go out by the same way. Thumbling had reckoned on this, and now began to make a violent noise in the wolf’s body, and raged and screamed as loudly as he could. “Wilt thou be quiet,” said the wolf, “thou wilt waken up the people!” “Eh, what,” replied the little fellow, “thou hast eaten thy fill, and I will make merry likewise,” and began once more to scream with all his strength. At last his father and mother were aroused by it, and ran to the room and looked in through the opening in the door. When they saw that a wolf was inside, they ran away, and the husband fetched his axe, and the wife the scythe. “Stay behind,” said the man, when they entered the room. “When I have given him a blow, if he is not killed by it, thou must cut him down and hew his body to pieces.”

✎ We are normally not aware that desire is a path on which there is somewhere a point of no return. It makes sense, however, if we think of the persistent problems of alcohol and drug addiction. And it should also be clear that this path does not end happily for the greedy wolf. For father and mother, in which we can see again the ruling principles of spirit and nature, will receive him appropriately with their respective weapons. The father wields the often-mentioned axe of the spirit, which like the famous sword of knowledge can kill and at the same time bring to life. In principle, this refers to our thoughts, which can cut down endless living trees, split and collect firewood. But you can also rise to reason and cut down the tree of illusion with insatiable desire at the root. Nature carries the famous scythe of death, a symbol for the transience of all physical things, with which it cuts off the thread of life, so to speak, but also a symbol of the harvest of the fruits that one has accumulated in life. That means here, if Father Spirit cannot kill desire with reason, then Mother Nature will try it through physical suffering. People knew this before, and accordingly one imagined the torments of hell, where one would be adequately punished for one’s sins. And that included cutting up the body:

There is another great hell called Nikrintana. There, oh father, big wheels roll like pottery wheels. Attached to them, the beings ceaselessly revolve around their own axis and are cut from sole to crown with terrible cords, which the ambassadors of Yama hold in their hands. But these, oh first of the two-born, do not perish because their bodies, which have been cut into hundreds of slices, are constantly being re-formed. So sinners will be cut up for thousands of years until their sin is washed away. (Markandeya Purana Chapter 12)

This is how one could formulate the fourth message here: Whoever uses the soul for greedy purposes must experience corresponding suffering. (There is the most apt German word for passion, namely Leidenschaft; Leiden = suffering, schaffen =create). Sure, in today’s age of modern medicine, no one should be told that suffering has a higher meaning and may even be caused by our insatiable lust. Well, let’s be honest: are we ready to live properly without mental and physical suffering? Don’t we all still feel this animal desire in us, this insatiable hunger of the wolf and this terrible unfulfilment in life, with which we create so much suffering for ourselves and many other beings on this earth? Do we know Mother Nature’s intention? Do we know why we live? Do we hear the voice of our spiritual Father?

✻ Then Thumbling heard his parents’ voices, and cried, “Dear father, I am here; I am in the wolf’s body.” Said the father, full of joy, “Thank God, our dear child has found us again,” and bade the woman take away her scythe, that Thumbling might not be hurt with it. After that he raised his arm, and struck the wolf such a blow on his head that he fell down dead, and then they got knives and scissors and cut his body open, and drew the little fellow (version 1819: their dear child) forth.

✎ Wow, now something incredible is happening. Perhaps one could put it this way: When we become aware that we are in the body of a hungry wolf, recognize the intention of nature and hear the voice of the father, then the spirit rejoices and speaks to nature, “Put aside suffering and death!” Wonderful! Then the spirit smashes the hard ego head and frees the soul from the narrow, dark and hungry body. This is how people used to imagine liberation from death, which ends the omnipresent fear of losing life with the soul. That was the great goal of immortality.

When all passion fades
Which nests in the heart of man,
Then whoever is mortal, becomes immortal,
Already here he reaches eternity.
(Kathaka Upanishad 6.14)

✻ “Ah,” said the father, “what sorrow we have gone through for thy sake.” “Yes, father, I have gone about the world a great deal. Thank heaven, I breathe fresh air again!” “Where hast thou been, then?” “Ah, father, I have been in a mouse’s hole, in a cow’s stomach, and then in a wolf’s; now I will stay with you.” “And we will not sell thee again, no, not for all the riches in the world,” said his parents, and they embraced and kissed their dear Thumbling. They gave him to eat and to drink, and had some new clothes made for him, for his own had been spoiled on his journey.

✎ The happy end reminds of the return of the prodigal son, which is also described as a parable in the Bible. So, what has the soul learned on its long journey, which one could also call the transmigration of souls? We recognized four messages here:

1) Whoever uses the soul to represent something external, loses it in the material and goes away empty-handed in the end.
2) Whoever uses the soul to acquire worldly wealth without the spiritual wealth will be betrayed by the soul.
3) Whoever uses the soul to nourish himself on dead things, will meet death.
4) Whoever uses the soul for greedy purposes must experience corresponding suffering.

However, the greatest insight in this fairy tale is that the soul will never sell itself to the world again. Who has learned something? The soul or the parents? At the end, there is the famous unity of spirit, nature and soul, which have reunited in true love. Now one could anxiously ask: Is this the end of life? Our fairy tale says: No, because they give the soul new nourishment and new clothes because the old clothes have been used up. Just as a person sheds worn clothes and puts on new ones, so too was the soul imagined shedding worn bodies and putting on new ones.

In this way, the soul could wander through the world as a “living being” or “being of life”. In the Indian Chandogya Upanishad, two principal ways are described for this “transmigration of souls”. Interestingly, it is also mentioned here how the soul can get into an animal body via vegetable food:

The wise, who live in the forest, practice faith as asceticism, practice worship as asceticism, they enter the flame (of the corpse fire), from the flame into the day, from the day into the light, from the light into the Sun, from the sun into the moon and from the moon into the lightning. From there the pure spirit, which is not like a human being, leads you to the Brahman (the highest and imperishable). This is called the way of the gods.

On the other hand, those who live in the village and practice virtue, charity and generosity enter the smoke (of the corpse fire), from the smoke into the night, from the night into the darkness, from the darkness into the ancestral world, from the ancestral world into space and out of space into the moon, where they become the food of the gods. They live there until (their karma) is exhausted and return the same way they came: into space, out of space into the wind, from the wind into the smoke, from the smoke into the fog, from the mist into the cloud and from the cloud they rain down. Then they are born here as rice and barley, herbs and trees, sesame and beans. It is difficult to escape from this. Because only if one consumes them as food and pours them as seed (into a mother’s womb), they can develop from it. Those who have lived virtuously achieve a good birth as human beings among clergymen, kings or peasants. However, those who have lived sinfully go into the wombs of dogs, pigs, or outcasts. (This is called the path of the fathers or ancestors).

Beyond these two paths there are the tiny living beings who are hardly born and have to die again. That would be a third way. Therefore (through this die and become) this world does not become full. Therefore, one should restrain oneself (in life). There is also the verse:

The gold thief and the alcohol drinker, the murderer of the clergy and the molester of the teacher, all of these and whoever associates with them will fall.

However, those who know or associate with the five fires are not defiled by sin and remain virtuous in the world of the pure. (Chandogya-Upanishad 5.10)

People used to think at least as much about this essence of the soul as we do about money today. Certainly only a fraction of it has come down to us in historical texts and in our everyday thinking. The fact, that over the many millennia no completely clear idea of the soul has emerged, shows how subtle this problem is. Of course, there were plenty of ideological systems, that claimed to be perfect, but the boundaries were often very narrow and defined by dogmas. Anyone who dared to scratch on them became an ideological enemy and had to be killed somehow. The problem, of course, lies in our way of thinking, with which we can only perceive the world in opposites and have to make appropriate distinctions. The probably most fatal distinction is the conceptual separation between life and death. Not even the most modern medicine can find a clear line here. And on this shaky foundation stands our whole worldview with many other opposites such as spirit and matter, soul and body, mine and yours, with which the thoughts can turn endlessly in circles.

But how to explain the basis of life without contradicting terms? One used to look for terms that should be free from contradictions, such as “God” or “Universe”. Here the thinking machine should just stop and not keep going in circles. Accordingly, one did not need a name for the universe, because there was only one. The same should be true of God. In the Bible, the Hebrew word YHWH stands for it, which can be translated as “He is”. It is not a name like Paul or Max, that serves to differentiate. Nevertheless, here, too, people do not want to accept reasonable limits. As we now speak of multi-universes, religions argue about the name of God and who owns the true God. It doesn’t get any more absurd! The term “God” is sometimes so negatively charged with this delusion that today many people panic and immediately think of fanatical sects, violence and madness. You can’t blame them...

How true is our material view of the world?

Well, since we have used so many quotations from the ancient Indian Upanishads with regard to the soul, we would like to finish our interpretation with a little closer look on this ancient Indian or Vedic view of the world. Here, too, something formless, shapeless and nameless is regarded as the basis of everything. It is called the unshaped or the “sea of causes”. It is said, the truth is without name and form. Names and forms emerge only through the knowing consciousness. This unformed sea of causes is the soul that is embodied in the waves that arise on this sea. Therefore, one cannot see or measure the soul. That is why there is only one soul that is embodied in many waves.

The teacher said, “Get me a fruit from the fig tree there.” - “Here it is, venerable one.” - “Split it.” - “It is split, venerable one.” - “What do you see in it?” - “I see here, oh venerable one, very small nuclei.” - “Split one of them.” - “It is split, venerable one.” - “What do you see in it?” - “Nothing at all, oh venerable one.” Then he said, “The delicacy that you do not perceive, oh dear one, from this delicacy, in fact, this great fig tree arose. Believe, oh dear one, what that delicacy is, that is what this whole universe consists of, that is the truth, that is the soul, that is you, oh Swetaketu!” (Chandogya-Upanishad 6.12)

The simplest system that we have found in this regard in the ancient Indian scriptures consists of seven principles, which are contained in each other, similar to a matryoshka. This can be illustrated schematically in the form of circles:

holistic and soulful view of the world (Vedic view of the world)

Let us now try to explain these seven natural principles, which we have already mentioned in other fairy tales, in our own words, the simplest way in the form of the usual creation story: The first principle that arises from the formless sea of causes is the great one or universal intelligence. This is roughly, what we consider to be higher reason, in which there is no ego madness. Perhaps one could also speak of pure consciousness or holistic knowledge that unites everything in the universe. Out of this arises the I-consciousness, so to speak the separating or opposing knowledge or thinking, which is mainly delimited by mine and yours. This then gives rise to the five great elements, which in principle encompass everything, that classical physics is concerned with. Because these elements are all permeated by intelligence and consciousness, the human senses are also assigned to these elements. The first thing that arises (from the I-consciousness) is the spatial element with the spatial separation and all the fields and waves that can spread in space, the “sound of the worlds” so to speak. This creates the wind element with the principle of movement, also “the storm of feelings” that moves us. This movement creates the heat of the friction and thus the fire element with the light and the visibility, so to speak “the view of things”. This creates the flowing water element with the taste when it cools down, what we call the “taste of life”. Finally, the water condenses into a solid earth element in the form of matter, and the scent arises, the “scent of transience”. With this, all seven principles are finally contained in the earth as well as all properties of the elements. One can also see clearly in this scheme that spirit and matter cannot be separated in principle. And this of course puts the distinction between life and death into perspective. (Source: Vayu-Purana 1.4 and 1.49, Vishnu Purana 2.7, Markandeya Purana 45 or Shiva Purana 10.19)

This worldview has a certain ingenuity. On the one hand, one recognizes the fundamental nature of the soul, which is expressed in a great sublimity, as it is also clear in our fairy tale. For the Thumbling does not grow, does not become entangled in the world, does not accumulate anything, and one cannot even claim that he learns anything on his wandering. As in a game, he says, “Just sell me! I’ll be back again.” We find a similar sublimity, for example, in the Krishna figure of the Indian stories, who plays in the world and fulfils his task without getting entangled in the world. So very different from the small, greedy and fearful ego that we know in people today.

On the other hand, it is no coincidence with this view of the world that physical beings exist like us humans, but a completely natural and consistent development. Because intelligence, self-consciousness and sense-consciousness are essential properties of every matter, which therefore always urges to organize and embody itself according to the conditions in sensitive organisms. That means that everything is soulful and that we are always connected with this soul, the formless sea of causes, from which everything arises and disappears again in it. Similar to how the waves on the sea are always connected to the sea, arise from the sea and disappear again in the sea. This has some advantages, of course, because it not only plausibly explains the origin of life but also the mental abilities, reason, thinking, memory, telepathy, near-death experiences, ghosts, placebo effects, homeopathy and similar practical experiences. With this worldview, one did not have to be afraid of disappearing into nothing. People were always connected to the sea of causes, and not a word, thought or deed was lost. So they thought about what they cause and accumulate with it during life and how they could escape this cycle between birth and death as well as happiness and suffering. Accordingly, there were different ways to liberation that we hardly think about today.

Because our worldview has changed decisively in this regard. The consciousness that used to be the basis has now somehow emerged from dead matter, and nobody really knows how this could happen by chance. Even the material world is based on a series of question marks, which scientists claim that no human can know what, for example, the space, the movement and all the energy in the Big Bang came from. It looks something like this schematically:

materialistic-egocentric worldview

Accordingly, today we suffer from a growing fear of existence, despite all material prosperity. Because our consciousness is based on dead and perishable matter. The advantage is that we don’t have to think too much about liberation, because our consciousness ends up in dead matter anyway. Therefore, the battle cry rings out: “You only live once!” What you cannot grasp and enjoy in this life, you will never be able to grasp and enjoy again. That means, “Devil-may-care!” What does the world have to do with me after my death? So, what use is a soul that speaks to us inwardly in a dead universe?

The German physicist, astronomer and natural philosopher Harald Lesch in one of his videos on youtube:
There are, for example, “structural sciences” that deal with a phenomenon that we call, for example, “life”. Life is a real borderline phenomenon of matter. So most of the universe is all dead. You can write “99,” and then you can write as many “9” as you want after it (the comma), and (also write) a %, that is always true, no matter how many nines you write down, everything is dead. 99.999999999999999… percent everything is dead. This universe consists only in tiny parts of living beings. That life lives around us, thank God, otherwise we wouldn’t be there. But most of the universe is not alive.

There is a similar fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm on this subject with the title “Thumblings Wandering”. Here you can already perceive that we hardly hear the voice of the soul in our restless and noisy world. One recognizes this schematically even in the new worldview, where consciousness and hearing are far apart. So today, you don’t need to be surprised if nobody can hear the inner voice of the soul, for example when people say, “What lasts a long time doesn’t make any money!” or “Poisoning is better than ploughing!” Perhaps we should not think so much about technical or bureaucratic solutions in the face of the natural disaster named “humans”, but more about the causes in our worldview, which is the human basis for hearing, thinking and acting and has become a more and more primitive materialism in the last few centuries.

Quantum Physics versus Materialism

There has been a scientific quantum mechanics for almost a hundred years, which has meanwhile been conclusively proven and proven thousands of times, but which even among scientists has practically hardly had any influence on their view of the world. The philosophical consequences of this quantum mechanics are taught neither in schools nor in studies and are rarely spread in the public media either. Clearly proven knowledge is simply ignored in life. Even a brilliant scientist like Albert Einstein could never accept the philosophical consequences of quantum mechanics for a lifetime. One wonders with concern: What are the interests of science?

That has fatal consequences, of course: Today we work with the technologies of the 20th and 21st centuries, but use them with the worldview of the 19th century. This is surely an important reason why we are currently mentally incapable of using these powerful technologies responsibly. We want to control nature, but we cannot control ourselves. Compared to the scientific and technical development, our intellectual development has stopped at kindergarten level and we are like children who play with fire. Despite better knowledge, we blindly cling to the materialism of the 19th century, and that means, “To get things in a complete mess.”

Post materialistic science

However, there is still hope. Even among renowned scientists, one can now find attempts to put the material worldview on a spiritual basis again. It was not until 2014 that there was a manifest for a post-materialistic science, with which a number of renowned scientists around the world bravely opposed the materialistic dogma of today’s science, which leads to a life in a dead nature. One speaks meanwhile of a morphogenetic, matrix, information or psi field and even of a “sea of possibilities” in the context of a quantum philosophy. Here one slowly senses that the huge vacuum between the tiny elementary particles is not completely empty and that there are basically no “particles” at all. Hans-Peter-Dürr, a famous physicist who studied modern quantum physics in depth, even said in an interview:

“The fields in quantum physics are not only immaterial, but also affect completely different, larger spaces that have nothing to do with our familiar three-dimensional space. It is a pure information field - like a kind of quantum code. It has nothing to do with mass and energy. This information field is not only within me, but extends over the entire universe. The cosmos is a whole because this quantum code has no limit. There is only one thing...

The reality in the new physics is potentiality, a world of can-possibilities to embody oneself materially and energetically in different ways. That is why I no longer want to use the terms particle or atom and instead say “Wirks” or “Passierchen”. A Passierchen is a tiny little process.” (P.M. Magazin 05/2007)

Therefore, the potential or the unshaped in the sea of causes, from which these little effects (Wirks, Passierchen) happen, is again at the very bottom at the basis of a new physics with a world view that in many ways resembles the old Indian traditions. Or, as it was said in the Chandogya Upanishad above:

Believe, oh dear one, what that delicacy is (which you cannot see), that is what this whole universe consists of, that is the truth, that is the soul, that is you!

We hardly dare to believe it, but maybe even the ancient soul has a new chance again?

Parables and images for something incomprehensible

If you have now read our commentary on this wonderful fairy tale, you will perhaps ask: “Who should understand that?” Then you are very close to the truth, because the soul cannot be understood with ordinary thoughts in principle, because it is what understands. Therefore, one can really only speak of it in metaphors and mirror images. The same problem exists in modern quantum physics, by the way. These, too, can only be described with mathematical equations or with parables from our everyday experiences. The ancient fairy tales with their wonderful symbolism evidently arose from this plight of our conceptual thoughts, as well as the parables of the Bible, the many symbolic stories of the ancient Indian Puranas and many other mystical stories all over the world, in order to clarify something, which is actually unexplainable. Because what is at the bottom of our world - what holds the world together at its core - is an unformed potential, an information field or a sea of causes or possibilities. For this reason, the famous physicist Hans-Peter-Dürr also tried to talk about modern quantum physics primarily with images and parables. To conclude, we would like to refer to a wonderful lecture he gave in 2002 at Clausthal University with the title “We experience more than we understand”:

The Crystal Ball

✻ There was once an enchantress, who had three sons who loved each other as brothers, but the old woman did not trust them, and thought they wanted to steal her power from her. So she changed the eldest into an eagle, which was forced to dwell in the rocky mountains, and was often seen sweeping in great circles in the sky. The second, she changed into a whale, which lived in the deep sea, and all that was seen of it was that it sometimes spouted up a great jet of water in the air. Each of them only bore his human form for two hours daily. The third son, who was afraid she might change him into a raging wild beast a bear perhaps, or a wolf, went secretly away. He had heard that a King’s daughter who was bewitched, was imprisoned in the Castle of the Golden Sun, and was waiting for deliverance. Those, however, who tried to free her risked their lives; three-and-twenty youths had already died a miserable death, and now only one other might make the attempt, after which no more must come. And as his heart was without fear, he caught at the idea of seeking out the Castle of the Golden Sun.

✎ We would first like to try to look at this fairy tale from a psychological point of view in the simplest possible terms. As a framework, you could imagine three brothers who love each other but are a few years apart. At some point, the youngest of them realizes how his older brothers transform strangely and are often very different from how he sees himself. The eldest may already live in an intellectual world that the younger can no longer follow and appears like an eagle on an inaccessible rock. The middle one may live in a bubbling world of emotions that the youngest can no longer understand, and appears as mighty as a whale in the unfathomable depths of the sea. Only now and then, they are the way he sees himself. Then they can talk or play again as they used to. But mostly the older brothers seem to him as if enchanted by a higher power. Perhaps he also sees that they are not always happy, or fears that he will develop in a similar way, or becomes aware of a challenge that he would rather escape. Perhaps he even feels betrayed by his mother for bringing up his brothers in such a way that they became strangers to him. Perhaps he is also aware of his growing ego that often behaves like a wild predator, unfolds greed that he cannot control, and thus even hurts other people he does not want to hurt at all. Perhaps he even begins to fear this uncontrollable animal inside, which he is increasingly aware of, and seeks to flee. And where does a child escape to? Perhaps in a wonderful magical world of imagination. He might slip into the role of a great hero who becomes king in a golden castle, who wins complete rule and has no more worries. He wishes to get away from his worried world to the golden sun, where there are no more dark clouds. He may have already heard a fairy tale about such a king that his own mother may even told him. That is good, because now the child takes courage and dares his life to go this way, to redeem the soul in the form of a beautiful princess and to free himself from all worries. In the same way that the child has learned about the path to the golden castle, he learns everything that he could encounter on this path in the following fairy tale and how he should deal with it. It is a path, typical of the old fairy tales, that can extend throughout life and the most important thing is that the child begins to walk:

✻ He had already travelled about for a long time without being able to find it, when he came by chance into a great forest, and did not know the way out of it. All at once he saw in the distance two giants, who made a sign to him with their hands, and when he came to them they said, “We are quarrelling about a cap, and which of us it is to belong to, and as we are equally strong, neither of us can get the better of the other. The small men are cleverer than we are, so we will leave the decision to thee.” “How can you dispute about an old cap?” said the youth. “Thou dost not know what properties it has! It is a wishing-cap; whosoever puts it on, can wish himself away wherever he likes, and in an instant he will be there.” “Give me the cap,” said the youth, “I will go a short distance off, and when I call you, you must run a race, and the cap shall belong to the one who gets first to me.” He put it on and went away, and thought of the King’s daughter, forgot the giants, and walked continually onward. At length he sighed from the very bottom of his heart, and cried, “Ah, if I were but at the Castle of the Golden Sun,” and hardly had the words passed his lips than he was standing on a high mountain before the gate of the castle.

✎ So, he initially wanders through the big world and cannot find the path he heard about in the fairy tale. In the case of a child, this is primarily the inner world, which adults refer to as the “fantasy world”. This world is completely normal for a child, and so here, he may meet his own brothers in the form of two giants, who first magically attract him. One could speak of intellect and feeling, arguing among themselves about who should be in charge (in German: who should wear the hat). A being that we call the ego usually rises above them and spontaneously takes the hat and thus dominion over our desires. If mind and feeling quarrel, the ego does not care. Why? It only wants to go to the castle of the golden sun, where great luck beckons.

✻ He entered and went through all the rooms, until in the last he found the King’s daughter. But how shocked he was when he saw her. She had an ashen-gray face full of wrinkles, blear eyes, and red hair. “Are you the King’s daughter, whose beauty the whole world praises?” cried he. “Ah,” she answered, “this is not my form; human eyes can only see me in this state of ugliness, but that thou mayst know what I am like, look in the mirror it does not let itself be misled it will show thee my image as it is in truth.” She gave him the mirror in his hand, and he saw therein the likeness of the most beautiful maiden on earth, and saw, too, how the tears were rolling down her cheeks with grief. Then said he, “How canst thou be set free? I fear no danger.” She said, “He who gets the crystal ball, and holds it before the enchanter, will destroy his power with it, and I shall resume my true shape. Ah,” she added, “so many have already gone to meet death for this, and thou art so young; I grieve that thou shouldst encounter such great danger.” “Nothing can keep me from doing it,” said he, “but tell me what I must do.” “Thou shalt know everything,” said the King’s daughter; “when thou descendest the mountain on which the castle stands, a wild bull will stand below by a spring, and thou must fight with it, and if thou hast the luck to kill it, a fiery bird will spring out of it, which bears in its body a burning egg, and in the egg the crystal ball lies like a yolk. The bird will not, however, let the egg fall until forced to do so, and if it falls on the ground, it will flame up and burn everything that is near, and melt even ice itself, and with it the crystal ball, and then all thy trouble will have been in vain.”

✎ What does the little ego find in this big castle? It walks impatiently through all the rooms and is seriously disappointed in the end by what it sees here. Well, what does a person find when he looks inside himself? First of all, a lot of pictures, views and experiences. They are not always beautiful, even if that is the big desire of the little ego.

Let us first try to look at this section at the child-rearing level. Who is the child’s most important mirror here? The people in his surroundings and, above all, of course, the parents. If they could show the child the beauty of a pure soul through their own being, then we could save ourselves almost any education. Which child would then not highly motivated follow his parents path? That would be the ideal case of bringing up children, namely through an authentic example. Of course, this assumes that the parents have already successfully followed this path. Well, such a path is outlined in this fairy tale. It is the famous fight with the stubborn ox or fire-breathing dragon, so to speak, with the wild animal in us that has to be defeated. One recognizes this animal in us above all by desire, hatred and egoism, which overwhelm us with irrepressible passion. All parents know this common struggle, outwardly with their children and inwardly with themselves.

However, the great thing about this fairy tale lies in the second message: you should kill the animal in this fight, but not the fertile and creative life. If the child loses this liveliness, then all educational effort was in vain. That is the great danger, and many youngsters have really died from it. This was a big problem, especially in the past, when the upbringing was much harder and more consistent and some children were really suffocated and became a dead machine. We are afraid of this hardness today, so we have taken a step back and prefer to let the animal grow in order to preserve fertile life. Nevertheless, the values that we pass on to the children are very alarming. One wonders whether, with this step, we are not back at the beginning of the fairy tale, when the mother charmed her own children into animals because she did not want to restrain or restrict herself. Are we not becoming more and more animal on this path and even boast of being animals? - Limelight hog, barracuda, work horse, hamster in the wheel, cheeky monkey, party animal, booze hound, alley cat… (The German list is even longer…) Alcohol, drugs, sex and violence! - Are these our modern human values that we pass on to our children? Will our children and grandchildren soon ask; “Why did you turn us into animals? We wanted to become reasonable people...”

Oh dear, that was probably not the way to the castle of the golden sun. One can also think about a marriage relationship in a similar way. Here, too, it often happens that the expected beauty and love turn into ugly transience, and bull and cow become two raging bulls that passionately clash. Even two stubborn oxen are difficult to harness to a wagon. They argue, everyone has his own way and tries to control the other without ever having learned to control himself. Then the initial fire of love quickly turns into a fire of passion and threatens to burn up all married life. This is called a dead marriage, after all. The main reason, of course, is that none of the partners managed to defeat the wild animal within himself. Without this victory, however, there can be no true love...

So we have to take a step back and examine an even deeper level of the fairy tale that takes place within us alone. The princess or soul speaks, “The eyes of people can only see me in this ugliness.” Where does the ugly in the world come from? - We usually believe that we see the pure truth with our eyes. Perhaps it would be better to speak of “effects” here, because what our senses “perceive” are primarily effects. If we could see the cause to the true source through the effects, then we could perhaps speak of truth. Usually we only look at the surface and see the fading and constantly changing. And what is uglier than a withered flower or a withered beauty? - Oh, if we could only take a real look at the inner being of the creatures, then we would no longer allow ourselves to be seduced by superficial beauties that have to turn again and again into ugly and painful things. If someone were to hand us a mirror in order to recognize the pure beauty of our soul, then a higher love would immediately awaken with the big question: How can I redeem the soul from this ugly transience? What should I do?

The soul itself can whisper the answer to us. However, death threatens here! Why did so many young men have to die? Yes, it really takes a lot of courage. Perhaps young people and children in particular have a lot more courage for this path than adults because they have much less to lose. An adult has perhaps to become a child again in order to even hear the soft voice of the soul that speaks to us and explains the way to her salvation. What is she explaining? Perhaps one could interpret it this way: we must first go down into the depths to the source of life. There the great fight with the wild animal awaits us. But now it gets exciting: If the animal dies, then the whole life burns, and a mighty, flaming fire bird rises into the air and carries the fertile life away forever, symbolized as a glowing egg. However, it is precisely in living things that the key to redemption for the soul lies. So the big question arises: How could one manage to keep this life on earth and not burn up in fire? And that is a really big question: How can you free the soul from the ugly transience of the world and at the same time preserve the fruitful and creative life?

This essence of life, the yellow egg yolk, so to speak, the incomparable sun jewel, the crystal ball in which the whole world is reflected, is therefore the great key with which enchanter and enchantress lose their power of illusion, the spirit is purified and the soul redeemed. Wow!

✻ The youth went down to the spring, where the bull snorted and bellowed at him. After a long struggle he plunged his sword in the animal’s body, and it fell down. Instantly a fiery bird arose from it, and was about to fly away, but the young man’s brother, the eagle, who was passing between the clouds, swooped down, hunted it away to the sea, and struck it with his beak until, in its extremity, it let the egg fall. The egg did not, however, fall into the sea, but on a fisherman’s hut which stood on the shore and the hut began at once to smoke and was about to break out in flames. Then arose in the sea waves as high as a house, they streamed over the hut, and subdued the fire. The other brother, the whale, had come swimming to them, and had driven the water up on high. When the fire was extinguished, the youth sought for the egg and happily found it; it was not yet melted, but the shell was broken by being so suddenly cooled with the water, and he could take out the crystal ball unhurt.

✎ So now begins the struggle that takes place more or less consciously in all of us. This section can also be seen from the perspective of bringing up children. Everyone here knows the problem of the “stubborn ox”. However, this is not yet the big ox at the source, but many small ones, similar to the many heads of the dragon, which grow back repeatedly. But the principle of the struggle is similar. One should be aware that every child internally goes through this struggle more or less successfully. The parenting question is, what is the best way to help the child in this struggle? Here we meet the two brothers again in the fairy tale, who intervene in the event of their own accord and ensure that the fire does not burn everything: the reasonable understanding limits the fire, and loving feelings extinguish it. Wonderful symbolism! Understanding and feeling are certainly crucial tools in raising children. It is important to find a middle way. Sometimes it says: “If you don’t want to hear, you have to feel!” And sometimes: “If you don’t want to feel, you have to hear!”

In addition, of course, there is the great struggle that takes place within ourselves at the source of life, which one must first find. This is probably about the highest victory that humans can achieve, namely not only to restrain the animal, but to kill it and still preserve the fertile and creative life. The famous sword, which kills and brings to life at the same time, is used for this purpose. The understanding serves this purpose, which should rise to reason as the great king, together with the feeling, which rises from compassion to pure love, which knows no more egoism. The physical or material shell of life crumbles, the true being becomes visible, and the spirit recognizes the mystical crystal ball in which the whole world is reflected.

✻ When the youth went to the enchanter and held it before him, the latter said, “My power is destroyed, and from this time forth thou art the King of the Castle of the Golden Sun. With this canst thou likewise give back to thy brothers their human form.” Then the youth hastened to the King’s daughter, and when he entered the room, she was standing there in the full splendour of her beauty, and joyfully they exchanged rings with each other.

✎ You may have wondered why the brothers had no father and the princess no mother. This is certainly not about today’s “gender mania”. We suspect that this emphasizes symbolic polarities in this fairy tale, so that the sorceress enchants the brothers and the magician the princess. Accordingly, nature enchants the mind, and the mind enchants nature. This is the eternal dance in the cosmos, which is symbolized with the polarities of male and female or, in Chinese, yin and yang. And the fairy tale could tell us: when the mind is purified through knowledge, then the power of illusion disappears that enchants us, the illusory ego dies, pure reason becomes king and pure soul becomes queen, and everything shines in perfect beauty. The ring of true love unites the feminine and the masculine, yin and yang, which has only been separated outwardly in different forms and terms by the power of illusion. There is this wonderful symbol of Yin and Yang, how polarity becomes a living, flowing wave and the wave becomes a circle. And as soon as one can look through the superficial shell of our physicality, this circle becomes a crystal ball in which one recognizes the essence of life.

A fairy tale? Certainly, it sounds very different from the formulas of classical science, psychology or the principles of the market economy. This is about ancient ways that were even told as folk tales by the common people and therefore kept alive. They have become very strange to us today, although there has been scientifically proofed quantum physics for almost a hundred years that confirms something similar. But the materialistic-egoistic view of the world has become so hardened that the very idea of living without an ego is completely absurd for many people. And to look for a living happiness in egolessness seems even more absurd.

Our ego, oddly enough, bears a great resemblance to what we call “money”. We think: without money we cannot exist, without money there is no life. And the more money, the more life and the more wishes “I” can fulfil. Yet, there are only printed papers or shaped metal. However, because most people believe in it, it becomes the truth. A very questionable truth, and sometimes it resembles a spiritual liberation if one has the courage to simply burn such a paper, which usually makes us slaves...

So much for this wonderful magical fairy tale full of concentrated symbolism, which the Brothers Grimm claim to have taken from another fairy tale and apparently processed it from a psychological point of view with their excellent experience. A similar plot can also be found in the “Chronik der drei Schwestern” by Johann Karl August Musäus (Chronicle of the three sisters), from which the fairy tale “The Three Sisters” by the Brothers Grimm arose in a similar way.

With this we have tried to interpret some levels of this fairy tale. In order to investigate the intellectual or spiritual level even more deeply, we want to turn to the original, which was published in 1844 in the book “Hundert neue Mährchen im (Riesen) Gebirge gesammelt von Friedmund von Arnim” (Hundred new fairy tales in the Giant Mountains collected by…). The original has a second part that contributes significantly to understanding. In addition, it is written short and crisp and resembles the style of the old Zen masters, who used their words like thunderbolts, according to the motto: “Brevity is the soul of wit!” Not an easy challenge, but take courage, we want to try...

From the Castle of the Golden Sun

✻ There was a mother, who had three sons. She had cursed the first to be an eagle king who had to be an eagle for 22 hours and a human for 2 hours every day. She had cursed the second to be a fish king, again 22 hours of fish, 2 hours of human. The third had gone away, so as not to be cursed by his mother, and had heard stories from the Castle of the Golden Sun that there was a princess there who could be redeemed; that already 23 found their death there, and that a field would still be open for the 24th.

✎ This fairy tale starts again with the three brothers who, as male beings, are reminiscent of the spirit of the animals of air, water and earth. So it is obvious, that the third and youngest brother should be cursed into a bear as the king of the earth animals which the Brothers Grimm later added. It is astonishing that the close relationship with humans was already recognized in all animals, so that they only took on their animal form and nature for a certain time due to a magic or an illusion of the great Mother Nature. This is of course an extremely comprehensive view of the human being, which not only unites the three brothers with one another, but also the human being with all animals, even if man likes to think of himself as something special. In addition, the fairy tale means: He could even be something special if he does not allow himself to be cursed by nature to be the king of the earth animals, but goes a special way instead, as outlined here in the fairy tale, to redeem the soul from the illusion.

Well, right at the beginning we find two basic spiritual principles. The first unites all beings with one another, which is what the blood relationship of the brothers stands for who were born of a common mother. You could call it a universal intelligence that connects all creatures. Those who were aware of this and expanded their consciousness accordingly could speak to animals and plants and even to rivers and stones. The second principle separates living beings, just as the brothers are separated. Here we find the I-consciousness, which can harden down to the ego and is embodied above all in the animal attributes of desire and hate. With this, we recognize ourselves as separate individuals. How does that happen? The fairy tale speaks of “cursed” (in German: verwünschen, wünschen = to wish). Well, maybe we just wish the wrong thing, so that insatiable desires make us despotic kings on earth who cannot, indeed, do not even want to control their animal instincts. This has a lot to do with illusion, of course, and so the Grimm version of the fairy tale above speaks of an enchantress. Of course, there is probably nothing that can enchant us more than nature, but we only “curse” ourselves.

There are also two mystical number games (22 and 2) by which one could first understand the two hours of twilight between day and night. In the past, twilight was often a mystical time, when opposites meet, so to speak, and the spirit can come to life. Accordingly, they were used for rituals and prayers. One can also think of the famous “witching hour” at midnight. This seemingly small space between the opposites, where the spirit particularly unfolds, will be mentioned several times in this fairy tale.

The 24 fields of the soul could mean a development cycle similar to a 24-hour day, on which the previous 23 levels of birth and death were marked, but now the time for something higher is ripe. Such cycles were normal in ancient cultures, because they could be found everywhere in nature: in the course of the sun, the moon, the stars and the seasons as well as in birth and death, blooming and withering, or happiness and suffering. Everything took place in cycles, including intellectual development. There is always a field open in this cycle, which is already symbolized by the famous Zen circle, the figurehead of Zen Buddhism, so to speak:

And of course, all the previous stages somehow meet death as long as one remains trapped in this “hamster wheel” of the outer world and searches for one’s own soul in the perishable. The main aim of the spiritual path to salvation is to overcome the worldly attachment to loss and death.

✻ So he travelled along and came into a large forest, got lost in it and as he looked around he saw two giants standing, they waved to him. When he approached them, the two quarrelled over a hat. Then the giants said to him that they were all equally strong and that they couldn’t agree who should get the hat, he should decide that. He has the hat given to him and says to them: He would go a little further away; then they should come running to him: whoever came first should get the hat. But they had told him it was a wishing hat; if you put it on, you could go where you wanted to go. As he ran on and on without calling the giant, all of a sudden he put on the hat and wished himself at the castle of the golden sun.

✎ The large forest is a common symbol of our world of names and shapes in which we usually get lost. Here we meet, so to speak, the great opposites of nature, which you can imagine as giants fighting against each other, such as day and night, fire and water, life and death, understanding and emotion or happiness and suffering. Like the poles of a battery, they are equally strong and support the order of the world within narrow limits. We usually cling to these opposites with greed and hatred. It is said, that between these opposites there is a small space where the spirit can come to life and fulfil its desires. Let us think of the gigantic contrast between our extremely hot sun and the extreme cold of space. In between there is a tiny little zone where our way of life is possible. And the tolerated range of our body temperature is even smaller. Accordingly, there are also many sensitive balances on earth that are necessary so that we can live within relatively narrow natural boundaries. This natural space of our human existence appears tiny and narrow compared to the gigantic extremes and expanses of the universe. Even our earth is just an unremarkable speck of dust, and we live on its surface.

By the way we currently live, this living space, which one could also call a feel-good area or comfort zone, is becoming very small and the natural balance more and more fragile. We are evermore locking ourselves into tight artificial shells in order to defend ourselves against a nature that appears more and more hostile because we make it so through our materialistic-egoistic point of view. Many people already live practically like potted plants in an artificial environment with a scientifically worked out plan for watering, fertilizing, topping, harvesting and finally disposing. To this end, an economically oriented science together with an economically oriented health system should help us, which are more and more turning into a blind dictatorship, because money makes blind. In this way, we are separating ourselves further and further from a sensible, natural life, and will soon only be able to exist artificially cared for as “indoor plants” or “flower pots” in sterile rooms in order to protect ourselves from a hostile nature that we made to a threatening enemy through our own thoughts and actions. May we slowly begin to expand our narrow consciousness again and look beyond the edge of the material pot.

Perhaps this is the meaning of the wishing hat found among the giants, which through its symbolism already has a close connection to our head with thinking. What we need dead machines for today, such as cars, airplanes or rockets, people used to be able to achieve with their mind or consciousness alone. And the further one reconciles these great contrasts of nature, the more one can rise spiritually from them, the closer one comes to the “Castle of the Golden Sun”. This way beyond opposites also reminds us of the “middle way” much talked about in Buddhism:

The highest truth is not difficult.
Indeed; it leaves no choice between two things...
Don’t stay with opposing thoughts.
Beware of looking for them...
At once cast aside the parts and the opposites,
Every advantage and every disadvantage...
Who retains only a touch of the opposite,
His mind remains confused ...
(The Sutra of Seng-Tsan)

This path beyond contrasts can lead to the “Castle of the Golden Sun”, a wonderful symbolism that one can think about for a long time. We already know the gold as a symbol of truth, the radiant sun as pure energy or a spirit unifying everything, and a castle is something that requires a key to get into. Who lives in this castle? It is said, that the pure soul lives there, the highest thing we can find in the world and which all beings are looking for, the essence of our life.

✻ When he got there, he looked at the princess, but she looked very bad. He said to her, “If I had known that you looked so dreadful, I would not have come here at all.” But she got a mirror so that he could look in it and he would know how beautiful she would be if she were saved.

✎ This experience is not unusual. We often face the ugly through the transience of nature in the form of loss, old age, illness and death. Just think of a bunch of flowers that have faded and that we throw in the garbage because it no longer looks pretty. If we could be able to see the beauty in the withered blossom, in the fruit and in the seed, then we would have a much deeper worldview. We would chase less after perishable things, impermanence would lose power and maybe even death.

A monk asked, “What if the tree withers and the leaves fall?”
The master spoke, “Perfect manifestation of the golden wind.”
(Yün-men (864-949), Zen Master)

Also mentally, many people who at some point look inside see a lot of ugliness. It used to be spoken of as a dark soul defiled by sin. These are the mountains of garbage that we accumulate and never recycle, not only externally in nature, but also internally. This is probably also the reason why we prefer to focus on beautiful external things. Nobody wants to look at this horrible thing inside. Especially these days we see no point in cleaning here. Because we no longer know anything about the actual beauty of the soul, we don’t even suspect it and even deny that there is a soul at all. So why should we clean up inside? It’s enough if we’re fine on the outside. Our catalogues are full of beautiful pictures of things we are meant to desire and buy. Modern art counteracts this and loves the terrible. This is certainly no coincidence, because it already reflects our inner being. Who still shows us the beauty of the soul in pure harmony? Where are the painters with the magic mirror? They say, just one look at the pure soul and we are in love forever. And that’s a whole different kind of love than we’re used to. Then you also go completely different ways than we usually go:

✻ So, he said when he looked inside, “That’s good! What’s my job?” - “There’s an ox down by the spring,” said the princess: he would have to kill it first. If the ox were dead, he should be careful. A fiery bird would fly away, carrying a glowing egg; if the bird were greatly distressed, it would drop the egg, and where it fell everything would be burned until the egg had melted and could no longer be found. But there was a ball in the egg, if he could get it, it would satisfy the spirit that is now holding her in chains. She would be redeemed and he would be king of the palace of the golden sun.

✎ Wow, awesome symbolism! We want to try it. First, a spring is mentioned. That must be something important, and so we would assume the source of life here, the origin where our person arises. Even this search can be a long way, because we usually look for the solution to our problems somewhere outside. It is even more astonishing that we find an ox here inside the spring. We already know the ox as a symbol from the fairy tale “Doctor Knowall” for the I-will that pulls the chariot of life on which we load our life story. This also includes the mountains of rubbish mentioned above, for which the symbol of firewood is often used. But in this fairy tale there is only a single ox, so to speak “All in One”, which should be killed.

What do we usually mean when we say: You’re as stubborn as an ox!? It’s probably about this stubborn self-will, which we also call “ego”, so to speak, the wild and greedy animal in us. At least this ego is an important basis of our person, and it was known in the past: whoever defeats this ego can free the soul.

My sins and lacks disappear with my I.
(Ikkyu (1394-1481), Zen Master)

The battle against the ego is a complicated subject, however. The big question is who is fighting whom here? Moreover, with what weapons? As long as “I” fight with the ego, the ego fights with itself and is like an athlete on the way to becoming an “Iron Man” who only gets stronger through training and competition. Therefore, you need some other force beyond “I”. And this is where common sense usually comes in, which one needs and develops already in the search for the source. One could defeat the ego with reason. This sounds simple at first, but the ego is not like a louse you can easily scrape off your head, but a tremendous mountain of energy that we have personally accumulated in life, the mentioned truckload of firewood, so to speak: all sins and merits, what is called the Karma Mountain in India. This mighty, unpredictable and explosive energy is symbolized by the wild bull or, in a more tamed form, the ox. And, this energy cannot simply be lost, as we know from physics and the the famous law of conservation of energy.

What now? A common idea is to burn up this karma like a mountain of wood. Can you imagine that? Then with the dying ox, a huge fire rises like a bird in the sky. This fire carries with it the seed of life along with karma. Even if this seed were to fall again on fertile soil, it will no longer germinate but will be completely burned up. So there is no longer any rebirth, as one used to imagine the continuation of one’s own life. That would be the end of the prince, a kind of suicide and actually no salvation, because there is still a problem: the princess in the castle of the golden sun remains unredeemed. - Very interesting, because this is how the ego usually imagines its salvation: “I am redeemed! What does the world have to do with me any longer?” That is of course a very narrow-minded idea of salvation or great liberation from worldly constraints, at least not in the sense of our princess.

Our fairy tale asks the really big question: How can one burn off karma and at the same time preserve the fruitful and creative life, in order to free the soul in the castle of the golden sun?

And, what does “to satisfy the spirit that now binds the soul” mean? This is obviously not about any material or technological achievements, but about a spiritual realization that leads to peace. The fairy tale describes this path in brilliant brevity. But, today we have a hard time with the symbolism, because the nature of a stubborn ox or a living fire is no longer part of our everyday experience that has passed over into flesh and blood. Cars, tractors, electric stoves and district heating have a different nature. Above all, we can hardly understand the deep meaning of a blazing fire today. For things, that burn in the fire change their essence. Today we speak of dead energy, but in the past people also thought of spiritual and living forces. Accordingly, the sacrificial fire had an important meaning, whereby the being could rise from the solid and heavy earth into the spiritual realms of the wide and light sky. That is why the dead were cremated so that their spirit or soul could rise and the bodily remains could return as ashes to the elements of earth and water. Fire was an important element of purification. And just as one sacrificed various fruits in the fire externally, one could also burn up karma (the accumulated fruits of deeds) internally. This process was probably known in all cultures, only today we hardly care about it.

So, this is not about a trigger-happy prince sportingly hunting to kill some wild animal, but about the greatest sacrifice that a human being can make, namely one’s own ego with all personal belongings. That’s just fair: Because only those who give everything can achieve everything:

✻ He did as the princess told him and killed the ox. But when the fiery bird was about to fly away, his brother the eagle came and struck the bird with his beak, so that the bird dropped the egg. That just fell into a fisherman’s hut near a water, because the eagle had just urged the bird towards the water. The hut was about to catch fire, and there was already a strong smell of it, but Brother Whale came to the rescue and spat out wave after wave over it, so that the egg cooled and could no longer burn. However, the rapid cooling had made the thick shell very brittle, so that he could easily remove the ball. He brought it to the spirit; the princess was redeemed, and he was now king of the Castle of the Golden Sun.

✎ Now the question is how to preserve productive and creative life in this process of burning. This is where the two brothers come into play. That is a very important message on the spiritual path: one must never lose touch with the whole. This is the only way to prevent the fire of purification from burning everything and the spiritual path to liberation ending in nothing. Just as the saying goes, (don’t) throw the baby out with the bath water.

Similarly, it is related in the Samyutta Nikaya of the Buddha, that at the very moment, when he attained enlightenment and salvation and was about to withdraw completely from the world, God Brahma appeared before him, bowed down and asked him to continue to work in the world and to spread the sacred doctrine for the good of the world and all beings. Accordingly, in Buddhism, everything meritorious is dedicated with prayers such as, “Through this wholesome thing, may I quickly attain the Buddha state; and may I then lead all living beings to the same state.” (The Seven Branches)

This connection with all is brilliantly illustrated here in the play of the elements, with the fire of annihilation limited by the wind element from above and the water element from below, to preserve the fisherman’s hut on earth, which is maybe a symbol of our physicality. From the point of view of spiritual principles, the eagle and the whale come to our aid here. The eagle then stands for the universal intelligence with pure reason, which limits the burning I-consciousness at the top, and the whale for the feeling with the pure compassion of true love, with which the fire is extinguished from below. This could burn the wild animal in us, the ego with all its karma, and at the same time, life between pure reason and true love in the form of a higher self-existence could be preserved. While the ordinary “I” is a separating principle closely related to the opposing thoughts, the higher “I” is a unifying principle corresponding to a universal intelligence, reason or wisdom and recognizing itself as a whole. This higher “I” probably also meant Jesus when he said: “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

In Buddhism, one would speak of wisdom and compassion in relation to the eagle and whale, which one should develop and never lose on the spiritual path to salvation. This is the only way to avoid falling into the extremes of nihilism or eternalism, i.e. into absolute non-being or absolute being. This is the famous “Middle Way” on which the fertile and creative life is preserved, and the egg as a symbol of our fertility does not burn. On the contrary, the hard shell of matter breaks and reveals the inner being. This is very important, because the core of life is hidden here, so to speak, the essence of life, our inner golden sun that illuminates us. When one brings this knowledge or enlightenment to the spirit, not only theoretically but also livingly, the purified spirit can also redeem the soul from ugly impermanence. With that, we become the king of the Castle of the Golden Sun, and that is the mystical marriage of soul, spirit and nature, their unity and the great redemption and liberation.

Of course, this is about a completely different kind of freedom than we usually imagine when we talk about emancipation, for example, where the husband separates from his wife or the wife from her husband and families break up because the ego desires unlimited freedom. However, this is not freedom, but passionate self-indulgence. Here ego triumphs over reason and not reason over ego.

Taming this stubborn and highly powerful ox, bull, or buffalo has always been a great challenge. Just think of the ox images of Zen Buddhism, which we want to talk about briefly at the end, or the bull of heaven in the epic of Gilgamesh. The notorious bullfights in Spain are also an outward expression of this. In Indian mysticism, the bull even serves as a mount for the gods, such as the white bull of Shiva, the god of dissolution, or the black bull of Yama, the god of death. Accordingly, the ox also plays a central role in old fables, such as in the Panchatantra. Even the Sanskrit term yoga, which is on everyone’s lips today, means something like “to yoke” and points to the stubborn ox that has to be tamed on this path.

How long or difficult is the path? Some speak of blissful victory within an hour, some of thousands of lives and terrible hells. It certainly depends on how far you have already gone, and experience has shown that it doesn’t feel good when the ego is attacked or even hurt. It is important that you go in the right direction step by step. Too much impatience or desire is inappropriate here.

The little snail;
very slowly it climbs up
to the great mountain Fujiyama.
(Kobayashi Issa, 1763 - 1828)

Because as long as the passionate ego tries to tame or even defeat the bull, the bull may die, but probably only of laughter. That is why this fairy tale goes even further and explains a few fundamental problems and hints for the path that has been shown so brilliantly and simply up to now, with similarly mystical and compact symbolism.

✻ But he had to promise her that he would not take her away into other company. Once he boasted after all, when he had wished himself alone in a company, and said that he had the queen of the Castle of the Golden Sun. Nobody wanted to believe him. To prove it, he promised to be there with her in half an hour and did so. But the princess was offended that he acted contrary to his promise in a moment. So, when she had to walk in the garden and he fell asleep, she was gone with the wishing hat. When he awoke, there stood a pair of iron shoes with the words: “You will no more be called king of the Castle of the Golden Sun than you will wear off the iron shoes.”

✎ This immediately addresses the greatest problem of the mystical knowledge of truth. Why hasn’t anyone written down this supreme knowledge about the essence of life clearly and distinctly or carved it in stone? Neither Jesus nor Buddha did it. Their teachings were not crystallized and written down until many years or generations later. They only spoke about it accordingly to the respective understanding of the audience and pointed the way. Buddha repeatedly emphasized that the soul cannot be grasped as an object, for it does exist and does not exist.

This is the great mystery.
You exist and yet you don’t exist.
(Shen-Ts’ing, Zen Master)

Jesus also said: “Whoever wants to hold on to his soul will lose it...” So it was known for a long time that this truth, the essence of everything, cannot be known and seized with words and thoughts.

When an ignorant understands, he becomes a saint.
But when a saint understands, he becomes an ignorant.
(Mumon Ekai (1183-1260), Zen Master)

Similarly, our prince falls back into the world and wants to be impressive before others. Now, of course, the ego awakens again, and bang, it’s over with being king in the Castle of the Golden Sun. He falls asleep and sinks back, so to speak, into the dream state of worldly illusion. With that he falls back into the world of opposites and through ignorance also loses his spiritual power to fulfil all his wishes.

How can this happen when he had already killed the ego in the form of the ox? In this regard, it is often discussed whether one should speak here of killing or taming the ox. This topic also existed in Christianity, only here one spoke of a dragon. For example, Saint George killed the dragon, and Saint Martha tamed it. Both symbols certainly mean the same thing. Both ideas are also treacherous. When killing, one could think of something that is outside of us and simply disappears through an act of violence. When it comes to taming, one might think of an inner suppression, an eternal struggle that one can wage with all love, but can never completely win. We are also familiar with this problem from raising children: should one counter the stubborn little ego with consistent rigour or with tireless angelic tongues? Here, too, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle and is difficult to grasp in words, the famous “middle way”.

“Mu” is the third possibility beyond “yes” and “no”. It says that yes or no cannot answer the question. Such answers do not capture the truth. (Shan-Ts’ing, Zen Master)

In any case, our prince wakes up again in the ordinary world of opposites, severely punished with the iron shoes. Supposedly, there is an iron shoe in the “Museum of medieval Torture Instruments” in Prague, which says:
It was shaped like a normal shoe and had a bell at the top. It encircled the foot of the person to be punished and was able to squeeze it with the help of screw threads. The convict to be punished had to walk through the whole town in these shoes and ring the bell to attract the attention of the population. Everyone who saw and heard him walking knew immediately that a public punishment was being carried out here. The iron shoe thus also had a financial advantage for the judiciary. After putting on the shoes, the delinquent practically punished himself. He suffered physical pain from his run and was publicly pilloried due to the bells.

In addition, this symbolism also reminds us that the prince is now again bound to the earth, wandering through the dark forest and can no longer rise to the Castle of the Golden Sun. His memory, however, that lies dormant in all of us, is still awake, and so the great search begins again.

✻ He ran with his shoes everywhere through forest and valley. No one could give him any information until at last he came to a villain’s house; he shouldn’t get any quarters there. There was an old woman, and she said, there was a gang of robbers there and they would wring his neck; he would have to crawl straight into the chimney. She wanted to light a fire so they wouldn’t smell him. Now my thieves are coming home. When they came, they said, “It smells of people.” The woman said that there had been some, but they had gone again. The robbers went looking, but they didn’t find him. He stayed in the chimney. Afterwards they came back and talked to each other. Then one said, “I have a boot, if I put it on and say, ‘Boot run!’, then I am able and make a mile every step.” - “And I have a coat,” said the other, “if I put it on, so nobody will see me.” The third said, “I have a saddle and when I say “Fly!” it goes even faster than the wind.” Then they went to sleep. Then he got down, put on the boot and the coat, sat on the saddle and flew away.

✎ This part of the story reminds us of the fairy tale of the “Devil with the three golden hairs”. There is an old woman here who helps the prince, just as Mother Nature supports us in all ways. Here, too, there are three valuable and mystical tools to win, which, however, are associated with great danger. We find something similar in the fairy tale of the “Six Servants”, where we have already spoken of the siddhis, the supernatural abilities that can be attained on the path of yoga. However, what do these things have to do with villains or robbers? A lot, because they are also very dangerous. This is expressed here again with ingenious symbolism. As soon as these extraordinary means are used for physical or sensual goals, that is, as soon as we smell of human flesh, they rob us of life.

These “supernatural abilities” can be achieved through meditative concentration, certain physical exercises or even through drugs. Certainly, the old yogis, monks or shamans knew about the effects of various drugs and could use them accordingly. In the “flower power” era of the 1960s, attempts were made to shorten the path to great happiness with drugs, which obviously did not end well. Why? Well, that’s probably due to our modern, materialistic, egocentric world view, with which we are not at all capable of using such drugs responsibly and healthily. But more on that later...

On this subject there is also an interesting story in the ancient Indian Markandeya Purana [Chapter 61] about the use of a so-called magic salve or witches flying ointment, i.e. a drug that was absorbed through the skin. There, too, it becomes clear what we could find in all Indian traditions, that such “supernatural abilities” can be helpful under certain circumstances, but are not the actual goal on the spiritual path. On the contrary, as in Markandeya Purana [Chapter 40], it is warned everywhere: As soon as desire connects with them, they become an obstacle and very dangerous. It is a game with fire, just as the prince has to hide in the chimney and nature kindles a fire beneath him. Anyone who still has a lot of material physicality and is attached to it has poor chances. In addition, drugs are particularly problematic because they are now easy to obtain and do not require mental training. In principle, one should be careful with any promise to shorten the spiritual path to great happiness. This is where advertising appeals to our desire, and that is certainly not the path to true happiness. The yoga paths of meditation and physical exercise are far more reliable. They can also be used to gain “supernatural abilities”. But, of course, you have to practice with a lot of diligence and patience, because success never comes easily.

✻ Now he made every effort in the world, flew to the sun, to the moon, and to the star, and asked if they knew nothing about the Castle of the Golden Sun. Nobody knew anything. So he went to the wind, first to the midday wind, then to the morning wind, to the evening wind, to the midnight wind; no one knew anything. He went to the big whirlwind, but he didn’t know anything either. However, he said: He had a little brother, maybe, he knew something. When the prince came to him, he said: Yes, he would have to dry laundry. The queen would be bride.

✎ That sounds very modern at first, because today we like to try our luck somewhere on the moon, fly to the stars or hunt around in the four cardinal points. For the midday wind used to be the south wind, the morning wind came from the east, the evening wind from the west, and the midnight wind from the north. The whirlwind originated from two opposite wind directions. But this fairy tale is probably about a symbolism that we find within us and is well known in yoga. Because there we find a sunny side and a moon side with subtle energy channels that relate to the brain and body halves. The star could denote the mystical third eye between the eyebrows and the yogi also knows the five inner body winds and the energy swirls of the chakras. In addition, the fairy tale speaks of a “little brother of the whirlwind” who takes care of drying the laundry and knows the Castle of the Golden Sun. Yoga speaks of a serpentine force called Kundalini, which is closely connected to the energy swirls of the chakras and which can be awakened through practice. It causes a cleaning process and can lead to clairvoyant abilities and higher knowledge. It may be that these interpretations are far-fetched and the narrator of this fairy tale has never attended a yoga class. However, we should keep in mind: Yoga is not a theoretical science but a practical experience that anyone can have, even if one has never heard of India or yoga...

At least our hero learns the way and that his wife is now engaged to someone else. Wow! The soul plays around! Astonishing! Nevertheless, he seems to take it easy. That’s a good thing, because with envy and jealousy, he would certainly never have gotten this far. Now, it’s time to use the special abilities.

✻ As he heard it, he sits down on the saddle. The wind thinks he probably won’t be able to follow. But he says, “Now, we will see.” So he said, “Hello saddle, forward!” Then the wind spoke, “Oh ha, just not so fast!” So they continued. - When he would come there, said the wind, the queen would sit at table. If she began to eat the soup, he should wear his coat and invisibly eat the soup out of her spoon and all the dishes. Then she would be grieved and go out. Outside he should reveal himself to her, and if she asked what she should do, he would have to say, that she once lost a key; now she has found that old key again. She would prefer the old to the new. Then the new king would go away. - That’s, how it happened. “If the old one were there,” said the new king, “then I would be of no use,” and went. Therefore, he was king again and had his wishing hat back.

✎ Well, that was fast. Let’s take a closer look at the symbolism: the saddle is often used as a symbol, because this is where the leader sits. This is usually our ego, but that doesn’t get you to the Castle of the Golden Sun. This requires a higher leader, a higher intelligence that can also be called reason. The saddle is now the “tamed or vanquished ego” on which we ride home. Of course, this pure spirit in the form of pure consciousness is always faster than the wind and can rise to unimagined regions.

The symbolism of how to liberate the soul from the foreign king is of course brilliant again. First, you have to make yourself invisible. The dragon slayer Siegfried also acquired this ability in the Nibelungen saga. This presumably means above all that one can discard one’s physicality. How can one win the soul as long as one identifies with the external body? Then it is a matter of stopping the flow of food and thus dissolving the illusion. That is why the yogis fast and practice asceticism in solitude until the soul leaves the dining room in despair. Consciousness and soul meet, so to speak, outside of the physical world. Here they recognize themselves again, as one also speaks of the highest knowledge, the key to the Castle of the Golden Sun, which we have lost or forgotten and have now found again. It is the ancient key that was already found in the egg yolk. That means: key and lock are one. And not only key and lock, but also king and key. Wonderful! The false king disappears by himself. How can something just disappear like that? There’s really only one thing that can disappear without a trace, and that’s illusion. And you ask: Was it there at all? So one often speaks of a dream from which we can wake up.

The ten Ox Images

At the end of this fairy tale interpretation, we would like to briefly present the ten ox images of Zen Buddhism that we mentioned above and that describe a similar path to our two fairy tales.

1. Searching for the Bull

In search of the bull,
I fight my way through forests,
following the course of unnamed rivers,
lost on meandering mountain paths.
Exhausted and despairing,
I can find nothing but rustling leaves,
and the singing of cicadas at nightfall.

2. Finding the Footprints

Footprints
under trees by the riverbank,
amongst the fragrant grasses,
in the distant mountains.
These tracks are as omnipresent as the sky
and as obvious as my own nose.

3. Seeing the Bull

Birdsong from within the branches,
warm sun and cool breeze,
green willows by the riverbank.
There is nowhere for the bull to hide.
Who could paint such a huge head
and such penetrating horns?

4. Catching the Bull

I battle bravely to seize the bull
struggling with its ferocious will
and inexhaustible strength,
as it charges high into misty mountains
and deep into inaccessible ravines.

5. Taming the Bull

With whip and tether
to prevent it wandering of in the wilderness,
the bull will become well trained
and naturally meek —
obeying without need of restraint.

6. Riding Home on the Bull

I ride the bull unhurriedly homeward.
The melody of my song greets the evening.
I beat the pulse. I am the harmony.
There is no need to say
that I am now one of those that know.

7. No Bull

Arriving home,
the bull suddenly disappears.
I sit alone at peace.
In blissful release. I greet the dawn sun,
with whip and tether abandoned
in my humble homestead.

8. No Anything

Whip and tether, self and bull —
everything is no thing.
The clear blue sky is unmarked by a message.
Could a snowflake persist in a flaming fire?
This is the place of the ancient masters.

9. Returning to the Source

I have returned to the root and effort is over.
From the first, there has been no one
to see or hear anything.
There is nothing outside of my true home.
Rivers quietly flow and red flowers bloom.

10. Returning to the World

Barefoot and plain, I mingle in the market place.
My clothes may be ragged, but I am smiling.
I need no magical powers.
Before my eyes, the withered trees bloom.

(Kuoan Shiyuan around 1150, Source: „Zen Wisdom“ von Tim Freke, 1997)

That’s wonderful, our fairy tale comes from the Silesian Giant Mountains and these ox pictures from China on the other side of the world. And yet there are so many similarities, and basically the same path is described. It explains how difficult it is already to get to the source of the ego. Its effects can be found everywhere, but the battle can only be won at the source. There the ox can be tamed and, in the form of reason and wisdom, becomes the way home, which is the Castle of the Golden Sun. Whip and reins symbolize consistent self-control and tireless leadership through mindfulness. The old Zen masters also mastered this art with their students, and it was not uncommon to say for careless speeches: “Give him flaps to the beat of his words!” At some point the ox suddenly disappears, and with it the question of reining or killing. Here, too, the point is not to destroy life, but to preserve life on a much higher level, to return to the world and to see life flourishing even in withered trees.

Of course, only a few people are interested in such paths today. All this ancient knowledge of how to tame and vanquish the wilful ego could become an existential question in the near future as we realize how this extremely growing, unbridled and greedy ego is leading us into a horrific natural disaster, external and internal. Eventually neither technology nor bureaucracy nor money will help. Then at the latest, we “modern people” have to think about how we can at least tame the ox a little. It won’t be about the great liberation right away, but maybe about the survival of mankind on this blue-green planet.

The boundless sky of meditation,
The clear moonlight of wisdom.
The truth revealed as eternal silence.
This earth is the pure lotus land,
This body is the body of the Buddha.
(Hakuin, Zen Master)

The problem of the twisted worldview

Finally, perhaps a few more thoughts on the two worldviews that we mentioned in the text above and that we have already described in more detail in the last fairy tale of the “Thumbling”. The schematic representation of the holistic-ensouled worldview shows how the natural principles with their properties emerge from the whole and from the outside to the inside. Correspondingly, one must, conversely, first dissolve the material physicality from the inside to the outside in order to be able to reach the self-consciousness or ego at all. This process of material dissolution is not as impossible as it might appear. Modern science has also laid the foundations for this with the discoveries of quantum physics. Even the TV-famous astrophysicist Harald Lesch talks about this in his video “Matter does not consist of matter”. He talks there of at least 99.8% of our world that is not material physicality, and what he calls the “energy of bonding” through “hate and love” reminds us very much of the properties of self-consciousness. Werner Heisenberg, one of the pioneers of quantum physics, said: “The first sip from the cup of science leads to atheism, but God is waiting at the bottom of the cup”. This path of knowledge of dissolution or redemption to the whole and, if you will, to God, is described in this fairy tale as well as in countless Eastern lore. And when the ego-consciousness is defeated and redeemed, the living soul with the universal intelligence or reason remains:

holistic and soulful view of the world

It looks completely different in our usual materialistic-egocentric world view, as it has been propagated by most scientists for several centuries and even today contrary to the findings of modern quantum physics (see e.g. video: Harald Lesch - emergence of life from dead matter). As you can see in the following diagram, in this world view, one must first dissolve reason in order to gain ego-consciousness. Then one could dissolve the ego, leaving an inanimate dead universe. Nobody wants that! For in this way the dissolution of the ego resembles a typical suicide, which we reasonably shy away from.

materialistic-egocentric worldview

Interestingly, this scenario is also similar to what we are currently experiencing in science in general and especially in the Corona crisis of 2020. It’s not about dissolving egoism with a wholesome motivation, but trying violently to remove the subjective I-consciousness from nature in order to objectively dominate nature. That sounds absurd, and it is absurd when you look at the holistic-ensouled worldview. However, something like this is happening now: the higher reason, which looks at nature as a whole, disappears, short sightedness and fear rule, the intellectual mind becomes the dictator and kills itself out of fear because it is unable to see the whole and essential and to make sensible decisions. This process is like a diseased or outlived organism that eventually kills itself. If things continue like this, we face a social, cultural and economic suicide, similar to the extinction of the “Seven Swabians”.

Various developments of humanity can be derived from this distortion of our world view, above all the technical-scientific revolution, which has filled our world with dead machines because life is now based on dead matter. In addition, a capitalist social system emerged that is fundamentally oriented towards material values. At the same time, many people could no longer understand the old fairy tales that had been passed down alive for many centuries or even millennia, and in the 19th century the Brothers Grimm were trying to save what could be saved. Because with the materialistic-egocentric worldview, one can no longer understand the deeper meaning of these ancient stories, since there is no more spirit-based life in this worldview, and so they were finally degraded to children’s fairy tales.

Another development that can be derived from our twisted worldview is the growing egoism that became the basis of our economic system and increasingly manifests itself in passion, desire and morbid addiction that are hardly controllable. In addition, there is a growing existential fear, because our life is now based on dead matter and is built on sand, so to speak. The demise of many socialist states, that were materialistically oriented in the same way, has shown that such a development cannot go well for long, and things are not much better for us at present. May we remember the higher reason again and turn our world view upside down!

One and All
J.W. von Goethe

To find ourselves in boundless being
Who would not vanish, gladly fleeing
From all that wearied and annoys;
No ardent wants, no wild desiring,
No duties strict, no orders tiring,
Such self-surrender each enjoys.

World-soul, come, let your force pervade us!
To combat the world-spirit aid us
And match our powers to these high stakes.
Then sympathetic spirits guide us,
As gentle masters walk beside us
To him who all things made and makes.

To take what’s made and then re-make it,
To fight rigidity and break it,
Eternal living action quest.
What never was grows real and fuller,
As pure clean suns, as worlds with colour,
And in becoming never rest.

It all must move, make new creations,
First take form, then transformations;
For moments it just seems held fast.
In all things life’s perpetuated,
And all must be annihilated
That existence strives to last.

For more information on the mentioned physicist and Nobel Prize winner Werner Heisenberg, who incidentally was also a great admirer of Goethe, we can recommend his highly interesting autobiography “The Part and the Whole” or, more briefly, the following video about his great life question: What is it “whatever holds the world together in its inmost folds?” Here, for example, you can hear from 1:18:40 Dr. Rembser, a physicist at CERN:
Werner Heisenberg would still say about what we measure today, “Exactly, I was right.” Elementary particles are described by so-called wave functions. That means you can’t tell where the particle is right now. They are basically clouds, if you want to put it that way. There are probabilities of stay. Only when I look, when I give the particle something to interact with, then when forces are at work, only then does the particle become visible and is what fits into my so-called world view. But it’s true: a particle is a wave, not a ball. [1:20:35] Physicists are constantly developing new technologies in which quantum physics can be used and applied. But the consequences for our world view are hardly ever questioned... I have to say that these fundamental questions are not dealt with at all in undergraduate studies. That’s a topic that doesn’t come up when you start learning physics... and during your studies you don’t actually touch on these questions at all. [1:21:20]

Werner Heisenberg said at an advanced age: “Most people probably think that atomic technology is the most important consequence (of quantum physics). It’s always been different for me. I believed that the philosophical consequences of physics would change even more in the long run than the technical consequences...”

The emperor’s new clothes

✻ Fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen (1837)

Many years ago, there was an Emperor, who was so excessively fond of new clothes, that he spent all his money in dress. He did not trouble himself in the least about his soldiers; nor did he care to go either to the theatre or the chase, except for the opportunities then afforded him for displaying his new clothes. He had a different suit for each hour of the day; and as of any other king or emperor, one is accustomed to say, “He is sitting in council,” it was always said of him, “The Emperor is sitting in his wardrobe.”

Time passed merrily in the large town which was his capital; strangers arrived every day at the court. One day, two rogues, calling themselves weavers, made their appearance. They gave out that they knew how to weave stuffs of the most beautiful colours and elaborate patterns, the clothes manufactured from which should have the wonderful property of remaining invisible to everyone who was unfit for the office he held, or who was extraordinarily simple in character.

“These must, indeed, be splendid clothes!” thought the Emperor. “Had I such a suit, I might at once find out what men in my realms are unfit for their office, and also be able to distinguish the wise from the foolish! This stuff must be woven for me immediately.” And he caused large sums of money to be given to both the weavers in order that they might begin their work directly.

So the two pretended weavers set up two looms, and affected to work very busily, though in reality they did nothing at all. They asked for the most delicate silk and the purest gold thread; put both into their own knapsacks; and then continued their pretended work at the empty looms until late at night.

“I should like to know how the weavers are getting on with my cloth,” said the Emperor to himself, after some little time had elapsed; he was, however, rather embarrassed, when he remembered that a simpleton, or one unfit for his office, would be unable to see the manufacture. To be sure, he thought he had nothing to risk in his own person; but yet, he would prefer sending somebody else, to bring him intelligence about the weavers, and their work, before he troubled himself in the affair. All the people throughout the city had heard of the wonderful property the cloth was to possess; and all were anxious to learn how wise, or how ignorant, their neighbours might prove to be.

“I will send my faithful old minister to the weavers,” said the Emperor at last, after some deliberation, “he will be best able to see how the cloth looks; for he is a man of sense, and no one can be more suitable for his office than he is.”

So the faithful old minister went into the hall, where the knaves were working with all their might, at their empty looms. “What can be the meaning of this?” thought the old man, opening his eyes very wide. “I cannot discover the least bit of thread on the looms.” However, he did not express his thoughts aloud.

The impostors requested him very courteously to be so good as to come nearer their looms; and then asked him whether the design pleased him, and whether the colours were not very beautiful; at the same time pointing to the empty frames. The poor old minister looked and looked, he could not discover anything on the looms, for a very good reason, viz there was nothing there. “What!” thought he again, “Is it possible that I am a simpleton? I have never thought so myself; and no one must know it now if I am so. Can it be, that I am unfit for my office? No, that must not be said either. I will never confess that I could not see the stuff.”

“Well, Sir Minister!” said one of the knaves, still pretending to work. “You do not say whether the stuff pleases you.”

“Oh, it is excellent!” replied the old minister, looking at the loom through his spectacles. “This pattern, and the colours, yes, I will tell the Emperor without delay, how very beautiful I think them.”

“We shall be much obliged to you,” said the impostors, and then they named the different colours and described the pattern of the pretended stuff. The old minister listened attentively to their words, in order that he might repeat them to the Emperor; and then the knaves asked for more silk and gold, saying that it was necessary to complete what they had begun. However, they put all that was given them into their knapsacks; and continued to work with as much apparent diligence as before at their empty looms.

The Emperor now sent another officer of his court to see how the men were getting on, and to ascertain whether the cloth would soon be ready. It was just the same with this gentleman as with the minister; he surveyed the looms on all sides, but could see nothing at all but the empty frames.

“Does not the stuff appear as beautiful to you, as it did to the minister?” asked the impostors the Emperor’s second ambassador; at the same time making the same gestures as before, and talking of the design and colours which were not there.

“I certainly am not stupid!” thought the messenger. “It must be, that I am not fit for my good, profitable office! That is very odd; however, no one shall know anything about it.” And accordingly he praised the stuff he could not see, and declared that he was delighted with both colours and patterns. “Indeed, your Imperial Majesty,” said he to his sovereign when he returned, “the cloth which the weavers are preparing is extraordinarily magnificent.”

The whole city was talking of the splendid cloth which the Emperor had ordered to be woven at his own expense.

And now the Emperor himself wished to see the costly manufacture, while it was still in the loom. Accompanied by a select number of officers of the court, among whom were the two honest men who had already admired the cloth, he went to the crafty impostors, who, as soon as they were aware of the Emperor’s approach, went on working more diligently than ever; although they still did not pass a single thread through the looms.

“Is not the work absolutely magnificent?” said the two officers of the crown, already mentioned. “If your Majesty will only be pleased to look at it! What a splendid design! What glorious colours!” and at the same time they pointed to the empty frames; for they imagined that everyone else could see this exquisite piece of workmanship.

“How is this?” said the Emperor to himself. “I can see nothing! This is indeed a terrible affair! Am I a simpleton, or am I unfit to be an Emperor? That would be the worst thing that could happen--Oh! The cloth is charming,” said he, aloud. “It has my complete approbation.” And he smiled most graciously, and looked closely at the empty looms; for on no account would he say that he could not see what two of the officers of his court had praised so much. All his retinue now strained their eyes, hoping to discover something on the looms, but they could see no more than the others; nevertheless, they all exclaimed, “Oh, how beautiful!” and advised his majesty to have some new clothes made from this splendid material, for the approaching procession. “Magnificent! Charming! Excellent!” resounded on all sides; and everyone was uncommonly gay. The Emperor shared in the general satisfaction; and presented the impostors with the riband of an order of knighthood, to be worn in their button-holes, and the title of “Gentlemen Weavers.”

The rogues sat up the whole of the night before the day on which the procession was to take place, and had sixteen lights burning, so that everyone might see how anxious they were to finish the Emperor’s new suit. They pretended to roll the cloth off the looms; cut the air with their scissors; and sewed with needles without any thread in them. “See!” they cried, at last. “The Emperor’s new clothes are ready!”

And now the Emperor, with all the grandees of his court, came to the weavers; and the rogues raised their arms, as if in the act of holding something up, saying, “Here are your Majesty’s trousers! Here is the scarf! Here is the mantle! The whole suit is as light as a cobweb; one might fancy one has nothing at all on, when dressed in it; that, however, is the great virtue of this delicate cloth.”

“Yes indeed!” said all the courtiers, although not one of them could see anything of this exquisite manufacture. “If your Imperial Majesty will be graciously pleased to take off your clothes, we will fit on the new suit, in front of the looking glass.” The Emperor was accordingly undressed, and the rogues pretended to array him in his new suit; the Emperor turning round, from side to side, before the looking glass. “How splendid his Majesty looks in his new clothes, and how well they fit!” everyone cried out. “What a design! What colours! These are indeed royal robes!”

“The canopy which is to be borne over your Majesty, in the procession, is waiting,” announced the chief master of the ceremonies. “I am quite ready,” answered the Emperor. “Do my new clothes fit well?” asked he, turning himself round again before the looking glass, in order that he might appear to be examining his handsome suit. The lords of the bedchamber, who were to carry his Majesty’s train felt about on the ground, as if they were lifting up the ends of the mantle; and pretended to be carrying something; for they would by no means betray anything like simplicity, or unfitness for their office.

So now the Emperor walked under his high canopy in the midst of the procession, through the streets of his capital; and all the people standing by, and those at the windows, cried out, “Oh! How beautiful are our Emperor’s new clothes! What a magnificent train there is to the mantle; and how gracefully the scarf hangs!” in short, no one would allow that he could not see these much-admired clothes; because, in doing so, he would have declared himself either a simpleton or unfit for his office. Certainly, none of the Emperor’s various suits, had ever made so great an impression, as these invisible ones.

“But the Emperor has nothing at all on!” said a little child. “Listen to the voice of innocence!” exclaimed his father; and what the child had said was whispered from one to another.

“But he has nothing at all on!” at last cried out all the people. The Emperor was vexed, for he knew that the people were right; but he thought the procession must go on now! And the lords of the bedchamber took greater pains than ever, to appear holding up a train, although, in reality, there was no train to hold.

MONEY-MAKES-BLIND - Memorial 2020

Dear readers, we would like to ask you to read this memorable fairy tale, which was written almost 200 years ago, in its entirety and to open up for it for a while before you look at our interpretation below. This fairy tale is currently being interpreted a thousand times in the world and in the public media, and we could also call it “The Emperor’s new media, money or numbers”. In view of the dubious role played by many scientists and politicians and the madness that currently prevails, we propose this fairy tale to be erected as the “Memorial 2020”, together with three terms that now apparently rule our entire world: MONEY-MAKES-BLIND.

The emperor’s new clothes - Media, Money, Numbers

Well, anyone who has read this fairy tale will recognize the big question: “How can you see something that isn’t there?”

If we look around the world at the moment (May 2020), we increasingly find so-called “conspiracy theorists”, according to their view this fairy tale should be interpreted as follows:

The emperor symbolizes a band of selfish politicians who love to glorify themselves in public and only marginally care about the real problems of the people. The two impostors symbolize their expert advisers, e.g. certain scientists who have gained a special favour and are now selling an invisible fear product woven from chains of thoughts. With this they want to earn a lot of money and fame and provide their institutes with gigantic subsidies over a long period of time, and anyone who does not believe in this delusion is considered antisocial and dangerous for all fellow citizens. There are also many ministers, consultants and media who see the fraud but play along out of fear for their jobs and official privileges. The big people’s parade is pulled off, and the people are initially enthusiastic about it, until a child cries: “There’s nothing there!” The child symbolizes a few doctors who can definitely be described as children on the political stage, because they still live in a practical world and just follow the experiences that have come from years of working with patients and their diseases. That’s why they can’t understand the theatre show on the political stage and speak up in astonishment. Their appeal hits a big wave through the whole nation, and at the end of the fairy tale it says: The emperor was moved because the people seemed to be right, but he thought to himself: “Now I have to endure the procession.” And so he holds his ground even more proudly, and the servants went and carried the train, which was not there.

Now it is not our task here to row out on the boundless sea of so-called “facts” which is currently so stormy, fighting the waves like Don Quixote fighting the windmills. We’d rather dig a little below the surface and examine what actually causes the fairy tale we’re witnessing today. Because the roots of the evil are certainly much deeper and have been developing and anchoring in science and politics for a long time. What we learn here is just the tip of the iceberg. If we really want to change something, we should identify the causes and work on them. So let’s start again from the beginning:

Many years ago, there was an Emperor, who was so excessively fond of new clothes, that he spent all his money in dress. He did not trouble himself in the least about his soldiers; nor did he care to go either to the theatre or the chase, except for the opportunities then afforded him for displaying his new clothes. He had a different suit for each hour of the day; and as of any other king or emperor, one is accustomed to say, “He is sitting in council,” it was always said of him, “The Emperor is sitting in his wardrobe.”

Time passed merrily in the large town which was his capital; strangers arrived every day at the court. One day, two rogues, calling themselves weavers, made their appearance. They gave out that they knew how to weave stuffs of the most beautiful colours and elaborate patterns, the clothes manufactured from which should have the wonderful property of remaining invisible to everyone who was unfit for the office he held, or who was extraordinarily simple in character.

“These must, indeed, be splendid clothes!” thought the Emperor. “Had I such a suit, I might at once find out what men in my realms are unfit for their office, and also be able to distinguish the wise from the foolish! This stuff must be woven for me immediately.” And he caused large sums of money to be given to both the weavers in order that they might begin their work directly.

So the two pretended weavers set up two looms, and affected to work very busily, though in reality they did nothing at all. They asked for the most delicate silk and the purest gold thread; put both into their own knapsacks; and then continued their pretended work at the empty looms until late at night.

That is already very memorable, because today there are many more ways in which rulers and politicians can present themselves in public, such as the modern media of television, radio and the Internet, so that one could speak of “The Emperor’s new media”. And it’s nothing unusual that they forget their actual job because of all the presentation. The “material” used for this is primarily “information”. This is what modern rulers wear, and the media are currently weaving dubious images of the enemy, with which nature is declared public enemy number one and at the same time all people who hold a different opinion. Well, if you make an enemy of nature, you make an enemy of life. And those who make enemies of those who think differently make themselves the blind dictator of a terrible monoculture. Actually, we should have learned from history and especially from the last two world wars, what can arise from images of the enemy that get stuck in the minds of many people...

One could also think about the illusion of money, i.e. “The Emperor’s new moneys”. This delusion also haunts people’s heads. Regarding the last economic crisis, people asked: “Where did all the money go?” And some children asked back: “Was it there at all?” There is a very memorable article by Christoph Pfluger on this subject entitled “Money from nothing makes you poor”. The money printing machines for the “paper spectre of the guilders” are currently running at full speed, and it would be much easier if there were only electronic money. So our world is apparently ruled by three terms: MONEY-MAKES-BLIND

Science provides a very important basis for this strange illusion, which we would like to take a closer look at here, namely the belief in numbers and statistics, i.e. “The Emperor’s New Numbers”. Who doesn’t believe in numbers these days? Everyone knows that 1 is much less than 100. Numbers and mathematics became the bulwark of modern science against medieval superstition, but unfortunately often against human reason as well. Just think of the many studies with years of series of measurements that may at some point in the future determine what great damage the many tons of toxins cause on fields, in food, in the groundwater and in the entire ecological balance of nature. Why don’t we just listen to the inner voice of reason that clearly says not to overdo anything (Ne quid nimis)? Then we would know that the massive, exaggerated use of antibiotics is leading to a crisis, that more and more medicines are not making us healthier, and that extensive mass production is damaging the environment and the climate. Why does agriculture and animal husbandry have to produce more and more when we throw away most of it and the rest is still sufficient, so that obesity has become a widespread disease? If you can live reasonably with one Euro, what’s the point of a hundred?

The art is old and new, for verily
All ages have been taught the matter,
By Three and One, and One and Three,
Error instead of Truth to scatter. [Faust I]

Why do we believe in numbers so blindly? Science even speaks of “natural numbers”. What’s natural about it? There is probably nothing more abstract and lifeless. Mathematics says that you can only add the same things or homogeneous objects, i.e. not apples and pears, unless you abstract them into fruits, for example. To add real apples, one would have to assume that all apples are the same. But where do you really find identical apples in nature? They’re always different in some way. Is it even possible to find two completely identical objects anywhere in nature that could truly be added? Experience has shown that not, because only the scientific mind creates something like this through abstraction, in which one only considers mentally limited characteristics. This is very useful in some things, but this abstraction has been elevated to an all-encompassing truth, as well as the statistics used by politics, business and science. And those who don’t believe in it are still considered “stupid and incapable of their office”. Neither the economy nor science need such people, because they are “unusable” in the truest sense of the word. You can’t “count” on them. In other words, they cannot be easily manipulated.

Therefore, we find the role of today’s science very questionable, because it is increasingly becoming a misused tool for politics and business and for this purpose it still propagates a materialistic-egocentric world view, which in principle corresponds to the views of classical physics of the 19th century (see Thumbling). However, since the discoveries of quantum physics, this world view is no longer tenable (see Manifesto for a post-materialistic science). This is also confirmed by the increasing fanaticism with which the dying world view is defended against every other opinion. The situation is similar to that of the medieval Inquisition, and those who were accused of being heretics are now accused of esoterics or conspiracy theorists. Things are really in a mess and the mud fight is on. We do not believe that our current problems of health, climate, nature and the environment can really be solved in this way with the current world view. When young people today take to the streets in desperation and demand “Listen to the scientists!” one must certainly also ask to what extent science was responsible for this catastrophic development and whether one is not putting the fox in charge of the henhouse here.

So one could first look at this fairy tale from a social point of view and reflect on the role of the scammers, and especially on the last sentence: “... they demanded the finest silk and the most magnificent gold, but they put that in their own pockets and worked on the empty looms late into the night.”

But even more interesting is the psychological level with the question of the causes: How does this deceptive illusion arise in a person? The fairy tale says:

“I should like to know how the weavers are getting on with my cloth,” said the Emperor to himself, after some little time had elapsed; he was, however, rather embarrassed, when he remembered that a simpleton, or one unfit for his office, would be unable to see the manufacture. To be sure, he thought he had nothing to risk in his own person; but yet, he would prefer sending somebody else, to bring him intelligence about the weavers, and their work, before he troubled himself in the affair. All the people throughout the city had heard of the wonderful property the cloth was to possess; and all were anxious to learn how wise, or how ignorant, their neighbours might prove to be.

“I will send my faithful old minister to the weavers,” said the Emperor at last, after some deliberation, “he will be best able to see how the cloth looks; for he is a man of sense, and no one can be more suitable for his office than he is.”

So the faithful old minister went into the hall, where the knaves were working with all their might, at their empty looms. “What can be the meaning of this?” thought the old man, opening his eyes very wide. “I cannot discover the least bit of thread on the looms.” However, he did not express his thoughts aloud.

The impostors requested him very courteously to be so good as to come nearer their looms; and then asked him whether the design pleased him, and whether the colours were not very beautiful; at the same time pointing to the empty frames. The poor old minister looked and looked, he could not discover anything on the looms, for a very good reason, viz there was nothing there. “What!” thought he again, “Is it possible that I am a simpleton? I have never thought so myself; and no one must know it now if I am so. Can it be, that I am unfit for my office? No, that must not be said either. I will never confess that I could not see the stuff.”

“Well, Sir Minister!” said one of the knaves, still pretending to work. “You do not say whether the stuff pleases you.”

“Oh, it is excellent!” replied the old minister, looking at the loom through his spectacles. “This pattern, and the colours, yes, I will tell the Emperor without delay, how very beautiful I think them.”

“We shall be much obliged to you,” said the impostors, and then they named the different colours and described the pattern of the pretended stuff. The old minister listened attentively to their words, in order that he might repeat them to the Emperor; and then the knaves asked for more silk and gold, saying that it was necessary to complete what they had begun. However, they put all that was given them into their knapsacks; and continued to work with as much apparent diligence as before at their empty looms.

“The emperor thought... he is a man of sense... saw through his spectacles... patterns and colours...” If you read this text carefully, you will quickly find a reference to the thought factory that works in every human being. To do this, we first use the five senses to see the world. And as we all know, these are already very deceptive. But even more deceptive is our thinking as a function of the mind, which looks at the sensory impressions through the glasses of accumulated experience and breaks them down into certain patterns and abstracts them. The glasses act like a magnifying glass, allowing you to see only a small part of the whole picture in focus, and the rest blurs and fades out.

Truly the fabric of mental fleece
Resembles a weaver’s masterpiece,
Where a thousand threads one treadle throws,
Where fly the shuttles hither and thither,
Unseen the threads are knit together,
And an infinite combination grows.
Then, the philosopher steps in
And shows, no otherwise it could have been:
The first was so, the second so,
Therefore the third and fourth are so;
Were not the first and second, then
The third and fourth had never been.
The scholars are everywhere believers,
But never succeed in being weavers. [Faust I]

This weaving of thoughts creates the “stuff” that we ordinarily believe in and that seems so real and material to us. But they “did not become weavers”, that is to say, man does not rule the weave, but the weave rules him. And whoever is ruled by and entangled in this web of thoughts and ideas is ruled by illusion. Part of this illusion is primarily the idea of “I” and “mine” and from this arises passionate desire, and so it is said: “Now the swindlers asked for more money, more silk and more gold to use for weaving, and put everything in their own pockets.”

Eckhart Tolle says something similar in his book “The Power of Now” regarding our world today:

The philosopher Descartes believed he had found the most fundamental truth when he made his famous statement, “I think, therefore I am.” In fact, he was expressing the most basic error... Identification with your mind creates a dark veil of concepts, labels, ideas, words, judgments and definitions that obstruct any true relationship... Thinking has become a disease. Illness comes when things get out of balance... The mind is a formidable tool when properly used. However, if used incorrectly, it can become very destructive. More specifically, it’s not that you misuse your mind - you don’t usually use it at all. It uses you. That’s the disease. You think you’re the mind. That’s the delusion. The instrument has gained power over you.

The Emperor now sent another officer of his court to see how the men were getting on, and to ascertain whether the cloth would soon be ready. It was just the same with this gentleman as with the minister; he surveyed the looms on all sides, but could see nothing at all but the empty frames.

“Does not the stuff appear as beautiful to you, as it did to the minister?” asked the impostors the Emperor’s second ambassador; at the same time making the same gestures as before, and talking of the design and colours which were not there.

“I certainly am not stupid!” thought the messenger. “It must be, that I am not fit for my good, profitable office! That is very odd; however, no one shall know anything about it.” And accordingly he praised the stuff he could not see, and declared that he was delighted with both colours and patterns. “Indeed, your Imperial Majesty,” said he to his sovereign when he returned, “the cloth which the weavers are preparing is extraordinarily magnificent.”

Well, everyone knows how deceptive thoughts can be. But who could decide what is true and false? This is probably where we face the biggest challenge in life. Children can ask their parents, students can ask their teachers, workers can ask scientists, and citizens can ask politicians. But who has good advice? Because if you look around, it becomes increasingly clear that you can hardly rely on so-called “facts”. Every “fact” is basically a matter of believing in thoughts, and at this level there can only be relative truth, which must never be blindly relied on, or as Herman Hesse wrote: “Of every truth, the opposite is just as true!” What now? Now it’s about working on yourself and developing a higher spiritual level above the intellectual mind, which is called reason or universal intelligence. Universal because it is no longer limited to the little “me” or narrow, greedy thoughts. What the mind dissects or distinguishes and regards as “facts” can be settled or decided by reason, just as a good judge decides in the sense of truth. In this sense, reason should be the emperor in us and thoughts should be the statesmen or ministers whose job it is to help the emperor in his decisions. But if the Emperor is corrupt, blind, and allows himself to be deceived, what kind of decisions should one expect? Then the whole state sinks into lies and deceit.

The whole city was talking of the splendid cloth which the Emperor had ordered to be woven at his own expense.

And now the Emperor himself wished to see the costly manufacture, while it was still in the loom. Accompanied by a select number of officers of the court, among whom were the two honest men who had already admired the cloth, he went to the crafty impostors, who, as soon as they were aware of the Emperor’s approach, went on working more diligently than ever; although they still did not pass a single thread through the looms.

“Is not the work absolutely magnificent?” said the two officers of the crown, already mentioned. “If your Majesty will only be pleased to look at it! What a splendid design! What glorious colours!” and at the same time they pointed to the empty frames; for they imagined that everyone else could see this exquisite piece of workmanship.

“How is this?” said the Emperor to himself. “I can see nothing! This is indeed a terrible affair! Am I a simpleton, or am I unfit to be an Emperor? That would be the worst thing that could happen--Oh! The cloth is charming,” said he, aloud. “It has my complete approbation.” And he smiled most graciously, and looked closely at the empty looms; for on no account would he say that he could not see what two of the officers of his court had praised so much. All his retinue now strained their eyes, hoping to discover something on the looms, but they could see no more than the others; nevertheless, they all exclaimed, “Oh, how beautiful!” and advised his majesty to have some new clothes made from this splendid material, for the approaching procession. “Magnificent! Charming! Excellent!” resounded on all sides; and everyone was uncommonly gay. The Emperor shared in the general satisfaction; and presented the impostors with the riband of an order of knighthood, to be worn in their button-holes, and the title of “Gentlemen Weavers.”

The sad problem is that the market economy in which we live has practically no interest in citizens developing a higher level of reason in order to be able to decide between true and false. Because then the monopoly of power of advertising and public media would disappear, and people would be much less manipulable. That is why the opposite happens: through science, the intellectual mind is promoted and not reason. This development can be traced back many centuries, and you can recognize it above all by the fact that the more reason dwindles, the more damage man causes in the organism of nature, because the holistic view is lost, egoism grows and only pursues short-sighted and selfish goals that are harmful in the long run. It goes so far that today hardly anyone knows what reason actually is. It is also no longer part of the school curriculum, and the term is even increasingly being used as a swear word. Business consultants seriously ask: “How often has life got you anywhere if you were reasonable?” Long live selfishness!

But well, this is certainly a never-ending topic. We would now like to go into the spiritual level of this fairy tale. The core of such symbolic stories is ancient. A similar symbolism can already be found in ancient Indian writings, such as the Mahabharata epic:

The body is compared to a city. Reason is its king, and the indwelling mind is like a minister bringing matters before the king, who should decide them. The sense organs are the citizens employed by thoughts (to serve the king). In order to cherish the citizens, thinking with sense objects constantly impels them to action. For this it uses two questionable fellows called passion and ignorance (rajas and tamas). All residents live from the fruits of this activity together with the lords of the city, but the dubious fellows also gain strength in their insidious power. Thereby reason, hitherto king, sinks to the same level as thoughts (coming under the influence of passion and ignorance). When reason is weak, the senses lose their clarity and thoughts their reliability, just as the ministers become corrupt and the citizens insecure when the king has no strength. [MHB 12.254]

Here, too, two deceivers are described, and it is clearly stated that one should look for these deceivers not so much in the outer world as within oneself. Interestingly, when the ancient Indian texts speak of “ignorance,” they mean so-called scholarliness, intellectual knowledge that always remains questionable. Thousands of years ago people realized that one cannot rely on the five senses and thoughts. These experiences are good and useful in this world, but they are mostly abstractions that always capture only a small part of the whole. In the end it is about a higher level of knowledge, above the sensory-mental level. The ancient Indians already knew, that matter, which appears so solid to us, is only a sensory-mental abstraction, just as modern physics actually knows, that matter consists only of energy or even only of information. And from this point of view, we are constantly being deceived by the senses and thoughts until reason can rise above the mind and put a stop to the deception.

Until then, the ego wraps itself in a material body and believes in the material that makes it so beautiful and special. And for this we often work our whole lives:

The rogues sat up the whole of the night before the day on which the procession was to take place, and had sixteen lights burning, so that everyone might see how anxious they were to finish the Emperor’s new suit. They pretended to roll the cloth off the looms; cut the air with their scissors; and sewed with needles without any thread in them. “See!” they cried, at last. “The Emperor’s new clothes are ready!”

And now the Emperor, with all the grandees of his court, came to the weavers; and the rogues raised their arms, as if in the act of holding something up, saying, “Here are your Majesty’s trousers! Here is the scarf! Here is the mantle! The whole suit is as light as a cobweb; one might fancy one has nothing at all on, when dressed in it; that, however, is the great virtue of this delicate cloth.”

“Yes indeed!” said all the courtiers, although not one of them could see anything of this exquisite manufacture. “If your Imperial Majesty will be graciously pleased to take off your clothes, we will fit on the new suit, in front of the looking glass.” The Emperor was accordingly undressed, and the rogues pretended to array him in his new suit; the Emperor turning round, from side to side, before the looking glass. “How splendid his Majesty looks in his new clothes, and how well they fit!” everyone cried out. “What a design! What colours! These are indeed royal robes!”

“The canopy which is to be borne over your Majesty, in the procession, is waiting,” announced the chief master of the ceremonies. “I am quite ready,” answered the Emperor. “Do my new clothes fit well?” asked he, turning himself round again before the looking glass, in order that he might appear to be examining his handsome suit. The lords of the bedchamber, who were to carry his Majesty’s train felt about on the ground, as if they were lifting up the ends of the mantle; and pretended to be carrying something; for they would by no means betray anything like simplicity, or unfitness for their office.

So now the Emperor walked under his high canopy in the midst of the procession, through the streets of his capital; and all the people standing by, and those at the windows, cried out, “Oh! How beautiful are our Emperor’s new clothes! What a magnificent train there is to the mantle; and how gracefully the scarf hangs!” in short, no one would allow that he could not see these much-admired clothes; because, in doing so, he would have declared himself either a simpleton or unfit for his office. Certainly, none of the Emperor’s various suits, had ever made so great an impression, as these invisible ones.

“But the Emperor has nothing at all on!” said a little child. “Listen to the voice of innocence!” exclaimed his father; and what the child had said was whispered from one to another.

Who is the father? One could see the higher reason in him, that is, a pure consciousness that can hear the voice of innocence. And what is the innocence of a child? A child has not yet gone through the school of the mind and is little governed by mental abstractions. It still knows nothing about the abstract value of money, securities, property deeds and identity cards. The intellectual abstractions as well as our value system are only developed in the course of life, as for example many children in the following picture still recognize the two reddish circles of the same size, but adults are usually deceived by the external relation:

It is not for nothing that the Bible says: “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)” It does not say here that man should remain like a child and not develop his mind. That’s the right way in the beginning. But after that he should turn back and become like a child. And this certainly also means reversing the process of mental abstraction and developing a holistic and direct view that is not distorted and divided by the glasses of thoughts. In addition, man can transform the mind with all his accumulated knowledge into reason and wisdom. That would be the real wealth of the people. Thus they free themselves from the bonds of thought, cast off the heavy burden of worldly cares, most of which are self-made, and can literally ascend to heaven with ease. Life becomes easy and friendly, because the greatest abstraction that a man imagines in the course of his life is the person with “I” and “mine”. It is not for nothing that the term “person” derives from the Latin word “persona”, which originally referred to an actor’s mask. And so it goes on in the Bible: “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

“But he has nothing at all on!” at last cried out all the people. The Emperor was vexed, for he knew that the people were right; but he thought the procession must go on now! And the lords of the bedchamber took greater pains than ever, to appear holding up a train, although, in reality, there was no train to hold.

Whoever develops wisdom within himself makes reason emperor, and when the emperor is reasonable, the ministers and the whole people become reasonable, that is, our senses, thoughts and all accumulated knowledge. Then one can use the mental mind as a useful tool without being dominated or overwhelmed by it.

And what speaks against it? Two great, eloquent deceivers, namely egoism and thoughts, which can paint images of enemies where there are no enemies, and can see where there is nothing. This leaves the emperor blind and unable to reason. Then the illusion of the ego will increasingly take over and the ministers or thoughts will serve this delusion and see things that are not there. And what happens inside people naturally also happens in the outer world, as can be clearly observed today. So it would certainly be salutary if we not only develop the mind with more and more knowledge, but also reason with wisdom, which can bring us significantly more blessings in life than all the money in the world.

Rat King Birlibi

✻ I want to tell the story of the Rat King Birlibi: In the Stralsund village of Altenkamp, which lies sideways on the beach between Garz and Putbus, there used to be a rich peasant whose name was Hans Burwitz. He was a decent, clever man, who succeeded in everything he undertook, and who was a man of influence in his village. He had sixteen cows, forty sheep, eight horses and two foals in the stable and in the paddocks, smooth as eels and so well bred that his foals were always paid with eight to ten gold coins each at the Berger horse market. He also had six pretty children, sons and daughters, and he was doing so well that people used to call him the rich farmer from Altenkamp. This man lost all his fortune by walking through the woods at night.

✎ The fairy tale begins with a “decent and clever” farmer who made it into a respectable and wealthy family, at least by village standards. But by going into the forest at night, he had lost all his fortune. “Fortune” is a very old term, originally used to mean “ability” and only later to mean having money. Apparently, these abilities included some intelligence, diligence, skill, and a sense of order. Do we still want to be a “decent person” today? It’s not just about straightening your shoes, it’s also about recognizing a larger order in this world and how to place yourself in it. One can develop a certain trust in such a higher order, and they say that whoever finds his right place here will succeed in everything, as if by himself, which means: You don’t need a strong ego or deceit to achieve something. But when our farmer left this order, it all went downhill.

✻ Hans Burwitz was also a strong hunter, he had a particularly good scent for foxes and martens and was therefore often at night in the forest, where he laid his irons and waited for the catch. In the dark and in the twilight of the moonlight he saw and heard many things that he did not want to retell, how many strange and wondrous things happen in the forest at night. But the story of the Rat King Birlibi was learned from him.

✎ Well, first of all, the farmer increasingly begins to fight against his enemies, the foxes and martens, which particularly threaten the henhouse. And because these animals are primarily active at night, he begins to fight this battle at night as well. However, twilight and night are also symbolic terms for increasing ignorance, which now overshadows and darkens the cleverness or wisdom of the farmer. One could also say that he loses himself in an illusionary world of superstition, and in this darkness his thoughts paint pictures for him, which are described here as “wondrous and strange”. The term “wonder” is said to be closely related to the term “wish” (in German: Wunder and Wunsch) and expresses a spiritual desire. In addition, there is “separation”, which means that people want to be something “special” and no longer want to fit into their place in the great order of nature. As a result, he increasingly begins to fight enemies he finds in nature, believing that killing enemies will bring him happiness, at least what he thinks of as happiness. And of course, the greater his ignorance, the stranger his idea of happiness in life.

This theme of the fight against nature runs throughout the fairy tale and reminds us very much of the fight that our modern farmers are waging, with the help of science and vast amounts of poison, against the diverse herbs, insects, worms, bacteria and viruses, that Mother Nature opposes to a livestock and agricultural monoculture. This is how a diabolic image of the enemy emerges, like here in the fairy tale the “Rat King”, who had conspired with all sorts of rabble against the interests of the farmers. But in the forest, i.e. in nature itself, he could not find this Rat King at first.

✻ In his childhood Hans Burwitz had often heard stories about a Rat King who wore a golden crown on his head and ruled over all weasels, hamsters, rats, mice and other such easy-going rabble and was a mighty king of the forest; but Hans had never wanted to believe it. For many a dear year he had also wandered around in the forest catching foxes and martens and hunting birds, and had neither seen nor heard the least bit about the Rat King. But the Rat King might have been doing his thing in a different area. Because he has many castles in all the countries under the mountains and almost every year he moves to a different castle, where he has fun with his lords and court ladies. For he lives like a very noble gentleman, and the Great Mogul and King of France can’t have better days, and the Queen of Antioch hasn’t had them, who spent her fortune in the hearts of birds of paradise and the brains of nightingales. And just don’t think that this Rat King and his friends ever put nuts and wheat grains and milk in their mouths; nay, sugar and marzipan is their daily food, and sweet wine is their drink, and they live better than King Solomon and Captain Holofernes.

✎ One compares the Rat King with extravagantly living nobles, who probably became a plague for the people because they had lost all connection to living nature and lived in an artificial world that was getting crazier and crazier. We don’t need to explain this further here, but the allusion to King Solomon, who was considered the wisest of all kings of Israel and was eventually seduced into worshiping idols by his beloved, the daughter of the Moors and Queen of Sheba, is interesting. In contrast to this is Field Captain Holofernes, who, after much robbery, murder and plunder, was intoxicated, deceived and beheaded by a woman. From a symbolic point of view, one can already sense the female role of Mother Nature, which we will talk about later.

✻ Now Hans Burwitz once again went into the forest after midnight and was on the fox stalk. Then in the distance he heard a shrieking, many-voiced roar, and a clear voice rang out: “Birlibi! Birlibi! Birlibi!’ Then he remembered the tale of the Rat King Birlibi, which he had often heard, and he thought: ‘You want to go and see what it is!’. And he was about to leave when he thought of the proverb: “Stay away when you have nothing to do with it, then you’ll keep your nose!” But the “Birlibi” echoed after him as long as he was in the forest. And the other night and the third night it was the same again. But he didn’t allow himself to be challenged and said: “Let the devil and his rabble do as they please! They can’t hurt anyone who doesn’t bother with them. ” Would that Hans had always done it that way! But by the fourth night it overpowered him and he really got into snares.

✎ The classic enemy of nature used to be the devil, whose nature was described in an excellent way by Goethe in his Faust poem. This connection between the devil and Mother Nature can be found in many old fairy tales (e.g. “The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs”), and the devil’s grandmother is often mentioned. One could also regard the devil as a being or tool of nature that challenges people. Goethe also lets God speak to the devil:

The like of thee have never moved My hate.
Of all the bold, denying Spirits,
The waggish knave least trouble doth create.
Man’s active nature, flagging, seeks too soon the level;
Unqualified repose he learns to crave;
Whence, willingly, the comrade him I gave,
Who works, excites, and must create, as Devil,...

And what is the devil’s call? Here it says “Birlibi!”, a term that could be translated as insatiable desire and a call for “Money!”. Behind this is of course the idea of “I” and “mine”, which is so deeply anchored in our human memory that there is probably no person who is not overwhelmed by it at some point. The devil also speaks to Faust in mystical words of this “ego delusion” as part of nature:

Part of that Power, not understood,
Which always wills the Bad, and always works the Good…
I am the Spirit that Denies
And justly so: for all things, from the Void
Called forth, deserve to be destroyed:
‘Twere better, then, were naught created.
Thus, all which you as Sin have rated,
Destruction, - aught with Evil blent, -
That is my proper element.

✻ It was Walpurgis evening and his wife asked him not to go into the forest that night, because it was too scary and all the sorcerers and weather makers were on their feet, they could do something to him; for in that night, which the whole army of hell unleashed, many a Christian had been harmed. But he laughed at her and called it a woman’s fear and went his usual way into the forest when the others were in bed. King Birlibi, however, had become too powerful for him.

✎ What is the woman’s fear? Today, in our materialistic worldview, we believe that nature is a dead machine and that life is just a tiny phenomenon in the big universe on a tiny speck of dust that we call earth. Our knowledge about it is based on supposedly reliable foundations of scientific knowledge about the laws of nature. Anyone who is still afraid of witches and ghosts is considered crazy and should see a psychiatrist. In this masculine pride we no longer listen to the feminine voice of intuition or reason that speaks to us and warns us throughout nature. On the contrary, we laugh at such warnings and go the well-trodden paths of our habit. And meanwhile we have almost completely forgotten how to listen to the voice of nature at all. What did nature want to tell us when people increasingly gave up their village life, moved to overcrowded cities and the pestilence broke out? What did nature want to tell us when the Spanish flu raged after the First World War? And what does nature want to tell us about the AIDS virus, swine flu, mad cow disease, bird flu, corona, allergies, depression, cancer, heart disease, obesity, addictions and, and, and...? One should have woken up at the latest after the realization of the social background of AIDS. But most scientists see disease only as a challenge to invent and sell some means to combat the unloved effects. Only few think about the deeper causes. Is it possible to defeat nature in this way? So, we go deeper and deeper into the nocturnal forest, where the Rat King Birlibi reigns and the call for “money” rings out, and we do not believe in the message of nature.

✻ At first this night in the forest was just like the previous nights, there was a roar and noise from afar, and the “Birlibi” sounded brightly underneath; and what was buzzing and whistling and rustling above his head through the treetops didn’t bother Burwitz much, because he didn’t believe in witchcraft at all and said they were only night spirits, which people dread because they didn’t know them, and all sorts of deception and illusions of darkness, which can do nothing to those who have no faith in them. But when it was midnight and the bell had struck twelve, a completely different “Birlibi!” came out of the forest, making Hansen’s hair tingle and whoosh, and he wanted to run away. But they were too quick for him, and he was soon in the midst of the mob and could not get out.

✎ Well, over a few centuries modern science has really managed to abolish the faith in a holistically ensouled nature and establish a materialistic, egocentric worldview that hardly anyone can escape today. And why night and darkness? Because people today are increasingly lacking in inner light and inner peace, because they are looking for light above all in external, material things and love the noise of the world. Accordingly, the widespread disease of depression continues to increase.

✻ For when twelve had struck, the whole forest suddenly sounded like drums and kettledrums and whistles and trumpets, and it was so bright in it as if it had suddenly been lit up by many thousands of lamps and candles. But that night was the great main festival of the Rat King, and all his subjects and people and men and vassals were summoned to celebrate it. And all the trees seemed to rustle and all the bushes to whistle and all the rocks and stones to jump and dance, so that Hansen became terribly afraid. But when he tried to run away, so many animals barred his way that he could not get through and had to resign himself to standing where he was. There were foxes and martens and polecats and weasels and dormice and marmots and hamsters and rats and mice in such countless numbers that it seemed they had been drummed up for this festival from all over the world. They ran and jumped and hopped and danced about each other as if they were mad; but they all stood on their hind feet, and with their front feet they carried green may branches, and cheered and roared and howled and shrieked and whistled each in his own way. In short, all the easy rabble of nightly thieves was together and made a hideous ringing and jingling and tumult. It was just as wild in the air as it was on earth; the owls and crows and bats and dung beetles flew all over the place and announced the joy of the high day with their shrieking and screeching throats and with their buzzing and whirring wings.

✎ Wonderful! And why did the “rabble of thieves” stand on their hind legs? This also reminds us that it is not about any enemies or plagues out there in nature, but about our human being with all the raging thoughts inside us that are whirling around in confusion. As long as we cannot control our thoughts, passion reigns, which is known to create much suffering.

✻ When Hans, frightened and astonished, found himself in the midst of the throng and tumult and roar and did not have a clue what to do, behold, it suddenly shone brighter, and now many thousands of voices sang at the same time, so that it rang through with terrible, horrible solemnity. The forest resounded and Hansen’s heart trembled:

Open up, open up, open up the gates!
And cometh from all places!
You are invited all at once;
The king moves through his kingdom.

I am the great Rat King.
Come to me, if you have too little!
My house is of gold and silver,
I measure the money with bushels.

✎ Yes, that’s the call of our modern world: “I’ll hand out the money in bushels!” There is now hardly any area in our society that is not ruled by money. Kindergartens, schools and universities have to “pay off” - we even want to earn money from our children. Also, hospitals and nursing homes have to be “economical” and patients are increasingly viewed as a means to an end of earning money. The whole of science is almost exclusively ruled by the subsidy demon, and people like to lie and cheat for that. Because wherever a lot of money plays a role, there is also corruption, fraud, lies and blindness.

Due to the globalization of the economy, more and more money is getting into the hands of fewer and fewer people, some of whom already have “private assets” of a whopping $100 billion. You could call them the modern rat kings, because with the same spirit that they amassed so much money, they also work with it and want to wield their power as great kings. Of course, they are also trying to do good in the world, but of course their work corresponds to their spirit and their selfish interests. They speak of charitable “foundations”, but even this term is reminiscent of “regulations” and “dictates”. Anyhow, these are our great role models in life, the world loves them and everywhere is heard the jubilant call “Money! Money! And more money!”, so that they are celebrated as the greatest of kings.

✻ So, it continued to sound in a solemn and slow song, and then again and again individual screeching and shrieking voices resounded with a disgusting sound: “Birlibi! Birlibi!’ and the whole crowd also called out ‘Birlibi!’ so that it echoed through the forest. Now the Rat King came along. He was enormously tall as a fattened ox and sat on a golden chariot and had a golden crown on his head and held a golden sceptre in his hand. His queen sat beside him and she also had on a golden crown and was so fat that she shined, and they had intertwined their long bare tails behind them and were playing with them, for they felt very comfortable. And those tails were the most hideous thing you saw there; but the King and Queen were hideous enough. The chariot in which they sat was drawn by six skinny wolves, baring their teeth, and two long tomcats stood up behind as haiduks (plunderers or highwaymen) and held burning torches and meowed horribly. But the Rat King and Rat Queen were not afraid of them, because they seemed to be too powerful lords and kings over everyone here. Twelve swift drummers also went in front of the chariot and drummed. Those were rabbits; they have to beat the drum and encourage others because they don’t have any courage themselves.

✎ Here we find a wonderful symbolism in the form of a body chariot with a fat-fed couple consisting of a male and female half playing with each other and entwined tightly. Both wear a crown and the man holds the sceptre. Actually, one could again think of spirit and nature as a unit, where reason should rule. But overwhelmed by gluttony, it is now more the greedy ego that wears the crown and reigns along with ignorance. Ignorance arises from the intellectual mind, which becomes more and more lost in illusion without the higher reason, and its close connection with the ego-consciousness can, according to experience, produce the most terrible acts of violence, the most hideous things to be found on earth. Correspondingly, the chariot of the body, which is actually made of gold - thus embodying a certain truth - is drawn by six hungry wolves, by which one might understand the five senses with thinking. The two hungry tomcats could stand for desire and hate, lighting up the consciousness with the torch of passion only in a narrow circle and complaining horribly about everything that doesn’t please them. The twelve rabbits preceding the body chariot are reminiscent of the twelve months and the fleeting time that passes to the beat of a drum. This is associated with a constant existential fear because death is unstoppably approaching. And the courage we give each other is probably holding on to a material physicality that you can’t hold on to.

✻ Hansen had been scared enough; but now, when he saw the Rat King and the Rat Queen and the wolves and tomcats and hares together like this, his skin shuddered all over his body, and his usually brave heart almost gave up, and he said to himself: “Here may the hangman stay longer, where everything goes so against nature! I have also read and heard of miracles; but they always happened to be somehow naturally. Clearly you can see that this is a colourful devil’s game and a devilish pack. Who would be out here!”

✎ Well, when at some point one begins to wake up and to look within, and see one’s own animal nature, one is usually seized by a horrid despair. At first you don’t want to believe that your own nature can be so devilish or demonic and you don’t want to have anything to do with it. You think you can stay away from it and just get on with life. But what you see there is part of our natural being and therefore part of nature as a whole. So, the above quote from Goethe about the “spirit that denies” continues as follows:

The modest truth I speak to thee.
If Man, that microcosmic fool, can see
Himself a whole so frequently,
Part of the Part am I, once All, in primal Night,
Part of the Darkness which brought forth the Light,
The haughty Light, which now disputes the space,
And claims of Mother Night her ancient place.
And yet, the struggle fails ; since Light, however it weaves
Still, fettered, unto bodies cleaves:
It flows from bodies, bodies beautifies;
By bodies is its course impeded;
And so, but little time is needed,
I hope, ere, as the bodies die, it dies!

The sages of the ancient religions say: Accepting this challenge is the greatest task in life, and victory is the greatest victory one can ever achieve. This is the very purpose why Mother Nature constantly oppresses us with diseases, vermin and other worries so that we finally wake up and search for the real causes within ourselves. This is the beginning of a hard fight against our animal nature, which has formed into a body out of egoism and ignorance with the help of the five senses, thinking, desire and hatred, which is constantly threatened by death and impermanence. We are usually so dependent on this physical being that there is no stopping when passion calls.

✻ Well, Hans made another attempt to push himself out; but the train kept roaring through the forest, and Hans had to go with it. This went on until they came to an outer corner of the forest. There was an open field and many hundreds of wagons had stopped there laden with bacon and meat and corn and nuts and other edible things. A farmer drove each wagon with his horses, and other farmers carried the sacks of grain and bacon and ham and sausages and whatever else they had loaded down into the forest. When they saw Hans Burwitz standing there, they called out to him: “Come! Help carry it, too!’ And Hans went and unloaded and carried with them; but he was so confused that he did not know what he was doing. However, it seemed to him in the twilight that he saw familiar faces among the farmers, and among others the mayor from Krakvitz and the blacksmith from Casnevitz. Well, he didn’t let show anything, and they also behaved like unknown people. But the case with the farmers was as follows: they had surrendered themselves to the service of the Rat King and his followers and had to drive their plunder to the forest on Walpurgis Night, when the Rat King had a big festival, and what the Rat King’s subjects had pilfered and stolen one by one from all over the world.

✎ Who are the servants of the Rat Kings who bring them the fat riches? How can you become the richest man in the world in a few years with “software” or “Face-Book”? You definitely can’t manage that with hard work. The keyword is advertising and selling related data. (Anyone who wants to learn more about this global swamp should read Schlecky Silberstein’s book “The Internet Must Go: A Reckoning”.) Nowadays all public media serve advertising more or less directly, and the people obsessively follow advertising and the associated visions and promises. At first you can’t find anything bad about it. Why not promote a good product? But in the background, of course, everything revolves around money, and as was already said, where a lot of money plays a role, corruption, fraud, lies and blindness rule. From this the greedy ego feeds, and the higher reason disappears.

✻ So, Hans joined quite innocently and didn’t know how. As soon as the sacks and the other things were carried into the forest, the wild rabble of thieves went for it, and it went grip! grap! and snatch! snitch! as fast as possible, and everyone grabbed and dragged his share away, so that the goods were fewer and fewer. But the king was still standing there in his high and magnificent carriage, and some were still dancing and roaring and making noise around him. But when all the wagons were unloaded, a hundred large rats came and poured gold out of bushels into the field and onto the road, and sang:

Hands here! Hats fro!
Who wants more? Who wants more?
Merry! Merry! It’s great today!
Merry! Hands and hats are full!

And the farmers fell on the spilled gold like hungry ravens and grabbed and pushed each other, and everyone snatched up as much of the red prey as he could get his hands on, and Hans was not lazy either and helped vigorously to. And when they were at their best work like doves, under which peas were thrown, behold, the morning cock crowed, where the pagan and hellish realm on earth has no more power - and in a moment everything was gone as if it had been only a dream, and Hans was standing there all alone in the forest. Morning broke, and he went home with a heavy heart. But he also had heavy bags and beautiful red gold in them; he didn’t pour it out. His wife had become very anxious that he was coming home so late, and she was startled when she saw him so pale and distraught, and asked him all sorts of questions. But he answered her with a joke, as he usually did, and did not tell her a single word of what he had seen and heard.

✎ Why is man so easily overcome by desire? Gold or money is actually neither good nor bad, or as William Shakespeare wrote: “In itself, nothing is neither good nor bad. Thinking makes it so.” With this, our thoughts become a creative force, and one could even say: money is only a human thought construct, whereby the gold becomes the “red gold” of burning passion. This brings a mental phenomenon into play that we call desire and even addiction. Our modern world in particular is increasingly full of addictions, not only to money, alcohol, drugs and sex, but in almost all areas of society. And the biggest addiction we cultivate is the “I”. An alcoholic can at least imagine to live without alcohol. But who can still imagine living without “I”? This ego addiction is very deeply anchored in us and usually determines everything in our life, even if higher reason opposes it. Therefore, we live in the dark night, falling from one dream to the next and lying to ourselves. And as the fairy tale says: We could open our eyes and wake up from this dream, but for that we would have to leave the beautiful red gold in our pockets behind. Here, too, nature comes into play as the female aspect of the spirit, observing us with concern and asking many questions that, out of usual pride, we do not want to answer and ignore as far as possible.

✻ Hans counted his gold - it was a pretty little pile of ducats - put it in the cupboard and did not go into the forest for the first few months after this adventure. He had a secret dread of it. Then he gradually forgot, how it is with people, the Walpurgis Night and its horrible tumult and continued to go hunting for foxes and martens in the moonlight and starlight. He saw and heard nothing more of the Rat King and his Birlibi, and in the end he seldom thought about it. But as spring approached, everything changed. Sometimes around midnight he heard the “Birlibi” ringing again, so that the limpest hair on his head came alive, and then he always ran quickly out of the forest, but he still had his secret thoughts about Walpurgis Night. However, what people think during the day comes back to them in their dreams at night and plays all sorts of games and mirrors and tricks. Therefore, the Rat King was not absent with his night tricks, and Hans often dreamed as if the Rat King was standing in front of his door knocking; and he opened it up for him and saw him in the flesh, as he was sitting in the carriage at that time, and he was now all pure gold and not as ugly as he had appeared to him then, and the rat king sang to him the following verse in the sweetest voice, about you didn’t want to believe that a rat’s throat could have it:

I am the great Rat King.
Come to me, if you have too little!
My house is of gold and silver,
I measure the money with bushels.

And then he came close to him and whispered in his ear: “You’re coming back to Walpurgis Night, Hans Burwitz, and help carry sacks and get your pockets full of ducats, will you?”

✎ Here the topic of “dreaming” is described in an excellent way. In the beginning there is the idea of “I” and “mine” in the form of personal possessions. From this existential fear follows and a fight starts against all enemies who threaten personal property. At some point you live in a world of thoughts like in a dream state and you get used to it more and more. Through the glasses of thoughts you see a corresponding world, and a so-called world view emerges. And if we are honest with ourselves, we all know that this limitless greed for more and more wealth cannot go well in this world. And yet we are already so addicted and used to it that hardly anyone can resist the cry for “Money!”.

✻ It is true that Hans, when he awoke from such dreams, always had a dread in addition to his joy at the gold, and he would say: “Just wait, Prince Birlibi, I won’t come to your party!” But it happened to him, as it has happened to other people, and the old proverb should also come true with him: Whoever the devil has by a thread, he will soon lead him by a rope. Enough, the closer Walpurgis Night came, the more Hans grew greedy to be there too. But he firmly resolved not to follow the will of the evil this time, and he went to bed happily with his wife on Walpurgis Eve. But he couldn’t sleep; he kept thinking about the wagons with the sacks and the farmers and the big rats pouring the gold out of bushels on the floor, and he couldn’t stand it any longer in bed, he had to get up and sneak away from the woman and walk in the dark forest. And then he experienced this second night just as the first time. He had taken a little bag with him for the gold and collected much more than the year before.

✎ Why is our modern world so threatened by addiction? Well, on the one hand we are getting further and further away from nature, or as the fairy tales say: we are sneaking away from the women. On the other hand, more and more natural boundaries are being broken, which ensure a natural control of desire, as is normal in the animal and plant realms. There you can only build up a certain amount of supplies, and after times of plenty there are times of shortage again and again. This is how nature works in a huge organism and ensures that the diverse life systems remain in a certain balance. Because the basis of all life are sensitive balances, and what loses its balance dies. Now modern men believe that all this can be calculated with science and mastered in such a way that it can be used to one’s advantage. For this purpose, a materialistic, egocentric worldview was propagated for several centuries, which turns nature into a dead machine and develops egoism more and more intensively. The great trust in a spiritual world that the old religions still had is disappearing. Accordingly, existential fear increases and, together with egoism, becomes the basis of a capitalist social order in which addiction plays an important role, and people are happily turned into addicted consumers. How do you get out of there?

✻ Now it seemed to him that he had enough of the gold, and he swore a high oath that he would never give himself into temptation again, nor would he ever go into the forest again. And he kept his oath and overcame himself that he didn’t go into the forest and didn’t keep up with Walpurgis Night again, no matter how often he dreamed of Birlibi and the golden Rat King. But he didn’t let that sit in his heart, but drove it out with fervent prayer and finally made the wicked tired that he left him. Then many a year had passed, and Hans was called a very rich man. He had bought villages and estates with his ducats and had become a lord. It was rumoured among the people that things weren’t going right with his wealth; but no one could prove it to him. But eventually the proof came.

✎ Well, the first step, of course, is recognizing the diabolical delusion and trying to tame and break the addiction. This is primarily a mental battle against accumulated memory and seductive thoughts. In the past, the great remedy of prayer was used for this. What is prayer? Nowadays, this term is often confused with an appeal, i.e.: I would like this or that... But actually, prayer is more about dissolving the concept of “I” and “mine” and connecting yourself with a holistic being. That is why the Lord’s Prayer says: “Thy will be done...” This attacks the fundamental evil of all addictions, namely ego addiction. To date, there is virtually no better remedy for addiction, and the “Twelve-Step Program” of trusting God is still recommended as the most effective method for alcoholics. And then? Can we just go on living like before?

✻ The evil lied in wait for the poor man, over whom he had already gained some power. He was angry with him because he stayed away from his high festivals on Walpurgis Night, and when Hans once again thought with sinful lust of collecting gold and forgot his evening prayer because of it, and he also cursed a few unchristian things about a trifle, the evil could break out with his rabble, and Hans has now learned what King Birlibi’s golden puppet is all about. Since that time, Hans has had neither star nor luck in his business. No matter how hard he strived, he could no longer bring forth anything, but was going backwards from day to day. But his worst enemies were the mice that ate his grain in the fields and in the barns, the weasels, rats and martens that slaughtered his chickens, ducks and doves, the foxes and wolves that killed his lambs, sheep, colts and calves. In short, the rabble made it so bad that Hans lost property and farms, horses and cattle, sheep and calves in a few years, and in the end he couldn’t call a single chicken his own. He had to leave house and yard with his wife and children as a poor man, staff in hand, and had to support himself as a day labourer in his old age.

✎ This is certainly not the happy ending we would like to have after a long struggle against desire and addiction. And yet it is the experience that many people made on this path in the past and passed on in such stories. The question is: Can you just continue living after a crisis like before? Well, as long as the fundamental causes have not been eliminated, such crises will of course occur again and again and even more rapidly. Because the causes of our suffering in this world are anchored incomparably deep in our spiritual being. Anyone who has once imprinted and accumulated the image of nature’s enemy sees evil in nature and will be pursued by it for a long time to come. Because if you make an enemy of nature, you make an enemy of life and in the end you have to lose everything. People have known this for a long time, but modern science doesn’t believe in it, so again we go down that horrible path, making the enemy of nature and blindly fighting unloved herbs, insects, worms, bacteria and viruses that Mother Nature sends to prevent a deadly sterile monoculture and to maintain the natural balance on this earth. As if you could conquer illness, old age and death with a lot of money. What madness?!

The Bible also addresses this issue of selfish enmity with one’s environment and teaches:

You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” But I tell you not to resist evil; but if someone strikes you on your right cheek, offer the other one to him as well. And if someone wants to argue with you and take your coat, leave him your cloak too. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go two with him. Give to those who ask you, and do not turn away from those who want to borrow from you.

You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I say to you: Love your enemies; bless those who curse you; do good to those who hate you; pray for those who offend and persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for He causes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t the tax collectors do the same? And if you are only kind to your brothers, what are you doing special? Don’t the tax collectors do the same?

Therefore, you should be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. [Matthew 5:38]

How a society develops that cannot live peacefully with nature, but promotes and cultivates egoistic enmity, was already predicted in the ancient Indian Puranas for the dark age of Kali:

The Kali Age is characterized by violence, jealousy, falsehood, deceit and a decline in asceticism. As a result, dharma (virtue and righteousness) is fading, and it is doubtful whether people can still make a living even with great mental and physical exertion or prayer. In the Kali Age, fatal diseases and a constant fear of hunger reign supreme. There is a terrible fear of drought, and the spiritual vision is dim and perverted. The authoritarian wisdom of the scriptures is no longer respected... As the age advances, thieves and robbers rule the kingdoms, and kings act like thieves and robbers. The servants have no more love, friendship and loyalty (to their masters). Women become unchaste and disinterested in sacred rites, love wine and meat, and resort to deceitful means... In the Kali Age, people increasingly become traders, cheating their buyers with false measurements. Society abounds with ungodly people full of deceit, unwholesome deeds and unvirtuous behaviour. The men will be in the minority and the women will be superior. People will beg excessively, eat too much meat, use harsh words, and be dishonest and jealous. Nobody helps the others, even if you have received help yourself. Men grow weary and weak, and unhesitatingly turn to the deeds that cause their own downfall... In savage struggle, people kill each other, thinking to achieve their goals. Worried, they die prematurely, kingdoms perish, and sickness, madness, depression, discontent, and sloth take over... Few people survive this time, scattered here and there on the earth. When they come together in groups, their nature comes out and they hate and hurt each other. Anarchy reigns as a result of the Kali Age, and filled with doubt and inner tension, fear reigns among subjects everywhere. Extremely tormented and exhausted, they try to save their selfish lives, leave their wives, children and home, become increasingly unhappy and die... But in their greatest desperation and apathy to the outside world, they begin to look within. And as they look within, they attain a state of calmness. They are enlightened by calmness, and by enlightenment they recognize the divine and become pious. And when those, who survived the end of the Kali age, attain this enlightenment, the age is transformed in a single day. Once their spirit is disenchanted, the golden age of Krita begins through the power of inevitable fate. [Vayu Purana 1.58]

Our farmer in the fairy tale comes to a similar ending on a small scale:

✻ He often told the story of how he got rich and how the farmer became a nobleman, and thanked God that he sent rats and mice to convert him and made him so poor. “Because otherwise,” said the poor man, “I probably wouldn’t have gone to heaven, and the devil would have retained his power over me, and I would finally have had to dance to the Rat King’s piping there too.” And he also said that such gold, which one wins in such a wondrous and secret way, has no blessing in it; for despite all his treasures his heart had never been so good as afterwards in the direst poverty. Yes, he was a miserable man when he drove with six as a squire than afterwards, when he was often glad if he only had salt and potatoes in the evening.

✎ That is probably a salvation that a materialistically oriented person cannot even imagine, because he does not know any spiritual life and does not want to see this higher meaning in nature. But earlier people knew about it, and so it says in the Bible:

Truly I say to you, it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And further I say to you: It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. [Matthew 20:23]

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [Matthew 5.3]

If anyone wants to follow me, deny yourself and take up the cross and follow me. For whoever wants to preserve his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What use is it to man if he gains the whole world and suffers damage to his soul? Or what can man give so that he can free his soul again? [Matthew 16:24]

“They have become rich in all virtues,” so it is written. Truly, that can never happen unless one first becomes poor in everything. Whoever wants to receive all things must also give all things. This is a fair trade and an equal exchange, as I said a long time ago. Therefore, because God wants to give us himself and all things to be our own, he wants to take everything that belongs to us completely. Yea, verily, God will not at all that we should have as much of our own as I can see in my eyes. For all the gifts that he ever gave us, both gifts of nature and gifts of grace, he never gave with any other will than that we should have nothing for our own; and as his own, he gave nothing in any way to his mother, or to any man or creature. And in order to teach us and to provide us with it, he often takes both physical and spiritual goods from us. For the possession of honour shall not be ours, but only his. Rather, we should have all things (only) as if they were lent to us and not given to us, without any possession of our own, whether body or soul, senses, powers, external goods or honour, friends, relatives, house, home, and all things. [Meister Eckhart, Tracts 23]

What is this wealth in poverty? It is nothing other than the end of material physicality and Ego-consciousness, the dissolution of the idea of “I” and “others”, a pure consciousness and a complete oneness with everything. Could there be greater riches? Certainly, in our materialistic, egocentric world view, this is completely impossible. But if you look at current developments in the world with open eyes, there are increasing doubts about this world view. The settings still look reasonably friendly, but they are crumbling more and more and behind them you can find an extremely terrible swamp where only three terms rule: MONEY-MAKES-BLIND. And if we continue like this, people will be talking in a few centuries about the dark ages of scientific materialism and how selfish, greedy and blind people were back then.

Slaves of Money, satirical illustrations by Al Margen

What can we do? What is our freedom?

We will certainly have to live with the laws of nature. As long as there is birth, there will be old age, sickness and death in nature, and no money in the world can conquer them. So, are we slaves to nature? No, we have freedom, freedom of thought. Thoughts have a creative power and it is up to us how we use them to see this world. If we want to see particles, then we see particles, if we want to see waves, then we see waves. People knew this before, and quantum physics has even confirmed it scientifically. This gives us the freedom to decide whether we follow a materialistic, egocentric world view and see dead particles, or a holistic, ensouled world view and with living waves. The main difference is that you can capture and own particles, but not waves. That is the essence and the freedom of thought. Viewed as a particle, money leads to selfish possessiveness and ruined investments; viewed as a wave, money comes and goes in a holistic economic process and can even become a source of vibrant creativity. Because money is neither good nor bad, only our thinking makes it so. The same applies to everything else, as well as to viruses: if you look at a dangerous virus as a particle, it imprints itself in your mind as an eternal enemy, if you look at the virus as a wave, it comes and goes in the process of a holistic living nature, where it fulfills its task, constantly transforms and doesn't even need a special name. The same applies to our own body, which is also more like a wave than a particle. Modern science has known this for almost a hundred years, but most scientists are still 19th-century materialists and love their dead particles more than anything, presumably because they are as easy to count and hold as dear money.

Crisis of confidence in our science

“Listen to the scientists!” This is what our youth movement “Fridays for Future” is currently demanding in order to preserve a future worth living with a better climate policy that “is based on scientific knowledge”. That’s good and badly needed! But which scientists should you listen to? There are now so many “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who call themselves scientists, but are actually money and funding slaves. And the best thing they can think of to protect the environment is tax increases and the sale of indulgences. Dear young people, please take a close look at which scientists and politicians you entrust your future to. Do you really want to listen to the “particle hunters” selling their souls to the rat kings? Consider it well! With the belief that our life consists of dead matter particles, how could one ever be able to preserve the sensitive balance of a worth living nature? Those who fundamentally regard nature as something dead can never protect its vitality. In addition, there is a growing number of scientists who follow the call of “Birlibi” instead of looking for truth, selling themselves to the media, being harnessed for political purposes and getting paid by the rat king. Then it says: “Whose bread I eat, his song I sing!” And what comes out of it?

New in the play-along theatre: “The Conspiracy”

Dear theatre friends! In March 2020, we witnessed the premiere of a multi-billion dollar public television and radio production led by leading politicians and scientists. In the meantime, the screenplay (original link) for this production has also been published in the play-along theatre, in which it was already pointed out that this production was “the greatest challenge for politics, society and the economy in Germany since the end of the Second World War”. Apparently little thought was given to the great challenge for the spectators playing along. The main role is played by a hitherto little-known actor named “Covid”. The theme of the play that led to the title “The Conspiracy” was briefly summarized by Mephisto in Goethe’s Faust:

In every way shall ye be stranded.
The elements with us are banded,
And ruin is the certain fate.

The first reactions among viewers and critics were promising, and only some thought: “Too much horror and not enough reasonable message.” But after just a few weeks, the number of infected viewers fell drastically. A member of the production team expressed acute doubts and explained that the damage of this production will far exceed any benefit and the production should be stopped immediately. It was probably a big cheek to speak of proportionality and maybe even reason in a horror performance! He was therefore immediately suspended by the production team, because the script does not allow going back, and they are now trying to drastically increase the number of infected viewers by increasing the advertising budget. But the number continued to fall, undeterred. At the same time, the practitioners of the “conspiracy” increasingly began to scold the theorists, who simply thought too much and no longer wanted to be part of this play. A veritable war broke out between “conspiracy practitioners” and “conspiracy theorists”. And to further increase the horror of the play, a lot of fear was now imported from other countries, which was relatively cheap to get there. This was also required by the screenplay, which literally says: “In order to achieve the desired shock effect, the concrete effects of a contagion on human society must be made clear.” The children must not be spared as co-players either, and the screenplay says it literally: “Children will hardly suffer from the epidemic.”: Wrong! (That means you can’t say something like that in public. The propaganda has to be:) “Children will be easily infected, even with exit restrictions, e.g. from the neighbours’ children. When they then infect their parents and one of them dies in agony at home and they feel guilty about it because they forgot to wash their hands after playing, for example, it’s the most terrifying thing a child might ever experience.” Well, dear children, from now on you will be considered as potential murderers of your parents and grandparents as soon as you cuddle or kiss them, maybe even a breath or the touch with unwashed hands is enough! Such devilish thoughts can actually only be injected into the minds of children from those, who have no children of their own. Isn’t that insanely awful? Yes, more and more theatre critics now fear that this paranoid horror production will be a terrible disaster...

Karl-Marx wrote as early as 1867: Capital is terrified of the absence of profit or very little profit, like nature is of emptiness. With corresponding profit, capital becomes bold. Ten percent safe and you can use it anywhere; 20 percent, it’s getting lively; 50 percent, positively daring; for 100 percent it stamps all human laws under its foot; 300 percent, and there’s no crime that doesn’t risk it, even at the risk of the gallows. If tumult and strife bring profit, it will encourage them both. [Marx, Capital I]

To conclude, we would like to take a little look behind the scenes mentioned. The following report “The WHO ruined: Bill Gates decides what is healthy” was published by SWR2 (Südwestrundfunk as part of ARD) in 2017, but the situation has probably not improved significantly since then, on the contrary, it still seems to be a lot worse. Because today no public broadcaster dares to report so honestly about the terrible abuses behind the scenes.

The Ditmarsh Tale of Wonders

✻ I will tell you something. I saw two roasted fowls flying; they flew quickly and had their breasts turned to heaven and their backs to hell, and an anvil and a mill-stone swam across the river Rhine prettily, slowly, and gently, and a frog sat on the ice at Whitsuntide and ate a ploughshare. Three fellows who wanted to catch a hare, went on crutches and stilts; one of them was deaf, the second blind, the third dumb, and the fourth could not stir a step. Do you want to know how it was done? First, the blind man saw the hare running across the field, the dumb one called to the lame one, and the lame one seized it by the neck.

✎ There were certain men who wished to sail on dry land, and they set their sails in the wind, and sailed away over great fields. Then they sailed over a high mountain, and there they were miserably drowned. A crab was chasing a hare away, and high up on the roof lay a cow which had climbed up there. In that country the flies are as big as the goats are here. Open the window, that the lies may fly out.

Well, maybe we’re thinking now of a silly beer-pub story. Yes, it often happens that we greatly underestimate the spirit of our ancestors out of our own arrogance. Are fried chickens still alive? What is the line between life and death? Is our life oriented towards happy heaven or sorrowful hell? Can dead matter float like waves on the sea of life? Can one attain a Holy Spirit of the kind that is to descend at Pentecost by feeding on dead things and dogmas frozen in ice? Can we conquer the scaredy-cat in us with our thoughts (in German: der Angsthase - the scared hare)? When is our mind blind, deaf, dumb and lame? Can one set the sails of life on the firm ground of matter? Why do we love the “great fields” of a monoculture? Are we also threatened by a painful downfall on a poisoned and littered earth? Where does the fear of cancer come from? And how did the cow get on the roof? Why have we reversed our world view and made flies into goats, even mosquitoes into elephants or tiny viruses into the greatest enemy of the state?

Open your senses, expand your narrow-minded consciousness from ego-consciousness to universal consciousness, so that the lies disappear! Because we are increasingly living in a propagandistic advertising world and are enveloped in filter bubbles and echo chambers in which we can hardly distinguish between truth and lies. That is, we live in a world that is “built on sand,” just as the “Ditmarsh Land”, a marshland or bottom land on the North Sea that was said to be a peasant republic from 1227 to 1559 that had expelled its noble rulers. From a symbolic point of view, here we can consider the peasants as our senses and thoughts and the king as our reason. And how this becomes a made-up story, we would like to examine in more detail below.

What is truth?

Science has also asked itself this question and then determined that it cannot find any reliable truth at all. Even the TV-famous Prof Harald Lesch thinks that scientists cannot say anything about truth.

Video Lesch ZDF Physics and Truth:
“Now the big question is, if you think about how important the sciences are today and how big the truth character is that we assign to them, can they find anything like truth at all? ... And now it gets really interesting... I talk about truth all the time... but the truth is, we can’t say anything about truth.”

That sounds plausible at first, because science is primarily about the level of thoughts and senses. From a materialistic point of view, one could build the following pyramid:

This means, that living bodies with sensitive organs emerge from matter, indeed purely by chance, because there is no purposeful spirit. Then the sensory information is processed by the thoughts in the brain organ, similar to the data in a computer, and reason can arise from this, or as Wikipedia says: “In its modern use, the concept of reason denotes a mental human faculty of knowledge determined by thinking.” That is why modern science is primarily limited to the level of thoughts, and because thoughts are always distinctions, they must of course always be relative because they relate to differences. Logical! Only relative truths can be found with it, and accordingly the President of the Leibniz Association recently said: “Science does not create absolute truths, but knowledge that is valid until it is confirmed, supplemented or disconfirmed by new findings. This is completely normal in today’s science and research... There can therefore be no talk of a crisis of trust in science in the current coronavirus crisis... Trust increases when scientists present their current knowledge processes in front of running cameras and explain where and how they learned...” Well, that’s as far as you can trust today’s science, namely until the next TV show...

Or should that be a self-issued certificate of incapacity to avoid responsibility?

Well, what used to be called “human reason” has been going downhill rapidly in science since the scientific invention of chemical weapons and atomic bombs at the latest. Because a thought-based reason promotes above all egoistic thinking, or as Goethe said in [Faust I]:

He calls it Reason thence his power’s increased,
To be far beastlier than any beast.

Nevertheless, science believes that this type of “mental reason” is increasingly approaching an absolute truth, as Prof. Harald Lesch also claims in the continuation of the video above. If that were so, the illusion in our world would have to decrease steadily. In practice, however, we are increasingly living in a propagandistic advertising world and are becoming zombies of digital media, which meanwhile have global propaganda firmly under control. In view of current politics and science, one can hardly speak of growing honesty and truthfulness, because practically we are sinking into a mental world of lies in which people are becoming more and more incapable of making really reasonable decisions. And by “reasonable” we don’t mean modern thought-based reason, but classic reason, as it is still explained in older books, such as the dictionary Duden: “A human mental ability to gain insights, to form an opinion, to recognize the connections and the order of what is perceived and to act accordingly.”

Why do we no longer want this classic reason in the modern age?

As already stated and scientifically confirmed: The differencing knowledge of thought is only relatively true and cannot grasp absolute truth. This also includes our beloved “facts” and all sensory perceptions, which are only assumed to be true. So they are assumptions, views, theories, abstractions, etc. This distinguishing knowledge can of course be useful, but never reliable.

Now what would be a knowledge that does not distinguish?

This brings us to what is also called universal intelligence and what can provide a holistic view. You can also call it classic reason, which turns views into insights and, instead of many differences, recognizes the connections in a holistic system in order to make correspondingly reasonable decisions for long-term beneficial action, as explained in the above quote from the dictionary. In this way, reason as a universal intelligence has a much higher quality than the intellectual thinking. While thinking discriminates, reason can decide. One could compare the intellectual thoughts with lawyers who represent the interests of a person, the five senses would then be the witnesses in this case, and reason would be the judge who decides and settles the dispute of opposites in a holistic sense. With that, humans could at least be able to make decisions in the sense of an absolute truth, and on a completely different level than the thoughts. Because we know, when the judge speaks, the lawyers and witnesses must remain silent and accept the verdict. So if reason wants to speak, thoughts and senses must be silent. That’s good...

But at first we shy away and ask: What is left when senses and thoughts are silent? Well, after the above pyramid from a materialistic point of view, only dead matter remains, because even the little tip of reason is only thought-based. So how could a higher reason function in this worldview? And why should one develop a higher reason at all? Perhaps it is no coincidence that materialistic societies such as socialism and capitalism have developed so little higher reason. This means that they can realize intellectual or one-sided interests in the form of monocultures with a lot of strength, but they are obviously not capable of holistic decisions that would be useful for the entire organism of nature.

What now?

Let’s just turn the pyramid around according to the holistic-souled world view that we have already described in the fairy tale “Thumbling”:

The pyramid thus corresponds to a holistic-souled worldview, as it has been cultivated by mankind for many thousands of years. Here reason as a universal intelligence is the integral and living basis for all creatures. From the principle of unity develops the distinguishing thinking, which produces mental separations and thus also the self-awareness with the idea of “I” and “You” or “Mine” and “Yours”. Then, on the basis of this conscious distinction, sense-consciousness arises, and on the basis of the five senses, the idea of material corporeality and the particle character of matter appears. Matter would then be an inert or hardened spirit, as quantum physics also suggests, and many practical experiences would be much easier to explain, such as the numerous psychosomatic diseases, the function of placebos and homeopathy, intuition, compassion, déjà-vu, near-death experiences, telepathy, spirit worlds, and also why no localizable data store has been found in the brain to this day.

In this pyramid you can also see that matter is only a tiny part of the universe, as confirmed by modern physics. But much more important is the question of the way to reason and thus also to truth. While in the previous pyramid one tries to build up a higher reason through thoughts and sensory perception on the basis of dead matter, in this holistic-souled world view it is about dissolving the sensory and mental attachment to matter, and what then remains is the higher reason, i.e. a judge who is dependent neither on material wealth nor on intellectual and sensual or personal interests. Because only a judge who is not corrupt and bribable can represent the truth.

That would be the way to reason, and that’s why development used to be understood not as wrapping in new shells, but rather as unwrapping something wrapped up. So reason cannot be “trained” or “built up” but only “discovered”, or as the saying goes: “Seek and you will find!”

What is it that hides reason? As seen in the pyramid above, the covering shells include the knowledge of opposing thoughts and the idea of dead matter. In the past, the spiritual path was about the purification from intellectual knowledge, which was also referred to as ignorance, so that reason and thus the truth came out again or was discovered. And this ignorance is above all the sensual and mental attachment to matter, so in short with quantum physics: seeing dead particles where there are living waves.

Which worldview is the right one?

A world view can never be the absolute truth, because it is an image, a view i.e., a relative truth. Above all, it should be a path that one walks in life in order to reach the higher reason. And experience has shown that there are many ways to the top of a mountain. However, in our opinion, the materialistic world view has it much more difficult to come closer to a true reason. But practically one should not cling to any worldview dogmatically, because then one would cling to the path and never reach the goal. Experience has shown that you have to leave the path behind in order to reach your goal. And the big goal is, of course, a freely moving spirit that can think and move in different world views, sitting on the summit, so to speak, and being able to survey all the paths around.

✻ I will tell you something. I saw two roasted fowls flying; they flew quickly and had their breasts turned to heaven and their backs to hell.

✎ What is life? What is death? And, who draws the line between the two? We have already discussed the two roasted chickens in the fairy tale “The Clever Gretel”, and there we also spoke about reason and thoughts, and how thoughts, through hungry desire, manage to make something dead out of something living, which naturally always occurs in opposites. Well, here we can read: As far as we manage to let the supposedly dead come alive and move, we turn our backs on the painful hell and face heavenly happiness. Death is suffering, life is bliss. And the more the ego-consciousness in a dead world disappears, and the further one can develop the all-consciousness in a living world, the greater life becomes, and it is said that in this way one can even reach eternal life.

For whoever wants to preserve his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it - and eternal life with it. [Bible Matthew 16.24 / John 12.24]

✻ An anvil and a mill-stone swam across the river Rhine prettily, slowly, and gently, and a frog sat on the ice at Whitsuntide and ate a ploughshare.

✎ Water has always been a symbol of life, and rivers were seen as flowing life. How can heavy and solid matter be carried by easily mobile life? The Bible tells how Jesus once walked on water and his disciple, who wanted to do the same, sank after a few steps. Jesus stretched out his hand and said: “You of little faith, why do you not trust?”

Why do we live as if our bodies are made of dead matter? Because we feed it on supposedly dead matter, like the fried chickens mentioned above. We trust the dead more than the living. And that’s how our material world view came into being, which regards dead matter as the basis of everything and thus also of life. We usually take matter as absolute truth and try to feed life on dead matter, just as the frog, which is also an ancient symbol for life, is supposed to live on a ploughshare. Today one would speak of machines, technology and chemistry, which is what we want to live on. Well, with that, the Holy Spirit cannot come down at Pentecost either, because as dead as our physical food is, our spiritual food can no longer be living water, but an endlessly growing mountain of definitions and dogmas crystallized to ice in a world of “ scientific materialism”.

We know where dogmas lead to from the development of the Christian Church, which for a long time tried to establish a spiritual monoculture all over the world with great violence. Even though it knows the biblical parable of the Tower of Babel and should know that God himself smashes every monoculture, because living nature needs a living variety of multicultures, inside and outside. It was not for nothing that the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost in a variety of languages, so that every culture could find itself in them. So no matter how many artificial edifices of ideas you build, like in the Tower of Babel, you don’t get any closer to heaven and thus to the truth with one-sided views. The road to truth is a breaking down of views, not building them up. This also confirms the second commandment of Moses:

You shall not make for yourself an image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. [Bible, Exodus 20:4]

Because one-sided views can quickly freeze and become dogmas. This results in a violent struggle against all other views and those who think differently, as we know it from the Christian crusades and the Inquisition against heretics from history and today again in the form of falsification and defamation against conspiracy theorists, esotericists and unconventional thinkers in modern science and politics. What is theoretically not possible cannot be allowed to stand in practical. They even want to ban the profession of alternative practitioners by law because they have practical successes that contradict materialistic theory. Insane! But that is a typical sign of a crumbling worldview that desperately wants to survive by any means necessary, but can’t uphold much longer. After the Christian world view came the materialistic world view. What will come next after that? First we experience a great fear:

✻ Three fellows who wanted to catch a hare, went on crutches and stilts; one of them was deaf, the second blind, the third dumb, and the fourth could not stir a step. Do you want to know how it was done? First, the blind man saw the hare running across the field, the dumb one called to the lame one, and the lame one seized it by the neck.

(Another version is: Four of them wanted to catch a rabbit, they came walking on crutches and stilts: one couldn’t hear, the other was blind, the third was lame, the fourth couldn’t speak. Now I don’t know how that happened, and that the blind saw the hare grazing in the wide field, the mute tells the deaf, the lame catches the hare. Source: Old high and low German folk songs B.1, Ludwig Uhland, 1845)

✎ The rabbit is a typical symbol for fear and the corresponding flight reflex. Fear supposedly activates our “reptilian brain”, that is, our animal nature. This might explain why people react like animals in fear and either become blindly aggressive or hide, duck, play dead or flee. This can be useful in some situations, but if a human being in the course of development cannot rid himself of this fear in everyday life, he will not be able to rise from his animal nature and develop what should be human wealth, namely the higher reason. Because under fear people are unable to make rational decisions. No judge can represent the truth under fear. Under fear there are at most short-term solutions.

What is a mind walking on crutches? This could be the thoughts leaning on the deceptive senses. And what is a mind walking on stilts? This could be the self-awareness that sees itself as something separate and struts about the earth. Both were formerly called ignorance or blindness because they obscure and veil reason. One cannot recognize, capture and conquer the animal nature of fear either with thoughts or with the ego-consciousness. One can try, but it will not have long-term success. Only higher reason can help here, before the thoughts are silent and the separating self-awareness becomes a holistic all-consciousness. This is the only way to get rid of the root of fear.

What is the root of fear? Lack of faith, because without faith everything is uncertain. But where to find true faith as long as paid lawyers rule who only represent personal interests and no true judge decides in the sense of truth? When thoughts rule without a higher reason, there can be no true faith either, and we live in constant fear. It is also said: Without this higher reason, man is blind, deaf, dumb and lame with regard to truth. There are also many parables in the Bible in which Jesus heals such people, not only physically but above all spiritually, which certainly also includes the awakening of an expanded consciousness of higher reason and the corresponding trust.

Of course, this higher reason has a very bad time in a materialistic world view, and that is why we are currently trying to solve many social problems through stoked fear out of helplessness: public order through fear of punishment, hard work through fear of existence, environmental protection through fear of climate change, peace through war and fear of loss, insurance through fear of the future or health promotion through fear of illness such as the horror pictures on cigarette packets, the shock stories about vaccination campaigns and medical check-ups and much more. Hardly anyone today trusts in higher reason, and it is not promoted by society either. This is understandable, because true reason would be the downfall of the materialistic-egoistic world view that many people today cultivate as the basis of the market economy:

✻ There were certain men who wished to sail on dry land, and they set their sails in the wind, and sailed away over great fields. Then they sailed over a high mountain, and there they were miserably drowned.

✎ Well, life built on dead matter is built on sand, so to speak. Life needs a living foundation, a sea of living water full of waves on which we set the sails of thoughts in the wind of reason. Wind, spirit and life are conceptually related in many ancient languages, as we still speak today of the breath of life, formerly breathed in by God, which can be thought of as a universal intelligence or holistic spirit.

But apparently there was a time when more and more people lost their faith in the spiritual basis of life. Certainly the dogmas and political lies of the Christian church made their contribution here, and a materialistic world view was formed that wanted to stand on solid ground with scientific certainty. This marked the beginning of the age of the scientific-technical revolution, and the intellectual monoculture also became the agricultural monoculture of the “great fields”. Initially, however, things went upwards, the dogmatically dried-up creativity of the people woke up again and promised a lot of material wealth. The necessary sacrifice of the spiritual values of virtue and truthfulness seemed to pay off. But in the meantime there are more and more voices saying: “This won’t go well for much longer!” Despite all material security and the belief that we are standing on solid ground, human life is increasingly threatened today, and not only by the destructive potential of accumulated chemical and nuclear weapons, but also by the disturbed balances in nature and the mental and physical degeneration of the people themselves. We are sinking globally in a propagandistic advertising world that is increasingly becoming a world of lies, a sick organism that naturally tends to self-destruction, like the insane lockdown in the corona crisis has already indicated. One could also speak of a global cancer that generates more and more fears:

✻ A crab was chasing a hare away, and high up on the roof lay a cow which had climbed up there.

✎ But the crab is also an ancient symbol for life, as we find it in the fairy tale of the “Doctor KnowAll”, and true faith in life can put any fear to flight. Why do we have so little faith in life today? How could the cow climb onto the roof and how could our worldview reverse so fundamentally?

What formerly was bottom, now is summit.
Hereon they base the law there’s no disputing,
to give the undermost the topmost footing… [Faust II]

Well, that is precisely our freedom, which lies in thinking. “I think, therefore I am!” Thoughts are creative. They can create an “I” with entire worlds and turn living waves into dead particles. In this way, the materialistic world view could also arise, which is based on the truth of dead particles. First it was the atoms, then the elementary particles, and now it’s the quarks and similar particles that are becoming practically more and more elusive and unreliable.

What can you rely on? What is absolute truth?

Well, from a materialistic point of view, matter is reliable, which consists of clearly separated particles. From a spiritual point of view, it is spirit, which exists through God. And just as the elementary particles become more and more intangible the deeper one searches, so the divinity in the depths is also intangible. The oldest cultures already knew this, and the Christian and Vedic writings also say: The absolute truth has no form that one could grasp and understand with the senses and thoughts. That is why one speaks of the uncreated, unformed and unborn in this regard. It must be so, for if truth had a fixed form, thoughts could never be so free and creative, there would be no free will, and we would be like robots, totally dependent on our programming and technical basis. Oddly enough, even some materialists believe so, or at least wish they did, and try to fix people like cars and replace their brains with smartphones. If that were the only truth, it would be a sad truth.

From a Christian perspective, the epitome of truth is “God” as the unborn father and the “world” as the born son:

Therefore there is an inward work, which neither time nor space can enclose nor encompass, and in it is something divine and equal to God, which neither time nor space encloses - it is everywhere and always equally present - and it is equal to God in that no creature can perfectly absorb him, nor mould the goodness of God into himself. And therefore there must be something interior and higher and uncreated, without measure and without manner, in which the heavenly Father is able to impress and pour himself wholly, and in which to reveal himself: these are the Son and the Holy Spirit. [Meister Eckhart, Book of Divine Consolation]

...as if you were taking God, you put a cloak around his head and pushed him under a bench. For whoever seeks God in a way takes the way and misses God who is hidden in the way. But he who seeks God without a way, grasps him as he is in himself; and such a man lives with the Son, and he is life itself. [Meister Eckhart, Sermon 6]

Why was man not satisfied with the Spirit of God? Why did a materialistic worldview emerge?

The causes are certainly far in the past. At some point, material wealth became much more important than spiritual wealth, and the ancient Greeks and Romans complained a lot about the associated decline in virtue. Francesco Petrarch described the decline of reason in a similar way around 1350 in his book “Healing of Happiness und Sorrow” and recognized even then a pathological and addictive development of the spirit. As early as 1325, Meister Eckhart, one of the most brilliant spiritual scholars of his time, was accused of heresy by his own friars and later even convicted. Something similar is happening today with many scientists who dare to use the term spirit or even God. Science has been stuck in a stagnant crisis in almost all areas for decades. The findings of quantum physics have been known for almost a hundred years, but their philosophical consequences have not yet arrived in the practical life of scientists. The classic materialistic world view is defended almost fanatically because it is the basis of capitalist society. And in this regard one can accuse many scientists today of knowingly lying, because they know better, but neither live by it nor teach it to others. Not that our intellectual elite will soon have to be accused:

Woe to the Pharisees! They are like a dog lying on the cattle manger. For neither does he eat himself, nor does he let the oxen eat. [Thomas Gospel 102] - Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites, who shut up the kingdom of heaven from men! You will not enter, and you will not let those enter, who want to enter. [Bible Matthew 23:13]

Even today one sees science fighting less and less for truth, but increasingly against all those who think differently, as at the time of the Inquisition, in order to maintain a shaky world view that can no longer be maintained. A world of lies?

✻ In that country the flies are as big as the goats are here.

✎ How is it, that small problems can turn into big problems, or as we say today, that a dust speck is made into a mountain? Mental problems usually have the property of circling around in the mind until they are decided and resolved. They demand more and more attention, and everything else around them suddenly seems unimportant. The soft buzzing of a fly quickly becomes the loud bleating of a goat. This is mainly due to the distinguishing nature of thoughts, so that they can only grasp relative truth. They look at the fly and the goat as distinct objects from specific points of view. In terms of body size and meat content as food, the goat then appears significantly larger. From another point of view, however, the fly can also be much more annoying than a goat and can even transmit more diseases. And when credible researchers then find out that flies transmit extremely deadly diseases, they quickly become the greatest enemy, and we start shooting at flies with cannons, wanting to exterminate them all and waging a bitter world war. Well, this is what happens when no reason has been developed that can break this vicious circle of thoughts and recognize from a holistic point of view, that the fly is not an independent object but a part of the whole natural organism that serves a healthy balance. So one can certainly say: Wherever there is a lack of higher reason, people lose proportionality and tend to exaggerate because they cannot make sensible decisions on the basis of thoughts alone. People have also known this for a very long time: Ne quid nimis - nothing in excess! - How else to maintain a natural balance?

But how difficult it is to break out of the mill of thoughts without reason has certainly been experienced by everyone who has consciously looked inwards, and many people do not know what else to do here than distract themselves externally. Therefore, our society has become a master at sensual and intellectual distraction. The more aggressive the distraction, the more effective. The range of scandals, horror, violence, sex and drugs is almost inexhaustible. Our media work diligently to bring together all the catchable sensations of happiness and even more suffering from around the world and present them as sensationally as possible. But we all know that this is only a short-term and short-sighted solution, with which we lie to ourselves:

✻ Open the window, that the lies may fly out.

✎ This last sentence was probably added by the Brothers Grimm and shows how deeply they understood the meaning of the fabricated story. It doesn’t say: “Open the gates and tell the lies!” Because if someone tells a lie, there will soon be hundreds of others who will tell it as the truth. And in the age of Facebook and similar global media, it can even be millions of people. This is what is called a viral spread of lies or “fake news”, and these have now become completely normal, not even the legal public media are immune to them anymore.

So, better open the windows, clear the mind, dissolve the fog of thoughts and no longer lock yourself in a narrow edifice of ideas! Or as Goethe wrote in [Faust I]:

Ah, me! This dungeon still I see.
This drear, accursed masonry,
Where even the welcome daylight strains
But duskly through the painted panes.
Hemmed in by many a toppling heap
Of books worm-eaten, gray with dust,
Which to the vaulted ceiling creep,
Against the smoky paper thrust, -
With glasses, boxes, round me stacked,
And instruments together hurled.
Ancestral lumber, stuffed and packed -
Such is my world: and what a world!
And do I ask, wherefore my heart
Falters, oppressed with unknown needs!
Why some inexplicable smart
All movement of my life impedes?
Alas! In living Nature’s stead,
Where God His human creature set,
In smoke and mould the fleshless dead
And bones of beasts surround me yet!

The “window, where even the welcome daylight strains but duskly through the painted panes” means above all our sensual and physical limitations, so to speak, the mental attachment to senses and body. And opening that window is escaping the prison of physicality and restoring freedom to spirit.

Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh; and what is born of the spirit is spirit. Don’t be surprised that I said to you: You must be born again. The wind blows where it wills and you can hear its rushing; but you don’t know where it comes from and where it’s going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. [Bible, John 3.5]

In this biblical parable, too, we find the symbolic relationships of water, wind, life and spirit. And the two kinds of birth from physical and spiritual sources remind us of the two worldviews that we presented above. Similarly, in the traditions of the Indian Vedas, one speaks of the “twice-born” (Sanskrit Dvija), who, after their physical birth at a certain age, when reason awakens, ritually receive the sacred thread, so that their spiritual birth or training by a Guru or Vedic teacher can begin. The major goal of this training at that time was not “education of the mind” in the sense of mental and conceptual imagination, but mental flexibility up to the liberation of the spirit from sensual and physical attachment (Sanskrit Moksha). In order to attain this great goal there were four general ways of life which one could adopt in succession, namely student, householder, forest hermit and propertyless mendicant monk. Thus, all of life was aligned towards liberating the mind from physical and sensual attachments. If in today’s educational system we shape the spirit primarily in terms of its function within the social economic system, then the economically oriented life as a householder was only a means to an end for the two higher levels. The forest hermits could be compared to today’s retirees, who withdraw from the world of work due to the natural decay of the senses and body. They, too, are looking for healing and vacations, except that today healing is understood as the doctors’ marathon and vacations as commercial tourism for the intoxication of the senses in order to hold on to material enjoyment for as long as possible. And that also corresponds to the direction of development of the above pyramid from a material point of view. For the forest hermits, vacation was a retreat from domestic life into the natural solitude of the woods, and they sought their healing in spiritual ways, working to dissolve sensual and physical attachments and expand their consciousness through yoga and meditation, which probably came much closer to the natural meaning of physical transience and thus also to the truth.

May we also open our windows! May we trust life! May we not sink blind, deaf, dumb and lame in a world of advertising and lies and drown miserably! May we develop reason in order to gain insights, to recognize the connections and the order of what is perceived, to make reasonable decisions and to act accordingly!

The Robber Bridegroom

✻ THERE was once on a time a miller, who had a beautiful daughter, and as she was grown up, he wished that she was provided for, and well married. He thought, “If any good suitor comes and asks for her, I will give her to him.” Not long afterwards, a suitor came, who appeared to be very rich, and as the miller had no fault to find with him, he promised his daughter to him. The maiden, however, did not like him quite so much as a girl should like the man to whom she is engaged, and had no confidence in him. Whenever she saw, or thought of him, she felt a secret horror. Once he said to her, “Thou art my betrothed, and yet thou hast never once paid me a visit.” The maiden replied, “I know not where thy house is.” Then said the bridegroom, “My house is out there in the dark forest.” She tried to excuse herself, and said she could not find the way there. The bridegroom said, “Next Sunday thou must come out there to me; I have already invited the guests, and I will strew ashes in order that thou mayst find thy way through the forest.” When Sunday came, and the maiden had to set out on her way, she became very uneasy, she herself knew not exactly why, and to mark her way she filled both her pockets full of peas and lentils. Ashes were strewn at the entrance of the forest, and these she followed, but at every step she threw a couple of peas on the ground. She walked almost the whole day until she reached the middle of the forest, where it was the darkest, and there stood a solitary house, which she did not like, for it looked so dark and dismal. She went inside it, but no one was within, and the most absolute stillness reigned. Suddenly a voice cried,

“Turn back, turn back, young maiden dear,
‘Tis a murderer’s house you enter here.”

The maiden looked up, and saw that the voice came from a bird, which was hanging in a cage on the wall. Again it cried,

“Turn back, turn back, young maiden dear,
‘Tis a murderer’s house you enter here.”

Then the young maiden went on farther from one room to another, and walked through the whole house, but it was entirely empty and not one human being was to be found. At last she came to the cellar, and there sat an extremely aged woman, whose head shook constantly. “Can you not tell me,” said the maiden, “if my betrothed lives here?”

“Alas, poor child,” replied the old woman, “whither hast thou come? Thou art in a murderer’s den. Thou thinkest thou art a bride soon to be married, but thou wilt keep thy wedding with death. Look, I have been forced to put a great kettle on there, with water in it, and when they have thee in their power, they will cut thee to pieces without mercy, will cook thee, and eat thee, for they are eaters of human flesh. If I do not have compassion on thee, and save thee, thou art lost.

Thereupon the old woman led her behind a great hogshead where she could not be seen. “Be as still as a mouse,” said she, “do not make a sound, or move, or all will be over with thee. At night, when the robbers are asleep, we will escape; I have long waited for an opportunity.” Hardly was this done, than the godless crew came home. They dragged with them another young girl. They were drunk, and paid no heed to her screams and lamentations. They gave her wine to drink, three glasses full, one glass of white wine, one glass of red, and a glass of yellow, and with this her heart burst in twain. Thereupon they tore off her delicate raiment, laid her on a table, cut her beautiful body in pieces and strewed salt thereon. The poor bride behind the cask trembled and shook, for she saw right well what fate the robbers had destined for her. One of them noticed a gold ring on the little finger of the murdered girl, and as it would not come off at once, he took an axe and cut the finger off, but it sprang up in the air, away over the cask and fell straight into the bride’s bosom. The robber took a candle and wanted to look for it, but could not find it. Then another of them said, “Hast thou looked behind the great hogshead?” But the old woman cried, “Come and get something to eat, and leave off looking till the morning, the finger won’t run away from you.”

Then the robbers said, “The old woman is right,” and gave up their search, and sat down to eat, and the old woman poured a sleeping- draught in their wine, so that they soon lay down in the cellar, and slept and snored. When the bride heard that, she came out from behind the hogshead, and had to step over the sleepers, for they lay in rows on the ground, and great was her terror lest she should waken one of them. But God helped her, and she got safely over. The old woman went up with her, opened the doors, and they hurried out of the murderers’ den with all the speed in their power. The wind had blown away the strewn ashes, but the peas and lentils had sprouted and grown up, and showed them the way in the moonlight. They walked the whole night, until in the morning they arrived at the mill, and then the maiden told her father everything exactly as it had happened.

When the day came when the wedding was to be celebrated, the bridegroom appeared, and the Miller had invited all his relations and friends. As they sat at table, each was bidden to relate some- thing. The bride sat still, and said nothing. Then said the bride- groom to the bride, “Come, my darling, dost thou know nothing? Relate something to us like the rest.” She replied, “Then I will relate a dream. I was walking alone through a wood, and at last I came to a house, in which no living soul was, but on the wall there was a bird in a cage which cried,

“Turn back, turn back, young maiden dear,

‘Tis a murderer’s house you enter here.”

And this it cried once more. ‘My darling, I only dreamt this. Then I went through all the rooms, and they were all empty, and there was something so horrible about them! At last I went down into the cellar, and there sat a very very old woman, whose head shook; I asked her, ‘Does my bridegroom live in this house?’ She answered, ‘Alas, poor child, thou hast got into a murderer’s den, thy bridegroom does live here, but he will hew thee in pieces, and kill thee, and then he will cook thee, and eat thee.’ My darling, I only dreamt this. But the old woman hid me behind a great hogshead, and, scarcely was I hidden, when the robbers came home, dragging a maiden with them, to whom they gave three kinds of wine to drink, white, red, and yellow, with which her heart broke in twain. My darling, I only dreamt this. Thereupon they pulled off her pretty clothes, and hewed her fair body in pieces on a table, and sprinkled them with salt. My darling, I only dreamt this. And one of the robbers saw that there was still a ring on her little finger, and as it was hard to draw off, he took an axe and cut it off, but the finger sprang up in the air, and sprang behind the great hogshead, and fell in my bosom. And there is the finger with the ring!” And with these words she drew it forth, and showed it to those present.

The robber, who had during this story become as pale as ashes, leapt up and wanted to escape, but the guests held him fast, and delivered him over to justice. Then he and his whole troop were executed for their infamous deeds.

✎ Well, the first impression is of course shocking, and one wonders: is this really a children’s fairy tale? Yes, it corresponds in principle to an old children’s fairy tale. Because there are the typical contradictions on the level of action, which should ensure that the person with growing reason questions the external action more and more and can penetrate to the deeper levels of symbolism. The most “clear” contradictions are: the path that was towards marked out with ash and backwards with peas and lentils that germinated overnight and pointed the way in the moonlight in a forest where everything is sprouting and greening. Or also in the groom who wants to kill his bride before he gets to marry her. Only children can actually accept such obvious contradictions in a story without dismissing the story as nonsensical.

It’s a shock story, meant to warn us about something. But, what of? For a child it could be a warning not to get lost in the deep forest where the evil robbers live. It may be a warning for girls to listen to their hearts when it comes to choosing their bridegroom. And parents should be warned not to be fooled by appearances when choosing a groom. But that is certainly not the whole message. That would have been shooting at sparrows with cannons. A far greater impact would be to prevent that animal violence from occurring in the first place, of which we are accustomed to say: what sane man would do such horrible things? And yet, somehow this animal cruel drive lives in all of us and wants to be controlled or even defeated.

Of course, one can argue about the value of such shock stories for raising children. One should be aware, however, that children used to consume far fewer such stories, and mainly in an oral way. Accordingly, it was certainly much easier to remember the associated story when fears arose, in order to gradually process the explosive material and thus even fathom the deeper messages of such fairy tales. One could even speak of “sustainable learning” here. At least this means seemed to have proven itself in the education of children over several thousand years. Even today, shock stories are used extensively in the media, not only to educate children, but above all to educate adults. But with what goals? Is it still about the development of a higher reason? Or should this very reason be suppressed by force in order to establish the dictatorship of fear over a people of consumer slaves, for whom even health becomes a consumer good?

In addition, one can also find a psychotherapeutic level in this fairy tale, which shows us how to deal with shocking experiences. There are many occasions when one is severely hurt emotionally, especially by violence, even if one only observes it. The fairy tale says that here one first finds help from the ancient Mother Nature, which lives deep within us. You should have confidence in her, that she means well with us and leads us on the right path. And when you’re ready, you can talk about these experiences as if it were a dream that you experienced. With the sentence “My darling, I only dreamt it.”, the shock experience is gradually dissolved like a mantra. The fact that she calls the robber bridegroom “darling” is perhaps the most important aspect, namely forgiveness. With practice, you can turn any negative energy into a positive one, or at least overcome the hate associated with such shocking experiences. In the end, the robber punishes himself and has to endure the effects of his actions. That used to be divine justice that could be trusted. The finger with the golden ring could also stand for this, namely that we are all connected to a higher truth.

For nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. [Bible, Luke 8:17]

But all the diverse symbols of this fairy tale point to a much deeper message. Everything begins with a miller, so to speak the operator of the mill of this world, which grinds everything rough into fine things with the wheel of time as a millstone. We also know this mill as the hamster wheel in which we struggle, or the thought mill that is constantly circling in our heads. Of course, circling is also closely linked to the waves of emergence and development, such as between birth and death, blossoming and fading, emergence and decay, happiness and suffering, inhaling and exhaling, waking and sleeping, being and non-being in the eternal rhythm and change of nature. And who runs this mill of the world? Is it Spirit, God or the Great Father? His daughter would then be our soul as a part of female nature, which is very closely connected with our emotional life. But the further a child matures and develops physically, the more the soul connects with the spiritual dimension of life, which is the male being in the form of mind, intellect and thoughts up to higher reason. This spiritual is the “suitor” who woos the soul, even in the literal sense, because the spirit wants to “free” the soul from the constraints of nature. This symbolism is found in a great many fairy tales, and they usually end in the happy ending of the great mystical marriage of spirit and soul, as found in the Bible’s Song of Songs. But the way there is of course full of challenges for both of them. And so this fairy tale is primarily about a “tormented” soul and an apparently “mad” spirit, both of whom are wandering through the world, searching for each other, losing and hopefully finding themselves again free of madness.

Now, regarding the robbers, we don’t want to talk so much about the individual psychopaths who enjoy torturing themselves and others. We would like to focus our attention on human development in western society over the past four to six centuries. At that time we too started a path that promised us a lot of wealth to fulfil all imaginable wishes of our souls. Of course there were also doubts, but hope was high and fate apparently decided it that way. So it went from religion to alchemy to modern medicine and science. This fundamentally changed our worldview. The spiritual, which used to be the basis, became a material side effect, and the material nature formerly created by the spiritual was now considered the basis of everything. And just as human rule was formerly based on spirit, so it is now based on nature.

✻ …Once he said to her, “Thou art my betrothed, and yet thou hast never once paid me a visit.” The maiden replied, “I know not where thy house is.” Then said the bridegroom, “My house is out there in the dark forest.” She tried to excuse herself, and said she could not find the way there. The bridegroom said, “Next Sunday thou must come out there to me; I have already invited the guests, and I will strew ashes in order that thou mayst find thy way through the forest.”

✎ And the fairy tale is right: back then, nature was still really green and the forests were wide and deep. And in the midst of this verdant nature, a strange gang of robbers settled in the dark, leading the soul down a dark path. With anxious heart she had to follow a grey trail of ash through the green forest. What could that mean? Grey formula theory, dead matter, and grey soldiers’ uniforms, grey armies of workers in smoky factories or devastating wars up to Hiroshima? Modern science began to reduce living nature to dead matter. And you don’t need to have any respect or conscience for dead matter, you can exploit it mercilessly. This gave rise to the idea of dead machines. The horse became a car, the ox became a tractor, the bird became an airplane, man became a robot, medicinal plants became chemical pills, imagination became television, our brain became a computer, and the smartphone became our best friend. On this path, which was marked by dead ashes, so to speak, our soul now walks with great fear, but does not trust dead matter. She fills her pockets with seeds that still have life in them, marking the path that might lead her back to the father.

Well, she came to a dark house that was empty and lifeless. Only one imprisoned bird called desperately from a cage: “Turn back! You are in a murderer’s house!” Could the “murderer’s house” mean our modern world view, which makes nature dead and inanimate matter? People live in such a mental structure today, and the comparison with robbers is also obvious, because we behave accordingly. But even after the second warning, the soul does not turn back. She goes on because she must go on to have a horrifying and shocking experience. For this she is helped by an old woman in the basement of the house, probably the ancient Mother Nature who serves us all. She prepares the food for the robbers just as she provides food for all other living beings. She always means well with all beings and never tires of warning and teaching us to save us from ourselves. And so she also ensures that we have to have corresponding experiences in life that are not always happy.

✻ …Thereupon the old woman led her behind a great hogshead where she could not be seen. “Be as still as a mouse,” said she, “do not make a sound, or move, or all will be over with thee. At night, when the robbers are asleep, we will escape; I have long waited for an opportunity.”

✎ What does she recommend to the soul? Sit down, don’t move and watch carefully! Then you can come back to the father together with the mother. A yogi would probably recommend something similar, only nowadays it’s called meditation. So first you should look inside. It’s not for nothing that this scene takes place in the basement of the house, where the big barrel with our accumulated karma stands and the actual robbers live. Here, deep inside, we can see what has happened over many generations in the outer world. That can be really shocking. Here one suddenly sees the robbers, intoxicated with the wine of the world, seizing the soul by force. Thus began our “modern age” with a totalitarian religion that declared itself to be the followers of Jesus Christ and wanted to mercilessly destroy all other views. No other religion has raged on earth like this and tried to wipe out entire cultures and nations. Certainly one should not lump all Christians together here, but it was above all the clergy of the church who reached for total world domination over all souls and left a trail of fire, murder and annihilation in their wake, and there was no help screaming and wailing.

✻ …Hardly was this done, than the godless crew came home. They dragged with them another young girl. They were drunk, and paid no heed to her screams and lamentations. They gave her wine to drink, three glasses full, one glass of white wine, one glass of red, and a glass of yellow, and with this her heart burst in twain. Thereupon they tore off her delicate raiment, laid her on a table, cut her beautiful body in pieces and strewed salt thereon.

✎ From this medieval alchemy and occult science emerged, which wanted to use the power of thought to violently conquer nature and even the devil, and above all for worldly wealth. Let’s just think of the “Dreifacher Höllenzwang” of the notorious Dr Faust (Doktor Johannes Faust’s Magia naturalist et innaturalist). They gave the soul three kinds of wine and broke her heart. The colours of the wine in the glasses could be reminiscent of alchemy, when people tried to compose the soul, which was previously a whole, from individual elements. But three kinds of wine also remind us of the spiritual deceit of the church: They preached water and drank wine. They carried the banner of love and waged terrible wars. They promised liberation and supressed with dogmas. This caused the soul’s death and the spiritual downfall of the church. A little later a totalitarian science developed out of a totalitarian religion. The living beauty was taken from the soul and her body chopped up. This is also reminiscent of the time when corpses were dissected, which was first carried out in secret because there were still many people who did not have a good feeling about it. Modern medicine developed from this and mercilessly destroyed on its way all those who thought differently, such as holistic natural and herbal medicine. Today we lament how much valuable knowledge was lost back then.

Thus the strange claim of the Christian religion to the “only true way of salvation” continued as a monopoly in modern medicine and science, only under a different sign. Accordingly, everything spiritual was rigorously removed from natural science and demonized as superstition and esotericism. A mindless physical science arose, which is primarily interested in dead bodies. A strange treat for the senses!

Isn’t nature beautiful?

They created a world view that consisted almost entirely of dead matter particles and forces. The whole thing was forced into a system of grey mathematics, raised to a pedestal of truth, and made the basis of a new social order called capitalism. The most valuable thing that the soul lost was her trusting belief in a higher intelligence or divine reason. The chopped off little finger with the golden ring could stand for this as a symbol of connectedness, which the soul must of course somehow preserve. Because if she loses this connection to the whole, then she loses herself and turns into an ego being that only exists in the head or brain and no longer knows its true soul. Thus began the age of the super-egos who kill their souls with insatiable materialism.

This may sound relatively dark at first. Of course there were good things in this human evolution, but we don’t usually accumulate them inside. We think a lot about the pleasant and happy, enjoy it and digest it. We like to repress the unpleasant and terrible into the depths of our cellar, don’t talk about it and don’t want to see it either. From this arises the legacy of many generations, which we all more or less carry within us: all this delusion of totalitarian religion, science and medicine, of total war and finally of total commerce. Somehow we have to get along with this legacy of a merciless “mono-culture”.

What does the fairy tale mean about it? It says: Turn back, dear soul! Get out of this gang of robbers in the murderer house! Turn this dead picture of the world back into a living one! Use the time when the robbers are asleep. Use the time of peace, be careful and don’t wake them up. Let God help you and go back together with Mother Nature. Don’t go the way of the grey ash! Let the dead ashes be blown away by the wind of a living spirit, and walk the path of sprouting life in the fertile light of the moon. A way in which lentils and peas grow in symbiosis, so no monoculture (because peas can serve as a climbing support for lentils). Follow your feelings and don’t trust the intellectual madness of grey theories. Go through the night to a new day and return to the Father. Tell him your troubles and he will help you.

And how does the father help on the wedding day? He gathers all acquaintances and relatives. And for the Great Father, this is all of creation, which now serves as a witness to the madness of ravening mankind. Every being has its story to tell, including our soul. And that’s important. What can be good about to sweep the problems under the rug and pretend they aren’t there? They must come to light in order for them to be solved. Cars, planes, chemicals and plastic waste themselves are not the real causes of nature’s great suffering. Let’s look at our world with open eyes! There is hardly an area of life that is not commercialized. Kindergartens, schools, universities, hospitals, retirement and nursing homes, politics, medicine, culture, art and even eroticism are dominated by commerce and ruled by money. From birth to death, almost everything is in the hands of robbers. And where are these thieves? They sit in our own heads in the form of insatiable desire, hatred and passion. A growing selfishness and delusional spirit rules that has more or less gripped our souls. And where are the murderers? It may sound harsh, but in the spirit of our modern science we should look for the real killers who took nature’s life and soul and dismembered it into dead matter. A murderer’s house was built, so to speak, namely our modern world view, which serves insatiable desire and became the pillar of an insatiable society.

The soul now publicly accuses these murderers and robbers before the Last Judgment, which the Father has assembled. She laments the madness of the totalitarian religions that wage their fanatical religious wars. She laments the madness of totalitarian medicine in the service of a gigantic pharmaceutical industry that sells tons of medicines every day that ruthlessly burden all of nature. She laments the delusion of totalitarian science, which negates everything spiritual and reduces living nature to dead matter that can be ruthlessly exploited. She laments the madness of total wars with the most powerful weapons for an ideal master race or with the most toxic chemicals against all efforts of nature to avoid an agricultural monoculture. She laments the madness of materialism, wanting to live artificially in a dead nature, such as in a zoo behind bars, in the intensive care unit of a hospital under constant surveillance and control, or in a sterile nursing home cared for by robots. We kill the soul of living nature and are terrified of death. This is really a strange dream of mankind! The soul says, “My darling, it was just my dream.”, and probably means: “My darling, that’s madness!”

But why does she say “darling”? The spirit is and remains her greatest treasure. Soul and spirit are always connected and have never been separated. In this context one could understand the described wedding supper, which interestingly takes place before the wedding, or the transformation of the little finger into the gold or ring finger. And so she raises this warning finger with the gold ring, so that this rapacious and murderous spirit awakens. He cannot escape his judgment, but he can regret his delusion and awaken to a higher reason, the true treasure of man. A happy ending? It could still happen, as they say: problem identified - danger averted...

Perhaps it is good for all of us to think about this higher reason that should awaken here. Then maybe we could understand that a healthy life requires, above all, a lively soul and natural diversity. Where does this strange delusion of sterile monoculture come from, the ash road to a dead material world? This fairy tale says the problem is not so much in our soul as in the development of the spirit. And here it is all about the ravening ego that evolves out of the ego-consciousness. In his insatiable madness, this robber can really turn all good into evil and all happiness into suffering. What is this “I”? Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life!” Did he really mean the greedy ego locked in the body, this “I want!”, which sees himself as the only true way, absolute truth and epitome of life? Or does he mean an “I am.”, a much higher intelligence and holistic reason that no longer sees himself as a small separate being who has to fight by all means for his personal survival in a mortal body? Should that perhaps be our “human reason” that needs to be realized: the way, the truth and life? Could we thereby overcome this robber creature, save the life of nature and soul, and leave the murderer’s house? Of what use is it to man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?

The Poor Boy in the Grave

✻ There was once a poor shepherd-boy whose father and mother were dead, and he was placed by the authorities in the house of a rich man, who was to feed him and bring him up. The man and his wife had, however, bad hearts, and were greedy and anxious about their riches, and vexed whenever any one put a morsel of their bread in his mouth. The poor young fellow might do what he liked, he got little to eat, but only so many blows the more.

✎ We would first like to try to look at this fairy tale from a psychological and social point of view and then in the second part go into the deeper mental or spiritual level. The fairy tale begins with the problem of the stepparents, which is found in many fairy tales. If it is not the biological parents, many biological mechanisms cannot develop here that otherwise work automatically. Such mechanisms are necessary in nature and programmed in the genes, so to speak, otherwise no animal would take care of children in need of care. Just think of the birds, how devotionally they hatch their eggs and feed the young. This natural bond does not initially exist with stepparents, so that the general problems of bringing up children become particularly clear here and are probably also used for instructive stories. Even in the animal kingdom, not every mother takes on strange children. Now one would think that this shouldn’t be a problem for reasonable people, but even today there is demonstrably more psychological, physical and sexual violence in stepfamilies than in children who grow up with their birth parents. Interestingly, nowadays the stepfather seems to be a bigger problem than the stepmother, which is usually the subject of fairy tales. Accordingly, the present story could belong to the more recent fairy tales.

✻ One day he had to watch a hen and her chickens, but she ran through a hedge fence with them, and a hawk darted down instantly, and carried her off through the air. The boy called, “Thief! thief! rascal!” with all the strength of his body. But what good did that do? The hawk did not bring its prey back again. The man heard the noise, and ran to the spot, and as soon as he saw that his hen was gone, he fell in a rage, and gave the boy such a beating that he could not stir for two days. Then he had to take care of the chickens without the hen, but now his difficulty was greater, for one ran here and the other there. He thought he was doing a very wise thing when he tied them all together with a string, because then the hawk would not be able to steal any of them away from him. But he was very much mistaken. After two days, worn out with running about and hunger, he fell asleep; the bird of prey came, and seized one of the chickens, and as the others were tied fast to it, it carried them all off together, perched itself on a tree, and devoured them. The farmer was just coming home, and when he saw the misfortune, he got angry and beat the boy so unmercifully that he was forced to lie in bed for several days.

✎ Well, the farmers life used to be, in principle, a very hard and laborious life, even if the farmer had gained some wealth. There was little time for lengthy explanations in the upbringing, and a certain amount of physical hardship was certainly needed to prepare the children for their farm life. Strict training with the rod is a sensitive issue nowadays, but in the past it was said:

“He who spares the rod disregards his child.”

Conversely, this means that those who respect their children should also raise them strictly. It was certainly not meant, that the parents should vent their anger on the child with physical or mental violence. But it was important that the child was brought up in such a way that it respects its parents and elders and submits to them, because with their strength and experience they ensure the survival of the whole family. If children who have not yet been able to develop reason feel superior to their parents, then they become small or even big tyrants whose rule is hostile to the whole family. And on the other hand - as the saying goes - it was just as important to respect the child, i.e. to arrange care, praise and punishment appropriately, out of love for the child and for the whole family, otherwise the parents become tyrants. This probably also applies to the farmer in our fairy tale, because there is apparently a lack of paternal respect for the child. And for the same reason motherly love seems to be lacking because the child does not get enough to eat and drink.

Why education? In the past, one often heard, “What a bad child!” This usually meant a child who couldn’t fit into society and didn’t know how to behave appropriately. That is probably also the meaning and purpose of education, so that the child can live and survive reasonably in the family and society. It is practically the same with all plants and animals - they have to adapt to their environment and are guided accordingly by nature and their parents. But nowadays one often hears that children should be raised anti-authoritarian or better not at all. Individuality takes precedence over everything, and then family and society have to adapt to the child. This rarely works out well, because unbridled children quickly become unbridled egos, which then have a correspondingly difficult time in life. And it can happen that they later reproach their parents: “Why didn’t you bring me up to be a sensible person?” - This raises the question: do children have the right to an upbringing and do the parents have the obligation to do so?

Hardly anyone wants to live such a hard life as a farmer these days, let alone endure a hard upbringing. But our parents can still report something similar from their childhood, such as Undine’s father:

I was the seventh of ten children on a farm with fields, cows, pigs and poultry. The family was one of the poorest in the village. The parents worked from morning to night, the mother on the farm and in the house with her kith and kin, the father morning and evening in the stable and on the weekends in the field, and during the day he had a job because he had to earn some money, you can’t produce everything yourself. You can imagine how this had to work hand in hand so that the family could be fed and provided with the basic necessities. Without a washing machine or dishwasher, everything in the field and garden was grown, harvested, processed and - of course without a freezer - preserved for the winter. Any clothing that could be knitted was made in-house. There was no vacation or weekend, just Sunday was a little more relaxed and only the cattle were taken care of and food was cooked. The older children worked diligently and looked after the younger ones, and even the younger ones had to do what they could from an early age, especially when their father and older brothers were drafted into the war.

After the end of World War II, there were even a few days when I was alone on the farm with my younger sister, we were about 10 and 8 years old. The older ones had been imprisoned in Hungary either during the war or afterwards as Germans, including the mother. And so we two children had to take care of the remaining animals: mowing the grass, cutting potatoes and turnips for fodder, clearing out the stable, drawing water from the well and watering the animals... And actually there would have been a lot to do in the field and garden... We’ve never had done it alone, and I remember very difficult days. On the one hand, it was physically very demanding, but the fear of doing something wrong weighed even more. Because if the animals got sick or died, then the family would have to starve.

Despite everything, there was generally time for school and play - only with a few strict requirements, which were traced very consistently. For example, the mother was very afraid when we children got our shoes and socks wet in the cold season and there was a threat of catching a cold. When I first came home as a boy with wet socks because I didn’t want to stop playing and go home, I was warned and scolded. But at the second time there was beating. Neither mother nor father had the time or nerve to have long discussions with their children. And since the boys often went too far, there were also quite a few beatings. The slaps weren’t that bad, but sometimes it really hurt and there were tears. But when the beating was over, the mother took the child in her arms, comforted it that now the punishment was over, and briefly admonished it once again to learn from it and stop the nonsense from now on. Then everything was forgotten and loved again, where there had just been fear and anger.

Today I can say, that most of the time I knew what I was being hit or scolded for, but sometimes I learned the lesson afterwards, at the second or third time. I didn’t hate my parents, I had a lot of respect for them. Above all, I admired my mother, what she had achieved and how she had overcome all the blows of fate in an already difficult life. Nevertheless, I have decided to raise my own children with consistency, but not with beatings...

Well, a tough life obviously calls for a tough upbringing. It is similar in our fairy tale, where unfortunately the necessary love and, above all, reason were missing. The upbringing method outlined in the fairy tale wasn’t so bad, because farm life has a number of advantages, such as being close to the animals. It was certainly a very instructive task for the children not only to look after inanimate toys, but also to look after living animals. On the one hand they were able to get to know the nature of the animals early on, and on the other hand they had to assert themselves as shepherds against the animals, train their mindfulness and learn to concentrate on an activity without getting distracted or falling asleep. At the same time, one also learns respect for life and nature, one of the most important things in education. And even here the responsibility of the children was relatively high, because the animals were of course part of the livelihood of the entire farming family. But our boy had little luck with it from the start, and nature seemed to be working against him. First his parents died, and then fate led him to such stingy and selfish stepparents, where he starved and could not develop his mental and physical abilities.

Who to blame for this? The farmer, who hits the child because he was raised in a similarly violent manner? The farmer’s wife, because she doesn’t give the child enough food and drink because she was brought up to be stingy? The authorities, who placed the child in the care of these childless parents? The state, that obliges the farmers to work hard? Or the child, who couldn’t win the love of the stepparents?

✻ When he was on his legs again, the farmer said to him, “Thou art too stupid for me, I cannot make a herdsman of thee, thou must go as errand-boy.” Then he sent him to the judge, to whom he was to carry a basketful of grapes, and he gave him a letter as well. On the way hunger and thirst tormented the unhappy boy so violently that he ate two of the bunches of grapes. He took the basket to the judge, but when the judge had read the letter, and counted bunches he said, “Two clusters are wanting.” The boy confessed quite honestly that, driven by hunger and thirst, he had devoured the two which were wanting. The judge wrote a letter to the farmer, and asked for the same number of grapes again. These also the boy had to take to him with a letter. As he again was so extremely hungry and thirsty, he could not help it, and again ate two bunches. But first he took the letter out of the basket, put it under a stone and seated himself thereon in order that the letter might not see and betray him. The judge, however, again made him give an explanation about the missing bunches. “Ah,” said the boy, “how have you learnt that? The letter could not know about it, for I put it under a stone before I did it.” The judge could not help laughing at the boy’s simplicity, and sent the man a letter wherein he cautioned him to keep the poor boy better, and not let him want for meat and drink, and also that he was to teach him what was right and what was wrong.

✎ Another step in raising children is to take on various tasks outside of the family. This teaches service, self-control, and increasing responsibility as parents gradually assess how much they can depend on their child. In this way the respect for society and its social laws also develops like the respect for life and nature. To do this, the boy is sent as a messenger with a basket of tempting grapes to a judge who is supposed to control the errand. The judge was certainly not chosen by chance in the fairy tale, because he is responsible in the state for imposing the appropriate punishments when social laws are violated, and here, too, physical and mental violence is of course used, and the fear of corresponding punishment is a normal means of demanding respectful observance of state laws.

But here, too, hunger and thirst make the boy fail in his task, although the farmer gives him a second chance. Of course, one has to ask which child does not get hungry and thirsty in the face of a basket full of juicy and sweet grapes. He also honestly admits what he has done, and the text still describes a pure and thought-uncorrupted child’s mind, which has not yet reached for lies to assert and justify his ego. Accordingly, the boy still lives in a wonderfully natural world where everything is animated, even the letters. And certainly the judge doesn’t laugh at him. He knows that the boy doesn’t deserve punishment with this spirit, smiles like a kind father and admonishes the farmer to teach the boy better how to control himself and what to do and not to do, and indirectly also the farmer’s wife to feed him better, lest he does not reach hungrily and thirstily for things he should not reach for. The farmer is now trying to do this in his own way, in the way he was probably raised himself:

✻ “I will soon show thee the difference,” said the hard man, “if thou wilt eat, thou must work, and if thou dost anything wrong, thou shalt be quite sufficiently taught by blows.”

The next day he set him a hard task. He was to chop two bundles of straw for food for the horses, and then the man threatened: “In five hours,” said he, “I shall be back again, and if the straw is not cut to chaff by that time, I will beat thee until thou canst not move a limb.” The farmer went with his wife, the man-servant and the girl, to the yearly fair, and left nothing behind for the boy but a small bit of bread. The boy seated himself on the bench, and began to work with all his might. As he got warm over it he put his little coat off and threw it on the straw. In his terror lest he should not get done in time he kept constantly cutting, and in his haste, without noticing it, he chopped his little coat as well as the straw. He became aware of the misfortune too late; there was no repairing it. “Ah,” cried he, “now all is over with me! The wicked man did not threaten me for nothing; if he comes back and sees what I have done, he will kill me. Rather than that I will take my own life.”

✎ A further step in development consists in introducing the child more and more to the heavier work of the farmers. In this way one learns to respect the hard work. Obedience, service, and diligence were the foundations of the ancient virtues. And the boy really tries his best to accomplish the task, but exaggerates his ambition, just as the farmer exaggerates his violent upbringing. In addition, there is the psychological violence caused by being excluded from the family, which is now having fun at the fair. The exclusion is probably the worst mental punishment for a child. In this way, of course, there is enormous pressure and fear.

Fear is a wide subject and certainly plays an important role in natural development. It occurs in the most diverse forms, such as caution, fear, flight, stress, restlessness or dissatisfaction, but also as aggression, hatred, desire and envy. It even stands as the urge behind ordinary love and appreciation to the extent that one is afraid of losing it and no longer being loved or approved. This natural fear cannot be avoided when raising children. On the contrary, overprotected children in particular are very afraid: “In an overprotected home, a child is denied any painful experience. In this way it does not learn to deal with such experiences and to cope with them positively. Parents’ fears are mostly the basis for the overprotection of children. These parents have often also experienced an anxious upbringing. In this way, their fears are transmitted to their children. (medizinfo.de)”

What is the role of fear? Fear is one of the basic human feelings and has the evolutionary task of protecting life. A healthy fear keeps us from putting ourselves in danger lightly, critically assessing situations, and allowing us to respond sensibly. Fear controls man until he has learned to control himself. Fear is a medicine that is supposed to restrain us mentally and physically and keep us healthy. But as with any medicine, the right dosage is important. Too little doesn’t help, and too much is harmful. Fear can also become poisonous, cause terrible illnesses and, as in the fairy tale, even lead to death.

“Self-murder for Fear of Death” The term “self-murder” is actually misleading. You don’t die by yourself here, like in natural death. This is where the ego or I acts, which at some point decides that it has to kill its body because it has become an unbearable enemy, so that it actively brings about death. With the thought construct “I am the victim” the ego feels threatened, loses all reasonable measure and becomes violent out of fear of a mental enemy image - against itself or others. Such intellectual enemies are also called ghosts that haunt us in our heads. This performance seems in high contrast to the pure and unspoiled childish spirit of the final scene with the judge. Suddenly there is a strong ego, which apparently has nourished and solidified in a very short time from the fear of violence and being excluded from the family. The sentence in the fairy tale is formulated accordingly: “If he comes back and sees what I have done, he will kill me.” Where is the respect for life, the child and the father? The reconciliation between father and son seems impossible to the “I”, it no longer sees any meaning in life and death is inevitable. The only question is: In what way?

✻ The boy had once heard the farmer’s wife say, “I have a pot with poison in it under my bed.” She, however, had only said that to keep away greedy people, for there was honey in it. The boy crept under the bed, brought out the pot, and ate all that was in it. “I do not know,” said he, “folks say death is bitter, but it tastes very sweet to me. It is no wonder that the farmer’s wife has so often longed for death.”

✎ Children and the craving for sweets is a well-known challenge in parenting. The farmer’s wife got by with a lie, and the media is still propagating: “Sugar is poison for the body!” Here, too, the dosage is certainly decisive, and the poison lies above all in the mental addiction associated with it, when man does not learn to control his desires. Sure, a lie can help here, and the resulting fear of illness and death can dominate desire for a while. Of course, it would be better if reason took over this task through insight, because every lie can burst unexpectedly and turn into the opposite. This is what happens here, and the boy now believes in a sweet death. You see: like fear, lying cannot solve a problem at its root. Lies are like those medicines that quell the effects for a while without curing the causes. And by the way, the farmer’s wife was probably not particularly happy in her miserly life when she wished for death so often...

✻ He seated himself in a little chair, and was prepared to die. But instead of becoming weaker he felt himself strengthened by the nourishing food. “It cannot have been poison,” thought he, “but the farmer once said there was a small bottle of poison for flies in the box in which he keeps his clothes; that, no doubt, will be the true poison, and bring death to me.” It was, however, no poison for flies, but Hungarian wine. The boy got out the bottle, and emptied it. “This death tastes sweet too,” said he, but shortly after when the wine began to mount into his brain and stupefy him, he thought his end was drawing near. “I feel that I must die,” said he, “I will go away to the churchyard, and seek a grave.” He staggered out, reached the churchyard, and laid himself in a newly dug grave. He lost his senses more and more. In the neighbourhood was an inn where a wedding was being kept; when he heard the music, he fancied he was already in Paradise, until at length he lost all consciousness. The poor boy never awoke again; the heat of the strong wine and the cold night-dew deprived him of life, and he remained in the grave in which he had laid himself.

✎ Once again the boy is hit by his parents’ lie, and this time it is clearly described how the medicine turns into a deadly poison. He voluntarily lies down in his grave, sinks into a frenzy in the hope of paradise and freezes to death in the night. The excessive fear drove him insane and killed him. Here lies the danger when fear takes over without the necessary reason being developed. Because life is of course not about developing fear, but reason.

✻ When the farmer heard the news of the boy’s death he was terrified, and afraid of being brought to justice indeed, his distress took such a powerful hold of him that he fell fainting to the ground. His wife, who was standing on the hearth with a pan of hot fat, ran to him to help him. But the flames darted against the pan, the whole house caught fire, in a few hours it lay in ashes, and the rest of the years they had to live they passed in poverty and misery, tormented by the pangs of conscience.

✎ Well, whoever sows fear will reap fear! From a social point of view one has to say: the system of the peasant family collapsed and burst like a soap bubble, because of course there was a lack of truthfulness and the necessary reason. So the fear finally erupts into a destructive fire that burns everything first inside and then outside. The “fat life” in rich prosperity, which is symbolized by the fat pan, does not go well either physically or socially for long, because it promotes the ego and thus fear and lies. Just as fear and lies belong together as a couple, reason and truth also belong together. And just as truth ends lies, so can reason end fear. A happy ending? Yes, if one could learn from this fairy tale.

We are currently experiencing something similar in our society, as even the public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk says in a short article: “The dictate of fear - a crucial test for society” We too are currently committing a social suicide out of fear of death and the prosperity bubble is threatening to burst. Where is this supposed to lead? Already in January of this year (2020) the singer-songwriter Heinz-Rudolf Kunze published the prophetic song “Die Zeit ist reif” - “Time is ripe” and announces “a huge awakening”:

I never said it’s easy, that it happens without effort
No medicine, no panacea will help where fear reigns,
Deep inside of us, and we know where this leads...

The time has come for a huge awakening,
And a silver lining should give people hope,
Don’t ever get involved with ghosts again! - It must be different! ...

It just doesn’t go on like this, that’s a human right and duty,
Your children look at you, wondering, strive to match,
what you leave them, a world to live in...

You really have to say, this fairy tale is tough, a bone to chew on for a long time. We have done it, and so now we want to try to interpret the whole story again from a symbolic point of view on a spiritual level.

The Poor Boy in the Grave

✻ There was once a poor shepherd-boy whose father and mother were dead, and he was placed by the authorities in the house of a rich man, who was to feed him and bring him up. The man and his wife had, however, bad hearts, and were greedy and anxious about their riches, and vexed whenever any one put a morsel of their bread in his mouth. The poor young fellow might do what he liked, he got little to eat, but only so many blows the more.

✎ A poor shepherd boy: The shepherd is probably one of the oldest spiritual symbols that can be found in the Old Testament, and Jesus also says in the New Testament: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep... [Joh 10.12]” Already in the ancient Indian stories one finds Krishna as a poor shepherd boy and embodiment of God on earth. And here, too, the questions are asked: “Why did the deity, who turns the wheel of birth and death for all creatures and holds the infallible discus, want to become a human being? Why does Vishnu, who protects all the mighty in the world, come down to earth as a shepherd boy? Why was Vishnu, who is one with the subtle elements and gives birth to the gross elements, conceived by a mortal woman? [Harivamsha Purana 1.40]” Well, the shepherd uses his staff to tame the animals lest they go astray and lose themselves in the world. And symbolically it is of course about the inner animal, like the “lost sheep” as a symbol for ignorance or the “poisonous snake” as a symbol for egoism. “For this I took this birth as a shepherd boy, and live among the shepherds to curb the wicked who go astray. For this I should climb this tree (of knowledge or life) like a child, jump into the lake (the sea of the world) and defeat the snake king (the ego). [Harivamsha Purana 2.11]” The child itself can be regarded as a symbol of the soul in relation to its physical origin and spiritual development. And because this is a boy, it’s more about spiritual development towards reason.

Father and mother had died: Do we know our true origins? There is probably nothing that man seeks so much in this world as his own origin. Even the hardest materialists invest a great deal of energy and money to dig up the earth and search for all traces of their past. Others search hard in the genes and ask themselves from which molecules the human being originated. Some passionately research their family trees and eventually realize in desperation that theoretically after 30 generations you have more than a billion ancestors. Before the materialistic picture of the world arose, one did not look so much for the origins in matter, but rather in a spiritual world, in a soul or in a God from which everything descends. But today we are mostly children of mortal parents, born by chance into a particular family. This coincidence was formerly considered fate, which was determined by an order, or as it is called in the fairy tale, by an “authority” through the laws of cause and effect, which primarily referred to a spiritual world.

The rich man or farmer, from a spiritual point of view, is the one who sows the seeds in the field of consciousness and reaps the fruits. This is a common symbol of the ego-consciousness grasping at the fruits of one’s deeds, accumulating a life story of personal wealth and knowledge, what is called ‘karma’ in India. From a Christian point of view one would speak here of merit and sin, which can even be inherited from generation to generation.

A bad heart: Many people today would wish to be born into a materially wealthy family. But where there is a lot of light, there is also a lot of shadow, and money doesn’t buy happiness. The “heart” is the living core or inner being, and the term “bad” also derives from “proud and pompous” according to the dictionary. So the bad heart has a close connection to the above-mentioned self-awareness in the form of the farmer, i.e. an egoistic spirit that mentally separates itself from the whole, “perceives” itself as an independent being and acts accordingly in a partial way, just as the Christian devil separated from the heavenly angels and became correspondingly angry. From this form of ignorance arise envy, avarice, hatred, lust and of course a lot of anger. These are also the usual downsides of a rich family. It is not for nothing that the Bible says: Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. But somehow our mental “I” can’t or doesn’t want to understand that. It probably takes this whole world to learn practically from this experience. Or to put it more strictly: If you don’t want to hear, you have to feel:

✻ One day he had to watch a hen and her chickens, but she ran through a hedge fence with them, and a hawk darted down instantly, and carried her off through the air. The boy called, “Thief! thief! rascal!” with all the strength of his body. But what good did that do? The hawk did not bring its prey back again. The man heard the noise, and ran to the spot, and as soon as he saw that his hen was gone, he fell in a rage, and gave the boy such a beating that he could not stir for two days. Then he had to take care of the chickens without the hen, but now his difficulty was greater, for one ran here and the other there. He thought he was doing a very wise thing when he tied them all together with a string, because then the hawk would not be able to steal any of them away from him. But he was very much mistaken. After two days, worn out with running about and hunger, he fell asleep; the bird of prey came, and seized one of the chickens, and as the others were tied fast to it, it carried them all off together, perched itself on a tree, and devoured them. The farmer was just coming home, and when he saw the misfortune, he got angry and beat the boy so unmercifully that he was forced to lie in bed for several days.

✎ Well, raising children is a never-ending argument. However, there is a saying that goes: “There is little point in trying to educate children, since they copy everything we do.” Of course, the best thing is to be a good role model. But just as the parents usually still struggle with themselves to control their desires and passions, the ego also awakens in the child and needs restraint, which is seldom possible without violence. A strict upbringing was the norm, especially in wealthy noble families. Because if you don’t learn to control yourself in childhood, you will not learn it when you’re old either. Without self-control, one may still be able to live meaningfully in a natural environment where nature imposes narrow boundaries and tight controls. But in an environment where material wealth transcends all natural limits, it’s easy to get lost.

Does it have to be the rod? One can certainly debate the extent to which psychological violence can be substituted for physical violence, and what will bring greater benefit or cause greater harm in the long run. You can tell a child a thousand times not to reach for the hot stove, but a short painful physical experience usually resolves the problem on its own. Both types of violence can help or harm the child. In any case, it becomes harmful when the parents begin to take out their personal anger on the child, like the farmer in our fairy tale. This happens especially when the parents didn’t learn to control themselves in their childhood either. A deficit in education can be passed on over many generations, because the parents were brought up by their parents and are only responsible for half of their character, so to speak.

Fear? A big topic is the role of fear as a special form of violence in upbringing or relationships. From the point of view of spiritual development one could say: Fear is the natural guide of the mind until reason is developed. Fear sets the necessary limits until reason sets us free. Fear reins in the dominant ego-consciousness until reason takes over. We know what terrible deeds an unbridled ego is capable of. And by reason we don’t mean modern, thought-based reason, but the classic reason of a holistic intelligence, or as the dictionary says: “A mental ability of humans to gain insights, to form an opinion, to understand the connections and the order of the recognized and to act accordingly.” But we will come back to that later.

What is the path to reason? A fairy tale would not be worth much if it only addressed the external problems without suggesting the solution on a deeper level. In the following we will try to use the symbolism of the fairy tale to reflect on the development of reason in the form of the boy. In the first step on the path to reason we find the symbolism of the shepherd and how he should practice knowing and mastering animal nature. In the cackling hen and the chicks tied together, we can see the child beginning to master the tools of the body, senses and mind and to see the connections. Death appears as the hawk, threatening everything that is alive, or as transience, which attacks everything that has come into being. Hunger symbolizes the natural force that drives humans and animals to take action in the world. The necessary mindfulness is also addressed and, last but not least, pain as a teacher. This shows how nature challenges man to a long learning process, which in this case is not constructively supported by the child’s parents. Because of the selfishness of their hardened hearts, they do not give the child the necessary space to learn. This often happens with parents who are late in having a child, when their minds are already settled in narrow channels.

From a spiritual point of view, it is the ego-consciousness that does not give reason any room to develop and prefers to kill it because it does not work according to its ideas. Why? The fairy tale speaks of avarice, i.e. desire and hate, which creates an ego bubble. We call this mental construct a “person”, derived from the Latin “persona”, which means an actor’s mask. This ego bubble, which we find here symbolically in the farmer, thinks: “If I protect myself, I can survive!” So this bubble also tries to defend itself with violence, and not only against other ego bubbles, but also against the higher reason.

This is a typical ego effect that we can clearly observe in society at the moment. In addition to the usual garden fences and walls, there are now mask and distance requirements, with which the ego wants to protect itself and thinks that it can survive through this separation. At the same time one also sees how any reasonable voice that evokes a holistic view is declared an enemy, seen as an idiot and preferably beaten to death. Because clearly, reason as a guardian is useless for the ego. What else could you use it for? Maybe you could make a business with reason…

✻ When he was on his legs again, the farmer said to him, “Thou art too stupid for me, I cannot make a herdsman of thee, thou must go as errand-boy.” Then he sent him to the judge, to whom he was to carry a basketful of grapes, and he gave him a letter as well. On the way hunger and thirst tormented the unhappy boy so violently that he ate two of the bunches of grapes. He took the basket to the judge, but when the judge had read the letter, and counted bunches he said, “Two clusters are wanting.” The boy confessed quite honestly that, driven by hunger and thirst, he had devoured the two which were wanting. The judge wrote a letter to the farmer, and asked for the same number of grapes again. These also the boy had to take to him with a letter. As he again was so extremely hungry and thirsty, he could not help it, and again ate two bunches. But first he took the letter out of the basket, put it under a stone and seated himself thereon in order that the letter might not see and betray him. The judge, however, again made him give an explanation about the missing bunches. “Ah,” said the boy, “how have you learnt that? The letter could not know about it, for I put it under a stone before I did it.”

✎ The basket of grapes with the letter as a whole is a memorable symbol of the union of three principles. The basket is a network of twigs. Twigs can branch and divide, and so they evoke the web of opposing thoughts reaching for the fruits in the form of grapes and connecting to the knowledge in the form of the letter. Thus, out of the network of thoughts and the ego-consciousness, together with the life story and the accumulated fruits or karma, a human being embodies himself, who, like the basket, appears to exist as a separate object. Only on the level of self-awareness with reason this self-centred separation disappears and the holistic soul becomes conscious.

So now the next step on the way to reason is outlined with ingenious symbolism. Grapes are the sweet fruits that we love to reach for with our thoughts. But just grasping and clinging to the fruits of action is considered a major obstacle to the development of free reason and is an essential quality of the ego. Therefore, the fruits were symbolically sacrificed in the past in a god’s temple in order to give up personal attachment to the fruits of deeds and to dedicate all fruits to the deity. In this way, a holistic consciousness can arise in action, and that is the way to reason and the end of envy, greed, desire and hatred. This is how you could look at the symbolism with the grapes being brought to the judge.

The judge is an excellent symbol of higher reason. Let’s remember the pyramid that we presented from the point of view of a holistically inspired worldview in the “The Ditmarsch tale of wonders”:

If you look at the emergence of human consciousness according to this pyramid, you can speak of the following four or five levels of consciousness:

1) Reason: self-awareness - wisdom & insight - judge
2) Thinking: ego-consciousness - arguments - lawyers
3) Senses: sense-consciousness - perception - witnesses
4) Living matter: body-consciousness - actions - bailiffs
5) Dead matter: machine-consciousness - mechanization - punishment

In this way, the human consciousness symbolically resembles a court case, which can go as far as a punishment in prison, where consciousness has to submit completely to dead matter in the form of e.g. machines and becomes a machine-consciousness, as is increasingly happening in our mechanized world. In addition, the bailiffs carry out the orders of the lawyers and judges and represent, so to speak, the body-consciousness with our deeds in the world. The witnesses base their perception on the sense-consciousness, which creates our so-called “facts”, i.e. subjectively perceived facts or events, even if today we like to speak of objective facts. The lawyers represent the personal interests of the ego-consciousness with their thoughts and usually argue without finding a final solution. Only the judges can end this dispute of lawyers, decide with self-awareness through independent reason, and render a true verdict. So: The judges “decide”, the lawyers “distinguish”, the witnesses “perceive”, the bailiffs “act” and the penal system “executes the painful imprisonment” with the great goal of developing or returning to reason as seen in the pyramid above. The suffering in our world works accordingly, the senses and servants are not very reliable, and thoughts like to quarrel. But the judges should be independent, understand the context and background and be able to make a decision in a holistic sense with wisdom or holistic knowledge in order to end the dispute of ideas.

Another important aspect becomes clear with this symbolism, because the jailers, bailiffs, witnesses, lawyers and judges are basically all people with the same abilities, who just play different roles in the world and identify with them. The same is true of the different types of consciousness, which are basically just pure consciousness taking on different qualities in the world. Consciousness is therefore capable of changing in the process of formation and development and taking on different names and forms.

Of particular interest here is the difference between ego-consciousness and self-consciousness, which has been almost completely lost or consciously erased in the development of the German language. The same applies to the concepts of intellect and reason. We still speak of unshakable self-confidence, but we usually mean an unshakable ego that no longer lets in any anxious feelings. But the ego can never really be free from fear because of the illusory separation of opposing thoughts like “mine” and “yours”. This freedom can only be granted by the self- consciousness with the higher reason, when one becomes aware of the holistic self or the holistic soul. So there is an essential difference whether something is made by the “I” or arises from “oneself”.

The holistic soul that lives in all beings is also addressed in the fairy tale with ingenious symbolism, namely in the childish idea that the letter in the basket is not just a dead carrier of information, but a living being that acts as a witness and “reports” something to the judge. And insofar as this judge is not tied to the separating ego-consciousness, self-consciousness also knows no limits and becomes a holistic consciousness that one can call pure soul, pure spirit or also deity. This is how far the development of higher reason can go, by gradually dissolving attachment and dependence on body-consciousness, sense-consciousness and ego-consciousness, until pure self-consciousness remains and true reason takes over. In yoga, one also speaks of self-realization, self-discovery or self-control. With the materialistic world view, these terms were also more and more related to the ego, because with this world view there can be neither a holistic self nor a holistic reason or intelligence.

One could write endlessly on this subject, but that has already been done sufficiently in the traditions of the ancient religions and philosophers. It’s worth learning from. However, what does the judge or reason recommend?

✻ The judge could not help laughing at the boy’s simplicity, and sent the man a letter wherein he cautioned him to keep the poor boy better, and not let him want for meat and drink, and also that he was to teach him what was right and what was wrong.

✎ Certainly no arrogant or proud laughter is meant here, but the smile of a kind father at the simplicity of the child, this simplicity of which Jesus also spoke: “Truly I say to you: Unless you turn around and become like the children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)” However, He is not saying that we should remain like children and not develop. There is a task to be fulfilled in life, and the judge admonishes the farmer to do so. This admonition by the judge or reason is important, because one should never forget that raising children is above all self-education. With that, raising children becomes an essential part of human development and should not fall victim to a secular career or be delegated to any institutions or other people. Anyone who deals with the development of his own children gets to know himself and processes his own childhood in a much more conscious way than he was ever able to do as a child. This also belongs to the development of higher reason.

And what does the judge admonish? There should not be a lack of food and drink. You can see this physically at first, but in a deeper sense it is also about spiritual nourishment, which is extremely important for development: first science for the mind and then the digestion of knowledge into holistic knowledge, “wisdom” or reason. And of course this includes “learning what is right and wrong”. First you learn to distinguish the opposites with your thoughts, and later you learn to decide about them with reason and to recognize their true holistic nature, because plus and minus just belong together and are basically a unit.

“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You shall eat of every tree in the garden; but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for on the day you eat of it you will surely die. [1. Moses 2:16]” Well, man has not listened to God or reason, but has grasped and eaten the fruit of that tree of opposite knowledge while listening at the hissing serpent of ego-consciousness. What is probably meant here are the differentiating thoughts which, from the point of view of the personal interests of the ego-consciousness, distinguish the sensory perceptions into good and bad or pleasant and unpleasant. And with that, paradise was over, holistic perfection disappeared and suddenly there was mine and yours, happiness and sorrow, life and death, and the serious side of life began:

✻ “I will soon show thee the difference,” said the hard man, “if thou wilt eat, thou must work, and if thou dost anything wrong, thou shalt be quite sufficiently taught by blows.”

✎ In principle, this is not wrong. No pain no gain! This is how God spoke to Adam when he was banished from paradise: “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat your bread... (Genesis 3.19)” And it is also true that wholesome and unwholesome actions can practically be distinguished by their effects. One brings happiness and joy and the other sorrow and painful blows. These are the hard laws that work in nature and guide and instruct beings on their way. For this reason, too, Buddha said: “Life is suffering.” But no senseless suffering, because every suffering is also a lesson, as far as one is willing to learn from it.

However, these harsh laws of nature are only half the truth, even though many modern scientists today see them as the whole truth and believe that man is completely governed by the laws of nature. From a spiritual point of view, these laws prevail primarily at the level of ego-consciousness and are represented in our fairy tale by a “hard man” who has a “bad heart”, as explained above. That means he lives on the level of ego-consciousness, and so there is a lack of reason and thus also of love for the child, which obviously does not correspond to his ideas and does not bring the expected benefit for the ego. And that brings us to the next step on the road to reason, and that is the ability for proportionality, to avoid unreasonable exaggeration, which manifests itself in extremism, fanaticism, exploitation and violence when the means used are no longer proportionate to the benefit:

✻ The next day he set him a hard task. He was to chop two bundles of straw for food for the horses, and then the man threatened: “In five hours,” said he, “I shall be back again, and if the straw is not cut to chaff by that time, I will beat thee until thou canst not move a limb.” The farmer went with his wife, the man-servant and the girl, to the yearly fair, and left nothing behind for the boy but a small bit of bread. The boy seated himself on the bench, and began to work with all his might. As he got warm over it he put his little coat off and threw it on the straw. In his terror lest he should not get done in time he kept constantly cutting, and in his haste, without noticing it, he chopped his little coat as well as the straw. He became aware of the misfortune too late; there was no repairing it. “Ah,” cried he, “now all is over with me! The wicked man did not threaten me for nothing; if he comes back and sees what I have done, he will kill me. Rather than that I will take my own life.”

✎ The horse as a draft and working animal is similar to the ox that we have already described in other fairy tales. From a symbolic point of view, it is the will that pulls and drives us in life. The straw is the peasants’ gold and, so to speak, the supposed possession of the ego-consciousness, which, however, is hollow on the inside and hardly suitable for nourishment. The little skirt is reminiscent of the physical shell that we wear and which is damaged here by exaggeration. The farmer with his wife, servant and maid is reminiscent of the ego-consciousness, which as a male spirit wants to have fun with the female nature and the senses and organs of action in this world, like at a fair. Left behind is reason in the form of the boy, repressed, starved, and even hated because it doesn’t seem to serve ego-awareness.

A particularly severe form of psychological violence is described, with which the child is excluded from the family and traumatized by violence and fear. But the boy also indulges in exaggeration and harms himself in his exaggerated zeal, so that he despairs in the end and again misses the big goal, namely the reason to be able to decide between right and wrong or between wholesome and unwholesome action. Therefore, the meaning of life is practically lost. The fear becomes overwhelming, the ego and the body become mortal enemies, the ego feels deadly threatened by the body and sees no other way out than to kill the body, which has become a source of unbearable suffering.

Self-murder for Fear of Death? As already said, mental problems can never be fundamentally solved on the level of ego-awareness, where fear reigns. Every apparently solved problem gives rise to new problems. Therefore self-murder is not a fundamental solution either, insofar as the ego becomes the perpetrator here and one should actually speak of a body-murder. From a spiritual point of view this is clear, because the body with the senses with which the ego-consciousness identifies itself is not the source of the suffering but the ego-consciousness itself. So the murder of the body does not lead to the solution but to the strengthening of the ego-consciousness and with it also fear. Accordingly, suicide was not considered salvation in the past but a great sin and a way to hell. Because what burns and suffers in the fire of hell is above all the ego-consciousness in its essential connection with fear. Or as the old saying goes: “Wilfulness burns in hell!” - From a materialistic point of view one can of course say: Without a body there can be no consciousness, therefore also no self-awareness. That would be the end of all suffering. From this point of view, it also seems natural that one tries to solve all problems by physically killing other living beings with weapons, poison and violence. But for some reason even materialists want to live and somehow feel that the death of one’s own body is not the solution to all problems.

Exaggeration? It is certainly no coincidence that exaggeration is one of the biggest problems in our materialistically oriented society and the motto applies: a lot helps a lot! If food is good, more food must be better. If money is useful, more money must be even more useful. If hygiene is healthy, more hygiene must prevent every disease. If drugs heal, more drugs must heal everything. If technology helps, more technology must solve all problems. If violence is effective, any goal can be achieved with more violence. In this superego madness, we have dangerously upset the balance of nature and are even now working to destroy our own society. And the only means that politicians and scientists can counter this madness is apparently the rule of fear: shock forecasts, panic propaganda, psycho-terror, virus hysteria, bullying, fines, fear of contact, existential fear, fear of illness and death, but hardly anyone speaks of reason, at least not in the higher sense. For many years, reasonable hygiene was preached, and too many household disinfectants were harmful. But now fear rules, everything is mercilessly disinfected, and many hundreds of tons of disinfectant are sprayed into the environment in panic, which of course ends up somewhere in the groundwater. You see: where fear rules, there can be no reasonable decisions. This underpins our thesis that a materialistic world view is in principle incapable of developing a holistic reason so that people can control themselves, make reasonable decisions and act in a salutary manner.

✻ The boy had once heard the farmer’s wife say, “I have a pot with poison in it under my bed.” She, however, had only said that to keep away greedy people, for there was honey in it. The boy crept under the bed, brought out the pot, and ate all that was in it. “I do not know,” said he, “folks say death is bitter, but it tastes very sweet to me. It is no wonder that the farmer’s wife has so often longed for death.”

✎ Well, three steps on the way to reason have already been outlined in the symbolism of the fairy tale: mastery of thought, non-attachment to the fruits of action, and proportionality without exaggerating to any extreme. The Buddha also spoke of a “middle way” to avoid all extremes, but also of a further step, namely the realization of the true nature of all things. As the boy is described in this fairy tale, he has an exceedingly firm belief in the truth of his parents. He doesn’t doubt what they do and say. But we know that the supposedly rich farmers are not his real parents, and because they have not developed reason themselves, they cannot lead the child on the path to reason either. It is probably the same with our “rich” politicians and scientists, who are bound by materialism and cannot develop true reason because materialism is based on an objective world made of matter. And that’s no small problem, because without reason we certainly won’t be able to solve the growing problems of the environment and society. It is not only the old religions that assert that the objectivity of matter is an illusion. Modern quantum physics also speaks of the fact that matter increasingly evaporates into waves, forces and energy the deeper one examines it, and that its appearance ultimately depends on the observer. So things are not what they appear on the outside. But even these scientifically proven findings could not stop the madness of materialism and were summarily pushed into a back corner of physics, where they are taught theoretically, but are not allowed to have any practical influence on our philosophical understanding of the world.

Well, there’s still a chance. Have you noticed that our boy has always had two chances to master his tasks? Only when, in his fear of exaggeration, he had chosen death, no second came. Another chance even appears on the way to the grave:

✻ He seated himself in a little chair, and was prepared to die. But instead of becoming weaker he felt himself strengthened by the nourishing food. “It cannot have been poison,” thought he, “but the farmer once said there was a small bottle of poison for flies in the box in which he keeps his clothes; that, no doubt, will be the true poison, and bring death to me.” It was, however, no poison for flies, but Hungarian wine. The boy got out the bottle, and emptied it. “This death tastes sweet too,” said he, but shortly after when the wine began to mount into his brain and stupefy him, he thought his end was drawing near. “I feel that I must die,” said he, “I will go away to the churchyard, and seek a grave.” He staggered out, reached the churchyard, and laid himself in a newly dug grave. He lost his senses more and more. In the neighbourhood was an inn where a wedding was being kept; when he heard the music, he fancied he was already in Paradise, until at length he lost all consciousness.

✎ Now one reads how medicine becomes poison and even leads to death. Wine has always been a powerful symbol. On the one hand, it is obtained from the sweet fruits that we talked about above, on the other hand, it has an intense effect on the mind, can calm fears, expand consciousness, but can also be intoxicating, numbing and addictive through overdoing it. Also known is the wine of the gods, the nectar of immortality, or the blood of Jesus, as the essence of eternal life. If we take wine as a symbol of life, then one can say with regard to the lie of the farmers: As long as illusion and lies or ignorance are connected with life, worldly opposites such as happiness and suffering, pleasure and pain or life and death prevail. The consciousness is bound with illusion through these opposites, beautifully expressed in the phrase, “This death also tastes sweet.” For when death becomes sweet and life becomes bitter, so that death seems better than life, then one is surely fallen deep in illusion.

Death is a strange concept. Wikipedia speaks of the “end of life” and also says: “The exact boundary between life and death is difficult to define. The further you are from the border zone between the two, the clearer the difference between life and death seems, the closer you are to the border, the more blurred it becomes.” Intuitively, people have always been looking for a way to overcome death and to find eternal life. In the past, a solution was primarily sought on a spiritual level, today it is on a physical or material level. Well, if there’s no clear line between life and death, and it’s all just a matter of definition, why don’t we define everything as life? Then this whole universe would be one giant living organism. Is eternal life just a question of consciousness?

Well, the boy faints and lies down in a grave. Next to him there is an inn where a wedding is celebrated. The grave reminds of the fall of consciousness into the material world, where it becomes ever more restricted and mental mobility dwindles. The inn is reminiscent of our world, which nourishes us and in which we want to have fun. The great marriage between worldly opposites such as male and female, soul and body or spirit and nature is the great happy ending in many old fairy tales, but here it is more reminiscent of the intoxication with wine in the tavern, and paradise will probably remain just a dream that way.

Paradise plays an important role in many ancient religions. Some imagine it in heaven, others on earth. Conceptually, it is the afterlife of the world where “I” live in. So that means: Paradise is not where the “I” works and becomes active. Similarly, in the stories of the ancient Indian Puranas, paradisiacal gardens are described on earth around Mount Meru, as well as many countries with at least paradisiacal conditions (see e.g. Vayu-Purana 1.42). Only where the Indians lived, there was no paradise. But that was the great challenge and opportunity in life. So it says:

India is the land of deeds whereby people can attain heaven or even salvation. Verily, in this land one can attain heaven or the liberation from the bonds of existence so difficult to attain, while others sink into the animal kingdom or even hell. From here people make their way to liberation or to the regions of heaven, air, earth or the underworld. Because for human beings there is no better place for action in the universe... And India is the best country because it is the country of action, while the other places are mostly for pleasure. It is only after many thousands of births and the accumulation of great merit that a being is ever born as a human in India. (Vishnu Purana 2.3)

And at that time hardly any Indian had thought of physically leaving the country and simply hiking into paradise. For they knew that where the “I” goes, paradise disappears. So the “I” never comes to paradise, and the symbol of the angel in the biblical story, who guards the way to paradise and the tree of eternal life with the flaming sword, presumably also stands for this barrier.

✻ The poor boy never awoke again; the heat of the strong wine and the cold night-dew deprived him of life, and he remained in the grave in which he had laid himself.

✎ A sad ending! From a spiritual point of view, we remember to see the boy as a symbol for the living soul and above all for the living reason, which should actually develop to the higher, but falls here in the grave of earth or matter intoxicated by the worldly wine and even freezes to death. This is how living spirit becomes dead matter. Consciousness hardens from self-consciousness through ego-consciousness and sense-consciousness to body-consciousness. This is how people used to imagine the emergence of the material world from pure spirit. And so the Bible says “In the beginning was the Word”, and something similar can be found much more extensively in the ancient Indian Puranas, such as Vayu-Purana 1.4. From this perspective, the spirit lays itself in its grave, loses its living freedom, and freezes in death. Modern science also describes the development of the universe in a process of materializing pure energy out of nothing or the unformed. Some scientists also speak of information as a basis to avoid the “esoteric” term “spirit”. But information means nothing other than forming and shaping certain forms through knowledge.

✻ When the farmer heard the news of the boy’s death he was terrified, and afraid of being brought to justice indeed, his distress took such a powerful hold of him that he fell fainting to the ground. His wife, who was standing on the hearth with a pan of hot fat, ran to him to help him. But the flames darted against the pan, the whole house caught fire, in a few hours it lay in ashes, and the rest of the years they had to live they passed in poverty and misery, tormented by the pangs of conscience.

✎ Well, what you sow, you must reap. This is the ancient Indian law of karma. And whoever sows fear must also reap fear. Accordingly, the fairy tale ends with a very profound symbolism, which we can only sketch roughly here: From a spiritual point of view, ego-consciousness begins to awaken and slowly becomes aware of the killed reason and all the sin it has accumulated. At the same time, it becomes clear that the laws of cause and effect are inevitable and everything comes before the great judge, the universal intelligence, which is witnessed by conscience or shared knowledge, i.e. universal consciousness in the sense of: God sees everything! This is, so to speak, the final step on the path to reason when ego-consciousness develops into self-consciousness. And “develop” here does not mean any kind of accumulation, but a dissolving, in which nature comes to the rescue with fire. This symbolism is also found in Christian purgatory, as a fire of purification. The lard in the pan is reminiscent of the accumulated karma and the house of the material body being burned. No sage seriously claims that the process of ego-dissolution is a pleasurable experience. Here, the I dies and the Self is born or realized. Depending on the level of development, this is a long inner struggle that can last a lifetime and demands the greatest sacrifices imaginable. Because the ego-addiction is many times greater than any other addiction to sensual desires, alcohol or drugs. To this end, the fairy tale outlines six steps to reason:

1) Mastery of thoughts, self-control
2) Action without attachment to the fruits, selflessness
4) Proportionate action without exaggeration, self-restraint
5) Truthfulness without lies, self-knowledge
6) Change from ego-awareness to self-awareness, self-realization

The monks and yogis used to take such great paths through poverty and misery to the great happy ending in paradise. Here human reason blossoms into holistic love and eternal life. These are the fruits of the famous tree of life, which is really worth living for. And the fairy tales that have been handed down testify in a wonderful way that this knowledge was not only known to an intellectual elite but was also alive among the common people.

Simeli Mountain

✎ This fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm is very similar to the story “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” from the “One Thousand and One Nights” collection. However, it does not come from the Arabic original, but was added to this collection by Antoine Galland, the first European translator. He is said to have heard it from a Syrian storyteller in Paris in 1709. It is difficult to say which story was first. The whole fairy tale seems relatively modern, but we want to cover it here to examine the nature of the ego a little more deeply after the horrifying stories of “The Robber Bridegroom” and “The Poor Boy in the Grave”.

✻ There were once two brothers, the one rich, the other poor. The rich one, however, gave nothing to the poor one, and he gained a scanty living by trading in corn, and often did so badly that he had no bread for his wife and children. Once when he was wheeling a barrow through the forest he saw, on one side of him, a great, bare, naked-looking mountain, and as he had never seen it before, he stood still and stared at it with amazement. While he was thus standing he saw a twelve great, wild men coming towards him, and as he believed they were robbers he pushed his barrow into the thicket, climbed up a tree, and waited to see what would happen. The twelve men, however, went to the mountain and cried, “Semsi mountain, Semsi mountain, open,” and immediately the barren mountain opened down the middle, and the twelve went into it, and as soon as they were within, it shut. After a short time, however, it opened again, and the men came forth carrying heavy sacks on their shoulders, and when they were all once more in the daylight they said, “Semsi mountain, Semsi mountain, shut thyself;” then the mountain closed together, and there was no longer any entrance to be seen to it, and the twelve went away. When they were quite out of sight the poor man got down from the tree, and was curious to know what really was secretly hidden in the mountain. So he went up to it and said, “Semsi mountain, Semsi mountain, open,” and the mountain opened to him also. Then he went inside, and the whole mountain was a cavern full of silver and gold, and behind lay great piles of pearls and sparkling jewels, heaped up like corn. The poor man hardly knew what to do, and whether he might take any of these treasures for himself or not; but at last he filled his pockets with gold, but he left the pearls and precious stones where they were. When he came out again he also said, “Semsi mountain, Semsi mountain, shut thyself;” and the mountain closed itself, and he went home with his barrow.

✎ The fairy tale begins with two brothers who appear to represent two different stages of ego development, one poor and one rich. How the rich man got his wealth remains open here. The “Ali Baba” version from the “One Thousand and One Nights” collection speaks of a rich heritage. Now, by chance or fate, the poor man finds out about a secret cave and even gets the key to it. The fairy tale says: “As he was standing there, he saw twelve great, wild men coming, and he thought they were robbers...” And yes, his suspicion was confirmed so far, because they were carrying heavy sacks out of the cave. Interestingly, with Ali Baba it was robbers who carried the wealth mainly into the cave. So one could almost believe that this fairy tale of Mount Simeli is a continuation of the story of Ali Baba and is about how the richly filled cave is gradually cleared out by his descendants. Of course, this sounds familiar to us. At some point we, too, eavesdropped on nature’s knowledge of how to get to the earth’s natural resources. This is not just about precious metals and stones, but above all about fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil, which have been stored in the earth for many millions of years and will now be mined or robbed on a gigantic scale in a few centuries and burned by us.

This brings us to the big question, what are robbers? Where does this strange ownership claim come from, that everything on this earth belongs to us humans? And not even to all people, but everyone takes what he can grab and defend at the moment. How does man come to call a piece of earth his own and just build a fence around it? Well - this is mine now...

Our poor corn merchant also managed to gain access, but at first doubted whether he should take anything from here. This question is really tricky. He knows very well that this wealth does not belong to him. But he also assumes that it comes from robbers who do not own this wealth either. Can you rob robbers? The poor man says yes and fills his pockets. Why doesn’t he think about handing the robbers over to a court? Is he therefore making himself a robber? And why is he closing the cave again? But things seem to be going well for now:

✻ And now he had no more cause for anxiety, but could buy bread for his wife and children with his gold, and wine into the bargain. He lived joyously and uprightly, gave help to the poor, and did good to everyone. When, however, the money came to an end he went to his brother, borrowed a measure that held a bushel, and brought himself some more, but did not touch any of the most valuable things. When for the third time he wanted to fetch something, he again borrowed the measure of his brother. The rich man had, however, long been envious of his brother’s possessions, and of the handsome way of living which he had set on foot, and could not understand from whence the riches came, and what his brother wanted with the measure. Then he thought of a cunning trick, and covered the bottom of the measure with pitch, and when he got the measure back a piece of money was sticking in it. He at once went to his brother and asked him, “What hast thou been measuring in the bushel measure?” “Corn and barley,” said the other. Then he showed him the piece of money, and threatened that if he did not tell the truth he would accuse him before a court of justice. The poor man then told him everything, just as it had happened.

✎ Well, at least he remained quiet reasonably, bought bread and wine, lived happily and honestly, gave to the poor, and did good to all. But when the money ran out, he went to his brother, borrowed a bushel and got it again... That sounds strange. Can money eliminate poverty? Can money be used to do everyone good? These are tough questions. How much wealth should the rich man have given his poor brother so that he were no longer poor? Today, we are beginning to understand that pumping lots of money into the so-called “developing countries” is not enough. We are also beginning to understand that the usual subsidies for our economy encourage fraud and greed rather than sustained creativity. Because the poor man’s money practically ran out after a short time. Why? The fairy tale says: He was a corn merchant without measure. He got the bushel from his rich brother, and of course it’s never enough with this sort of measure. With such measure, also called “intemperance,” one can never overcome poverty.

Why didn’t the poor man, with the “jump start” of several bags of gold, create something living, sustainable, and fruitful that would thrive on its own? Doesn’t the whole fairy tale suggest that wealth should be fruitful? Corn and cereals are mentioned on every occasion. Ali Baba even says: “Open sesame!” And Semsi or Simsim is the Arabic word for sesame. It has been proven that sesame has been used as a food and medicine for thousands of years, especially in Arabia, China and India. Great energy is attributed to it, which unfolds in the body and promotes health. In addition, sesame is used for many rituals, especially in India, for example to open the door to the ancestors. In this fairy tale, the saying “Open Semsi!” is certainly about living seeds that can open and thrive. But the poor man does not manage to ensure that his wealth flourishes fruitfully and sustainably. That, too, is a mark of robbers: they always need more, and it’s never enough. So now he goes a second and a third time with the rich man’s bushel and gets more and more. It should be obvious that this cannot go well if he uses the measure of the rich.

And what finally catches up with the poor? The fear of the court, because he no longer has a pure conscience. With this he entangles himself in the world, becomes open to blackmail and has to reveal his secret. That’s nothing out of the ordinary. Our scientists, too, reveal the mysteries of nature to the insatiable rich for lots of money and fame.

✻ The rich man, however, ordered his carriage to be made ready, and drove away, resolved to use the opportunity better than his brother had done, and to bring back with him quite different treasures. When he came to the mountain he cried, “Semsi mountain, Semsi mountain, open.” The mountain opened, and he went inside it. There lay the treasures all before him, and for a long time he did not know which to clutch at first. At length he loaded himself with as many precious stones as he could carry. He wished to carry his burden outside, but, as his heart and soul were entirely full of the treasures, he had forgotten the name of the mountain, and cried, “Simeli mountain, Simeli mountain, open.” That, however, was not the right name, and the mountain never stirred, but remained shut. Then he was alarmed, but the longer he thought about it the more his thoughts confused themselves, and his treasures were no more of any use to him. In the evening the mountain opened, and the twelve robbers came in, and when they saw him they laughed, and cried out, “Bird, have we caught thee at last! Didst thou think we had never noticed that thou hadst been in here twice? We could not catch thee then; this third time thou shalt not get out again!” Then he cried, “It was not I, it was my brother,” but they let him beg for his life and say what he would, and cut his head off.

✎ That’s the end of the fairy tale Simeli Mountain of the Brothers Grimm. Well, we don’t need to explain any further what happens here when the rich man with even less reason goes this way. The more greed, the less reason. And the less reason, the more greed. And he can’t get out of this vicious circle of madness. Finally, twelve robbers appear and rob him of everything he owns, namely his head and his life. Who are these twelve thieves? The number evokes the hours of the clock or the months of the year. Perhaps this means the time that scatters everything that has been accumulated and destroys everything that has been created. Those who cannot rise from this material mountain, which is also reminiscent of our body, will of course meet these robbers in the end and lose everything. The rich dies and the poor lives. A happy ending? His last words were: “It wasn’t me, it was my brother!” Yes, even the poor man is probably not free from this accusation. At least he’s accused of robbery twice when he fetched the gold with the rich man’s bushel. They might have forgiven him the first time. But now he too must fear death, for it is only a matter of “time” before the robbers seize the robber.

The story of Ali Baba from the “One Thousand and One Nights” collection doesn’t end much better. Two relatively greedy wives also play a role here and a clever, calculating but also brutal slave who does not shy away from lies and murders 38 robbers in order to protect her unsuspecting master Ali Baba. He then married this lady to his son and finally gave him the secret of the cave.

All in all, one might think that the story of Ali Baba also comes from a time of anarchy, because neither a king nor a higher court plays a decisive role. On the contrary, everyone wants to be king and enjoy a lot of wealth. All means are allowed. The dubious robbery leads to lies, street justice and murder. In the end Ali Baba’s children have to live with this secret and 38 dead bodies in the garden. But it says at the end of the story that they “enjoyed their happiness in wise moderation, in high splendour and adorned with the highest honours in the city.” Well, in that respect it is obviously a modern fairy tale, expressing the hope of modern people.

So we would now like to try whether we can discover a deeper message on a spiritual level:

The principle of “I-consciousness”, which we can see in the two brothers in different ways, was already well known in the oldest cultures. We find it in the Bible when Adam and Eve grabbed the apple at the hissing of the serpent, recognized themselves as persons, and were thrown out of paradise. In the ancient Indian philosophies, too, this principle of I-awareness stands above all natural creation and is even embodied in the creator god Brahma. This I-awareness is a principle of separation and distinction that we can observe everywhere in nature. You see it in the animals that claim their territory, in the bodies of living beings that defend themselves and feed on others, in the living cells that form an outer membrane and organize themselves, down to the smallest if you will atoms that are defined and structured by their shells. All our names and forms arise from this principle of differentiation. This I-awareness is therefore a basic principle of the whole of nature and thus also innate in every living being. And like everything in nature, this principle is also subject to a development that we can observe in every child when the I-awareness forms or imagines the ego of a personality. There are many gradations to this, depending on how strong this principle hardens, from the selfless and kind benefactor to the selfish and violent tyrant with a heart of stone.

And what makes a person a robber? It is usually said: when he willingly takes what is not given to him. Perhaps we should realize that we receive everything we have from nature. Truly, nature really gives us everything. But the more the greedy ego develops from the innate I-awareness to a narrow physicality, the more greedy, insatiable and violent we reach for the gifts of nature. That turns us into robbers who only want to take. A strange notion of personal property and wealth emerges. And here one could think a lot about the symbol of the bushel, by which we measure our wealth. Back then even a bushel was very presumptuous, later came the “millionaires” and today we speak of “billionaires”. The “billiardaires” are coming soon, who will rule the world economy and world politics as super-rich super-egos. The big question is: how much does a person need to be happy? And what role does the measure of money and wealth play?

Today we firmly believe that wealth can set us free. In practice, however, we are locked in a world of wealth, perhaps even already trapped and enslaved, and seem to have forgotten the magic spell with which our wealth flourishes for good and stays alive in the long term. We no longer think of semsi or sesame as fertile seeds for life. Like the rich man in the fairy tale, we only have Simeli or Simili in our heads, and the mountain does not open up to the rich man with that. Because simili means “similar” in Latin and also means the well-known simili stones, with which valuable gemstones are imitated through cut glass. And it is certainly no coincidence that the Brothers Grimm called the fairy tale “Simeli Moutain”. Do we perhaps live in such a “Simili Moutain, in a glass mountain or glass coffin of a virtual illusory world, as so many fairy tales describe? We imitate a rich life with apparent dimensions like “money bills” or virtual numbers on virtual accounts. Is that really the true wealth of life?

Our modern wealth consists mostly of dead property, a lifeless wealth that remains barren and does not thrive on its own. We have lost the natural balance of “live and let live”. This is the main reason why we need more and more money, more and more energy and more and more natural resources. Our ego-consciousness develops into the ownership of material corporeality and not into spiritual freedom. That’s why greedy egoism grows, and that’s why our fairy tale is called “Simeli Montain” because we can no longer escape from this material simili delusion of physicality and lose our head in it.

We know from ancient cultures that there is a higher principle above the I-awareness, an universal intelligence with holistic reason or divine consciousness. This holistic reason used to be considered the true wealth of man, which we should strive for. That is the great goal of which the old traditions tell. I-awareness should be developed to a free and open mind, and not to a narrow and confined physicality in dead matter. “Open sesame!” A living prospering, a live and let live. “Mountain Semsi, open up!” We should open up and not keep shutting down. Open your heart and give your inner wealth! Not only the coined gold, but also the beautiful gemstones and pearls. Our ego-consciousness should become wide and not live locked in a narrow body as a greedy super-ego. It is not about scooping up more and more worldly riches and submitting to a dubious measure of wealth.

Our global problem is: “Semsi mountain, close yourself!” That closes our hearts, and we become selfish robbers scooping up dead wealth. Not for nothing it is emphasized that the mountain closes by itself when you go in, but not when you come out. The robbers locked the cave because they wanted to have the wealth for themselves. And the poor man? Perhaps that is the deeper message of the fairy tale. And the Bible probably also speaks of this broad, free and open self-awareness, which does not close itself off, when Jesus says in his famous “Sermon on the Mount”:

You are the light of the world. The city that lies on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor does one light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; so it shines for everyone who is in the house. [Bible, Matthew 5:14]

We are part of nature and certainly have a job to do here. And maybe the eyes of all living beings are on us humans as the crown of creation. They ask themselves: will they make it? Will they find that enlightenment, transcend the animal ego, and redeem nature? That is why birth as a human being used to be something very valuable. Today one has to be ashamed to be born human when one sees how we deal with nature and its rich gifts. But the joke of the century says:

Two planets meet in space. Says one: You look bad! Says the other: Yes, I have Homo sapiens. Oh, says the first, don’t worry, it’ll pass.

Perhaps we should all think about giving a happy ending to this modern fairy tale of the Simeli Mountain in a “money world”. Our suggestion would be:

✻ When the poor man found out that his rich brother had not returned from the cave, he was very afraid of the robbers and never went there again. He died a poor man, and on his deathbed he told the whole story to his son. As soon as the father was buried, the son boldly went to the cave, opened it and entered full of expectation. But alas, the cave was completely empty, he could only read a saying on the bare rock wall in strange letters:

If you don’t own anything, you can’t lose anything.
Where nothing is locked, no one can break in.
Where there is nothing to steal, there are no thieves.
Where there is nothing to rob, there are no robbers.
Where there is nothing to kill, there are no murderers.

And underneath lay a strange vessel on the floor. It was the rich man’s bushel where the robbers had broken the bottom. What is the use of such a measure? Leaving it behind, he left the cave and never closed it again. Many people could still read this saying until it faded at some point. And the son travelled around the world and became a famous storyteller. Sometimes he also talked about the Simeli Mountain, and if he didn’t die, he still talks about it today...

Strong Hans

✻ There were once a man and a woman who had an only child, and lived quite alone in a solitary valley. It came to pass that the mother once went into the wood to gather branches of fir, and took with her little Hans, who was just two years old. As it was spring-time, and the child took pleasure in the many-coloured flowers, she went still further onwards with him into the forest. Suddenly two robbers sprang out of the thicket, seized the mother and child, and carried them far away into the black forest, where no one ever came from one year’s end to another. The poor woman urgently begged the robbers to set her and her child free, but their hearts were made of stone, they would not listen to her prayers and entreaties, and drove her on farther by force. After they had worked their way through bushes and briars for about two miles, they came to a rock where there was a door, at which the robbers knocked and it opened at once. They had to go through a long dark passage, and at last came into a great cavern, which was lighted by a fire which burnt on the hearth. On the wall hung swords, sabres, and other deadly weapons which gleamed in the light, and in the midst stood a black table at which four other robbers were sitting gambling, and the captain sat at the head of it. As soon as he saw the woman he came and spoke to her, and told her to be at ease and have no fear, they would do nothing to hurt her, but she must look after the house-keeping, and if she kept everything in order, she should not fare ill with them. Thereupon they gave her something to eat, and showed her a bed where she might sleep with her child.

✎ Now that we have got to know a rather dubious path of I-awareness in the “Simeli Mountain”, we would like to use this fairy tale to examine a much deeper view of this topic. “Once upon a time there was a man and a woman...” It begins with the usual polarity of male and female, i.e. spirit and nature or realiser and the realisable. Between these poles, which are actually inseparable, there is a separating principle in nature that we call I-consciousness. And this I-awareness goes a long way, which is demonstrated here in the development of a child with many symbols. Springtime and the first green tips of the fir trees already indicate the awakening of life. This means that the development of I-awareness or the human personality naturally has a lot to do with life, which is initially very closely connected to Mother Nature, i.e. to the sensual world.

With regard to the origin of life, the question is often asked why “life” arises at all. The fairy tale hints at this and says that the child enjoys the colourful flowers, the variety of experiences and therefore goes deeper and deeper into the forest of the world with Mother Nature. But suddenly they are overpowered by two robbers. This could generally mean the worldly opposites or dualities that the I-consciousness encounters with the worldly birth, such as desire and hate, heat and cold, happiness and suffering or hunger and thirst. These “hard hearted” opposites are really not easy to escape from, and the more the I-consciousness is overwhelmed by these “robbers,” the deeper it goes into the darkness of physicality. So it ends up in a “robber’s cave” where a fire burns that can be interpreted on different levels, from the physical digestive fire to the fire of passion to the light of consciousness or even the flame of the “Holy Spirit”. The weapons indicate certain skills and combat, but also a lot of suffering.

Now several robbers are playing at a “black table”. There are probably different principles that govern nature. These primarily include the sensory organs for hearing, feeling, seeing, tasting and smelling and, what is more, the thinking and the intelligence. These seven natural basic principles bring the experiences into our dark body and of course also play their games with us. In this regard, they can also be called robbers because they take plenty of food, both physical and mental, and drag it into a personal body, like a cave, for accumulation in the form of memory, character, and so on. This creates our own karma, so to speak. Usually thought reigns here as a captain over the five senses in an outer world, so that he entrusts the “housekeeping” to Mother Nature and with it the order of natural laws. Together they feed the growing child or I-consciousness, which now lives together with Mother Nature in this dark body cave and initially still sleeps a lot.

✻ The woman stayed many years with the robbers, and Hans grew tall and strong. His mother told him stories, and taught him to read an old book of tales about knights which she found in the cave. When Hans was nine years old, he made himself a strong club out of a branch of fir, hid it behind the bed, and then went to his mother and said, “Dear mother, pray tell me who is my father; I must and will know.” His mother was silent and would not tell him, that he might not become home-sick; moreover she knew that the godless robbers would not let him go away, but it almost broke her heart that Hans should not go to his father. In the night, when the robbers came home from their robbing expedition, Hans brought out his club, stood before the captain, and said, “I now wish to know who is my father, and if thou dost not at once tell me I will strike thee down.” Then the captain laughed, and gave Hans such a box on the ear that he rolled under the table. Hans got up again, held his tongue, and thought, “I will wait another year and then try again, perhaps I shall do better then.”

✎ In this body-house the I-consciousness now grows together with the seven natural principles under the order of Mother Nature. With the stories and the book of knights, the child begins to understand, and so courage and self-confidence grow, which are symbolized here with the strong club. The more powerful the senses and their chief are, the more powerful are the organs of action and the child itself. But along with the desire for sensual nourishment, the desire for spiritual satiation naturally also grows. The child soon realizes that the robber chief who rules over the senses with lust cannot be his real father. But it’s not that easy to get rid of. Experience has shown that it is an uphill battle, but Mother Nature desires nothing more for her child than to fight and win this battle to find the true father again. Of course, you won’t succeed the first time, but with patience and growing courage and self-confidence you can win this fight.

✻ When the year was over, he brought out his club again, rubbed the dust off it, looked at it well, and said, “It is a stout strong club.” At night the robbers came home, drank one jug of wine after another, and their heads began to be heavy. Then Hans brought out his club, placed himself before the captain, and asked him who was his father? But the captain again gave him such a vigorous box on the ear that Hans rolled under the table, but it was not long before he was up again, and beat the captain and the robbers so with his club, that they could no longer move either their arms or their legs. His mother stood in a corner full of admiration of his bravery and strength. When Hans had done his work, he went to his mother, and said, “Now I have shown myself to be in earnest, but now I must also know who is my father.” “Dear Hans,” answered the mother, “come, we will go and seek him until we find him.”

✎ For a child, this first victory is above all an awakening of reason, so that it is no longer so dominated by the desires of the senses. It begins to tame the senses and thinking. The robbers are certainly not dead with that, but the I-consciousness can now take control, and that really takes a lot of courage. This is an important turning point in life, where there is also the danger that the I-consciousness will become the robber captain and develop into a greedy ego. Of course, such an ego can never leave the robber cave, makes its home there and will neither seek nor find the true father. But our “Hans” succeeds. The name alone suggests it, since it comes from “Johannes” and means “God is gracious” in Hebrew. Sure, with that you can overcome the “godless robbers”.

✻ She took from the captain the key to the entrance-door, and Hans fetched a great meal-sack and packed into it gold and silver, and whatsoever else he could find that was beautiful, until it was full, and then he took it on his back. They left the cave, but how Hans did open his eyes when he came out of the darkness into daylight, and saw the green forest, and the flowers, and the birds, and the morning sun in the sky. He stood there and wondered at everything just as if he had not been very wise. His mother looked for the way home, and when they had walked for a couple of hours, they got safely into their lonely valley and to their little house. The father was sitting in the doorway. He wept for joy when he recognized his wife and heard that Hans was his son, for he had long regarded them both as dead. But Hans, although he was not twelve years old, was a head taller than his father. They went into the little room together, but Hans had scarcely put his sack on the bench by the stove, than the whole house began to crack the bench broke down and then the floor, and the heavy sack fell through into the cellar. “God save us!” cried the father, “what’s that? Now thou hast broken our little house to pieces!” “Don’t grow any grey hairs about that, dear father,” answered Hans; “there, in that sack, is more than is wanting for a new house.” The father and Hans at once began to build a new house; to buy cattle and land, and to keep a farm. Hans ploughed the fields, and when he followed the plough and pushed it into the ground, the bullocks had scarcely any need to draw.

✎ Now something very wonderful is happening. The I-consciousness leaves the cave of the robbers for the first time, takes a lot of wealth with it and suddenly sees the world through completely different eyes than through the filters of the ordinary senses. It rises from the dark physicality and sees the sun rising in the sky. Anyone who is now not amazed and speechless has never experienced anything like this. With the help of the mother, the son finds his way back to the father who is waiting in front of the famous door that we usually don’t want to open. He even feared that the I-consciousness had completely lost itself in dead matter. But no, it has grown, but still surpasses the father with “one head”. A wonderful symbol! He surpasses him with his physicality, his top-heaviness and his karma sack, which causes the father’s house to collapse and sinks down to the basement of the subconscious. But there is also a lot of merit in this karma sack, and he uses it much better than the poor man used his wealth in the last fairy tale from the “Simeli Mountain”. He allows the robbers’ wealth to flourish in a fruitful and sustainable manner and does not have to return to the robbers’ cave to get more and more.

Altogether one could say that the I-consciousness first went the way of the mother, now goes the way of father and mother, and in the third part of this fairy tale enters the way of the father. This is possible because he feels great power and true courage within himself.

✻ The next spring, Hans said, “Keep all the money and get a walking-stick that weighs a hundredweight made for me that I may go a-travelling.” When the wished-for stick was ready, he left his father’s house, went forth, and came to a deep, dark forest. There he heard something crunching and cracking, looked round, and saw a fir-tree which was wound round like a rope from the bottom to the top, and when he looked upwards he saw a great fellow who had laid hold of the tree and was twisting it like a willow-wand. “Hollo!” cried Hans, “what art thou doing up there?” The fellow replied, “I got some faggots together yesterday and am twisting a rope for them.” “That is what I like,” thought Hans, “he has some strength,” and he called to him, “Leave that alone, and come with me.” The fellow came down, and he was taller by a whole head than Hans, and Hans was not little. “Thy name is now Fir-twister,” said Hans to him. Thereupon they went further and heard something knocking and hammering with such force that the ground shook at every stroke. Shortly afterwards they came to a mighty rock, before which a giant was standing and striking great pieces of it away with his fist. When Hans asked what he was about, he answered, “At night, when I want to sleep, bears, wolves, and other vermin of that kind come, which sniff and snuffle about me and won’t let me rest; so I want to build myself a house and lay myself inside it, so that I may have some peace.” “Oh, indeed,” thought Hans, “I can make use of this one also;” and said to him, “Leave thy house-building alone, and go with me; thou shalt be called Rock-splitter.” The man consented, and they all three roamed through the forest, and wherever they went the wild beasts were terrified, and ran away from them.

✎ Well, a new spring awakens, the I-consciousness dedicates its merits to the father, lets him give it an even stronger will and moves out of worldly life, back into the dark depths of the world. It is not further mentioned here what drives him to do so. This is probably the end of his youth, and the young man goes looking for a bride to start his own family. Of course, that doesn’t mean that he has to leave the natural life of a farmer.

On a spiritual level, the I-consciousness now follows the path of the father to the liberation or redemption of the soul. Here he meets two powerful forces, which he enlists to his service. One force strives upwards and presumably symbolizes the “great understanding”, the comprehensive intelligence, which bundles the individual experiences to a large extent and leads to the understanding of unity, so to speak wisdom. The other power could relate to the deeper feeling of “protecting,” so to speak, a compassion for oneself, but also for other beings. With this compassion everything that has become petrified can also be smashed, especially petrified hearts, but also petrified concepts and views.

But looking at these two separately, two extreme forces of consciousness are expressed. For example, when parents are overly intellectual or rational, they tend to become a fir-twister and may not want children at all because they think it’s not worth it, or that it can avoid many problems. If the parents tend to the rock splitter, they will react emotionally and maybe try to wall their children in a tower to protect them from all the dangers of the world. Of course, a middle path that connects these two would be good.

In yoga, too, the combination of these two forces of consciousness, wisdom and compassion, is very important on the spiritual path of meditation. It is said: Wisdom without compassion is not true wisdom, but only cold sense. Compassion without wisdom is not true compassion, only painful pity. Practically it is about the two limits of a spiritual path. Because every path must have at least two borders. On earth, a path is limited by right and left, in the spiritual one often speaks of above and below, such as the paths between heaven and hell. Without borders there is no way. Thus, every path consists of at least two borders and a direction. This “three-pole” can be found very often in old traditions. It is usually symbolized as a triangle pointing in a certain direction.

And with that, the I-consciousness now goes “in a threesome” with wisdom and compassion through the spiritual world and of course stirs up many wild beings, which initially flee into the depths of the subconscious. On this path, the I-consciousness rises to a higher region, to the famous mountain where the “ancient royal castle” stands and the “true king” should rule.

✻ In the evening they came to an old deserted castle, went up into it, and laid themselves down in the hall to sleep. The next morning Hans went into the garden. It had run quite wild, and was full of thorns and bushes. And as he was thus walking round about, a wild boar rushed at him; he, however, gave it such a blow with his club that it fell directly. He took it on his shoulders and carried it in, and they put it on a spit, roasted it, and enjoyed themselves. Then they arranged that each day, in turn, two should go out hunting, and one should stay at home, and cook nine pounds of meat for each of them. Fir-twister stayed at home the first, and Hans and Rock-splitter went out hunting. When Fir-twister was busy cooking, a little shrivelled-up old mannikin came to him in the castle, and asked for some meat. “Be off, sly hypocrite,” he answered, “thou needest no meat.” But how astonished Fir-twister was when the little insignificant dwarf sprang up at him, and belaboured him so with his fists that he could not defend himself, but fell on the ground and gasped for breath! The dwarf did not go away until he had thoroughly vented his anger on him. When the two others came home from hunting, Fir-twister said nothing to them of the old mannikin and of the blows which he himself had received, and thought, “When they stay at home, they may just try their chance with the little scrubbing-brush;” and the mere thought of that gave him pleasure already. The next day Rock-splitter stayed at home, and he fared just as Fir-twister had done, he was very ill-treated by the dwarf because he was not willing to give him any meat. When the others came home in the evening, Fir-twister easily saw what he had suffered, but both kept silence, and thought, “Hans also must taste some of that soup.”

✎ Thus on the spiritual path one reaches an abandoned castle where no king reigns anymore and wild animals live. Even the originally beautiful garden, reminiscent of paradise, has become completely overgrown, and this is where the wild animal in us comes across that needs to be conquered. This is the beginning of the spiritual hunt and the cooking and digesting or processing of this animal nature. One should not confuse this symbolism with the fact that one has to physically kill many animals and eat a lot of meat. On the contrary, the ancient cultures knew exactly that by consuming meat one also accumulates the corresponding animal essence in oneself. Therefore, the yogis usually live on a vegetarian diet in order to be able to find their inner animal nature and to conquer it. It is important here that wisdom, compassion and I-awareness work closely together as a “trinity” so that at some point a true king can once again reign in the castle on the mountain.

The symbolism of the mountain is reminiscent of the pyramids, which we have already got to know in past fairy tales. From the physical point of view or from the point of view of nature, the higher reason appears on the top of this mountain. In yoga, this is the thousand-petalled crown chakra above the head. From a spiritual perspective, this pyramid is inverted and integral reason becomes the base of the mountain, which is now no longer built on matter, or as the Bible says, on “sand” but on a spiritual foundation that is now not below on earth but is to be found in heaven above. Symbolically it looks something like this:

The path of spiritual development is now the path from material physicality via restraining the senses and thoughts to higher reason, which I-awareness can take together with wisdom and compassion to the “castle” on the mountain, where spirit and nature or soul and body meet and can unite again in holistic reason. But here the three first meet the greatest challenge, namely the narrow-minded, greedy ego, which is often symbolized as an ugly dwarf and is primarily nourished by animal nature, i.e. he demands physical “flesh”. Experience has shown that this ego has tremendous powers, and when it doesn’t get what it wants, it overwhelms us with anger and the hardest blows. Of course, the I-consciousness above all has to face up to this challenge, because this greedy ego-being arose from it.

✻ Hans, who had to stay at home the next day, did his work in the kitchen as it had to be done, and as he was standing skimming the pan, the dwarf came and without more ado demanded a bit of meat. Then Hans thought, “He is a poor wretch, I will give him some of my share, that the others may not run short,” and handed him a bit. When the dwarf had devoured it, he again asked for some meat, and good-natured Hans gave it to him, and told him it was a handsome piece, and that he was to be content with it. But the dwarf begged again for the third time. “Thou art shameless!” said Hans, and gave him none. Then the malicious dwarf wanted to spring on him and treat him as he had treated Fir-twister and Rock-splitter, but he had got to the wrong man. Hans, without exerting himself much, gave him a couple of blows which made him jump down the castle steps. Hans was about to run after him, but fell right over him, for he was so tall. When he rose up again, the dwarf had got the start of him. Hans hurried after him as far as the forest, and saw him slip into a hole in the rock. Hans now went home, but he had marked the spot.

✎ In this way, the I-consciousness also gets to know the insatiably greedy ego being. The message of the fairy tale is very interesting because wisdom and compassion did not feed the ego. And that was certainly not out of hard-heartedness, but even out of wisdom and compassion. Because the greedy ego should not be fed, even if it is begging for food. The I-consciousness is more good-natured at first, but soon becomes aware of the insatiable greed of the ego, finally fights back and does not allow itself to be overwhelmed. The ego now flees into the depths and the I-consciousness falls. This is understandable as it fed the greedy ego. And when the ego has received nourishment, it typically hides back into the depths of our being. But our hero watches carefully where it goes. This mindfulness is extremely important in yoga. It needs the power of concentration and meditation to explore the inner workings of the body and mind.

✻ When the two others came back, they were surprised that Hans was so well. He told them what had happened, and then they no longer concealed how it had fared with them. Hans laughed and said, “It served you quite right; why were you so greedy with your meat? It is a disgrace that you who are so big should have let yourselves be beaten by the dwarf.”

✎ There is a lot to ponder over this symbolism as well. The I-consciousness blames wisdom and compassion for being so stingy, not feeding the ego, and taking the beatings in silence. But this ability should also be developed in meditation, because one cannot constantly fight against the ego and run after it. This makes the ego important, and it can also feed on it. The response of the I-consciousness clearly shows that it is not yet liberated from the greedy ego, for it proudly stands above its two helpers of wisdom and compassion.

✻ Thereupon they took a basket and a rope, and all three went to the hole in the rock into which the dwarf had slipped, and let Hans and his club down in the basket. When Hans had reached the bottom, he found a door, and when he opened it a maiden was sitting there who was lovely as any picture, nay, so beautiful that no words can express it, and by her side sat the dwarf and grinned at Hans like a sea-cat! She, however, was bound with chains, and looked so mournfully at him that Hans felt great pity for her, and thought to himself, “Thou must deliver her out of the power of the wicked dwarf,” and gave him such a blow with his club that he fell down dead. Immediately the chains fell from the maiden, and Hans was enraptured with her beauty. She told him she was a King’s daughter whom a savage count had stolen away from her home, and imprisoned there among the rocks, because she didn’t want anything to do with him. The count had, however, set the dwarf as a watchman, and he had made her bear misery and vexation enough.

✎ Now it gets exciting: How can you defeat the greedy ego? First, with the help of wisdom and compassion, the path goes into the depths of our physical being to the source of life. There one can open a door to make a wonderful realization. One sees the perfect soul bound and trapped by the greedy ego. The ego grins arrogantly and doesn’t think it can ever be defeated. But with one blow it falls dead to the ground, freeing the pure soul from its chains. What was that blow? In yoga one speaks of the great knowledge with the help of wisdom and compassion. And you have to come to this realization that the soul is bound by the ego, not only theoretically, like we are doing here, but purely practically with all your heart. That is the great goal of yoga. And the soul tells it itself: A fierce count, a false king so to speak, uses the ego to bind and torment the soul because she does not want to and cannot unite with him. And who is the false king? It is an ego-consciousness, overwhelmed by illusion and self-interest, which takes over the dominion of reason and locks and banishes the soul into physicality, where it must experience much suffering. With this knowledge alone, as far as it is true, one can free the soul at one blow and raise her back to queen in the royal palace.

✻ And now Hans placed the maiden in the basket and had her drawn up; the basket came down again, but Hans did not trust his two companions, and thought, “They have already shown themselves to be false, and told me nothing about the dwarf; who knows what design they may have against me?” So he put his club in the basket, and it was lucky he did; for when the basket was half-way up, they let it fall again, and if Hans had really been sitting in it he would have been killed.

✎ But now suddenly a dangerous obstacle appears. The I-awareness distrusts wisdom and compassion, and these two distrust the I-awareness and would like to destroy it with the ego-dwarf. This actually stands to reason, because the ego develops from the I-consciousness and is closely related to it. So why shouldn’t wisdom and compassion take hold of the redeemed soul and save it from I-consciousness? But here, too, it is important to use courage and self-confidence, so that the I-consciousness does not encounter annihilation. Why? I-awareness is one of the natural principles of life. If it is violently destroyed, life is also destroyed. And this danger really exists on the spiritual path to salvation, for example when one falls into nihilism and denies everything that is alive.

✻ But now he did not know how he was to work his way out of the depths, and when he turned it over and over in his mind he found no counsel. “It is indeed sad,” said he to himself, “that I have to waste away down here,” and as he was thus walking backwards and forwards, he once more came to the little chamber where the maiden had been sitting, and saw that the dwarf had a ring on his finger which shone and sparkled. Then he drew it off and put it on, and when he turned it round on his finger, he suddenly heard something rustle over his head. He looked up and saw spirits of the air hovering above, who told him he was their master, and asked what his desire might be? Hans was at first struck dumb, but afterwards he said that they were to carry him above again. They obeyed instantly, and it was just as if he had flown up himself.

✎ Well, how can I-consciousness rise? It finds a magic ring on the dwarf’s finger, which strangely enough also fits the gigantic Hans, which again shows the close relationship between I-consciousness and ego. And this ring awakens a higher spirit wherein we can see the higher reason that can carry us and free us from the heavy burden of physicality. This reason is an expression of the universal intelligence that connects all beings with one another, which is also illustrated by the ring as a symbol of unity. With this universal intelligence, the greedy ego can bind the soul when lost in illusion and self-interest. And with the same intelligence, the I-consciousness can redeem the soul insofar as it has freed itself from desire and hatred. That is why the spirits of the air ask about his “desire”, and our hero reacts in an exemplary manner and askes to be lifted out of his physicality.

✻ When, however, he was above again, he found no one in sight. Fir-twister and Rock-splitter had hurried away, and had taken the beautiful maiden with them. But Hans turned the ring, and the spirits of the air came and told him that the two were on the sea. Hans ran and ran without stopping, until he came to the sea-shore, and there far, far out on the water, he perceived a little boat in which his faithless comrades were sitting; and in fierce anger he leapt, without thinking what he was doing, club in hand into the water, and began to swim, but the club, which weighed a hundredweight, dragged him deep down until he was all but drowned. Then in the very nick of time he turned his ring, and immediately the spirits of the air came and bore him as swift as lightning into the boat. He swung his club and gave his wicked comrades the reward they merited and threw them into the water.

✎ The castle is described as deserted and uninhabited, and here again the danger of nihilism becomes clear. His two companions have kidnapped the soul from the world far out onto the great sea, where they threaten to disappear into infinity. Sure, that would also be a kind of salvation if you could simply vanish into nothingness, but it would also be the end of life. Our hero recognizes all this through his higher reason and decides to bring the soul back to the living world so that the castle can be revived. But on this wide sea his physical strength does not help him. On the contrary, it pulls him down and he, too, threatens to disappear into the depths of this sea.

What is this sea? The ancient Indian Puranas speak of the Sea of Causes, the Unformed, the Self or Supreme Soul, from which the universal intelligence and I-consciousness arise to bring forth all creation. Something similar also happens in this fairy tale, and the I-consciousness rises out of this sea through the higher reason of the “spirits of the air”. Freed from sluggish physicality, our hero can now move at the speed of the mind. Then, with the wand of self-awareness, he reunites wisdom and compassion with the sea so that, free from self-interest, they transform into pure self-knowledge and true love. That was her deserved reward at the end of the road. Because when the path is completed, one should of course also let go of the limitations of the path. In doing so, he liberates and redeems the soul on an incomparably high spiritual level, which we can only imagine from afar with our theoretical considerations. But such spiritual paths are explained in many ways in the traditions of the old cultures and are still walked by the wise today.

That the companions are here described as faithless and even wicked are probably the only two words that could be faulted in this wonderful and most profound tale. Even if they carry the danger of annihilating life, they still have their task in the world and can certainly be of great help to the emerging self-awareness.

✻ Then he sailed with the beautiful maiden, who had been in the greatest alarm, and whom he delivered for the second time, home to her father and mother, and married her, and all rejoiced exceedingly.

✎ So now the soul is doubly liberated from her long suffering full of anxieties, first from egoism and then even from death. She unites with the true king, the reasonable I-consciousness, and both return together to the living world, home to father and mother, where the mystical marriage of the unity of spirit and soul is celebrated in the royal palace, which is of course associated with supreme bliss.

With this we have tried to shed a little more light on the spiritual level of this wonderful fairy tale. We are aware that we have not yet reached the full depth. Such profound fairy tales are true pearls of ancient tradition. They can accompany a person from childhood to old age. They give the child courage, self-confidence, self-understanding and reasonable values for a good life in harmony with nature. And for the adult they can lead to the high levels of spiritual realization and liberation. A similar path is also described in the fairy tale “The Crystal Ball”, but with slightly different symbolism and perspective. But here, too, it is emphasized how important it is to preserve the liveliness of the soul.

Today, in the age of modern science, we like to believe that we are particularly intelligent and look with arrogance at the “dark ages of superstition” of our ancestors. However, such wonderful fairy tales show that even among the common people there was a great spiritual wealth that has been lost today, or at least has become very alien to us.

It is a difficult undertaking as a person of today, with a heart that has become so small and a spirit that has almost dried up, to approach the powerful revelations of the past. One feels his powerlessness and often comes close to despair. But then, suddenly, from the great fire of spirit that filled those ancient people, a spark jumps over to the seeker, and often just at the moment of gloomy torpor, and one stands in amazement and awe before the sublime features that appear to reveal now. Then one knows that man was much more than he is and can be today, that with the hemming of his upper being he towered into the streams of crystal heaven, which flooded him with eternal spirit, and that he must again grow up to such greatness. [The Messenger, Arthur Maximilian Miller, 1948]

Finally, we would like to remember Jakob Böhme, a German mystic who lived and worked in Görlitz from 1575 to 1624. The following copperplate engraving was created in 1682 for his work “Of Six Theosophical Points”, which shows a cosmology with two triangles, similar to our picture above:

In the great circle in the background you can see the “unground of eternal freedom”, the unformed sea of causes or “God beyond nature and creatures”. The “mirror of eternal wisdom” belongs to this circle, an eternal consciousness that recognizes itself and is symbolized with eyes that look at themselves, so to speak, the self-consciousness with self-knowledge. The inner circle is the “outer world” of opposites of sun and moon moving between the polar circles of light and darkness. The darkness is represented here as the “father of nature”, the light as the “son of majesty” and in the centre of the outer world the “holy spirit of the world” is at work. Jakob Böhme writes about this:

The Eternal Father is revealed in fire, the Son in the light of fire, and the Holy Spirit in the power of life and movement out of fire and light... (De Signatura Rerum 14.34) It is the Holy Spirit who reveals the Deity to nature: He spreads the splendour of majesty to be recognized in the wonders of nature. He is not the splendour itself, but the power of splendour... (Of the threefold life of man 4.82)

With this a similar trinity appears, as we indicated above in the fairy tale, so that between the boundaries of pure light and pure darkness our externally visible world can form and move in circles like the two poles of a battery drive a motor. And the two triangles of “nature” and “spirit” are also directed towards this worldly movement, so to speak, the natural origin and the spiritual development. On its summit, similar to the mountain in the fairy tale above, where the mystical castle stands, these opposites meet for the union and mystical marriage of nature and spirit, so that here all worldly opposites disappear and only the “pure mirror of wisdom” remains. Whoever reaches this highest peak of self-realization stands in the centre of everything, looks around at how the world is moving and yet remains completely unmoved. Wonderful! Anyone who can draw such symbolic diagrams has seen through this world very profoundly and would certainly also be able to tell a symbolic fairy tale like “Strong Hans”.

Therefore, we should never forget this precious heritage. The writings of Jakob Böhme that have been handed down are extremely rich in content, but also very long and full of intuitive and mystical symbolism. Even during his lifetime he was able to inspire many people. Of course, there were also some who were completely overwhelmed by his spiritual vision and, fearing for their petty world view, abused their political power in the church and condemned the brilliant mystic as a heretic and a pack of devils. But that was basically just an acknowledgment of his genius...

The Old Man and his Grandson

✻ There was once a very old man, whose eyes had become dim, his ears dull of hearing, his knees trembled, and when he sat at table, he could hardly hold the spoon, and spilt the broth upon the table-cloth or let it run out of his mouth. His son and his son’s wife were disgusted at this, so the old grandfather at last had to sit in the corner behind the stove, and they gave him his food in an earthenware bowl, and not even enough of it. And he used to look towards the table with his eyes full of tears. Once, too, his trembling hands could not hold the bowl, and it fell to the ground and broke. The young wife scolded him, but he said nothing and only sighed. Then they bought him a wooden bowl for a few half-pence, out of which he had to eat.

They were once sitting thus, when the little grandson of four years old began to gather some bits of wood upon the ground. “What are you doing there?” asked the father. “I am making a little trough,” answered the child, “for father and mother to eat out of when I am big.”

The man and his wife looked at each other for a while, and presently began to cry. Then they took the old grandfather to the table, and hence- forth always let him eat with them, and likewise said nothing if he did spill a little of anything.

✎ A really sad fairy tale, but one that gives you a lot to think about, especially in these crazy times when an increasing splitting is running through our society, our families and our own minds. We too try to ban old age, illness and death from our lives and hide them behind walls of some kind so that they don’t bother us. In this way, a threatening egoism grows, which is even massively promoted with legal requirements. What is egoism? A consciousness of isolation and separation through the notion of “I” and “mine”. This mental separation is intensified by social distancing and deepens the rifts between people. Or, by playing hide and seek behind a mask to feel safe. Or, with a massive restriction of cultural diversity and a focus on one-sided information media. Or, when one sees potential enemies in all other people, even declares the whole of nature an enemy, stirs up the most terrible existential fears, prohibits reasonable questioning and reflection and engages in the meanest denunciation in order to make others responsible for one’s own problems.

So now, this year’s Christmas festival (2020) should also be under this dark shadow. The elderly are declared a dangerous risk group and banned from the family community. Why? Because we are terrified of illness, old age and death, in short, the fear of natural impermanence. This impermanence should be banished from our lives, from our society, our families and from people’s heads. We, too, are disgusted by it and don’t want impermanence to break our earthly possessions like the old grandfather shattered the little earthenware bowl. For this, we trust politics and science that promise us to solve the problem with lots of money, chemistry and technology and to finally conquer impermanence. In addition, we also like to lie to ourselves and believe in the promise of imperishable wealth, imperishable growth, imperishable health and imperishable possessions of imperishable people.

Is that possible? Yes and no! The way is the key. Humankind has been searching for imperishability and immortality since ancient times. All traditional religions know this topic. Science has also dealt with it and has long thought about a perpetuum mobile, only to finally determine that such a thing cannot exist. Why not? Any system that has an outside loses energy to the outside, and that losing is nothing but impermanence. So the question arises: Is there a system that has no outside? Yes, the universe, if everything is included in it. This “everything” or “all” has always been the great key to imperishability and thus also to immortality. Because nothing can get lost in this whole, only the forms change. Where should it go lost, or where should something come from, if there is no outside? But what stands in the way of recognizing this “one and all”? It is above all our separating ego-awareness, this imaginary “I-bubble” that wants to separate itself from the whole. For this “I-bubble” there will always be a physical outside, and thus the ego can never be a perpetuum mobile, and any physical possession must pass away. This is the physical impermanence in the eternal cycle of creation and decay in a constantly changing variety of forms. Each part is impermanent, only the whole is eternal. So why do we want to be just a part and not the whole? Why does our consciousness want to limit itself only to this fading body?

As long as you do not have
this: die and become!
You are just a gloomy guest
on a dark earth.
(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Therefore, our fairy tale ends with a wonderful message from a child who does not yet think so much in the usual adult categories, but spontaneously presents a solution that reminds of the cycle of life and makes the parents aware, that their bodies are perishable, too. They are deeply shaken and touched by this simple message, their superficial mind is broken through, holistic reason awakens and with it an expanded consciousness that is no longer limited to one’s own body, so that the whole family reunites at one table and can accept impermanence as an essential principle of nature. Wonderful! The light of pure love and true compassion begins to shine, the goal of all great religions, attainable through holistic reason and wisdom.

Today, however, the parents might hate their child deeply for making them realize that they will personally grow old and die. Yes, not only because of a symbolic-verbal attack, they might even be afraid of being infected by their own child with a dangerous disease, and they might hate their child for taking the everyday mask off the face and hugging parents or grandparents or maybe even wanting to kiss them. How far can egoism drive us before tears flow and this delusion breaks?

Perhaps we should think more deeply about why there is physical impermanence in nature. Perhaps old age and illness have a deeper meaning, so that living beings should not only fertilize each other but also infect each other, because basically we are all a whole organism. For functioning and stabilizing this entire organism, it needs a variety of forms, such as children, adults and old people, gain and loss, emergence and decay, illness and healing, happiness and suffering. This diversity strengthens our immune system not only physically but also socially. If there is a lack of diversity, the whole system of nature, humanity and the social order becomes ill, and occasional diseases turn into epidemic plagues and common illnesses, as we can observe everywhere in the world today. For stable health, you need natural diversity. Limited forms like the modern monoculture in society, medicine and nature, the uniforms and marching in step, or the dictatorship of certain opinions and views are just the selfish desires of growing super-egos. However, it is precisely this ego-consciousness that binds us to impermanence and thus to old age, illness and death.

Beyond this egoism leads the way to imperishability and immortality with a consciousness that can recognize the “one in all”, so to speak, the “unity in diversity”. The “all” would then be the limitless variety of forms, and the “one” the spiritual unity in the soul. Only in this way, one can speak of a limitlessly free spirit that can take on all possible forms. Why don’t we understand? Nature needs the variety of forms, and the spirit the unity of the soul. The conservationists speak of biodiversity, and the religions of the knowledge of the true soul. Then everything would be fine and the earth could be a paradise in which one soul recognizes and loves itself in all forms. Spirit and nature, soul and body could live in harmony and we could be content, without quarrel, lust, hatred and illusion.

Only the ego foolishly strives for the opposite, namely for diverse separate souls and uniform physical forms that correspond to its ideals. It strives for the richness of egoistic individual souls and the monoculture in the outer nature, where only is allowed to survive what the ego considers pleasing. Accordingly, this striving is always associated with a lot of violence, be it chemical and machine violence in livestock and agriculture, military and police violence in uniform and in step, the propaganda violence of the fashion and media industry, the violence of political censorship and inquisition or also the fanatical dogmas of religions and sciences. This selfish resistance to the diverse essence of nature and to the holistic wisdom and reason of true compassion and pure love used to be called devilish or demonic. The evil devil was egoism itself, who separated himself from the good angels. Who followed this path of spiritual separation from wholeness left the harmonious paradise and went the way to hellish suffering. Because reality knows no greater suffering than separation...

So why don’t we desire a holistically perfect mind? For a perfect mind, all forms would also be perfect. On the other hand, an imperfect mind cannot long be satisfied with any form. Unfortunately, however, our spirit seeks its perfection in external forms and not within itself. This search within oneself can probably only begin when one becomes aware of the impermanence of forms, and old age, illness, disease and even death urge us to this awareness. Here one can see the true value of impermanence, which so disgusted the young people in the fairy tale that their old father was scarcely worth the food in the cheapest bowl. In truth, we should be grateful to old age, because here beckons the greatest gain in life, the famous wisdom of old age, when the physical forms become brittle and a whole new light appears through the cracks, the consciousness of all-encompassing love and wisdom.

We wish you a light-filled Christmas with the whole family! May this eternal light shine in all of us, which shines deep in the soul and can conquer the fading darkness. May we conquer fear and rise.

The circle of life

In conclusion, we would like to add a few thoughts on the cycle of life that we mentioned with regard to the child when, in the fairy tale, he was able to reunite the three generations at one table with his parable and overcome the disgust at impermanence. People have been observing ever since how everything in nature moves in waves and apparently turns in circles, like the circles of days and nights, the seasons or the stars in the sky. And as the sun rises in the east in the morning until noon and sets in the west in the evening, at some point in time our bodies are also born, grow and emerge to their full size, and after that strength and senses wane and pass away again, until the body eventually sinks and dies. Just as people used to wonder, where the sun in the east comes from and where it disappears to in the west and how it can reappear in the east, so people also wondered at that time how man comes into being at birth, where he goes in death and how he returns to birth. Well, today we know that the earth is not flat, but revolves around the sun as a sphere, so that the sun only appears to rise and set. In contrast, many people still believe that life is “flat” and exists only from birth to death. A return from death to birth seems impossible, as if a new sun is rising in the east every morning.

It sounds like a parody of fate that modern science, which formerly fought so vehemently against all superstition in natural things, now defends a similar superstition in spiritual things. Moreover, just as the Christian-political church used all means up to the inquisition and the most terrible religious wars, modern science today fights aggressively against every spiritual worldview for the dogmas of a materialistic worldview in the interests of economy and politics. But as courageous as Galileo used to be, we want to be courageous today and say: “Life goes in circles! No, life is not flat!”

Let’s try to think about it: How is a circle formed? The simplest circle is created mathematically from two waves. One is called a sine, which means “curvature” in Latin, and you can see in it the physical emergence and decay in the first half, because the wave rises, reaches a maximum and then falls again. The other wave is called the cosine, and that means “Complementi Sinus” in Latin, i.e. a “complete or filled up” sine. In this wave we can see the dimension of the spiritual development or unwinding of life, because the first half of the cosine starts at a maximum and then falls or unwinds further and further until a minimum is reached at the end of physical life, like the gas tank in a car becomes empty until the car stops. In the middle of physical life, when the material body is at its most powerful, this wave falls the fastest, as does the fuel level in the tank, when the car is running most powerfully. Thus, spiritual development is like a constant unwinding of something that must have been wound up beforehand, just as the car can only go when the tank has been filled. Correspondingly, in some old fairy tales one also finds the parable of a thread of life that unwinds in this progress like from a spool. And with that, the “wisdom and reason of old age” also grows as the involvement with the outer material world dwindles and physical attachment decreases. In the past one spoke here of a spiritual process of detachment, redemption or liberation.

Interestingly, we have only spoken of a semicircle so far, so to speak, the upper half of the circle, similar to a mountain, on the top of which one stands in the middle of life. If only this semicircle existed, it would really be like living on a flat earth, where a new sun rises every morning and sets again in the evening. We know, however, it is the same sun that only appears to rise and set. Therefore, we ask ourselves: where is the second half of the circle? Well, just as the sun shines on this side of the earth during the day and on the other side during the night, so people used to speak of a world on this side and a world on the other side, or in short, of this world and the next. Then the upper semicircle of life would be this world and the lower the hereafter. When one semicircle shines in the light of consciousness, the other lies in darkness. Therefore, one cannot see it, as one can see, for example, the fruiting bodies of mushrooms in the forest, but the creature itself lives hidden in the darkness of the earth. And that’s what makes things so difficult for us.

We can only believe in it, or at least think about it in theory. From a mathematical point of view, a kind of mirror world appears to us here with regard to the two waves in the afterlife, in which everything is upside down. One could also speak of a material and a spiritual world. From the perspective of the material world, the spiritual is in darkness, and from the perspective of the spiritual, the material world is full of darkness and shadows. For example, let us think of the ancient ideas such as the world of the ancestors, the eternal hunting grounds, the world of ghosts, goblins and elves, the realm of the dead, the underworld or heaven and hell. Apparently, one can only speak of this transcendent world in parables. With regard to the physical sine wave, one could then imagine a negative, non-material, subtle, etheric or even spiritual body. And with regard to the cosine wave, one could speak of a reverse spiritual development. What is processed or unwinded in this world, is built up and wound up in the hereafter.

As an example, one could think of a programmer who sets up a program in the hereafter or spiritual world that runs in the physical or material world, similar to the thread of life mentioned, which is wound up and unwound. This comparison is not far-fetched, because nowadays we often talk about the programming of genes, the programming of abilities or the reprogramming of unwanted tendencies. Moreover, there are many scientists, who believe that our entire life has been pre-programmed by the laws of nature, and that everything is therefore predetermined and predictable. That also sounds plausible, because we can only decide for this or that in life within a limited framework, just as there are only certain decision options in ordinary computer programs that have been set accordingly. This circle of life would thus resemble the usual development cycle of a computer program. According to certain wishes, a program is designed and programmed. Then it is started, operated, checked, ended and reprogrammed according to the experience gathered in a practical working process until the programmer and user are satisfied with it. Well, experience has shown that this can take a very long time...

In this way, one could first think about the cycle of life in a simplified form. In practice, of course, you need at least a third dimension in addition to the two hypothetical waves; otherwise this cycle would go on forever and seem relatively pointless. With the third wave, the circle may turn into a slight spiral, just as the sun rises in a slightly different place every day. In practice, there are countless waves of different lengths in nature, which overlap and interweave to form many large and small cycles of life to enable the limitless variety of forms. Just think of the daily cycle of sleeping and waking, the weekly work cycle, the cycle of the seasons, the cycles of social orders and geological ages, or even the cycles of the birth and death of entire stars, galaxies and the cosmos itself. In old traditions, one went even further and spoke of the life cycle of a Creator God, as one can read about Brahma in the Indian Puranas. Goethe also lets the spirit of the earth speak in [Faust I]:

In the tides of Life, in Action’s storm,
A fluctuant wave,
A shuttle free,
Birth and the Grave,
An eternal sea,
A weaving, flowing
Life, all-glowing,
Thus at Time’s humming loom ‘tis my hand prepares
The garment of Life which the Deity wears!

Finally, there is the big question: What actually turns in this cycle of life? Does mind revolve around nature, or does nature revolve around mind? Does the soul revolve around the body, or does the body revolve around the soul? Here, too, modern science has found that the earth revolves around the sun, although it appears otherwise to our eyes. However, when it comes to spirit and nature, many scientists still firmly believe that nature is central and our thoughts revolve around nature. Therefore, you can see how difficult it is to defeat illusion...

Nevertheless, this problem is extremely interesting because it also brings us to the great question of reincarnation. What is reborn in this cycle of life? The body or the soul? Well, whoever has recognized the unity of the soul will probably see the soul resting in the centre as an unformed or unprogrammed spirit and the variety of formed or programmed bodies revolving around this one soul. In this way, the question of the transmigration of souls from body to body can be solved in a simple way, which becomes extremely complicated as soon as one assumes separate souls. This also closes our circle on the question of the immortality of life, and in the end the “One and All” remains forever, Amen.

Allerleirauh (All-kinds-of-Fur)

✎ From Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Household Tales. We had to change the translation by Margaret Hunt (London: George Bell, 1884) here and then to fit our German version.

✻ There was once on a time a King who had a wife with golden hair, and she was so beautiful that her equal was not to be found on earth. They also had a daughter who was as beautiful as her mother, and her hair was golden as well. It came to pass, that the mother lay ill, and as she felt that she must soon die, she called the King and said, “If thou wishest to marry again after my death, take no one who is not quite as beautiful as I am, and who has not just such golden hair as I have: this thou must promise me.” And after the King had promised her this she closed her eyes and died.

✎ We would like to base our interpretation of this wonderful fairy tale on the first edition published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. All other editions have been significantly changed in terms of plot and meaning. The reason is probably to be found in the external action, which touches on a very sensitive topic of society. However, it is precisely this tension that made us curious to examine the deeper levels of the spiritual message.

Therefore, we would first like to turn to this spiritual level and try to interpret the many symbols more closely. This fairy tale also begins with a king and queen, in which we can see spirit and nature. Her daughter would then be the embodied soul, which is of course as pure and beautiful as Mother Nature in essence. However, something is wrong, since Mother Nature gets sick and dies. Well, we know this problem very well these days. We sense that nature is sick and try to heal and save it, but it keeps dying. Perhaps the problem is not with nature, which is described here as the pure and perfect mother, but with the king, our spirit…?

Where to look for these spiritual causes of sickness? On the one hand, we have an insatiable desire for more and more: more products, more cars, more vacation flights, more technology, more clothing, more money, more luxury, more resources, more energy... more... more... more... Research and new technologies are supposed to fix it. Then we also cultivate a growing egoism in a dog-eat-dog society, where everyone thinks of himself first and foremost. And beyond that, we maintain a scientific world view that regards the basics of nature as completely calculable and technically controllable, i.e. without life. This degrades nature to a dead machine that can be controlled at will and mercilessly exploited. That means, by our world view we kill nature, our ancient mother, and then we lament when she grows sick and dies around us, as does the king in this fairy tale.

✻ For a long time the King could not be comforted, and had no thought of taking another wife. At length his councillors said, “There is no help for it, the King must marry again, that we may have a Queen.” And now messengers were sent about far and wide, to seek a bride who equalled the late Queen in beauty. In the whole world, however, none was to be found, and even if one had been found, still there would have been no one who had such golden hair. So the messengers came home as they went. Now the King had a daughter, who was just as beautiful as her dead mother, and had the same golden hair. When she was grown up the King looked at her one day, and saw that in every respect she was like his late wife, and suddenly felt a violent love for her. Then he spake to his councillors, “I will marry my daughter, for she is the counterpart of my late wife, otherwise I can find no bride who resembles her.” When the councillors heard that, thy tried to talk him out of it, but it was in vain.

✎ We feel the same way: nature is dying on this earth and we are looking all over space to see if there is perhaps a better planet like this. But alas! We can’t find one, and have promised nature not to take anything worse. One could even say; this promise is innate in the mind, it is in its nature to strive ever higher. Truly, our modern science also strives for the gold of truth, but it seeks happiness above all in external things. Marrying your own soul and harmoniously connecting with nature is really going too far, even if we feel a great love for life. Our inner advice, the rational mind, says loud and clear: No! That is why we prefer to marry ourselves to external things, people, parties, companies, money or fame. And along this path, our love very quickly turns into blind lust directed toward the outside.

✻ The daughter was heartily shocked when she became aware of her father’s ungodly resolution. But she was wise and said to him, “Before I fulfil your wish, I must have three dresses, one as golden as the sun, one as silvery as the moon, and one as bright as the stars. Besides this, I wish for a mantle of a thousand different kinds of fur and hair joined together, and one of every kind of animal in your kingdom must give a bit of his skin for it.” The King, however, was so vehement in his lust, that the cleverest maidens in his kingdom had to weave the three dresses, one as golden as the sun, one as silvery as the moon, and one as bright as the stars. And his huntsmen had to catch one of every kind of animal in the whole of his kingdom, and take from it a piece of its skin, and out of these was made a mantle of a thousand different kinds of fur. At length, when all was ready, the King caused the mantle to be brought and spread it out before her.

✎ Even the soul is terrified at this ungodly intention. Why “godless”? Well, we suspected above that there was something wrong with this spirit. “Godless” is relatively apt, because it is not without reason that “God” is already considered a terrible term of abuse or a nonsensical superstition among the majority of our modern scientists. The mind becomes godless when it loses the holistic view. And the fairy tale says: The true soul neither wants nor can unite with such a spirit. On the contrary, she flees from this spirit. And where?

This is most wonderful: she flees into the diversity of nature. Here the soul wears the dress of the sun, the moon, the stars and all living beings. This tells of a world view that is very foreign to us today. Even in Christianity, animals were not given the same soul as humans, not to mention the sun, moon and stars. That this whole nature with all living beings is inspired by the same soul is an idea that one finds, for example, in Plato’s world soul. This world view of the universal soul is anchored even more clearly under the term “Atman” in Hinduism, where it is considered the basis of all nature and creation:

You are the mighty deity that accomplishes and witnesses everything, for your eyes are everywhere. You are the soul of everything, you see everything, you penetrate everything and you know everything. You create a body for yourself and you carry that body. Thus, you are every embodied being; the body delights you and is the basis of all physicality. You are the creator of the breath of life...
You are the moon, the sun with all the stars and planets, and the atmosphere that fills space. You are the North Star, the constellation of the seven Rishis and the seven worlds beginning with the earth. You are the sea of causes and the universal intelligence. You are the undeveloped and this whole world. You are the universe from Brahma to the smallest blade of grass. You are the beginning and the first cause of all beings... [Mahabharata 13.16]

Moreover, the fairy tale says even more astonishingly; it is the desire of the spirit that provides the pure soul with this manifold dress of the world. We also find this principle in the ancient Indian worldview, where it says that Brahma becomes the creator god through the natural quality of passion (rajas) and unfolds this entire creation.

✻ So, the princess said, “The wedding shall be tomorrow.” But in the night whilst everyone was asleep, she got up, and took three different things from her treasures, gifts from her bridegroom, a golden ring, a golden spinning-wheel, and a golden reel. The three dresses of the sun, moon, and stars she put into a nutshell, put on her mantle of all kinds of fur, and blackened her face and hands with soot. Then she commended herself to God, went away, and walked the whole night until she reached a great forest. And as she was tired, she got into a hollow tree, and fell asleep.

✎ So now, the soul withdraws into nature and awaits the dawn of the spirit to join with it. She promises him that. Of course, spirit and soul are never separate, but through the power of illusion, a separation usually appears between spirit and nature, subject and object, the knower and the knowable. As a sign of their connection, she adopts various properties that we will encounter later as symbols. She hides her three garments of sun, moon and stars in a nut, which probably means in her living and fertile core, whereby the big is also contained in the small and the small is reflected in the big. This view that the macrocosm is an image of the microcosm was very common in the past. That she blackens her face and hands with soot is reminiscent of the sin with which our souls are burdened through thought and deed. Finally, she slips into the cloak of the animals, goes through the spiritual night into the great forest of creation, where she sleeps inside a tree. That probably also means that this soul is asleep in all plants, at least not as active there as in the animals.

The idea that all of this creation comes into being so that the mind can awaken from its madness was not unfamiliar to ancient cultures. Because the spirit was regarded as the fundamental basis of nature, it was understandable that a spiritual meaning was also sought in this creation. Even today we are aware that we live in this world to learn. The only question is “What?” and whether we still feel the deeper meaning.

✻ The sun rose, and she slept on, and she was still sleeping when it was full day. Then it happened that the King to whom this forest belonged, was hunting in it. When his dogs came to the tree, they snuffed, and ran barking round about it. The King said to the huntsmen, “Just see what kind of wild beast has hidden itself in there.” The huntsmen obeyed his order, and when they came back they said, “A wondrous beast is lying in the hollow tree; we have never before seen one like it. Its skin is fur of a thousand different kinds, but it is lying asleep.” Said the King, “See if you can catch it alive, and then fasten it on the carriage, and we will take it with us.” When the huntsmen laid hold of it, they saw it was a maiden.

✎ Now, the soul sleeps into the worldly day and waits for the “great day”, the day of the mystical wedding, on the evening of which the mystical supper takes place, as is also described in the Bible. Until then, the king goes hunting. Who are the hunters of the mind? Here one could think of the five senses, because they hunt through the world in search of food. The king should be reason, making the decisions. This reason can be developed up to a high “insight” in order to finally recognize the true soul in all beings. Until then, the senses only look at the surface of things and cannot penetrate into the depths. At least, they recognize that it was not a wild animal, but a girl, but she too goes into the kitchen where the king’s food is prepared.

✻ Then they said, “Allerleirauh, thou wilt be useful in the kitchen, come with us, and thou canst sweep up the ashes.” So they put her in the carriage, and took her home to the royal palace. There they pointed out to her a closet under the stairs, where no daylight entered, and said, “Hairy animal, there canst thou live and sleep.” Then she was sent into the kitchen, and there she carried wood and water, swept the hearth, plucked the fowls, picked the vegetables, raked the ashes, and did all the dirty work. Because she did everything so neatly, the cook was good to her and sometimes called Allerleirauh in the evening and gave her some of the leftovers to eat. But before the king went to bed she had to go upstairs and take off his boots, and when he had taken one off he always threw it at her head.

✎ What does this kitchen symbolize? Usually our thinking prepares the food of the senses for reason and disposes of the waste. In this kitchen of thoughts, the soul now works and sleeps inside our body without us recognizing it. That means: we live, but don’t really know how.

The fact that she sleeps in the dark under the stairs could indicate that our soul is the basis for a development destined for human beings and all other beings, namely to rise from the darkness of illusion to the light of higher knowledge. At least that’s what people used to think.

The last sentence with the boots was already removed by the Brothers Grimm in the second edition. They must have been appalled at how the king treated this furry creature that served him so faithfully. Perhaps a good opportunity to think about how we deal with plants, animals and other people nowadays in a pathological lust for power. This already shows the big problem when one cannot recognize the pure soul in all beings.

✻ Allerleirauh lived there for a long time in great wretchedness. Alas, fair princess, what is to become of thee now! It happened, however, that one day a feast was held in the palace, and she thought, “Now I could once again see my dear bridegroom.” So she said to the cook, “May I go up-stairs for a while, and look on? I will place myself outside the door.” The cook answered, “Yes, go, but you must be back here in half-an-hour to sweep the hearth.” Then she took her oil-lamp, went into her den, put off her fur-dress, and washed the soot off her face and hands, so that her full beauty once more came to light. And she opened the nut, and took out her dress which shone like the sun, and when she had done that she went up to the festival, and every one made way for her, for no one knew her, and thought no otherwise than that she was a king’s daughter. The King came to meet her, gave his hand to her, and danced with her, and thought in his heart, “My eyes have never yet seen any one so beautiful!” When the dance was over, she curtsied, and when the King looked round again she had vanished, and none knew whither. The guards who stood outside the palace were called and questioned, but no one had seen her leaving the house.

✎ As long as we do not recognize the true soul, we live poorly. All material riches and the most magnificent festivals are of no use to us. However, there is another way in which the spirit dances with nature, and that is the search for knowledge. In this cosmic dance, people used to try not to dance so much with dead particles, formulas and machines, but with the living soul in nature. Thus, the spirit had the opportunity to recognize the true soul, life itself, and could rediscover what it had lost through its delusion. Because, as the fairy tale describes, in this dance the soul can show herself to him, cleansed of sin and in a cosmic dress. The spirit remembers and already feels a deeper connection, but cannot yet hold the pure soul. The outer guards don’t help him here either, because the living soul can only be found in the inner being. It does not come in from the outside, but lives inside, where it usually hides:

✻ She had, however, run into her little den, had quickly taken off her dress, made her face and hands black again, put on the fur-mantle, and again was Allerleirauh. And now, when she went into the kitchen, and was about to get to her work and sweep up the ashes, the cook said, “Leave that alone till morning, and make me the soup for the King. I, too, will go upstairs awhile, and take a look.But let no hairs fall in, or in future thou shalt have nothing to eat.” So, the cook went away, and Allerleirauh made the soup for the King, and made bread soup and the best she could, and when it was ready she fetched her golden ring from her little den, and put it in the bowl in which the soup was served. When the dancing was over, the King had his soup brought and ate it, and he liked it so much that it seemed to him he had never tasted better. But when he came to the bottom of the bowl, he saw a golden ring lying. When he looked at it closely, it was his wedding ring and he could not conceive how it could have got there. Then he ordered the cook to appear before him. The cook was terrified when he heard the order, and said to Allerleirauh, “Thou hast certainly let a hair fall into the soup, and if thou hast, thou shalt be beaten for it.” When he came before the King the latter asked who had made the soup? The cook replied, “I made it.” But the King said, “That is not true, for it was much better than usual, and cooked differently.” He answered, “I must acknowledge that I did not make it, it was made by the rough animal.” The King said, “Go and bid it come up here.” When Allerleirauh came, the King said, “Who art thou?” “I am a poor girl who no longer has any father or mother.” He asked further, “Of what use art thou in my palace?” She answered, “I am good for nothing but to have boots thrown at my head.” He continued, “Where didst thou get the ring which was in the soup?” She answered, “I know nothing about the ring.” So the King could learn nothing, and had to send her away again.

✎ Now it is said again clearly how the soul helps the cook in the thought kitchen of our body to prepare the food for the reason. The more the pure soul cooks, the less our thoughts work and the more true the food is. The sundress and the wedding ring could indicate a first level of knowledge, for example the knowledge of the spiritual unity in nature, in which the universal intelligence connects everything. This great intelligence shines like the sun, gives the light of knowledge and makes the things of the world visible.

✻ After a while, there was another festival, and then, as before, Allerleirauh begged the cook for leave to go and look on. He answered, “Yes, but come back again in half-an-hour, and make the King the bread soup which he likes so much.” Then she ran into her den, washed herself quickly, and took out of the nut the dress which was as silvery as the moon, and put it on. Then she went up and was like a princess, and the King stepped forward to meet her, and rejoiced to see her once more, and as the dance was just beginning they danced it together. He no longer doubted that this was his bride, for no one else in the world had such golden hair but her. But when the dance was at end, she again disappeared so quickly that the King could not observe where she went. She, however, sprang into her den, and once more made herself a hairy animal, and went into the kitchen to prepare the bread soup. When the cook had gone up-stairs, she fetched the little golden spinning- wheel, and put it in the bowl so that the soup covered it. Then it was taken to the King, who ate it, and liked it as much as before, and had the cook brought, who this time likewise was forced to confess that Allerleirauh had prepared the soup. Allerleirauh again came before the King, but she answered that she was good for nothing else but to have boots thrown at her head, and that she knew nothing at all about the little golden spinning- wheel.

✎ This could mean a second level of knowledge, with which the spiritual doubts are slowly resolved. Of course, the bread soup reminds us of the famous Last Supper and the body of God, as the Bible says:
I am the living bread, coming down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. And the bread I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. [Bible, John 6:51]

The moondress here could symbolize female fertility, which was often associated with the moon. Similarly, the spinning- wheel is reminiscent of spinning the thread of life. Slowly the spirit of the king becomes aware that he himself gave the soul these qualities, because without the spirit there would of course be no fertility and no thread of life. Yet the soul still does not reveal herself, serving humbly and awakening in the king the conscience of how arrogant he is acting.

✻ Well, for the third time, the King held a festival. And he was hoping his bride would come again, and he was sure he wanted to hold her tight. Allerleirauh asked the cook again if she might not go upstairs. The cook said, “Faith, rough-skin, thou art a witch, and always puttest something in the soup which makes it so good that the King likes it better than that which I cook,” but as she begged so hard, he let her go up at the appointed time. And now she put on the dress which shone like the stars, and thus entered the hall. Again the King danced with the beautiful maiden, and thought that she never yet had been so beautiful. And whilst she was dancing, he contrived, without her noticing it, to slip a golden ring on her finger, and he had given orders that the dance should last a very long time. When it was ended, he wanted to hold her fast by her hands, but she tore herself loose, and sprang away so quickly through the crowd that she vanished from his sight. She ran as fast as she could into her den beneath the stairs, but as she had been too long, and had stayed more than half-an-hour she could not take off her pretty dress, but only threw over it her fur- mantle, and in her haste she did not make herself quite black, but one finger remained white. Then Allerleirauh ran into the kitchen, and cooked the bread soup for the King, and as the cook was away, put her golden reel into it. The king found it, like the ring and the golden spinning- wheel, and now he knew for certain that his bride was near, for no one else could have the presents. Allerleirauh was summoned and wanted to help herself through again and jump away, but as she jumped away the king saw a white finger on her hand and grabbed her by it.

✎ And because all good things come in threes, there is a third level of knowledge. The cook is now starting to get jealous that the living soul can prepare the food for the senses much better than rational thoughts, but fortunately, he is reassured. The stardress reminds us of the eternal sea of causes, from which the living waves of all creatures rise with the countless lights of life. The reel could be a symbol of the soul carrying the thread of life, winding and unwinding it in a long chain of cause and effect. Ring, spinning- wheel and reel are now united in a similar way like the holy trinity of Father, Holy Spirit and Son. Well, there really is probably no other way to hold the soul than to put the Ring of Unity on her finger. That could be the great realization that the spirit and the acting nature are always connected with the soul of life. This living soul can only be found in the whole. This is probably also the reason why our modern science, which breaks everything down into particles and measured data, has never been able to find the soul that makes everything alive, even with the best measuring devices.

✻ Then he found the ring he had put on her and tore off the smoke cloak. Then the golden hair flowed out, and it was his dearest bride. The cook was richly rewarded, and then they married, and they lived happily ever after.

✎ Yes, this is what the ancient cultures have known for a long time, that with the view of unity, with the ring that connects everything, you can see through the surface of physical things to the bottom and can recognize the pure soul or true self. The golden hair could symbolize the true realization that then flows out of the head after the thoughts have worked hard in the kitchen and are now richly rewarded. Thus, at last, the mystical marriage of spirit and soul is celebrated, the goal of bliss is attained, and as long as this unity is alive, there can be no death. In this way is also overcome the disease of the mind mentioned at the beginning, which is so harmful to Mother Nature and causes her death. This means that the morbid egoism, which was nourished by the intellectually discerning mind and raised to the rank of king, is healed and defeated by holistic reason, so that pure reason now rules again as a spiritual king united with nature and soul.

From a soulish and psychological point of view

We have tried to shed some light on this very wonderful and demanding fairy tale from a spiritual perspective. One could now try the same thing from the point of view of the soul on a psychological level. This is about a soul that withdraws from the spirit because he is no longer pure but is ruled by illusion and desire. This is neither a true king nor a true father to wish to follow. Just as this problem is solved spiritually through true knowledge, so it is solved psychologically through true humility. Knowledge and humility should always be developed together on the way to the mystical marriage in order to overcome the inner separation. Why didn’t Allerleirauh hate the king when he threw his boots at her head? There is an instructive story about this that Goethe told in his “Tour of Italy”:

Philippus Neri (1515-1595) was near the Pope when he was told that a nun with all sorts of strange spiritual gifts was making a name for herself near Rome. Neri is given the task of investigating the truthfulness of these stories. He immediately gets on his mule and, in spite of bad weather and bad road, he soon reaches the monastery. Introduced, he converses with the abbess, who gives him the most precise information about all these signs of grace with complete approval. The requested nun enters, and without greeting her further, he hands her his muddy boot, with the suggestion that she should take it off. The holy, clean Virgin steps back, frightened, and expresses her indignation at this impertinence in violent words. Calmly, Neri rises, mounts his mule, and finds himself in front of the Pope before he could even suspect it; for, in examining such gifts of the Spirit, great precautions are most strictly prescribed to Catholic confessors, for the Church, while acknowledging the possibility of such heavenly favours, does not concede their actuality without the most careful examination. Neri recently revealed the result to the astonished pope: “She is not a saint,” he exclaims, “she does no miracles! Because she lacks the main quality, humility.”

Yes, without true humility one cannot overcome egoism to walk the path to spiritual truth. That is why the following is often recommended here: “Live low and think high.” The fairy tale also shows that this path of humility is not easy, but full of suffering, which of course brings about a process of mental and spiritual purification.

From a physical and social point of view

Finally, we would like to look briefly at the social level. As long as you depict the plot of the fairy tale in the interior of a person, you can still understand the message relatively well. It becomes much more difficult when you look at the external, human or physical relationship, because the marriage of father and daughter is of course a very sensitive topic, practically a social taboo. Young children don’t have a problem with the thought of marrying their parents, but as soon as the sexual relationship is involved, the worst kind of thoughts about incest come up immediately. That was probably the reason why this fairy tale was revised so extremely by the Brothers Grimm. The one king became two different kings, which meant that the context of the plot and the deeper message had to suffer greatly.

In view of the sensitive topic and the fact that the father ends up marrying his own daughter, one could argue about whether the fairy tale in its original form is still suitable for our children today. We like to try to protect our children from facing such problems, especially if we haven’t solved them by ourselves. In this regard, it may be primarily a story for adults, who can learn more about the problem of lust and inner division by reading or telling it. Perhaps it can also help to prevent or even heal such problems in a family through the portrayed path of suffering and the forgiving end, if one is mentally burdened with it.

From a family perspective, here we can see a man whose wife had died. Therefore, he lived with his daughter and, despite his best efforts, could not find a new wife. This fundamentally disrupted the natural function of a healthy family. There was no longer a mother to protect the daughter, and the man had no wife to direct his natural love to. So “he looked on her one day.” Since it is very unlikely that he has never looked at his daughter before, this expression could be ambiguous and already speak of sexual passion. Now the big question about the difference between true love, unbridled desire and sexual passion arises. And that is really a very difficult question, one that we are hardly aware of today in a society whose foundation is insatiable desire. Usually we try to protect ourselves from such “forbidden” feelings with rational taboo boundaries and rely on incest laws with harsh penalties and hateful social rejection. In many cases, this may help as a deterrent, and outward punishment for the perpetrators is truly appropriate, but is it sufficient? Probably not, because the cases of abuse of children, whether they are of a purely mental or also physical nature, have been increasing steadily for years, especially in the family environment. The fairy tale also says; “The councillors wanted to talk him out of it, but it was in vain.”

The daughter, of course, was shocked by this decision and requested four extraordinary dresses. Here one might initially think of an impossible demand for wealth, but maybe, the fairy tale means the natural demand for diversity. Because a lack of diversity is the root cause of the incest problems in nature. Mankind has known this problem for a very long time and knows that there is a great danger to future generations. Nature has developed various strategies for this not only in humans but also in animals. Sigmund Freud’s thesis that inbreeding is widespread in the animal kingdom has now been refuted by science. The anthropologist Edward Westermarck recognized 100 years ago: “People who have lived close together from an early age develop a sexual aversion towards one another.” Today we know that smell, for example, plays an important role here. The big problem of our modern society is that we like to disregard all natural limits and hardly develop a feeling for the commandments of nature. The sex drive is also commercialized, mercilessly exploited and, in order to achieve maximum pleasure, all barriers should be overcome, which is what children and families in particular have to suffer from. Many people today believe that unbridled or perverse sex is an expression of personal freedom. Oh well...

But our fairy tale says that the demand for natural diversity alone is not the solution to the basic problem, because the father fulfills the daughter’s wish. The much deeper problem here seems to be a mental or emotional disturbance of the natural order in society. And nature reacts accordingly: the daughter flees and hides deep in the forest, which could suggest a deep psychological crisis with severe depression. Such an escape may perhaps eliminate the physical problems, but the psychological ones always catch up with the girl, just as the hunting dogs find their victims here. It is not uncommon for such people to drop out of society completely, because our society can hardly deal with these problems in a healing way. The perpetrator meets with abysmal hatred and the victim with helpless pity.

The girl in our fairy tale feels the same way. How can you help here? This inner turmoil and severe disappointment from the father has to be healed somehow. In the long run, neither hatred nor repression will help. People used to know that such unresolved problems haunt us even after death. Even if we believe today that our accumulated problems disappear with death, in any case the environment and the following generations are burdened with it. It has been known in psychology for years that children, who have been abused and have not been able to truly resolve the trauma mentally, inflict similar abuse on their own children as adults far too often. That is why the Bible also says that one should not carry such problems around with oneself, but should solve them as quickly as possible: “Be not angry and sin not! Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. [Bible, Eph. 4.26]”

The virtue of forgiveness was seen as a great help here, because forgiveness can heal all wounds. However, for true and healing forgiveness, one must first conquer one’s pride. The girl in our fairy tale practices humility for this. Of course, this struggle takes place primarily within us, even if external means are used. In the past, for example, a penitential robe made of rough fabrics or animal skins, such as the “Allerleirauh” fur mantle (“rauh” = rough), were worn with it. The robes of the monks and nuns served a similar purpose, covering their bodies, humiliating worldly pride and expressing their sexual abstinence. In this way, one can penetrate to the spiritual level of this fairy tale, see through the nature of selfish desire, find true love again and overcome the separation of spirit and soul. Then this conflict between father and daughter could be resolved on a much higher level of love than is physically possible. And truly, only on this level can such conflicts be digested and resolved in the long term. This is the ancient way of salvation, big and small. And in this light one should probably also see the happy ending of this fairy tale.

The Origin of Stories

✻ [Told to Curtin (1835-1906) by Henry Jacob, story of Seneca-Indians]

“This happened long ago, in the time of our forefathers.”

In a Seneca village lived a boy whose father and mother died when he was only a few weeks old. The little boy was cared for by a woman, who had known his parents. She gave him the name of Poyeshaon (Orphan).

The boy grew to be a healthy, active little fellow. When he was old enough, his foster mother gave him a bow and arrows, and said, “It is time for you to learn to hunt. Tomorrow morning go to the woods and kill all the birds you can find.”

Taking cobs of dry corn the woman shelled off the kernels and parched them in hot ashes; and the next morning she gave the boy some of the corn for his breakfast and rolled up some in a piece of buckskin and told him to take it with him, for he would be gone all day and would get hungry.

Poyeshaon started off and was very successful. At noon he sat down, rested, and ate some of the parched corn, then he hunted till the middle of the afternoon. When he began to work toward home he had a good string of birds.

The next morning Poyeshaon’s foster mother gave him parched corn for breakfast and while he was eating, she told him that he must do his best when hunting, for if he became a good hunter he would always be prosperous.

The boy took his bow and arrows and little bundle parched corn and went to the woods; again he found plenty of birds. At midday, he ate his corn and thought over what his foster mother had told him. In his mind he said, “I’ll do just as my mother tells me, then some time I’ll be able to hunt big game.”

Poyeshaon hunted till toward evening, then went home with a larger string of birds than he had the previous day. His foster mother thanked him, and said, “Now you have begun to help me get food.”

Early the next morning the boy’s breakfast was ready and as soon as he had eaten it he took his little bundle of parched corn and started off. He went farther into the woods and at night came home with a larger string of birds than he had the second day. His foster mother praised and thanked him.

Each day the boy brought home more birds than the previous day. On the ninth day, he killed so many, that he brought them home on his back. His foster mother tied the birds in little bundles of three or four and distributed them among her neighbours.

The tenth day the boy started off, as usual, and, as each day, he had gone farther for game than on the preceding day, so now he went deeper into the woods than ever.

About midday, the sinew that held the feathers to his arrow loosened. Looking around for a place where he could sit down while he took the sinew off and wound it on again, he saw a small opening and near the centre of the opening a high, smooth, flat-topped, round stone. He went to the stone, sprang up on to it and sat down. He unwound the sinew and put it in his mouth to soften, then he arranged the arrow feathers and was about to fasten them to the arrow when a voice, right there near him, asked, “Shall I tell you stories?”

Poyeshaon looked up expecting to see a man, not seeing any one he looked behind the stone and around it, then he again began to tie the feathers to his arrow.

“Shall I tell you stories?” asked a voice right there by him.

The boy looked in every direction, but saw no one. Then he made up his mind to watch and find out who was trying to fool him. He stopped work and listened and when the voice again asked, “Shall I tell you stories?” he found that it came from the stone, then he asked, “What is that? What does it mean to tell stories?”

“It is telling what happened a long time ago. If you will give me your birds, I’ll tell you stories.”

“You may have the birds.” As soon as the boy promised to give the birds, the stone began telling what happened long ago. When one story was told, another was begun. The boy sat, with his head down, and listened. Toward night the stone said, “We will rest now. Come again tomorrow. If anyone asks about your birds, say that you have killed so many that they are getting scarce and you have to go a long way to find one.”

While going home the boy killed five or six birds. When his foster mother asked why he had so few birds, he said that they were scarce; that he had to go far for them.

The next morning Poyeshaon started off with his bow and arrows and little bundle of parched corn, but he forgot to hunt for birds, he was thinking of the stories the stone had told him. When a bird lighted near him he shot it, but he kept straight on toward the opening in the woods. When he got there he put his birds on the stone, and called out, “I’ve come! Here are birds. Now tell me stories.”

The stone told story after story. Toward night it said, “Now we must rest till tomorrow.”

On the way home, the boy looked for birds, but it was late and he found only a few.

That night the foster mother told her neighbours that when Poyeshaon first began to hunt he had brought home a great many birds, but now he brought only four or five after being in the woods from morning till night. She said there was something strange about it, either he threw the birds away or gave them to some animal, or maybe he idled time away, and didn’t hunt. She hired a boy to follow Poyeshaon and find out what he was doing.

The next morning the boy took his bow and arrows and followed Poyeshaon, keeping out of his sight and sometimes shooting a bird. Poyeshaon killed a good many birds; then, about the middle of the forenoon, he suddenly started off toward the East, running as fast as he could. The boy followed till he came to an opening in the woods and saw Poyeshaon climb up and sit down on a large round stone; he crept nearer and heard talking. When he couldn’t see the person to whom Poyeshaon was talking he went up to the boy, and asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Hearing stories.”

“What are stories?”

“Telling about things that happened long ago. Put your birds on this stone, and say, ‘I’ve come to hear stories.’”

The boy did as told and straightway the stone began. The boys listened till the sun went down, then the stone said, “We will rest now. Come again tomorrow.”

On the way home Poyeshaon killed three or four birds.

When the woman asked the boy she had sent why Poyeshaon killed so few birds, he said, “I followed him for a while, then I spoke to him, and after that we hunted together till it was time to come home. We couldn’t find many birds.”

The next morning the elder boy said, “I’m going with Poyeshaon to hunt, it’s sport.” The two started off together. By the middle of the forenoon each boy had a long string of birds. They hurried to the opening, put the birds on the stone, and said, “We have come, here are the birds! Tell us stories.”

They sat on the stone and listened to stories till late in the afternoon, then the stone said, “We’ll rest now till tomorrow.”

On the way home the boys shot every bird they could find, but it was late and they didn’t find many.

Several days went by in this way, then the foster mother said, “Those boys kill more birds than they bring home,” and she hired two men to follow them.

The next morning, when Poyeshaon and his friend started for the woods the two men followed. When the boys had a large number of birds, they stopped hunting and hurried to the opening. The men followed and, hiding behind trees, saw them put the birds on a large round stone, then jump up and sit there, with their heads down, listening to a man’s voice; every little while they said, “On!”

“Let’s go there and find out who is talking to those boys,” said one man to the other. They walked quickly to the stone, and asked, “What are you doing, boys?”

The boys were startled, but Poyeshaon said, “You must promise not to tell anyone.”

They promised, then Poyeshaon said, “Jump up and sit on the stone.”

The men seated themselves on the stone, then the boy said, “Go on with the story, we are listening.”

The four sat with their heads down and the stone began to tell stories. When it was almost night the stone said, “Tomorrow all the people in your village must come and listen to my stories. Tell the chief to send every man, and have each man bring something to eat. You must clean the brush away so the people can sit on the ground near me.”

That night Poyeshaon told the chief about the story telling stone, and gave him the stone’s message. The chief sent a runner to give the message to each family in the village.

Early the next morning everyone in the village was ready to start. Poyeshaon went ahead and the crowd followed. When they came to the opening, each man put what he had brought, meat, or bread on the stone; the brush was cleared away, and everyone sat down.

When all was quiet the stone said, “Now I will tell you stories of what happened long ago. There was a world before this. The things that I am going to tell about happened in that world. Some of you will remember every word that I say, some will remember a part of the words, and some will forget them all—I think this will be the way, but each man must do the best he can. Hereafter you must tell these stories to one another—now listen.”

Each man bent his head and listened to every word the stone said. Once in a while, the boys said “On!” When the sun was almost down the stone said, “We’ll rest now. Come tomorrow and bring meat and bread.”

The next morning when the people gathered around the stone they found, that the meat and bread they had left there the day before was gone. They put the food they had brought on the stone, then sat in a circle and waited.

When all was quiet, the stone began. Again it told stories till the sun was almost down, then it said, “Come tomorrow. Tomorrow I will finish the stories of what happened long ago.”

Early in the morning, the people of the village gathered around the stone and, when all was quiet, the stone began to tell stories, and it told till late in the afternoon, then it said, “I have finished! You must keep these stories as long as the world lasts; tell them to your children and grandchildren generation after generation. One person will remember them better than another. When you go to a man or a woman to ask for one of these stories carry something to pay for it bread, or meat, or whatever you have. I know all that happened in the world before this; I have told it to you. When you visit one another, you must tell these things, and keep them up always. I have finished.”

And so it has been. From the Stone came all the knowledge the Senecas have of the world before this.

✎ With this fairy tale, we would like to leave Europe and look across the great ocean to America to the stories of the Indians. Amazingly, right from the start we find great similarities with our European fairy tale symbolism. Because here, too, there is a child who has lost his true parents and is now being raised by a foster mother. This reminds us again of the true nature that we have lost so that we now have to live in a material nature that is not actually our true mother. This material nature compels us to hunt and even kill external beings to feed our bodies. In the same way, the child is sent into the forest by his foster mother to shoot birds, precisely those creatures that can soar from the earth into the air and are often used as a symbol for the living soul, which can even reach heaven.

The child grows up in this earthly world without knowing his true father and mother. However, the story means that the foster mother, that is, material nature, knows both of them. Well, what is this nature or world that we no longer know, but is actually our true origin? The Indians spoke of the happy or eternal hunting grounds of the ancestors (in German: Ahnen), of which we can only have an idea (in German: Ahnung) because we hunt with our ordinary senses and thoughts only in this material world, as does the orphan in this story. In this regard, perhaps our world could be called the “perishable hunting grounds.” Therefore, there would be an eternal world with eternal life, and a perishable world with perishable life. The eternal world would be a spiritual world and the perishable world would be material. The spiritual world would then be our true origin, where our true parents live, so to speak, the ancestors, and the material world is like a foster mother as described in the story.

But how are these two worlds connected? Herein lies the wonderful message of this fairy tale. The material things of this world tell us the stories of their past. Moreover, we ourselves embody these stories and live these stories in order to learn from them and form the future accordingly. Those who can listen can even hear these stories from stones. That would mean that there must be a spiritual world in or behind our material world where these stories are kept, like a great memory of information. Therefore, our outer material world arises from this memory. In addition, everything that happens in this world is also stored there and not lost. This reminds us of the ancient perception of God, who is omniscient, because he stores all information, and omnipotent, because everything is created from this information.

Disciple: Who preaches the wisdom of the Buddha?
Nanyang: Walls and stones.
Student: How can they teach us anything? They live and yet do not feel.
Nanyang: That doesn’t mean nobody hears them.
Disciple: Who is listening?
Nanyang: All sages hear them.
(Zen Buddhism)

Why do we live in this material world with our “foster mother” of material nature? Where is this mother guiding us? How are we developing? Well, for the Indians it seemed to have been self-evident that the material world can be a gateway to the spiritual world. For this, the ancestors were honoured in a spiritual world, and people knew where to go after death. And they knew that their actions had an impact in this world on a much larger scale than we think today. With that they certainly also had a reason to act sincerely and honestly, and the goal of life was not only aimed at this limited and perishable material world, but above all at a spiritual world for eternal life.

In addition, another major topic is addressed, the question of the sacrifice of animals and plants. Many people today don’t mind if millions of pigs and chickens die because we love to have barbecues and eat lavishly. Yet when animals are sacrificed to a god in a temple, they are outraged, let alone sacrifices to an invisible nature spirit dwelling in a stone, as described in this story. Well, that’s understandable, because we are closely connected to the desires of our bodies, but we have lost the connection to the spiritual world. Many old rituals have lost their meaning and have been only carried out externally and bereft of content for a long time. Without this connection to the spiritual world, one should really not sacrifice any animals, but also no plants and certainly no seeds and fruits, not even a piece of bread. Because when we eat in this way of thinking, we only eat for selfish reasons - I kill other beings because I want to live! This is the result of our modern worldview, in which we live in a material world of death and can only survive by killing other beings.

And what does this story tell us? We should ensure that the stories remain alive and are lived. Then our whole world will come alive and live. This used to be done through community storytelling, so the stories could be passed from generation to generation. With this, people were able to learn from the past and develop accordingly because the stories were alive in them. This learning was considered the meaning of life in this world. Interestingly, it is not spoken of the writing of the stories, although our modern science maintains that the invention and use of writing was a stage of human advancement. Or, was it a step of degeneration, as the human capacity for memory faded and dead letters seemed more reliable than living memory? Perhaps writing had to be invented because people lost contact with the living spiritual world and increasingly lived in a dead material world. For since then we have been feeding on dead knowledge from dead books. Yes, even the Bible is for many just a history book about historic events, dead knowledge that you can believe or not.

And what are we doing here? Don’t we also write a lot of dead letters about the meaning of fairy tales? Well, that’s how it is. When fairy tales were dying in Europe, there were hard-working people like the Brothers Grimm who wrote down what was left of what people could remember. And when, a few years ago, we were shocked to discover how worldly and profane fairy tales were now being filmed and interpreted by science and media, we felt challenged to examine the forgotten spiritual background and to write down a few thoughts. Yes, we are aware that this does not bring the old fairy tales back to life, at least not in the way they once lived by themselves. That’s sad, but maybe we can at least put up a fairly dignified tombstone, so to speak, as a reminder of a wonderful world that we have lost through our way of life.

At some point a young person could sit on such a stone in nature and listen to the story of modern people, how they had lost their spiritual world long ago, no longer knew their real parents and were looking for their origin in dead matter. They dug up the earth, examining every speck of dust with brushes, tweezers and microscopes to find their history somewhere in old pottery sherds and bones. Yes, they even dug for the ship of the biblical Noah, searched for the stone tablets of the Ark of the Covenant or rummaged in the forest ground for the remains of the old witch’s gingerbread house. They looked for dead things and they found dead things because they no longer knew anything about the spiritual world. Any spiritual hunch was considered foolishness, and narrow-minded science ruled their thoughts. Accordingly, they lived in a dead world with ever-increasing fear for their perishable lives and possessions. Although they wondered why the more they put their trust in impermanent things, they became more and more anxious, but felt that all they had to do was trust in them even more. They became ever richer materially and poorer spiritually. Selfishness and with it the greed for money and power grew at all levels of society. They robbed each other of life, destroyed their environment and isolated themselves with growing fear of each other because they saw only deadly enemies everywhere. They lost all faith in the living power of spirit and nature, and relied instead on dead chemicals and machines. They made living nature their mortal enemy and, in their ignorance, waged a global world war against Mother Nature because they no longer knew the true origin of their history and themselves. And the young person also heard from the stone that they could not win this war and, like all overpowering and arrogant cultures, ultimately destroyed themselves in a great catastrophe. That was a dark age...

After that, untruthful and unjust kings with much violence and little kindness will take over and spread their spirit, squandering vast fortunes and indulging in lust. These kings will not be properly crowned, will have all the faults of the dark Kali age and will commit evil deeds. During this final period of the Kali age, these kings will seek the enjoyment of earthly rule and will not shrink from killing women and children and destroying one another. The tribes and kingdoms of these kings will grow quickly and perish just as quickly. They will be devoid of true virtue, true love, and true wealth. Any common person who meets them will soon follow the habits of the ungodly barbarians and disregard all sacred traditions. The kings will be proud and deceitful and ruin their subjects. Under their rule, women will dominate, and all men will grow weaker and weaker in strength and wisdom. Their lifetime is ebbing, and when rock bottom is reached, the ruling kings too will be overwhelmed by the almighty time and perish. Then Kalki will appear and destroy all barbarians, ungodly and unjust people. Even the term “king” will then disappear at the end of the Kali age. Few people will survive helpless and powerless, for the dharma of virtue and justice has been destroyed by time. Nobody will be able to protect and calm them anymore. The necessities of life will be lacking, and they will be tormented by disease and sorrow, and overwhelmed by drought and war. Their life will be utterly desolate. They will give up their skills and jobs, leave their villages and towns and take refuge in the forests... [Vayu-Purana 2.37]

Few humans survive this time, scattered here and there on earth. When they come together in groups, their nature comes out and they hate and hurt each other. Anarchy reigns as a result of the dark age of Kali, and filled with doubt and inner tension, fear reigns among people everywhere. Extremely tormented and exhausted, they try to save their selfish lives, leave their wives, children and home, become increasingly unhappy and die. Because the Dharma is extinguished in them according to the holy commandments, people kill each other without any regard for virtue, affection, friendship or shame. Their lifetime dwindles to 25 years with dwarfish bodies. Their senses are confused and their minds discouraged. Under the pressure of prolonged drought, they give up all agriculture, sink into misery, leave their families, villages and lands and live at the borders. They seek refuge at rivers, seas, springs and mountains. They keep themselves miserable with roots, fruits, water and flesh and live in great misery. They wear bast clothes and deer skins, have neither wife nor family and fall out of every caste and way of life. They disobey all order and fall into boundless suffering. Very few survive, and these are plagued by old age, disease, and starvation. And in their unbearable suffering, they soon become completely indifferent to their worldly existence.

Yet in their greatest despair and indifference to the outside world, they begin to look inwardly. And as they look inside, they attain a state of equanimity. They are enlightened by equanimity, and by enlightenment they recognize the divine and become pious. And once those who survived the end of the dark age of Kali attain this enlightenment, the age is transformed in a single day. Once her spirit is disenchanted, the golden age of Krita begins again by the power of inevitable fate... [Vayu-Purana 1.58]

Indian yogis heard these stories from the Vayu Purana about the dark age of Kali thousands of years ago as they sat on the stone and listened to the voice of nature. They have been handed down to us, and now it is up to us to shape our future. Because we not only live the history of our past, but also actively form the story of the future through our thoughts and actions. We should be aware of this responsibility. May we live peacefully in and with nature again and discover the spiritual world! May we promote the diversity of nature and develop a holistic, wholesome reason! May we exercise moderation and avoid any exaggeration! May the egoistic delusion pass away, and may wisdom and compassion reign again! OM

The Okerlo (I-Man)

✻ A queen placed her child in a golden cradle on the sea and let it swim away. It didn’t sink, but swam to an island where a lot of man-eaters lived. As the cradle came swimming, the man-eater’s wife was standing on the seashore, and when she saw the child, which was a beautiful girl, she decided to raise her for her son, who would one day have her as his wife. But she had great difficulty in carefully hiding the child from her husband, old Okerlo, because if he had seen her, he would have eaten her bones and all.

✎ Here we have another fairy tale that is overall short and sweet and yet full of the deepest symbolism. So, let’s try to think about a possible interpretation, perhaps to encourage further meditation: The Queen reminds us of the highest soul or of pure nature and eternal mother, who gives birth to everything. And her child would then be the human soul, born as a surging wave of consciousness on the sea of life and released in a golden cradle or wave, that is, carried and moved by the gold of truth, by pure consciousness. As an eternal consciousness, the soul can of course never “sink” on this sea, otherwise it would not be truth, but it comes from eternity to an island of transience, to a separate and narrowly limited consciousness, which embodies itself as a human ego or “I-man”. Through the separation of “I” and “others” this small island is created, and with it the ego-man also becomes a “man-eater” as an Okerlo or ogre or fiend, because he practically feeds on the “others” in the game of opposites and couldn’t exist without them. The woman or soul of Okerlo now finds within herself on the shore of the sea of life or causes a much more beautiful soul than the greedy and insatiable ego consciousness, namely a purer consciousness, but must hide it from the ego-man. Because on this spiritual level of greedy self-consciousness there is only the conceptual mind, which wants to eat up or “incorporate” everything spiritual “with bones and all” into physicality, just as our modern natural science eats up everything mental or spiritual with the conceptual mind and merges it into material corporeality. And how the pure soul hides herself from this greedy ego-man and ultimately saves herself is what this fairy tale tells us.

✻ When the girl grew up, she was to be married to the young Okerlo. But she didn’t like him at all and cried all day. Once as she was sitting on the shore, a young, handsome prince came swimming, she liked him, and he liked her too, and they made promises to each other. But the old ogress came and became very angry when she found the prince with her son’s bride and immediately grabbed him: “Wait now, you are to be roasted at my son’s wedding!”

✎ This pure soul, which had now “grown up” and had obviously grown to a greater consciousness than the limited self-consciousness, naturally did not want to and could not marry herself to the egoistic physicality of a growing Okerlo or ego-man as a cannibal. To do this, she found a different physicality on the shore of the sea of life or causes or possibilities, that was more compatible with the wisdom of a higher reason than with that egoism of the conceptual understanding. Of course, this does not please the greedy self-consciousness, which wants to marry the beautiful human soul with the ego-man, and with this marriage the embodiment of higher reason is to be killed and eaten up. Well, we also know this from our modern worldly ego-men in which reason has such a hard time that hardly anyone knows what “reason” actually means. Or as Goethe already put it in [Faust I]:

Life somewhat better might content him,
But for the gleam of heavenly light which Thou has lent him:
He calls it Reason thence his power’s increased,
To be far beastlier than any beast.

✻ The young prince, the girl and Okerlo’s three children all slept together in one room. As night fell, old Okerlo got a craving for human flesh and said: “Woman, I don’t want to wait until the wedding, just give me the prince right away!” But the girl heard everything through the wall and quickly got up, took from one of Okerlo’s children the golden crown that he wore on his head and placed it on the prince’s head. The old ogress came, and because it was dark, she felt the heads, and brought the one that was not wearing a crown to the man, who immediately ate it.

✎ So now the human soul sleeps with various spiritual powers for embodiment in a space of consciousness in the dream of the world and has two ways to embody herself. Either she marries with pure love the holistic reason of wisdom on the path to eternity or with selfish love the Prince of Okerlo, the narrow conceptual mind of ignorance with his two siblings on the path of transience. The two Okerlo siblings remind us here of desire and hatred, because the three spiritual forces of desire, hate and ignorance are generally the driving forces for the embodiment of self-consciousness in this transient world, as can also be found at the centre of the Buddhist wheel of life. And it is precisely this desire of the old ego-man that now pushes him to make a decision in this “night” of ignorance, so that the reasonable soul acts and puts the golden crown on the head of reason. Accordingly, the old self-consciousness reaches again for the conceptual mind of ignorance, because that is the food for the embodiment of her “man”, the Okerlo or ego-man.

✻ Meanwhile the girl was scared to death and thought: “When the day comes, everything will come out and things will go badly for us.” Then she secretly got up and fetched a mile boot, a dowsing rod and a cake with a bean, which could answer everything.

✎ The “fear for heaven” is certainly appropriate and reasonable here, because it can now be expected that the ego consciousness will recognize its deception or ignorance and want to reach for reason. But not in order to become reasonable, but in order to eat up reason and “incorporate” it into the conceptual understanding, because ego consciousness neither can nor wants to rise to reason. For ego consciousness is a separating consciousness as a conceptual mind, while reason is a holistic consciousness or an awareness of the truth. This is how the mind can “eat up” reason, and that is why nowadays hardly anyone on the island of ego-people knows the essential difference between mind and reason and certainly not between ego and self. So now the pure soul, as a wave of consciousness on the sea of possibilities with reason as its force for embodiment, must flee from the limited and voracious ego-consciousness that lives on its personally embodied island. To do this, the consciousness becomes aware of its natural abilities and greatest powers: the mile boots as the power of mobility, the dowsing rod as the power of transformation and the bean in the cake as the power of omniscience, which serves as food for the consciousness.

✻ Now she went away with the prince. They had the mile boot on, and with every step they made a mile. Sometimes they asked the bean: “Bean, are you there?” “Yes,” said the bean, “I am here, but hurry up, because the old ogress is coming in the other mile-boot that stayed there!”

✎ That is, the ego consciousness has essentially the same power of mobility as the holistic consciousness of the soul, but it is very limited in the power of transformation and omniscience, namely through attachment to wilful forms due to its ignorance. The saying “Bean, are you there?”, which is repeated like a mantra throughout the fairy tale with the answer “Yes, I am here!”, is a wonderful access to the pure “existence” of a deep consciousness as an intuitive source of life, just as the bean as a seed is a source of life. Remembering this pure consciousness or awareness at the root breaks through the limitations of self-consciousness and conceptual mind to a holistic consciousness of a higher reason. Then the “I am” leaves the narrow person in time and space and reminds us of what Christ means in the Bible when he says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. (John 8.58)” Or: “You are from below, I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. (John 8.23)” Or: “I am the way and the truth and the life. (John 14.6)” And we can now also find this mystical path of Christ consciousness or holistic reason in the fairy tale.

✻ Then the girl took the dowsing rod and turned herself into a swan and the prince into a pond, where the swan swam. The ogress came and lured the swan to the shore, but she didn’t succeed and went home annoyed.

✎ Does consciousness, as an active spirit, have the power to transform itself into external things at will? Opinions and especially scientists are divided on this question today, because this idea seriously shakes the foundations of modern materialism. But people used to know that it is the power of consciousness to, so to speak, mirror itself and thereby embody itself, so that subject and object arise, namely on the one hand a spiritual swan being and on the other hand a material swan body with its natural environment of a pond that face each other as if in a mirror. And thus, the spiritual soul hides herself in the external forms, so that the ego consciousness with the conceptual understanding can no longer recognize the soul as a pure wave of consciousness in embodiment. For now, an external object appears that the greedy, ego-like mind wants to grasp and becomes annoyed if it cannot do so because it can no longer recognize itself in it. And with this annoyance of ignorance, the ego-mind retreats back to its narrow island of self-consciousness.

✻ The girl and the prince continued on their way: “Bean, are you there?” “Yes,” said the bean, “here I am, but the old woman is coming back, the ogre told her how she was misled.” Then the girl took the rod and turned herself and the prince into a cloud of dust, which Mrs Okerlo could not penetrate, so she turned back without having achieved anything, and the others continued on their way.

✎ But ego consciousness cannot give up so easily, because the search for its origin lies in the nature of consciousness itself, and it is precisely embodiment that constantly pushes us to search, as if in a mirror world. Now consciousness transforms into the essence of the wind and the dust of the earth. And the conceptual mind cannot see through this dark cloud either; it only recognizes the external and not the essential, the physical and not the spiritual. Accordingly, the wind used to serve as a symbol of the active spirit, as we also find in the Bible: “The wind blows where it wants, and you can hear its sound; but you don’t know where it comes from or where it’s going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3.8)” Well, the Okerlos were probably not yet born of the spirit, but of the flesh, because: “Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. (John 3.6)”

✻ “Bean, are you there?” “Yes, I am here, but I see Mrs Okerlo coming again and she is taking giant steps.” The girl took the dowsing rod for the third time and turned into a rose bush and the prince into a bee, then the old ogress came, didn’t recognize them in this transformation and went home again.

✎ So now Mrs I-man has to stay on her ego island with her own husband or body as a cannibal who feeds on “others”, because she cannot recognize and find the pure soul for the third time. This now raises the big question: Why does the pure soul flee from self-consciousness and hide behind the external forms of embodiment? This is obviously a fundamental principle of nature and also its greatest blessing: truth is hidden in illusion, light in shadow, spirit in matter, unity in diversity and eternity in the perishable. So, the ego consciousness becomes the cause of embodiment, but also the search for truth, because everything hidden stimulates the consciousness to search. As the Bible also says: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. (Matt. 7.7)” This is probably the great way of human reason to find our true “self” again after we have lost ourselves in the illusionary “I” in the world of forms on our ego islands in the sea of life.

✻ But now the two of them could not assume their human form again because the last time the girl had thrown her magic rod too far away in fear.

✎ Why has consciousness lost the power of transformation into human or reasonable form? Maybe because two separate living beings suddenly emerged, a plant and an animal. Has this broken the magic rod of omnipotence? Are there now two separate souls? Or do plants and animals have no soul at all, as many vegetarians believe about their food, while others kill animals without hesitation. At least with this “too wide” separation into two living beings, the power of transformation and omniscience seems to have been gone, because the bean or spiritual source has now also been forgotten. Because as soon as consciousness loses its wholeness or deity, it loses its omniscience and omnipotence, gets stuck in a limited form through ignorance and, like the Okerlos, has to live on a small ego island like in a bubble of ego consciousness.

✻ But they had already gone so far that the rose bush stood in a garden that belonged to the girl’s mother. The bee sat on the rose and stung with its stinger whoever tried to break it.

✎ How far must one go to reach Mother Nature’s Garden, which belongs to the Supreme Soul? This is probably more of a spiritual journey until one becomes aware that every embodiment or transformation takes place in this garden of the great mother and queen. And whoever grabs the rose here and wants to break off the beautiful and desirable flower from its root - that is, the part from the whole, the good from God, the spirit from nature, the object from the subject, the fruit from the tree, the self from the others or the body from the soul - will of course have to suffer from embodiment and will be stung by the sting of the “others”. On the one hand, the bee stings because its food is taken away, and on the other hand, the rose stings because its fruit is broken off.

✻ Once it happened that the queen herself went into her garden and saw the beautiful flower, which amazed her so much that she wanted to break it off. But little bee came and stung her on the hand so badly that she had to let go of the rose. But she had already torn it down a little. Then she saw that blood was oozing from the stem and sent for a fairy to disenchant the flower.

✎ Anyone who can free themselves from the separated self-consciousness will also recognize the wholeness or deity in nature, how the spiritual unity of consciousness is embodied in the diversity of forms and how the highest soul lives in this diversity like a queen and can make the practical experience possible through happiness and suffering, so that we are often stung when we reach for the beautiful flowers or sweet fruits. And it is precisely these practical or physical experiences that can lead to recognizing one’s own daughter as a human soul in the blood or juice of life force and to demystify her embodiment with the help of a pure spirit, that is, to recognize pure consciousness through the illusion of ignorance what is also called “self-knowledge”. And it is said that this highest knowledge is pure joy and perfect love.

✻ Then the queen recognized her daughter and was very happy. A big wedding was planned, a lot of guests were invited, they came in splendid dresses, a thousand lights flickered in the hall, and people played and danced until broad daylight.

✎ At the end of this fairy tale there is also the famous mystical wedding between soul and body or spirit and nature, which are no longer connected in a transitory life, but are completely united in an eternal life, so that there can no longer be any separating self-consciousness. Death disappears and eternal life remains, a pure “existence”. For separation means death, separable union means fading life, and inseparable union means eternal life. This is the sacred “wedding” or timeless eternity, when the diversity of the thousands of lights in the play and dance of nature becomes a bright day of unity in the pure light of divine consciousness.

Then you will finally be asked within yourself as a bean and source of life, that is, not as a limited self-consciousness on an island, but as a holistic consciousness or pure awareness:

✻ “Did you go to the wedding, too?” - “Yes, I was there:
My headdress was made of butter when I came into the sun and it melted off;
My garment was made of spider webs, and I came through thorns and they tore it off;
My slippers were made of glass, so I stepped on a stone and they broke in two.”

✎ No ego person who has to live as a “man-eater” from “others” comes to this wedding. As we also find in the biblical parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins (Matt. 25.1): Anyone who has to borrow the oil for the light of consciousness from “others” will not come to this wedding. But anyone who was able to successfully escape ego consciousness on his island receives this mystical answer within at the wedding and achieves the great goal in life: the illusionary ego-crown melts in the light-fire of the Holy Spirit. The body’s garment, spun together by the conceptual mind, tears at the thorns of suffering. And the material physicality that wanders through the world and seemes so solid and reliable breaks down against the imperishable stone of the philosophers, the pure Christ consciousness, which now becomes the foundation for “I am here!” in eternal life.

A wonderful fairy tale!
Amen-Om

Hans Stupid

✻ There was a king who lived happily with his daughter, who was his only child. But suddenly the princess gave birth to a child and no one knew who the father was. The king didn't know what to do for a long time, in the end he ordered that the princess should go to church with the child, a lemon should be given into his hand, and whoever handed it should be the child's father and the princess's husband. This happened, but the order was given that no one but beautiful people should be allowed into the church.

✎ Well, even then, the belief in a "virgin conception" in the sense of the Holy Spirit and divine omnipotence was evidently not so obvious and convincing that people gave up on the search for a father. But on the whole, in our fairy tale, the church is also seen as a holy place where the truth is revealed, but preferably a truth that corresponds to the desired ideas. So, the king wanted a handsome and clever son-in-law, and the princess wanted such a husband. In addition to the golden imperial orb for the royal successor, the lemon also reminds us of the “sour apple” or the bitter pill that the father was supposed to bite or swallow, who apparently did not want to admit his paternity. Although many wanted this coveted position and therefore flocked to the church.

✻ But there was a small, crooked and hunchbacked boy in town who wasn't very clever and was called Hans Stupid. He pushed his way into the church unseen among the others. And as the child was supposed to hand out the lemon he gave it to Hans Stupid. The princess was frightened, the king was so upset that he had her and the child put into a barrel with Hans Stupid and thrown out to sea.

✎ The result obviously did not correspond to the wishes of either the princess or the king. And yet it was a decision made in the Holy Church. The king believed in it, but he could not accept the external form and quickly tried to get rid of it. Likewise, we would like to put our unloved problems in a dark bin, close it tightly and throw it into the sea of consciousness, where they will sink and never come to light again. The psychologist then calls this a repressed problem in the subconscious.

✻ The barrel soon floated away, and when they were alone on the sea, the princess complained and said: “You nasty, hunchbacked, wise-nose boy are to blame for my misfortune! Why did you force yourself into church? The child was none of your business.” - “Oh yes,” said Hans Stupid, “that was indeed my business, because I once wished that you would have a child, and what I wish comes true.” - “If that's true, then let us have something to eat here.” - “I can do that too,” said Hans Stupid, and he wanted a bowl full of potatoes. The princess would have liked something better, but because she was so hungry, she helped him eat the potatoes. After they had had their fill, Hans Stupid said: “Now I want to wish us a nice ship!” And as soon as he had said that, they were sitting in a magnificent ship with everything they could ask for in abundance. The helmsman was just driving ashore, and when they got out, Hans Stupid said: “Now there should be a castle!” There was a magnificent castle, and servants in gold clothes came and led the princess and the child into it. And when they were in the middle of the hall, Hans Stupid said: “Now I wish that I become a young and clever prince!” Then his hunchback disappeared, and he was beautiful and straight and friendly. The princess liked him well and he became her husband.

✎ In the last fairy tale about Okerlo we already thought about whether and how consciousness as an active spirit has the power to realize its wishes. Interestingly, we still have the habit of wishing others well on special occasions. But do we really believe in the spiritual power of our wishes? Or is it just a nice habit in an “enlightened” material world governed exclusively by physical laws of nature? Because our modern natural science has achieved a most astonishing attainment. With the great power of the spirit, it has created a theoretically spiritless world for us, and anyone who still mentions the term “spirit” in natural science is bitten and chased away. That's why we now try to solve our problems, which should be solved spiritually with reason, physically with the mind, i.e. with technology and chemistry from education and scholarship. Where does it come from? Assuming that wishes could really come true, then of course this spiritless world could also have been a strong wish of many people that came true. And we now live in a corresponding world, supposedly safe in a dense network of physical and dogmatic laws. Everything is fixed and built up, so that the spiritual power of wishes no longer finds any space and is just an old fairy tale. Is this possible?

Because why did “Hans Stupid” in particular have this power in a way that hardly anyone can imagine today? Maybe it's precisely because of our ideas, so to speak, of the mental mind, which presents itself with more and more ideas in every direction until its vision is so blocked up that it can no longer see anything else except its own ideas. And that is the “objective world” of smart and educated people in which we live. Ultimately, Hans Stupid also wants a beautiful external world that pleases the princess, and apparently also himself. It is worth noting that there is no longer any mention of his spontaneous wishing power, because now the princess takes over the story:

✻ So, they lived happily for a long time. Once the old king rode out, got lost and came to the castle. He was amazed at it because he had never seen it before and entered. The princess immediately recognized her father, but he did not recognize her; he also thought that she had long since drowned in the sea. She entertained him splendidly, and when he wanted to go home, she secretly put a golden cup in his bag. But after he had ridden away, she sent a few riders after him, who had to stop him and examine whether he had not stolen the golden cup. And when they found it in his bag, they brought him back. He swore to the princess that he had not stolen it and that he did not know how it got into his bag. “That’s why,” she said, “one must be careful not to immediately consider anyone guilty,” and revealed herself as his daughter. Then the king was happy and they lived happily together, and after his death, Hans Stupid became king.

✎ We can now understand the “old king” as a symbol for the mental mind, which likes to lock its unpleasant problems in dark barrels in order to let them sink into the subconscious. But what are these problems? According to the symbolism of this fairy tale, father, mother and child are imprisoned in this barrel, i.e., the generative spirit, birthing nature and worldly effect, which in this way do not drown and perish, but continue to shape worldly reality.

father-mother-child
spirit-nature-effect

A reality, that the mental mind as king only sees superficially and therefore cannot recognize the true inner being. The golden cup would also fit in with this as a symbol for the desired things in this external world, which the mind more or less consciously understands and grasps in order to hold on to them. And if our wishes are not fulfilled, then we have to consider someone or something to be guilty, as the fairy tale says.

But if the short-sighted mind finally opens up to a more far-sighted reason full of wisdom and can see through the walls of its mental ideas, then it could also become a “new king” of holistic reason. And with this reason, our fairy tale ends well: they recognize each other who they really are and live together “happily”, which in the original sense means “cheerful and contented”. So, we wish “Hans Stupid” with all our hearts that he became King “Hans Wise” in a happy world, as he desired.

Let’s be careful with our wishes so that we don't completely curse ourselves in this obscure and superficial world!

The Drummer

✎ This is another ingenious old fairy tale full of the most wonderful symbolism, which we certainly cannot pervade in its entirety, especially not with our linguistic means. And yet we want to try to write down an interpretation with suggestions for further reflection.

✻ A young drummer went out quite alone one evening into the country, and came to a lake on the shore of which he perceived three pieces of white linen lying. "What fine linen," said he, and put one piece in his pocket. He returned home, thought no more of what he had found, and went to bed. Just as he was going to sleep, it seemed to him as if some one was saying his name. He listened, and was aware of a soft voice which cried to him, "Drummer, drummer, wake up!" As it was a dark night he could see no one, but it appeared to him that a figure was hovering about his bed. "What do you want?" he asked. "Give me back my dress," answered the voice, "that you took away from me last evening by the lake." "You shall have it back again," said the drummer, "if you will tell me who you are." "Ah," replied the voice, "I am the daughter of a mighty King; but I have fallen into the power of a witch, and am shut up on the glass-mountain. I have to bathe in the lake every day with my two sisters, but I cannot fly back again without my dress. My sisters have gone away, but I have been forced to stay behind. I entreat you to give me my dress back." "Be easy, poor child," said the drummer. "I will willingly give it back to you."

✎ The “drummer” is reminiscent of our human mind, which usually drives us through life with the loud drumbeats of thoughts. The three dresses remind us of a living spiritual being that has taken on a material body like a dress in external nature, on the shore between the spiritual and material world, the liquid water of life and the solid earth of the field. Without this body it cannot move in this world and appears to the drummer when “going to sleep” on the border between the outer and inner world in order to regain its physicality, and a pure physicality, which is what the “white linen” suggests. When asked “Who are you?” it complains that it is controlled by a witch on a mystical glass mountain. This could remind us of the soul, which is trapped and bewitched by the five physical senses and the power of the mental mind as the sixth in a narrow, superficial life, just as in the term "witch" (in German: Hexe) the number six as Greek "hexa" and Latin “sex” sounds. The number three, as mentioned in the three dresses and sisters, will accompany us as a natural principle throughout the fairy tale. Three is the number of our world, just as our space has three dimensions and everything is basically moved by three forces, which is where the usual triangle symbol comes from. Because if there were only two forces, it would only swing back and forth and there would be no development in a specific direction, which is what the third force is responsible for. Similarly, every way in this world has two boundaries, right and left, and a direction. Accordingly, one of the three sisters stays behind and shows the drummer's mind the way.

✻ He took it out of his pocket, and reached it to her in the dark. She snatched it in haste, and wanted to go away with it. "Stop a moment, perhaps I can help you." "You can only help me by ascending the glass-mountain, and freeing me from the power of the witch. But you cannot come to the glass-mountain, and indeed if you were quite close to it you could not ascend it." "When I want to do a thing I always can do it," said the drummer; "I am sorry for you, and have no fear of anything. But I do not know the way which leads to the glass-mountain." "The road goes through the great forest, in which the man-eaters live," she answered, "and more than that, I dare not tell you." And then he heard her wings quiver, as she flew away.

✎ The “great forest” reminds us of the external human world, where three huge giants rule, who eat us humans inside and thus bring pain and ultimately death. The mind now hears the call of the soul: “Drummer, wake up!” So, it tries to wake up from the dream of the mental world and then, at the dawn of its spiritual day, sets out on the great journey to penetrate the forest of the man-eaters and to reach the mystical glass mountain.

✻ By daybreak the drummer arose, buckled on his drum, and went without fear straight into the forest. After he had walked for a while without seeing any giants, he thought to himself, "I must waken up the sluggards," and he hung his drum before him, and beat such a drum roll that the birds flew out of the trees with loud cries. It was not long before a giant who had been lying sleeping among the grass, rose up, and was as tall as a fir-tree. "Wretch!" cried he; "what art thou drumming here for, and wakening me out of my best sleep?" "I am drumming," he replied, "because I want to show the way to many thousands who are following me." "What do they want in my forest?" demanded the giant. "They want to put an end to thee, and cleanse the forest of such a monster as thou art!" "Oho!" said the giant, "I will trample you all to death like so many ants." "Dost thou think thou canst do anything against us?" said the drummer; "if thou stoopest to take hold of one, he will jump away and hide himself; but when thou art lying down and sleeping, they will come forth from every thicket, and creep up to thee. Every one of them has a hammer of steel in his belt, and with that they will beat in thy skull."

✎ With the three ravenous giants who rule in the dark forest of the outer human world, we can again think of the powerful forces of desire, hatred and delusion or ignorance, which are also considered in Buddhism to be the three fundamental spiritual poisons in the wheel of life. The drummer purposely awakens them from their sleep, which usually come upon us insidiously and unexpectedly, and meets their power with a vision that he has not come alone, but thousands will follow him. This already reminds us of a holistic view of reason to which the intellectual mind can awaken when it overcomes its egoism. In this way he becomes able to transform the destructive and deadly “giant forces” of external nature into healing and invigorating ones that become useful to him on his path. This is possible because:

There is nothing either good or bad,
but thinking makes it so.
(William Shakespeare)

✻ The giant grew angry and thought, "If I meddle with the crafty folk, it might turn out badly for me. I can strangle wolves and bears, but I cannot protect myself from these earth-worms." "Listen, little fellow," said he; "go back again, and I will promise you that for the future I will leave you and your comrades in peace, and if there is anything else you wish for, tell me, for I am quite willing to do something to please you." "Thou hast long legs," said the drummer, "and canst run quicker than I; carry me to the glass-mountain, and I will give my followers a signal to go back, and they shall leave thee in peace this time." "Come here, worm," said the giant; "seat thyself on my shoulder, I will carry thee where thou wishest to be." The giant lifted him up, and the drummer began to beat his drum up aloft to his heart's delight. The giant thought, "That is the signal for the other people to turn back."

✎ Now, reason has the power to defeat these destructive forces at their roots. Because these giants can only harm individual animals, but they are powerless against a holistic being. And the “signal effect” described is of course very important in a holistic world. Because if only one person has found the way, it will be easier for those who follow, as long as we are all basically just one holistic consciousness. And that is probably the reason why we are thinking about this path here and now.

✻ After a while, a second giant was standing in the road, who took the drummer from the first, and stuck him in his own button-hole. The drummer laid hold of the button, which was as large as a dish, held on by it, and looked merrily around. Then they came to a third giant, who took him out of the button-hole, and set him on the rim of his hat. Then the drummer walked backwards and forwards up above, and looked over the trees, and when he perceived a mountain in the blue distance, he thought, "That must be the glass-mountain," and so it was. The giant only made two steps more, and they reached the foot of the mountain, where the giant put him down. The drummer demanded to be put on the summit of the glass-mountain, but the giant shook his head, growled something in his beard, and went back into the forest.

✎ Thus, symbolically, the mind rises higher and higher above the giants, even above the head of ignorance. But where do you get to once you have penetrated the external forest of our world, where the realm of the giants ends and a view suddenly opens up that was previously blocked by the many trees of our mental imaginations? The fairy tale speaks of a “glass mountain” where matter suddenly becomes transparent and a whole new world opens up, on a completely different level of consciousness. In the last century, some brilliant scientists came to a similar place on the path of quantum physics, but they didn't go much further because our mental concepts could not understand and conquer this transparent world beyond time and space. So, it was banished to the realm of theoretical physics and proudly announced that it actually has nothing to do with our practical world. Our drummers' minds initially felt the same way…

✻ And now the poor drummer was standing before the mountain, which was as high as if three mountains were piled on each other, and at the same time as smooth as a looking-glass, and did not know how to get up it. He began to climb, but that was useless, for he always slipped back again. "If one was a bird now," thought he; but what was the good of wishing, no wings grew for him. Whilst he was standing thus, not knowing what to do, he saw, not far from him, two men who were struggling fiercely together. He went up to them and saw that they were disputing about a saddle which was lying on the ground before them, and which both of them wanted to have. "What fools you are," said he, "to quarrel about a saddle, when you have not a horse for it!" "The saddle is worth fighting about," answered one of the men; "whosoever sits on it, and wishes himself in any place, even if it should be the very end of the earth, gets there the instant he has uttered the wish. The saddle belongs to us in common. It is my turn to ride on it, but that other man will not let me do it." "I will soon decide the quarrel," said the drummer, and he went to a short distance and stuck a white rod in the ground. Then he came back and said, "Now run to the goal, and whoever gets there first, shall ride first." Both put themselves into a trot; but hardly had they gone a couple of steps before the drummer swung himself on the saddle, wished himself on the glass-mountain, and before any one could turn round, he was there.

✎ Why hasn't he grown wings? A wishing power alone is not enough; of course, there must also be a corresponding path, at least insofar as we have wished for a world of paths in space and time. This path then became apparent in the two men or spiritual forces who fought over a saddle. We already know this symbolic saddle on which the ego wants to ride as desired from other fairy tales, such as “The Poor and the Rich” or “The Castle of the Golden Sun”. The drummer's self-consciousness now becomes the third force that "carries out" the fruitless dispute between the other two forces and, so to speak, directs it in order to realize his wilful wish. The horse that we do not see under the saddle here is of course the formless consciousness itself, which reveals in the wave of opposites that we encounter here symbolically in the argument between the two men. And on the saddle or the formed wave rides the ego, a consciousness on the level of the mind that we all know well and that was already apparent at the beginning of the path when the drummer exclaimed: “What I want, I can do!” The only problem is: the more this wilful self-consciousness clings to certain forms, the fewer paths are open to it, because it walls itself up all around and ultimately sits in a dark cave or hell. Therefore, people should go on a different way and use the power of desires for healing to open, expand and elevate consciousness.

✻ On the top of the mountain was a plain; there stood an old stone house, and in front of the house lay a great fish-pond, but behind it was a dark forest. He saw neither men nor animals, everything was quiet; only the wind rustled amongst the trees, and the clouds moved by quite close above his head.

✎ So, the drummer can now rise from the obscure forest of the external world to the summit of the glass mountain, where the view expands, the consciousness rises to a higher level and three principles again become visible, which apparently hold the pure soul captive, but actually just separated and held back from the mind. Individual living beings disappear in this view of principles, everything becomes quiet, the loud drum is silent, the mind only rustles quietly in the forest of thoughts, and the drifting clouds of illusions are closer and more penetrable than ever before.

“After you have thought about the importance of what you are trying to do for yourself and the world try to settle down in perfect stillness, remembering only how much you want to reach the light in you today, — now! Determine to go past the clouds. Reach out and touch them in your mind. Brush them aside with your hand; feel them resting on your cheeks and forehead and eyelids as you go through them. Go on; clouds cannot stop you.” (A Course in Miracles, Lesson 69)«

✻ He went to the door and knocked. When he had knocked for the third time, an old woman with a brown face and red eyes opened the door. She had spectacles on her long nose, and looked sharply at him; then she asked what he wanted. "Entrance, food, and a bed for the night," replied the drummer. "That thou shalt have," said the old woman, "if thou wilt perform three services in return." "Why not?" he answered, "I am not afraid of any kind of work, however hard it may be." The old woman let him go in, and gave him some food and a good bed at night.

✎ The stone or material or physical house is reminiscent of our own body. The drummer approaches this problem consciously and courageously and, as proof of his seriousness, knocks three times so that the door to his inner being opens. There he meets the witch, who is now called the “Old Women” because she has been keeping the soul prisoner in this stone body house for so long. And of course, as a drummer mind, he desires what every mind in this house desires, namely protection, food and a storehouse for his memories and dreams. The witch or “hexa” of the five physical senses with thinking now appears to him with the red eyes of passion, the glasses of supposed cleverness and a dark and ugly face, in order to set him three difficult tasks. Those who cannot fulfil them remain trapped in this petrified witch's house between a large fish pond and a dark forest, which is our usual state of mind.

✻ The next morning when he had had his sleep out, she took a thimble from her wrinkled finger, reached it to the drummer, and said, "Go to work now, and empty out the pond with this thimble; but thou must have it done before night, and must have sought out all the fishes which are in the water and laid them side by side, according to their kind and size." "That is strange work," said the drummer, but he went to the pond, and began to empty it. He baled the whole morning; but what can any one do to a great lake with a thimble, even if he were to bale for a thousand years? When it was noon, he thought, "It is all useless, and whether I work or not it will come to the same thing." So he gave it up and sat down.

✎ What does this big fish pond mean? A more or less cloudy pool of water, artificially dammed up in space and time, in which animal food is grown for the inhabitants of the body house. Practically, one could think here of our memories with all the undigested experiences and repressed feelings that have to be exhausted from the personal accumulation of our own history and our ancestors in order to reclassify the individual experiences into a larger whole or divine. This also includes all our sins, addictions and vices, which must be revealed in the light, just as in India one would speak of the accumulated karma that must be exhausted in order to free the soul from the bondage to the witch of the physical. Everyone probably knows the old saying: “As you have brewed, so you must drink.” This is endless and ultimately pointless work for the mental mind because it has no suitable tools for it. And beyond that, everything he exhausts with the thimble of his narrow thoughts that the witch gives us naturally runs back into the pond of memory. Our drummer also recognizes this, so that his previous belief “What I want, I can do!” disappears and he sits down disappointed.

✻ Then came a maiden out of the house who set a little basket with food before him, and said, "What ails thee, that thou sittest so sadly here?" He looked at her, and saw that she was wondrously beautiful. "Ah," said he, "I cannot finish the first piece of work, how will it be with the others? I came forth to seek a king's daughter who is said to dwell here, but I have not found her, and I will go farther." "Stay here," said the maiden, "I will help thee out of thy difficulty. Thou art tired, lay thy head in my lap, and sleep. When thou awakest again, thy work will be done." The drummer did not need to be told that twice. As soon as his eyes were shut, she turned a wishing-ring and said, "Rise, water. Fishes, come out." Instantly the water rose on high like a white mist, and moved away with the other clouds, and the fishes sprang on the shore and laid themselves side by side each according to his size and kind. When the drummer awoke, he saw with amazement that all was done. But the maiden said, "One of the fish is not lying with those of its own kind, but quite alone; when the old woman comes to-night and sees that all she demanded has been done, she will ask thee, 'What is this fish lying alone for?' Then throw the fish in her face, and say, 'This one shall be for thee, old witch.'" In the evening the witch came, and when she had put this question, he threw the fish in her face. She behaved as if she did not remark it, and said nothing, but looked at him with malicious eyes.

✎ In the midday light of “dis-illusionment” regarding its wilful power, the beautiful and pure soul with holistic reason comes to the aid of the intellectual mind. It is no longer “What I want, I can do!”, but rather: “What I want, can happen.” Because she comes in the spiritual midday light and does not bring any selfish witch food with her, but draws from the pure source of intuition. In doing so, she lets the laborious thoughts sleep or be quiet, as we know from yoga meditation, and uses a completely different power to accomplish this great work. It is a holistic power when the active power of the spirit comes together with the natural power of the living soul. This holistic power, which is also symbolized by the ring, can realize every wish of the active spirit, even beyond the limited paths in space and time that the ego consciousness follows with the mind. Only the witch ensures that our spirit is limited by the fences of egoism and the walls of physicality and separated from this eternal source of omnipotence. That's why the first or last object of memory, which, as personally appropriated property, falls out of line with the divine order, should be thrown in the old witch's face as the original cause for this separation, when she appears in the evening twilight of spiritual darkness. In this we also find another meaning for the term witch or hag, which in the etymological dictionaries is also derived from “Hagazussa”, who “guards the fence” (old German: Hag= fence).

“Now go to the fences and into the wide streets: part of the soul’s powers are “fenced” from the eyes and the other senses. The other forces are free, they are unbound and unhindered by the body.” (Master Eckhart, Sermon 21)

By the way, there is a similar symbolic story in the Indian Mahabharata (Book 3, Chapter 105), when the demons hid in the sea while fighting the gods and the saint Agastya drank the ocean.

✻ Next morning she said, "Yesterday it was too easy for thee, I must give thee harder work. To-day thou must hew down the whole of the forest, split the wood into logs, and pile them up, and everything must be finished by the evening." She gave him an axe, a mallet, and two wedges. But the axe was made of lead, and the mallet and wedges were of tin. When he began to cut, the edge of the axe turned back, and the mallet and wedges were beaten out of shape. He did not know how to manage, but at mid-day the maiden came once more with his dinner and comforted him. "Lay thy head on my lap," said she, "and sleep; when thou awakest, thy work will be done." She turned her wishing-ring, and in an instant the whole forest fell down with a crash, the wood split, and arranged itself in heaps, and it seemed just as if unseen giants were finishing the work. When he awoke, the maiden said, "Dost thou see that the wood is piled up and arranged, one bough alone remains; but when the old woman comes this evening and asks thee about that bough, give her a blow with it, and say, 'That is for thee, thou witch.'" The old woman came, "There thou seest how easy the work was!" said she; "but for whom hast thou left that bough which is lying there still?" "For thee, thou witch," he replied, and gave her a blow with it.

✎ What does this dark forest mean? It reminds us of our mental ideas, which grow like trees from the dark earth or matter to light and even want to reach heaven. But soon our vision is so obscured by ideas that we miss the forest for the trees, i.e. the whole for all the individual parts.

The smallest creaturely image that ever comes into your mind is as great as God. Why? Because it prevents you from having a whole God. Precisely where this image enters (into you), God and his entire divinity must give way. But where this image goes out, God comes in. (Master Eckhart, Sermon 6)

Again, the mind has poorly tools for this, because it itself creates these rampant ideas with the five senses and thinking. Again, he has to despair about this work, can't help himself and finally trusts in the divine or holistic power of the pure soul, which comes to the aid of the active spirit in the spiritual midday light. In this way, the ideas are cut from their roots, made smaller and equal and neatly arranged in stacks, which probably means the divine or holistic order into which all our ideas should fit harmoniously. In this way, the view of the whole or the divine becomes clear again. And the last or first branch should again meet the witch, who binds us there and holds us captive, as the original part, the reason, why we are lost in the dark forest of imagination. But the witch is obviously not yet defeated with this blow in the spiritual evening light.

✻ But she pretended not to feel it, laughed scornfully, and said, "Early to-morrow morning thou shalt arrange all the wood in one heap, set fire to it, and burn it." He rose at break of day, and began to pick up the wood, but how can a single man get a whole forest together? The work made no progress. The maiden, however, did not desert him in his need. She brought him his food at noon, and when he had eaten, he laid his head on her lap, and went to sleep. When he awoke, the entire pile of wood was burning in one enormous flame, which stretched its tongues out into the sky. "Listen to me," said the maiden, "when the witch comes, she will give thee all kinds of orders; do whatever she asks thee without fear, and then she will not be able to get the better of thee, but if thou art afraid, the fire will lay hold of thee, and consume thee. At last when thou hast done everything, seize her with both thy hands, and throw her into the midst of the fire."

✎ The third and final task is to fulfil the meaning of the previous two and to transform all darkness into pure light. We know how much energy there is in embodied matter, and there is even more in our spiritual darkness, which is practically created by the desire, grasping of and holding on to light, similar to how the black holes in space greedily suck in all the light. This seized and held energy is now to be burned, and here too the drummer mind cannot achieve much, because it itself is responsible for the desire and grasping of the light. But when the reason of the pure soul appears in the midday light and the thinking is silent, then this process of transformation can take place thoroughly, and a powerful fire appears as in a sun that destroys all darkness. Fear and anxiety should then no longer exist because these can only exist in the separate ego consciousness, which, like the witch herself, must burn in this fire and disappear in the pure light. Is the active spirit together with the pure soul capable of this?

✻ The maiden departed, and the old woman came sneaking up to him. "Oh, I am cold," said she, "but that is a fire that burns; it warms my old bones for me, and does me good! But there is a log lying there which won't burn, bring it out for me. When thou hast done that, thou art free, and mayst go where thou likest, come; go in with a good will." The drummer did not reflect long; he sprang into the midst of the flames, but they did not hurt him, and could not even singe a hair of his head. He carried the log out, and laid it down. Hardly, however, had the wood touched the earth than it was transformed, and the beautiful maiden who had helped him in his need stood before him, and by the silken and shining golden garments which she wore, he knew right well that she was the King's daughter. But the old woman laughed venomously, and said, "Thou thinkest thou hast her safe, but thou hast not got her yet!" Just as she was about to fall on the maiden and take her away, the youth seized the old woman with both his hands, raised her up on high, and threw her into the jaws of the fire, which closed over her as if it were delighted that the old witch was to be burnt.

✎ Why is the witch cold with her old bones? The famous quantum physicist Hans-Peter Dürr, a student of Werner Heisenberg, is said to have said: “Matter is frozen light.” The song “Whatever you see is just frozen light” by Konstantin Wecker was inspired by this. (Full lyrics translation at the end of the interpretation.)

Well, the witch is basically just pure light or pure consciousness that has been, so to speak, frozen, hardened, condensed and embodied. And when the drummer had the courage to subject himself to this test in the fire, free from fear and therefore free from egoism, where only pure light or consciousness exists, he found the log or “philosopher's stone”, which does not burn in the fire, and recognized in it his pure soul, as it appears in the golden garment of truth. And because he didn't want to let this truth be taken away from him again, he had now completed the three tasks, achieved his freedom and with it the power to burn the old witch and transform her back into the pure light of consciousness in the fire.

Or as Konstantin Wecker’s song says:
… Then don't hesitate to transform yourself,
Take this hour deep within yourself.
So out of time there is no need to act,
And only in the emptiness your being reveals itself.
You may grasp it, you don't understand it.
Whatever you see is just frozen light.

There is also a similar symbolic story in the Mahabharata (from Book 1, Chapter 224) when Arjuna, with the help of Krishna, burned the dark Khandava forest to cure the fire god Agni, who was suffering from a digestive problem.

✻ Then the King's daughter looked at the drummer, and when she saw that he was a handsome youth and remembered how he had risked his life to deliver her, she gave him her hand, and said, "Thou hast ventured everything for my sake, but I also will do everything for thine. Promise to be true to me, and thou shalt be my husband. We shall not want for riches, we shall have enough with what the witch has gathered together here." She led him into the house, where there were chests and coffers crammed with the old woman's treasures. The maiden left the gold and silver where it was, and took only the precious stones.

✎ What has the witch hidden in the body house from our view and above all from our "insight"? So now together they find in the interior of the body house, where consciousness has condensed and "gathered its treasures", the imperishable and limitless treasure of pure consciousness, which can take on any form of wealth because it itself does not cling to any form. This would also make the mystical marriage between spirit and nature possible, the unity between the active spirit and the pure soul of nature as the princess of pure reason. And with this we could also find an answer to all the big questions that our fairy tale still raises: Why should we fulfil the "tasks" of the old witch in order to redeem the soul? How is "giving up" connected with "fulfilment"? How did the three girls who were banished on the glass mountain become one princess, the three souls become one? And how does the play of the three forces in the external world ultimately become a single inner force?

As long as these questions remain unanswered, our fairy tale will not end. And so, it continues, because of all the riches they take only the precious stones with them and return together from the glass mountain to the level of consciousness of the external world. At this point, one can think about whether it is perhaps precisely this "taking of a selection" that makes them return to the external world? Because complete unity and wholeness have obviously not yet been achieved, even if the witch's basic problem has already been solved.

✻ She would not stay any longer on the glass-mountain, so the drummer said to her, "Seat thyself by me on my saddle, and then we will fly down like birds." "I do not like the old saddle," said she, "I need only turn my wishing-ring and we shall be at home." "Very well, then," answered the drummer, "then wish us in front of the town-gate."

✎ This also makes sense, because the pure soul will not sit on the old saddle of ego consciousness, but fulfils its wishes with the ring of wholeness together with the active spirit, because the separation between them in the form of the witch has been dissolved. The question now is: What does the soul mean by "home" and what does the drummer mean by "in front of the city gate"? Could it perhaps have gone up a level of consciousness, to the royal court of the father of the pure soul? But now it goes down a level again to the earthly parents of the mental drummer mind, namely into the external world in front of the gate to the inside.

✻ In the twinkling of an eye they were there, but the drummer said, "I will just go to my parents and tell them the news, wait for me outside here, I shall soon be back." "Ah," said the King's daughter, "I beg thee to be careful. On thy arrival do not kiss thy parents on the right cheek, or else thou wilt forget everything, and I shall stay behind here outside, alone and deserted." "How can I forget thee?" said he, and promised her to come back very soon, and gave his hand upon it.

✎ Is that really possible? Of course, virtually all people forgot their pure soul when they were born into this external world and recognized their physical parents as their source. Pure consciousness also has this freedom and can even forget itself, even if the mind cannot or does not want to believe it. So, he came back into the outer world, but fundamentally changed, because with the witch he had his stubborn egoism conquered and was no longer controlled by it.

✻ When he went into his father's house, he had changed so much that no one knew who he was, for the three days which he had passed on the glass-mountain had been three years.

✎ What does change mean? Ever since Albert Einstein, modern science has known that time is relative, especially when it comes to mobility (see for example: Why don't light particles age?). But this sentence is particularly remarkable because similar calculations can already be found in the ancient Indian Puranas, such as in the Vayu Purana Chapter 1.57. According to this calculation, our drummer would have been in the world or consciousness level of the Indian gods or Christian angels in the heavenly Swarloka. In the same Purana, chapter 2.24, there is a similar story of King Reva and his daughter Revati, who visited for an hour the much higher world of the creator god Brahma, who symbolically also lives on a similarly unimaginably high mountain, the golden world mountain or Mountain of the Gods Meru. And when they returned from there to earth, many ages had passed.

Accordingly, with regard to the world of forms, one could say: the higher and wider consciousness is, the faster time passes until there is no time at all in eternity because everything happens at the same time. That is, everything that comes into being passes away at the same time, and everything that passes away also comes into being again at the same time. So, everything is there and not there at the same time. And the more consciousness tries to hold on to any forms, the slower time passes until the hold is so strong that a dark cave or hell appears like a black hole, where even light can no longer move and time seems to stand still, as if you were trying to stop a movie. Conversely, with regard to consciousness itself, one could say: the higher and wider consciousness is, the less it changes and ages until it is completely unchangeable and immortal as pure consciousness, no longer attached to any forms. That would then be a “white universe” or the “highest heaven”, i.e., pure light in which entire worlds can arise and pass away. And the more consciousness tries to hold on to some form, the more it perceives itself as impermanent, vulnerable and mortal, which gives rise to great fears of loss, suffering and death, which then lead to an ever-darker world where these fears grow ad infinitum. In this way one could imagine how the experiences of heaven, earth and hell arise in consciousness. Why not? Pure consciousness also has this freedom.

At least here one can become aware that time is not an absolute that binds us unconditionally, but rather the relative experience of an observer regarding what he observes, which is also our great joy of knowing.

✻ Then he made himself known, and his parents fell on his neck with joy, and his heart was so moved that he forgot what the maiden had said, and kissed them on both cheeks. But when he had given them the kiss on the right cheek, every thought of the King's daughter vanished from him. He emptied out his pockets, and laid handfuls of the largest jewels on the table. The parents had not the least idea what to do with the riches. Then the father built a magnificent castle all surrounded by gardens, woo     ds, and meadows as if a prince were going to live in it, and when it was ready, the mother said, "I have found a maiden for thee, and the wedding shall be in three days." The son was content to do as his parents desired.

✎ If only he had kissed his true soul instead of his physical parents! Or as the Bible says: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matth. 10.37) So it happened that the mind identified itself again with its physical parents, directed its gaze towards the external world, forgot its pure soul within and invested the heavenly wealth in earthly, transitory goods. But everything without wilful egoism, because “he emptied his pockets” and “was content to do his parents desire”. According to their will, he should now be married or connected to an embodied soul in order to gain external wealth life.

✻ The poor King's daughter had stood for a long time without the town waiting for the return of the young man. When evening came, she said, "He must certainly have kissed his parents on the right cheek, and has forgotten me." Her heart was full of sorrow, she wished herself into a solitary little hut in a forest, and would not return to her father's court. Every evening she went into the town and passed the young man's house; he often saw her, but he no longer knew her.

✎ So, the pure soul now retreats into our subconscious into the depths of nature and waits there until she is recognized again. If she were to withdraw completely from our world and return to her father's kingdom, then we would probably also be completely lost in this external world. Even so, she comes closer to us every evening when the worldly light fades, hoping that the inner spiritual light of knowledge will dawn again with the remembering of what our true source is and who we truly are.

✻ At length she heard the people saying, "The wedding will take place to-morrow." Then she said, "I will try if I can win his heart back." On the first day of the wedding ceremonies, she turned her wishing-ring, and said, "A dress as bright as the sun." Instantly the dress lay before her, and it was as bright as if it had been woven of real sunbeams. When all the guests were assembled, she entered the hall. Everyone was amazed at the beautiful dress, and the bride most of all, and as pretty dresses were the things she had most delight in, she went to the stranger and asked if she would sell it to her. "Not for money," she answered, "but if I may pass the first night outside the door of the room where your betrothed sleeps, I will give it up to you."

"Therefore, prove to whom you are joined forever,
where heart and heart find together.
The madness is short, the remorse is long.”
(Friedrich Schiller)

✎ Wonderful! The pure soul, which can take on any form of nature, now shows herself as the whole nature, first as the sun. A garment that the embodied soul desires and wants to hold on to, while the pure soul wears it only temporarily in order to win her true bridegroom, the active spirit. And in this way, she goes to the door of his senses.

God never goes far away; he always stays near. And if he can't stay inside, he doesn't go further than to the door. (Master Eckhart, Speeches of Instruction, XVII)

✻ The bride could not overcome her desire and consented, but she mixed a sleeping-draught with the wine her betrothed took at night, which made him fall into a deep sleep. When all had become quiet, the King's daughter crouched down by the door of the bedroom, opened it just a little, and cried,

"Drummer, drummer, I pray thee hear!
Hast thou forgotten thou heldest me dear?
That on the glass-mountain we sat hour by hour?
That I rescued thy life from the witch's power?
Didst thou not plight thy troth to me?
Drummer, drummer, hearken to me!"

But it was all in vain, the drummer did not awake, and when morning dawned, the King's daughter was forced to go back again as she came. On the second evening she turned her wishing-ring and said, "A dress as silvery as the moon." When she appeared at the feast in the dress which was as soft as moonbeams, it again excited the desire of the bride, and the King's daughter gave it to her for permission to pass the second night also, outside the door of the bedroom. Then in the stillness of the night, she cried,

"Drummer, drummer, I pray thee hear!
Hast thou forgotten thou heldest me dear?
That on the glass-mountain we sat hour by hour?
That I rescued thy life from the witch's power?
Didst thou not plight thy troth to me?
Drummer, drummer, hearken to me!"

But the drummer, who was stupefied with the sleeping-draught, could not be aroused. Sadly, next morning she went back to her hut in the forest. But the people in the house had heard the lamentation of the stranger-maiden, and told the bridegroom about it. They told him also that it was impossible that he could hear anything of it, because the maiden he was going to marry had poured a sleeping-draught into his wine. On the third evening, the King's daughter turned her wishing-ring, and said, "A dress glittering like the stars." When she showed herself therein at the feast, the bride was quite beside herself with the splendour of the dress, which far surpassed the others, and she said, "I must, and will have it." The maiden gave it as she had given the others for permission to spend the night outside the bridegroom's door.

✎ Well, the pure soul now wears the clothes of the sun, moon and stars one after the other and thus shows herself in the entire natural universe. But the mind has become intoxicated with the wine of the world, falls asleep when the outer light of the world fades, and cannot hear the inner voice to recognize the pure soul in everything. But then he learns from others that this voice exists, just as we sometimes learn from teachers that there is this inner voice of truth or intuition within us. And yet everyone must experience it directly and immediately. So, he now abstains from the sleeping draught, and when everything in him had become calm and quiet, and he still remained awake and did not fall into the stupor of sleep, then he heard her again.

✻ The bridegroom, however, did not drink the wine which was handed to him before he went to bed, but poured it behind the bed, and when everything was quiet, he heard a sweet voice which called to him,

"Drummer, drummer, I pray thee hear!
Hast thou forgotten thou heldest me dear?
That on the glass-mountain we sat hour by hour?
That I rescued thy life from the witch's power?
Didst thou not plight thy troth to me?
Drummer, drummer, hearken to me!"

Suddenly, his memory returned to him.

✎ Anyone who has once walked the royal path to the truth finds it much easier to remember again, to hear the inner voice of the pure soul and to wake up from the dream. And this can happen all of a sudden, like the pure sun breaking through the clouds, the inner light rising and the worldly blindness falling like scales from the eyes. You can hardly believe how stupid and blind you were.

✻ "Ah," cried he, "how can I have acted so unfaithfully; but the kiss which in the joy of my heart I gave my parents, on the right cheek, that is to blame for it all, that is what stupefied me!" He sprang up, took the King's daughter by the hand, and led her to his parents' bed. "This is my true bride," said he; "if I marry the other, I shall do a great wrong." The parents, when they heard how everything had happened, gave their consent. Then the lights in the hall were lighted again, drums and trumpets were brought, friends and relations were invited to come, and the real wedding was solemnized with great rejoicing. The first bride received the beautiful dresses as a compensation, and declared herself satisfied.

✎ This brought back the memory of the true soul to the mind, consciousness expanded again and was able to overcome the narrow boundaries of the external world. The active spirit recognized his true bride, and the physical parents also agreed. This means that the spiritual light now shines even in our worldly darkness, the heavenly drums and trumpets sound, and the true marriage between spirit and nature is completed and celebrated in great joy with all beings in the world in one unity or wholeness. And truly what an unimaginably “great joy” this is can only be experienced by those who achieve this great goal.

The worldly marriage would not have gone well either, because this bride was already married to a selfish mind that greedily grabbed the outward clothes and wanted to possess them. She was no longer free, and it would have been a typically profane marriage in which love is primarily just desire. But it is said that this bride was also satisfied and continues to wear the beautiful clothes of external nature as compensation, which probably means that it should not be to her detriment. For perhaps this wilful mind will also awaken and hear the voice of the pure soul that wears these clothes, so that the active spirit can find and walk the great path of liberation from its desire for external forms. This fairy tale could repeat itself at any time, perhaps even within ourselves, and find its happy ending. For in the whole or divine there is only a single, pure consciousness as a living, animated spirit-nature. Everything else are ideas of the mental drummer mind, which can only think in terms of separations or opposites and imagines itself as a separate ego, so that many different souls and minds appear in nature in which it is reflected. Why not? Pure consciousness can also assume these forms because it has complete freedom to assume any form it desires in the pure light. OM

Frozen Light by Konstantin Wecker (for Hans-Peter Dürr) - Lyrics

When through the cathedral of summer green trees
The lights descend like a blessing
And as crystals in the gaps
Standing from leaves and branches and sky,

Then you sense that what seems to be firmly attached
And reveals itself to us as reality,
is nothing but an image that is sufficient for itself,
Through which a great breath flows dreamily.
You may grasp it, you don't understand it.
Whatever you see is just frozen light.

When in such rare hours
The beauty of existence quietly revealed,
Because - otherwise never connected so easily -
intuition with experience is pairing,

Then don't hesitate to transform yourself,
Take this hour deep within yourself.
So out of time there is no need to act,
And only in the emptiness your being reveals itself.
You may grasp it, you don't understand it.
Whatever you see is just frozen light.

Swan Prince

✻ There was a girl in the middle of a big forest. A swan came towards her with a ball of yarn and said to her: “I am not a swan, but an enchanted prince. You can free me if you unwind the ball of yarn, as I will fly away with it. But be careful not to break the thread in two, or I will not reach my kingdom and will not be freed. But if you unwind the ball of yarn completely, then you will be my bride.”

✎ The swan with his white dress reminds us of a pure spirit that was enchanted or cursed in this world and now has to wear the animal body of a swan. But he is now aware of his enchantment and says himself: “I am not a swan”, but a prince with a royal spirit who should actually rule over the world and not be ruled by the world and trapped in a narrow body. Here we can think of reason, which as a holistic consciousness is free and independent of all ties. In this way, one could also see the swan at the end of his earthly life, now giving his soul or the wound-up thread of life into the hands of nature, which is supposed to unwind it. Because everything that has been wound up must of course be unwound again. This is the karma law of cause and effect. And if this thread as a flow of cause and effect does not break, if there is no longer any separation in the broadest sense, then both are redeemed, spirit and nature. Body and soul are reunited and the mystical marriage is celebrated as eternal wholeness or deity. So, the swan rises from this earthly world to a higher realm, after having recognized himself in the mirror of the waves on the sea of consciousness.

A similar symbolism of the swan, which can see beyond this earthly world, can be found in Socrates over 2400 years ago in Phaedo Chapter 35:
As Apollo’s property, I think the swans are skilled at divination, and since they foretell happiness in Hades, they sing and rejoice on that day more than they have in the previous time. But I myself believe that I am a fellow servant of the swans and dedicated to the same god, and that I have received the art of prophecy from my master to no lesser degree than they do, and therefore I will leave this life no less joyful.

Leonardo da Vinci wrote in his fable “The Swan” over 500 years ago:
The swan bent his flexible neck towards the water and looked at his reflection for a long time. Then he understood the reason for his tiredness and the cold that gripped his body like pincers and made him tremble like in winter: he knew with absolute certainty that his hour had come and that he must be ready to die. His feathers were as white as on the first day of his life. He had lived through years and seasons without soiling his undefiled garment. Now he could say goodbye and end his life in beauty. Raising his beautiful neck, he slowly, almost solemnly, headed under a weeping willow, where he used to rest on hot days. It was already evening. The sunset turned the lake water purple and violet. And in the great silence that descended upon everything, the swan began to sing. Never before had he found sounds so full of love for all of nature, for the beauty of the sky, the water and the earth. His sweetest song floated in the air, barely veiled by melancholy, until it quietly, quietly disappeared, one with the last light of the horizon. “It is the swan,” said the fish, the birds, all the animals of the forest and the meadows, moved, “it is the swan that is dying.”

The famous German song by Karat was written about this “Swan King” in 1980: link/Video

A swan king bent his neck down to the water.
His plumage was as white as on the first day,
and as pure as the sound of a siren.
In the glitter of the morning sun
he looked into the mirror of the waves,
and with his eyes breaking he knew:
This will be his farewell...
And the swan king began
to sing his first song,
under the weeping willow,
where he loved his life.
And he sang in the most beautiful tones
that anyone had ever heard on earth,
of the beauty of this earth,
which enchanted him, immortally...

Our girl, as an immaculate virgin or pure soul, probably heard this first and original song when the swan recognized his pure and immortal source. And with the eternal and holistic bond of the soul, nature should now follow him, as the pure soul:

✻ The girl took the ball of yarn and the swan rose into the air and the yarn unwound easily. She wound and wound all day long and by evening the end of the thread was already visible, but unfortunately it got caught on a thorn bush and broke off.

And the swan king sings
his whole last day,
until the evening sun quietly
flees into the dark red.
The weeping willow
silently lowers its leaves like lances.
The tones become quieter and quieter,
until the last light in the song dies away...

✎ But at the end of the day the thread breaks, which of course means a separation. It probably gets caught on the thorns of painful opposites (like “on the lances of the weeping willow”). We also saw a similar break in the last fairy tale about the “Drummer” when he kissed his earthly parents again, although he had already come a long way, conquered the Glass Mountain and burned the witch. There too the pure soul of nature became sad, and so here too she remains saddened in the suffering of external nature, where it is now dark again after the song of the Swan King has died away.

✻ The girl was very sad and wept. Night was about to fall; the wind was so loud in the forest that she was frightened and began to run as fast as she could. After she had been running for a long time, she saw a little light, which she hurried towards, and found a house and knocked. An old woman came out who was surprised to see a girl at the door. “Oh, my child, where have you come from so late?” - “Give me a place to stay tonight,” she said, “I have lost my way in the forest. And a little bread to eat too.” - “That is a difficult thing,” said the old woman, “I would gladly give it to you, but my husband is a maneater. If he finds you, he will eat you up, there is no mercy. But if you stay outside, the wild animals will eat you. I will see if I can help you through.”

✎ With the great power of love the pure soul of nature tries to find her pure spirit again in the spiritual darkness, and runs and hurries because she fears she has lost him. The Bible’s Song of Songs says something similar:
“Draw me! We will run after you, following the scent of your ointments.” (Song of Songs 1.3 according to Allioli)

What kind of house is it where the soul sees a small light in the dark forest and seeks protection and nourishment? Here we can first think of our body, which stands like a house in the forest of worldly ideas, which is illuminated from the inside by the small lights of our thoughts. The old mother would then be nature herself, which the soul calls “my child.” And the cannibal would be the ego spirit that lives in this house, a spirit that feeds, so to speak, on the opposites of “other people” and lives from this egocentric separation. Of course, this is a difficult situation for the pure soul, which has lost the connection to the pure spirit or pure consciousness, and now has to fear being eaten and, so to speak, incorporated and embodied in this world of wild animals and humans.

✻ So, she let the girl in and gave her a little bread to eat, and then hid her under the bed. But the maneater always came home before midnight, when the sun had completely set, and went away again in the morning before it rose. It was not long before he came in. “I smell, I smell human flesh!” he said, and searched the room. Finally, he reached under the bed and pulled the girl out. “That’s still a good morsel!” But the woman begged and begged until he promised to let her live through the night and not to eat her until the next morning for breakfast. But before sunrise the old woman woke the girl. “Hurry up and get away before my husband wakes up! Here I give you a golden spinning wheel, which is to be honoured. My name is Sun.”

✎ It is of course the great Mother Nature who nourishes and protects everything. And when it gets dark in the external world, the ego mind also returns to the interior of its body house and continues to search for nourishment in the form of thoughts, dreams and memories. But why does the pure soul smell like human flesh here? It is of course the basis of embodiment and thus also of human flesh and lies so to speak “under the bed”, where the ego can also find it in order to “incorporate” it and turn the holistically pure soul into a personally separated soul, which is then burdened with the weight of personal property and contaminated by this illusion. But Mother Nature of course has her means and ways to prevent the greedy ego mind from appropriating everything, and often enough shows him how weak his power over his supposedly own body is, especially with the idea of time: “You can do that tomorrow!” In this way, the pure soul can continue to use her freedom and is not completely incorporated and trapped in the body. She also receives a “golden spinning wheel” from the great mother, which reminds her of the spinning of the thread of life in the flow of cause and effect, and because it is golden, also of the truth that lies behind it.

So, Mother Nature now reveals herself throughout the universe as the sun, moon and stars:

✻ The girl went away and, in the evening, came to a house where everything was as it had been the previous evening, and the second old woman gave her a golden spindle as she left and said: “My name is Moon.” And on the third evening she came to a third house where the old woman gave her a golden reel and said: “My name is Star, and Prince Swan, although the thread was not yet completely unwound, was already so far along that he could enter his kingdom. There he is king and has already married and lives in great splendour on the Glass Mountain. You will go there this evening, but a dragon and a lion lie before to guard him. Take the bread and bacon and appease them with them.”

✎ The pure soul now searches in three mystical houses, whose lights shine down on us from the worldly sky. First in the house of the sun, which rules over the day, then in the house of the moon, which rules over the night with the wandering planets, and finally in the house of the fixed stars, which proclaim a realm of permanence far above. What we now explain as a practically dead cosmos of matter was of course previously viewed as much more spiritual and alive. You can also see here three rooms or areas of consciousness. But it is described that the greedy ego spirit or mind still lives everywhere as a self-consciousness that locks himself in a body and wants to “incorporate” the pure soul into it.

It is also worth noting that the pure soul does not recognize any difference in the nature of these houses or bodies, but they give themselves a name that corresponds to their external form. And that is correct, because basically they are all just external forms of the same consciousness in which all forms have appeared since eternity up to the furthest limits of what is knowable. Only in this pure consciousness nature and spirit can find themselves as father and mother in the eternal unity of the great and whole. And only through our egoistic mind, which grasps at the external forms, clings to them and builds a personal house out of them, does this holistic fabric of endless threads of cause and effect break apart, so that nature and spirit appear as a variety of objects and subjects separated from one another, giving rise to a world of opposites.

Accordingly, the sun, moon and stars all play a part in spinning the life threads of all other creatures here on earth, because everything is connected to everything else. And the old mothers give the soul the corresponding symbols in the form of tools that were previously used for spinning and processing the threads from which the external clothing for the body was then knitted and woven.

But only the star could see far enough to tell the searching soul where the royal swan had risen to and now rules over his kingdom as king. Can we imagine how large the kingdom of stars is with their light? We “know” today that the light from our sun alone takes over 8 minutes to reach the earth, although it travels almost 300,000 km every second. The closest star would be Proxima Centauri, which is over 4 light years away. Our Milky Way galaxy has a radius of over 52,000 light years. And the entire kingdom of stars that we know today with billions of galaxies is over 90 billion light years wide. And one light year is the unimaginably long distance that light travels in a year, i.e., over 9 trillion kilometres! Wow! And that’s just the material, visible world, beyond which our consciousness can rise much further. This visible realm of the stars is not an ordinary space with fixed outer boundaries, but rather a relative space of consciousness where the observer is always at the centre, no matter which star he is currently near, i.e., always exactly at the location of the Big Bang. One can imagine smaller and larger spaces of consciousness, from the smallest elementary particle, through atoms, molecules, cells, plants, animals, people, planets, solar systems and galaxies, to the entire universe and far beyond.

In this process of raising and expanding consciousness, we now encounter the mystical glass mountain again, which already played a major role in the last fairy tale of the drummer. And here too, in contrast to our physical world, we can think of a subtle world where matter has become transparent and its spiritual nature is increasingly revealed. One could also speak of a first level of heaven, where the world becomes ever higher and more spiritual. In this regard, one can imagine several levels of heaven, which was probably done, so that today we still speak of the “seventh heaven”, but hardly anyone knows the meaning. In the old Indian Puranas one can still find similar descriptions of seven lokas or worlds, for example in Vayu Purana 2.39. Accordingly, one could think of the glass mountain as the Swarloka of the gods and stars.

But this realm is also still guarded by “lions and dragons”. The mighty lion, which becomes a predator through hunger, and the fire-breathing dragon, which binds and wants to eat the virgin or pure soul, remind us again of the three giants from “The Drummer” who guard the forest in front of the Glass Mountain, i.e., of desire and hatred, as well as ignorance, because they guard and even want to preserve a border where in reality there is no border or separation. These guards, as desire and hatred, allow themselves to be briefly satisfied with worldly or physical food so that the pure soul can also come to this kingdom on the Glass Mountain. Well, this higher world also has its limits, and the swan has certainly come a long way, but he has not yet been able to reach true freedom. How could he, as long as he is still separated from the pure soul?

✻ And so, it happened. The girl threw the bread and bacon into the monsters’ mouths, and they let her through, and she got to the castle gate, but the guards did not let her into the castle itself. So, she sat down in front of the gate and began to spin on her golden wheel.

✎ The pure soul of pure nature actually knows no boundaries, but she can only be consciously recognized where she is allowed in. Otherwise, she waits, so to speak, at the gate of our senses and thoughts and spins the threads of life with the tools of Mother Nature, which are made of “gold”, that is, of the truth of a pure consciousness that can take on any form.

The end of this fairy tale is basically like the last part of “The Drummer”, only that it takes place not on earth but on the Glass Mountain. The queen, who has since married, reveals herself through her greed for external forms that she is not yet the pure soul. And now it is the matter of the king remembering the origin of his thread of life in order to unite the beginning and the end, i.e., the pure soul with the pure spirit, so that spirit and soul are once again a pure, holistic consciousness where there is no longer any separation.

✻ The queen watched from above, she liked the beautiful little wheel and came down and wanted to have it. The girl said she could have it if she would allow her to spend a night next to the king’s bedroom. The queen agreed and the girl was led upstairs. But everything that was said in the parlour could be heard in the bedroom. When night fell and the king lay in bed, she sang:

“Does King Swan
still think of his promised bride Julian?
She has gone through sun, moon and stars,
through lions and dragons.
Will King Swan not wake up at all?”

✎ The name Julian also means “dedicated to Jupiter”. Jupiter was the supreme deity in Roman religion, corresponds to the sky father Zeus in Greek mythology and was formerly considered divine reason (e.g., in Jacob Böhme, Signatura Rerum 10.8).

✻ But the king did not hear it, for the cunning queen was afraid of the girl and had given him a sleeping potion.

✎ Why was the cunning queen afraid of the pure soul? Well, that which lives from separation fears wholeness. So, our egoism will never willingly give way, but will do everything to numb and lull our minds so that we cannot hear the voice of truth.

✻ Then he slept so soundly that he would not have heard the girl even if she had stood before him. In the morning everything was lost, and she had to go outside the gate again. Then she sat down and spun with her spindle, which pleased the queen too, and she gave it away on the same condition that she could spend a night next to the king’s bedroom. Then she sang again:

“Does King Swan
still think of his promised bride Julian?
She has gone through sun, moon and stars,
through lions and dragons.
Will King Swan not wake up at all?”

The king, however, was fast asleep again from the sleeping potion, and the girl had also lost her spindle. So, on the third morning she sat down in front of the gate with her golden reel and reeled. The queen also wanted the precious object and promised the girl that in return she should stay another night next to the bedroom. But she had noticed the deception and asked the king’s servant to give him something else to drink that evening. Then, she sang again:

“Does King Swan
still think of his promised bride Julian?
She has gone through sun, moon and stars,
through lions and dragons.
Will King Swan not wake up at all?”

Then the king awoke when he heard her voice, recognized her, and asked the queen: “If one has lost a key and finds it again, do one keep the old one or the new one?” The queen said: “The old one, of course.” - “Well, then you can no longer be my wife, for I have found my first bride again.” So, the next morning the queen had to go home to her father, and the king married his true bride, and they lived happily until they died.

✎ This queen was certainly not the pure soul that the swan was looking for when he rose from the world and handed over the tangle of his life story into the hands of nature. For she is a soul that longs for property. And what longs for property cannot be true love, but desire and egoism. So, the spirit had not yet found the original key to the castle in which he lived. And without it, he remained locked and imprisoned here by a soul that lets him fall asleep and dream. But the pure soul always finds her way if we are really ready to listen to her:

... When a swan sings, the animals listen.
When a swan sings, the animals are silent.
And they bend down low, whispering quietly to each other:
It is a swan king who dies in love.

To “die in love” means to live forever, because true love knows no separation. Sad death as a terrible loss and dark end is only known to the “animals” whose holistic reason has not yet developed. If we too can hear this highest song of wholeness or divinity and listen in silence, then we may also sense that we are being deceived by our “individual soul” and try to remember again where our first origin is, where there is no separation and where “my soul and your soul” are only “one soul”.

The Indian Bhagavatam Purana also says something similar:
Thus, the swan, which had risen from Lake Manasa, was shaken up by his friend and recognized his true nature. In doing so, he remembered his first origin, which he had forgotten through separation. Oh Prachinavarhis, I have given you this teaching in a symbolic way, because the Supreme Lord and Creator of the universe can only be known beyond concepts. (Bhagavatam 4.28)

The Six Swans

✎ Based on the last three fairy tales, we would now like to try to penetrate the spiritual depth of the symbolism, especially since most of the symbols of "Prince Swan" can also be found in this fairy tale. In the first part in particular, we can think about how the spiritual swan actually became an earthly swan. Of course, as always, we recommend reading the fairy tale text in its entirety first.

✻ Once upon a time, a certain King was hunting in a great forest, and he chased a wild beast so eagerly that none of his attendants could follow him. When evening drew near, he stopped and looked around him, and then he saw that he had lost his way. He sought a way out, but could find none.

✎ The story begins with a king, in whom we can once again see the ruling or active spirit, who, as we later learn, has lost his first wife and queen. Here we could think that as a pure spirit he has lost his pure and original nature or soul. That is, he has turned away from his soul and thus separated, and separation means death and loss of the original unity. With his conceptual mind he has thus turned away from the inner unity and turned to the external diversity in the forest of forms and ideas, where he then lost himself. This means symbolically: As an ego mind, he separated himself from "his people" and now eagerly hunts in the earthly forest of imagined forms for "wild" food for his body and mind. In doing so he gets lost in this forest of the earthly world and cannot find an exit in his state of separation, so that he is threatened with the loss of his rule and ultimately death. Does this sound familiar?

✻ Then he perceived an aged woman with a head which nodded perpetually, who came towards him, but she was a witch. "Good woman," said he to her, "Can you not show me the way through the forest?" "Oh, yes, Lord King," she answered, "that I certainly can, but on one condition, and if you do not fulfil that, you will never get out of the forest, and will die of hunger in it." - "What kind of condition is it?" asked the King. "I have a daughter," said the old woman, "who is as beautiful as anyone in the world, and well deserves to be your consort, and if you will make her your Queen, I will show you the way out of the forest."

✎ So, the king, in his despair, comes to his senses again and sees the ancient being of external nature in the forest of forms, namely the famous witch, who of course also ensured that he was able to come to this forest in the first place, to hunt here and to get lost. We have already thought about the term "witch" (or hag, in German: Hexe) in "The Drummer", and here too the meaning of the number six as Greek "Hexa" and Latin "Sex" in relation to the "six swans" is obvious, as is the etymological derivation of "Hagazussa", which "guards the fence" insofar as she causes the separation and guards the borders of the forest, but is also the key to liberation. For the path that leads into the forest also leads out again.

The condition is of course that the king reunites with his soul, the spirit with nature. Otherwise, the separation can never be overcome. The witch, however, as an external nature, offers her daughter as a natural soul that is, so to speak, bewitched, and bound to the five physical senses with conceptual thought as the sixth in an external nature of separate forms, so that of course the spirit that marries her is also bound to a separate body and imprisoned in it. In this sense, in contrast to the "pure holistic soul," one could also speak of a "separate egoistic soul," so that the usual idea of "my soul and yours", and of "my body and yours" arises.

✻ In the anguish of his heart the King consented, and the old woman led him to her little hut, where her daughter was sitting by the fire. She received the King as if she had been expecting him, and he saw that she was very beautiful, but still, she did not please him, and he could not look at her without secret horror. After he had taken the maiden up on his horse, the old woman showed him the way, and the King reached his royal palace again, where the wedding was celebrated.

✎ The king had actually already agreed, i.e., had turned his will in this direction, when he went hunting in this forest of external nature. But now he is becoming more and more aware of this. That is why the witch's daughter, who was sitting by the fire, received him not unexpectedly. And this probably does not mean the fire of love or the Holy Spirit with which “The Drummer" burned the entire forest of ideas in the penultimate fairy tale, but the hearth fire of passion on which the "eagerly hunted game" from the forest of ideas is to be prepared as tasty food for body and mind to satisfy hunger. The external beauty of this soul reminds us of worldly seduction, and the inner horror of a higher voice of truth that still resonates in the king as wisdom and reason. Nevertheless, he now lifts this soul to his side and rides with her on his horse back to his royal castle. That means, he rides on a physical being as a spiritual king with his queen. And in his kingdom, in conjunction with the natural soul given to him by the witch, he rules at least over external nature, i.e., over the forest of forms and ideas where he loves to hunt. The spirit needs some kind of soul, either the pure, holistic soul or an egoistically separated soul, because without nature the spirit cannot rule or work because he has nothing in which he can work. But the continuation of the story shows that this marriage was not and could not be a pure union of spirit and nature.

✻ The King had already been married once, and had by his first wife, seven children, six boys and a girl, whom he loved better than anything else in the world. As he now feared that the step-mother might not treat them well, and even do them some injury, he took them to a lonely castle which stood in the midst of a forest. It lay so concealed, and the way was so difficult to find, that he himself would not have found it, if a wise woman had not given him a ball of yarn with wonderful properties. When he threw it down before him, it unrolled itself and showed him his path.

✎ Here we learn of the first woman and queen, whom he certainly loved "more than anything in the world" at the beginning and how he now loves her children, that is, a true love between a pure spirit and a pure nature, in which we practically all have our origin. The six beloved boys, as pure beings of the witnessing spirit, remind us of the five senses with thought as the sixth, and the beloved girl, as a pure virgin and being of the giving birth nature, reminds us of the one pure soul, which of course is always and everywhere present, but is rarely conscious to us.

We know the symbol of the "stepmother" or "substitute mother" from many fairy tales. It means above all that the active spirit has lost his original unity with the true nature and is united with a second or "other" nature, which is supposed to replace the true nature. This can of course only be an illusory nature, which cannot exist in her entirety but only in the separation of opposites, i.e., in an egoistic world of separate forms, as we all know it well. This nature is constantly afraid of the holistic truth because she will disappear as soon as the true nature returns. That is why she does not know true holistic love, but can only love her own forms or children in order to confirm herself.

The king now fears, not without reason, that the bewitched egoistic soul, to which the spirit is now married, could corrupt and even kill his true children, because the holistic purity of these senses and soul is of course a threat to the bewitched or illusory nature of the external forms in the realm of separations. This is what happens to all of us when egoism reigns within us, which can only survive in such an external or material nature, although deep within us we can still feel a true and pure love. But we have taken these original children or senses together with the pure soul deep in the forest of ideas to "a lonely castle and hidden them". And we would have lost the memory of them long ago if there were not also a "wise woman" within us, a higher wisdom that gives us the soul string that still connects our spirit with our pure soul of true nature. And we can unravel this mystical string of cause and effect in our mind's eye, so to speak, and trace it back to find our way back to our pure origin.

Jacob Boehme also wrote about this “stepmother” in 1620:
We came from our true, pure, paradisiacal mother, in whom we were supposed to live as dear children. And now we are enclosed in the mother who gives birth to wild animals, and have received animal characteristics. So, we act no differently than wild animals, for we have surrendered ourselves to a foreign mother who cares for us and leads us captive on her ropes. Now we must leave the external human being to the earthly mother, but we cannot escape from her, for she has captured us in flesh and blood, she raises us in herself and considers us her children. But we have a precious jewel hidden within us, with which we are God's children. With this, let us strive for the highest good, so that we may attain it. (On the Threefold Life of Man, 14.2)

✻ The King, however, went so frequently away to his dear children that the Queen observed his absence; she was curious and wanted to know what he did when he was quite alone in the forest. She gave a great deal of money to his servants, and they betrayed the secret to her, and told her likewise of the ball which alone could point out the way. And now she knew no rest until she had learnt where the King kept the ball of yarn.

✎ This "being quite alone" far away from this world, deep in the forest, where the usual paths do not reach, reminds us from a spiritual point of view of the retreat into our inner being on the path of remembrance, which is also called meditation or contemplation. In this way we come to the origin of our being, where the pure love of holistic senses and thoughts is still alive in secret. But if you marry the egoistic soul, it is only a matter of time before she captivates our thoughts with the promise of great gain, takes hold of the clew of life's story and learns which paths the active spirit takes and who he secretly loves. Then she naturally fears that he could be unfaithful to her. What can she do about it?

✻ Then she made little shirts of white silk, and as she had learnt the art of witchcraft from her mother, she sewed a charm inside them. And once when the King had ridden forth to hunt, she took the little shirts and went into the forest, and the ball showed her the way. The children, who saw from a distance that someone was approaching, thought that their dear father was coming to them, and full of joy, ran to meet him. Then she threw one of the little shirts over each of them, and no sooner had the shirts touched their bodies than they were changed into swans, and flew away over the forest. The Queen went home quite delighted, and thought she had got rid of her step-children, but the girl had not run out with her brothers, and the Queen knew nothing about her.

✎ Here we are told how the egoistic soul makes small, narrow shirts for the pure senses and thoughts out of the seductive silk thread that was spun by a greedy, voracious caterpillar. And while the king or spirit was distracted on the hunt in the external world, she threw this web over the senses and thoughts and enveloped them with it, so that they became physical and flew out of their hiddenness or wholeness into the external world as swans. This web of the egoistic soul reminds us again of the ball of life’s story that is wound up as a soul bond of cause and effect, and thus also envelops and embodies the senses and thoughts.

Why swans in particular? Well, they are practically among the largest and heaviest birds that can still fly. And perhaps what is meant by this is that flying birds, which are also considered a symbol of the soul, cannot be embodied any better. They also have the white feathers of external purity, although internally they are animals that can be very wilful and aggressive, and do not immediately flee when threatened, like other small birds. This is why they are also difficult to tame, and who does not know what untamed senses and thoughts mean. After all, swans are not typical herd animals like the goose, which likes to seek the whole, but often travel alone or with a lifelong partner, which is why they usually defend their territory stubbornly, just as our senses like to see themselves separated from the other senses, defend their respective territory and are bound to their desired sense objects for life.

And why not black shirts to send them into the world of darkness and death? No, they should live, but as her own children in the limited light of her external world, because she doesn’t know no other. Thus, the egoistic witchcraft was sewn into these "white silk shirts" or woven or entangled, so that they separated from their sister, the pure soul, and flew out into a world of external forms and separation. Even so, our senses and thoughts are pure and "white as on the first day" insofar as they are pure information or pure consciousness, but the mind is free to evaluate and judge, either with holistic reason from a divine perspective or with conceptual-separating reason from an egoistic perspective. In this way, the senses and thoughts can be bewitched and enchanted, but of course not the pure soul, which "does not run towards the illusion" so that the illusion "knows nothing about her either". Because if the pure soul or nature were to be contaminated, bewitched and disappear, then we would truly be hopelessly lost.

✻ Next day the King went to visit his children, but he found no one but the little girl. "Where are thy brothers?" asked the King. "Alas, dear father," she answered, "they have gone away and left me alone!" and she told him that she had seen from her little window how her brothers had flown away over the forest in the shape of swans, and she showed him the feathers, which they had let fall in the courtyard, and which she had picked up. The King mourned, but he did not think that the Queen had done this wicked deed, and as he feared that the girl would also be stolen away from him, he wanted to take her away with him. But she was afraid of her step-mother, and entreated the King to let her stay just this one night more in the forest castle.

✎ The active spirit has now lost the inner connection to his true senses, and the pure soul will not and cannot stay with him, because where illusion reigns, truth cannot exist. The active spirit has thus not only lost his unity with true nature, but also his connection to her through the soul bond, and has fallen completely into physicality. He no longer rides on the horse as a king with his queen, as he did when he returned to his kingdom, but has become the horse on which the queen now rides. One could also say that he has now become a swan, like his senses and thoughts, and no longer knows who he really is, because he has been controlled and captured by the illusion, which he can no longer recognize. Just as the king "did not think that the queen had committed this evil deed."

And if we are honest with ourselves, we also live in such a world. We think that our senses and thoughts are free and can rise into the world like white swans, but it is only a narrow physical world of separation in the play of opposites. Of course, we try everything to maintain this illusion of freedom with an almost endless variety of forms through our modern media such as television, telephone and Internet or through technology such as cars, airplanes and other machines, but this artificially illuminated world cannot protect us from an inner darkness. Although, we are outwardly as "delighted" as the queen, inwardly we "mourn" like the king and increasingly fall into depression, which has now become a widespread national disease. We have enclosed our consciousness in a narrow physicality and now believe that we have to run, drive and fly through the world with our bodies in order to be free, and the further and faster, the freer. And of course, our selfish queen will do everything to keep our minds bewitched, which is why we love selfishness in our world more than anything.

This concludes the first part of this fairy tale, and we have learned how the pure spirit could incarnate in this world, or how the pure, holistic and eternal consciousness could forget itself and identify with an external, separate and transient form that it had made for itself.

The pure soul or nature remains hidden and unconscious during the "spiritual night", as long as this night lasts for the king, until the spiritual morning dawns, the senses and thoughts are freed and the pure soul is recognized again. And what the soul does there in secret, how it works in the subconscious in the depths of nature, we will now read in the second part of this fairy tale, and of course we also want to try to understand the symbolism of this path to salvation from a spiritual point of view.

✻ The poor girl thought, "I can no longer stay here. I will go and seek my brothers." And when night came, she ran away, and went straight into the forest. She walked the whole night long, and next day also without stopping, until she could go no farther for weariness. Then she saw a forest-hut, and went into it, and found a room with six little beds, but she did not venture to get into one of them, but crept under one, and lay down on the hard ground, intending to pass the night there.

✎ The pure soul now searches in the realm of the moon at night, similar to the last fairy tale of "Prince Swan", and in the realm of the sun during the day, and finally ascends to a forest hut, probably in the realm of the stars, which is reminiscent of our animal body, since it is practically made of "stardust". In this house, the five senses and thinking have their six narrowly confined "little beds" and are, so to speak, at home. Of course, the pure soul does not want to lie down in these beds, but rather lies down underneath them, similar to the last fairy tale. Because as the soul of nature, which spins and weaves all the threads of life from cause and effect, she is of course also the basis of embodiment. And this happens above all through the "weariness" or inertness of nature, so that she literally freezes in certain forms. She wanted to wait there until the "spiritual night" of the house's residents was over.

✻ Just before sunset, however, she heard a rustling, and saw six swans come flying in at the window. They alighted on the ground and blew at each other, and blew all the feathers off, and their swan's skins stripped off like a shirt. Then the maiden looked at them and recognized her brothers, was glad and crept forth from beneath the bed. The brothers were not less delighted to see their little sister, but their joy was of short duration. "Here canst thou not abide," they said to her. "This is a shelter for robbers, if they come home and find thee, they will kill thee." - "But can you not protect me?" asked the little sister. "No," they replied, "only for one quarter of an hour each evening can we lay aside our swan's skins and have during that time our human form; after that, we are once more turned into swans."

✎ The times of sunrise and sunset have always been a particularly mystical time of change between day and night, neither this nor that, like a no man's land between two realms, a twilight and a time of spirits, which people used to like to spend with rituals, prayer and meditation. Even today, a sunrise or sunset can inspire us deeply, calm the thoughts, open the senses and expand consciousness. And so here in the body house, too, the senses and thoughts could easily take off their tight feather shirts and show their true nature, so that nature and spirit recognized each other with joy in their wholeness. But like in the last fairy tale of "Prince Swan", this house is also home to the greedy ego, which wants to take everything for itself and lives like a "robber" in the world. And at the end of the day, the hungry ego returns to the inwards of the body house, where it continues to search for nourishment in the form of thoughts, dreams and memories. Therefore, a holistic soul cannot stay here, because she would immediately be devoured and incorporated because the ego naturally wants its own or personal soul. The pure senses and thoughts could protect them from this, but their purity or truth only lasts for a brief moment in the twilight, because they have been embodied and must now serve the body with the ego mind in a narrowly limited space of consciousness, during the day in the external and at night in the internal dream world.

✻ The little sister wept and said, "Can you not be set free?" - "Alas, no," they answered, "the conditions are too hard! For six years thou mayst neither speak nor laugh, and in that time, thou must sew together six little shirts of starflowers for us. And if one single word falls from thy lips, all thy work will be lost." And when the brothers had said this, the quarter of an hour was over, and they flew out of the window again as swans.

✎ Now the question is how the senses and thoughts can be freed or redeemed from the restrictive shirts of their physicality? And when we read the conditions, we naturally first think of a long period of penance and asceticism, so that other versions of this fairy tale speak of shirts made of nettles that the girl had to spin, weave and sew as a path of suffering. This is a path that reminds us not only of the path of suffering of Christ, who was given the crown of thorns, but also of many other ascetics, hermits, recluses and monks who were able to overcome their physicality and regain healing as holiness, wholeness or divinity. And these tried and tested paths to salvation, which people have been following since ancient times, often included a long-standing vow of silence, as we can read, for example, in the ancient Indian Mahabharata 13.10:
The ways of virtue are extremely subtle and can hardly be understood by people with an impure soul. For this reason, the ascetics take a vow of silence and follow the paths of the generally respected order through the appropriate initiations without getting lost in words. For fear of saying something wrong or disastrous, the ascetics often refrain from speaking at all. For even righteous people, blessed with every virtue, truthfulness and simplicity, have been seen to accumulate great guilt due to words spoken unworthily.

But here the brothers are supposed to get shirts made of starflowers to break the witch's spell. And starflowers remind us less of pain and suffering, but more of a vibrant, bright variety of flowers in nature that fills the entire, unimaginably large realm of the stars with beauty and joy, more of the heavenly flowers of starlight than of our earthly plants made of stardust.

And "sewing together" reminds us of the wholeness of the senses and thoughts in a realm of pure love, which the active spirit needs to overcome every separation and thus also the egoistic physicality of mine and yours in a world of opposites. Just as the famous wreath or ring woven from daisies symbolizes the wholeness that we like to put on our heads. Goethe also spoke of a starflower in [Faust I] in order to announce Faustian love to Gretchen in the famous flower petal game “He loves me, loves me not, loves me…”: “Yes, child! and let this blossom-word for thee be speech divine! He loves thee!”

And until this divine or holistic view of the senses and thoughts is achieved again, it should not be spoken about, and especially not by the pure soul herself, because as soon as the ego mind takes hold of this work, "all work is lost". Because then the pure soul becomes a "concept" in the world of opposites and can no longer be truth and wholeness. We know all too well how fanatical and devastating people can become when they grasp the words of God with their ego mind and then believe: "I am the way, the truth and the life..." So, on this path it is not about understanding in the ego mind, but about a direct experience, awareness, knowledge and realization, a "self-knowledge" and "self-realization" so to speak, which is not done by the ego, but which happens "by itself" in the wholeness of spirit and nature.

And why not laugh for once? On the one hand, it is a time of mourning over the separation, so the pure soul should not give the impression of being really happy and glad about it. Who does not know those times of crisis when we feel sad and depressed deep down inside? On the other hand, this work requires the utmost seriousness, without being distracted by ridiculous things.

The process of redemption from witchcraft is said to take six long years. Similarly, there is also talk of cycles of seven years in which a person develops from an infant to a schoolchild, to a teenager, to an adult, etc., and pure reason should increasingly awaken. These years seem relatively long to us, but nature itself works in completely different dimensions here. These six years could even mean the entire six days of creation as described in the Bible. And during all this time, the pure soul of nature is determined to do her work.

✻ The maiden, however, firmly resolved to deliver her brothers, even if it should cost her life. She left the hut, went into the midst of the forest, seated herself on a tree, and there passed the night. Next morning, she went out and gathered starflowers and began to sew. She could not speak to any one, and she had no inclination to laugh; she sat there and looked at nothing but her work.

✎ So, the pure soul goes into all of nature, where she can be found everywhere, in the tree of life, so to speak, where she sits in complete silence and does her work with all seriousness and only looks at it. She has no desire to laugh, because she mourns the separation and will only be happy again when this time is over. With this, the pure soul of nature now strives full of love again for the wholeness of our senses and thought. Isn't that a wonderful and profound view of nature, how she works tirelessly on the inside on the work of our salvation, unrecognized by the outside world? Even if it often feels like nettle shirts, suffering is only one of her means, and not even the most decisive one: "Let this blossom-word for thee be speech divine! She loves thee!”

✻ When she had already spent a long time there it came to pass that the King of the country was hunting in the forest, and his huntsmen came to the tree on which the maiden was sitting. They called to her and said, "Who art thou?" But she made no answer. "Come down to us," said they. "We will not do thee any harm." She only shook her head. As they pressed her further with questions she threw her golden necklace down to them, and thought to content them thus. They, however, did not cease, and then she threw her girdle down to them, and as this also was to no purpose, her garters, and by degrees everything that she had on that she could do without until she had nothing left but her shift. The huntsmen, however, did not let themselves be turned aside by that, but climbed the tree and fetched the maiden down and led her before the King.

✎ Here the king comes into play again as an active spirit, without whom nature cannot work and accomplish her work. From a spiritual point of view, it is of course the same king or spirit as in the first part, who hunts again in the forest of the world and sends out his hunters. The hunters would then again be his five senses with the thoughts that have been bewitched and need redemption. And as a young prince, he is naturally looking for his queen or soul, so that "his hunters" are not satisfied with the external material forms of nature, but want to grasp and take hold of her "naked and living being" itself. Which is of course impossible, because if she had taken off her last shirt, then they would only have grasped into the void. Even so, we can only grasp and take hold of the soul of nature in external forms with our bewitched senses and thoughts, which then usually becomes "my wife" or "my soul" as physical and spiritual property, seized by the ego mind.

Here we find a wonderful symbolism that one can meditate on for a long time: the generative spirit cannot be satisfied with all the fruits that the tree of life gives, because they are only golden chains, belts and bands, until he has rediscovered, recognized and united with the pure soul of the giving birth nature.

✻ The King asked, "Who art thou? What art thou doing on the tree?" But she did not answer. He put the question in every language that he knew, but she remained as mute as a fish. As she was so beautiful, the King's heart was touched, and he was smitten with a great love for her.

“One look at our true nature and we are in love.”

✎ Here something very unusual happens. The spirit finds a soul that has no name, does not answer his questions and cannot even laugh. And yet he feels a great love for her that touches him deep in his heart. Of course, because she is his true nature, which is in truth always united with him and, as pure consciousness, can take on any form she wants. But she cannot answer him on the level of the mind because his senses and thoughts are still bewitched and the pure soul would thus lose her truth and purity. We feel the same way with our love for God. We do not know his name or his work in the tree of life, and for a long time we do not receive an answer to our questions. Only great love can connect us with him and give us trust in a spiritual world and eternal life.

✻ He put his mantle on her, took her before him on his horse, and carried her to his castle. Then he caused her to be dressed in rich garments, and she shone in her beauty like bright daylight, but no word could be drawn from her. He placed her by his side at table, and her modest bearing and courtesy pleased him so much that he said, "She is the one whom I wish to marry, and no other woman in the world." And after some days he united himself to her.

✎ Well, the active spirit "puts his mantle on her", his physical one, and lifts her up to his side again, as in the first part of this fairy tale, to ride on the horse of his physicality as king with his queen into his kingdom of the external world. Back then it was the selfish soul of the witch, of whom he knew where she came from. And she was also beautiful, but inside he had felt a "horror" and no great love for her. He had married her anyway because he wanted to regain his kingdom. This time it is the pure soul. But the worldly spirit is still dominated by the same selfishness that now symbolically meets us as the "evil mother of the king" and asks the same questions that our egoic mind would usually ask.

✻ The King, however, had a wicked mother who was dissatisfied with this marriage and spoke ill of the young Queen. "Who knows," said she, "from whence the creature who can't speak, comes? She is not worthy of a king!" After a year had passed, when the Queen brought her first child into the world, the old woman took it away from her, and smeared her mouth with blood as she slept. Then she went to the King and accused the Queen of being a man-eater. The King would not believe it, and would not suffer any one to do her any injury. She, however, sat continually sewing at the shirts, and cared for nothing else. The next time, when she again bore a beautiful boy, the false step-mother used the same treachery, but the King could not bring himself to give credit to her words. He said, "She is too pious and good to do anything of that kind; if she were not dumb, and could defend herself, her innocence would come to light."

✎ The evil stepmother became now an evil mother-in-law, who often stands as a symbol of selfish motherly love and sees her daughter-in-law as a competitor who wants to take away the son, she gave birth to and raised and now considers her property. Accordingly, she accuses her daughter-in-law of being a "cannibal" or "sorceress", which is what she actually is. But the great love between spirit and soul is still stronger and cannot be destroyed by external events in the world. Yes, such constant trust is rare, and in a similar way we also find it difficult to trust an eternally pure God who obviously allows so much suffering, loss and death in this world, kills and eats up his own creatures and ultimately even us. Do we sometimes ask ourselves who actually tells us such terrible stories about cruel nature? And why? Then perhaps we could also feel this great love for God and believe in his purity and innocence, which he will reveal to us one day. And until then, “the soul of his nature continually works toward our salvation and pays attention to nothing else.”

✻ But when the old woman stole away the newly-born child for the third time, and accused the Queen, who did not utter one word of defence, the King could do no otherwise than deliver her over to justice, and she was sentenced to suffer death by fire.

✎ This is how the famous test of fire finally comes, which we also got to know in the penultimate fairy tale of “The Drummer" on the glass mountain: Is it true love, or just the blind desire of an egotistical attachment that cannot and does not want to see the truth? How far does such pure and true love reach? Yes, this love can even overcome egoism, and the active spirit becomes ready to let go of all property and "deliver her over to justice". Similarly, “Prince Swan” also handed over the whole tangle of his life story to Mother Nature. For true love cannot have property of any form, just as pure consciousness knows no property, otherwise it would be desire that turns into hate as soon as the property is threatened. True love is therefore the power of pure forgiveness, which dissolves all contradictions of mine and yours, and at the same time it also receives everything back, for then there is only one soul, one nature and one spirit in one deity. And so, our enchanted senses and thoughts are cleansed and redeemed from every egoism of separation:

✻ When the day came for the sentence to be executed, it was the last day of the six years during which she was not to speak or laugh, and she had delivered her dear brothers from the power of the enchantment. The six shirts were ready, only the left sleeve of the sixth was wanting. When, therefore, she was led to the stake, she laid the shirts on her arm, and when she stood on high and the fire was just going to be lighted, she looked around and six swans came flying through the air towards her. Then she saw that her deliverance was near, and her heart leapt with joy. The swans swept towards her and sank down so that she could throw the shirts over them, and as they were touched by them, their swan's skins fell off, and her brothers stood in their own bodily form before her, and were vigorous and handsome. The youngest only lacked his left arm, and had in the place of it a swan's wing on his shoulder.

✎ Why do the senses and thoughts need new shirts? Why not just take off the old ones, like they did in the forest-hut during the brief period of twilight? Well, the path that leads into the forest also leads out again, what has been wound up must be unwound again, or as it was said in “The Drummer”: “As you have brewed, so you must drink.” So, the small and tight shirts made of the web of the greedy silkworm must be replaced now with the large and wide shirts made of the flowers of the stars, more with starlight than with stardust, in order to overcome the separation, to be released from the bond and to achieve wholeness or healing.

And where did the swans come from? Well, they were still the king's beloved senses and thoughts, which now returned from the external world "through the air" to the pure soul and were released from their narrow consciousness. Consciousness expanded again and the separation between spirit and nature could be overcome with the power of love, so that the king recognized the true nature of his queen.

And why was the youngest missing his left arm? It is said that the perfection of this world lies in its imperfection. As long as we live in this world, a small part of the animal body will always cling to us, especially to the intellectual mind, which is our youngest child, so to speak. But we can be conscious of it so that it cannot control us. Then everything is good and perfect, and the happy ending is near:

✻ They embraced and kissed each other, and the Queen went to the King, who was greatly moved, and she began to speak and said, "Dearest husband, now I may speak and declare to thee that I am innocent, and falsely accused." And she told him of the treachery of the old woman who had taken away her three children and hidden them. Then to the great joy of the King they were brought thither, and as a punishment, the wicked step-mother was bound to the stake, and burnt to ashes. But the King and the Queen with their six brothers lived many years in happiness and peace.

✎ When the senses and thoughts of the active or generative spirit are pure again, the pure soul of the birthing nature can reveal her innocence and pure love to him. And so, the sister gets her brothers back, the king his beloved queen, the pure spirit his true nature, and the united couple their children, so that they are now all one big whole again. And the false, evil or cruel mother nature burns with the ego mind as an illusion on the stake (in German: Scheiterhaufen, scheitern = to fail, Haufen = pile) in her own fire that she had intended for the pure soul. But the pure soul knows no failure and can never be burned, as was also described in “The Drummer" on the glass mountain. Only the bewitched physicality burns here on earth "to ashes", that is, to stardust, from which all our bodies are made, which is basically just pure energy and pure light or consciousness. What remains is a happy family that is conscious of its wholeness and can live in this earthly world for many long years in happiness and peace with a reasonable spirit.

We have now heard of three basic ways of dealing with the knot of our life story: 1) As an active mind, you can play with it, ride on it, let yourself be carried away by it and try to hold on to it. 2) You can also get completely entangled in it and allow yourself to be completely enclosed, bound and overwhelmed by it. 3) Or you can hand it over to nature to unwind it and free yourself from it by trusting in nature with the power of love. For the more the mind with the ego-mind hunts and grasps for the forms of nature in the forest of ideas and clings to the fruits of its personal actions, the more this knot is wound up and the further the active mind moves away from its true nature and also wraps its senses and thoughts ever more tightly and densely in this web. Therefore, the ego-mind is fundamentally incapable of unwinding this knot again. But because it is a soul bond of cause and effect, it must of course be unwound at some point and the narrowed consciousness expanded. And the pure soul of nature works tirelessly on this for our well-being and is only happy again when the great work is completed, as this fairy tale describes in such a wonderful way.

May we too find the pure soul of our true nature in the tree of life, which wears the clothes of the sun, moon and stars, has the golden tools of spinning wheel, spindle and reel for our life thread and gives birth to our beloved children, itself, the senses and thoughts. May we feel love for true nature again in the depths of our hearts, trust it and give it a chance to reveal its pure love and innocence!

How can we practically imagine how our senses can escape the tightly knitted shirt and expand? Therefor we would like to present a video on the subject of "seeing without eyes" and how easy it is for children to be able to see this external world without their physical eyes. And if you look into this subject more closely, it quickly becomes clear that our conceptual mind is the biggest obstacle, which vehemently claims: "That's not possible!" Of course, children have it much easier here. Otherwise, abilities such as "clairvoyance" have long been known, and Indian yogis also know of such "siddhis". But the fact that children can learn it so easily in practice is astonishing. And what does our "modern science" say about this? Of course, it is silent, because what cannot be according to its world view must not be, and is either forbidden or ignored...

The poor Girl and the Star-Money

✻ There was once on a time a little girl whose father and mother were dead, and she was so poor that she no longer had any little room to live in, or bed to sleep in, and at last she had nothing else but the clothes she was wearing and a little bit of bread in her hand which some charitable soul had given her. She was, however, good and pious. And as she was thus forsaken by all the world, she went forth into the open country, trusting in the good God. Then a poor man met her, who said, "Ah, give me something to eat, I am so hungry!" She reached him the whole of her piece of bread, and said, "May God bless it to thy use," and went onwards. Then came a child who moaned and said, "My head is so cold, give me something to cover it with." So, she took off her hood and gave it to him; and when she had walked a little farther, she met another child who had no jacket and was frozen with cold. Then she gave it her own; and a little farther on one begged for a frock, and she gave away that also. At length she got into a forest and it had already become dark, and there came yet another child, and asked for a little shirt, and the good little girl thought to herself, "It is a dark night and no one sees thee, thou canst very well give thy little shirt away," and took it off, and gave away that also. And as she so stood, and had not one single thing left, suddenly some stars from heaven fell down, and they were nothing else but hard smooth pieces of money, and although she had just given her little shirt away, she had a new one which was of the very finest linen. Then she gathered together the money into this, and was rich all the days of her life.

✎ Now that we have thought a lot about our soul and the realm of the stars in the last three fairy tales, we cannot miss this beautiful fairy tale, which may be very short, but can touch us deep in our hearts. Modern science now knows that our earth, our bodies and ultimately all our money are made of "stardust", because this seemingly solid matter was, so to speak, hatched by nuclear fusion in the stars. But we do not want to look so much at the stardust here, but rather at the "starlight" of consciousness, and try to interpret this fairy tale from a spiritual perspective and explore the deeper symbolism. Be brave!

✻ There was once on a time a little girl whose father and mother were dead, and she was so poor that she no longer had any little room to live in, or bed to sleep in, and at last she had nothing else but the clothes she was wearing and a little bit of bread in her hand which some compassionate soul had given her.

✎ The “girl” as a pure virgin reminds us again of the pure soul of nature, which in truth has no parents at all, because it is itself the origin. Only in this world of “reality” in time and space, where the pure soul can take on many different forms, can we speak of father and mother, namely in relation to the soul bonds of cause and effect. The fact that these parents had “died” indicates a separation, because death is nothing other than separation. And what can the pure soul be separated from? Actually, only from the holistic spirit, and then only in relation to an illusion or a dream of property and thus of one’s own physicality.

This makes us see many separate souls, each incarnated differently, each with a “little room, bed and clothes on the body” and feeding on physical food that is given externally to the hungry body out of “compassion”. If the pure soul of nature were holistically united with a pure spirit, then we could speak of a suffering-free and pure consciousness that knows no separation, does not cling to any form and is thus completely free to take on any form.

The fact that our consciousness (or conscience) is the reason for all creation is meanwhile not even so far-fetched from a scientific point of view, when the quantum physicist and Nobel Prize winner Anton Zeilinger says: “Information is the primary substance of the universe.” The Bible says something similar: “In the beginning was the word...” And conscience as “with-science” means nothing other than moving knowledge that interacts with one another in being. But how can pure consciousness take on a form and even become solid matter? Well, simply and briefly, this happens by “holding on” to knowledge or information, i.e., by owning it in time and space, when the two components of “con-science” become a “two-component adhesive,” so to speak. Anyone who studies the physics of light will find something similar. Because light itself is free from time and space, and only through observation it is bound and given speed and mass. And what does an observer do? Sure, of course he grasps and holds on to information or knowledge.

People have long been asking themselves where they actually come from and what they are? And with that, the question has always been what people would be if they lost everything they had in this world and wanted to hold on to? And that is what this fairy tale is about.

Now, in a world that is so materially rich, where we live in abundance and yet are never satisfied, it is already very difficult to speak of material poverty, and even more difficult to speak of spiritual poverty. We would therefore like to let a famous old master have his say, namely Meister (Master) Eckhart in his extremely profound sermon No. 32 on “poverty in spirit”, which was written over 700 years ago:

Blessedness opened its mouth of wisdom and said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5.3)” All angels and all saints and everything that has ever been born must be silent when this eternal wisdom of the Father speaks; for all the wisdom of the angels and of all creatures is pure nothingness before the groundless wisdom of God. This wisdom has said that the poor are blessed.

Now there are two kinds of poverty. The first is an external poverty, and this is good and very praiseworthy in the person who willingly accepts it out of love for our Lord Jesus Christ, because he himself had it on earth. I will not speak any further about this poverty. However, there is another poverty, an internal poverty, which is to be understood by the words of our Lord when he says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

Now I ask you to be likewise (poor), so that you can understand this saying; for I say to you by the eternal truth: If you do not resemble this truth, of which we now want to speak, you cannot understand me.

✻ She was, however, good and pious. And as she was thus forsaken by all the world, she went forth into the open country, trusting in the good God. Then a poor man met her, who said, “Ah, give me something to eat, I am so hungry!” She reached him the whole of her piece of bread, and said, “May God bless it to thy use,” and went onwards.

✎ We first read about the qualities that a soul needs again when it has fallen into separation and has been “abandoned by the whole world”, that is, the holistic spirit. With these qualities of “good and pious in trust in the good God”, it first goes “out into the field”, that is, into the human world, where we look for and produce our food. Here is our will, with which we feed ourselves: either our own egoistic will to hold on to and accumulate property, or a holistic or divine will to serve the whole or God. On this path of devotion to spiritual poverty, one should first give up one’s own ego food. And the “poor man” reminds us of God himself as the father of creation, who is already perfect poverty because he does not want to hold on to anything in his great creation as property, that is, he is pure consciousness that does not cling to any form but can take on any form. And he asks the same devotion from us, or from his son.

Meister Eckhart also continues:
Some people have asked me what poverty in itself and what a poor person is. We want to answer that. Bishop Albrecht says that this is a poor person who is not satisfied with all the things that God has ever created, and that is well said. But we say it better and take poverty in an (even) higher sense: This is a poor person who wants nothing and knows nothing and has nothing. I want to speak of these three points, and I ask you for the love of God that you understand this truth if you can. But if you do not understand it, do not worry about it, because I want to speak of a truth that only a few good people will understand.

Firstly, we say that a poor person is someone who wants nothing. Some people do not understand this meaning correctly: These are those people who, through penance and external exercise, cling to their selfish ego, which these people consider to be great. God have mercy on such people that they know so little of the divine truth! These people are called holy because of their outward appearance, but inside they are donkeys, because they do not understand the real meaning of divine truth. These people do indeed say that this is a poor person who wants nothing. But they interpret this as meaning that a person must live in such a way that he never fulfils his (own) will in anything, that he (rather) should strive to fulfil the most beloved will of God. These people are doing well, because their opinion is good; therefore, we want to praise them.

May God in his mercy grant them the kingdom of heaven. But I say by the divine truth that these people are not (really) poor people, nor do they resemble poor people. They are considered great in the eyes (only) of people who know nothing better. But I say that they are donkeys who understand nothing of divine truth. Because of their good intentions they may attain the kingdom of heaven, but they know nothing of the poverty that I now want to speak of.

If someone asked me what it is, a poor person who wants nothing, I would answer and say: As long as a person still has this in him, that it is his will to fulfil God’s most beloved will, such a person does not have the poverty that we want to speak of. For this person (still) has a will with which he wants to satisfy God’s will, and that is not true poverty. For if man is to be truly poor, he must be as free of his created will as he was when he did not yet exist. For I say to you by the eternal truth: As long as you have the will to fulfil the will of God and have a desire for eternity and for God, you are not really poor. For only that person is poor who wants nothing and desires nothing.

When I was still in my first cause, I had no God, and I was the cause of myself. I wanted nothing, I desired nothing, for I was a free being and a knower of myself in the enjoyment of truth. Then I wanted myself and wanted nothing else: what I wanted, I was, and what I was, I wanted. And here I stood free of God and of all things. But when I went out of my own free will and received my created being, then I had a God; for before the creatures were, God was not yet “God”: rather, he was what he was. When the creatures came into being and received their created being, God was not God in himself, but he was God in the creatures.

Now we say that God, insofar as he is (only) “God,” is not the highest goal of the creature. For even the lowest creature has such a high rank of being in God. And if it were the case that a fly had reason and could seek by reason the eternal abyss of divine existence from which it came, we would say that God, with all that he is as “God,” could not (even) create fulfilment and satisfaction for this fly. Therefore, we ask God that we may be rid of “God” and that we may grasp and enjoy the truth there and forever, where the highest angels and the fly and the soul are equal, there where I stood and wanted, what I was, and was, what I wanted. So, then we say: If man is to be poor in will, he must want and desire as little as he wanted and desired when he was not (yet). And in this way the man who wants nothing is poor.

✻ Then came a child who moaned and said, “My head is so cold, give me something to cover it with.” So, she took off her hood and gave it to him; and when she had walked a little farther, she met another child who had no jacket and was frozen with cold. Then she gave it her own; and a little farther on one begged for a frock, and she gave away that also.

✎ Here we read of three external garments of the soul, which, from a spiritual point of view, remind us of conceptual knowledge with all the many ideas with which we wrap ourselves and ultimately wall ourselves in and embody ourselves. Regarding the three garments of above, middle and below, one could think of our knowledge of heaven, earth and hell, so to speak between pure light and mere darkness when the girl is standing, and of our knowledge of the past, present and future when she is lying down. This may be far-fetched, but it leads us to the symbolic cross of the conceptual mind in space and time, to which we want to nail holistic reason, as we know from the crucifixion of Christ consciousness. From this point of view, the three freezing children can remind us of the Holy Spirit, who makes every trinity into one and asks for our devotion, as warmth of compassion, fire of purification and light of love that heals and unites everything. And this brings us to one component of “conscience”, knowledge or information.

Meister Eckhart continues:
Secondly, he is a poor person who knows nothing. We have previously said that people should live in such a way that they live neither for themselves nor for the truth nor for God. But now we say it differently and want to go further: The person who is to have this poverty must live in such a way that he does not (even) know that he is living neither for himself nor for the truth nor for God. Rather, he must be so devoid of all knowledge that he does not know, nor recognize, nor feel that God lives in him - more than that: he should be devoid of all knowledge that lives in him. For when man (still) stood in the eternal being of God, nothing else lived in him: what lived there was himself. So, we say that people should be as devoid of their own knowledge as they did when they (still) did not exist, and they let God do what he wills, and people will stand free.

Everything that has ever come from God is based on pure action. But the action intended for man is love and knowledge. Now it is a controversial question as to where bliss lies primarily. Some masters have said that it lies in love, others say that it lies in knowledge and love, and they are more accurate. But we say that it lies neither in knowledge nor in love. Rather, there is something in the soul from which knowledge and love arise. It does not know and love itself as the powers of the soul do. Whoever gets to know this (something) knows where bliss lies. It has neither before nor after, and it waits for nothing to come, for it can neither win nor lose. Therefore, it is also deprived of the knowledge that God is working in it. Rather, it is itself the same thing that enjoys itself in the way that God does.

So free and empty, I say, should man be, that he neither knows nor recognizes that God is working in him, and so man can possess poverty.

The masters say that God is a being and a reasonable being and knows all things. But I say: God is neither being nor reasonable being, nor does he know this or that. Therefore, God is free of all things - and (precisely) for this reason he is all things. Now whoever is to be poor in spirit must be poor in all his own knowledge, so that he knows nothing, neither of God nor of creatures nor of himself. Therefore, it is necessary that man desires to know nothing or recognizes nothing of the works of God. In this way man can be poor in his own knowledge.

✻ At length she got into a forest and it had already become dark, and there came yet another child, and asked for a little shirt, and the good little girl thought to herself, “It is a dark night and no one sees thee, thou canst very well give thy little shirt away,” and took it off, and gave away that also.

✎ In his following sermon No. 33, Meister Eckhart speaks on this subject:
The soul that is to love God and to whom he is to communicate must be so completely stripped of temporality and of all tastes of creatures that God can taste his own taste in it. The Scripture says: “At midnight, when all things were silent, your word came down, Lord, from the royal thrones. (Wisdom 18.14)” That is: in the night, when no creature shines or peeps into the soul, and in silence, when nothing speaks into the soul, the word is spoken into reason. The word belongs to reason and is called verbum (active word), just as it is and stands in reason.

I am often shocked when I have to speak of God at how completely isolated the soul must be that wants to achieve that unification. But that should not seem impossible to anyone. It is not impossible for the soul that possesses God’s grace. Nothing has ever been easier for any man than to leave all things to the soul that possesses God’s grace…

So, we can now read in our fairy tale how the soul leaves the “country” or realm of conceptual, rational people and the external light of the world fades, so that the soul can no longer be seen in external form. And here we are dealing with the undershirt, the “last shirt” of existence. Accordingly, when we think of “another child who came,” we could think of the Christ child as the son of God or the word of God, the Christ consciousness or pure conscience itself, to which we can devote our entire existence. And this is ultimately about the last component of “being conscious,” being itself, so that the soul no longer has anything of its own, not even a quality. That would be complete devotion or true forgiveness in the holistic sense. In other words, giving without losing, because then it means: what I give or forgive, I give to myself.

Meister Eckhart continues to speak about “poverty in spirit” in his sermon no. 32:
Thirdly, this is a poor person who has nothing. Many people have said that it is perfection to have nothing of the material things of the earth (anymore), and that is certainly true in the sense that someone does it intentionally. But that is not the sense I mean. I said earlier that this is a poor person who does not (even) want to fulfil the will of God, but rather lives in such a way that he is as free of his own will and the will of God as he was when he was not (yet). We say of this poverty that it is the greatest poverty. - Secondly, we said that this is a poor man who (himself) knows nothing of the work of God within himself. If someone is so free of knowledge and recognition, then that is the purest poverty. - But the third poverty, of which I now want to speak, is the most extreme: it is that man has nothing.

Now pay close attention here! I have often said it, and great masters say it too: Man should be so free of all things and all works, both internal and external, that he can be a place of God’s own, in which God can work. But now we say it differently. If it is the case that man is free of all things, of all creatures and of himself and of God, but is still in a position where God finds a place to work in him, then we say: As long as this still exists in man, man is not yet poor in the truest poverty. For God does not strive for his work that man has a place within himself in which God can work; rather, it is poverty in spirit when man is so free of God and all his works that God, if he wants to work in the soul, is himself the place in which he wants to work - and he would certainly be happy to do this. For if God found man so poor, God works his own work and man bears God in himself, and God is a proper place for his works; man (but) is a pure bearer of God in his (=God’s) works in view of the fact that God is one who works in himself. Here, in this poverty, man regains the eternal being that he was and that he now is and that he will remain forever.

There is a saying of Saint Paul in which he says: “All that I am, I am by the grace of God” (1 Cor. 15:10). But this (my) saying seems to be above grace and above being and above knowledge and will and all desire. How then can Saint Paul’s saying be true? To this we should answer: that Saint Paul’s sayings are true. It was necessary that grace was in him, for the grace of God brought about in him that “coincidence” was perfected into essentiality. When grace ended and had completed its work, Paul remained what he was.

So, we say that man must be so poor that he is neither a place nor has a place in which God can work. Where man (still) retains a place (within himself), he still retains distinction. Therefore, I ask God to free me from God; for my essential being is above God, insofar as we understand God as the beginning of creatures. In that being of God, where God is above all being and above all distinction, there I was myself, there I willed myself and recognized myself (willing) to create this man (=me). And therefore, I am the cause of myself according to my being, which is eternal, but not according to my becoming, which is temporal. And therefore, I am unborn, and according to the nature of my unbornness I can never die. According to the nature of my unbornness I have been eternal and am now and will remain eternally. What I am according to my birth will die and come to nothing, for it is mortal; therefore, it must perish in time. In my (eternal) birth all things were born, and I was the cause of myself and of all things; and if I had willed, neither I nor all things would be. But were I not, then “God” would not be either: I am the cause of God being “God”. Were I not, then God would not be “God”. There is no need to know this.

A great master says that his breaking through is nobler than his flowing out, and that is true. When I flowed out of God, all things said: “God is.” But this cannot make me blessed, for in this I recognize myself as a creature. But in the breaking through, where I am free of my own will and the will of God and all his works and God himself, I am above all creatures and neither “God” nor creature, but rather I am what I was and what I will remain now and forever. There I receive a rise that is to take me above all angels. In this rise I receive such great wealth that God cannot be enough for me with all that he is as “God” and with all his divine works. For in this breaking through I am granted that I and God are one. There I am what I was, and there I neither decrease nor increase, for there I am an immovable cause that moves all things. Here God finds no place in man, for man attains with this poverty what he has always been and will always remain. Here God is one with the spirit, and this is the truest poverty that can be found.

✻ And as she so stood, and had not one single thing left, suddenly some stars from heaven fell down, and they were nothing else but hard smooth pieces of money, and although she had just given her little shirt away, she had a new one which was of the very finest linen. Then she gathered together the money into this, and was rich all the days of her life.

✎ Here, the pure soul of nature finds its pure spirit again, overcomes every separation and becomes the entire and unimaginably large kingdom of the stars, which now “fall” to the soul from the sky and give it a new, holistic body of the “finest”, so to speak the shirt of the entire universe with all its riches, because in the whole there is no losing, no mine and yours and therefore no death. And not just as stardust, but above all as starlight, as a pure consciousness that can take on any form.

A similar view of the cosmic unity as a living being in a holistic mind can be found, for example, in the famous Bhagavat-Gita in the ancient Indian Mahabharata, Book 6, Chapter 35, where it says:
With these words, O monarch, Hari, the mighty Lord of Yoga power, revealed to the son of Pritha his divine sovereign form with many mouths and eyes, with countless wonderful faces, with many celestial ornaments and raised celestial weapons, with celestial garlands and robes, with celestial-scented ointments, full of all kinds of wonders, radiant, infinite, and with eyes directed in all directions. If a thousand suns appeared in the sky at the same time, then perhaps that glory would be similar to the splendour of that mighty appearance. Thus, the son of Pandu saw the entire universe, with all the diverse forms united in the body of the deity.

This is how far consciousness can expand when it frees itself through devotion from the limitations that arise from clinging to and being attached to external forms. When we read of “hard pieces of money” we should not think so much of coins that fall from the sky as a blessing and are supposed to solve all our problems. Although this may be a useful idea for children at times, adults should develop more reason and be able to see further. We are thinking more of the pure gold of the famous “philosopher’s stone” that we can find on this path, an imperishable wisdom of a holistic reason, the eternal word of God and an imperishable consciousness that we can really rely on and that contains all the wealth for the whole “day of life” as long as there is conscious life. Or as Meister Eckhart said above: “Such great wealth that God cannot be enough for me with all that he is as (conceptual) ‘God’ and with all his divine works.” Pure devotion and poverty are therefore not a question of conceptual understanding, but of direct experience. Our fairy tale closes now the circle to “The Drummer”, where we began with three similar tasks on the Glass Mountain.

And Meister Eckhart ends his sermon with the words that we can only confirm:
Whoever does not understand this speech should not trouble his heart with it. For as long as man does not resemble this truth, he will not understand this speech. For it is an undisguised truth that has come directly from the heart of God.

May God help us to live so (truthfully) that we experience it forever. Amen.

Death and the Goose Herder

✻ A poor herder went along the shore of a large and stormy water, tending a flock of white geese. Death came to him over the water, and was asked by the herder, where he came from, and where he wanted to go? Death answered, that he came out of the water and wanted to go out of the world. The poor goose herder asked further: how can one leave the world? Death said, that one had to go over the water into the new world, which lies beyond. The herder said, that he was tired of this life, and asked Death to take him across. Death said, that it was not yet time, and he had other things to do now.

Not far from there was a miser, who by night thought on his bed, how he could bring even more money and goods together. Death led him to the great water and pushed him in. But because he could not swim, he sank to the bottom, before he could reach the shore. His dogs and cats, who had run after him, drowned with him too.

A few days later Death came also to the goose herder, found him singing merrily and said to him: “Will you now come with me?” He was willing and came across well with his white geese, which were all transformed into white sheep. The goose herder looked upon the beautiful land and heard, that the herders there became kings, and as he looked around carefully, the chief herders Abraham, Isaac and Jacob came towards him, placed a kingly crown upon him, and led him to the herder’s palace, where he is still to be found.

✎ Now, after we have thought so much about the significance of swans, we would like to turn to geese, and especially to gooseherds and gooseherdesses. We do not want to fall into the current gender madness, but rather look at the herding of geese from different angles, from the male perspective of the witnessing spirit and from the female perspective of the giving birth nature or soul. In this regard, many holy ascetics in old Indian stories are also referred to as “Hamsa”, which is often translated as “swan”, but actually means a male goose, i.e., a gander. And in principle this also means a gooseherd who carefully guards and can control the “white geese” as his senses and thoughts, so that they do not scatter, so that he is controlled and driven by them, but rather remain preserved as a flock in its “wholeness”. And of course, they should not be eaten by a wolf or a fox, that is, seized by desire and killed by the conceptual mind, so that they lose their vitality and literally freeze to death in a material world. From this perspective, we would now like to look at this fairy tale.

✻ A poor herder went along the shore of a large and stormy water, tending a flock of white geese. Death came to him over the water, and was asked by the herder, where he came from, and where he wanted to go? Death answered, that he came out of the water and wanted to go out of the world.

✎ We have already thought in detail about the poverty of the “poor herder” from the perspective of a pure soul in the last fairy tale about the “Star Money”. Here, too, this indicates a certain spiritual purity, so that he also tends “white geese”. The “large and stormy water over which death comes” reminds us first of the famous river of death like Acheron or Styx from Greek mythology as a separation from the world beyond. But because the herder tends his geese on this river while still alive, we could also think of the great river of life that flows before our senses and thoughts, and often very impetuously.

Hermann Hesse describes a similar river in his book “Siddhartha”:
Siddhartha looked into the water, and images appeared to him in the flowing water… and flowed into one another, all became a river, all strove as a river towards the goal, yearning, desiring, suffering, and the river’s voice sounded full of longing, full of burning pain, full of insatiable desire. The river was striving towards its goal, Siddhartha saw it hurrying, the river that consisted of him and his family and of all the people he had ever seen, all the waves and water were hurrying, suffering, towards goals, many goals, the waterfall, the lake, the rapids, the sea, and all goals were reached, and each one was followed by a new one, and the water became steam and rose into the sky, became rain and poured down from the sky, became a spring, became a stream, became a river, strived again, flowed again... And everything together, all voices, all goals, all longing, all suffering, all desire, all good and evil, everything together was the world. Everything together was the flow of events, was the music of life. And when Siddhartha listened attentively to this river, to this song of a thousand voices, when he did not listen to the suffering or the laughter, when he did not bind his soul to any one voice and enter into it with his ego, but heard everything, the whole, the unity, then the great song of the thousand voices consisted of a single word, which was OM: the perfection...

Where does death come from then? Why does death come “over and out of the water”? It is said that separation is death, connection is life, and union is survival. Plato also said: “Death is evidently nothing other than the separation of two things from one another, the soul and the body.” In the past, the Grim Reaper was also known as a male or spiritual being who cuts off and separates connections, while the holistic One can never be separated. Therefore, this cutting death only appears to us as separation and loss if we want to hold on to some form in this river and identify with it, because this form must at some point pass away and die, because it arose and was born in this river. What remains is the observer who sits on the bank, so to speak, and as consciousness perceives the flow of the world, hears the river, feels it, sees it, tastes it, smells it, and thinks it.

Where does death want to go? Why does he want to “get out of the world”? If death is separation, then the meaning of every separation is of course to be overcome, united and healed again:

“It is this that you mean: that the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the rapids, in the sea, in the mountains, everywhere at the same time, and that there is only the present for it, not the shadow of the past, not the shadow of the future?” - “This is it,” said Siddhartha. “And when I had learned it, I looked at my life, and it was also a river, and the boy Siddhartha was separated from the man Siddhartha and from the old man Siddhartha only by shadows, not by reality. Siddhartha’s previous births were also not past, and his death and his return to Brahma will not be future. Nothing was, nothing will be; everything is, everything has essence and presence.”

✻ The poor goose herder asked further: how can one leave the world? Death said, that one had to go over the water into the new world, which lies beyond. The herder said, that he was tired of this life, and asked Death to take him across. Death said, that it was not yet time, and he had other things to do now.

✎ What does the other bank of this water mean? Of course, one can give this symbolism a serious consideration, and we should. Why should the other bank be different and even better? Here, for example, we could imagine that the river is a ring that surrounds us, like an island or bubble of consciousness, where the observer is the centre, as the “I am.” And the more this bubble contracts and encloses and walls itself in with ideas of possession, the smaller and darker this island becomes, and we find ourselves on the dark side of the river of life, like in a cave or even hell. In the “beyond” one would look at this river from “the other side”, so to speak, so that almost everything is reversed for the observer, as if he were no longer looking into a mirror, but directly, using his senses and thoughts: the limited island becomes infinity, darkness becomes light, separation becomes wholeness, death becomes life, bound matter becomes free spirit, the ego becomes self, nothing becomes everything, time becomes eternity and so on. One could also say: what from our perspective stands on the head of the dark ego-mind is put back on the feet of wholeness in the divine light of the “beyond”.

In this way, consciousness could expand beyond all forms if it no longer clings to and adheres to certain forms in space and time. The herder had probably achieved this “poverty in spirit” because he had carefully guarded and kept his senses and thoughts pure. Death thus becomes his friend, and he is ready to part with his “last shirt”, with the stubborn physicality of which he has now become “tired”, and thus also with this dark shore on the water of life. He waits consciously and calmly until the time is ripe, and of course, an ego-mind can’t do this.

Jacob Boehme wrote about this in his text “On the Transcendental Life” around 1622:
If the will surrenders itself to God down to the ground, then it sinks beyond itself, beyond all ground and all place where God alone is revealed, works and wills. In this way it becomes nothing to itself according to its own will. Then God works and wills in it, and God dwells in its calm will. This sanctifies the soul so that it comes into divine rest. When the body perishes, the soul is permeated by divine love and illuminated by God’s light, just as fire glows through iron, thereby losing its darkness...

Just as the gooseherd consciously waits, calm and content, to let death lead him into eternal life, there are also other beings who unconsciously urge and summon death, eager and dissatisfied.

✻ Not far from there was a miser, who by night thought on his bed, how he could bring even more money and goods together. Death led him to the great water and pushed him in. But because he could not swim, he sank to the bottom, before he could reach the shore. His dogs and cats, who had run after him, drowned with him too.

✎ This is the person who is physically attached as a “miser” who “at night on his bed”, that is, in the darkened spirit in his body, eagerly grasps the forms in the flow of life and wants to hold on to them. Death comes to him as an enemy in the form of loss and separation and causes him to drown in this sea of forms because he has become far too heavy with all his “property of money and goods” to float on and reach the other shore. In this way, consciousness becomes more and more narrow and condensed, and he falls even further into the darkness, because “his dogs and cats” follow him, who perhaps act as mouse hunters and watchdogs to remind him of his spiritual tendencies of desire and hatred.

And Jacob Boehme writes further:
But the godless soul does not want to enter into the divine serenity of its will at this time, but only goes into its own lust and desire, into vanity and falsehood, into the devil’s will: it only contains malice, lies, pride, greed, envy and anger and surrenders its will to them. This vanity also becomes apparent and active in it and penetrates the soul completely, like fire through iron. So, it cannot come to divine rest, because God’s wrath is evident in it. And when the body separates from the soul, then eternal remorse and despair begin, because it feels that it has become such an anxious horror through vanity. Then it is ashamed to go to God with its false will, indeed it cannot, because it is caught in anger, and it is only anger itself and has thus locked itself in through its false desire, which it has awakened within itself. And because God’s light does not shine in it and his love does not touch it, such a soul is a great darkness and a painful, fearful torment of fire, and it carries hell within itself and cannot see God’s light. So, it dwells in hell within itself and needs no entry. For in whatever it is, there it is in hell. Even if it could swing itself many hundreds of thousands of miles from its place, it is still in such torment and darkness.

✻ A few days later Death came also to the goose herder, found him singing merrily and said to him: “Will you now come with me?” He was willing and came across well with his white geese, which were all transformed into white sheep. The goose herder looked upon the beautiful land and heard, that the herders there became kings, and as he looked around carefully, the chief herders Abraham, Isaac and Jacob came towards him, placed a kingly crown upon him, and led him to the herder’s palace, where he is still to be found.

✎ So, death comes as a friend to the poor gooseherd and leads him across the river of forms into the world beyond, where the poor shepherd no longer tends his geese, but a rich king tends his pure sheep, for his spiritual inclination also follows him, like a wave on the sea of consciousness.

Why sheep? Master Eckhart says about this:
The sheep is simple; so are those people who are folded into an (inner) unity. A master says that nowhere can you recognize the course of heaven as well as in simple animals: they experience the influence of heaven in a simple way; the same goes for children, who have no sense of their own. But people who are wise and have many senses are constantly directed outwards in a variety of things. (Sermon 56)

So, one could imagine that the gooseherd in his entirety becomes the arch-herder himself, the first and original herder, and if you like, Christ or God himself. Because in this holistic or divine Christ consciousness he now looks after the gooseherds himself, who in turn look after their senses and thoughts. Of course, this cannot be understood from a physical point of view, but from the otherworldly point of view, where holistic consciousness is the basis of everything, it would be self-evident, so to speak.

And why did he become a king? Well, he carefully guarded what was given to him as a human being and increased God’s treasure, that is, he allowed consciousness to grow and expand and kept it pure. And Master Eckhart speaks similarly about the biblical parable about the entrusted talents and the faithful servant:
“Come on, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master! Because you have been faithful over a little thing, I will make you ruler over all that I have.” (Matthew 25:21 + 24:47)

Well, now pay attention to what the “little” things are that this man was faithful about. Everything that God created in heaven and on earth that is not himself is little before him. This good servant was faithful about all of these things. I will explain to you why this is so: God placed this servant between time and eternity. He was given over to neither, but he was free in reason and will and also in relation to all things. With his reason he passed through all things that God created; with his will he let go of all things and also of himself and of everything that God created that is not God himself. With his reason he took them up and gave God praise and honour for them and handed them over to God in his unfathomable nature and also to himself, insofar as he was created. There he left himself and all things, so that he never (again) touched himself or any created thing with his created will. (Master Eckhart, Sermon 27)

And in which kingdom did he become a king, united with the “chief herders Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”? There is probably no greater kingdom and no greater wealth than the divine or holistic, pure and free consciousness. Master Eckhart also speaks about this in another sermon:
“You should know” now first of all how “the kingdom of God is near to us”... For if I were a king but did not know it myself, then I would not be a king. But if I had the firm belief that I was a king and all people thought and believed the same as me and if I knew for certain that all people thought and believed the same, then I would be a king and all the king’s wealth would be mine and I would lack none of it... Nothing hinders the soul from knowing God as much as time and space. Time and space are parts, but God is one. Therefore, if the soul is to know God, it must know him above time and space; for God is neither this nor that, as these (earthly) manifold things are: for God is one. If the soul is to see God, it must not look at anything in time; for as long as the soul is conscious of time or space or any such idea, it can never recognize God...

The prophet says: “God leads the righteous through a narrow path into the broad road, so that they come into the wide and the broad” (Wisdom 10:10 ff.), that is: into the true freedom of the spirit, which has become one spirit with God. - May God help us to follow him, so that he brings us into himself, where we can truly recognize him. Amen. (Master Eckhart, Sermon 36)

The Fox and the Geese

✻ The fox once came to a meadow in which was a flock of fine fat geese, on which he smiled and said, “I come at the nick of time, you are sitting together quite beautifully, so that I can eat you up one after the other.” The geese cackled with terror, sprang up, and began to wail and beg piteously for their lives. But the fox would listen to nothing, and said, “There is no mercy to be had! You must die.” At length one of them took heart and said, “If we poor geese are to yield up our vigorous young lives, show us the only possible favour and allow us one more prayer, that we may not die in our sins, and then we will place ourselves in a row, so that you can always pick yourself out the fattest.” “Yes,” said the fox, “that is reasonable, and a pious request. Pray away, I will wait till you are done.” Then the first began a good long prayer, for ever saying, “Ga! Ga!” and as she would make no end, the second did not wait until her turn came, but began also, “Ga! Ga!” The third and fourth followed her, and soon they were all cackling together.

When they have done praying, the story shall be continued further, but at present they are still praying without stopping.

✎ When children hear this fairy tale, they will probably first think of stupid animals, and we may laugh at the simplicity of the geese and the stupidity of the fox, who is now bound to his promise and has to wait, even though he does not understand what the geese are praying. Looking deeper, from a spiritual perspective, we can think of the geese again as our senses and thoughts, which like to “cackle and wail in terror”. The supposedly clever fox would then be our conceptual ego-mind, hungry and eager, who wants to feed on the senses and thoughts, but in doing so also kills them. From this point of view, this short fairy tale also fits well into our “geese series”, and we now want to think about how we can save the senses and thoughts from their death at the hands of the conceptual ego-mind, so that they remain fresh and alive and their wholeness is preserved.

Why does the mind kill? Well, the German word for mind is “Verstand”, which contains “to stand”. That already suggests the killing, because anything that stands in the flow of life and can no longer move is considered dead. And that too is just an idea, like all of our concepts that we put up in front of and around us, so that they increasingly obscure our vision. That is why, in the fairy tale of the drummer on the glass mountain, we should cut down this dark forest of ideas, fell the trees, chop up their wood and finally burn everything. Only then can consciousness become big, wide and whole again.

“Since I gave the bird a name, I have never seen the bird again.”

And how can our senses and thoughts be saved from the conceptual mind and its greedy hunger? The solution offered by our fairy tale is ingenious and simple: as long as our senses and thoughts pray to God, that is, “do not want to die in sin”, that is, in separation from God, but are directed towards the whole, the conceptual mind can never grasp them, because the whole or divine has no form that can be grasped. So, what do the geese love more than their wholeness? Because only in this they can remain fresh and alive as pure white geese. And that is also their eternal prayer in an endless fairy tale.

Nevertheless, it seems to be our human destiny to have to develop this conceptual mind at an early stage of life. Yes, we spin ourselves into our ideas like the voracious silkworm caterpillar in a dense cocoon. And it would be good if we did not die in it, but could transform ourselves into a light butterfly that breaks through the cocoon and lives only on the nectar of the flowers, without eating the plants. One should not think that the butterfly is safer the thicker and firmer the cocoon becomes, but rather that it becomes more and more difficult to escape from it, and many therefore give up on it altogether.

The caterpillar and the butterfly
(Johann Gottfried Herder)

Friend, the difference between earthly things
Seems great and is often so small;
Age and shape and space and time
Are only a dream image of reality.

Sluggish and weary on stripped bushes
A butterfly saw the caterpillar creeping,
And rose happily, without suspicion
That it had been the caterpillar itself.

Sadly, the aged crept to the grave:
“Oh, that I have lived in vain!
I will die childless and how insignificant!
And there flies the beautiful butterfly.”

Fearfully it wrapped itself in its cover,
Slept, and when Mother’s fullness of life
Awoke it, it thought itself anew,
Not knowing what it had been.

Friend, the earthly realm is a dream realm.
What we were, what we will be one day,
Nobody knows; we are happy when we are blind;
So, let us all know what we are.

We can also find a symbolic parable for such a conceptual “building of the mind” in the famous Tower of Babel in the Bible. This building was supposed to reach heaven, but ultimately ended in great confusion. Jacob Boehme wrote about it:
So understand what Babel and the Tower of Babel indicate: The city of Babel is the Ham-man who builds this city on earth. The tower is his own chosen god and worship. And all intellectual scholars from the school of this world are the builders of this tower. For all those who act as teachers without God’s spirit and are called to do so by people become the master craftsmen of this tower and idol from the world, and no one else. They all just carve stones and wood for this tower... So, the tower was an image of the dark world, because people wanted to see God in the dark egoity. This indicates the earthly man who stands before God like this tower and is an image of divine contemplation of good and evil, like a painted life. (Mysterium Magnum, Chapter 36)

On the subject of foxes and geese, the old children’s song is of course a must:

Fox, you stole the goose
Give it back, give it back,
Otherwise the hunter will come for you with his rifle...

His big, long gun
Shoots the shot at you, shoots the shot at you,
So that you are coloured in red ink and then you are dead...

Dear little fox, let me give you some advice,
Don’t be a thief, don’t be a thief,
Take the mouse, you don’t need roast goose...

“Translated” it would mean: Mind, you stole the whole thing, give it back! Otherwise, you will become a separate being that will be overtaken by time as by a hunter with a shotgun and you will have to suffer painful loss and death in your own blood in the hail of bullets of conceptual ideas. Let me give you some advice and be aware that you only live on small, grey mice. You will never grasp and understand the pure white wholeness as an intellect!

Finally, in the notes to this fairy tale we find the old proverb: “If the wolf teaches the geese to pray, he eats them as a lesson.” (see also Wander-Sprichwoerter-Lexikon, Wolf 387, mentioned as early as 1497) This practically refers to the opposite, when the senses and thoughts are motivated and taught by desire and pray and ask accordingly. Of course, then they are also eaten up by desire bit by bit, and everyone has probably experienced what that feels like. In doing so, we pay the price for the lesson and live in time and transience, while God lives in eternity and prayer to him never ends, so that this fairy tale too will have no end that our minds could ever understand, as the last sentence so beautifully puts it.

The Goose-Girl at the Well

✎ After the “gooseherd”, we now want to think about the female side, about nature and her pure soul, i.e., the “goose girl”, who guards the wholeness. This fairy tale is particularly interesting because here we encounter the infamous “witch” from a slightly different perspective.

✻ There was once upon a time a very old woman, who lived with her flock of geese in a waste place among the mountains, and there had a little house. The waste was surrounded by a large forest, and every morning the old woman took her crutch and hobbled into it.

✎ We first find Mother Nature, who is “very old”, i.e., at least as old as cosmic matter itself, and lives in this “waste” of the natural universe. The chaos at the beginning of the biblical creation is similar, when everything was still desolate and empty. She now lives there with “her flock of geese” and builds herself a “little house between the mountains” of piled-up matter, reminiscent of our little body house, where we live with our senses and thoughts like with a flock of cackling geese. This “waste” or wholeness, in which everything is possible, is then limited and shaped by the forest of our ideas, so that a certain order is also brought into the chaos of limitless possibilities. This motherly nature now goes into this forest “every morning”, when the external light of consciousness awakens, on her “crutches” of limited senses and thoughts, in search of food. And we all know how shaky this matter is.

✻ There, however, the dame was quite active, more so than anyone would have thought, considering her age, and collected grass for her geese, picked all the wild fruit she could reach, and carried everything home on her back. Anyone would have thought that the heavy load would have weighed her to the ground, but she always brought it safely home.

✎ So, Mother Nature has been bringing all forms of food and available fruits “home” to the houses of all creatures since ancient times, and has not grown tired of doing so to this day. But now it gets interesting: what was previously a holistic being now encounters other beings that “meet” her.

✻ If anyone met her, she greeted him quite courteously. “Good day, dear countryman, it is a fine day. Ah! you wonder that I should drag grass about, but everyone must take his burthen on his back.”

✎ Thus, nature is always friendly in her essence and welcomes every being as a “countryman”, because we all basically come from the same country, and reminds us that it is always “a fine day” in nature and we all have to bear our burdens.

✻ Nevertheless, people did not like to meet her if they could help it, and took by preference a round-about way, and when a father with his boys passed her, he whispered to them, “Beware of the old woman. She has claws beneath her gloves; she is a witch.”

✎ But not every being that looks at nature is happy to meet her. So here the “father” is spoken of as a spiritual being who meets the mother and warns his son, as a growing ego-mind, about the female side of nature, which can of course also bring us much unpleasantness, much misfortune, pain, loss and even death, and which can cast a spell on the spirit and thus enchant or bewitch him. Which brings us back to the concept of the “witch”, which appears above all when spirit and nature are separated. Because it is precisely at this boundary that our five physical senses appear and work with thoughts, which are so easily deceived and enchanted, and seem to separate the witnessing spirit from an external nature. And when this separation disappears, the witch disappears too, as we will read in this fairy tale later.

As Goethe writes in Faust II:

Nature and Mind
to Christians we don’t speak so.
Thence to burn Atheists we seek so,
For such discourses very dangerous be.
Nature is Sin, and Mind is Devil:
Doubt they beget in shameless revel,
Their hybrid in deformity.
(translated by BAYARD TAYLOR)

Here ends, so to speak, the introduction to the fairy tale, and we now find the male spirit being as a young nobleman and the pure soul of the female nature being as a goose-girl who serves Mother Nature and looks after the geese in the wholeness of nature.

✻ One morning, a handsome young man was going through the forest. The sun shone bright, the birds sang, a cool breeze crept through the leaves, and he was full of joy and gladness. He had as yet met no one, when he suddenly perceived the old witch kneeling on the ground cutting grass with a sickle. She had already thrust a whole load into her cloth, and near it stood two baskets, which were filled with wild apples and pears. “But, good little mother,” said he, “how canst thou carry all that away?” “I must carry it, dear sir,” answered she, “rich folk’s children have no need to do such things, but with the peasant folk the saying goes, don’t look behind you, you will only see how crooked your back is!”

✎ So, our growing ego-mind goes through the forest of the world as a “carefree young man” or rather through the forest of his ideas about the world, and nature means well with him and shows herself in her friendly nature. This is how one feels when one is still one with nature. But then it suddenly happened that nature met him as an external being that now consciously faced him. And what had previously been a whole suddenly splits into spirit and nature, subject and object, and the mind sees how nature laboriously provides for our food and wonders how she has done it all by herself up to now. Just as a child at some point realizes that it has been fed and cared for by its parents up to now. And Mother Nature says that it is her natural task to do this without looking for someone else, but the child of “rich parents” does not need to do this. And now we ask ourselves: Are we a child of rich parents who does not have to strive for his own food, a child of divine wholeness in pure consciousness? Or should we be afraid of dying of hunger and thirst?

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:26)”

✻ “Will you help me?” she said, as he remained standing by her. “You have still a straight back and young legs, it would be a trifle to you. Besides, my house is not so very far from here, it stands there on the heath behind the hill. How soon you would bound up thither.” The young man took compassion on the old woman. “My father is certainly no peasant,” replied he, “but a rich count; nevertheless, that you may see that it is not only peasants who can carry things, I will take your bundle.”

✎ Well, the young man was obviously no longer a pure child, he let himself be moved by the more flattering and challenging speech and “felt compassion”. The term “compassion” is something to think about a lot. It literally means “to suffer together”. People like to say: “A sorrow shared is a sorrow halved.” But experience with the ego mind shows: “a shared sorrow is a sorrow doubled.” Because the ego lives from separation, and the fact that the ego grows and speaks in the separation between spirit and nature is already indicated by the last sentence: “I will...”

✻ “If you will try it,” said she, “I shall be very glad. You will certainly have to walk for an hour, but what will that signify to you; only you must carry the apples and pears as well?” It now seemed to the young man just a little serious, when he heard of an hour’s walk, but the old woman would not let him off, packed the bundle on his back, and hung the two baskets on his arm. “See, it is quite light,” said she. “No, it is not light,” answered the count, and pulled a rueful face. “Verily, the bundle weighs as heavily as if it were full of cobble stones, and the apples and pears are as heavy as lead! I can scarcely breathe.”

✎ Not that it is wrong to help others. However, the motivation behind is crucial, because the effect depends on it. When we as humans want to help nature, we usually want to do it much better than nature herself, at least from our limited perspective, what we understand as “better”, because we do not know the real goal of nature, just as the young man in the fairy tale does not know what role the old woman plays. In this way the “compassionate help” often becomes a painful experience and creates many problems for us where nature has previously worked effortlessly and perfectly on the whole. Just think of the many chemical poisons with which we want to help nature. With this, people place a burden on themselves that will weigh them down painfully for a long time to come.

✻ He had a mind to put everything down again, but the old woman would not allow it. “Just look,” said she mockingly, “the young gentleman will not carry what I, an old woman, have so often dragged along. You are ready with fine words, but when it comes to be earnest, you want to take to your heels. Why are you standing loitering there?” she continued. “Step out. No one will take the bundle off again.” As long as he walked on level ground, it was still bearable, but when they came to the hill and had to climb, and the stones rolled down under his feet as if they were alive, it was beyond his strength. The drops of perspiration stood on his forehead, and ran, hot and cold, down his back. “Dame,” said he, “I can go no farther. I want to rest a little.” “Not here,” answered the old woman, “when we have arrived at our journey’s end, you can rest; but now you must go forward. Who knows what good it may do you?” “Old woman, thou art becoming shameless!” said the count, and tried to throw off the bundle, but he laboured in vain; it stuck as fast to his back as if it grew there. He turned and twisted, but he could not get rid of it. The old woman laughed at this, and sprang about quite delighted on her crutch. “Don’t get angry, dear sir,” said she, “you are growing as red in the face as a turkey-cock! Carry your bundle patiently. I will give you a good present when we get home.”

✎ So, man often receives only ridicule from nature and tries in vain to throw off the burden that he has placed on himself. Why can’t he throw off this burden? Because he has separated himself from nature and thereby lost his pure soul. He has thus become a separate living being, an ego with his own mind and body, and burdens himself with his own personal load. Then it is extremely difficult for the ego to let go of what he owns, be it happiness or suffering. But Mother Nature knows her task and what to do when we burden ourselves with such loads.

Christ also says this to his disciples: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Matt. 16.24)”

✻ What could he do? He was obliged to submit to his fate, and crawl along patiently behind the old woman. She seemed to grow more and more nimble, and his burden still heavier. All at once she made a spring, jumped on to the bundle and seated herself on the top of it; and however, withered she might be, she was yet heavier than the stoutest country lass. The youth’s knees trembled, but when he did not go on, the old woman hit him about the legs with a switch and with stinging-nettles. Groaning continually, he climbed the mountain, and at length reached the old woman’s house, when he was just about to drop.

✎ Yes, in the end we even have to suffer the whole of nature, all the suffering that the world has ever accumulated, in order to finally climb up the mountain from the valley into which we have fallen, to raise our consciousness and to rediscover the holistic or divine consciousness.

Master Eckhart says about this:
In full truth: If there were a person who wanted to suffer for God and purely for God’s sake, and all the suffering that all people have ever suffered and that the whole world bears together fell on him, it would not hurt him and would not be heavy for him, because God would bear the burden. If someone put a centner on my neck and then someone else held it on my neck, I would just as happily load myself with a hundred as with one, because it would not be heavy for me and would not hurt me. In short: Whatever a person suffers for God and for God’s sake alone, God makes it easy and sweet for him. (Sermon 2)

Well, the burden is not the big problem, but who bears the burden. Who is the bearer? Who is the sufferer? - But what do we do? We invent machines to carry our burdens and become slaves to the machines. Then we have to put up with the machines and end up living like machines ourselves. How are we ever going to get to the top of the mountain where the white geese, or rather our senses and thoughts, are looked after and where nature is calling us?

✻ When the geese perceived the old woman, they flapped their wings, stretched out their necks, ran to meet her, cackling (their “Wulle, Wulle”) all the while.

✎ The “Wulle, Wulle” can be found in old books as a call for geese. This probably refers to the old Mother of Nature, who uses it to lure our five senses with the thought of feeding. There is also an old children’s song for this:

Wulle, Wulle, little goose,
wag your tail.
Do you know who I am?
I am your queen,
you are my children,
gi, ga, gack!

Look, there they go, all five of them
without shoes and without socks.
Hey, how beautiful life is,
when the geese go barefoot,
even in cold winter,
gi, ga, gack!

Beak and pecker, pluck and pick,
dinner, lunch and breakfast:
Whatever the little goose likes,
it finds all day long:
green leaves, fresh grass,
gi, ga, gack!

The song reminds us of the goose girl and soul of nature, who as queen guards our five senses and thus also our thoughts. All that is missing is the king.

✻ Behind the flock walked, stick in hand, an old maid, strong and big, but ugly as night. “Good mother,” said she to the old woman, “has anything happened to you, you have stayed away so long?” “By no means, my dear daughter,” answered she, “I have met with nothing bad, but, on the contrary, with this kind gentleman, who has carried my burthen for me; only think, he even took me on his back when I was tired. The way, too, has not seemed long to us; we have been merry, and have been cracking jokes with each other all the time.” At last, the old woman slid down, took the bundle off the young man’s back, and the baskets from his arm, looked at him quite kindly, and said, “Now seat yourself on the bench before the door, and rest. You have fairly earned your wages, and they shall not be wanting.”

✎ So, the youth or young spirit comes to the mystical mountain where the old Mother Nature is at home, as well as the pure soul of nature as her “little daughter”, which the spirit had lost when he recognized himself as separate from nature. It is also clearly stated once again that nature sees the carried burden and the suffering from a completely different perspective, namely more like a fun game than a bitter seriousness. The ego mind will protest here, but we know this view as a “game of life” or “play of the senses” from the European stories of the gods, as well as from the Indian ones, where they even speak of the divine game “Lila”, a pure game of consciousness. And here, at the height of consciousness, this burden is finally taken away from him: the bundle of food for the senses and the baskets full of fruit for the ego mind, as well as the whole of external nature herself, which he had recognized as separate from himself and which has placed herself on top. It only becomes so heavy that you don’t completely break under it, because that is of course not the goal. It is important to note that we cannot throw off this burden ourselves, but that nature as a whole or the divine will take it from us at the right time. In this way, “the wages will not be wanting,” because the spirit is on the right path and actually already close to the goal, but he cannot yet recognize the true essence of nature and the pure soul behind the external forms of transience and apparent ugliness.

✻ Then she said to the goose-girl, “Go into the house, my dear daughter, it is not becoming for thee to be alone with a young gentleman; one must not pour oil on to the fire, he might fall in love with thee.” The count knew not whether to laugh or to cry. “Such a sweetheart as that,” thought he, “could not touch my heart, even if she were thirty years younger.” In the meantime, the old woman stroked and fondled her geese as if they were children, and then went into the house with her daughter. The youth lay down on the bench, under a wild apple-tree. The air was warm and mild; on all sides stretched a green meadow, which was set with cowslips, wild thyme, and a thousand other flowers; through the midst of it rippled a clear brook on which the sun sparkled, and the white geese went walking backwards and forwards, or paddled in the water. “It is quite delightful here,” said he, “but I am so tired that I cannot keep my eyes open; I will sleep a little. If only a gust of wind does not come and blow my legs off my body, for they are as rotten as tinder.”

✎ No, great love has not awakened yet. But like the geese, the youth’s senses and thoughts at least delight in the lovely beauty of nature at this carefree height. But he has not yet been able to use the “cowslips” (in German: Himmelsschlüsselchen - key of heaven) and the ethereal effect of the “wild thyme” to move from the external to the internal. And so, the spirit becomes tired, thinks of his physical nature and falls asleep. Although it would be the greatest blessing if a pure wind or spirit came and blew away his physical nature. Then he would certainly have been able to recognize the pure soul of nature...

✻ When he had slept a little while, the old woman came and shook him till he awoke. “Sit up,” said she, “thou canst not stay here; I have certainly treated thee hardly, still it has not cost thee thy life. Of money and land, thou hast no need, here is something else for thee.” Thereupon she thrust a little book into his hand, which was cut out of a single emerald. “Take great care of it,” said she, “it will bring thee good fortune.”

✎ But Mother Nature won’t let us sleep for too long, because she knows what task we still have to fulfil. And she drives us to do it with “carrot and stick”, so to speak. The reward is a wonderful symbol: a box with a lid made from a whole, a green emerald that reminds us of the wholeness of green nature, as well as the famous “philosopher’s stone”, and also contains a very important memory, as we will see.

✻ The count sprang up, and as he felt that he was quite fresh, and had recovered his vigour, he thanked the old woman for her present, and set off without even once looking back at the beautiful daughter. When he was already some way off, he still heard in the distance the noisy cry of the geese.

✎ He has not yet recognized the pure soul, but he still hears the call of the holistic senses echoing within him for a long time. And whoever comes down from this spiritual height will certainly need some time to find his way back in our ordinary world.

✻ For three days the count had to wander in the wilderness before he could find his way out. He then reached a large town, and as no one knew him, he was led into the royal palace, where the King and Queen were sitting on their throne. The count fell on one knee, drew the emerald book out of his pocket, and laid it at the Queen’s feet. She bade him rise and hand her the little book. Hardly, however, had she opened it, and looked therein, she fell as if dead to the ground. The count was seized by the King’s servants, and was being led to prison, when the Queen opened her eyes, and ordered them to release him, and everyone was to go out, as she wished to speak with him in private.

✎ The young spirit comes back under the rule of the worldly king with his queen in an external nature, bows before them and also dedicates to them the reward he received on the mountain. But it was not an ordinary reward “of money and land”, but a spiritual one, so that the queen remembered her loss. And when the external nature remembers her pure life, then she appears outwardly like a dead shell, but finally opens her eyes, sees a way to life, calls the spirit to herself, asks for release and speaks inwardly “with him in private”.

✻ When the Queen was alone, she began to weep bitterly, and said, “Of what use to me are the splendours and honours with which I am surrounded; every morning I awake in pain and sorrow. I had three daughters, the youngest of whom was so beautiful that the whole world looked on her as a wonder. She was as white as snow, as rosy as apple-blossom, and her hair as radiant as sunbeams. When she cried, not tears fell from her eyes, but pearls and jewels only.

✎ Yes, in the external light of this world we wake up every morning full of “pain and sorrow”, because we live in a transient nature full of transient forms. The queen now laments “al-one”, that is, as a holistic being, but also as the queen of a worldly king who rules as the ruling spirit in an external nature. The queen’s three daughters remind us, as female beings of nature, of three levels of the soul in terms of purity and wholeness. And in the youngest, who is basically always present to us and cannot age, we recognize the pure soul, white as purity, red as love and golden as truth. And her tears are our true wealth, because she cries and mourns because of her separation from the pure spirit, and thus our suffering also takes on a valuable meaning, which can become our greatest wealth in this world, as we will see. - But why did the worldly spirit separate from her? The queen will tell us:

✻ When she was fifteen years old, the King summoned all three sisters to come before his throne. You should have seen how all the people gazed when the youngest entered, it was just as if the sun were rising! Then the King spoke, “My daughters, I know not when my last day may arrive; I will to-day decide what each shall receive at my death. You all love me, but the one of you who loves me best, shall fare the best.” Each of them said she loved him best. “Can you not express to me,” said the King, “how much you do love me, and thus I shall see what you mean?” The eldest spoke. “I love my father as dearly as the sweetest sugar.” The second, “I love my father as dearly as my prettiest dress.” But the youngest was silent. Then the father said, “And thou, my dearest child, how much dost thou love me?” “I do not know, and can compare my love with nothing.” But her father insisted that she should name something. So, she said at last, “The best food does not please me without salt, therefore I love my father like salt.”

✎ Why on the edge of “fifteen years”? As a number game of 1 and 5, we could again think of the thoughts and five senses, which together form the 6 as Latin “sex”, Greek “hexa” or personally hag respectively witch (in German: Hexe), as a separating principle. And this is also the supposed edge or boundary between our inner and outer world, or between spirit and nature, which is guarded like a fence by this hag as “Hagazussa”. In addition, the “fifteen years” are also the age of beginning puberty, when the strange love of “sexuality” or “hex duality” awakens in the growing human being, so that one feels incomplete, recognizes oneself as a separate being and goes in search in the world to find what is missing and to become whole again. And in this youngest daughter, this love appears particularly pure, in contrast to her father. Because the “love” of the ego-mind of a worldly king is revealed in him, who feels threatened by death and loss, wants his love confirmed in the external world, and also wants to entrust his kingdom to this worldly kind of love, which should really be called desire.

Why does the youngest daughter compare her love to salt? Master Eckhart says about this:
The salt is divine love. If we had divine love, we would taste God and all the works that God has ever done, and we would receive all things from God and do all the same works that he does. (Sermon 23)

And Jesus also says in the Bible:
You are the salt of the earth. If then the salt has lost its taste, wherewith shall it be salted? It is no longer of any use, except to be poured out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world... (Matt. 5:13)

✻ When the King heard that, he fell into a passion, and said, “If thou lovest me like salt, thy love shall also be repaid thee with salt.” Then he divided the kingdom between the two elders, but caused a sack of salt to be bound on the back of the youngest, and two servants had to lead her forth into the wild forest.

✎ Why is the king angry about a divine or holistic love, about a pure light of a pure consciousness? Well, that is our biggest problem. The ego-mind cannot do anything with a whole and thus also with a God, but feels deeply threatened by it, because he is a separating self-consciousness that can only think in opposites. That is probably why there are two servants who are supposed to lead the pure soul “forth into the wild forest” of our ideas. From this perspective, salt would be an interesting metaphor for our consciousness: If it is denied, everything tastes empty and we fall into dark and cold lethargy. If it is desired, we oversalt everything and fall into fiery passion. And yet we cannot live without it, because it is the basis of everything, and without consciousness we could not live at all. Accordingly, we also find in the notes to this fairy tale:
The motif “love like salt” is carried out incompletely. The shame of the old king is missing, who recognizes the value of salt through the unsalted food and admits that his youngest daughter’s assurance that she loves him like salt was not a mockery. (Bolte/Polívka, Volume 3, p. 305)

✻ We all begged and prayed for her,” said the Queen, “but the King’s anger was not to be appeased. How she cried when she had to leave us! The whole road was strewn with the pearls which flowed from her eyes. The King soon afterwards repented of his great severity, and had the whole forest searched for the poor child, but no one could find her. When I think that the wild beasts have devoured her, I know not how to contain myself for sorrow; many a time I console myself with the hope that she is still alive, and may have hidden herself in a cave, or has found shelter with compassionate people. But picture to yourself, when I opened your little emerald book, a pearl lay therein, of exactly the same kind as those which used to fall from my daughter’s eyes; and then you can also imagine how the sight of it stirred my heart. You must tell me how you came by that pearl.”

✎ Yes, the pure soul cannot be found “in the whole forest” of our imagination. She can be eaten by “wild beasts,” but she cannot actually die. So, she hides herself and sends us a precious reminder at the right time in the form of the pearls of her tears that she cries for her separation.

✻ The count told her that he had received it from the old woman in the forest, who had appeared very strange to him, and must be a witch, but he had neither seen nor hear anything of the Queen’s child. The King and the Queen resolved to seek out the old woman. They thought that there where the pearl had been, they would obtain news of their daughter.

✎ The noble youth uses his mind to bring back the memory to the worldly king and his queen and describes the way to the “old woman in the forest”, who still seems threatening to the ego mind. Nature will always remain threatening to us as long as she stands opposite to us and we see ourselves as separate from her. Because we can never fully rely on our senses and thoughts. They are easily deceived and enchanted, and as we know, there is white and black magic. The black magic separates and embodies us even more, until it finally seems to petrify us completely. While the white magic elevates us, revives us and expands our consciousness to pure love, as we know from many old stories and still experience every day.

So, “the old woman now sits in that lonely place”, but spins our thread of life inside, where it is still very dark inside us because we have not yet recognized the true essence of nature.

✻ The old woman was sitting in that lonely place at her spinning-wheel, spinning. It was already dusk, and a log which was burning on the hearth gave a scanty light. All at once there was a noise outside, the geese were coming home from the pasture, and uttering their hoarse cries. Soon afterwards the daughter also entered. But the old woman scarcely thanked her, and only shook her head a little. The daughter sat down beside her, took her spinning-wheel, and twisted the threads as nimbly as a young girl. Thus, they both sat for two hours, and exchanged never a word. At last, something rustled at the window, and two fiery eyes peered in. It was an old night-owl, which cried, “Uhu!” three times. The old woman looked up just a little, then she said, “Now, my little daughter, it is time for thee to go out and do thy work.”

✎ The pure and eternally young soul of nature, which also guards the pure senses and thoughts, naturally helps her mother to spin our life thread as a soul bond of cause and effect, even if she does not yet know exactly what she is spinning, because she is still separated from the pure spirit. In addition, the owl as guardian of the night or the subconscious with the fiery eyes of wisdom is a beautiful symbol for the living clock of nature, to announce the right time when the soul has to fulfil her task in the game of cause and effect.

✻ She rose and went out, and where did she go? Over the meadows ever onward into the valley. At last, she came to a well, with three old oak-trees standing beside it; meanwhile the moon had risen large and round over the mountain, and it was so light that one could have found a needle.

✎ After hearing a lot about the top of the mountain, we go down into the valley, down to the source and the origin. A well with three oak trees already sounds like an old and very mystical place, whose name is still often found today, but hardly any deeper story behind it. The well itself has always been a powerful symbol, because in its depths there is a spring that cannot be seen from the outside, but which provides the water for life, which of course should be drawn with reason, and not denied or desired, like salt. And what kind of spring could it be that nourishes the roots of three mighty trees? Here we can again think of pure consciousness as an eternal fountain of youth, because it itself knows no aging and no transience. From this perspective, it is the water of eternal life, similar to “hydrogen”, which has served as the basis for all matter practically since the Big Bang.

The oak itself was a sacred tree in many cultures and stands for constancy, vitality, loyalty, truth and many other virtues. The number three reminds us of the usual three fundamental forces that are at work and can be found everywhere in nature, i.e., two opposites and one direction. Because two opposing forces would just swing back and forth senselessly. A third force is then used for direction, so that symbolically a triangle is created in which the three forces interact. In a similar way, we today also explain the creation of our universe from the interplay of matter and antimatter in the Big Bang, but modern science has still not recognized the third force, why something came into being from this. So far, the world tree basically has three trunks or at least three roots, just as the famous world tree Yggdrasil has three roots, as well as three Norns as goddesses of fate at the holy Urd well.

And here at the bottom of everything there is suddenly light, the full moon of a spiritual light shines in the worldly night over the mountain from the heights down to the valley below, and we see:

✻ She removed a skin which covered her face, then bent down to the well, and began to wash herself. When she had finished, she dipped the skin also in the water, and then laid it on the meadow, so that it should bleach in the moonlight, and dry again. But how the maiden was changed! Such a change as that was never seen before! When the grey mask fell off, her golden hair broke forth like sunbeams, and spread about like a mantle over her whole form. Her eyes shone out as brightly as the stars in heaven, and her cheeks bloomed a soft red like apple-blossom.

✎ Now, the pure soul lays down her transient shell or form at this fountain of youth as a pure source of consciousness and purifies herself again and again in the moonlight of the spiritual light. In this purity appears her golden hair of truth, from which the far-seeing eyes of wisdom flash, as well as her pure, gentle love as a reddish blossom for all the fruits of this world.

✻ But the fair maiden was sad. She sat down and wept bitterly. One tear after another forced itself out of her eyes, and rolled through her long hair to the ground. There she sat, and would have remained sitting a long time, if there had not been a rustling and cracking in the boughs of the neighbouring tree. She sprang up like a roe which has been overtaken by the shot of the hunter. Just then the moon was obscured by a dark cloud, and in an instant the maiden had slipped on the old skin and vanished, like a light blown out by the wind.

✎ This is a particularly wonderful description of a basic problem that meditators know all too well when they look inward into the depths. As soon as a spectator moves in the tree of life and as soon as one thinks “I see something other than myself,” the spiritual light disappears behind the “dark cloud” of ignorance and the vision escapes, so to speak, from the “hunter” of the ego mind. That is, when the truth feels observed, it disappears because one can never see it as something separate and one only ever sees a transient effect. This is wonderfully described here and shows once again how unimaginably far many people were in the past who have passed on such profound stories for such a long time.

With this, the pure soul now flees back to the mountain to her old mother, whom we still see as an external nature that lives in a physical witch’s house, although she is a friendly and holistic being who knows everything that is happening.

✻ She ran back home, trembling like an aspen-leaf. The old woman was standing on the threshold, and the girl was about to relate what had befallen her, but the old woman laughed kindly, and said, “I already know all.” She led her into the room and lighted a new log. She did not, however, sit down to her spinning again, but fetched a broom and began to sweep and scour, “All must be clean and sweet,” she said to the girl.

✎ Now something great happens again: Mother Nature herself takes over the last important cleaning in our house. To do this, she lights a new light inside us shortly before midnight at the “witching hour”, when the external light has gone out, and stops spinning the thread of life, which has now evidently reached an important goal. This describes three essential aspects of a holistic spirit-nature: spinning, knowing and purifying. One could also speak of creation, preservation and dissolution, for which we also know the Indian gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, or from a Christian perspective Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who in truth as a trinity are always only one whole. But our pure soul still does not know what is happening because she is still separated from the pure spirit, and asks:

✻ “But, mother,” said the maiden, “why do you begin work at so late an hour? What do you expect?” “Dost thou know then what time it is?” asked the old woman. “Not yet midnight,” answered the maiden, “but already past eleven o’clock.” “Dost thou not remember,” continued the old woman, “that it is three years to-day since thou camest to me? Thy time is up, we can no longer remain together.”

✎ The girl has now turned 18, which today means “adulthood”. As a game of numbers, 18 is also a relatively holy number, consisting of 2 by 3 by 3, and its digit sum is 9, i.e., 3 by 3, which can be seen in relation to the two triangles of male and female in the living multiplication of their powers. In Hebrew, this number is closely linked to the meaning of “life”, and similarly the numbers 18, 108 and 1008 are revered in India as a variety of scriptures, names and prayers. Accordingly, in German we can think of mindfulness of unity in diversity when reason increasingly awakens in the adult human being as a holistic perspective.

And what do the three years mean? They remind us of an apprenticeship of “herding geese” that is now over, similar to the three years that “the drummer” spent on the Glass Mountain. In the broadest sense, it could also be three longer phases of life: child, teenager and adult, who reach their goal and a certain level of maturity after school, if we have carefully nurtured and nourished our senses and thoughts with our body and mind. And then we might ask ourselves in shock: What comes next? What will happen next? What will become of me?

✻ The girl was terrified, and said, “Alas! dear mother, will you cast me off? Where shall I go? I have no friends, and no home to which I can go. I have always done as you bade me, and you have always been satisfied with me; do not send me away.” The old woman would not tell the maiden what lay before her. “My stay here is over,” she said to her, “but when I depart, house and parlour must be clean: therefore, do not hinder me in my work. Have no care for thyself, thou shalt find a roof to shelter thee, and the wages which I will give thee shall also content thee.” “But tell me what is about to happen,” the maiden continued to entreat. “I tell thee again, do not hinder me in my work. Do not say a word more, go to thy chamber, take the skin off thy face, and put on the silken gown which thou hadst on when thou camest to me, and then wait in thy chamber until I call thee.”

✎ As long as we live in separation, these fears, worries and questions about becoming are naturally there, because we have not yet arrived at true being, in the wholeness of a pure consciousness or awareness. So now, after the apprenticeship, a little patience is still required.

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8.25)”

To do this, we should take off our transitory shell, put on our original garment that we wore when we came into external nature, and wait in the purified space of our consciousness until the time is ripe and we are called, without “hindering nature in her work”. What kind of “silk garment” is this? The soul of nature, which spins the silken threads of cause and effect from which our life story is woven and worked, can wear many different garments in which we rarely recognize her. But here we are of course thinking of her wedding dress, white as snow, as a symbol of purity, wholeness and unity, which is what she was born for, as the queen told us above. Because her bridegroom is on his way to her, which Mother Nature already sees and knows...

And at the same time, from the perspective of the spirit, the following happens:

✻ But I must once more tell of the King and Queen, who had journeyed forth with the count in order to seek out the old woman in the wilderness. The count had strayed away from them in the wood by night, and had to walk onwards alone. Next day it seemed to him that he was on the right track. He still went forward, until darkness came on, then he climbed a tree, intending to pass the night there, for he feared that he might lose his way. When the moon illumined the surrounding country, he perceived a figure coming down the mountain. She had no stick in her hand, but yet he could see that it was the goose-girl, whom he had seen before in the house of the old woman. “Oho,” cried he, “there she comes, and if I once get hold of one of the witches, the other shall not escape me!”

✎ The noble youth still thought that it was his senses that showed him an external world, and felt like he was on a witch hunt in the nightly enchanted forest of his imagination. And yet he had already come a long way, because he went into his inner self and had “strayed away” from the worldly spirit and external nature that rule in the external world. And here he now sees, with great astonishment, the true essence of nature and his soul behind the external shell of transience.

✻ But how astonished he was, when she went to the well, took off the skin and washed herself, when her golden hair fell down all about her, and she was more beautiful than any one whom he had ever seen in the whole world. He hardly dared to breathe, but stretched his head as far forward through the leaves as he dared, and stared at her. Either he bent over too far, or whatever the cause might be, the bough suddenly cracked, and that very moment the maiden slipped into the skin, sprang away like a roe, and as the moon was suddenly covered, disappeared from his eyes.

✎ It is said: “Just one look at our true nature and we are in love.” With this view beyond external forms, true love can now work again, which can overcome any separation and unite everything.

✻ Hardly had she disappeared, before the count descended from the tree, and hastened after her with nimble steps. He had not been gone long before he saw, in the twilight, two figures coming over the meadow. It was the King and Queen, who had perceived from a distance the light shining in the old woman’s little house, and were going to it. The count told them what wonderful things he had seen by the well, and they did not doubt that it had been their lost daughter. They walked onwards full of joy, and soon came to the little house. The geese were sitting all round it, and had thrust their heads under their wings and were sleeping, and not one of them moved. The King and Queen looked in at the window, the old woman was sitting there quite quietly spinning, nodding her head and never looking round. The room was perfectly clean, as if the little mist men, who carry no dust on their feet, lived there. Their daughter, however, they did not see.

✎ The power of pure and true love can now unite everyone on the mountain again, spirit and nature, internal and external, and there is probably no other power that can do that. The inner spirit finds his way through his inner vision, and the external through the light from the windows of the physical senses. But why don’t the geese start to cackle loudly, even though they are more attentive than any watchdog? Well, they are probably not strangers who arrive here. Peace reigns on the mountain, and the geese, or rather senses and thoughts, have withdrawn into themselves and are silent. Mother Nature also shows herself quietly at work. She spins the life threads of cause and effect and does not allow herself to be distracted from it. And this happens in complete purity, even in our own bodies, when we look inside, as if small spirit beings were working there, who know no impurity on their way. Of course, because that is why the pure soul has guarded the white geese of the pure senses and thoughts. But where is she? This is probably the deep meaning of the whole fairy tale: they still see external nature and not their own pure soul.

✻ They gazed at all this for a long time, at last they took heart, and knocked softly at the window. The old woman appeared to have been expecting them; she rose, and called out quite kindly, “Come in, I know you already.” When they had entered the room, the old woman said, “You might have spared yourself the long walk, if you had not three years ago unjustly driven away your child, who is so good and loveable. No harm has come to her; for three years she has had to tend the geese; with them she has learnt no evil, but has preserved her purity of heart. You, however, have been sufficiently punished by the misery in which you have lived.” Then she went to the chamber and called, “Come out, my little daughter.” Thereupon the door opened, and the princess stepped out in her silken garments, with her golden hair and her shining eyes, and it was as if an angel from heaven had entered.

✎ This probably means: If we had not cast out the pure soul within us and banished her to the forest of ideas of an external world, then we would have spared ourselves a long journey of fear and suffering. But the pure soul “keeps her purity of heart” of a pure consciousness, guards the pure senses and thoughts and “no harm comes to her”. We can therefore find her again at any time, recognize her and be one with her again. And this is what the ancient Mother Nature is waiting for in her entirety, and when the time is right, she can bring her back out of hiding as her little daughter. Then the door opens that we ourselves have closed to her and we see the soul of nature in her white wedding dress of purity and unity, in which all separation disappears, with her golden hair of truth and her shining eyes of a pure consciousness, like a heavenly and divine being in completely pure and true love.

✻ She went up to her father and mother, fell on their necks and kissed them; there was no help for it, they all had to weep for joy. The young count stood near them, and when she perceived him, she became as red in the face as a moss-rose, she herself did not know why. The King said, “My dear child, I have given away my kingdom, what shall I give thee?” “She needs nothing,” said the old woman. “I give her the tears that she has wept on your account; they are precious pearls, finer than those that are found in the sea, and worth more than your whole kingdom, and I give her my little house as payment for her services.” When the old woman had said that, she disappeared from their sight. The walls rattled a little, and when the King and Queen looked round, the little house had changed into a splendid palace, a royal table had been spread, and the servants were running hither and thither.

✎ In this way, all the tears of sadness at the separation will finally turn into tears of joy when wholeness is found again through the power of love. Then external nature will disappear “from our (eye-) sight” and we will find an inner or spiritual kingdom that no worldly king can give us. Thus, the tears, that the soul of nature cried for the spirit that had turned away from her and separated from her, will turn into pearls of love and wisdom, which are our greatest wealth. And it is not for nothing that the Bible says that we should not cast these pearls before swine, that is, waste them on an external world, as the two elder sisters of the pure soul tried to do. And our little body house will then be transformed into “a splendid palace” where there is no longer any lack because there is no longer any separation and everything is for our good. A happy ending?

✻ The story goes still further, but my grandmother, who related it to me, had partly lost her memory, and had forgotten the rest.

✎ A special ending to a special fairy tale! Of course, this story also continues. But what else can you tell when there is no longer any external nature that can be understood and grasped? How can you paint a picture of a limitless wholeness where everything is as it is? It is not a “state” of standing still in any form that one could “understand”, but rather a supreme mobility, changeability and liveliness that no one can or wants to hold on to anymore, as described above by the servants in the castle of abundance and wholeness.

And yet our ego-mind has its thoughts and ideas about it, and that is probably good for the imagination of children who take this fairy tale with them on their journey through life.

✻ I shall always believe that the beautiful princess married the count, and that they remained together in the palace, and lived there in all happiness so long as God willed it. Whether the snow-white geese, which were kept near the little hut, were verily young maidens (no one need take offence,) whom the old woman had taken under her protection, and whether they now received their human form again, and stayed as handmaids to the young Queen, I do not exactly know, but I suspect it. This much is certain, that the old woman was no witch, as people thought, but a wise woman, who meant well. Very likely it was she who, at the princess’s birth, gave her the gift of weeping pearls instead of tears. That does not happen now-a-days, or else the poor would soon become rich.

✎ Why don’t our tears turn into pearls these days? Perhaps we all have this gift from the ancient and wise mother, and it is only because we cry for many things that we really shouldn’t cry for. And the things that we really should cry for, we don’t cry for.

The Golden Goose

✎ We continue with the symbolism of the goose. After the goose girl comes a goose boy, but only with a single goose, which is a golden one. So, we want to try to interpret this fairy tale from a spiritual point of view, even though it is usually presented as a comedy. And basically, it is perhaps the comedy of our lives, which takes place inside of us and which we can only laugh at, because: “He who laughs last, laughs best.” Here we go!

✻ There was a man who had three sons, the youngest of whom was called Dummling (Simpleton) and was despised, mocked, and put down on every occasion. It happened that the eldest wanted to go into the forest to hew wood, and before he went his mother gave him a beautiful sweet cake and a bottle of wine in order that he might not suffer from hunger or thirst. When he entered the forest there met him a little grey-haired old man who bade him good-day, and said, “Do give me a piece of cake out of your pocket, and let me have a draught of your wine; I am so hungry and thirsty.” But the prudent youth answered, “If I give you my cake and wine, I shall have none for myself; be off with you,” and he left the little man standing and went on. But when he began to hew down a tree, it was not long before he made a false stroke, and the axe cut him in the arm, so that he had to go home and have it bound up. And this was the little grey man’s doing.

After this the second son went into the forest, and his mother gave him, like the eldest, a cake and a bottle of wine. The little old grey man met him likewise, and asked him for a piece of cake and a drink of wine. But the second son, too, said with much reason, “What I give you will be taken away from myself; be off!” and he left the little man standing and went on. His punishment, however, was not delayed; when he had made a few strokes at the tree he struck himself in the leg, so that he had to be carried home.

Then Dummling said, “Father, do let me go and cut wood.” The father answered, “Your brothers have hurt themselves with it, leave it alone, you do not understand anything about it.” But Dummling begged so long that at last he said, “Just go then, you will get wiser by hurting yourself.” His mother gave him a cake made with water and baked in the cinders, and with it a bottle of sour beer. When he came to the forest the little old grey man met him likewise, and greeting him, said, “Give me a piece of your cake and a drink out of your bottle; I am so hungry and thirsty.” Dummling answered, “I have only cinder- cake and sour beer; if that pleases you, we will sit down and eat.” So, they sat down, and when Dummling pulled out his cinder-cake, it was a fine sweet cake, and the sour beer had become good wine. So, they ate and drank, and after that the little man said, “Since you have a good heart, and are willing to divide what you have, I will give you good luck. There stands an old tree, cut it down, and you will find something at the roots.” Then the old man took leave of him.

✎ The fairy tale begins with three sons, in whom we can see the general triangular relationship of the spiritual forces that usually work in nature. Then the two eldest represent the opposites of the ego of “I” and the “other” or “mine” and “yours”, which swing back and forth relatively uselessly and only hurt themselves in the process. In addition, a developmental direction appears in the youngest son as a reconciling and balancing force, which then also becomes the meaning and message of this entire fairy tale. That is why he is also called Dummling because, from his parents’ point of view, he is not as “prudent and reasonable” as his brothers to seek his personal ego advantages as an opposing being in a world of separation. Father and mother thus represent the witnessing spirit and the giving birth nature of an external world as we usually know it. And for this reason, the two older sons also get the tastier food from their mother, because external nature naturally loves, nourishes and promotes opposites, and with them also egoism.

What does wood mean? In practical terms, it is used for heating, cooking, baking and roasting in order to maintain life in this external world. It is therefore energy, especially solar energy, that has been accumulated and grown in the form of trees in external nature. From a spiritual point of view, we can also see in it, in the broadest sense, consciousness, which can contract, hold on, accumulate and embody itself. And all living beings and of course all other things live from this energy. The axe would then be a tool or means with which we want to access this energy, just as from a spiritual point of view our conceptual mind divides, separates and chops the whole into tangible portions that the spirit can then annex in order to live from it. We thus find a profound symbolism in the trees, and we could say: The ego mind of the two older sons is trying to cut down the tree of life with this axe, only harming and injuring itself and in the worst case can even kill itself. Yes, this is how we usually live and die in our external world.

Who is the little grey man? In contrast to the parents of the external world, we can see in him the ancient inner being of nature, a male spirit of wholeness, neither white nor black, which can be found everywhere in nature and constantly tests us and the motivation behind our actions. And the effect we experience through our actions is accordingly. So, the Dummling, who works without the wilful and stubborn ego mind, does not learn how to “get prudent from adversity”, but rather how he “suffers no adversity without prudence”. For he allows himself to be guided by the holistic spirit of nature, shares his food, refines it in the process and in doing so does not cut down the tree of life, but the “old tree” that the ego mind so gladly spares because of its tasty fruit, namely the tree of the knowledge of opposites, so that the opposites of an external world disappear more and more. And what this means can be read further.

✻ Dummling went and cut down the tree, and when it fell there was a goose sitting in the roots with feathers of pure gold. He lifted her up, and taking her with him, went to an inn where he thought he would stay the night. Now the host had three daughters, who saw the goose and were curious to know what such a wonderful bird might be, and would have liked to have one of its golden feathers. The eldest thought, “I shall soon find an opportunity of pulling out a feather,” and as soon as Dummling had gone out she seized the goose by the wing, but her finger and hand remained sticking fast to it. The second came soon afterwards, thinking only of how she might get a feather for herself, but she had scarcely touched her sister than she was held fast. At last, the third also came with the like intent, and the others screamed out, “Keep away; for goodness’ sake keep away!” But she did not understand why she was to keep away. “The others are there,” she thought, “I may as well be there too,” and ran to them; but as soon as she had touched her sister, she remained sticking fast to her. So, they had to spend the night with the goose.

✎ What do we find in the root when the tree of knowledge of opposites has been felled? A “golden goose”, of course. The gold symbolically reminds us of the truth, and the goose of a living whole (“Goose” means in German “Gans”, and the likely spoken word “ganz” means “whole”.). And where does the Dummling go now? Of course, not back home to the external world to his external parents, but to an “inn” where he spends the night. Here we can see the first path into an internal world, namely into our own body, in which we spend our spiritual night as in an inn. There he again finds three active forces, but now on the female side of nature as three symbolic sisters. They are “curious” and reach for the golden feathers, that is, for the external forms of truth, as our sensual and mental perception does, while the Dummling has the whole goose. Through this grasping they naturally cling to the forms, and yet always remain connected to the whole, even if they do not want to and repel each other. In this way, the three sisters can remind us of sensual desire and hatred with the associated thoughts and must now spend the spiritual night in their attachment as long as they want to live and work separately in the “inn” of a body.

✻ The next morning Dummling took the goose under his arm and set out, without troubling himself about the three girls who were hanging on to it. They were obliged to run after him continually, now left, now right, just as he was inclined to go. In the middle of the fields the parson met them, and when he saw the procession he said, “For shame, you good-for-nothing girls, why are you running across the fields after this young man? is that seemly?” At the same time, he seized the youngest by the hand in order to pull her away, but as soon as he touched her, he likewise stuck fast, and was himself obliged to run behind. Before long the sexton came by and saw his master, the parson, running on foot behind three girls. He was astonished at this and called out, “Hi! your reverence, whither away so quickly? do not forget that we have a christening to-day!” and running after him he took him by the sleeve, but was also held fast to it. Whilst the five were trotting thus one behind the other, two labourers came with their hoes from the fields; the parson called out to them and begged that they would set him and the sexton free. But they had scarcely touched the sexton when they were held fast, and now there were seven of them running behind Dummling and the goose.

✎ If you then look out of the inn of the body with the golden goose in your arms and back to the external field of the world, you find two more male or spiritual principles, namely the holistically seeing reason and the conceptual understanding, which should serve reason. The parson could thus stand for reason. Yes, even if not every parson has been able to maintain his good reputation, it is actually his task to proclaim a divine and thus holistic view. And the sexton should serve him and take care of worldly things. Just as the parson does not want the girls to run after the boy in the field of the world, holistic reason also tries to free the spirit from attachment to physicality in an external world. In this way, reason is of course also connected to true wholeness or the golden goose, and mind is attached to reason, which likes to remind reason of its duties. Accordingly, christening also reminds us of the Christ child as a holistic consciousness that should be born in us and baptized with the Holy Spirit. In this we also find a profound wisdom: It is better for reason to concern itself with the birth of the holy Christ consciousness in the spirit than to fight against the feminine or sensual desires of the body.

The two farmers with their hoes from the field remind us again of the play of male or intellectual opposites in the external world and thus also of the two older brothers of the Dummling, who cling to the conceptual mind and can never chop or separate with their hoes or all their opposing power something that is in truth an inseparable whole.

The fairy tale tells us that even the most reasonable person must live in this world of physicality with the help of his conceptual mind, on which worldly contradictions depend, but can still be fully aware of true wholeness, that is, let reason rule over mind. Just as the Dummling has the golden goose without worrying about everything that depends on it and is connected with it, and without trying to separate himself from it. In practical terms, that means living without desire and hatred. Because: wherever he goes, left or right, he can never lose anything in wholeness. So, whoever has the golden goose of true wholeness has everything and has no longer to fear suffering any lack.

✻ Soon afterwards he came to a city, where a king ruled who had a daughter who was so serious that no one could make her laugh. So, he had put forth a decree that whosoever should be able to make her laugh should marry her. When Dummling heard this, he went with his goose and all her train before the King’s daughter, and as soon as she saw the seven people running on and on, one behind the other, she began to laugh quite loudly, and as if she would never leave off.

✎ So, the development of consciousness continues, and the small inn becomes a large royal palace, a busy city and a vast kingdom. Now we ask ourselves: Who is this princess who was so serious? As in our last fairy tale interpretations, we would like to think here of the pure soul of nature, who is sad and unhappy because of her separation from the pure spirit. But when she sees the youth with the golden goose or true wholeness, with which everything is connected, the maiden becomes happy again and begins to laugh, because she now knows that he is her bridegroom. She is already looking forward to the big wedding, in which every separation between spirit and nature ends. In this way she is not laughing at the wholeness, but in the wholeness, and that is a highly liberating laugh when one realizes that every separation was only an illusion:

“When Buddha found enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, he laughed.”

Buddha also found wholeness at the root of the tree. And it is said that this joy is indescribably great and complete when our soul comes from the dark and sad world of separation and death back into a holistic consciousness full of love, as into a pure light of eternal life.

And who is the king who makes his own laws? He reminds us of the sensual and intellectual mind, which, like the witch on the glass mountain of “The Drummer”, must first be convinced and overcome before he releases the pure soul and marries her with the one who can really free her from her separation so that she becomes completely happy. And in a similar way, the youth must also fulfil three tasks to convince the king that he not only has wholeness, but can also realize it.

✻ Thereupon Dummling asked to have her for his wife, but the king did not like the son-in-law. He made all sorts of objections and said that he must first bring him a man who could drink a cellar full of wine. The Dummling thought of the little grey man, who could help him, went out into the forest, and on the spot where he had cut down the tree, he saw a man sitting who had a very sad face. The Dummling asked what he was taking so much to heart. He answered, “I am so thirsty and cannot quench it. I cannot bear the cold water, I have indeed emptied a barrel of wine, but what is a drop in a bucket?” - “I can help you there,” said the Dummling, “just come with me, you shall have your fill.” He then led him into the king’s cellar, and the man set about the great casks, drank and drank until his hips ached, and before a day was over, he had drunk the whole cellar.

✎ This task is also reminiscent of the first task of “The Drummer” on the glass mountain, when he had to empty the lake of memory. Here it is the wine stored in the cellar of the subconscious that has to be drunk. And here too the Dummling only makes the beginning by thinking of the little grey man who, as the holistic spirit of nature can fulfil this task, and not the ego-mind. For only this is the realisation of wholeness, when there is no longer a separate, self-willed and obstinate person within us, but rather the whole of nature acts and works as a whole.

The big question is: what kind of man is it, he found at the place where the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was cut down? Who can perform such “supernatural” tasks? What is the root of the tree of the knowledge of opposites that is revealed when this tree is cut down and not only gives the golden goose but can also grant all wishes? Well, the fairy tale speaks of a man, a spiritual being, who can apparently take on different forms, and thus touches on one of the biggest questions in the world: what is the source of everything, of the whole and of the entirety? Well, actually the entirety itself, which does not need a name, just as the universe does not need a name because there is only one. And yet the mind wants to distinguish and think something, and so we want to speak here of pure consciousness or pure information, which itself is formless but can take on any form or “inform” and can be found everywhere at the base of nature and spirit. The Bible also says: “In the beginning was the Word.” And just as the tree of life grows from it for reason, the tree of opposites can also naturally grow from it for the mind, which our Dummling cut down. Our mind could conclude from this: If consciousness or information is the cause, spirit the effect and nature the form, then one can recognize the holistic source of everything in their trinity. And yet it remains only dubious intellectual knowledge that we would first have to realize in order to convince the king and win the pure soul.

✻ The Dummling again demanded his bride, but the king was angry that such a common fellow, whom everyone called a Dummling, should carry off his daughter, and he made new conditions: he would first have to fetch up a man who could eat a mountain of bread. The Dummling did not think twice, but went straight out into the forest. There sat a man in the same place who tied his body together with a belt, made a grim face and said: “I have eaten a whole oven full of grated bread (a hard-baked wheat bread from which the crust has been grated), but what good is that when you are as hungry as I am? My stomach remains empty, and I must only tie myself up if I am not to die of hunger.” The Dummling was glad about this and said: “Get up and come with me, you shall eat until you are full.” He led him to the court of the king, who had brought together all the flour from the whole kingdom and baked an enormous mountain of it. But the man from the forest stood in front of it, began to eat, and in a day the whole mountain had disappeared.

✎ Just as on the glass mountain of “The Drummer” the forest of ideas was cut down, chopped up and burned, in a similar way a mountain of bread must now be eaten and digested, baked from the flour of grains that the ego-mind has gathered from all over his kingdom. Here we could think of the karma seeds of accumulated deeds, which are, so to speak, ground up, digested and burned in the digestive fire and redeemed. And here too the Dummling relies on the pure consciousness that he finds where he has cut down the tree of opposites and found the golden goose or true wholeness. And because pure consciousness can take on any form, it also accomplishes this great work as a holistic spirit or man of nature, for which our ego-mind is far too weak, limited and immobile. So, the wholeness could drink all the wine and eat all the bread, and yet it did not become fuller or more whole. Similarly, pure consciousness is said to remain unchanged, no matter what form it appears in. What is missing now to convince the mind of wholeness?

✻ The Dummling demanded his bride for the third time, but the king once again sought an excuse and demanded a ship that could sail on land and water. “As soon as you come sailing in it,” he said, “you shall have my daughter as your wife.” The Dummling went straight into the forest, where the old grey man, to whom he had given his cake, sat and said, “I have eaten and drunk for you, and I will give you the ship too. I do all this because you have been merciful to me.” So, he gave him the ship that sailed on land and water, and when the king saw that, he could no longer withhold his daughter from him and the wedding was celebrated. After the King’s death Dummling inherited the kingdom, and lived a long time contentedly with his wife.

✎ Finally, the third task is mobility beyond the usual limits, which also reminds us of the mystical saddle of “The Drummer” who could take his rider anywhere at will, but now appears without selfish drive as a ship in the pure wind of the holistic spirit.

The soul is the ship,
Reason is the rudder
And truth is the harbour.
(Turkish proverb)

This ship of limitless mobility is also given to him by the holistic spirit of nature in the forest of the world, because the Dummling is merciful, loving and trustful and does not cling to the ego-mind. From a Christian perspective, we can also think of the biblical Lord’s Supper and the resurrection with regard to the symbolism of these three tasks, because here too it is not the ego that should drink the wine, eat the bread and rise above worldly boundaries, but the holistic Christ consciousness as pure reason, love and mercy.

In this way, all obstacles are finally removed and the mystical wedding is celebrated, spirit and nature are reunited, and after the death of the ego-mind, the Dummling as holistic reason inherits the entire kingdom and lives for a long time, perhaps even forever, with his wife. Because what death should separate the united couple in true wholeness? - Happy ending!

And why do we still call him “Dummling” - Simpleton? Should we now accumulate and hold on to knowledge, or should we digest it and let it go? Yes, it is a strange story with our human knowledge and especially with “science”, because: to know holistically means not to know. As Socrates said: “I know that I do not know.” Or, to put it more modern: the sum of all information is no longer information. Yes, this is how the tree of opposites can be cut down and the golden goose or true wholeness can be found.

That is why a master says: If a person is to do an inner work, he must withdraw all his powers, just as if into a corner of his soul, and hide himself from all images and forms, and there he can work. In doing so, he must come to forgetfulness and unknowing. If this (divine) word is to be heard, it must happen in stillness and silence. Nothing can serve this word better than stillness and silence; then one can hear it and understand it properly: in that unknowing. Where one knows nothing, it shows and reveals itself... So, your unknowing is not a defect, but your highest perfection, and your suffering is thus your highest work. And so, in this way, you must abandon all your activities and silence all your powers if you really want to experience this birth within you. If you want to find the born king, you must overcome everything else you might find and throw it behind you... (Master Eckhart, Sermon 58)

Informatism - A religion of our time?

(A way to slow down. - This article about the “Informatism” of our modern world was written in 2005, has waited nineteen eventful years for its appearance without losing much of its relevance, and may now find its place as an epilogue to this wonderful fairy tale of “The Golden Goose”.)

Motivation:

Politics, science and religion are somewhat at a loss in the face of this world. Much has been achieved, but what should we do next? Which politician should we believe? Which of the thousand laws should we follow? Which of the thousand norms should we observe? Which of the thousand news is true? Which of the thousand medicines can cure me? Humanity is suffocating from information. But the wheel of time cannot be turned back. We live in this information society, and technical development will continue. Man has become rich and powerful, but content and happy? Science has developed material things enormously, but the spiritual is lagging behind. This cannot be grasped with formulas and callipers. How could a modern person think about this world so that he can find a fulfilling life, inner peace and contentment even with a car, computer and microwave, so that he can recognize his place in this universe, so that he remains a master and does not become a slave? That seems to be the main challenge for the future. Our society needs a stable spiritual foundation again. We live in a good time for this task. There are the necessary freedoms and a practical world that is in wild movement. Anyone who wants to see it can clearly recognize the effect of spiritual laws.

Science is also of great importance for this further path. Intellectual development cannot ignore it. Scientists in particular should recognize their historic task here. If companies in the economy have to worry about the disposal of their products, scientists and all other information providers should also do the same. We must learn how to handle information, how to digest it healthily and how to follow a sensible diet.

Principles:

The highest obligation is to the truth, for the benefit of all beings.
Only when this power fades do political or economic obligations arise, then the zenith has already been passed, the flower begins to wilt.

The people of our information society need a spiritual foundation again in order to turn to the truth, to find a healthy concept of virtue and honour and to avoid the path of lies, hatred and greed.
Many people no longer have deep trust in the spiritual values of the old religions because they do not find their way of life and thinking reflected there. So why a new religion? In every meadow, new flowers are always blooming, often very similar to the others.

The great thinkers of our time need a spiritual culture in order to bring their energy to fruition, to use their power for the benefit of society.
A religion must be supported by a certain spiritual elite. This should create a healthy balance with society.

The world should change from within. A good spirit produces good fruit.
It is not about destroying something external, changing this world with new laws or violence. You won’t get pears if you press the fruit of an apple tree into a pear shape. If you want pears, you should plant a pear tree and it needs time to grow.

The focus is on deep reflection on the nature of spirit and information.
The term “information” plays an enormous role in the lives of our people, consciously or unconsciously. Reflecting on the deeper nature of information is very healing, answers many current questions and opens up a view on the fundamental laws of this world. This should also bring the importance of spiritual forces back into the horizon of our society and create a healthy balance to materialism.

Possible thoughts:

Information can be endlessly combined and designed.
The possibilities for arranging information are practically endless and the world of diversity is created.

The sum of all possible information is the one truth, the unity behind the diversity.
This whole colourful world is diversity. Our view is reflected in the diversity, and the forms emerge, reflect our thoughts, and the names emerge. When the diversity becomes transparent, the view opens to the unity, to the truth, and the thoughts stop reflecting. Just as you can see to the bottom of a still, clear body of water.

Every information is only part of the truth, a one-sided and relative view.
This is where illusion arises when you consider one information to be the absolute truth. This statement also calls into question all knowledge about the information itself. No, you will not find any absolute truths in this text either, nothing that you can hold on to in the long term. That is difficult to start with, but the better path is always the one that is difficult at the beginning and becomes easier at the end.

Information is always composed, conditioned by causes.
You could ask for the smallest unit. Perhaps like in a computer 0 & 1 or in life true & false, good & evil, desire & rejection, greed & anger, etc. These small opposites are perhaps the axis around which this whole world revolves, all life and death.

Information always contains opposites, opposites are information.
Where there is light, there is also shadow. Without light, there is no shadow.

The mind can endlessly create opposites between what is and what could be.
That seems to be the game of life, and everyone can play along.

Anyone who sees information as absolute reality is moving away from the truth.
Perhaps that is one reason why many people of our time move so far away from the truth and end up entangled in endless worries, fears and other suffering.

As such information accumulates, one moves further and further away from the truth.
The opposite path then leads back to the truth. Then one moves to this mystical point where the truth increases, but the information about it approaches zero. That is probably how it has to be. Perhaps one should not give this point a name. Some attempts have already been made (God, Nirvana, Tao, Brahman...). In the end, ignorant people argue about it and stave in each other’s heads. If only they knew how far this point is from their reality! If it absolutely has to be, then let it be called “God”. That is perhaps closest to our tradition, and in the end, we cannot avoid purifying this name of all burdens anyway.

Information gives the mind a face.
Just hypothetically, suppose there is only mind and information. Then mind would be the carrier, and information creates names and forms. Just like genes give cells and organisms their form. So, if genes are a kind of software, what is the hardware that interprets and implements this information? All phenomena in this world are combined information, even a law of nature is perhaps ultimately just information.

Information is energy.
Knowledge is power. Information is a creative force, whether as potential or as effect. By accumulating information, you create the potential for the future. This is reminiscent of the terms sin or karma. Anyone who expects a happy future should also collect good or healing information. For this, an appropriate ethic is necessary.

Information is food.
Information can make you hungry or painfully overeaten, thirsty or get drunk. Information can be digested and transformed into reduced information or it can be accumulated excessively. There is not much difference between information and bread or wine.

This provides various aspects for meditating on information and the mind. In the end, the path is as it has been described since ancient times. Deep reflection leads to mindfulness, mindfulness develops deeper insight and wisdom. With wisdom comes great power. In order for this power to work for the benefit of all beings, an appropriate ethic is necessary. Without ethics, without purity, this power quickly turns against you. Intelligence alone is not enough here. Awareness is a path to the inside, a coming down. At this point, the human being must exceptionally work more on himself than on the external world. OM

The Goose-Girl

✎ After having looked at the path to golden wholeness from the male perspective of the witnessing spirit in the last fairy tale, we now want to turn to the female side, the pure soul of a birthing nature. This wonderful balance of the different perspectives in the fairy tales already indicates that the wholeness of spirit and nature has long been known, and it only depends on which side you identify with on the path and which role you play in order to finally find true unity again, so that most fairy tales also end with a happy wedding. In this regard, one could again think about the source and age of our fairy tales, because this balance between male and female is rarely found in Christianity, where the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is in the foreground, while mother, daughter and wisdom are only found in the background, for example as Mary or in the concept of “Sophia”.

✻ There was once upon a time an old Queen whose husband had been dead for many years, and she had a beautiful daughter. When the princess grew up, she was betrothed to a prince who lived over the field at a great distance. When the time came for her to be married, and she had to journey forth into the distant kingdom, the aged Queen packed up for her many costly vessels of silver and gold, and trinkets also of gold and silver; and cups and jewels, in short, everything which appertained to a royal dowry, for she loved her child with all her heart. She likewise sent her chamber maid who was to ride with her, and hand her over to the bridegroom, and each had a horse for the journey, but the horse of the King’s daughter was called Falada, and could speak.

✎ As is typical of the old fairy tales, this story only makes sense on a practical level to children’s eyes, because what queen would send her virgin daughter alone with a chambermaid of a similar age on such a long journey to a completely foreign kingdom? So, we again have every reason to look for the deeper spiritual meaning and message. First, we find a queen whose husband had died. And death means separation, so that the basic problem of the separation of king and queen, or spirit and nature, is already indicated here, which the virgin daughter, as a pure soul of nature, now has to solve. To do this, she was promised to a king’s son, or pure spirit, who lived far away from her “over the field” of this world in a “distant kingdom”. Well, this separation is probably the basic problem that we still suffer from today, and we too are looking to solve this unfulfillment of the separation between man and woman, or spirit and nature. And so, it is already a great vision that the “old Queen” as the Great Mother of Nature sends her beloved daughter as our pure soul with all imaginable wealth as a dowry, all alone into the world, in order to heal this separation and resolve it in the mystical wedding.

✻ What does the “chambermaid” mean, who will play an important role later on? Just as the pure soul is called the “young Queen” below, who is supposed to rule over the entire kingdom of a holistic nature, this part of the soul rules over the chamber in which the pure soul lives. And so, we can think here of our egoistic soul of self-consciousness, which rules in a body and is basically also a form of the pure soul, which is supposed to help and serve on the journey through this world of external forms. It was surely no coincidence that Mother Nature also gave us this part of the soul on the long journey to reunite our pure soul with our pure spirit. She gives us the problem that needs to be solved, so to speak. Because what would the long journey be of any use otherwise?

✎ The two horses remind us of the mobile physicality on which we now ride and travel through the world. But while the pure soul has a horse or a body that speaks to her in a lively way and thus already indicates her holistic nature, the egoistic soul rides on a body that she considers her property but which has never truly become one with her. Just as we still consider the body more as a material machine and less as a spiritual being today. There are various assumptions about the name “Falada”. In the Brothers Grimm’s notes, we find the sentence: “The name Falada (the middle syllable is short) is particularly strange because Roland’s horse is called Valentich, Falerich or Velentin and this almost seems to have an external connection with the Kerling myth.” Others point to the Portuguese word “falada”, which means “spoken language”. This would make the talking horse a spiritual body that can remember and tell its life story, which will play an important role in this fairy tale and is perhaps even a core idea.

Here we already notice that this whole fairy tale is less about external relationships, but rather takes place inside us, where all the different characters can be found in a person to play their roles.

✻ So, when the hour of parting had come, the aged mother went into her bedroom, took a small knife and cut her finger with it until it bled, then she held a white handkerchief to it into which she let three drops of blood fall, gave it to her daughter and said, “Dear child, preserve this carefully, it will be of service to you on your way.”

✎ Well, the soul of nature now goes into the external world of effects, while the old mother nature goes into “her bedroom”, into a realm of calm, silence and peace, which will ultimately become the wedding chamber of spirit and nature. This fundamental space of conscious silence or emptiness, from which everything arises, can also be experienced in meditation, when thoughts and senses are silent. This is basically the truth, what was before something came into being. And from there she gives the soul one last mysterious and meaningful gift from her own living being: the white cloth reminds us of a certain purity of nature as a pure consciousness that can take on all forms and weaves everything together with spun threads. The red blood of the old mother nature reminds us of eternal life and the colour of love, but also of passion and suffering. And the number three could again indicate the usual three forces, about which we have already written a lot in other fairy tales, and which work everywhere in nature in various forms as triangular relationships to create, maintain and then dissolve everything. All of these principles and forces are of course necessary for the soul of nature as a source of strength, so to speak, on her way to unity and redemption from separation.

✻ So, they took a sorrowful leave of each other; the princess put the piece of cloth in her bosom, mounted her horse, and then went away to her bridegroom. After she had ridden for a while she felt a burning thirst, and said to her waiting-maid, “Dismount, and take my cup which thou hast brought with thee for me, and get me some water from the stream, for I should like to drink.” “If you are thirsty,” said the waiting maid, “get off your horse yourself, and lie down and drink out of the water, I don’t choose to be your servant.” So, in her great thirst the princess alighted, bent down over the water in the stream and drank, and was not allowed to drink out of the golden cup. Then she said, “Ah, Heaven!” and the three drops of blood answered, “If thy mother knew this, her heart would break.” But the King’s bride was humble, said nothing, and mounted her horse again.

✎ The soul begins her great journey and comes first to a small stream that is still close to the source and from which she wants to drink with her golden cup. Why is the pure soul thirsty? Well, she is separated from the pure spirit, and so it is probably the thirst of love between man and woman or spirit and nature. That is why she thirsts for the water of life that flows through the world, in order to find her pure spirit again. But her chambermaid will not and cannot draw and give it to her with the golden cup of pure truth that the Great Mother gave her. The egoistic soul with her separated self-consciousness is not capable of this. If she could do it, she would pay off her debt and be one with the pure soul again. The flowing water of worldly life from the cup of truth would immediately lead her to the true and pure spirit, pure love would be found, thirst quenched and the fairy tale would quickly have a happy ending.

In principle, this story reminds us of the biblical parable of Jesus when he asked the Samaritan woman at the well: “Give me a drink!” And when she refused, he said: “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that says to you, ‘Give me a drink!’, you would ask him, and he would give you living water... Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again. But whoever drinks of the water that I will give he will never thirst. Instead, the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:10)

But our egoistic soul cannot do it like the biblical Samaritan woman, because she does not recognize the pure soul in her entirety and thus does not recognize herself, but wants to elevate herself personally as a separate being to ruler and queen. So, the egoistic soul now holds back the golden cup of truth, and the pure soul in her “great thirst” must drink without it, “alight and bend down over the water”, and thus become an actor in the worldly river herself. And what does she drink without the cup of truth? Of course, the worldly water of the illusion of an independently acting soul, even if it is only a small sip from a small stream near the source. And her most heartfelt call for wholeness, “Oh God!”, is now answered by the pure forces of maternal nature that this is not yet the goal of wholeness and pure love. This saying, “If your mother knew this, her heart would break,” runs like a mantra through the whole fairy tale and reminds us of the source and the great goal.

What should the pure soul do now? Should she fight against the egoistic soul, recognize her as a rival, see herself as separate from her and thus put herself on her level? No, she does not take it personally, but remains humble and calm, as is her pure nature, and can forget all supposedly evil.

✻ She rode some miles further, but the day was warm, the sun scorched her, and she was thirsty once more, and when they came to a stream of water, she again cried to her waiting- maid, “Dismount, and give me some water in my golden cup,” for she had long ago forgotten the girl’s ill words. But the waiting-maid said still more haughtily, “If you wish to drink, drink as you can, I don’t choose to be your maid.” Then in her great thirst the King’s daughter alighted, bent over the flowing stream, wept and said, “Ah, Heaven!” and the drops of blood again replied, “If thy mother knew this, her heart would break.” And as she was thus drinking and leaning right over the stream, the handkerchief with the three drops of blood fell out of her bosom, and floated away with the water without her observing it, so great was her trouble. The waiting-maid, however, had seen it, and she rejoiced to think that she had now power over the bride, for since the princess had lost the drops of blood, she had become weak and powerless.

✎ Who could forgive and forget such disrespect except the pure soul? But when the egoistic soul met with no resistance, she became even more arrogant and proud, and with it the problem that was given to her escalated and became more and more embodied. The problem of separation also increased, thirst increased (as predicted by Jesus in the parable above), and the small stream of worldly life became a wide and deep river of cause and effect through space and time, as we practically all experience it today and try to quench our thirst in it. Thereupon the pure soul leaned ever further into this river to drink from it, so that her source of strength also fell from her heart into the river. The pure soul herself became the river of worldly life, so to speak, now flowing with the water and thus also being seized by the worldly “great trouble”, because separation is always associated with great fear. At this sight, the “chambermaid”, as a selfish soul, believed that the royal power of purity and truth had now become “weak and powerless” and that she herself would “take control of the bride”, because she too felt this great thirst.

✻ So now when she wanted to mount her horse again, the one that was called Falada, the lady in waiting said, “Falada is more suitable for me, and my nag will do for thee” and the princess had to be content with that. Then the lady in waiting, with many hard words, bade the princess exchange her royal apparel for her own shabby clothes; and at length she was compelled to swear by the clear sky above her, that she would not say one word of this to any one at the royal court, and if she had not taken this oath she would have been killed on the spot. But Falada saw all this, and observed it well.

✎ So, the egoistic soul wants to become queen, and her thirst for love turns into personal desire, and she seizes the royal horse and the royal clothes. This is the end of the “chambermaid,” and the following section speaks of a “lady in waiting,” who is now, so to speak, married and bound to a man or spirit, and that is the passionate spirit of personal desire and hatred, and thus also the spirit of transience and death. The pure soul “swears by the clear sky” of wholeness that she will keep silent about this act. And that is good, because if she were to accuse and attack the egoistic soul at the “royal court,” then she would descend to her level, see a rival, lose her purity and wholeness, and thus also encounter transience and death. That means, “she would have been killed on the spot.” But in this way the pure soul remains true to her pure being, forgives and forgets everything, and the memory remains only in the physicality of the horse that carries her through the world, so to speak connected to the body as a personal history.

We can now think about the great problem that was given to the soul of nature: How can the ego be defeated? If it is pampered, it feeds and strengthens itself through habit; if it is fought, it feeds and strengthens itself through battle. For it draws its nourishment from the separation in the worldly play of opposites and believes that worldly nature must now serve it. And so it happens that the pure soul becomes a servant and maid, but of course she serves the egoistic soul in the flow of worldly life in a completely different way than she had imagined in her ignorance, namely not in the sense of her bubble of illusion, but in the sense of truth.

✻ The lady in waiting now mounted Falada, and the true bride the bad horse, and thus they travelled onwards, until at length they entered the royal palace. There were great rejoicings over her arrival, and the son of the king sprang forward to meet her, lifted the lady in waiting from her horse, and thought she was his consort. She was conducted upstairs, but the real princess was left standing below. Then the old King looked out of the window and saw her standing in the courtyard, and how dainty and delicate and beautiful she was, and instantly went to the royal apartment, and asked the bride about the girl she had with her who was standing down below in the courtyard, and who she was? “I picked her up on my way for a companion; give the girl something to work at, that she may not stand idle.” But the old King had no work for her, and knew of none, so he said, “I have a little boy who tends the geese, she may help him.” The boy was called Conrad, and the true bride had to help him to tend the geese.

✎ So, the soul comes to a “royal castle”. We can imagine a reasonable person here with his entire royal court. First there is an old king who intuitively feels that something is not right here, and thus reminds us of the holistic reason with his intuition that should rule. And just as the pure soul is a daughter of holistic nature as queen, so too should the pure spirit be his king’s son. But he is probably not yet so pure, because unlike the old king he is deceived by external appearances, “lifted the lady in waiting from her horse and thought she was his consort” and left the “true king’s daughter standing below”, so to speak in the unconscious. The boy Conrad would then be the mind in man, because “Konrad” also means “courageous advisor” in its root word. But he is still small and young, and the king immediately recognizes intuitively that he needs the help of the pure soul to look after the cackling geese, that is, the thoughts and senses of man. For it is they, above all, that separate spirit and nature from one another, subject and object or observer and observed. And only when these thoughts are pure the human spirit or prince can be pure and recognize the pure soul as his true bride, who is promised to him for eternity.

✻ Soon afterwards the false bride said to the young King, “Dearest husband, I beg you to do me a favour.” He answered, “I will do so most willingly.” “Then send for the knacker, and have the head of the horse on which I rode here cut off, for it vexed me on the way.” In reality, she was afraid that the horse might tell how she had behaved to the King’s daughter.

✎ This is a very special symbolism that we should look at more deeply, because it indicates the hidden nature of the egoistic soul: it is the soul that ensures that our bodies must die, because it is connected to the passionate spirit of transience and death and knows no other. It actually demands this spirit of death in order to protect its own illusory nature, because it is afraid that the body might speak and reveal its false nature. Because if it became clear that the body is also just pure and eternal consciousness, then there could no longer be a separation between spirit and nature, the egoism of mine and yours would be deprived of any basis, and this bubble of illusion would have to burst. Is this perhaps also the reason why most of our modern natural scientists fear the concept of “spirit” as if it were a threatening poison? Then they are like the young king in our fairy tale, who does not see through this desire for physical death and thus approves the principle of separation. Only an egoistic person who lives in his bubble of illusion believes that something is really lost with death. The pure soul has no such idea and ensures secretly and unrecognizedly with her holistic power, even in the worldly flow of life of cause and effect, that nothing is lost.

✻ Then she succeeded in making the King promise that it should be done, and the faithful Falada was to die; this came to the ears of the real princess, and she secretly promised to pay the knacker a piece of gold if he would perform a small service for her. There was a great dark-looking gateway in the town, through which morning and evening she had to pass with the geese: would he be so good as to nail up Falada’s head on it, so that she might see him again, more than once. The knacker’s man promised to do that, and cut off the head, and nailed it fast beneath the dark gateway.

✎ We can also find this symbolism in a person: the city with its city walls is his body, the gates are his thinking and sensory organs, where the senses and thoughts go out into the world during the day and come back in at night. The large and dark gate could above all mean the thoughts that are particularly obscured by ignorance. Here the pure soul serves as a goose girl and, together with the young mind, guards the senses and thoughts when they go out into the world to find their nourishment.

Which being in us would then be the knacker (in German: Schinder)? “Schinden” (= to flay) originally means “to peel off skin”. In the past, the knacker looked after the sick and worn-out animals, which later shaped the meaning of “to ill-treat”, when someone is treated like a miserable animal. In this respect, the knacker could be reminiscent of our arrogance or pride, which comes with egoism and also likes to nail a trophy over the dark gate of thoughts. The desire of the egoistic soul gives the cause, the will of the human mind gives the power, and the pure soul of nature in the worldly flow of cause and effect gives the power or energy, so to speak “the money for the service”. Where else would the power come from? But we do not recognize this pure source and think that it is our own personal or egoistic power. This is precisely the ignorance that darkens the door of thought and conceals the wholeness of mind and nature.

✻ Early in the morning, when she and Conrad drove out their flock beneath this gateway, she said in passing,
“Alas, Falada, hanging there!”

Then the head answered,
“Alas, young Queen, how ill you fare!
If this your tender mother knew,
Her heart would surely break in two.”

✎ So, this dark gate of the senses and thoughts itself comes to life, and the pure soul can speak to herself here at this physical boundary wall between inside and outside. With whom else? In the whole there is only one pure soul. And she speaks something very mysterious, which could perhaps be translated as follows: “Oh pure spirit, you are pure mobility and now cling firmly to this physicality!” And the spirit of the body answers: “Oh pure soul of holistic nature, you are eternal constancy and now pass through space and time in the flow of worldly life as if you were transient! If your mother were aware of this, her heart could no longer be whole and she would have to fear losing her daughter.”

In this way the pure soul lets the body speak at the gate of the senses and thoughts, so that young Conrad can hear it as a mind. And perhaps we should also sometimes ask our body why it clings so tightly to a form? Although it is essentially pure energy or pure consciousness, which can move freely and assume any form, but remains constant and formless. Perhaps we will get an answer in silence, if we have not yet completely degraded the body to a material machine, like a city built of dead stones.

✻ Then they went still further out of the town, and drove their geese into the country. And when they had come to the meadow, she sat down and unbound her hair which was like pure gold, and Conrad saw it and delighted in its brightness, and wanted to pluck out a few hairs. Then she said,

“Blow, blow, thou gentle wind, I say,
Blow Conrad’s little hat away,
And make him chase it here and there,
Until I have braided all my hair,
And bound it up again.”

✎ Well, our mind will not be able to understand this mystical answer of the wholeness of form and formlessness as well as movement and stillness as long as it only looks at external forms and relies on the mental play of opposites. Therefore, Conrad cannot grasp the golden hair or true or holistic thoughts of the pure soul, and certainly not separate it from her and take it as his own property, even if he already sees its pure shine with joy. Because he only chases his own personal hat in the wind of the spirit through the external world “across the country” in order to take on a certain form and represent something, which also made the hat an important status symbol. This power of the wind to move the spirit also comes naturally from the pure soul of nature, which arranges her pure hair or thoughts herself and braids or weaves them holistically in the flow of worldly life, which again reminds us of the white cloth of the Great Mother with her three drops of blood as a natural source of power.

✻ And there came such a violent wind that it blew Conrad’s hat far away across country, and he was forced to run after it. When he came back, she had finished combing her hair and was putting it up again, and he could not get any of it. Then Conrad was angry, and would not speak to her, and thus they watched the geese until the evening, and then they went home.

✎ It is now clear that our mind cares more about the hat than the truth. And yet he cannot hold on to it, because it is a transitory hat in this world that no one can hold on to for long.

“I saw all the work that is done under the sun, and behold, it is all vanity and a striving after wind... And I applied my heart to learn wisdom and to recognize madness and folly. But I saw that this too is a striving after wind. (Eccl. 1.14)”

And who does not know how the mind becomes annoyed and even angry when it cannot understand something? Then it usually reacts with contempt and aversion and withdraws into itself. But the pure soul remains tirelessly faithful to her service and allows the body under the dark gate to speak to the mind again and again.

✻ Next day when they were driving the geese out through the dark gateway, the maiden said,
“Alas, Falada, hanging there!”

Then the head answered,
“Alas, young Queen, how ill you fare!
If this your tender mother knew,
Her heart would surely break in two.”

And she sat down again in the field and began to comb out her hair, and Conrad ran and tried to clutch it, so she said in haste,

“Blow, blow, thou gentle wind, I say,
Blow Conrad’s little hat away,
And make him chase it here and there,
Until I have braided all my hair,
And bound it up again.”

Then the wind blew, and blew his little hat off his head and far away, and Conrad was forced to run after it, and when he came back, her hair had been put up a long time, and he could get none of it, and so they looked after their geese till evening came.

✎ Why does the goose girl arrange her hair while tending the geese in the meadow? Well, that is the purpose of her service, because she guards the senses and thoughts of the rational person when they are out in the world looking for food, and arranges them in silence to purity and truth, whereby the conceptual mind actually interferes more than he helps. But it is also important that the mind recognizes that he cannot understand this truth, because in doing so she achieves the great goal that the conceptual mind turns to holistic reason and goes to the old king.

✻ But in the evening after they had got home, Conrad went to the old King, and said, “I won’t tend the geese with that girl any longer!” “Why not?” inquired the aged King. “Oh, because she vexes me the whole day long.” Then the aged King commanded him to relate what it was that she did to him. And Conrad said, “In the morning when we pass beneath the dark gateway with the flock, there is a sorry horse’s head on the wall, and she says to it,
“Alas, Falada, hanging there!”

And the head replies,
“Alas, young Queen, how ill you fare!
If this your tender mother knew,
Her heart would surely break in two.”

And Conrad went on to relate what happened on the goose pasture, and how when there he had to chase his hat.

✎ When the conceptual mind turns to holistic reason and tells him what he cannot understand, then man has a real chance of getting closer to the truth.

✻ The aged King commanded him to drive his flock (of geese) out again next day, and as soon as morning came, he placed himself behind the dark gateway, and heard how the maiden spoke to the head of Falada, and then he too went into the country, and hid himself in the thicket in the meadow. There he soon saw with his own eyes the goose-girl and the goose-boy bringing their flock, and how after a while she sat down and unplaited her hair, which shone with radiance. And soon she said,

“Blow, blow, thou gentle wind, I say,
Blow Conrad’s little hat away,
And make him chase it here and there,
Until I have braided all my hair,
And bound it up again.”

Then came a blast of wind and carried off Conrad’s hat, so that he had to run far away, while the maiden quietly went on combing and plaiting her hair, all of which the King observed.

✎ So, reason observes the mind as he passes through the dark gate, hears the body speak and drives the senses and thoughts out into the field of the world. In doing so, he does not allow his hat as a royal or holistic crown to blow away, but watches the soul, hidden and quiet, as she combs the thoughts, organizes them and weaves them holistically. Well, something similar also happens in meditation when one enters conscious silence as a conscious observer. And in the evening, when the senses and thoughts return from the outer world to the inside, he questions what is happening.

✻ Then, quite unseen, he went away, and when the goose-girl came home in the evening, he called her aside, and asked why she did all these things. “I may not tell you that, and I dare not lament my sorrows to any human being, for I have sworn not to do so by the heaven which is above me; if I had not done that, I should have lost my life.” He urged her and left her no peace, but he could draw nothing from her. Then said he, “If thou wilt not tell me anything, tell thy sorrows to the iron-stove there,” and he went away.

✎ This is again a very profound symbolism that you can think about for a long time. The pure soul of holistic nature can of course only ever speak to herself, otherwise she would not be a pure and holistic soul and would be subject to separation and thus also to transience and death. This is of course also the oath that she has made for the free heaven of wholeness. Therefore, just as the head spoke to the conceptual mind at the dark gate of the senses and thoughts, she can now also let the whole body (symbolized as an oven) speak to holistic reason. And the body not only complains to reason about suffering, but also tells the whole life story from its physical memory. In this case, it is not just the partial story that the ego in its bubble of illusion would like to hear from the mind, but the whole story from the repressed subconscious, from the gut feeling, so to speak, where the pure soul sits in the oven that digests and burns our food and maintains the animated body. And the old king, as holistic reason, listens through intuition at the “stovepipe” through which the smoke of illusion otherwise rises into the head or mind. And if we listen quietly and attentively, then we could hear the whole history of humanity here, how life arose from the holistic basis of spirit and nature, how a small stream became a great river of worldly life and how a soulful animal became the human being of today, whose spirit is still connected to the egoistic soul.

✻ Then she crept into the iron-stove, and began to weep and lament, and emptied her whole heart, and said, “Here am I deserted by the whole world, and yet I am a King’s daughter, and a false waiting-maid has by force brought me to such a pass that I have been compelled to put off my royal apparel, and she has taken my place with my bride-groom, and I have to perform menial service as a goose-girl. If my mother did but know that, her heart would break.” The aged King, however, was standing outside by the pipe of the stove, and was listening to what she said, and heard it. Then he came back again, and bade her come out of the stove. And royal garments were placed on her, and it was marvellous how beautiful she was! The aged King summoned his son, and revealed to him that he had got the false bride who was only a waiting- maid, but that the true one was standing there, as the sometime goose-girl.

✎ The symbolism of the stove is also something to think about. In the first edition from 1815, it was still a tiled stove, which became an iron stove in 1840. The tiled stove is even more reminiscent of our brick-built or material body, which is increasingly solidifying into a prison and, as a place of transformation, is probably not only meant to burn material food, but also spiritual problems. The pure soul has sat in this stove and laments her suffering to herself. And it is a very powerful meditation if we listen quietly and attentively without judgment as an uninvolved listener, that is, as a holistic reason. Because only in this way separation can burn and disappear and the basic problem that we have been given along the way can be solved.

So, the mantra saying “If the mother knew...” resounds from the heart of the soul, first at the stream near the source, then at the river of worldly life, then from the animal body and finally from the human body, in the course of a long development from the elements to the human being, in which all these stages are united. And the saying reminds us again and again at all stages of the holistic heart of maternal nature, which is pure love, pure energy and pure consciousness. As a result, holistic reason as king now recognizes the pure soul of holistic nature, frees her from the furnace of the body, gives her back the royal dress and lets her full beauty shine, so that now the dark gate of the physical city will surely shine in bright light. In doing so, he also reveals this knowledge to his son, the young king or human spirit, who can now see the beauty and virtue of the pure soul with purified and light-filled thoughts and senses full of joy.

✻ The young King rejoiced with all his heart when he saw her beauty and youth, and a great feast was made ready to which all the people and all good friends were invited. At the head of the table sat the bride-groom with the King’s daughter at one side of him, and the waiting-maid on the other.

✎ This brings us closer to the mystical wedding in which everything is reunited. Everyone is invited to the great meal and gathers around the pure spirit, of course also the egoistic part of the soul, which cannot be excluded from the whole. And certainly, there is a “golden goose” or true wholeness to eat for the main course at this great meal.

In principle, this symbolism also reminds us of the famous Last Supper of Jesus Christ, in which Judas, who served as the “traitor”, also took part: “Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’ And he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them and said, ‘Drink from it, all of you! This is my blood... (Matthew 26:26)” In this way, the bread as the diversity of nature and the wine as the unity of the spirit are reunited into a holistic consciousness. Something similar is happening here now, and there is only one problem left to solve, which has been recognized: What happens to the egoistic soul?

✻ But the waiting-maid was blinded, and did not recognize the princess in her dazzling array. When they had eaten and drunk, and were merry, the aged King asked the waiting-maid as a riddle, what a person deserved who had behaved in such and such a way to her master, and at the same time related the whole story, and asked what sentence such a one merited? Then the false bride said, “She deserves no better fate than to be stripped entirely naked, and put in a barrel which is studded inside with pointed nails, and two white horses should be harnessed to it, which will drag her along through one street after another, till she is dead.” “It is thou,” said the aged King, “and thou hast pronounced thine own sentence, and thus shall it be done unto thee.” And when the sentence had been carried out, the young King married his true bride, and both of them reigned over their kingdom in peace and happiness.

✎ Of course, the egoistic part of the soul must also remain in the whole, even if she perceives herself as something separate and cannot recognize the pure soul or the pure spirit as a whole. The egoistic soul thus renders her own sentence and must therefore live in a separated body, which was supposed to be a heavenly palace full of pleasures, but ultimately became the hellish chamber of a narrow barrel, a place of suffering with many thorns. For when she separated herself from the pure soul and wanted to be something of her own in her bubble of illusion, she married herself as a “chambermaid” with this passionate spirit of desire and thus of transience and death and is now bound to this body. And the “two white horses” could remind us of the wedding horses that are harnessed as worldly opposites to this “wedding carriage” of suffering for spirit and nature, which is now pulled back and forth along the well-trodden streets of the world until death. Yes, this freedom also has the pure consciousness of experiencing such a life, for it can take on any form. Who can prevent it? But one can recognize that it is a path of suffering and one must not hold on to it any longer.

In principle, this symbolism of the “sentence” also reminds us of the crucifixion of Christ, who as pure spirit and pure reason was nailed to the physical cross of this world with a crown of thorns of suffering. The only difference is that our fairy tale describes this path on the female side as the soul of nature, i.e., more from the perspective of the evildoers who were crucified alongside Christ, of whom one says: “We are indeed rightly so, for we receive what our deeds deserve; but this man has done nothing wrong. And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.’” (Luke 23:41) Thus our fairy tale describes the path of suffering of the pure soul of nature, which ends in the paradise of natural diversity through marriage with the pure or holy spirit. And the Bible describes the path of suffering of the pure soul of the spirit, which ends with the marriage with the pure nature of the Father as Creator God on the throne of God in the heaven of spiritual unity. Just as Jesus also died with the words: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit!” And these two paths are basically one, because spiritual unity is found in natural diversity and natural diversity in spiritual unity, so that everything is again a whole and divinity, which our intellect cannot comprehend because it only thinks in opposites.

On this holy and healing path to wholeness, the pure soul finds the pure spirit again in our fairy tale, which was hidden in the physical world “in a distant”, where he had forgotten the pure soul and thus his own purity and truth and could no longer recognize her. But knowledge returned with the help of reason, and so spirit and nature unite again as king and queen, who in truth were never separated, to form a great whole, so that the daughter also becomes one with the mother and the son with the father, as Christ also says: “I and the Father are one. (John 10.30)” This then means for our fairy tale: the pure soul becomes one with the entire diversity of nature, the holistic reason with the pure spirit of unity, and both are united in the great wedding to form a pure consciousness.

And what happens to Conrad, the conceptual mind? Well, he takes care of the body while he is still alive in the world and while there is still accumulated karma or the sin of separation to burn in this stove. Under a wise king he will certainly be a good and useful advisor, just as the chambermaid should serve the natural queen. In this way the part should serve the whole and not the whole the part, because as soon as the part voluntarily integrates itself into the whole, the part becomes whole again. And with that the happy ending is in sight, a “kingdom in peace and happiness”, ruled by pure consciousness, a paradise and kingdom of heaven on earth. OM

So, we too may ask our reason to whom we are inwardly engaged and whether we are thereby serving the whole, the unity in diversity and diversity in unity. And so, we too may recognize who here wants to arrogantly rise up in order to selfishly rule over nature and spirit, and where this path leads us...

King Thrushbeard

✎ After having looked at the path of the soul as a “goose girl” through this world to the mystical marriage of spirit and nature, we want to turn our attention back to the male side. At least the role of the groom is dealt with in more detail in this fairy tale. And so, this fairy tale begins with a king.

✻ A king had a daughter who was beautiful beyond all measure, but so proud and haughty withal that no suitor was good enough for her. She sent away one after the other, and ridiculed them as well. Once the King made a great feast and invited thereto, from far and near, all the young men likely to marry. They were all marshalled in a row according to their rank and standing; first came the kings, then the grand-dukes, then the princes, the earls, the barons, and the gentry.

✎ We read of a king who had only one daughter. For just as there is only one king in a kingdom, so too in the realm of nature there is only one soul, which appears in many forms, similar to the waves on the sea, which appear to be many but are actually only one wave, because no one can say exactly where a wave ends or begins. A queen is not mentioned, and so one could assume that the daughter grew up without a mother, was raised more by her father, and was therefore naturally the most beautiful in the royal court. She was not in her mother’s shadow and felt connected to her father, who had probably always protected and admired her. So too, the pure soul is boundless beauty herself, but she must unite with a man or spirit who can work with her and is neither above nor below her. Just as in the biblical parable Eve was taken from Adam’s side, and only in this way can they unite again.

What does this beauty mean? Etymologically, (German: schön) “beautiful” comes from “to look” (German: schauen), and so beauty means a holistic view of perfect harmony of a pure consciousness. And that is certainly the essence of a holistic soul.

Well, the soul now has the free choice of which spirit she wants to unite with, and the royal or holistic soul in particular has this freedom because she is basically pure consciousness that can take on any form. The active spirit can have a more or less large sphere of influence, i.e., he can be “king, duke, prince, etc.” But the daughter does not want to unite because no man was “good enough” for her. Here the original problem of the separation of king and queen is revealed again, so that a “proud and haughty” egoistic soul appears, which also sees herself as separate and “judges” others accordingly in order to feed and maintain her separate self-image of the “most beautiful”.

✻ Then the King’s daughter was led through the ranks, but to every one she had some objection to make; one was too fat, “The wine-cask,” she said. Another was too tall, “Long and thin has little in.” The third was too short, “Short and thick is never quick.” The fourth was too pale, “As pale as death.” The fifth too red, “A fighting-cock.” The sixth was not straight enough, “A green log dried behind the stove.” So, she had something to say against everyone, but she made herself especially merry over a good king who stood quite high up in the row, and whose chin had grown a little crooked. “Well,” she cried and laughed, “he has a chin like a thrush’s beak!” and from that time he got the name of King Thrushbeard.

✎ The German Wikipedia writes about this name in the article on this fairy tale regarding a throat or neck beard, as was already known in Roman sculptures, e.g. by Nero:
A “thrush beard” (Drosselbart) was understood to be a type of beard in which - as in the case of Richard Wagner and Baron Haussmann - the face was completely shaved and the beard only remained under the chin and on the neck and throat. The German “Drossel” (thrush) is an outdated term for the “throat” or neck, still preserved in the word “drosseln” (to strangle) and in hunting language (there as the windpipe of the game). That the king had a crooked face, similar to the crooked beak of a thrush, cannot therefore be deduced from the name; this may be a falsification of the story based on ignorance of the beard shape. The girl’s rejection of the king was then purely a matter of taste, and the criticism of her is directed at the fact that she rejects a man solely because of a minor external appearance.

Whether, in the further course of the fairy tale, the function of the “thrush” might indicate the curbing of high spirits and whether the “thrush” as a bird’s name also indicates the minstrel’s song is left to the reader’s imagination.

✻ But the old King, when he saw that his daughter did nothing but mock the people, and despised all the suitors who were gathered there, was very angry, and swore that she should have for her husband the very first beggar that came to his doors.

✎ Now, if the soul spurns every spiritual sphere of activity because it does not seem “good enough” to her, then of course she automatically unites with the poorest beggar. For that is the spiritual law that the old king “swore”, namely the law of cause and effect. In this way, the young king also becomes a beggar when he, as a pure spirit, cannot unite with the pure soul of nature, because he must now beg for the forms of nature in order to work in her. Therefore, this “beggar as a man” does not mean pure “poverty in spirit”, but a spiritual state of lack and needy dependence that arises through separation. And that is also the nature of the egoistic soul, which in her illusionary bubble of self-consciousness is dependent on “others” in every respect, for otherwise there could not be the idea of “mine” and “yours”. In this respect, a large and rich ego is in reality the smallest and poorest being in this world.

✻ A few days afterwards a fiddler came and sang beneath the windows, trying to earn some small alms. When the King heard him, he said, “Let him come up.” So, the fiddler came in, in his dirty, ragged clothes, and sang before the King and his daughter, and when he had ended, he asked for a trifling gift. The King said, “Your song has pleased me so well that I will give you my daughter there, to wife.”

✎ Here, one could already recognize the old King as a holistic reason, who is pleased by the song and who also sees through the role played by the “fiddler”. It is probably not difficult for him to hand over his daughter as a soul to the flow of life, because he is not deceived by the external form, in contrast to his daughter’s conceptual mind, which only understands and judges certain forms based on external characteristics. Now a voice within us may speak: “The fiddler is “King Thrushbeard”, who has only disguised himself and shaved his beard!”

From our point of view, this is the key to the depth of this fairy tale. Because here, too, it is still the conceptual mind that speaks, which separates into this and that, and not yet holistic reason. What does “holistic” mean? If we could see the king in every beggar, then we would come a little closer to this holistic reason. Similarly, Christ answered his disciples’ question:
“Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?” Then he will answer them and say, “Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.” (Matthew 25:44)

We also find a similar symbolic story about the Indian god Shiva as a pure spirit, who revealed himself as a dancing and singing beggar to his eternal Shakti or female side, who here bears the name Parvati as the daughter of Mena and Himavat, the king of the mountains. But she recognizes the god in the beggar and chooses him as her husband:
In the meantime, Shiva mingled with the crowd in the form of a poor dancer. He held the horn in his left hand and the drum in his right hand, wore a red robe and had pushed his money bag behind his back. Dancing and singing with extraordinary skill, he let his sweet voice ring out and presented Mena and the others with many songs. He blew the horn, played the drum, and his melodies were so pleasant that the citizens all gathered around him. They heard the sweet songs and watched the enchanting dance and quickly fell into blissful ecstasy.

Parvati, however, fainted because she saw Shiva in his beautiful form, carrying the trident and the other symbols in his hands. His body was rubbed with ashes, a garland of bones hung around his neck, and his face shone with three eyes. The sacred thread was a writhing snake, and his face was bright and beautiful. Lord Shiva, the friend of the afflicted and this treasure of compassion, repeated his words to her: “Choose the blessing, choose the bridegroom.” And she bowed to him in her mind and chose the blessing: “Be my husband.” With joy he granted her the blessing and disappeared. Then Parvati too saw only the beggar, who danced so gracefully that the people became euphoric. (Shiva Purana 5.30, or also 8.34)

But our egoistic princess could not yet recognize her beautiful husband. Because with her conceptual understanding she is still stuck on the external forms, and when the characteristics change, she is frightened and believes that in the play of opposites she sees something completely different.

✻ The King’s daughter shuddered, but the King said, “I have taken an oath to give you to the very first beggar-man, and I will keep it.” All she could say was in vain; the priest was brought, and she had to let herself be wedded to the fiddler on the spot. When that was done the King said, “Now it is not proper for you, a beggar-woman, to stay any longer in my palace, you may just go away with your husband.”

✎ Well, the great freedom is over, the ego soul binds herself, makes herself dependent on others and becomes a poor beggar woman who must now follow the “fiddler”. This marriage is also concluded by a priest before God or the whole, and is therefore a holy or healing marriage, which naturally has the great goal of returning from separation to unity. Today we often forget that this is the purpose of every marriage, when man and woman unite and marry in order to start a family together. Because what is initially a connection or bond of egos is intended to break down egoism and overcome separation, in order to then also find the inner wholeness of man and woman as well as spirit and nature in the union.

✻ The beggar-man led her out by the hand, and she was obliged to walk away on foot with him. When they came to a large forest she asked, “To whom does that beautiful forest belong?” “It belongs to King Thrushbeard; if you had taken him, it would have been yours.” “Ah, unhappy girl that I am, if I had but taken King Thrushbeard!”

Afterwards they came to a meadow, and she asked again, “To whom does this beautiful green meadow belong?” “It belongs to King Thrushbeard; if you had taken him, it would have been yours.” “Ah, unhappy girl that I am, if I had but taken King Thrushbeard!”

Then they came to a large town, and she asked again, “To whom does this fine large town belong?” “It belongs to King Thrushbeard; if you had taken him, it would have been yours.” “Ah, unhappy girl that I am, if I had but taken King Thrushbeard!”

✎ So, the egoistic soul speaks to the mind, because that is the active spirit with which she now walks through the world “hand in hand and on foot”. And the conceptual ego-mind naturally revolves around mine and yours with regard to the things of this world, so that she now feels completely poor in the midst of wealth. Yes, the egoistic soul is so paradoxical, because everything belongs to her, but she does not recognize it because she cannot give off herself, but wants to hold on. Whether forest, meadow or town, in all areas of human life the question is always asked: “Who does it belong to?” And the answer is always heard: “If you had taken the king back then, it would be yours now!” But that is not how it works. Reason cannot be taken, it can only be earned and received by giving, that is, by devotion, forgiveness and love. So, this path through the world is about pure love between soul and reason, but the desire for property still prevails in the ego-mind. It is also typical for the ego-mind to constantly falter between the past and the future with this “If only I had, then…” attitude, thereby feeling sorry for itself and not being able to be content and happy in the present for long.

✻ “It does not please me,” said the fiddler, “to hear you always wishing for another husband; am I not good enough for you?”

✎ Now that we have learned a little more about the function of the mind, something suddenly changes and the “fiddler” utters a sentence like a thunderclap that we would rather ignore: “Why do you want a different spirit? Am I not good enough for you?” What is this “I am” that we are always so dissatisfied with and long for something else? Well, long books could be written about this, and that has already been done in detail. For example, Christ says in the Bible: “I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14.6)” And in another place he says: “I am the light of the world. (John 8.12)” Why is that not good enough for us?

The Indian seer Nisargadatta says in the book “I Am”:
“Everything is secondary to the tiny thing that is the “I am”. Without the “I am” there is nothing. All knowledge revolves around the “I am”. False ideas about this “I am” lead to bondage, and correct knowledge leads to freedom and bliss. (Chapter 19)”
“When the mind is quiet, we know ourselves as pure witness. We withdraw from both the experience and the experiencer and stand beyond them in the pure consciousness that exists between the two and beyond. The personality based on self-identification, on the idea that one is something specific - “I am this, I am that” - still remains as part of the external object world, but the witness breaks his identification with it. (Chapter 6)”

What then is this odd “I” that wants to make itself “separate” or “emancipated” with the ego-mind in order to hold on?

✻ At last, they came to a very little hut, and she said, “Oh, goodness! what a small house; to whom does this miserable, mean hovel belong?” The fiddler answered, “That is my house and yours, where we shall live together.” She had to stoop in order to go in at the low door. “Where are the servants?” said the King’s daughter. “What servants?” answered the beggar-man; “you must yourself do what you wish to have done. Just make a fire at once, and set on water to cook my supper, I am quite tired.”

✎ Through her idea “I am a body”, the egoistic soul ends up in a “miserable mean house” together with the mind. There they have to “live together.” And so, the royal or holistic soul becomes a small person and has to serve herself as a separate egoistic soul in this body, which actually does not correspond to her pure nature, which serves the whole of nature holistically. That is why she has a hard time with it, and the mind has to help. But it is just a poor mind that she is now connected to.

✻ But the King’s daughter knew nothing about lighting fires or cooking, and the beggar-man had to lend a hand himself to get anything fairly done. When they had finished their scanty meal, they went to bed; but he forced her to get up quite early in the morning in order to look after the house. For a few days they lived in this way as well as might be, and finished all their provisions. Then the man said, “Wife, we cannot go on any longer eating and drinking here and earning nothing. You must weave baskets.” He went out, cut some willows, and brought them home. Then she began to weave, but the tough willows wounded her delicate hands. “I see that this will not do,” said the man; “you had better spin, perhaps you can do that better.” She sat down and tried to spin, but the hard thread soon cut her soft fingers so that the blood ran down.

✎ So, the path of suffering takes its course, and the hunger for life drives the embodied couple forward. While it is easy for the pure soul of nature to weave a basket that can contain the entire universe with all its worlds, and to spin threads of life that reach and last for thousands and billions of years, it is full of suffering for the embodied soul to work with hard matter. But it is not for nothing that they say: “Whoever God loves, he lets suffer.” Because only in this way proud arrogance can become true humility again. And that is also what the mind serves us for, complaining about us and trying to find another path of life and suffering.

✻ “See,” said the man, “you are fit for no sort of work; I have made a bad bargain with you. Now I will try to make a business with pots and earthenware; you must sit in the market-place and sell the ware.” “Alas,” thought she, “if any of the people from my father’s kingdom come to the market and see me sitting there, selling, how they will mock me?” But it was of no use, she had to yield unless she chose to die of hunger. For the first time she succeeded well, for the people were glad to buy the woman’s wares because she was good-looking, and they paid her what she asked; many even gave her the money and left the pots with her as well. So, they lived on what she had earned as long as it lasted, then the husband bought a lot of new crockery. With this she sat down at the corner of the market-place, and set it out round about her ready for sale. But suddenly there came a drunken hussar galloping along, and he rode right amongst the pots so that they were all broken into a thousand bits.

✎ The embodied soul now trades on the world’s marketplace in and with her physicality and thus becomes an acting person who earns her money or karma in order to live in the worldly flow of cause and effect.

Yes, our bodies are basically just earthen pots made of earth or stardust into which we fill our material and spiritual food. And as a family, this symbolism of the “pot trade” can also remind us of the embodied children that the physical couple now produces and “offers” on the world’s market or sells as working power. In the past, it was mainly the poor people who had many children who were supposed to care for and feed their aging parents. At first the soul is ashamed of this trade and fears being recognized, but driven by hunger she gets used to it. Her beauty also pays off, and she earns money with her physicality and her children, often even without having to give them away. We are reluctant to take anything away from beauty because we would like to enjoy it and maintain harmony.

But just as the most beautiful flower must wither at some point, as long as it is only an external form of beauty, this happiness of physicality does not last long either. Soon the illusion of time appears, which rides on physicality in the intoxication of the world, so to speak, with transience, loss and death, in order to destroy everything external and break everybody into “a thousand pieces”. And of course, this idea of time as transience, loss and death is also a form of the conceptual mind, which wants to hold on to the formal and cannot comprehend the formless.

✻ She began to weep, and did now know what to do for fear. “Alas! what will happen to me?” cried she; “what will my husband say to this?” She ran home and told him of the misfortune. “Who would seat herself at a corner of the market-place with crockery?” said the man; “leave off crying, I see very well that you cannot do any ordinary work, so I have been to our King’s palace and have asked whether they cannot find a place for a kitchen- maid, and they have promised me to take you; in that way you will get your food for nothing.”

✎ What will the mind say to this? He reproaches us: “Why do you set out on the path of transience in order to act in and trade with the physicality?” And what happens now? The mind recognizes that the pure soul is not useful for this kind of life, because all these paths end in suffering. He leads her out of the narrow house of the body and back into the royal palace of reason, where he too “had been” and still is. In doing so, she leaves the external marketplace of the world and goes right down to the bottom, where no one serves her anymore and she must serve everyone. And in doing so, she approaches her true nature as a pure soul again, and the proud arrogance of her egoistic part burns up in the true humility of serving the whole.

✻ The King’s daughter was now a kitchen-maid, and had to be at the cook’s beck and call, and do the dirtiest work. In both her pockets she fastened a little jar, in which she took home her share of the leavings, and upon this they lived.

✎ In this way man lives from what is given to him and no longer from what he takes because he thinks it belongs to him. This can only nourish a small earthly body of his own like a “little pot” that we carry in the world under our outer garment of personality and still consider to be our home.

✻ It happened that the wedding of the King’s eldest son was to be celebrated, so the poor woman went up and placed herself by the door of the hall to look on. When all the candles were lit, and people, each more beautiful than the other, entered, and all was full of pomp and splendour, she thought of her lot with a sad heart, and cursed the pride and haughtiness which had humbled her and brought her to so great poverty. The smell of the delicious dishes which were being taken in and out reached her, and now and then the servants threw her a few morsels of them: these she put in her jars to take home.

✎ So, the painful boot is on the other foot, as usual in the game of opposites, in order to balance out the separation. One could now see this wedding celebration as the king’s son choosing a bride, which the king’s daughter now experiences from the other side. She no longer looks down on others proudly and arrogantly as a spoiled princess, but humbly as a poor kitchen maid, and admires the beauty and splendour of all those present. The lights are lit in the royal wedding hall, which means that her light of consciousness expands to wholeness. She finally recognizes the root cause of her painful fate and “curses her pride and haughtiness, which had humbled her and brought her into so great poverty.”

“In silence and true humility, I seek God’s glory to see it in the son He created as myself. - I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. (Course in Miracles, Exercise 211)”

And with this knowledge deep in her heart, the noble prince appears to her again as a pure spirit with the golden chains of true wholeness.

✻ All at once the King’s son entered, clothed in velvet and silk, with gold chains about his neck. And when he saw the beautiful woman standing by the door he seized her by the hand, and would have danced with her; but she refused and shrank with fear, for she saw that it was King Thrushbeard, her suitor whom she had driven away with scorn. Her struggles were of no avail, he drew her into the hall; but the string by which her pockets were hung broke, the pots fell down, the soup ran out, and the scraps were scattered all about. And when the people saw it, there arose general laughter and derision, and she was so ashamed that she would rather have been a thousand fathoms below the ground.

✎ Now, the king’s son chooses the king’s daughter as his bride again, and the pure soul recognizes the royal or holistic spirit that has always courted her and is also eternally promised to her. Only one obstacle stands in the way of the wedding dance, and that is the poor and needy body that she still wears under her dress. For as long as the soul believes that she is at home in a separated body, she cannot be free and pure. Well, this bond is finally torn before the eyes of the people in the royal hall of reason, who of course know that from a holistic point of view one can only laugh at this physical attachment and nourishment. For what would someone have to cling to who lives in wholeness?

Of course, this bond is not torn without deep inner suffering that feels like death, and something probably dies too, namely the illusion of an egoistic soul that wanted to live separately and independently. This experience seems unbearably hostile to her, and she would prefer to escape into eternal darkness so that she no longer has to experience anything in the light of consciousness. This is where our idea of death comes from as an end to conscious life. But the pure soul cannot die, and her husband or spirit never leaves her alone.

✻ She sprang to the door and would have run away, but on the stairs a man caught her and brought her back; and when she looked at him it was King Thrushbeard again. He said to her kindly, “Do not be afraid, I and the fiddler who has been living with you in that wretched hovel are one. For love of you I disguised myself so; and I also was the hussar who rode through your crockery. This was all done to humble your proud spirit, and to punish you for the insolence with which you mocked me.”

✎ One should of course be cautious here. Holy marriage is not about breaking or humiliating the other person’s ego, but one’s own. In principle, there is only ever one ego, and that is one’s own. Everything else is perfect. Therefore, this story takes place primarily within ourselves, brought about, nourished and driven by external circumstances. For as long as the proud and arrogant ego does not break and the arrogance is reduced to humility, the awareness of separation cannot be overcome in order to achieve the goal of holy and healing marriage in its entirety.

With this, we now approach a further step towards holistic reason: We recognize not only the king in the beggar, but the holistically active spirit in all beings in this world. For just as there is only one pure soul in nature, there is naturally only one pure spirit, both of which appear together like a dancing couple in the diverse forms of nature and the forces at work in it. And when the diverse nature unites again with the holistic spirit, then we recognize the unity in the diversity. Then everything will be fine, because without separation there is no egoism and therefore no more suffering. Then basically only pure consciousness remains.

In this regard, the following sentence is particularly important: “Do not be afraid, I and the fiddler who has been living with you in the wretched hovel are one.” Wonderful! Christ also says something similar in the Bible: “I and the Father are one. (John 10.30)” Now the circle is complete, regarding the question above: “Am I not good enough for you?” And at the same time it answers the question of all questions: “Who am I when I am no longer a separate ego?” That would then be the last step towards holistic reason or “Christ consciousness”, where one recognizes oneself as a whole, as pure consciousness that has no property because it is not attached to anything. That is why it is said “Do not be afraid”, because it is also the end of all fears, because fear only comes from egoistic attachment and separation.

So, the fairy tale symbolically describes how the birthing soul of nature, together with the generative spirit, must go down the path of suffering in order to overcome egoism, because egoism is the cause of all suffering. And the great force that drives us to rediscover wholeness is, of course, pure love.

✻ Then she wept bitterly and said, “I have done great wrong, and am not worthy to be your wife.”

✎ Well, what is the value of a pure consciousness that knows no property because it is not attached to anything? For the ego it is of course completely worthless because egoism lives from attachment and therefore has “great wrong”. But for the active spirit, pure consciousness is the most valuable thing in this world because it allows him to work freely in the diversity of nature, like the king in his kingdom or God in the kingdom of heaven. Then there can no longer be any contradictions between what should be and what is. This is also the sphere of action of the spirit that the soul was initially free to choose as her spouse.

“I choose God’s joy instead of pain. - Pain is my own idea. It is not a thought of God, but one that I thought separately from Him and His will. His will is joy and only joy for his beloved Son. And I choose this instead of what I made. - I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. (Course in Miracles, Exercise 210)”

This means that there could even be a kingdom of heaven on earth, and all suffering would be over.

✻ But he said, “Be comforted, the evil days are past; now we will celebrate our wedding.” Then the maids-in-waiting came and put on her the most splendid clothing, and her father and his whole court came and wished her happiness in her marriage with King Thrushbeard, and the joy now began in earnest. I wish you and I had been there too.

✎ In this way, in every marriage, after a few years of struggle, we could now conquer the dividing ego, transform passionate desire into pure love and physical connection into spiritual union, and finally celebrate the true wedding when spirit and nature once again unite as one whole, the subject merges with the object again and all hostile opposites disappear. Then the “maids-in-waiting” serve as embodied beings of the pure soul and dress her in the most splendid garment of perfection. The holistic reason returns as king with all his court, and the pure joy of true bliss begins. And surely, we have always been there, for no one falls out of the wholeness that is celebrated here, neither you nor I, if only we could remember it. Otherwise, we will have to go this way again... OM

Saint Solicitous

✻ Once upon a time there was a pious maiden who vowed to God that she would not marry, but she was so beautiful that her father would not allow it and wanted to force her to marry. In this distress she begged God to let her grow a beard, which happened immediately. But the king was furious and had her nailed to the cross, and she became a saint.

✎ Now that we have looked at the king’s daughter’s path to the holy marriage of man and woman, or the wholeness of spirit and nature, in the last fairy tale of “King Thrushbeard”, this short fairy tale jumps in here almost by itself. For here we find not only the king’s daughter as a holy virgin or pure spirit-soul, as she had reached her perfection in the last fairy tale, but also a king, a beggar or musician, even a beard and a violin instead of a thrush. And this time she even asks God for the beard and voluntarily accepts the thrushbeard, whom she had once mocked and rejected.

Why does the pure spirit-soul embody herself again in this world of imperfection? Why not? She is pure consciousness that does not cling to any form and can therefore take on any form. And our physical world cannot of course be outside of perfect wholeness. That is why she comes to us, just as Jesus Christ embodied himself as a human being, or Krishna or Buddha in India. And because she is already holistic and perfect, she does not have to follow King Thrushbeard’s path again to unite with the pure spirit. The Christian seer Jacob Boehme speaks in this regard of a “male virgin” as a perfect being, as God originally created it as a whole according to his own example, and writes around 1620:
St. Paul says: “Our transformation is in heaven. (Phil. 3.20)” That is, the transformation of the virgin when she is in marriage with her spouse Christ, because then Christ and the virgin Sophia are only One person, namely the true male virgin of God, whom Adam was before his Eve, when he was man and woman and yet neither, but a virgin of God. (Mysterium Magnum, 50.48)

She does not have to marry again, just as Jesus and Buddha did not lead a domestic married life on earth, because she is already united with everything, and with a one-sided commitment to a certain form her purity would be lost. Similarly, Krishna was not married to a specific woman, but symbolically to many women, supposedly over 16,000, and with each of them he had many children, which practically refers to all beings in the world. In this way he also shows himself to be a holistic being, as for example in the famous Bhagavad Gita:
Behold my hundreds and thousands of forms, diverse and divine in various colours and forms. Behold the Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Aswins and the Maruts. Behold, O Bharata, innumerable wonders that you have never seen before. Behold, O Arjuna, the entire universe with all animate and inanimate things united in my body, and also everything else that you wish to see. But you are not able to do so with your eyes. Thus, I give you the heavenly sight. With this, behold my divine power! (Mahabharata 6.35)

But the worldly king does not recognize this pure spirit-soul. That is, he is not yet the holistic reason as king, but the conceptual ego-mind, which wants to force her according to his own ideas and thus nails her to the cross of this world. The cause is the egoistic attachment, and the effect is personal suffering with lack, transience and death. In this way he creates his own suffering, and the pure spirit-soul becomes a saint or healer in the world as a solicitous.

I can only crucify myself. - Everything I do, I do to myself. When I attack, I suffer. But when I forgive, I am given redemption. - I am not a body. I am free. Because I am still the way God created me. (Course in Miracles, Exercise 216)

✻ Now it happened that a very poor musician came into the church where her image stood and knelt down before it. The saint was pleased that he was the first to acknowledge her innocence, and the image, which was wearing golden slippers, let one of them fall down so that it could benefit the pilgrim. He bowed gratefully and accepted the gift.

✎ Here we meet a similarly poor musician, who also played his role as King Thrushbeard and recognized the pure and innocent soul in her external form. But how can an image come to life and let a slipper fall off? Is this only meant symbolically?

The man made of wood starts to sing,
The woman made of stone starts to dance,
Rational knowledge cannot bring this about.

Such miracles have certainly been credibly witnessed thousands of times, for which our rational minds cannot find a tangible explanation. That is why we tend to doubt them and ignore such miracles. But interestingly, something like this also happens to famous scientists, such as the theoretical physicist Wolfgang Pauli, in whose presence scientific equipment regularly failed. This gave rise to the term “Pauli effect”. But even then, most physicists did not recognize the deeper message and preferred to ban him from the laboratory. The great discoveries of quantum physics were therefore channeled more into technical devices than into the spiritual development of holistic reason, and atom bombs were built rather than a healthy worldview was established. Werner Heisenberg, the father of quantum physics, complained similarly in his advanced years:
“Most people think that atomic technology is the most important consequence (of quantum physics). I have always been of a different opinion. I believed that the philosophical consequences of physics would probably change things more in the long term than the technical consequences... (Video: Werner Heisenberg and the question of reality from 1:21:20)

How can an image have a holy and healing soul? Well, the perfect spirit-soul is of course a holistic being, that lives in wholeness and is therefore present everywhere in this world. It is just a question of becoming aware, and this process is of course easier with an image of a saint in a sanctified church. And so, it is the active spirit of the musician that sees through the image, recognizes the pure soul, brings her to life and reunites with her. Just as King Thrushbeard recognized the pure soul in the king’s daughter and, as a poor musician, walked with her on the path to the mystical wedding. In a similar way, here too the musician is given a golden slipper as a symbol of the path of truth that he can now walk as a pilgrim, if we consider the gold as truth and the shoe as help on the way. And in this sense, it is also the saint herself who rejoices in the recognition of her innocence and helps the spirit.

What does innocence mean? Guilt arises when you take something that belongs to others and have to return it accordingly. What is meant here is primarily the egoistic property that one acquires through attachment. And the great path to innocence would then be complete forgiveness, which the poor musician probably sought and lived as pure “poverty of spirit”. For only in this way can he recognize the innocence of the pure soul and thus also his own as an active spirit.

“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

✻ Soon, however, the golden shoe was discovered missing from the church, and the question arose everywhere, until at last it was found with the poor little fiddler, and he was condemned as a wicked thief and led away to be hanged.

✎ Here one could first think about the worldly role of the Christian church, which likes to see the path to truth as its own property. Many who had received and revealed the path to truth from the pure spirit soul or God himself have been condemned, hanged and burned as evil thieves of the church’s property.

Internally one could think of the conceptual ego mind, which feels robbed of its ownership of truth and would like to contain, capture and attach the awakening holistic reason in order to remain king itself. This also closes the circle with the king above, who crucifies the pure spirit soul and causes suffering.

In another version of the story, there is a goldsmith to whom the beggar foolishly wants to sell the golden slipper. In this goldsmith, too, we can recognize the mind, which, so to speak, forces the pure gold of truth into external forms in order to trade it in the world. And it is the mind that then accuses the beggar of being a thief, holds him and wants to hang him. Therefore, one should never hand over the golden path of truth to the ego-mind, so that it can make something formal out of it in order to feed on it.

“You shall not give what is holy to dogs, nor throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces. (Matt. 7.6)”

This is where our inner doubts and feelings of guilt arise from, so that we soon realize that one shoe is not particularly safe to walk with. Because, if we only worship one side, we become guilty on the other side and become thieves. If we worship only the male spirit, then we become guilty thieves of the physicality or soul of nature. If we worship only the female nature, then we become guilty thieves of the spirituality of everything.

✻ On the way, however, the procession passed the church where the statue stood. Then the musician asked to be allowed to go in, so that he could say goodbye with his little fiddle at last and tell his benefactor of his heart’s troubles. This was now permitted. But he had hardly made the first stroke when, behold, the statue let the other golden slipper fall down as well, showing that he was innocent of theft. Thus, the fiddler was freed from the irons and bonds, and went on his way happily. The holy virgin was called Solicitous.

✎ What should one do when the conceptual mind wants to lead holistic reason to death? Who should argue with mind about innocence if not mind itself, which only consolidates its dominion in this way? Reason only humbly asks for one last wish before leaving, leads mind into the church of wholeness and lets its violin sound there so that it recognizes its innocence: no long speeches, no concepts, no arguments and no judgments, but only a harmonious sound as a cry for help from the heart for truth, which everyone around hears, which penetrates into the deepest matter and can move everything.

We have already thought about a similar fiddler with his violin in the fairy tale “The Wonderful Musician”. Here too, the violin appears to us as an instrument of reason for the echo of heavenly music on earth. It is not for nothing that people say that “heaven is full of violins” when you feel blissful. So, you don’t have to give long speeches to address the holy spirit soul. An Amen or Om that comes from the heart with pure love is completely sufficient. One could also speak here of a wave of sound on the eternal sea of causes, in pure consciousness that animates everything, gives life and can take on any form.

In this way, holistic reason also helps us to find the second golden slipper on the path to truth, which is given to us by the pure spirit soul or the Holy Spirit, not as property, but as a healing from egoistic attachment to property and thus also from all guilt. This confirms our innocence, and free from all attachment we can now walk the path of truth full of joy and overcome the misery and suffering of this world, thus not only fighting the effects, but dissolving the cause. And that is probably also the holy task of suffering in this world, in order to find and walk the healing path of truth, just as Buddha placed suffering at the centre of his teachings. It is not for nothing that the name “Buddha” comes from “Buddhi”, which in turn means “reason”. And this reason also teaches us the “four noble truths”:

The noble truth about suffering;
The noble truth about the cause of suffering;
The noble truth about ending suffering;
And the noble truth about the path that leads to the end of suffering.

The two shoes can also symbolize the two principles of male and female, or spirit and nature, both of which are needed on the path to truth. Sometimes the spirit leads and nature pushes, sometimes nature leads and the spirit pushes, until you reach the wedding dance of spirit and nature, where all opposites unite in the perfection of harmony and rhythm. This is the eternal wave of growth and decay, which recognizes itself as the eternal sea itself, the whole and perfect that has always (“all-ways”) been there, is and will be. That is why we find both types among the many fairy tales, sometimes the female side leads, sometimes the male, and at the end there is usually the big wedding as a happy ending.

The play of male and female as
Yang and Yin in the circle of wholeness

May our hearts also call for pure reason, and may we also receive these two golden shoes from the benevolent spirit-soul in order to walk the holistic path of truth, end suffering and attain perfection. Amen - OM

Further background to the story

We can find a lot of information about the historical background on the Internet, for example on German Wikipedia under “Kümmernis”. In the notes by Bolte and Polivka on this fairy tale it says:
The legend of St. Kümmernis or Comeria (also called Wilgefortis, Ontkomer, Liberata, Hülpe, etc.) arose in the 15th century from a misunderstanding of the old Romanesque images of Christ clothed and wearing a crown, which depict the Saviour as the living King of Heaven on the cross; the depiction of the naked, pain-tormented Crucifixus with the crown of thorns did not appear in the West until the 13th century. The people saw in those old images a crucified king’s daughter who, like St. Paula (Acta Sanctorum Febr. 3, 174) and Galla had grown bearded to protect their virginity, although, for example, the Saalfeld stone statue of 1516 bore the clear inscription ‘Salvator mundi’ (‘Savior of the World’). The cult of this saint, never recognized by the Church, reported in the Acta Sanctorum under July 20 (Julii t. 5, 50: Liberata), extends over Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, England, France, Spain and Portugal. (see also English Wikipedia: Wilgefortis)

This also shows us again how difficult it was and is for the Christian church to accept a holistic view of male and female, or spirit and nature, not to mention the spiritual unity in the diversity of all religions and worldviews. Yet it is obvious everywhere that spirit and nature, subject and object, wave and particle, or even antimatter and matter always belong together and that a separation only arises through our perception. And then we try to put one above the other. Then either the spirit rules over nature, as spiritual science preaches, or nature rules over the spirit, as natural science claims. It is somehow difficult for us to unite the two on an equal level and even seems impossible to our conceptual minds.

Meister Eckhart writes about this:
A woman and a man are not equal to each other; but in love they are completely equal. Therefore, the Scripture is quite right in saying that God took the woman from the man’s rib and side, not from the head or the feet; for where there are two, there is imperfection. Why? - Because one is not the other, for this “not” that creates difference is nothing other than bitterness, precisely because there is no peace. (Meister Eckhart, Sermon 50)

Similar to the above comments, which say that the legend arose from a stupid misunderstanding because “the people saw a crucified king’s daughter in those old pictures...”, we can still read on Wikipedia today:
Because the meaning of the tunic as a male garment was no longer known to everyone at that time, this led to confusion and iconographic mixing with depictions of St. Kümmernis, in which the minstrel legend also became an integral part.

Oh yes, the stupid people who have never seen a monk in a cowl or a clergyman in a long robe, let alone heard a sermon about the crucified Jesus Christ! And then the people tell such fairy tales and ask stupid questions: How can a man or a woman be holy and whole as long as they are separated? How can a father give birth to a son without a mother? Why should a man worship a man in order to find his perfection again? Why should one worship the terrible suffering of separation and not the holy and whole? Behind monastery walls it is possible to think that, but it is difficult to live out in the world.

In Hinduism, too, the gods are often in the foreground, but all great gods also have their Shakti or goddess. And there are many stories about Shiva and his Shakti Sati in particular, how the two apparently separate as Purusha and Prakriti or spirit and nature and always find each other again. This is also stated in Shiva Purana Chapter 4.25:
There are certainly many scholars who talk about the separation of Shiva and Sati, but how can there be a true separation between the two? Who can recognize the essence of Shiva and Sati and understand their actions in the world? They move of their own free will and exist eternally. Shiva and Sati are inseparably connected to each other like words with their meaning, and only when they wish they appear to us as separate.

Accordingly, in chapter 10.19 you will find a schematic representation of how spirit, soul and nature in the boundless sea of causes are equal among the highest principles of the Sankhya theory, which penetrate and include all other principles. There are also corresponding images of how spirit and nature unite as Shiva, such as the representation of Ardhanarishvara:

Such images full of symbolism are often used in meditation to understand why spirit and nature apparently had to separate, similar to Adam and Eve, in order to bring about the diversity of creation through man and woman (see also Shiva Purana 8.3), and how one can then rediscover unity in diversity and oneself in the whole. Ultimately, all gods are also seen as a whole or deity that appears in many different forms:
Whoever sees Shiva separately from the other gods will not be successful. Only those who see and worship the deity in everything will have fruitful devotion. (Shiva Purana 3.4)

Similarly, symbolic images can also be found for the “holy virgin Kümmernis”, for example in a small chapel on the Ötscher in Lower Austria (see also sagen.at):

So let us now try to meditate on the symbolism of this holy image for a few days and see what it wants to tell us, which of course everyone will perceive somewhat differently:

First, we notice the plump musician, who does not remind us of physical hunger, so that it is probably more of a spiritual need that leads him to worship the holy image. In this we already find the subject-object relationship between the viewer and the image. He looks up at the image full of longing, and the image comes to life and looks down full of compassion. The strikingly large nose could also indicate a good sense of the spiritual world, which would probably have mocked the proud princess in a similar way to King Thrushbeard’s protruding chin with the beard. His two hands appear calm, not cramped by the desire of the conceptual mind, and with them he plays the violin, the sound of which brings the image to life. And it would probably be even more alive if it were not nailed to the cross of this world. So, it is above all our conceptual mind that, through its attachment, prevents images from coming to life. Children can still do this very well with their dolls, bears and other toys, but as they grow up, their minds also grow and solidify more and more into a dead, earthly world. Therefore, it is not for nothing that Christ says:
“Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 18.2)”

The hands on the cross appear less relaxed and show the “three-finger-salute”. In this, the middle finger could be seen as the Holy Spirit, which was meant to reunite the other two pairs: the thumb and index finger as father and son, with the ring finger and little finger as the soul and body of nature. In other words, male and female are reunited into a whole that can be seen in the palm of the hand, in which all the fingers are rooted. But here the female side has been bent off, and right through the wholeness the conceptual mind has driven nails into the cross of the material world of space and time, so that the image can no longer move freely, but only partially, as far as the mind wants and can allow. At least the feet are still free, with the toes lined up harmoniously and standing on a hexagonal foundation or cornerstone. This stone could remind us of the famous “philosopher’s stone”, and thus also of the pure consciousness that can be found everywhere as an eternal foundation. The six corners are created when the two triangular symbols of male and female are combined to form a harmonious star or hexagon. A similar symbolism is also used in the Indian Yantras.

We also find such symbolic triangles in the cloak and dress. The upward-pointing triangle in the lower dress is reminiscent of the male spirit or the fire that strives upwards. And the downward-pointing triangle in the upper dress is reminiscent of the female nature or soul of nature, like water that strives and flows downwards. Both principles meet in the abdomen, man and woman fertilize each other, procreate and give birth to new life forms and then separate again. And above both of them we find the large triangle of the Holy Spirit as a gold-decorated cloak with the royal crown of wholeness on top. The golden crown with the symbol of the Trinity sits on a head that shines in holy light and looks at the minstrel full of compassion, but does not wear the usual gloriole, because to this day the official certificate from the church leadership as a “recognized saint” is still missing. Around the head, a female triangle appears again from the arms on the crossbeam, the tip of which points to the blue jewel of the heart. If the pure love of the holy spirit soul shines there, then the suffering on the cross is transformed into pure joy in the Holy Spirit. However, if the egoistic self-love of attachment dwells in the heart, then this love leaves the Holy Spirit and goes outwards to the cross of desire and hatred to transform into passion. It would be better to release the hands from this attachment and place them together 🙏 towards a pure heart of love. This heart triangle also reminds us of the heart symbol ♡, as a flow from the inner source through the world of opposites to the basis of unity.

In addition, the painter also plays with a perspective trick here, so that the saint seems to be releasing her arms from the cross and is literally coming towards us, which is particularly useful for a saint’s image and is also our task in life.

In the hair, around the neck and in the lower garment we find the spiritual pearls that one should not “cast before swine”, i.e., not give to the conceptual mind, but to the holistic reason, which can then shine under the crown of the Holy Spirit full of compassion and pure love for all beings.

Now one could say that in this play of triangles the male spirit again predominates over the female nature, and that should probably be the case in a saint’s image at first glance. It would of course be simpler to divide the image vertically into a male and female side, as is done above in the Yin-Yang symbol and in the Shiva image. This separation is at least indicated here by the incidence of light from the right, so that the minstrel on the right, male and bright side of the spirit kneels down only with his right leg, over which his dark cloak lies, and first receives the right shoe of the spiritual side.

At second glance, this spiritual predominance is put into perspective. Firstly, because he is kneeling on a green meadow between the grass and herbs of a growing nature, which can no longer be seen in the above image section. Secondly, if we consider the radiant head under the crown of wholeness as the seat of holistic reason compared to the pink body garment of nature. This feminine garment then appears to us like a symbolic hourglass as a sign of transience, in which thoughts, actions and forms flow from the attachment to the cross of opposites like sand through the feminine triangle of nature into the masculine triangle of the spirit, until the time of physicality has expired, the hourglass is turned over again in a new birth or embodiment, and the game of attachment and movement begins again. This then also means: “Built on sand!” This is brilliantly represented in the image, between the attachment of the hands to the cross of the world and the mobility of the feet on the foundation stone. Here we can think about how time itself appears in the world of opposites through attachment to thoughts, actions and forms, because without attachment everything would arise and pass away at the same time, because nothing would be held in time and space and everything could flow unhindered. This is roughly how we could imagine eternity beyond time and space. Science today also knows a similar game of opposing triangles and says that all matter arises from a game of matter and antimatter, which should actually cancel each other out immediately. And to this day they are still puzzling over why our visible matter was left over from the Big Bang and appears so stable in time and space.

This brings us to the “crucial point” of the image and the story, namely the neck between the head and the body, where the saint receives her beard from God and the minstrel plays the violin beneath his beard. What could the beard mean? Just as the hair on the head is usually interpreted as thoughts that reach out into the world and grow more or less wildly or trimmed, ordered, tied or braided, one could think about the meaning of the beard hair in a similar way and say: Just as the beard is a physical sign of male maturity for sexual union, one could also see it symbolically as a sign of spiritual maturity for holistic reason, up to the white beard of wisdom. Then the beard hair around the mouth is like the words of God, which are spoken in the world by an “ancient white-bearded man”.

Godfather, Paolo Veronese (1570)

But should we not become like children? Yes, just as the conceptual mind should become young again, so reason should become old and mature like the wise. That is, just as the soul of nature returns to her formless source in nothingness, so to speak, to the eternal virgin at the fountain of youth, as the soul’s bond is unwound from the tangle of our life story, so the reason grows and matures to his goal in the eternal sea of everything, where everything and nothing meet and unite again. This is probably why the upper body of the virgin lacks the obvious breasts as a physical sign of female maturity. And in this way one can become a “male virgin” when the conceptual ego-mind decreases and holistic reason increases. This is probably why human development also means not becoming more and more entangled and enveloped, but developing.

Here we can now also find the king’s daughter, who, together with King Thrushbeard as a minstrel under the guidance of his violin, symbolically speaking, goes from the hands of attachment on the cross of the world on the path of humility through the female triangle down to the top in nothingness, to the kitchen maid in the king’s castle at the bottom of everything, to pure “poverty in spirit”. This is then also the heart’s path ♡ from the source through the transient world of opposites to the basis of unity. In the process, her proud heart of egoistic desire and attachment is transformed again into a humble heart of pure love, which becomes everything again through the male triangle, until her feet stand on the hexagonal foundation and cornerstone of everything, where male and female as well as everything and nothing are harmoniously united again.

“He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3.30)”

Accordingly, we now find two beards in this picture. Firstly, the beard of the “male virgin”, which was given to her by God as a sign of her spiritual perfection and covers the entire throat below the mouth. Secondly, the narrower and growing beard on the chin of the musician between mouth and throat or larynx as a sign of his growing spiritual maturity. This also reminds us of “King Thrushbeard”, who as an active spirit separated from the soul of nature naturally became a poor beggar because he had to beg for the forms of nature. But in the same process as the soul gives up her egoism of separation, the beggar also becomes a king again, reunites with his queen and receives the golden crown of the Holy Spirit and with it certainly also the “full beard” of spiritual perfection between head and body. Thus, the fiddler as subject becomes one again with the picture as an object that he “looks at”. How does this happen between head and body?

What does the larynx mean? Here we can think about the physical and spiritual source of the sounds and tones that can be produced by choking the breath in order to sing or speak. In this respect, the violin could also be just a symbolic replacement for the larynx, because sound is difficult to represent in images. At least the connection between the violin with its strings and the larynx with its vocal cords is not only clear in the image in terms of location, but also in terms of function. And it is also important in the story that the musician does not speak to the holy image with many words, but with the sound of his violin. Therefore, one could also say: Just as conceptual words serve the intellectual mind, so the general sound serves holistic reason, because it is also contained in all words.

Sada-Shiva with the OM throat

So, we finally come to the big question: How can sound move an image? Or why does the maiden dance to the minstrel’s violin? Well, sound or waves in general are the basis of all communication. And the connection between spirit and nature or subject and object naturally always requires some kind of communication. But the more limited this communication is, the greater the separation between the two appears to us. Modern quantum physics has also proven that this communication is not a one-way street, but that the observer helps determine what is observed, just as we naturally move our bodies every day with the power of our spirit. We also find an ingeniously drawn triangle in the image, how on the one hand the external image flows into the eyes of the spiritual observer via eye contact and on the other hand the sound flows into the external image via the violin, which is directed at the spiritual base or ground of the image, and thus moves and enlivens the physical image.

In this diagram, one can clearly see how the triangle between subject and object opens up towards nature, how the unity of the spirit is connected to the diversity of nature, and how the soul has its sphere of influence to spin the threads of cause and effect. It is also interesting that the movement caused by the sound of the violin takes place at the feet, at the bottom of the picture and not at the top, where the hands are nailed to the cross of opposites, just as quantum physics has found this influence of the observer on the observed at the very bottom of nature. Similarly, we also find two opposing waves on the violin, which have their beginning and end within themselves.

And with regard to this mobility, one can even go a step further towards unity, as it is also said in Zen Buddhism:
Two monks were arguing. One said: “The flag is moving.” The other said: “No, the wind is moving.” Huineng heard this and said: “Neither the wind nor the flag is moving. What is moving is your spirit.”

Then one can ask oneself: What moves the spirit? Who plays the violin? Who speaks the words? Who fits the golden shoe? Who walks the path with it? What kind of force is it that moves everything, makes it live and dance, that makes us wake up every morning, that moves our thoughts and bodies, that makes our organs work and cells function, that makes all atoms, planets and stars circle in space and time, that moves all the waves on the sea, which then play with each other, overlap, reinforce or cancel each other out in the eternal dance of opposites? This ultimately brings us back to pure consciousness, the light of the world and the holistic or divine word that shapes and moves everything. Or as the famous quantum physicist and Nobel Prize winner Anton Zeilinger puts it in more modern terms: “Information is the primary substance of the universe.” This is why software can also move the hardware of a machine, because hardware basically consists only of information.

The Bible also says something similar:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through the same, and without the same was not anything made that was made. In it was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:1)”

We can see the darkness inside the cloak that opens before us, so that in the light of pure consciousness the perfect image of the “male virgin” appears. This cloak of the Holy Spirit stands symbolically as a triangle or cone on the hexagonal foundation stone as a base. And that is what connects and unites everything. So that the golden crown at the top is also in the centre of the cross, where all opposites meet and unite again.

“Therefore, says the Lord: Behold, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He who believes will not flee. (Isaiah 28:16)”

Why a motionless stone? Well, the Zen story mentioned above goes even further:
When the two quarrelling monks had realized that only their spirit was moving, a nun came along and revealed to them: “Neither the wind nor the flag nor the spirit moves in the ground of truth.”

We now find in this foundation stone the goal where the golden shoes want to lead us on the path of truth, namely back to where they came from, to the foundation and cornerstone of everything, to pure consciousness, which is itself formless and motionless, but can take on any form and move everything. For just as the violin aims at the foot to find the way, the violin bow aims directly at the radiant jewel heart of pure love in order to bring all opposites back into the silent centre, which were pulled apart in space and time by attachment to the cross of the world. And this happens symbolically in this foundation and cornerstone, where all forms of male and female, crown, head and heart, hands and feet, fire and water, body and soul, spirit and nature, subject and object, mine and yours, birth and death, past and future, good and evil, heaven and hell, light and darkness, yang and yin are harmoniously united again in a whole or deity.

This is also the foundation and cornerstone that the “builders rejected (Matt. 21.42)” because it has no external boundaries that the conceptual mind can understand in order to build the mental Tower of Babel of its worldly ideas. But if it is given external boundaries, then the symbolic hexagon appears as the “old witch” (German: Hexe) between inside and outside or spirit and nature and becomes a separating ego consciousness between subject and object and thus a “stone of stumbling and rock of offense (Isa. 8.14)”. In the above image of the saint is also brilliantly shown as she comes to meet us as far as possible on the foundation stone. And now it is our spiritual task to dissolve this supposed boundary, which we perceive here as a separate observer who believes he is standing or kneeling on the ground of an external nature and playing his own violin.

The “Waterstone of the Wise”, an old alchemy book from 1619, which deals primarily with the spiritual significance of alchemy, says the same thing:
Especially since God, yes, God’s heart, his eternal son, is the true, eternal, precious and proven cornerstone and foundation stone, which the builders rejected and despised. He is the true old, yes, ancient one, who existed before the foundation of the world and has existed since eternity. He is the true hidden and known God, supernatural and incomprehensible, heavenly, blessed, highly praised and the only one who saves, yes, a God of all gods. He is the true truthful one, who cannot lie, the most certain of all, to do and create what he wants, or the only powerful one. He is the most secret and eternal one, in whom all secrets and treasures of wisdom are hidden, the only divine power and omnipotence, which is hidden from the fools or scholars of this world. He is the First and the Last in heaven and on earth. He is the truly one and perfect comparison of all the elements, from whom, through whom, and in whom all things are and come. He is an indestructible Being who cannot be separated or divided by any element.

Now the pure spirit-soul has become a living image after the mystical wedding, and thus she speaks as a holistic spirit-nature both in this holy image, as well as in the painter of the image and in the minstrel who, as a pilgrim, looks at the holy image and receives the golden shoes in order to walk the path of truth to the mystical wedding of spirit and nature. And if we ask for it and listen carefully, then this spirit-soul will certainly also speak in us as the “holy virgin of solicitous” and would like to give us the golden shoes in order to walk the path of truth, to recognize and resolve the cause of suffering and thus fulfil the healing meaning of suffering.

So here you can marvel at a holy image and its story, how the Holy Spirit opens the outer cloak, which is adorned with the golden waves on the dark sea of causes that we see in the play of the external world in its coming and going. And in doing so, he grants the viewer, who bows and lets his violin of reason sound, a profound insight into the work of spirit and nature as man and woman in the earthly world.

With this we have tried to write down as much as possible the stream of thoughts that has flowed to us in the past few days from this mystical image of the “Holy Virgin Solicitous”. It is difficult to say whether this makes much sense, but somehow it wanted to be written down. May the violin of love sound everywhere. Thank you!

The old witch

✎ With this fairy tale, we would like to continue the theme of the “witch” and will also find some symbols from the last fairy tale “Saint Solicitous”. The fairy tale itself is relatively unknown and was only handed down by the Brothers Grimm in the original handwritten version from 1810, with the note of origin: “From a modern and fatally told story entitled: Der schoene Schlaefer (The Beautiful Sleeper), a fairy tale in Langbein’s Feierabende (After-Evenings), 1794”. We will read this longer version by Langbein alongside and refer to it in our interpretation as needed. A similar version with the same core, but differently expanded and embellished, was found in France by Catherine de Lintot in her 1735 book “Trois nouveaux contes des fees”. A German translation of this story appeared in 1749, entitled “Drey neue Hexenmaehrgen” (Three New Witch Stories). A similar translation can also be found in 1790 in “Die Blaue Bibliothek aller Nationen, Band 1” (The Blue Library of All Nations, Volume 1) under the title “Prinz Offenherz (Prince Openheart)”. But in principle, nothing is missing in the Grimms’ version, and this again shows their good instinct for the essence of this fairy tale, the source of which is certainly much older.

✻ Once upon a time, there lived a king who loved nothing but horses. He had them fed from a hundred marble mangers and watered from a hundred silver buckets in his stables. All the courtiers wore riding boots with iron spurs and carried long whips under their arms. At the balls, only galloping dances were performed, and the king spoke nothing but “Chop- chop!” or “Whoa, little man, stand!”

✎ From a spiritual perspective, we can first rediscover the conceptual mind that wants to be king in the body, loves and pampers the animal beings, and also wants to dominate, treat, and use all other people like animals. We learn from Langbein that the queen avoided this activity and preferred to move with her daughters and ladies-in-waiting to an old castle in a lonely forest, even though it had a reputation for being inhabited by witches and ghosts. The king gladly agreed, for “it had long been his wish to be rid of the swarm of women and, in general, all people who couldn’t ride.” Thus, we also rediscover the usual division in the world between king and queen as spirit and nature, or man and woman, which the ego-mind, as king in the body, brings about and promotes when holistic reason is lacking.

✻ This king had two beautiful daughters, Mene and Bene, the eldest of whom was evil and the youngest good.

✎ Where these names come from is relatively unclear. “Mene” could be reminiscent of “Menetekel (warning)” or, in Saxony dialect, “Meine” (Mine), which probably best fits her character. And “Bene” could be Latin for “good, well, and just.” Langbein calls them Zefire and Aurore, and he writes of the proud, arrogant, and jealous princess:

The older name was Zefire,
And a charming figure,
Her undisputed possession.
To the painter and the sculptor,
Her sight often gave
the ideal of a queen of love.
And yet no soul was fond of her,
Because she held her nose too high,
And continually gave free rein to the boldest pride
In her royal birth and beauty.
She was like the midday sun,
Which casts golden rays around itself,
But is not loved because it scorches.

And of Aurore, the youngest princess, a fine girl whom all hearts adored because she was kind to everyone, he writes:

Because she was not one step ahead of Zephyr in beauty,
yet as gentle as moonlight.
No conceited pride that she was a higher being than other people
arose in her breast.
Contentment could be read in every glance,
And doing good was her joy.

Zephyr is the Greek god of the west wind, and Aurora the Roman goddess of the dawn. Perhaps this refers to the awakening light of consciousness, for it is said that she loves people not because they are this or that, but because they are human, and thus she can feel pure love and true compassion. Zephyr would then be the wayward wind that should be tamed. In the two translations from French mentioned above, they are called “Sourpuss” and “Well-Beloved,” and “Gloomy Look” and “All-Beloved.” Thus, the two sisters remind us again of the two levels - the egoistic and the pure soul, which act here as separate persons, yet are found together in practically every human being.

Two souls, alas! reside within my breast,
And each withdraws from, and repels, its brother.
One with tenacious organs holds in love
And clinging lust the world in its embraces;
The other strongly sweeps, this dust above,
Into the high ancestral spaces.
(Goethe, Faust 1)

Why does the youngest daughter so often play the role of the pure soul in fairy tales? Well, the pure soul is always the youngest, for she does not age but rises into the realm of eternal presence. Only when the soul connects with the conceptual ego-mind and, under the influence of the witch, clings to the world with senses and thoughts, does she attempt to cling to certain forms and thus fall into time and space. Thus, one seeks true love, and the other strives for selfish desire. Anyway, both daughters, as souls of childbearing nature, are now searching for their husband as the procreative spirit in order to become fruitful and realised.

✻ One day, Mene went for a walk in the forest and rested under a tree when suddenly a golden key sprang from the earth and circled around her, first in wide, then increasingly narrow circles. Finally, it leaped into her hand and pulled her up from her seat. Her hand had grown attached to the key, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t pull the hand free. So, the key pulled her across the forest to a rock, where it leaped from her hand into a keyhole, and a magnificently shining chamber opened before her eyes. Behind a golden net lay a sleeping prince, and beside it was written:

Only to the girl in whose breast
the fire of love for a monster
Of rare ugliness once glows,
Is this beautiful prince destined.

Mene tried to tear the golden cobweb apart with force, but suddenly all its shine went out, and a howling wind drove her powerfully from the rock.

✎ So, the virgin princesses have now reached marriageable age, and with that, the witches and spirits in the worldly forest of imagination awaken and begin their game between man and woman in the search for the perfection of spirit and nature. The older one begins, and because she probably takes after her worldly father, she is magically drawn to the physical image of a beautiful prince in a magnificent chamber. She is led to this seductive image by a golden key, which first danced around her and then took hold of her body, leading her even deeper into physicality. But there a voice spoke to her: “To gain this spiritual beauty, you must also learn to love ugliness.” But she was too proud and arrogant for that and wanted to grasp the beautiful image by force. A golden net held her back, reminiscent of the web of soul threads of cause and effect that determines the fate of a living being. Accordingly, she was driven on her path by the wind of fate (“Zephyr”), which led her, with the beautiful image as her great goal and the motto in her memory, from the interior of her physicality back into the external world in the forest of imagination.

✻ On her way home, Mene caught sight of her sister, who was a thorn in her side, and saw a colourful little bird circling her and dropping a precious stone from its beak. The words it sang, however, were unhearable to Mene:

Keep this little stone,
keep it carefully!
It will one day be your saviour in times of need.

✎ Just as the eldest was shown the way by a golden key from the earth, which danced around her and led her, so a colourful little bird appeared to the youngest from the sky, circling her and dropping a precious stone from its beak. Here we might think of the higher reason that speaks to us as intuition and offers the famous and noble philosopher’s stone with its motto, that is, a pure consciousness that can deliver us from every distress if we preserve it and do not surrender it to the greedy, conceptual ego-mind.

✻ Mene jumped forward greedily and cried, “What do you have? Give it to me!” Bene showed her the jewel, but didn’t want to give it away, and Mene began to quarrel over it. Suddenly, a voice behind them called out, “No, it belongs to Bene!” When they looked around, it was a hunchbacked dwarf who frightened them.

✎ Now, in this dispute, a male spirit appears in the forest, as a witness to what he had seen. Indeed, our conceptual understanding has a hard time with spirits because they have no tangible body, and without form, one cannot think about them. Thus, imagination takes its course, and over time, entire families of spirits have emerged: ghosts, dwarves, goblins, trolls, gnomes, elves, brownies, fairies, angels, devils, and so on, which the mind divides into good and evil as needed. In this case, it is an “ugly, grey, old, hunchbacked, and quite misshapen dwarf on one leg,” as Langbein writes, who appeared to the two beautiful girls as a terrible monster and the epitome of ugliness.

✻ But Mene pretended to be friendly towards him out of hypocrisy, thinking that she might thereby gain the beautiful sleeper. The dwarf ran back into the forest. Bene was very sad when she saw her sister mocking him behind his back and decided to seek him out and warn him. She found him and warned him. The dwarf hopped after her on one leg, but couldn’t reach her, and in her escape, she lost her jewel.

✎ Thus, the ego-mind begins to work in the eldest, and she understands that she should love this dwarf in order to win the handsome prince. But this intellectual love is not true love, but merely a selfish desire to achieve an external ideal. Thus, the intellect often loves ugly things because it believes it can achieve beauty, just as we wage hideous wars and hope to gain good things through them, or our believe that we can find great happiness in life through ugly deceit and robbery.

In contrast, a higher reason is at work in the youngest; she feels compassion and warns the spirit being of her sister’s treacherous egotism. She feels his loving affection, but she still could not bear the terribly ugly sight. Presumably, she sought in vain in this being the humanity she loved in all people. Then the instinctive fear of the animal consciousness awoke, she took flight, and with this aversion, she lost the gem of wisdom as a holistic reason. The spiritual dwarf wanted to follow her, but one cannot walk well with one leg, one can only hop around and turn in circles, which already symbolically indicates the problem of the separation between spirit and nature when they are separated from each other and each stands on only one leg.

✻ As she walked through a ravine, an old witch came towards her, calling out: “Don’t bump into me, my beautiful child!” But no matter how hard Bene avoided her, the old woman still staggered from left to right, until the princess became bewildered and they collided violently. “Oh, that the earth would swallow you up, you wicked thing!” cried the witch, and collapsed like a shattered pot at Bene’s feet. Here fell an arm, there a leg, all bonds were broken, all limbs entangled, the head lay in the middle and began to speak: “You child of hell, put me back together again at once! Take my right leg and lean it neatly against a stone, and then take the left and do the same. And be careful that they don’t wander off into the open field, but hurry, so that you put all the pieces back on properly and don’t forget a single one.”

✎ This, too, is a wonderfully ingenious symbolism: When consciousness, from the holistic perspective of reason, flees from the spiritual world back into the external world of the physical mind, it runs into narrow and deeply ingrained hollows that are difficult to escape. In this constriction and limitation, pure consciousness, between the inner and outer worlds, encounters the “old witch” of the physical five senses and thoughts. It hears the warning, but cannot escape. It becomes insane and breaks apart into the separate senses, thereby cursing itself into the earthly world. Here, two arms, two legs, and the torso symbolize the five senses, together with the head of thoughts, which now curses the pure soul as a child of the dark hell of ignorance and, as the conceptual mind, demands that the six (“hexa”) parts of the witch be physically reassembled, that is, that the senses and thoughts be brought back under the control of the physical mind. And the stone on which she is supposed to build everything is probably not the gemstone of the wise, but the seemingly solid and reliable matter of our body.

✻ Bene was frightened and tried to flee, but the head got in the way, so she began to line everything up. The limbs snapped into place of their own accord, and when she finally had the arms attached and everything except to the torso was finished, the head sprang onto the shoulders with its own swiftness. The broken old woman was whole again, picked up her walking stick, and held out her hand to the princess, saying: “Farewell, my little daughter! I forgive you because you’ve put me back together properly. And in return, you’ll have a handsome groom!”

✎ Here the pure soul could decide whether to flee back to the spiritual world to the ugly dwarf or to assemble the physical witch and, through the senses and thoughts, run with the intellect into the external world of nature. But she had lost the sage’s gem, and so the head of the intellect and its thoughts stood in her way, cutting off her path back to the spiritual world. And once the consciousness had made its decision, everything happened automatically, for as long as she was not yet united with the pure spirit, the intellectual mind helped a great deal with the assembly. The witch then thanks the soul and promises her a “handsome bridegroom,” naturally according to her ideas. And in the worst case, we even feel flattered, successful, and richly rewarded.

✻ Bene searched for the lost gem, the little bird brought it and sang:

Better keep
the precious stone!
I can’t always be
your attendant.
If it weren’t lost,
you would have mocked and ridiculed the power
of the poisonous witch.

✎ Well, the pure soul didn’t fall for it, but remembered the lost gem of reason and searched for it. Then intuition appeared again and reminded her of her motto, along with a small reproach.

✻ Meanwhile, at Mene’s insistence, the old queen invited the ugly dwarf to court. However, the king disliked the son-in-law, and his mother and eldest sister secretly mocked him. Bene went into the forest and wept. The old witch met her and announced the arrival of her bridegroom. This was a silly, dressed-up prince whom she could not stand at all.

✎ The selfish soul now tries to win the dwarf over in her own way and invites him to the castle of the worldly queen, who sided with her eldest daughter and knew and supported her vision. Naturally, the pure spirit doesn’t like this treacherous world, especially since he had been warned against it, but he agrees because he hopes to find the pure soul there as well. Here he also encounters the worldly king, a physical mind, who was visiting the queen and had no use for the pure spirit in this form because, with one leg, he can’t even ride a horse properly, as Langbein also says: “He who cannot ride is no man.” This could also mean that the pure spirit, due to his separation from the pure soul of nature, cannot function in physical nature. Thus, he lacks the “leg of nature” and stands only on the “leg of the spirit.”

The youngest princess was also saddened by her father’s rejection, and the witch tried to use this moment of doubt to match her with a bridegroom of her choosing, thereby winning the queen’s favour. After the last dangerous clash with the pure soul, she naturally feared losing her power as the separating principle between spirit and nature if holistic reason were to become the ruling king. But the pure soul couldn’t do much with the witch’s foolish bridegroom, a superficial and stupid spirit of an external world.

✻ Full of sorrow, she went into the garden and met the poor but clever dwarf, to whom she poured out her heart. Finally, they began to talk, and when he asked her if she disliked him, she replied, “Oh no, I love you.” Suddenly, the spell was broken, and he became a beautiful youth. He told her how he had once encountered the witch in the forest and laughed at her strange leaps, and how she had transformed him into this ugly form until a beautiful girl who, of her own free will, loved him. And for a certain time, he had been forced to sleep in the rock in his natural state.

✎ Thus, the pure soul with true love was able to break the witch’s spell and achieve the goal, something the selfish soul with covetous love could not, even though she knew the motto and had the goal in sight. The pure soul had only the sage’s gem and the motto to protect it.

Langbein tells the story of the king’s son in a little more detail:
Once, while hunting lions, I had lost my way and ridden through the lonely forest to find a way out. I met no one but an old, utterly ugly woman, exactly as I had been just a few minutes before. This dwarf woman spun around in front of me on her single leg so comically that I couldn’t help laughing.

Under this “lion hunt,” we could imagine the spirit seeking to conquer the hungry and wild beast, yet without having found the pure soul of nature. Thus, he became lost in the forest of ideas and encountered the old Mother Nature as a hostile and thus ugly being, standing on only one leg, that is, weak and spiritless, so that the spirit sought to rise above her. Through this separation, the witch naturally appeared as a separating principle and automatically transformed the spirit into a weak, one-legged being. And only when a virgin or pure soul with pure love is found, one who can harmoniously unite the pure spirit with pure nature, independent of any external form, will this separation end. Until then, the spirit dwarf must continue to hop around on one leg in the forest of his ideas, unable to leave.

But the old witch had to concede one thing: If the mind is given the golden key to expanded consciousness, it can also behold the sleeping spirit in its natural form and all its glory in the “rock” of physical matter. However, this is clearly not the way to liberate and gain access to it. To do so, man must follow the path of reason and find the sage’s gem. Thus, it was perhaps no coincidence that modern quantum physics discovered the spirit in matter but could not liberate and gain access to it.

In this respect, we could also imagine that the golden key was the witch herself, dancing on one leg around the egotistical soul to seduce it, for not everything that glitters is true gold. Thus, this key is also a typical tool of the ego-mind, used to arbitrarily lock and unlock certain doors in the game of separation. Yet, not the egotistical soul, but only the pure soul, with true love, could ultimately break the witch’s spell as the principle of separation, so that the prince regained his natural form and now, as a human being, stands on two feet again, on spirit and nature. But the great happy ending had not yet been reached.

✻ At that moment, the witch came out of the castle into the garden with her silly son and the others, wrapped her bony hand in the maiden’s yellow hair, and carried her away like a feather through the air, more than a hundred miles over hill and dale, until she arrived in front of a round iron tower.

✎ For now, the fundamental cause that led to this separation and banishment must still be resolved. Therefore, they still see the witch before them, appearing with “her foolish son and the others.” Here, the pure soul, upon seeing the “others,” once again loses the jewel of wisdom as a holistic vision, and in Langbein’s version, it is said that she left it behind in her house clothes, which she exchanged for a full-dress gown to receive the foolish butterfly prince. Thus, the witch can now seize the maiden’s hair or thoughts as a principle of separation, thereby separating her from the pure spirit again and imprisoning her in an iron tower—better perhaps in a brick tower made of the mental images of the conceptual mind, but in any case, in a solid prison for the soul. In this way, the play now reverses: The prince returned to the outer world with his natural body, and the soul vanished “like a feather in the wind” before the eyes of the people into the inner world, where she was hidden by the witch in the body tower, just as reason speaks of the usual separation between body and soul. And here we find another wonderfully ingenious symbolism.

✻ In the tower there were nothing but snails crawling up and down the wall. “Here you shall live, and if you don’t teach these snails to dance within eight days, then you yourself must become one.” When the witch was gone and had locked the door, the snails were afraid of the princess and all retreated into their little houses. But little by little they came out again and made themselves known to her. An invisible hand brought her food and green grass to the snails to eat. They passed the time and were very bored in the tower.

✎ Thus, the soul is separated from the external world and finds herself enclosed in a tower of the body, just as the conceptual mind tells us that the soul dwells in the body, and the animate body in an inanimate world. And what were just hairs of thoughts, growing more or less freely and wildly into the external world, we can now find within the sluggish and slimy snails, the sticky thoughts of attachment, which also like to retreat deep into the memory, but then emerge again in search of food and are nourished by an invisible hand that reminds us of formless consciousness. And if the soul fails to lure these sticky thoughts from memory, to organize them, and make them dance in holistic harmony, then the witch will curse her, to become a thought in the tower of the mind, just as the egoistic or personal soul is merely a thought construct. For what the witch demands here is not something impossible, but the great task of the pure soul, and thoughts are the soul’s threads that are spun in the natural play of cause and effect.

And yes, we like to pass the time with this game of thoughts, and if nothing new comes along, then great boredom sets in, like a dead silence. But how could anything new come into this tower if the witch keeps the gates of the senses closed? Although nothing entirely new comes through these gates either, as the saying goes: “Nothing new under the sun!” Yet it seems new to us because the corresponding snails emerge from their shells or cracks in the walls. So, the soul is now trapped in the body, and while we all know very well how the sticky thoughts work within us, constantly turning in circles in the round tower, seeking their nourishment, sometimes bored and sometimes agitated, we don’t know who really moves them and to what tune they dance. Instead, we believe that I am the mover, but this “I” is usually just a mental construct. Because if we’re honest, it’s not I who controls my thoughts, but the thoughts that control me. And so, the soul is trapped in the tower of the body...

The tower also reminds us of the great Tower of Babel in the Bible, a lofty edifice of thought that was meant to reach heaven, but instead ended in great confusion rather than harmony. The eight days essentially remind us of the biblical week of creation, in which we still live in the sixth day, playing with thoughts of attachment and building Towers of Babel to enclose the soul. And the witch’s “enclosure” reminds us again of the key as a typical tool of the ego-mind for separation.

✻ Six days had already passed, and Bene still didn’t know how to teach the snails to dance. On the morning of the seventh, the little bird flew to the window and sang:

Here I bring once more
The precious stone,
But now I will no longer
be your attendant.

Now that Bene had the lost stone again, lo, a small crack appeared in it, from which twelve little dancing masters jumped, each a finger long and each with a small fiddle. As soon as they began to play their bows, the snails crawled out of their houses, held each other in pairs, and began to waltz. When it was over, they went back into the stone, but one had left the violin behind. The princess took it, and no sooner had it started playing than the snails danced again.

✎ Wonderful! The intuition of holistic reason naturally finds a small window in this tower, one that the witch in her physical form cannot close. But this time, the warning sounds that this is the last service of the faithful little bird from heaven. Clearly, if the soul fails to fulfil this task of the witch, she will lose her pure essence, not in truth, but in reality.

So, the gemstone helps again. The “twelve little dancing masters” remind us of the harmonic twelve- tone row. But how do tones emerge from the philosopher’s stone? And how can tones entice thoughts from the memory and make them dance, even in pairs? Well, the fact that thoughts always dance in opposites is due to the principle of the wave, which always oscillates in two directions between plus and minus, so that the conceptual mind needs an opposite for each part, such as good and evil, cold and hot, beautiful and ugly, male and female, etc. Thus, the opposites swing back and forth, and now it is a matter of reordering these pairs and uniting them harmoniously, so that the fighting and jealousy between them ceases. And if we think of this precious stone, from which “the dancing masters emerge through a small crack,” as the foundation stone of pure consciousness, the divine word, or, from a scientific perspective, information, then we have already recognized in the last fairy tale of “Saint Solicitous” that everything is moved and shaped by it, so that “information” becomes a “formation” in the dance of forms. And so, here too, from the philosopher’s stone comes the violin of wisdom with the sound of harmony, which we also learned there as a tool of reason, played by the spirit to work in nature.

This symbolism is reminiscent of a meditation experience: First, you watch and observe, and then you become the dance master yourself and play the first violin. This is the famous path to self-knowledge and self-realization. In this way, you realize that thoughts, as sticky forms of attachment, are essentially freely moving forms of formless consciousness. And just as it says above that the youngest princess loved people because they are people, and not because they are this or that, so you can also love thoughts and sensations because they are pure divine consciousness, and not because they take on certain forms. This is pure love, which knows no why and is therefore not dependent on conditions. And that is probably the core message of the entire fairy tale.

So, the soul now plays this violin of reason and can at least bring the thoughts back into harmony internally, while her spirit still wanders through the external world, searching for his beloved soul.

✻ Meanwhile, the prince had travelled through fields and forests to seek out his beloved, but he couldn’t find her at all, and on the morning of the eighth day, he was still a hundred miles from the iron tower. Suddenly, he found a pair of new boots standing in the grass, which he put on, because his own were torn. But he had barely taken a single step when he found himself in a completely strange region. With the second step, he crossed a vast plain and a broad river, and with the third, he crossed a large city with tall towers. In short, each time he walked a mile further. He walked further and further, and with the hundredth step, he found himself before the iron tower.

✎ This probably means: The spirit could search endlessly for the pure soul in the external world “of fields and forests” of our conceptual ideas, for she cannot be found there; indeed, he cannot even approach her. At the end of his strength, when his boots were worn out, he asks the good spirits for help, as Lanbein puts it, and he is given “a pair of new league- boots,” which remind us very much of the two golden shoes for the two feet of spirit and nature from the last fairy tale, which can guide the spirit on the path of truth back to the foundation stone. For with this, his consciousness expands, and he transcends or traverses the external world, arriving safely at his goal after a hundred steps, for in numerology, 100 represents a certain perfection, which we still know today as 100%. And at this goal, he then receives the sage’s gem.

✻ The old witch was just having Bene made the snails dance and was very angry that the animals were doing so well. However, under various pretexts, she still wouldn’t let the princess go. Then Bene stepped sadly to the window and joyfully saw her lover standing below. She threw the precious stone down to him, and as soon as he picked it up, it turned into a shining sword, before which the gate sprang open. When the prince entered, the witch fled to the snails in the corner. He touched the snails with the sword, and they turned into maidens, and he stabbed the old witch to death.

✎ Thus, the old witch cannot turn the pure soul of nature into a snail and degrade her to a mental construct. For the soul fulfils her task, and with this fulfilment, the mile- boots also appear for the spirit to rediscover his beloved soul of nature. But as long as the pure spirit is still missing, the witch defends her position as the principle of separation. Now, however, the soul preserves the gemstone in the awareness of an ordered and harmonious world of thoughts, recognizes the pure spirit in the window of reason, and hands him the philosopher’s stone without losing it. For what is given to the pure spirit with true love is never lost. In his hand, the philosopher’s stone now becomes the famous sword of wisdom of holistic knowledge. With it, he can overcome all separation, open the locked gate of the body’s tower, and rise within. There, spirit and soul unite in the mystical marriage, and the witch flees to the snails as the principle of separation. She is now turned into a snail herself and recognized as a thought construct that has brought about the separation of spirit and nature, body and soul, and all other worldly opposites. And because the sword of wisdom does not separate but unites, and thus does not kill but enlivens, the snails or thoughts were not killed either, but transformed back into pure souls of nature or subserving soul threads of cause and effect, which, of course, are only one soul when there is no longer any separation. And in this sense, the old witch is also dead, having fulfilled her purpose in this world and bursting like a punctured bubble of illusion. What else can one do with an illusion? One can only recognize it for what it is. For killing illusions is as absurd as killing death or separating oneself from separation.

In Langbein’s case, the witch begs for mercy in the face of the fatal blow, and she is forgiven so that she might not soil the sword with impure blood, on the condition that she flees far and never meets the king again. And the freed maidens bow down before the king as a pure spirit and become the ladies-in-waiting of the new queen as pure souls of nature.

✻ The old king soon grew fond of his son-in-law with the beautiful league- boots because he could mount his untamable horse.

✎ And finally, the worldly mind is also satisfied with the son-in-law, for as holistic reason, he can tame and guide even the wildest body. Thus, he recognizes him as the new king, united with the new queen, and gladly adds his pure soul. Yes, in this way holistic reason should take over with the sage’s gem, the sword of wisdom, and the beautiful mile- boots as the path to truth in the harmony of spirit and nature - which is once again an excellent happy ending. OM

And what happened to the older sister? No, of course she didn’t marry the witch’s foolish son, who neither fit her ideal nor lived long. Langbein writes at the end:
Zefire didn’t wait for the dreary autumn days of an old maid, but died in the summer of her life of envy over her sister’s happiness. The foolish butterfly prince shot himself in despair because he had the misfortune to lose his first valet and hair curler to death and couldn’t immediately find another curl-maker who satisfied his stubborn taste as completely as the deceased man. What became of his venerable mother is unknown. It would hardly be worth the effort to gather information about it and delay the conclusion of this little tale because of it.

This also makes sense, for the egoistic soul is already married to the spirit of desire and envy as a conceptual and intellectual mind. And the ego-mind naturally remains under the rule of the witch as the principle of separation, and thus also under the rule of death, and dies in despair from its stubborn thoughts, no matter how beautifully they are styled, just as the hairdresser dies. And the old witch lives as a venerable mother in every ego-mind as long as it believes it lives in a separate body, playing its own violin, and does not recognize who, in truth, moves everything and makes it dance harmoniously, so that this stubborn violin playing is really not worth the effort. For separated from the whole, it never sounds harmonious as long as this violin is played by the ego-mind instead of the holistic reason that comes from the philosopher’s stone. And rightly so: Continuing to search for the old witch and thinking about separation will not bring us any closer to the happy ending of our fairy tale. Therefore, we would rather turn to the true goal:

Sound and Form

An Indian guru said:
Every form has a hidden sound within... When you know the hidden sound of a particular form, you realize that you also know the form... In this complex process of different types of vibrations, you too are one. If you were only this one, you would be like a grain of sand, nothing. For in the vastness of cosmic space, this small body is nothing, but when this hidden sound finds its expression, it is like a key to everything. This opens not only me, but also the other person I touch with this sound, for that is my sacred key... Listen to the sound, not the music! If you want to find a deeper access to life, you must listen to the vibration, not the melody. The melody is the surface, a small thing, beautiful, but that’s it. Vibrations are the very foundation of life... (Sadhguru, video “The Key to Existence”)

In Indian yoga, they also speak of seed syllables or bija- mantras, which are considered the seeds of all possible forms and are also found in the body’s chakras (as “Lam, Vam, Ram, Yam, Ham, and Om”) with their corresponding forms or mandalas. The king of the seed syllables is the famous OM, and Wikipedia states: “This sound represents the transcendent primordial sound, from whose vibrations, according to Hindu understanding, the entire universe arose.”

The Indian Harivamsha Purana, Chapter 3.19, states:
OM is truly the supreme being, as recognized by the wise. It is the eternal Brahman that resonates in all creatures, moves them, and carries their intelligence. OM is the primordial word of Brahman, sound, wind, and embodiment of all names. The masters say: In its essence, it is the formless One that embodies itself in union with the elements and fills the entire diversity of creation, although it is completely unbound. It is the original sound that gave birth to this world from the spirit and, in a sense, fills it with spirit.

In addition, the various gods have their own seed syllables and mantras for invoking and worshipping them, which has developed into a complex system over many thousands of years in the vastness of India. There are few historical documents about the specific syllables and mantras, as it was important to pass them on primarily orally from teacher to student. We can find a glimpse into the diversity of rituals and the use of seed syllables and mantras in, for example, the “Mahanirvana Tantra”. In the Mahabharata, in chapter 12.199, there is also a wonderful story about a “mantra mutterer,” in which we can essentially find the two feet of spirit and nature, which together achieve the highest perfection as sound and form...

Sound and form have been and continue to be thought about a lot in the Western world, too, and today, sound and image are the main pillars of our media world. Their mutual connection is also reflected in terms such as “clang colour” or “colour tone.” Historically, for example, in 1787, seven years before Langbein published his fairy tale, Chladni published a book entitled “Discoveries on the Theory of Sound.” In it, he presented various sound figures that he had created in the sand on a plate with a violin bow, causing quite a stir. Even Napoleon is said to have said: “This man makes sounds visible.” Faraday waves originated in a similar way, and the term cymatics was coined.

Just as Chladni created harmonious patterns on a violin plate with his bow, we also found in the last fairy tale, in the meditation on the image of Saint Solicitous, how the bow between the hand of the active spirit and the loving heart of the soul of nature directed the sound of the violin to the foundation and cornerstone, there harmoniously uniting the forms that had lost their harmony through attachment to the cross of worldly opposites. Chapter 42 of the Indian Markandeya Purana also speaks of this path:
To whom OM reveals itself in the mind, he becomes one with every Matra (sound of AUMm) and with OM itself. The life-breath is the bow, the soul is the arrow, and Brahman is the subtle target. One who practices constantly and penetrates deep into Brahman like an arrow becomes one with Him… By chanting the syllable OM, all things, existent or non-existent, are encompassed… But if the bonds of his actions are not yet completely broken, then, upon recognizing the signs of death, he will, due to his inclination, be reborn in the next life as a yogi in order to remember and continue on the path.

The Christian seer Jakob Boehme also deeply studied sound and form over 400 years ago, intuitively sensing a “natural language” in the sound of many names and words of human language. The following was reported about him:
Among Jakob Boehme’s former and already mentioned friends was Tobias Kober, a local doctor of medicine, whom I knew well, and who repeatedly put Jacob Boehme and his natural language to the test. The trusted friends often went for walks and showed each other flowers, herbs, and other earth plants. Jakob Boehme described the inner power, effect, and properties of the plants based on their external signature and structure, using the letters, syllables, and words of the names spoken and assigned to them. Afterwards, he wanted to know the names from the doctor, especially in Hebrew, because this was closest to the natural language. And if the doctor didn’t know the Hebrew name, he asked for the Greek. And if the doctor intentionally gave him a false name, he soon realized the deception, because of the characteristics of the plant, its signature, shape, colour, etc., this could not be the correct name, and there was sufficient evidence for this. (E. Hegenicht: On the Source of Knowledge and Wisdom, 1669)

Jacob Boehme himself writes about the heavenly source of sound and its harmony:
The second form of heaven in divine splendour is Mercury (quicksilver or “living silver”), or sound, just as sound is found in the earth’s saltpetre, from which gold, silver, copper, iron, and the like grow. And from it one can make all kinds of instruments for sound or joy, such as bells, pipes, and everything that resonates. This sound is also present in all creatures on earth, for otherwise everything would be silent. Thus, through this sound in heaven, all forces are moved, so that everything grows joyfully and is born delicately. Just as the divine forces are manifold and diverse, so too is sound or Mercury manifold and diverse. When the forces rise in God, one stirs the other, and they swell within one another. Thus, there is a constant mixing, so that all kinds of colours emerge from it, and in these colours, all kinds of fruit grow. This rises in the saltpetre, and the mercury, or sound, mingles with it and rises in all the powers of the Father, so that a sound and resound arise in the heavenly kingdom of joy. If you were to bring together thousands of different instruments and stringed music in this world and intertwine them all in the most artistic way, and have the very best masters to play them, it would still be like a dog’s barking compared to the divine music that arises from eternity to eternity through the divine sound. (Aurora oder Morgenröte im Aufgang (Aurora or Dawn in the Rising), Chapter 4, 1612)

Accordingly, one finds many examples in his extensive writings of how attentively he looked within, observing the formation of syllables and connecting them with the meaning of spoken words. For example:
The word “God” grasps itself in the middle of the tongue, protrudes from the heart, leaves the mouth open, remains seated on its royal chair, and resonates from within and within itself. But when it is pronounced, it also produces a pressure between the upper teeth and the tongue. This means that when God created heaven and earth and all creatures, he nevertheless remained in his divine, eternal, and almighty seat and never deviated from it, and that he alone is everything. The final pressure signifies the sharpness of his mind, with which he instantly directs everything in his entire body.

The word “Himmel” (heaven) takes hold in the heart and extends to the lips, where it is closed. And the syllable “mel” opens the lips again, is held in the middle of the tongue, and then the spirit emerges from the mouth on both sides of the tongue. This means that the inner birth has been closed off with the outer birth through horrific sin and is incomprehensible to the outermost birth. But because it is a word with two syllables and the second syllable “mel” opens the mouth again, it means that the gate of the Godhead has also been opened again. But that, with the word “mel” it grasps and holds itself again on the upper palate of the tongue and the spirit emerges on both sides alongside it, this means that God wanted to give this corrupted kingdom in God a king and grand prince again, who would once again unlock the innermost birth of the clear Godhead. And through this, the Holy Spirit would go forth again into this world on both sides, that is, from the innermost depths of the Father and the Son, so that this world would be reborn through the new King. (Aurora oder Morgenröte im Aufgang (Aurora or Dawn in the Rising), Chapter 18, 1612)

Similarly, in his text “On the Threefold Life of Man” Chapter 16, there is a detailed interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer in his natural language. And he often lamented, “Ah, if only you understood natural language, then you would already have the reason.” But he was aware that he could not explain this intuitive natural language to the intellect.

In the text “De Signatura Rerum”, he then writes at the end of Chapter 1 about the relationship between sound and form:
And so there is no thing in nature, created or born, that does not also reveal its inner form outwardly, for the inner always works toward revelation... Therefore, in the signature lies the greatest understanding, in which man (as the image of the greatest virtue) not only learns to recognize himself, but can also recognize the essence of all beings. For in the outward form of all creatures, in their drive and desire, as well as in their outgoing echo of voice and speech, one recognizes the hidden spirit, for nature has given each thing its language (according to its essence and form), for from the essence arises speech or echo, and the creation of this essence forms the quality of the essence in the outgoing echo or the outgoing force, the living things in the echo, and the essential things in smell, force, and form. Thus, every thing has its mouth for revelation. And this is the language of nature, through which every thing speaks from its own qualities, continually revealing and demonstrating its own good and usefulness. For every thing reveals its mother, who thus gives it its essence and the will to form.

“The goal of life is a life in harmony with nature.”
(Zeno of Citium, Greek philosopher, c. 300 BC)

The Jew among Thorns

✎ After having thought a lot about the symbol of the violin in the last two fairy tales, we want to take a closer look at this fairy tale, in which the violin plays a major role and even a little beard appears.

✻ There was once a rich man, who had a servant who served him diligently and honestly: he was every morning the first out of bed, and the last to go to rest at night; and, whenever there was a difficult job to be done, which nobody cared to undertake, he was always the first to set himself to it. Moreover, he never complained, but was contented with everything, and always merry. When a year was ended, his master gave him no wages, for he said to himself, “That is the cleverest way; for I shall save something, and he will not go away, but stay quietly in my service.” The servant said nothing, but did his work the second year as he had done it the first; and when at the end of this, likewise, he received no wages, he made himself happy, and still stayed on. When the third year also was past, the master considered, put his hand in his pocket, but pulled nothing out. Then at last the servant said, “Master, for three years I have served you honestly, be so good as to give me what I ought to have; for I wish to leave, and look about me a little more in the world.” - “Yes, my good fellow,” answered the old miser; “you have served me industriously, and, therefore, you shall be cheerfully rewarded;” and he put his hand into his pocket, but counted out only three farthings, saying, “There, you have a farthing for each year; that is large and liberal pay, such as you would have received from few masters.” The honest servant, who understood little about money, put his fortune into his pocket, and thought, “Ah! now that I have my purse full, why need I trouble and plague myself any longer with hard work!”

✎ The fairy tale begins with a servant whom the worldly mind would call a stupid man, for he serves diligently but does not demand much pay, nor does he know the value of the money. Yet he “never complained, but was contented with everything and always merry”. Isn’t that reward enough? Only to the egotistical mind does the external world always seem stingy, for it never gives enough to find true fulfilment as long as the internal world has not been won. So let us now try to view this entire story more from the perspective of the inner world of our spirit, and consider here first the virtue of humility. The etymological dictionary derives the German “Demut” (humbleness, humility) from “Dien-Mut”, meaning “courage to serve”, and preferably without seeking personal advantage or gain. Then it is no longer the egotistical mind that serves, but holistic reason. Thus, we could see this humble service in the world of transience as a path to human reason and how, in the further course of the story, reason develops from servant to king, because reason should naturally reign in man.

This means, first of all, “I wish to leave and look about me a little more in the world”. Where is the “world”? From a spiritual perspective, it is the inner world, and then this sentence means: to look out from the narrow external world into a vast inner world. For this, the human spirit must, of course, be ready and prepared, as Master Eckhart also says:
I will not ask God to give me. Nor will I praise him for having given me. Rather, I will ask him to make me worthy to receive, and I will praise him for being of the nature and essence that he must give.

Thus, the servant was well prepared through his service and can now also receive great things.

✻ So, on he went, up hill and down dale; and sang and jumped to his heart’s content. Now it came to pass that as he was going by a thicket a little man stepped out, and called to him, “Whither away, merry brother? I see you do not carry many cares.” - “Why should I be sad?” answered the servant; “I have enough; three years’ wages are jingling in my pocket.” - “How much is your treasure?” the dwarf asked him. “How much? Three farthings sterling, all told.” - “Look here,” said the dwarf, “I am a poor needy man, give me your three farthings; I can work no longer, but you are young, and can easily earn your bread.” And as the servant had a good heart, and felt pity for the old man, he gave him the three farthings, saying, “Take them in the name of Heaven, I shall not be any the worse for it.” Then the little man said, “As I see you have a good heart I grant you three wishes, one for each farthing, they shall all be fulfilled.” - “Aha?” said the servant, “you are one of those who can work wonders! Well, then, if it is to be so, I wish, first, for a blowgun, which shall hit everything that I aim at; secondly, for a fiddle, which when I play on it, shall compel all who hear it to dance; thirdly, that if I ask a favour of any one he shall not be able to refuse it.” - “All that shall you have,” said the dwarf; and put his hand into the bush, and only think, there lay a fiddle and blowpipe, all ready, just as if they had been ordered. These he gave to the servant, and then said to him, “Whatever you may ask at any time, no man in the world shall be able to deny you.”

✎ Why doesn’t reason worry? Well, what worries should one have when one realizes that oneself is the eternal source of everything and has to hold on to nothing? And when we step so joyfully from the external ups and downs into our inner world, we first encounter a test of the heart at the entrance, similar to the angel with the flaming sword at the entrance to Paradise. For the spirit must be willing to let go of personal possessions from the external world and be able to wish for the right thing for the path ahead. Both of these things are very difficult for many people, but the servant was well prepared and first wished for the necessary means so that the third wish could also be granted, which is explained practically below with symbols from our external world. For this is the usual procedure in fairy tales that are given to children on their long journey through life, and it would be good if our children could also learn this humility from an early age.

✻ “Heart alive! What can one desire more?” said the servant to himself, and went merrily onwards. Soon afterwards he met a peddler with a long goat’s-beard, who was standing listening to the song of a bird which was sitting up at the top of a tree. “Good heavens,” he was exclaiming, “that such a small creature should have such a fearfully loud voice! If it were but mine! If only some one would sprinkle some salt upon its tail!” - “If that is all,” said the servant, “the bird shall soon be down here;” and taking aim, down fell the bird into the thorn-bushes. “Go, you rogue,” he said to the peddler, “and fetch the bird out for yourself!” - “Oh!” said the peddler, “leave out the rogue, my master, and I will do it at once. I will get the bird out for myself, as you really have hit it.” Then he lay down on the ground, and began to crawl into the thicket. When he was fast among the thorns, the good servant’s humour so tempted him that he took up his fiddle and began to play. In a moment the peddler’s legs began to move, and to jump into the air, and the more the servant fiddled the better went the dance. But the thorns tore his shabby coat for him, combed his beard, and pricked and plucked him all over the body. “Oh dear,” cried the peddler, “what do I want with your fiddling? Leave the fiddle alone, master; I do not want to dance.” But the servant did not listen to him, and thought, “You have fleeced people often enough, now the thorn-bushes shall do the same to you;” and he began to play over again, so that the peddler had to jump higher than ever, and scraps of his coat were left hanging on the thorns. “Oh, woe’s me!” cried the peddler; “I will give the gentleman whatsoever he asks if only he leaves off fiddling—a purse full of gold.” - “If you are so liberal,” said the servant, “I will stop my music; but this I must say to your credit, that you dance to it so well that it is quite an art;” and having taken the purse he went his way.

✎ When we now come within, we find, above all, our ego-mind, standing before the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and other opposites, listening with great desire to the bird of conceptual thoughts that chirps its song in this tree, wanting to seize it and prepare it for itself, because the ego-mind feeds on such thoughts. Who doesn’t know this chirping of thoughts that often sings the same song for hours!? In the Grimms’ version, this role of the ego-mind is played by a “Jew,” whom we have replaced here with “peddler” to avoid the modern accusation that this fairy tale is anti-Semitic and should therefore be banned, even though it is full of wisdom and reveals the spiritual roots of why humanity seeks and carries out such terrible deeds and wars in the first place.

Grasping and holding on is a typical characteristic of the ego-mind, and reason helps it to be allowed to have this experience, but also to experience the consequences. The blowpipe is often interpreted here as a shotgun. We don’t think, that makes sense, for the shotgun shoots with fire and lead, or rather, passion and illusory truth, because lead only feels like gold in the dark. The blowgun, on the other hand, is reminiscent of the wind of the spirit and a small stone, preferably the philosopher’s stone. Thus, the bird is not killed, but merely stunned, like ineffective thoughts.

Accordingly, in meditation, one should not try to kill the thoughts that usually rule over us, but rather observe them with the concentrated mind of wisdom until they lose their power and fall from the tree to the ground of pure consciousness, in which the tree itself is rooted. And then, with complete awareness, one observes the ego-mind as it pounces, trying to grab and hold the bird, but in doing so only creates a great deal of suffering for itself—a dance, so to speak, in the thorn hedge of the worldly opposites of good and evil, mine and yours, winning and losing, life and death, etc.

And to this dance, the violin of reason plays as the force of consciousness that moves everything and makes it alive. This is the power of mindfulness in meditation, and as soon as this consciousness becomes drowsy, the ego-mind feels unobserved and at peace again, and can continue pursuing its egoistic goals, believing that they will bring much happiness and no suffering. For, the ego mind doesn’t want to dance; it prefers to stand still, grasp, and hold on, and it also doesn’t like to be observed when, like a “rogue,” it grasps something that doesn’t really belong to it. And yes, this dance doesn’t feel beautiful in meditation either, for it tears the long-worn outer garment of the mind and injures the ego-body. One must have a great deal of courage to recognize the deeper meaning in this suffering and to be willing to endure it. This is also the “humour” of reason, and so it is ultimately a true blessing to be able to play such a violin.

To this end, we find in this ancient fairy tale, long before yoga was spoken of in Europe, two principal means or methods that also play a fundamental role in yoga: concentration and mindfulness as the blowpipe and the violin. And what happens then? First, the “goat’s beard,” which loves to bleat and nag, is combed. We’ve already thought a lot about the symbolic meaning of the beard in recent fairy tales. Here, too, one could imagine that the expressed or active thoughts are ordered, smoothed, and balanced. Second, the ego-mind returns its gold to reason, which it had grasped as truth and wanted to hold on to, and thus finds its peace again, and the painful dance among the thorns of opposites ceases. For the golden crown of truth should be worn by holistic reason, not the ego-mind. Thus, the moral of the story is: Peace is not achieved by holding on, but by letting go.

But the fairy tale doesn’t end here. Because who doesn’t know what it’s like to have a hurt ego when the goatee starts to complain?

✻ The peddler stood still and watched the servant quietly until he was far off and out of sight, and then he screamed out with all his might, “You miserable musician, you beer-house fiddler! Wait till I catch you alone, I will hunt you till the soles of your shoes fall off! You ragamuffin! Just put five farthings in your mouth, and then you may be worth three halfpence!” and went on abusing him as fast as he could speak. As soon as he had refreshed himself a little in this way, and got his breath again, he ran into the town to the justice. “My lord judge,” he said, “I have come to make a complaint; see how a rascal has robbed and ill-treated me on the public highway! A stone on the ground might pity me; my clothes all torn, my body pricked and scratched, my little all gone with my purse, — good ducats, each piece better than the last; for God’s sake let the man be thrown into prison!” - “Was it a soldier,” said the judge, “who cut you thus with his sabre?” - “Nothing of the sort!” said the peddler; “It was no sword that he had, but a blowgun hanging at his back, and a fiddle at his neck; the wretch may easily be known.”

✎ As soon as the ego-mind regains its composure and can “stand still” unchallenged by reason, it naturally demands its claim to ownership of truth, rails against holistic reason, which is a fundamental threat to its separating consciousness, and cries out loudly for justice. So, a big question arises: Can there even be true justice for the ego, which can only seek its own advantage? Is it just if I appropriate something and then fight against anyone who wants to take it away from me, punishing and even killing them? Yes, for this purpose, our ego-mind has created a social order with many laws designed to secure personal ownership of land, house, goods, body, and other possessions. And for this purpose, we also have a “sense of justice,” which appears here in the fairy tale as a judge.

✻ So, the judge sent his people out after the man, and they found the good servant, who had been going quite slowly along, and they found, too, the purse with the money upon him. As soon as he was taken before the judge he said, “I did not touch the peddler, nor take his money; he gave it to me of his own free will, that I might leave off fiddling because he could not bear my music.” - “Heaven defend us!” cried the peddler, “His lies are as thick as flies upon the wall.” But the judge also did not believe his tale, and said, “This is a bad defence, no peddler would do that.” And because he had committed robbery on the public highway, he sentenced the good servant to be hanged. As he was being led away the peddler again screamed after him, “You vagabond! You dog of a fiddler! Now you are going to receive your well-earned reward!”

✎ In this way, the ego-mind can quickly convince the sense of justice it has created for itself. After all, what ego would voluntarily give up its property, and especially the gold of its own truth? It can only have been stolen by force by “another,” who must now be punished and, ideally, killed, so that the ego-mind can continue to live undisturbed. Does this perhaps also happen in our external world: that we want to kill reason so that the ego-mind can live?

Yet reason remains calm, for it knows that true justice can only exist for holistic reason and not for the conceptual ego-mind. As Master Eckhart also says:
Our Masters ask whether the angels are grieved when man sins? We say: No! For they behold the righteousness of God and therein comprehend all things in him (= in God), as they are in God. Therefore, they cannot grieve. Now, in its enabling power, reason resembles the natural light of the angels, which is the evening light. With its active power, however, it carries all things up into God, and it is all things in this morning light. (Sermon 51)

Thus, reason, too, has no fear of death, for this fear is merely a characteristic of the ego-mind, which believes it can lose its supposed property. And so, reason moves calmly and serenely through the stages of physical life, and even at the final stage, it can turn away from death and toward eternal life, for it is aware of its power and knows: “The righteous lives in God, and God in him.” (Sermon 25)

✻ The servant walked quietly with the hangman up the ladder, but upon the last step he turned round and said to the judge, “Grant me just one request before I die.” - “Yes, if you do not ask your life,” said the judge. “I do not ask for life,” answered the servant, “but as a last favour let me play once more upon my fiddle.” The peddler raised a great cry of “Murder! Murder! For goodness’ sake do not allow it! Do not allow it!” But the judge said, “Why should I not let him have this short pleasure? It has been granted to him, and he shall have it.” However, he could not have refused on account of the gift which had been bestowed on the servant. Then the peddler cried, “Oh! Woe’s me! Tie me, tie me fast!” while the good servant took his fiddle from his neck, and made ready.

✎ Now, once again, the ego’s great fear of reason, that it might gain dominion over the ego-mind, is revealed. For ego doesn’t like to move, but rather wants to hold on and be bound rather than dance to the tune of reason. And yet, in the end, reason wins.

✻ As he gave the first scrape, they all began to quiver and shake, the judge, his clerk, and the hangman and his men, and the cord fell out of the hand of the one who was going to tie the peddler fast. At the second scrape all raised their legs, and the hangman let go his hold of the good servant, and made himself ready to dance. At the third scrape they all leaped up and began to dance; the judge and the peddler being the best at jumping. Soon all who had gathered in the market-place out of curiosity were dancing with them; old and young, fat and lean, one with another. The dogs, likewise, which had run there got up on their hind legs and capered about; and the longer he played, the higher sprang the dancers, so that they knocked against each other’s heads, and began to shriek terribly.

At length the judge cried, quite out of breath, “I will give you your life if you will only stop fiddling.” The good servant thereupon had compassion, took his fiddle and hung it round his neck again, and stepped down the ladder. Then he went up to the peddler, who was lying upon the ground panting for breath, and said, “You rascal, now confess, whence you got the money, or I will take my fiddle and begin to play again.” - “I stole it, I stole it!” cried he; “But you have honestly earned it.” So, the judge had the peddler taken to the gallows and hanged as a thief.

✎ Thus, the third blessing is now granted, and all wishes can be fulfilled. For pure consciousness, which no longer clings to any form of its own and no longer fears death as the principle of separation, can naturally assume any desired form. In this way, holistic reason can play the leading role in the inner or spiritual world, moving and animating everything. And that is the blessing of all creation, a living dance of harmony and concord. Only those who want to assert their own will and refuse to join in the dance will knock against “others” in this dance, suffer accordingly, and ultimately “panting for breath”. But on this path, we come to reason in the dance of creation. Thus, our sense of justice also awakens and gives life to reason and not to the ego. And the ego-mind confesses its guilt and returns the gold of truth to reason, which thus becomes king again, rules over the conceptual mind, and wears the golden crown of truth. Then holistic reason speaks: “I am the light of the world, the way, the truth, and the eternal life.” And the ego reveals itself as transient life, as a mortal illusion of the conceptual mind.

In this way, reason enters the inner as a servant and returns to the outer as a king. For the king is he whose request is also command. And the true king is he who is free and unbound, free from attachment and unbound by selfish desires that cling to any form...

On this topic, we can also recommend the historical text by Jakob Boehme, “On True Serenity,” which describes:
How man must die daily to his own will in his selfhood, and how he should bring his desires into God, what he should ask and desire of God, and how he can emerge from the death of sinful man with a new mind and will in God. It also describes what the old and new man is, each one in his life, will, and deed.

May the violin of reason resound with pure love everywhere! 🙏

The Princess and the blind Blacksmith

✎ This fairy tale, for once, is not from the Brothers Grimm collection. It’s a free-spirited retelling from our pen, inspired by the 2018 Czech-Slovak fairy tale film of the same name, which tells a wonderful Christmas story about an equally wonderful journey, which we’d like to take a closer look at. As always, we recommend reading the fairy tale in its entirety first, without any interpretation. Let’s get started.

✻ Once upon a time, there was a kingdom that had been declining for several years. The king grew increasingly ill, the people were more and more oppressed, the mood went darker, and good wishes no longer came true. The queen died prematurely after the birth of her only daughter, and the royal advisor knew no better advice than to wage wars to conquer more land and wealth so that better times would come. He also wanted to marry the young princess and become king himself, thus realizing his ambitious plans. And then there was the dark season. Christmas was just around the corner, but the king lay terminally ill in his bed, leaving little hope for him to see the New Year. His daughter was distraught but refused to marry the royal advisor, instead remembering the old legend of King Svarog, who was considered the root of their royal line and, with his miraculous crown, could grant any wish and cure any illness. The fatally ill king told her this was only a fairy tale, a figment of the people’s imagination, and his advisor confirmed it. However, when he realized that his wedding plan was not going to work, he told the princess in private that the kingdom of Svarog really existed and even that there was a secret map that the sick king always carried with him. For both the king and his advisor knew that no one had ever returned from this kingdom. He hoped to take over all power if the sick king died without a successor.

The princess searched for and found the map in the handle of the royal sceptre, and discovered on it the path to a mystical mountain with a crooked peak.

Now she was determined to venture forth, seized an old sword inherited from her grandfather, mounted her white horse, and boldly left her father’s castle. On the way, she passed through a village where a young blacksmith lived with his mother. His father had died young, and he himself had been born blind, as many children throughout the kingdom were born with illnesses. Nevertheless, he had become a blacksmith, for his lack of sight was compensated for by a sunny disposition and his other senses, so that he could feel, smell, and hear all the better, and he loved to smile. So, the young princess came to the young blacksmith, for her old sword was blunt, and the horse had lost a horseshoe. At first, she was very surprised to see a blind blacksmith, but when they accidentally touched hands, they both felt a strange feeling between them that they had never felt before. The blacksmith could not see that it was his king’s daughter. With this deep feeling, he sharpened the sword and shod the horse, and when he learned that it was the princess and where she intended to ride, he was immediately ready to accompany her. But his mother would not let him go, especially not so close to Christmas, for she too knew that no one had yet returned from this mountain and that even the animals were afraid of the place. So, she treated the princess to delicious Buchteln (oven-baked yeast-dumplings with a sweet filling) that she had baked for Christmas and offered her a place to sleep for the night. She gave her son some sleeping tea, and although he was surprised by the unusual smell, he drank it trustingly and did not wake up again until late the next day, long after the princess had ridden away at dawn.

✎ The fairy tale begins with a kingdom that we can, in principle, also find in our country today. Therefore, we will now attempt to examine the diverse symbolism in more detail, to see if perhaps a healing message for a way out is hidden somewhere.

First, we find the game of separation: a father lost the mother, and a mother lost the father, so that they naturally don’t want to lose their children as well and accordingly try to hold on to them. In this, we can already recognize the usual game of opposites of male and female as spirit and nature, and how their children, as a princess and a blacksmith, seek each other to solve the problem of their parents’ separation, just as all unresolved problems are passed on to the offspring. The king in the external world would then be the ruling reason, which is, however, sick and weak because the advisor, as the ego-mind, wants to dominate the kingdom and rise above holistic reason in order to seek his own personal advantage. This path naturally leads to a world of opposites, where there must be separation, death, illness, and war, for the ego-mind is a consciousness of separation.

In the blacksmith, we can see a symbol of the human spirit, that force of consciousness that forges future destiny, as the (German) saying goes: “Everyone is the blacksmith of his own fortune.” For a good blacksmith masters the forge fire so that it doesn’t erupt in passion, resulting in “burnout,” and burning down the entire forge, but can be used to create happiness. Likewise, the horseshoe that the princess’s horse lost, is an ancient symbol of good luck. People often hung it over front doors with the opening facing upwards to catch luck and light and ward off dark spirits, or with the opening facing downwards as a symbol of protection and blessing. With the opening facing right, it represented a “C” for Christ consciousness, holistic reason as the light of the world. The blacksmith’s innate blindness is a reminder of our spiritual ignorance, preventing us from recognizing our true soul. This would then be the princess as a pure soul of nature, who, on the other hand, seeks her pure spirit so that holistic reason can reign again in a healthy and healing way. Therefore, she also did not want to marry the ego-mind, because that would completely kill reason.

The young blacksmith’s mother would then be external nature, which provides us with nourishment for our journey and naturally does not want to lose the spirit, just as the king, as reason, does not want to lose the soul of nature. But if the parents cannot find each other, then the children must do so and search for each other as spirit and soul, and neither the father’s secrecy nor the mother’s sleeping potion can help against this.

Thus, in the external world, we find the following main roles with the usual star cast:
King: human reason as a spiritual unity
Advisor: ego-mind, conceptual thinking in opposites
Princess: soul of nature, order through cause and effect
Mother: nature as natural diversity that nourishes the spirit
Blacksmith: human mind, spiritual power
Horse: animal body in the external world

Here we already notice that the entire fairy tale shifts more and more into the inner world of a human being. Accordingly, the path is pointing to “a mountain with a crooked peak,” which one cannot climb to the summit externally, but rather conquer and win internally.

And the guiding map to this can be found in the “handle of the royal sceptre.” Truly, anyone who doesn’t know and hasn’t walked the path to this mountain shouldn’t become a ruler and seek dominion over the world, for the true strength and power of rule is rooted in this mountain. Otherwise, such a ruler is among the many people who want to rule others without being able to rule himself. Which is certainly also a reason for the king’s infirm illness and the decline of his country.

So, it all happens shortly before Christmas, in the darkest time of the year and often also in the darkest time of our lives, and we now want to see how we can rediscover the true light within ourselves.

✻ Shortly after noon, as the winter sun was already beginning to sink, the blind blacksmith heard the princess’s horse returning, but alone and without a rider. There was no stopping him now; he grabbed his cane and mounted the horse. His horrified mother had just enough time to give him a bag full of Buchteln as provisions for the journey. As he left, he said, “Dear mother, I promise you, I’ll be back with the princess for Christmas.” Then he let the horse lead him along the same path the princess had taken through the forest. After a while, the horse refused to go any farther, and he knew that the mystical mountain, which even the animals fear, couldn’t be far away. He continued on foot, feeling his way with his cane, and soon, in the middle of the winter forest, the wonderful scent of summer blossoms filled the air. Thus, he reached the mountain at dusk, entered the interior, and found himself in a summer world, the sun shining warmly, and the birds chirping merrily.

✎ Similarly, we, too, are carried through the world by an animal body that even has a memory and can remember the paths it has already travelled. However, it cannot enter the interior of the mountain, a symbol of the physical world. Only the spirit and soul of nature enter this inner or spiritual world. And the blind blacksmith finds his sunny disposition here, even in the dark winter. Thus, our inner self can be bright, warm, and friendly, while the outer world appears dark, cold, and hostile, or vice versa. This is how many people today suffer from depression because their inner self feels dark, cold, and hostile in contrast to the outer world. Such a person will naturally be reluctant to go into his inner self, whereas for our blind blacksmith, it is a joy to search there for the princess or his soul. So, it becomes interesting to see what we can find in this inner world.

✻ Suddenly, the blind blacksmith heard a deep, fateful voice speak: “Welcome, welcome, don’t ask questions! If you want to get on any way, you have to pay!” The blacksmith replied that he had nothing but Buchteln. Then the deep voice changed into the high voice of a small goblin and cheered: “Delicious, delicious, I love Buchteln with jam or plum puree!” The blacksmith then told him that he was looking for the princess and gave him a Buchtel that was almost as big as the goblin himself.

He then asked the delighted and overjoyed goblin what he was supposed to pay for, and the goblin gave him some good advice:

Drive away the princess’ frown
With the miraculous crown.
There’s an ancient dame,
Cunning and sly, is her fame,
And so she must live, like an old mouse,
down by the river in a little house.
Be wise and catch her Kitty,
But watch, its paw is witty!

Although the blacksmith was sceptical about taking advice from a goblin, he still remembered the words, continued on his way, and laboriously crossed the river because he couldn’t see the bridge on which the goblin sat, giggling:

If you can’t see a bridge,
You’ll have to walk through the ditch.
What a bathing and wading!

On the other side of the forest, he encountered the ancient woman in search of food. She lived as a witch in a cottage down by the river, as the goblin had predicted. With the promise of telling him more about the princess, she lured him into her gingerbread house to remember everything there. But really, she only wanted to give him a cup of fly milk with a sleeping potion, then boil him in her large kettle and eat him.

✎ Well, the first thing we find on the journey into our inner selves is usually a greedy nature, an insatiable desire that seeks more than just sweet dumplings. In this, we can recognize our natural unfulfillment, a constant feeling of deficit, so that we are always lacking something, and no external wealth can permanently satisfy this unfulfillment. This natural desire is beautifully portrayed in the fairy tale as a little goblin in a colourful dress made of mushrooms, flowers, and leaves of nature, as can be seen in the picture above. As long as this desire appears in this form of natural diversity, it is certainly good and useful in leading us to what we truly lack. Therefore, we should not ask this goblin too many questions or trust him too much, and yet with his “good advice” he leads us to our inner problem, first to the river and then to the witch.

The river reminds us of the life story of body and person, a river of transience that flows from its source through time and space, letting everything come and go, bringing it in and then carrying it away again. The sighted man finds a bridge over this river, while the blind blacksmith must laboriously wade through the water in which we become usually carried away and also sink. And here, too, natural desire is already sitting on the bridge, enticing us to seek and find this bridge. This symbolism is ingeniously drawn, for this river naturally has two banks as boundaries, otherwise it would not be a river: the natural-physical boundary is formed by the witch, and the spiritual-personal boundary is formed by the ego-mind, which also clearly illustrates the separation and opposition between spirit and nature, in which we usually live, and between which the river of our physical-personal life story flows. Indeed, if the river had no boundaries, then it would be the entire sea. And the bridge? It should not be a dizzying bridge, where one fears falling into the water because of its narrow boundaries, but a true bridge where all boundaries disappear…

By this river, we find the old witch (in German: Hexe) again, whom we have already met in many other fairy tales. She lives in a gingerbread house, that is, a physical house built of food, just as our body is practically made of food. And the five senses, with thought as the sixth (“hexa”), are constantly searching mentally and physically for such nourishment. And everything that comes into this house, this witch wants to boil in her kettle and prepare as food, just as our modern science knows that chemical soups for the body’s metabolism are being cooked throughout the bodily cells.

We could also interpret Goethe’s famous “Witches’ Magic Formula” from [Faust I] as follows:

Make ten of one, - (wholeness is everything and nothing)
And two let be, - (separation, opposites like good and evil)
Make even three, - (Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)
And rich thou’lt be, - (in wisdom and all-being)
Cast o’er the four! - (four elements of the body)
From five and six - (five senses and thought)
The witch’s tricks - (as guardian of the physical boundary)
Make seven and eight, - (reason and mindfulness or awareness)
Tis finished straight! - (perfection)
And nine is one, - (everything is one)
And ten is none. - (neither everything nor nothing, the incomprehensible)
This is the witch’s once-one’s-one!
…
The lofty skill
Of Science, still - (pure consciousness, information)
From all men deeply hidden! - (because it is formless)
Who takes no thought, - (no conceptual ego-mind)
To him ‘tis brought, - (by God)
‘Tis given unsought, unbidden! - (because it cannot be lost)

In this regard, one might now consider why the witch lures us into this body of food, and what memories she promises us? Why do we live in this body, and what are we seeking within it? Yes, perhaps it’s precisely about remembering who we truly are, about “self-knowledge,” so to speak. But how can the old witch help us with this?

Perhaps “fly milk” is interesting in this regard. Yes, there are also flies that have small mammary glands with which they feed their young, such as the tsetse fly. But in the witch’s house, we think more of a potion made from fly agaric, as is clearly portrayed in the film. Then the “flying” signifies more of a spiritual flight into fantasy worlds, as caused by various drugs and, essentially, also by the witch in her control over our senses and thoughts. Here, too, the question of fantasy or truth always arises, and some even claim that all our thoughts and sensory experiences are more dreams than reality because we only perceive everything indirectly, so that, for example, the sensory and mental world of a dog is very different from our world of perception.

The root for the sleeping potion in the film is reminiscent of a poisonous mandrake root, which was once often used as a magic potion and is also said to have hypnotic, soporific, and narcotic effects.

The miraculous effects of plants and their chemicals on our human mind is a big and fascinating question, one we won’t delve into too deeply here. It’s not for nothing that our intestinal system has so many nerve cells that it’s been called a “second brain.” Drugs have also played an important role in human life since ancient times, as shamans know. What kind of information or “memories” controls the witch?

Incidentally, there’s also an interesting story about this in the ancient Indian Markandeya Purana about a “flying ointment” that, when applied to the feet, could transport the spirit to faraway worlds. Only the return wasn’t so easy:
O Brahmin, through the power of a herb that, through magical formulas, blesses with unlimited mobility, I can walk a thousand yojanas in half a day... (Markandeya Purana Chapter 61)

✻ But the blind blacksmith smelled the same sleeping potion his mother had given him and swapped the cups, so the witch fell into a deep sleep. When she awoke, she was hanging from a rope over the boiling kettle, wailing and, fearing that she would be boiled in her own kettle, told him: “I couldn’t harm the brave princess at all. No spell worked because she carried a sword sharpened by an honest man. With a sword like that, any spell can be easily cut through. Now she is in King Svarog’s castle, but once inside, anyone who is there will never get out alive. For Svarog is eternally cursed, and anyone who looks at him for even the briefest moment will be turned to stone. If you want to get to that castle, you must climb over the mountain that stands at the end of the valley.”

✎ What happens if, instead of letting the witch numb and cook you, you turn the tables and numb and cook the witch? In our fairy tale, the serious decision to do so is apparently enough for the witch’s “memory” to return, and she speaks of the princess and the path to her. Perhaps it’s not a good idea to want to kill the witch. Perhaps it’s enough to not let her control you, and then she’ll find her place in the body where she belongs, to cook up the chemical soup in the cells. For, as the goblin said, “And so she must live… down by the river in a little house.”

An ancient symbol is used here: the sword sharpened by an honest man. It reminds us of the sword of wisdom and mindfulness, which simultaneously kills and enlivens, because it cuts through illusion at its root in every direction and penetrates with its point into the depths of truth. Therefore, it is the task of the human spirit to sharpen this sword, which we inherited as humans, but which has become blunt through the many blows against stone or matter. In Zen Buddhism, this “sharp and pointed sword for cutting and stabbing” is described as follows:
A sabre to kill, a rapier to enliven: This was the custom and rule of the ancients; it is still an indispensable necessity today. If the purpose is to kill, not a single hair will be harmed. If the purpose is to enliven, both body and life must perish in the process. Therefore, someone says: All the thousand sacred traditions cannot show you the one path that leads upwards and beyond. Scholars strive to give it form. They are like monkeys grasping at their reflections in water. (Zen Words in the Tea Room, Three Pounds of Hemp in the Bi-yan-lu, Akaji Sōtei)

So, who could point the way to King Svarog? This voice can only come from deep intuition, when the witch is bound in her activity and the ego-mind is silent. Then nature begins to speak from her memory, and the blind blacksmith also learns the path to the end of the valley and then over the mountain. This probably means that when nature begins to speak, one should penetrate to the bottom and then climb to the heights and the summit of the spirit. Just as our modern science penetrates the depths of nature to the depths of its memory, and as the quantum physicist Anton Zeilinger says: “Information is the primordial substance of the universe.” Now we only need to climb to the summit of the spirit, but our science has a very difficult time with that... Let’s see which path the blind blacksmith takes.

✻ After the witch had spoken thus, he seized the witch’s black cat as punishment for trying to numb and cook him. He left the gingerbread house to the cheers of the greedy goblin, who called to the blind blacksmith:

Be careful and don’t set the cat free.
You’ll need it later, you will see.

The witch soon freed herself from the ropes, stepped before the magic mirror, and warned her cousin, who appeared in the mirror like a black cloud and was none other than the sick king’s advisor. When the latter learned of a blind blacksmith on his way to King Svarog, he was frightened, because the curse, of course, has no effect on blind people and Svarog could be freed by him. Now he devised an insidious means.

✎ The greedy goblin is probably celebrating primarily because of the cat and offers some good advice for the journey ahead: “Be always mindful, and you will see.” In the black cat, we can see the witch’s animal nature, which of course also has its meaning in nature, just as we too will “see.”

The magic mirror is again a profound symbol for our reflective consciousness, in which all forms are magically reflected. For in a mirror, we practically always see only ourselves, but primarily in some form, without seeing that which sees, the formless consciousness that sees and recognizes everything, or, to put it more scientifically, the information that shapes and forms everything. Thus, in this mirror, the witch can look from the inner world into the outer world and sees there her cousin, with whom she is closely related, just as ego and mind are closely related. And this ego-mind appears like a black cloud that obscures the light of holistic reason. Why? It is a conceptual mind of imagination that separates things and seeks to hold on tight. Meister Eckhart says of this:
The smallest creaturely image that ever forms in your mind is as great as God is great. Why! Because it prevents you from a whole God. Precisely where this image enters (into you), God and his entire divinity must give way. (Sermon 7)

Thus, we will now also see how the egoic mind seeks to prevent the human spirit from rising from the depths of nature, where one finds diversity in the sea of causes and possibilities, to the summit of the spirit, where one then finds the unity of a holistic reason or divinity.

✻ Meanwhile, the blind blacksmith followed the indicated path, feeling his way forward with his cane. Soon he reached a steep mountain, which he began to climb. The greedy goblin was already waiting at the top, but fearful for him, he tried to dissuade the climber with some good advice:

Don’t climb any higher, I tell you hard.
After a plunge you will fall apart.
Then you’ll be torn to pieces...

But he couldn’t think of any more rhyme to answer that. The blind blacksmith tried to calm the frightened goblin, replying that he always followed the first rule of climbing: never look back. The goblin had to laugh at that, because he knew the blacksmith was blind.

When he was just before the summit, the black cloud suddenly appeared from the magic mirror and enveloped the goblin in a dark whirl, transforming him into a stone that rolled down, dragging the blind blacksmith down with it. But the stone didn’t shatter into pieces on the ground, and the blind blacksmith was magically caught halfway up and able to hold on tight again. Then the black cloud spoke with the goblin’s voice: “You almost fell to your death. But I saved you.” The blind blacksmith thanked him, and when, despite all the warnings, he refused to be dissuaded from his path, the goblin’s voice gave him the following advice: “If you truly want to save the princess, then you should know: As long as Svarog lives, the kingdom will be cursed, and with it your princess. So, there is only one solution: Kill King Svarog!” The blind blacksmith was surprised that this advice did not rhyme as before, but he accepted it and successfully climbed the mountain.

✎ This symbolism, too, is very profound. We are all certainly familiar with the fact that desire is always already at the goal, waiting impatiently for us, and also with the fact that this desire quickly turns into fear, for whoever wants to win something and hold on to the gain must naturally also be afraid of losing it. This is the play of natural opposites, which is why one should also climb to the spiritual summit, where all natural opposites reunite at one point. This is the mysterious play of natural diversity and spiritual unity.

It becomes problematic when this natural desire, which leads us with hunger and thirst along the paths of the world, is seized and used or abused by the ego-mind. Then this desire literally hardens and petrifies, for the ego-mind does not want to follow any path, but, as e.g., the name “understanding” suggests, to stand still and hold on. These are our so-called “positions” and “viewpoints” to which the ego clings, practically placing them like stones in its own way, from which entire castles are built. This then becomes the physical ego-castle, in which the ego seeks to protect and defend itself, and from which it attacks others. This is why the ego-mind also tries to keep the human spirit clinging to the stone between the ground of nature and the summit of the spirit, as we know from our current worldview of materialism. And it even claims that by doing so it is preserving and saving the human spirit. Yes, this is the black cloud and magic of the ego-mind that tells us: Truth is what can be grasped and held.

Naturally, the fear of loss is never far away. Just as our contemporary worldly rulers, who neither know nor have taken the path to the crown of King Svarog, like to rule with fear, create terrible enemies, and wage deadly wars against them, primarily for their own personal gain. And behind this fear, of course, lies the fundamental problem of separation, for only through separation one can lose something that is impossible in its entirety. Just as the goblin is afraid that the body could be shattered into pieces, but he can’t think of any rhyme for that...

What does that mean? We sometimes say in German, “I can’t make a rhyme of that.” And by that, we basically mean that we can’t discern the deeper meaning here. And so, in the inner-spiritual world where we currently find ourselves, it makes no sense that the human spirit could “break” or even “lose” its life. That’s why this rhyme is so important, for the goodness of advice comes not from the outward words, but from the inner meaning, which should resonate within us from the depths of intuition, and thus also from the realm of King Svarog with his miraculous crown. Of course, the ego-mind cannot find this inner meaning because it neither wants to recognize nor acknowledge the depth of nature nor the height of the spirit, and therefore there is no rhyme in the advice of the black cloud. But the blacksmith doesn’t yet see this dark cloud because he is blind, but precisely this blindness will help him greatly, for he won’t let himself be led astray.

✻ At the top of the peak stood King Svarog’s castle. He entered without further obstacles, but was met by a heavy and dark silence, for it was the silence of death that reigned throughout the castle. After a long corridor, guided by his cane, he came into a large hall where his foot struck a bright, ringing metal. It was the princess’s old sword, which he had sharpened himself. It had slipped from her hand, and she stood petrified beside it, as he could now feel and also understood that she was not the only one who had been turned to stone here. Then grief and anger rose within him, he exchanged his blunt cane for the sharp sword and cried out in a loud voice: “Svarog! Where are you? Svarog!” A hesitant reply echoed through the hall from the throne: “What do you want? Here you will find nothing but death. Anyone who sees me must turn to stone. That is the curse imposed on me by my advisor, who overpowered me with dark magic and seized power for his own personal gain. But why doesn’t that happen to you?” He said: “I am blind and cannot see you. I came here in search of the princess and I know there is only one way to end the curse: I must kill you.” The king replied: “I would do anything to redeem my kingdom and the princess. If that is the way, then complete it! In return, you shall also receive my golden crown, which my advisor could not seize with his dark magic.” The old king stepped down from the throne and knelt before the blind blacksmith, sacrificing his life for the lives of everyone else in his kingdom. The blacksmith saw himself at the end of the path, raised his sharp-edged sword, but could not bring himself to deliver the fatal blow and said: “I cannot kill! There must be another way to break this curse.”

✎ Who is “Svarog”? We find this name in Slavic mythology as “creator of all life, god of light and heavenly fire, and smith of the sky.” Etymologically, “Svarog” is said to mean “sky,” derived from the Sanskrit word “svarga”. But how does one find this god inside a mountain?

Well, Werner Heisenberg, the Nobel Prize winner and father of quantum physics, once said: “The first sip from the cup of natural science makes one an atheist, but at the bottom of the cup, God awaits!” And yet, it is primarily natural science that has ensured that this god has been disempowered in our modern worldview, and we practically live in a dead universe. Whether we look deep down or high up, we always find only dead things, the smallest elementary particles and the largest stars and galaxies, as well as a great deal of dark energy and dark matter. Is this the black magic of the ego-mind that materializes and petrifies everything around us? Have we simply given it a different name today, calling petrification “materialism” and the black magic of the ego “commerce”? Aren’t all areas of our lives becoming increasingly commercialized? Not only medicine, doctors, hospitals, postal services, trains, buses, telephones, television, the internet, universities, research centres, and vacations, even the holy Christmas celebration is dominated by commerce, and everything must bring financial gain. Thus, you can find advisors everywhere who think primarily of their own wealth and advantage. This is completely normal today, and no one is surprised anymore when leading politicians abuse their office to enrich themselves. And the people follow...

What kind of dark curse is this? How can it be broken? The ego-mind tells us: If God is the creator of everything, and this world is in trouble, then he is to blame and must be killed. Then the ego-mind can take control, become the creator itself, and shape the world according to its own will.

Well, that’s where we are today, and even Nietzsche, as a philosopher, said: “God is dead!” Yes, we live in such a world. But we should recognize that the path of killing never leads to God or wholeness, for killing is a separation, just as the blind blacksmith wanted to cut off Svarog’s head, but then wisdom emerged from the depths and recognized the ego-mind’s bad advice.

✻ Then, in the king’s hall, the black cloud appeared from the magic mirror and spoke in a voice the blind blacksmith recognized from his king’s advisor: “You blind fool! One fatal sword blow, and my curse would have been complete. But now my patience is at an end, and I will bring you such unbearable pain that you must die.” Immediately, the black cloud transformed into a terrible whirl and rushed towards the blind blacksmith. The king cried: “Stab!” And the blacksmith plunged the sword, which could break any spell, deep into the heart of the black cloud, which collapsed with a loud howl and tried to flee as a small black mouse. Of course, the black cat, who was peeping out of the blacksmith’s backpack, saw this. It was now very hungry, for it had no taste for the sweet Buchteln. With one leap, it jumped out, grabbed the fleeing mouse, and devoured it whole.

✎ What does one do with this black cloud of the ego-mind that obscures holistic reason or deity? Here, the Sword of Wisdom helps again. At King Svarog’s request, it penetrates deep into the truth, into the depths of reason, but does not kill the ego-mind, but rather returns it to where it belongs: into the body of the witch’s animal being. There, it has its natural place and, under divine rule, ensures the body’s functions. Yes, this is how the conceptual mind should subordinate itself to holistic reason, and the tale of the cat and the mouse provides a good symbol for this. Then creation lives, and with all creation, God also lives.

Thus, we can briefly identify the following symbolic roles in the inner world:
Goblin: natural desire, hunger of unfulfillment
River: life story, driven through space and time
King Svarog: divine reason, god of light
Golden crown: white magic of the spirit
Black cloud: black magic of matter
Witch: limitation of nature to the body
Mind: limitation of the spirit to the ego
Cat: animal body
Mouse: ego

Thus, the black cloud of the ego-mind ultimately proves to be only an illusory shadow of our true nature of pure light or consciousness:

✻ Suddenly, miraculously, the hall became very lucid; the bright sun broke through the dark clouds and illuminated the royal throne. The entire kingdom became bright and cheerful again, the dark curse was broken, and a happy smile appeared on the young blacksmith’s face. For his eyes opened, and he beheld a wonderful world the likes of which he had never seen before. Before his eyes, the young princess came back to life, and all the other petrified figures also returned to life; even the goblin awoke at the foot of the mountain.

King Svarog took the hands of the blacksmith and the princess, led them to his throne, and placed the blacksmith on his right side and the princess on his left. Then he bestowed the miraculous crown upon the blacksmith and said: “This crown is only an outward symbol of the inner power in my kingdom. Now this power awakens alive within me, and together we will grant all wishes and cure all illness. You two have redeemed me, and my first official act shall be to shorten your long journey back to the outer world a little, so that you can keep your promise to your father and mother.”

✎ Thus, the curse of black magic is broken, the white magic of light regains its power, and with it, the spiritual eyes of the human spirit are opened. And this spirit of light, or pure consciousness, brings back to life everything that the dark ego-mind has killed and petrified in a material world. This can also be seen beautifully in the image above, how the inner light awakens and breaks through the petrified matter to become alive again. The Bible says: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no use. (John 6:63)” And in the sense of the harmony of spirit and nature, perhaps we should better say: “It is the Spirit who gives life; otherwise, the flesh is of no use.” Thus, the human spirit rediscovers the living soul of nature, and both find their place on the throne of the Godhead, where they are reunited with holistic reason. Wonderful! And with this, the external world comes back into harmony with the internal world, the earthly blacksmith with the heavenly blacksmith, so that now the external eyes of the earthly blacksmith also open:

✻ Amid the cheers of the entire court, the two said their goodbyes, and at the same moment they found themselves just before the mountain’s exit. There they met the goblin once more, whom the young blacksmith and king could now see in his colourful natural guise. He thanked him especially for the good advice about the cat, to which the goblin confessed:

The cat should just leave there,
Because it wasn’t a good place for her.
She was always chasing me,
When the old woman was out of her gingerbread house,
And I was gnawing on the hut like a mouse.

“I thank you nonetheless,” said the blacksmith with a smile:

Because your constantly greedy cake tooth
Has done my search a lot of good.
And now, at last, the knowledge is mine,
That good advice must always rhyme.

So, they returned from the interior of the mountain to the Christmas winter world, where the princess’s white horse was waiting, on which they rode together to the village and arrived just in time for Christmas.

✎ Anyone who returns from the inner world on this path will recognize that spirit and soul always ride together on the horse of the animal body, and that it is a white horse, not a dark and sinful body. Dark sin comes from the black cloud of the ego-mind and essentially means nothing other than separation from God or the Whole, from which all other separations arise: between spirit and nature, inside and outside, mine and yours, life and death, as well as all other opposites that the mind imagines with conceptual thinking, so that it also believes it possesses its own body separate from God or the Whole. When this dark magic disappears through the sword of wisdom, then white magic regains its power, and “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5)”, even in the outer world:

✻ The houses were beautifully decorated, candles glowed in the windows, and in the village square stood a Christmas tree with lots of fruit, gifts, and lights. The mother came out of the house full of joy, hugged her son, and greeted the princess, and her joy grew even greater when she noticed that her son could see. A horse-drawn sleigh with a royal entourage drove up the village street. It was the king himself, who had been miraculously healed and was now searching for his daughter, joyfully finding her again and embracing her. The whole village gathered, and everyone was happy when the blacksmith and the princess also embraced and kissed each other. And the old king became even happier when he heard the young king’s story and saw the legendary crown of King Svarog, so that he could not have found a better successor. The mother hurried into the house full of joy and fetched a large bowl of freshly baked Buchteln, which the old king especially enjoyed. And the young king’s Christmas wish was: “I wish that all people’s Christmas wishes come true!” At the climax of the Christmas festival, the wedding was celebrated, the inner light was reborn, and the whole kingdom shone brightly and cheerfully again, so that everyone lived together in health, happiness, and peace.

✎ A beautiful dream? What does it mean to grant all wishes and cure all illnesses? Wouldn’t that create a world of chaos if every wish came true? The farmer wishes for rain, the hiker for clouds, and the vacationer for sunshine. One wishes for this, and another for that. And what is illness? Is no one allowed to die anymore? Does no one have to take care of his body anymore? That’s probably not what it means, for when holistic reason prevails, then spirit and nature are harmoniously united and no longer struggle with one another. The soul of nature ensures order in diversity, and the spirit ensures wholeness in unity. What is missing then? Then the ego-mind, with its insatiable desire, always lacking something, and its selfish desires for personal enrichment, no longer reigns supreme. Can we even imagine living with true reason and without an illusory ego? Isn’t reason the greatest wealth of humanity, enabling us to rise above the animal kingdom? Is the growing egoism we cultivate today, with its materialism and commerce, perhaps a dream that is increasingly becoming a nightmare? May we find the way to King Svarog again!

With that, we wish everyone a happy and peaceful Christmas and a good start to the New Year! May we rediscover the pure light within we truly are, and may it be reborn on the outside. May we rediscover the living soul of nature and love it at least as much as its outward forms. Then we will see this world, through which we have so far wandered like those born blind, with completely different eyes. May we, too, celebrate the marriage between spirit and nature, the climax of Christmas, and may it be a true wedding, in keeping with the times in the here and now! Thus, we are all the blacksmith - or as the English say - the architects of our own happiness. Amen - OM - Hallelujah

The Hare and the Hedgehog

✎ Saint Augustine says: The Holy Scripture initially smiles at young children and attracts the child to himself; but in the end, when one seeks to fathom the Scripture, it mocks wise men; and no one is so simple-minded that they cannot find therein what suits them; and, in turn, no one is so wise that, when they seek to fathom it, they cannot find it ever more deeply and more deeply. Everything we can hear here (on earth) and everything that can be told to us has a further, hidden meaning within it. For everything we understand here is so unlike what it is in itself and what it is in God, as if it did not exist at all. (Meister Eckhart, Sermon 24)

We can say something similar about many old fairy tales, as we have experienced ourselves, for with them one can penetrate to the deepest depths. For example: Who doesn’t know the old children’s story about “The Hare and the Hedgehog,” about how the clever hedgehog outwits the dumb hare? But perhaps this fairy tale has much more to say to us, and even to our grown-up children? And it starts off profoundly:

✻ This story, my dear young folks, seems to be a lie, but it really is true, for my grandfather, from whom I have it, used always, when relating it, to say complacently, “It must be true, my son, or else no one could tell it to you.”

✎ Of course, we know that this fairy tale is a symbolic story, and that symbols are only true in terms of their meaning. Separated from their meaning, they can certainly be described as lies. Does this perhaps apply to everything we see and believe in this world, or take as true? And what then is the truth, the pure source from which all stories with their symbols come, right down to our own life story? Who tells it? Who hears it?

✻ The story is as follows. One Sunday morning about harvest time, just as the buckwheat was in bloom, the sun was shining brightly in heaven, the east wind was blowing warmly over the stubble-fields, the larks were singing in the air, the bees buzzing among the buckwheat, the people were all going in their Sunday clothes to church, and all creatures were happy, and the hedgehog was happy too. The hedgehog, however, was standing by his door with his arms akimbo, enjoying the morning breezes, and slowly trilling a little song to himself, which was neither better nor worse than the songs which hedgehogs are in the habit of singing on a blessed Sunday morning. Whilst he was thus singing half aloud to himself, it suddenly occurred to him that, while his wife was washing and dressing the children, he might very well take a walk into the field, and see how his turnips were going on. The turnips were, in fact, close beside his house, and he and his family were accustomed to eat them, for which reason he looked upon them as his own.

✎ Yes, we long for such a beautiful, sunny, and perfect world. A Sunday on which all arduous work rests, and we show our best side and turn our minds to the holy church, where a truth is spoken of that transcends our tedious everyday life. What kind of spirit is it within us that steps out of the door of his physical house, finds everything wonderful and perfect, and calls everything he uses to live his own? Here we can once again find spirit and nature as father and mother: the active spirit, which provides nourishment, and the giving-birth nature, which clothes her children and provides for purification. If both are harmoniously united, it will surely be a beautiful life, for behind the outward roles, they are both a single consciousness. They appear different only through the roles and clothing with which the consciousness identifies. That they are otherwise indistinguishable will be encountered later in the fairy tale. And we mean this “con-science” here in the broadest sense, as a moving and active knowledge, as information in being. In this respect, it is practically the “information” that becomes a “formation”. And so, it propels the active spirit into the world through the power of thought.

✻ No sooner said than done. The hedgehog shut the house-door behind him, and took the path to the field. He had not gone very far from home, and was just turning round the sloe-bush which stands there outside the field, to go up into the turnip-field, when he observed the hare who had gone out on business of the same kind, namely, to visit his cabbages. When the hedgehog caught sight of the hare, he bade him a friendly good morning. But the hare, who was in his own way a distinguished gentleman, and frightfully haughty, did not return the hedgehog’s greeting, but said to him, assuming at the same time a very contemptuous manner,

✎ We now encounter consciousness on various levels. First, as the hedgehog, which feeds on the root in the form of golden-yellow turnips and lives happily in a communal, harmonious world. And then, as the proud and arrogant hare, which lives on the outer leaves of cabbages and considers itself something higher, superior, and better. This symbolic representation reminds us first of the reason of a holistically perceiving consciousness and then of the intellect of an arrogant ego-consciousness that sees separation and opposites everywhere in the world, such as mine and yours, good and bad, happiness and suffering, true and false, or life and death. Thus, one lives in a perfect world of peace, and the other in a discontented world of attack and competition.

✻ “How do you happen to be running about here in the field so early in the morning?” “I am taking a walk.” said the hedgehog. “A walk!” said the hare, with a smile. “Yes, it seems to me that you can’t use your legs for anything better.” This answer greatly annoyed the hedgehog. He can bear anything but an attack on his legs, precisely because they are crooked by nature.

✎ One can ponder on the symbolic forms of the hedgehog and the hare for a long time. Just as the hedgehog curls up and points its spines outward when one tries to grasp it, so too does holistic reason close itself off when the intellectual mind wants to understand or grasp it, becoming a dense forest of our external ideas, which then obscures our view as painful contradictions all around us. Reason, too, needs no fast legs, for as a holistic view, it doesn’t have to constantly run from one tree or viewpoint to the next, as the intellectual mind does in the game of opposing views, because it “can’t see the forest for the trees,” that is, the whole for all the individual parts. Accordingly, the hare stands for the typical inner fear* that our outwardly proud ego has in this game of hide-and-seek of the mind. This is an essential and endless fear of constantly losing or not winning something, precisely because it is a separating self-consciousness. Thus, it lives in a discontented world of attack, chasing with swift legs either some kind of gain to enrich itself, or having to flee to save itself and its perceived property. Who doesn’t know this chasing in the world? (* In German is the scaredy- cat an “Angsthase” - a scaredy- hare.)

✻ So now the hedgehog said to the hare, “You seem to imagine that you can do more with your legs than I with mine.” “That is just what I do think,” said the hare. “That can be put to the test,” said the hedgehog. “I wager that if we run a race, I will outstrip you.” “That is ridiculous! You with your short legs!” said the hare, “But for my part I am willing, if you have such a monstrous fancy for it. What shall we wager?” “A golden louis-d’or and a bottle of brandy,” said the hedgehog. “Done,” said the hare. “Shake hands on it, and then we may as well come off at once.”

✎ And yet reason is certain that it is faster and more agile than the intellectual mind, which considers holistic reason boring and sluggish. This is also a typical intellectual vision of heaven, where angels sit on clouds, play harps, and sing “Hallelujah” to the deity, while here on earth, an interesting, eventful, and adventurous life beckons. And yet heaven is much larger and wider than earth, and beings can move much faster and more easily in heaven than on and in earth. Light, too, is faster than any matter, and heaven is considered the epitome of pure light. And this light is supposed to be “boring”? Matter is boring and perhaps even the most boring and sluggish thing in the entire universe. But the ego-mind refuses to believe it, because it doesn’t want to lose its “independence” in the holistic light.

So, a test of strength ensues between the two, and the prize is to be a gold coin and a bottle of brandy. As symbols, we can think of the gold of truth, which thus gains validity in the world, just as a coin has validity for our intellect. The bottle of brandy would be more of a gain for the intellect if it were to win this contest, increasing its intoxication of illusion. But this power of illusion also has its significance for reason, especially in creation, in allowing worldly diversity to emerge from the holistic light. But unlike the intellect, reason is not dominated by this power of illusion, but rules over it, as God rules over the world. Thus, brandy serves as an addiction for some and medicine for others.

✻ “Nay,” said the hedgehog, “there is no such great hurry! I am still fasting, I will go home first, and have a little breakfast. In an hour I will be back again at this place.”

✎ Here, the impatience of our intellect is already evident, and how reason demands patience from us. And what does holistic reason nourish itself upon during this time, when the wilful intellect waits impatiently? Of course, from the pure source of divine or holistic intuition. Thus, as symbolically described above, a golden-yellow “turnip” as the root with the gold of truth, in contrast to the “cabbage” with its multifaceted layers of tangled leaves of our intellectual thoughts.

If it is possible for him to pause for an hour or less from his inner self-will and self-speech, then the divine will will speak to him. Through this speaking, his will internalizes the will of God, which now speaks to the figurative, natural, essential, and external intellectual life, breaking down and illuminating the earthly formation of the intellectual will, so that at the same time the supersensible divine life and will flourish in the intellectual will and become holistically internalized. (Jacob Boehme, The Most Precious Gate of Divine Contemplation 2.17)

✻ Hereupon the hedgehog departed, for the hare was quite satisfied with this. On his way the hedgehog thought to himself, “The hare relies on his long legs, but I will contrive to get the better of him. He may be a great man, but he is a very silly fellow, and he shall pay for what he has said.” So, when the hedgehog reached home, he said to his wife, “Wife, dress thyself quickly, thou must go out to the field with me.” “What is going on, then?” said his wife. “I have made a wager with the hare, for a gold louis-d’or and a bottle of brandy. I am to run a race with him, and thou must be present.” “Good heavens, husband,” the wife now cried, “art thou not right in thy mind, hast thou completely lost thy wits? What can make thee want to run a race with the hare?” “Hold thy tongue, woman,” said the hedgehog, “that is my affair. Don’t begin to discuss things which are matters for men. Be off, dress thyself, and come with me.” What could the hedgehog’s wife do? She was forced to obey him, whether she liked it or not.

✎ We’ve certainly all experienced such conversations within ourselves. Reason knows that it is superior to intellect. But when it comes to practical implementation, Mother Nature usually reminds us not to lose our intellect, which nourishes and sustains the body. We don’t have to lose our intellect in this world either; it only becomes problematic when intellect loses reason. Thus, this struggle between reason and intellect for superiority or dominance is, first and foremost, a typical “man’s business”, that is, a problem of the spirit. And Mother Nature serves the spirit or consciousness “whether she likes it or not,” for, as already stated, both are essentially one and the same being, which can only be separated mentally by concepts and outwardly appears different to the intellect.

Thus, in the Bible, Christ consciousness, as the holistic origin of everything, says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. (John 8:58)”

✻ So, when they had set out on their way together, the hedgehog said to his wife, “Now pay attention to what I am going to say. Look you, I will make the long field our race-course. The hare shall run in one furrow, and I in another, and we will begin to run from the top. Now all that thou hast to do is to place thyself here below in the furrow, and when the hare arrives at the end of the furrow on the other side of thee, thou must cry out to him, ‘I am here already!’”

Then they reached the field, and the hedgehog showed his wife her place, and then walked up the field. When he reached the top, the hare was already there. “Shall we start?” said the hare. “Certainly,” said the hedgehog. “Then both at once.” So saying, each placed himself in his own furrow. The hare counted, “Once, twice, thrice, and away!” and went off like a whirlwind down the field. The hedgehog, however, only ran about three paces, and then he stooped down in the furrow, and stayed quietly where he was. When the hare therefore arrived in full career at the lower end of the field, the hedgehog’s wife met him with the cry, “I am here already!” The hare was shocked and wondered not a little, he thought no other than that it was the hedgehog himself who was calling to him, for the hedgehog’s wife looked just like her husband. The hare, however, thought to himself, “That has not been done fairly,” and cried, “It must be run again, let us have it again.” And once more he went off like the wind in a storm, so that he seemed to fly. But the hedgehog’s wife stayed quietly in her place. So, when the hare reached the top of the field, the hedgehog himself cried out to him, “I am here already.”

✎ This brings us to the core of this fairy tale. Reason knows, no matter where the intellect runs and wants to grasp something, that spirit and nature are already there, as a pure consciousness that is naturally present everywhere. Without consciousness, the intellect could not know anything and could not reach any goal. And yet, the intellectual mind cannot understand when it has lost holistic reason. So, it keeps trying in every direction, trying to be faster than the holistic consciousness that is already present everywhere simultaneously. How ridiculous! And yet, it is the usual state of our mind, and we are annoyed by it.

✻ The hare, however, quite beside himself with anger, cried, “It must be run again, we must have it again.” “All right,” answered the hedgehog, “for my part we’ll run as often as you choose.” So, the hare ran seventy-three times more, and the hedgehog always held out against him, and every time the hare reached either the top or the bottom, either the hedgehog or his wife said, “I am here already.” At the seventy-fourth time, however, the hare could no longer reach the end. In the middle of the field, he fell to the ground, the blood streamed out of his mouth, and he lay dead on the spot.

✎ Who hasn’t experienced this feeling when thoughts endlessly run back and forth in the same furrow, unable to reach their goal?! And this fairy tale shows us an excellent method for this, one also familiar from yoga meditation. Whenever a thought propels us somewhere, we tell ourselves: “I’m already here!” This is the realization of pure consciousness, which is effortlessly always there, wherever the mind is going and whatever goal it wants to achieve. With this exercise, you can observe how thoughts practically run themselves to death and eventually have to come to rest if you don’t affirm their goal and allow them to win. Yes, this is often a very long and painful process. But the victory of reason is actually certain, because no thought will ever be faster than consciousness itself. On this path, many have already conquered the egoistic mind and realized incomparably high levels of consciousness, up to pure awareness, which the intellect can never comprehend, as Nisargadatta Maharaj, for example, describes in his book “I Am,” which basically means nothing other than “I am already here!”

✻ But the hedgehog took the louis-d’or which he had won and the bottle of brandy, called his wife out of the furrow, and both went home together in great delight, and if they are not dead, they are living there still.

✎ Happy ending! Like the hedgehog with his wife, we too, as a unity of spirit and nature, could come “home” with the gain of the golden truth and mastery over illusion, to our true homeland, where pure consciousness lives eternally “in great delight” and blissfully. Unless it drinks again from the firewater or “brandy” of passion and imagines itself living in a mortal body with a mind that has lost its sense of reason.

✻ This is how it happened that the hedgehog made the hare run races with him on the Buxtehuder* heath till he died, and since that time no hare has ever had any fancy for running races with a Buxtehuder hedgehog.

The moral of this story, however, is, firstly, that no one, however great he may be, should permit himself to jest at any one beneath him, even if he be only a hedgehog. And, secondly, it teaches, that when a man marries, he should take a wife in his own position, who looks just as he himself looks. So, whosoever is a hedgehog let him see to it that his wife is a hedgehog also, and so forth. (* Buxtehude is a village near Hamburg.)

✎ From this perspective, one can now consider to what extent the hedgehog has deceived the hare, or whether the intellect is merely deceiving itself when, with arrogant pride, it believes itself to be the greatest in this world. Therefore, ultimately, it is always good for consciousness to unite with itself in the famous “self-knowledge,” rather than bonding with any external illusions, no matter how desirable they may seem. And with that, we now know another wonderful fairy tale that “at first attracts little children and later mocks wise men.” Thank you, thank you, OM!

A similarly symbolic story about a race between reason and intellect can also be found in ancient Indian traditions. One version, for example, is found in Shiva Purana 6.19: Shiva and Parvati, who can be considered the Supreme Spirit and Supreme Nature, had two sons. One was Ganesha, considered the remover of worldly obstacles and leader of the host of spirits, and thus also the force of wisdom. The other was Kartikeya, who serves as the commander of the gods in battle against the demons. When it was time for them to marry, each wanted to be first, so the parents spoke:
“Dear sons, we have arranged your marriage to increase your happiness. Listen to us, for we speak the truth. You are both good sons, and we love you equally. In our eyes, there is no difference between you. However, there is one condition that is beneficial and meaningful. The one of you who is the first to go round the entire world will marry first.”

The six-headed Kartikeya immediately charged ahead on his proud peacock, which he used as his mount. But Ganesha, with the large elephant head and whose mount was only a small, inconspicuous mouse, first began to consider calmly. Then he had his two parents, Shiva and Parvati, sit together on a throne and went round them seven times with great reverence. In doing so, he went round his holistic source, the unity of spirit and nature as pure consciousness or awareness, in which all worlds and forms appear, while his brother tried to conquer the external world, reach its outer limits, and go round the multiplicity of forms. In this way, Ganesha won the contest and was married to Siddhi and Buddhi, the supernatural faculties and holistic reason, while his brother, as a conceptual mind, was still on the move. And when he returned from his trip some time later, he felt betrayed by his parents, withdrew in anger, and now refused to marry at all. That is, he could not find the eternal unity of spirit and nature in the direction in which he sought the whole world. OM

Time and Light

“I’m already here!” What does it mean to live in the eternal present of the now, and not in transient time? What is time? After concluding our reflection on “sound and form” in the penultimate fairy tale about “the old witch,” we would now like to reflect on “time and light” and first explore the question of how sound and time are connected. We know that every clock uses some kind of oscillation as the basis for measuring time. And sound is fundamentally just oscillation, that is, the periodic change of some state. Similarly, we also know visible light as electromagnetic oscillations with different wavelengths or frequencies, which then appear in different colours. And that all oscillations, changes, and movements are not absolute, but occur relatively, is something modern science has known since Albert Einstein and his theory of relativity at the latest. Therefore, time is also something relative.

But let’s first look at historical events. Even ancient philosophers intensively studied this topic, and so we read on Wikipedia:
Heraclitus’s river images, symbolized by the constant riverbed in which everything flows (panta rhei), serve as a metaphor for time. Unchanging periodic transitions from day to night, thus the constancy of the river’s course, and the dynamics of its flow represent the unity of opposites. For Plato, space and time have no essence, but are merely moving images of what actually exists (theory of ideas). For Aristotle, the concept of time is inextricably linked to change; time is the measure of all movement and can only be measured by change. It can be divided into an infinite number of time intervals (continuum). Augustine was the first to distinguish between physically exact (measurable) and subjective, experiential time. Time and space only came into being through God’s creation, for whom everything is a present. Augustine summarizes the mystery of time in the following statement: “So what is ‘time’? If no one asks me, I know. If I try to explain it to someone who asks, I don’t know.”

Meister Eckhart also said something similar in his sermons around 1300:
“The days that have passed six or seven days ago, and the days that were six thousand years ago, are as close to today as the day that was yesterday. Why? Because time is in a present Now. (Sermon 11)

I have often said that God creates this entire world completely and entirely in this Now. Everything that God ever created six thousand or more years ago, when He made the world, God now creates altogether. God is in all things; but insofar as God is divine and insofar as God is reasonable, God is nowhere more truly than in the soul and in the angels—if you will: in the innermost of the soul and in the highest of the soul. And when I say “the innermost,” I mean the highest; and when I say “the highest,” I mean the innermost of the soul. In the innermost and in the highest of the soul: I mean both of them (there) as one. There, where time has never penetrated, where no image has ever shone: in the innermost and in the highest of the soul, God creates the entire world. Everything that God created six thousand years ago, and everything that God will create a thousand years from now, if the world still exists that long, God creates in the innermost and highest of the soul. Everything that is past and everything that is present, everything that is to come, God creates in the innermost of the soul. (Sermon 43)

There is a supreme part of the soul that stands above time and knows nothing of time or the body. Everything that ever happened a thousand years ago—the day that was a thousand years ago—is no more distant in eternity than the moment in which I stand now, or (even) the day that will come after a thousand years, or as far as you can count, is no more distant in eternity than this moment in which I stand now… Oh, how noble is that power that stands above time and has no place! For by standing above time, it contains all time within itself and is all time. However little one possesses of what is above time, he would still quickly become rich; for what lies beyond the sea is no more distant from that power than what is now present.” (Sermon 49)

Wow! The idea that our world is approximately 6,000 years old comes primarily from two biblical proverbs:
“For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, and as a watch in the night. (Psalm 90:4)”
“But understand this one thing, beloved, that with the Lord a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (2 Peter 3:8)”

Around 1500 Martin Luther also calculated the beginning of creation to be 3,970 years before the birth of Christ. Accordingly, the 6,000 years of the six days of creation would have been completed in the year 2030, followed by the day of rest as the millennial Sabbath.

The Christian seer Jacob Boehme also referred to this calculation around 1600, but he was aware that time is not absolute, but a relative perception in our light of consciousness, when he wrote:
“Thus, what happened a thousand years ago is as close and easy to recognize in the light as what is happening today. For before God, a thousand years are hardly different than a minute or an instant is to us. Therefore, everything is close and obvious to his spirit, both what has happened and what is to come.” (8th Epistle to Paul Kaym, August 14, 1620)

He also used to write in the family book of good friends:
“He who sees time as eternity and eternity as time is free from all strife.”

Similarly, Francesco Petrarch wrote around 1350 in a book translated into German around 1500 under the title “On the Cure of Both Happiness,” describing it as a profound conversation, first between reason and happiness, and then between reason and unhappiness, for which many deeply symbolic woodcuts were also created:
“Do you use the expression ‘losing time’ in this ordinary sense? If that were so, then I would have to stop trying to cure an incurable disease and admit that you have not only lost your time, but that you have completely lost yourself. But if that is truly so, then I say, do not give up, but give your time back to God, which I greatly hope for and which cannot happen without true devotion. Then know that this will be a great and inestimable gain, because for a little time you can gain eternity. What merchant has ever traded so profitably?” (On the Cure of Unhappiness, 2.15)

Similarly, the sages in ancient India reflected on the phenomenon of time and discovered a pattern of cyclical “time waves” on different levels of consciousness, which can be found in almost all Puranas, such as the Vishnu Purana Chapter 1.3:

The highest level (left in the image) is the creator god Brahma, who lives for 100 years and is then reborn by Vishnu, the god of preservation. One day of his lifetime represents an entire creation, when everything exists and moves, and his night is a corresponding time of dissolution, when everything sleeps and rests. Such a day of creation, also called a Kalpa, consists of 14 Manwantaras (Manu Ages), each ruled by a Manu as the patriarch, along with a number of gods and sages. Each Manwantara, in turn, consists of approximately 71 cycles of four Yugas, or ages, which correspond to our sense of light and dark ages in human history, according to which we currently live in a dark Kali Age. This view of the ruling gods and sages is then extrapolated to our human years. These are, of course, all relative times based on intuitive knowledge. But if you calculate with that, you get a current age of the current day of creation of about 2.16 billion human years, which fits quite well with modern calculations that assume about 13.7 billion years since the Big Bang or 4.5 billion years for the age of the Earth.

At least it’s already clear here that the perception of time depends on the level of consciousness and becomes increasingly sluggish and, so to speak, “boring” the further one’s consciousness falls into material corporeality and tries to cling to it. Conversely, one becomes increasingly broader, freer, and more mobile the more agile one’s consciousness becomes. Such factors for mobility are discussed, for example, in the Indian Vayu Purana, Chapter 1.57 regarding the earthly and heavenly worlds:
- Humans x 1 => Bhurloka / Earth
- Ancestors x 30 => Bhuvarloka / Airspace
- Gods x 360 => Swarloka / Heaven
- Seven Saints x 3,030 => Maharloka / Realm of the Saints
- Krauncha x 9,090 => Janaloka / Realm of the Sons of Brahma
- Manu x 4,320,000 => Tapaloka / Realm of the Yogis
- Brahma x 3,311,400,000,000 => Brahmaloka / Realm of the Creator God

A symbolic story is also told about how a human king went with his daughter to the realm of the creator god Brahma to seek a suitable husband for her. However, the Great Father of the World was busy enjoying the music of the celestial musicians. And when he was finished, he told the king that 27 Mahayugas, or over 116 million human years, had passed on Earth, while he had only waited about 20 minutes in Brahma’s realm. No one spoke anymore of all the husbands the king had in mind, nor of their sons, grandchildren, and descendants. (e.g., Bhagavatam Purana, Chapter 9.3)

Accordingly, time was also viewed as a power of illusion, and in the same Purana, the question “What is time?” is answered as follows:
Time is limitless and all-encompassing, produced by the Supreme Spirit in its cosmic play of cause and effect as the soul’s instrument for the development of natural qualities. Like all other creatures of Brahma, it arises from the formless (the ocean of causes) through the illusory power of Vishnu (the Universal Intelligence). This entire cosmic formation arises as it was before and will continue to arise in the future. (Bhagavatam Purana, Chapter 3.10)

We also find similar views in more recent times in the West. Johann Gottfried Herder wrote around 1800:
“Actually, every changeable thing has the measure of its time within itself; this would exist even if nothing else were present; no two things in the world have the same measure of time... Thus, in the universe, there are innumerably many times at a time; the time that we conceive of as the measure of all is merely a relative measure of our thoughts... Time is, of course, an experiential concept, very slowly deducted from the course of events, from the sequence of changes around, within, and on us, i.e., perceived by the intellect... Time is not a necessary concept underlying all perceptions... True perception (intuition) forgets time. If everything changeable disappears, then the measure of change, time, also disappears...” (Metacritique p. 206)

And so it goes in his famous poem:

A dream, a dream is our life
Here on earth;
Like shadows we float on the waves
And we fade
And measure our lazy step
By space and time
And are, we know not, in the midst
Of eternity.
(Johann Gottfried Herder)

As an example of a scientist still recognized today in the Western world, we would like to cite Albert Einstein (1879-1955), who is said to have said:
For us physicists, the distinction between past, present, and future is nothing but an illusion, however persistently it exists. Subjective time, with its insistence on the now, has no objective meaning.

As a child, he dreamed of riding on light and wondered what the world would look like then. Later, he realized that the world in this form would no longer exist at all. For light itself is infinitely fast and thus beyond space and time, in a pure present. All of space would become a point, and there would be neither past nor future, no up and no down. This is the world of pure light, and one could imagine pure consciousness in a similar way. A limited speed of light in time and space only appears through observation by an observer or “beholder” who sees himself as separate from the light and wants to grasp for or hold on to the light.

This creates the interplay of time and space. If a spaceship were to orbit the Earth very quickly through space, Einstein also discovered that, as seen from Earth, the clocks in the spaceship would run slower. And conversely, as seen from the spaceship, the clocks on Earth would run faster. With regard to the above-mentioned traditions, one could imagine God or Brahma flying through space in a spaceship at almost the speed of light. Then it would also be “scientifically” possible for one day of God to be like a thousand years on Earth, or for one day of Brahma to be like 4 billion human years. This could even be calculated: then the Christian creator God would have to fly at over 99.999999999% of the maximum speed of light, and Brahma a barely measurable fraction faster. This means that with a further acceleration of less than 0.000000001%, or less than 0.01 km/h, the thousand years could become many billions of years. Wow!

But now things get really interesting: What happens when something wants to become light? Einstein also found a formula for this, namely the famous E=mc². The faster something wants to move, the heavier and more inert it becomes, because energy is converted into mass. And so, the maximum speed of light can never be reached. With this, Einstein also proved an ancient wisdom: You cannot become light, you can only be. This also applies to pure and eternal consciousness, and Paul also confirms this: “God, who alone has immortality, dwells in a light that no one can approach. (1 Tim. 6:16)” Therefore, Christ says: “I am the light of the world. (John 8:12)” For as soon as an observer tries to become the light, to grasp it and hold it, he falls into space and time, and the more he holds on to it, the more solid, or material, and “boring” it becomes.

This is where the old devil comes into play, also called “Lucifer,” which means “bringer of light,” because he promises to give us light if we eat from the tree of opposites. Since then, we feel dark inside and grasp for the outer light in a world of opposites in order to “incorporate” it into ourselves. But this path of grasping probably leads more into a “black hole” with the greatest mass in the smallest space than into the heavenly expanse of pure light. This also corresponds to our everyday experience: the more we invest energy in external light, the darker it becomes within us, which is clearly evident in the increasing depression of people in a world so outwardly rich. For in doing so, we transform the energy not into the bright light of an open and freely moving consciousness, but into dark and dull matter that we think we can hold onto.

What then would be the path to pure light into eternity? Well, if the path of holding on leads into a black hole, then the path of release surely leads to the boundless light. When we realize that we already are the light and don’t need to become it, then we find it within ourselves in a boundless and perfect way. Then we don’t have to hold on to it, but can give it without limits and thus spread boundlessly with the light. And that is probably what is meant when it says, “You shall not hide your light under a bushel.” So, not locking it up in a narrow body and holding it back, but radiating it out and releasing it, which is also the great virtue of pure forgiveness. Then we can be the pure light and are present everywhere.

And that is why the hedgehog, as a unity of father and mother, or spirit and nature, can claim, “I am already here!”, while the hare, with all its energy and movement, never reaches where the hedgehog simply is.

The Bible says at the beginning: “Let there be light! And there was light. (Genesis 1:3)” Here, one could say: After the spiritual creation of Father Heaven and Mother Earth, or rather, spirit and nature, light was also to become tangible or material, and thus the first day, and thus time and space, came into being for the matter of creation.

So, what is matter? With that, let’s take a brief excursion from the theory of relativity on a large scale to quantum theory on a small scale. For here, too, one can find the big picture, as Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976), considered the father of quantum physics, said:
“The first sip from the cup of natural science makes one an atheist, but at the bottom of the cup, God awaits!”

Regarding the question of matter, the physicist Hans-Peter Duerr (1929-2014), a loyal student and friend of Werner Heisenberg, explains that matter is essentially nothing other than “frozen light” or “congealed and rigid spirit,” in other words, a “bore that can’t think of anything else.” Which brings us back to time, which is thus becoming increasingly viscous and boring.

Matter means boredom.
(in German: Langeweile - “matter means a long while”)

The American quantum physicist John Wheeler (1911-2008) also said:
“Time is nature’s instrument that prevents everything from happening simultaneously.”

What kind of world would it be if everything happened simultaneously? Everything that comes into being would also simultaneously pass away and immediately re-emerge. There would be no reason to want to hold on to anything, because nothing can be lost. And what reason would there be to want to become anything in time, or to get anywhere in space?

For pure light, everything is eternal presence in the here and now.

Quantum physics describes such simultaneity and eternal presence as the “entanglement” of particles. But there was also a much more important discovery here: the so-called wave-particle duality, which means that photons are simultaneously light waves, and light waves are also photons. And these two properties are always present; only the observer decides whether the light appears like a particle or a wave in his “measurement.” And this applies not only to photons, but to all particles.

Accordingly, we could now also consider the spaceship of God or Brahma, assumed above, as a wave expanding spherically at the speed of light. This quickly brings us to our universe, which, as seen from Earth, has been expanding like light since the “Big Bang,” in which space and time, along with spirit and matter, appear. From this perspective, the “divine spaceship” would be our entire universe, or, as they say in religions, the Creator God himself, who in turn has a completely different view of the universe with space and time, for to him it is only a small space for a short time. Thus, in Christian symbolism, one speaks of seven days of creation in a paradisiacal garden, and in Hinduism, it is one day of creation, and Brahma sits in a pure lotus blossom.

In summary: The crucial point in both relativity theory and quantum theory is the observer, who sees himself as separate from what he observes. But why have we separated ourselves from the Creator God and become so inert and boring, so that we practically stand still on this Earth and grow physically and spiritually at a “snail’s pace”? Why are we over 1 billion km/h slower than the light of the Creator God? What practically brings our light of consciousness to a standstill? Here we should reflect on the word “understanding,” with which we under-stand and put all sorts of concepts in our way, so that our freely moving consciousness comes to a standstill and adopts certain standpoints to cling to. Why do we often feel so dark and unfulfilled inside? Does the intellect “freeze” the light of consciousness, so that our spirit “congeals and solidifies,” as Hans-Peter Duerr said? Is this how our physical matter comes into being? Is it because we prefer to speak of particles rather than waves, because particles seem more “seizable” to us? Is it because of our “grasping” with our body and mind that we are bound in space and time and thus cannot reach either pure light or eternity?

Therefore, we do not want to claim here that we have truly “understood and mathematically grasped” the theory of relativity or quantum physics. May our consciousness remain flexible and not wall itself into a fortress of conceptual ideas. May we be so amazed by the wonders of nature that all words fail us. May we never say, “That’s not possible! That can’t be!” No matter how great our contemporary science has become, therein lies our problem.

“What is impossible with men is possible with God. (Luke 18:27)”

Finally, we’d like to share some thoughts on this topic from a few people who have had so-called “near-death experiences”:
“Have you experienced timelessness?” - “Yes, there was no sense of time. Time didn’t play any role, neither did space, because everything appeared simultaneously. The incredible thing was that as soon as you thought of a question, or as soon as you considered a thought or an impulse, all the answers popped up in front of you. It depended on what you focussed on... In that moment, all the answers would emerge. It was like a hologram that opens up to you. And you recognized all the connections in a single moment.” (Video: Nine Days of Eternity, from 21:03)

“As I finally raced through that tunnel at breath taking speed, I had lost all sense of space and time. Had I been traveling for minutes, days, or years? Had I travelled a manageable distance or light-years? I couldn’t determine. I lacked any reference point. And it made no difference... I realized I was in a state of heightened awareness, in a dimension where there was neither space nor time. I know this sounds crazy, but somehow space and time had ceased to exist. I was going much too fast. It was as if I had overtaken space and time themselves... They no longer existed at all. These categories were not available to me.” (Lucy with c, Markolf H. Niemz, p. 67)

This book by Markolf Niemz is also very interesting overall, and much of what we have only briefly touched on here regarding relativity theory and quantum physics is described there in more detail and relatively understandably, with a scientific background. Right at the beginning, the thesis is put forward:
“With physical death, our soul (our spiritual self, our consciousness) is accelerated to the speed of light and thereby enters a light-like state.”

This is and remains our greatest wish, as many near-death experiences also report, and perhaps one day we will also succeed in returning from becoming light to being light. For:

Every moment of time waits for us to awaken from the dream of transience into the light of eternity.

And finally, we would like to hear from someone who was already given the realization of this “eternal presence of the now” during his earthly life:
“Time and mind are inseparable. To be identified with your mind is to be trapped in time...
Time is not precious at all, for it is an illusion. What seems so precious to you is not time, but the only point outside of time: the now. Yet that is precious. The more you focus on time, on the past and the future, the more you miss the now, the most precious thing there is...
How do you stop creating time? Deeply recognize that your whole life takes place in the present moment. Place the now at the centre of your life...
You see time as the instrument of your salvation—but in truth, it is the greatest obstacle on the path to salvation. You believe that you cannot get there in this moment because you are not yet perfect enough, not yet good enough. But the truth is that here and now is the only point from which you can get there. You get there when you realize you’re already there...” (Now! The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle, 2000)

Literature

[1884] Grimm's Household Tales. Translated from the German and edited by Margaret Hunt. With an introduction by Andrew Lang, Vol. 1/2, London: George Bell and Sons, 1884

[Aptavani 1] Ambalal Muljibhai Patel, www.dadashri.org/aptavani1.pdf, 2004

[Bible] Luther Bibel, 1912

[Confessions] Otto F. Lachmann: Die Bekenntnisse des heiligen Augustinus, Leipzig 1888

[Eckhart] Meister Eckhart, Deutsche Predigten und Traktate, Diogenes 1979

[Faust 1] Faust Part 1, translated by Bayard Taylor, 1870/71

[Faust 1] Faust Part 1, translated by Bayard Taylor, 1870/71

[Glasperlenspiel] Hermann Hesse, Suhrkamp, Berlin 1951

[Hess.Blätter] Hessische Blätter für Volkskunde, Band 10, W. Schmitz Verlag, 1911

[MHB] Das Mahabharata des Vyasa, 2014, www.mahabharata.pushpak.de

[One and All] Book of selected poems by Goethe, Princeton University Press, 1994

[Paracelsus] de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracelsus, 2018

[The Owl, the Raven and the Dove] G.Ronald Murphy, The Owl, the Raven and the Dove: The Religious Meaning of the Grimms' Magic Fairy Tales, Oxford University Press Inc, USA 2000

Interpretation and Pictures by Undine & Jens, www.pushpak.de, 2018

Inhaltsverzeichnis

The spiritual Message of German Fairy Tales
Introduction
Jorinda and Joringel
Iron John
The Old Woman in the Wood
Hansel and Grethel
Rumpelstiltskin
Mother Holle

The Story of the Youth who went forth to learn what Fear was

Little Red-Cap
Hans in Luck
Godfather Death
The Godfather
One-Eye, Two-Eyes and Three-Eyes
Rapunzel
Faithful John
The Wonderful Musician
The White Snake
The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs
The Girl Without Hands
Briar-Rose (or Sleeping Beauty)
Our Lady’s Child
The Frog-King, or Iron Henry
Sweet Porridge
Cat and Mouse in Partnership
The Fisherman and his Wife
The Golden Bird
The Twelve Brothers
The Seven Ravens
Little Snow-White and the seven dwarfs
The Six Servants
The Poor Man and the Rich Man
Gambling Hansel
Clever Grethel
The Wolf and The Seven Little Kids
The Valiant Little Tailor
The Wise Servant
Fundevogel (Bird-foundling)
Doctor Knowall
Story of the Brahman Harisarman

The Spirit in the Bottle

- The ghost in the glass - is homeopathy a fraud?

The Pea Trial (The Princess and the Pea)

The Seven Swabians

Thumbling

- How true is our material view of the world?
- Quantum Physics versus Materialism
- Post materialistic science

- Parables and images for something incomprehensible

The Crystal Ball

- The ten Ox Images

- The problem of the twisted worldview

The emperor’s new clothes

- MONEY-MAKES-BLIND - Memorial 2020

- The emperor’s new clothes - Media, Money, Numbers

Rat King Birlibi

- What can we do? What is our freedom?

- Crisis of confidence in our science

- New in the play-along theatre: “The Conspiracy”

The Ditmarsh Tale of Wonders
The Robber Bridegroom
The Poor Boy in the Grave
Simeli Mountain
Strong Hans

The Old Man and his Grandson

- The circle of life

Allerleirauh (All-kinds-of-Fur)

- From a soulish and psychological point of view

- From a physical and social point of view

The Origin of Stories
The Okerlo (I-Man)
Hans Stupid
The Drummer
Swan Prince
The Six Swans
The poor Girl and the Star-Money
Death and the Goose Herder
The Fox and the Geese
The Goose-Girl at the Well

The Golden Goose

- Informatism - A religion of our time?

The Goose-Girl

King Thrushbeard

Saint Solicitous

- Further background to the story

The old witch

- Sound and Form

The Jew among Thorns

The Princess and the blind Blacksmith

The Hare and the Hedgehog

- Time and Light

Literature