The Fleeing Youth: The Cosmic Aura of Christ
Part I
We know that Steiner said that it is the naked youth
that "slips away naked. It is the young cosmic impulse." (1) The naked youth "is a spiritual, supersensible element that became visible to the senses only because of the unique circumstances of that moment." (1) I'm getting these quotes from Kurten's article.(2) Kurten says that the cosmic youth impulse stayed with the Son of Man while Christ retained a loose connection with the human form/Son of Man (physical, etheric and astral bodies). I don't really agree.
I for one do believe that Lazarus/John was present at the betrayal in the garden. Let me give another quote from Steiner. "This aura with its powerful influence was there because He was __United__ with the souls of those He Had Chosen: And It Remained so as long as He was UNITED WITH THEM." (1) As I see it the Apostles gave Christ the configuration of the twelve constellations. This connection was to remain throughout the entire Mystery of Golgotha as Kurten interprets Steiner and I agree. However, this bond began to dissolve in the garden of Gethsemane (the sleeping Apostles and Judas' betrayal). The cosmic youth still had to find its connection with soul forces that could give Christ and the cosmic youth forces a cosmic and human connection.
I believe that it did so in __JOHN THE BAPTIST__. He was the group soul for the entire TWELVE Apostles. That cosmic configuration which echoed the cosmic initiation of Christ by the Twelve Lofty Beings during the Sun Period which is now reflected in the configuration of the zodiac was held together first by Christ and the twelve Apostles but since that bond had
disintegrated it went to a higher level and found its connection with the UNITARY figure of the twelve Apostles. That would be John the Baptist and it was he who was interpenetrating the consciousness soul of Lazarus. So in a sense we could say that the fleeing youth was Lazarus/John in that it now connected itself to Lazarus/John.
Part II
When the connection between Christ and the Apostles began to dissolve at its most critical time it was then resurrected to another level in John the Baptist. As you know he interpenetrated the consciousness soul of Lazarus. The connection between the twelve Apostles and Christ was then given over to John the Baptist. Please read Kurten's article again; at least the first section and see how Steiner emphasized the critical nature of the connection between the Cosmic Aura of Christ and the twelve Apostles. This connection had to remain throughout the entire Mystery of Golgotha. It was maintained by the group soul of the twelve Apostles: John the Baptist.
Lazarus was NOT one of the Apostles that Christ asked to keep him company in the garden during His agony. THAT John (along with Peter and James) was John of Zebedee and brother of James of Zebedee. That John (who slept in the garden) was not Lazarus/John (if I'm understanding you correctly). I do believe that Lazarus/John did follow at a distance. Raphael's painting, 'The Transfiguration', may be an insight to this very point.
Here I believe that the 'raising of Lazarus' may not have been something new but rather that the old mysteries were placed out in front in public and this form of initiation may have been the last of its kind. Steiner said that this act by Christ sealed His fate with the Pharisees. In reading the 11th. chapter we see that Christ speaks of Lazarus as asleep. He says it twice. Then in verse 14 He says that Lazarus is dead. This is exactly the pattern of that form of initiation. Twice Lazarus is spoken of as asleep. The Astral body and the EGO are lifted out of the body as in sleep. Then He says that Lazarus is dead. It is here that the ETHERIC body is then lifted out of the physical body. If this were truly an initiation unto actual death then I have to ask why in verse 16 did Thomas say, "Let us also go, that we may DIE with him." Here Thomas is also looking for an initiation experience of some degree or another.
Part III
The issue here is that we seem to disagree on the significance of the raising of Lazarus. If I understand you correctly you are saying that it is
something all together new from the older forms of initiation. I believe that it is the older form of initiation and that it is the last of its kind. That is one reason why it is so significant. I don't think that it would be something new if we take into consideration that the widow's son (Luke 7:11-15) was also pronounced dead and that he too was 'raised from the dead'. This deed of Christ preceded the 'raising of Lazarus'. I believe that we can almost certainly ascertain that this expression or phrase ('raised from the dead')is an expression used to indicate that what has transpired is an initiation in which the etheric body is lifted out of the individual who is being initiated. Apparently Christ had already done this with another individual.That individual was the widow's son who in a later incarnation became Mani who founded the movement of Manicheism. If I remember correctly the term 'widow's son' also refers to the EGO. The soul (Mother/ feminine aspect of the soul) that is filled with inspirations and revelations from the spiritual world can be said to be married to the Father. When the EGO takes hold of the soul it begins to kill/obliterate one's spiritual visions and conscious connections to the spiritual world or that which flows from the Father (the spiritual world) into the soul (Mother). Thereby we have the widow's son: the EGO. In this we can see another level to the story of Oedipus Rex.
So now we can say that the 'raising of the dead' widow's son was _also_ a very special initiation.
Here again I wish to make the point that the term dead and raising of the dead (i.e. the widow's son and Lazarus) does not mean an actual death.Thomas' wish to "DIE WITH HIM" (John 11:16) clearly expresses the wish to be initiated. This is the vocabulary of the Mysteries. The Ruler's daughter(Matthew 9: 18-26) also seems to fit into this class of initiation. However,
it is not as clear as the widow's son and Lazarus.
In the initiation of Lazarus we could say that it was special in that he was initiated by Christ to carry on a very special mission. That mission began with this initiation. That mission is now beginning to truly unfold in this Age of Michael, the end of Kali Yuga and the Second Coming of Christ. Or we could say the Second Phase of the Presence of Christ here on earth. The Second Phase (Second Coming) is the revelation of the Etheric Christ in the etheric sphere of the earth.
The phrase 'Second Coming' is not the best expression imo. The original Greek word was 'parousia' which as so many other Greek words (as well as Hebrew) has several levels of meaning. It can mean 1)presence [or sense of presence], 2) appearance, 3) indwelling and 4) transfiguration or transformation. It is interesting that these are the four stages of an Etheric Christ Experience. When the Greek was translated into Latin, the Greek word parousia was translated into the Latin word 'adventus' meaning of course coming or arrival.
Back to Lazarus, Christ was now aware that His Apostles were not going to remain consciously connected with Him throughout the entire Mystery of
Golgotha. This was becoming apparent since during part of the Transfiguration Peter, James and John of Zebedee were "heavy with sleep" (Luke 9:32). They also did not comprehend many of the deeds (miracles) of Christ whereas Lazarus had a much deeper grasp of the Mysteries. Christ then had to begin the process of retaining that Cosmic (zodiacal) connection from Himself to the human self. At first it was between Him and His twelve Apostles as each Apostle was a microcosmic portal for each constellation of the zodiac. The zodiac is the outward expression of the twelve lofty Beings Who initiated Christ during the Sun Period. This initiation of Lazarus was exceptionally special for this very reason. The Cosmic connection between what lives in the constellations and thereby lives in each human Being must be maintained throughout the entire Mystery of Golgotha. It was maintained through the initiation of Lazarus. This then allowed the spirit of John the Baptist,
the group soul and unitary consciousness of the twelve Apostles, to live within the consciousness soul of Lazarus to which he (Lazarus) then became known as John. As the evolution of the earth and humanity progressed the connection between the hierarchies, humanity and the earth became increasingly estranged. Humanity, the earth and the hierarchies were losing their connection with one another. Christ had to save and redeem this connection. He had to reverse the pattern of separation and start bringing both together again. What was then the pinpoint of a new cosmos on the hill of Golgotha (the Crucifixion) was now to begin to expand from the inside out from Golgotha to the outer reaches of the constellations. This then reverses the pattern of creation which came from the constellations inward to our earth and solar system. This region then becomes the region for the next condition of form for the earth and humanity: the astral condition of form. In the Book of Revelation we see this in the pattern of the numbers of 7 (physical/planetary existence of Time and Space) transforming into the numbers of 12 (the astral condition to which I still contend that this outer region of the Milky Way eventually splits off from the Milky Way and begins to form a new galaxy with this astral condition of form being its spiritual center). So yes, the initiation of Lazarus was very special. The Mystery of Golgotha was salvaged by it.
Rick Distasi
1. Setp.23, 1912: 'The Gospel of St. Mark.' lect.IX
2. 'The Son of Man and the Cosmic Christ' by Oskar Kurten
The above was taken from that which I wrote in response to the exchanges of e-mail between myself and Paulina Leonard on the topic of the 'Raising of Lazarus'.
June 2002
