~ Rudolf Steinerįor the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. The teaching of moral development is not the same as the impulse for such development. Before considering Tomberg’s description of that experience, a short detour is necessary. We see that we will not recognize the Bodhisattva not through anything external, but rather by re-experiencing firsthand what the Bodhisattva experienced. It will not be novelty to which he will aspire, but rather the conscious certainty of eternal truth. The mission of the Buddha-Avatar to come will therefore not be the foundation of a new religion, but rather that of bringing human beings to firsthand experience of the source itself of all revelation ever received from above by mankind, as also of all essential truth ever conceived of by mankind.
Mental laziness is tied to the “bandwagon effect”, so that a “great soul” is confounded with a “greatly popular soul”. Although Tomberg warned about this, the personal and subjective elements are much more attractive than pure intellectuality. The disinclination is the lack of the ability to recognize a higher teaching, or even the denial that such a teaching is possible. But on the other hand, mental laziness is very prevalent, with the result that people are only too ready to acknowledge some individual as a great soul, merely on authority. It is certainly true that in our time there is a rooted disinclination to recognise genius in human beings. So how would we, in the West in our time, recognize the Bodhisattva when he comes? Does he arrive with a certificate of authenticity, a diploma, a letter of introduction? Perhaps he will appear on TV or even perform an occasional miracle? Rudolf Steiner made the same point this way:
Needless to say, he never got back to me.
He was flummoxed by the question and told me he would get back to me after consulting with his guru in India. I asked him how he would recognize the avatar when he appeared. Not very long ago, a Jain was explaining that his people were expecting the coming of the next avatar. He will not simply explain the profound meaning of revelation, but he will bring human beings themselves to attain to the illuminating experience of revelation, of a kind that it will not be he who will win authority, but rather He who is “the true light that enlightens every man coming into the world” (John 1:9)-Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, who is the way, the truth and the life. In Letter XXI, the Fool, Valentin Tomberg describes the characteristics of the Bodhisattva to come:
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