In this century terrestrial mankind has experienced, in an extremely unpleasant way, how flock consciousness or flock mentality can cause tremendous distress and suffering. One single man got millions of other human beings to stretch out an arm into the air and shout "heil", and subsequently to march in stamping boots out into the world in order to drag other nations into the same mass-suggestion through weapon power and propaganda. The fact that such a thing could take place is of course not just because Hitler possessed enormous willpower, but in particular because he knew how to appeal to the flock instinct in terrestrial human beings, and to primitive instincts and feelings that belong to the animal kingdom, and that manifested in the terrors of the war and the concentration camps. But Hitler and Nazism were defeated in the full glare of publicity and mankind was shown how such a display of mentality must succumb to the same Armageddon that it inflicted on others. The experience has certainly made some human beings wiser, but not them all. Political propaganda can still make human beings carry out, in a flock, animal actions that make life on Earth a jungle existence, in which the principle "might is right" is dominant. It is, however, not intended that terrestrial human beings' lives should go on being subjected to the law of the jungle. A change in mentality will little by little lead terrestrial mankind into completely different life-paths, and it will come about precisely through the individual evolution that leads to liberation from flock consciousness.

One should not believe that flock consciousness and mass suggestion is something that manifests only through political propaganda, and one should absolutely not believe that it is only Nazism that is based on flock mentality. Nazism has been a clear, glaring example of political propaganda and of what it can lead to. But terrestrial human beings are exposed to many other variations of this principle, and they have to go through them in order to thereby have the necessary experiences that will little by little make them insusceptible to propaganda and suggestion, so that they are in a position to think independently and to act on the basis of their own, and not others', thinking, or on the basis of what is etiquette or accepted behaviour. At this point one will perhaps object that there is nothing bad in following the etiquette or accepted behaviour in the country and the environment in which one lives. And indeed there is not, just as there is nothing bad in the individual animal following the flock of animals and doing what the others are doing. To animals it is, on the contrary, a virtue and a necessity. That is also what it has been for a very long time for terrestrial human beings who have been led by political and religious dictatorship. But many terrestrial human beings are in our time in the process of growing out of this state. They feel that they themselves are no longer on the same wavelength as the many forms of accepted behaviour and habitual thinking that dominate the environment in which they live, and they try, often with great difficulty, to free themselves from the flock mentality.

Such a liberation can manifest in many ways. For example, it can manifest in the way that young people refuse to do military service, because they do not see another nation's soldiers as enemies, but as fellow human beings who they have no wish to kill. It can also manifest in the way that one changes one's eating habits, and moves away from eating food of animal origin and becomes vegetarian for both ethical and health reasons. It can manifest in the field of religion, since many people feel that their religious attitude is not in agreement with the dogmas that form the basis of the official religion. It can manifest in the areas of politics, the arts, science, education and much more. But even though human beings create a certain degree of liberation from old habits, customs and ideas within local areas of our present culture, it is not certain that these same human beings have become truly liberated human beings. They can be bound by habits and prejudices in so many other fields, at the same time as perhaps creating propaganda for their new ideas in a way that looks suspiciously like the old methods as far as intolerance and fanaticism are concerned.

But how can one be an independently thinking, liberated individual, unaffected by "public opinion", without ending up in a kind of mental enclosure, whether political, religious or of some other kind? The only way is by learning the laws of life in such a way that one can act in accordance with them. No religion and no political party can monopolise the laws of life. They exist independently of all terrestrial human ideas and organisations. But terrestrial human beings' world of ideas and their more or less idealistic societies, parties and other organisations are on the other hand not independent of the laws of life. They are subject to the cosmic principle of cycles just like everything else in life. That is to say, they have their state as a tender shoot, their period of growth on the way towards culmination, and after the culmination their state of gradual degeneration on the way towards death. But nothing dies without emerging again in a new form. Parties, sects and associations decompose like matter that disintegrates, and the individual "cells" in the matter, in other words the individual human beings who were members of these associations, perhaps join other associations that have a form of idealism that they find more in harmony with their own ideas and ideals. Or they perhaps form new associations themselves and try to recruit converts and supporters of their ideas. Behind all these regroupings there exists a definite evolutionary plan, since the groups, sects, associations or parties that human beings are gradually becoming tired of having anything to do with are dominated by flock mentality and habitual thinking, while those they are seeking out or trying to form are usually based on slightly greater personal freedom and independent thinking.

A gradual liberation is taking place, since the individual has a more difficult time conforming to party discipline, dogmas, ceremonies or other authoritarian orders. Eventually it wants to be completely free, but it will realise that it is difficult, in fact almost impossible, in the world in which human beings live during these times. Human beings have to live in this world together with other human beings; they have to interact and create living conditions for each other. This cannot take place without laws, rules and orders that they all have to comply with. But the question is then: are terrestrial human beings' laws, orders and rules in harmony with the laws of life? They are to a very large part in harmony with the laws of the animal kingdom, that is to say, with the "right of the strongest". A human element is, however, also in evidence, since it is the special task of the judicial system to make sure that the weak, in other words the physically or economically weak in society, can get what is rightfully theirs. But it is the principle of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" that is in evidence. And even though the display of this principle has to be said to be a step forward towards human laws, especially when it is actually used in such a way that the weak also get what is rightfully theirs, but it is still not justice but love that is the innermost law of life, and as long as terrestrial human beings are not on the same wavelength as the law of love in their relating with one another, their world will be a mental jungle.

Terrestrial human beings' flock consciousness manifests not only in the way that they are to be found in groups with a common religious belief or political conviction or some other idea that they have in common that makes them mentally resemble each other, in the way that animals in a flock resemble each other. Flock consciousness can also to a high degree manifest in human beings who absolutely do not want to act and think as the "crowds" do. They feel that they are above the "common herd", either on account of their aristocratic birth or on account of their special knowledge or ability in a local, cultural field. They do not have inferiority complexes but superiority complexes. They represent either master race mentality or phariseeism, two kinds of mentality that are considered to be expressions of individualism and high intellectuality, but which are, from the cosmic point of view, merely special forms of flock consciousness that must also disappear before a truly human mentality can evolve. Spiritual arrogance has nothing whatsoever to do with truly human culture as, on the contrary, modesty and humility do when they are naturally connected with neighbourly love and a genuine, deeply felt relationship to the Godhead.

Christ has shown mankind the way from flock consciousness towards a divine and at the same time human individuality. He did not represent a master race mentality and neither did he possess any pharisaical joy in being more than others. On the contrary, he said that he had come in order to serve, not to be served. But he was not afraid of giving expression to his thought world, even though his thought world was different from the flock's, which was based on old traditions, dogmas and habitual thinking. He said: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person." Such a statement was a total contrast to what was, and still is, the habitual thinking and custom. It is true that the human beings in the West call themselves Christian, but their Christianity is in most cases based on a dogmatic, blind belief in the forgiveness of sins through Christ appeasing the angry god through his suffering and death on the cross. Such a Christianity, created by the church fathers and prelates, has become flock consciousness and human beings have been under the suggestive influence of a church dictatorship. I am not saying this as a criticism, because it could not have been otherwise. It was the only way in which Christianity, in relation to the evolutionary step that human beings were on at that time, could become a cultural factor. But since then many human beings have undergone an evolution, in which their individual ability to think and need for logic has ended up playing a greater and greater role, and they have quite naturally grown out of the belief in the old dogmas. They are for a while perhaps atheists and materialists, but such a way of thinking is also a form of flock consciousness and habitual thinking. One wanders in small, local thought paths and is taken up by everyday events, without having an inkling of their meaning when seen in a wider context. But no human being can continue to live in such a state. Life itself will waken them out of this lingering and they will become seekers and long for a view of life that does not lock them into some kind of enclosure, but that can actually make them into liberated human beings.

Spiritual science will become a factor in terrestrial human culture that will be enormously important in the future, since it will be able to help individual human beings to leave behind the flock consciousness and move towards an individual ability to think. It is true that many people think that spiritual science is just a new religious sect or association that one can become a member of. But that is a misunderstanding. Spiritual science cannot be made widely known through propaganda or the influence of suggestion; it can be received by those human beings who have become seekers and who want to come into a closer contact with the eternal laws of life. Such a contact cannot be achieved through some sort of membership, and not even through studying, unless these studies are connected to a practice of neighbourly love and tolerance. The essence of spiritual science is the same as that which is found in the higher religions – it is the message of love. For this reason spiritual science will not displace the religions. On the contrary, through it one will understand what it is that the religions have given human beings through their feelings. Regarding Christianity, one will understand how important it was that Christ said: "Take up your cross and follow me". The individual person's cross is the difficulties and sufferings that he or she has to go through when they distance themselves from the easy solutions, self-assertiveness and habitual thinking of the flock consciousness. When human beings have begun to distance themselves from much that is common practice, they will easily feel that they are alone with their thoughts and wishes, but once they get to know the laws and forces that lie behind the power of prayer, and understand how to use them, they will notice that they are never alone, but that there are powerful spiritual forces behind the transformation of the Earth and mankind that human beings are now on the point of becoming conscious co-workers in.