This is already indicated in the way the drama unfolded. Parsifal coming as he did from out of the Light had absolutely no knowledge of evil, hence his innocence, and hence his lack of understanding for what befell Amfortas. He soon gained knowledge of it however, through all his experiences including through his encounters with Kundry and Klingsor. With these experiences his eyes became open and he recognised his mission. Thus, Parsifal in order to be an effective Counsellor or Teacher first had to know what the problems with human beings were. He first had to come to know evil and all the consequences.

He first had to experience evil on Himself and through these experiences, would gain the knowledge necessary to help mankind. Having experienced all the evil in that realm He then was in a position to help Amfortas, not before. He was therefore, on a Mission of redemption for all the worlds and since Amfortas’ realm was not the only realm besought by evil He could not have tarried there. He moved on to other parts in the fulfilment of His Mission and inevitably He would find Himself on earth also in fulfilment of the Mission prophesied by Jesus so long ago. Just like it happened in Amfortas’ plane, He would first have to gather his experiences, come to experience all the evil that were wont to befall man and through these experiences gain the knowledge to be able to offer help out of this darkness at the right time. Jesus said as much that He would guide us into all truth.

Through His experiences on earth and also on all the planes that make up the entire Creation, He would be in a position to offer advice and help for all those wishing to free themselves from the effects of the darkness. In his book “In the Light of Truth” the Grail Message, Abd-ru-shin says “To think of Parsifal as the Son of the Light, Who descends into Creation from above, Who is not perchance lifted up from below; to think of Him as the beginning and the end in Creation, the A and the O for all the weaving outside of the Divine, and therewith King of the Holy Grail, King of Creation! Parsifal’s great work of purification which leads Him personally through the worlds, with the unreserved condition that He must through His own experiencing learn to know all the evil, which work was bound to end with the fettering of Lucifer for the protection of the Creations and of all the creatures that remain after the purification.”

His battle with evil was depicted in Wagner’s opera when not only did He have to face temptation with the flower maidens and then Kundry, He also had to face Klingsor who tried to kill him with the spear. Parsifal’s struggles was not only depicted by Wagner however, but is to be found in the earlier legends where he encountered on two separate occasions two ladies who tried to tempt him. With him therefore there had always been the struggle he had to have with the forces of darkness. One would have wondered why this was so but we now know the answer to this question. The consistency with which the writers of the legends mention this in their stories would bear this fact out.

The Grail legends therefore, if looked at objectively and critically enough, may well represent a reality of life. The decision to examine it critically and to look for its meaning in the experiences of our lives however, rests with each individual alone.