Theosophy and Rosicrucianism
GA 100
18 June 1907, Kassel
Translator Unknown
III. Man's Consciousness, His Work Upon the Lower Members of His Being and His Destiny After Death
There is a “holiest of holies” in man which we may designate as his self-consciousness. Those who see this in the right way, have no difficulty in perceiving that this word “self-consciousness” expresses at the same time the true meaning of human life. Self-consciousness is the capacity for transmitting the knowledge that One is an EGO.
You may clearly obtain an idea of this if you bear in mind that there is one name in the whole language which fundamentally differs from all the others: it is the word “I”. Anyone can designate the table, but, “I” is a designation which can only be applied individually to one's own self. To every other person one is a “you”. Never can the word “I” resound from outside, if it is to designate my own being. Spiritual science has always experienced this.
In the Jewish religion, for instance, when speaking of man's inner being, it was referred to as the unspeakable name of God. For the Hebrews said: When the “I” is to be pronounced, it must resound from the central point of our being. No being outside can utter this name: A kind of shudder therefore passed through the whole congregation when the priest uttered the word JAHVE, “I am the I am”. The God within man begins to speak—this is the pure, original, meaning of the Jewish name of God. You will also learn to know other names, but they all stand in some kind of relationship to this one name.
With this word “I,” we designate the fourth member of man's being. Through the Ego, and from this centre, man works upon the other members of his being, upon his astral body, etheric body and physical body. No matter how far we go back into the history of human development, we find that man always possessed these four members, and it is this which distinguishes him from the animals.
Let us now form an idea of the relationship between developed and undeveloped men in regard to these four members. Consider under this aspect one of the most savage men, who eats up his fellow-men, and compare him with an average European, and the latter again with a highly developed individual—Goethe, for example, or Schiller, or Francis of Assisi. The savage blindly follows the instincts and passions contained in his astral body. He has an Ego, but this Ego still lives completely under the sway of the astral body. An average man of the present time is already able to distinguish good and evil, and this is due to the fact that he has worked upon his astral body. He has worked upon it and even transformed certain instincts into so-called ideals. Man reaches an ever higher stage of development the more he transforms his astral body through his Ego. The modern average European has transformed a good part of this astral body. An individuality such as Schiller or Goethe has already transformed the greater part of the astral body. But a human being who has subjugated all his passions through his will, as for instance, Francis of Assisi, has an astral body which is entirely transformed by his Ego, there is nothing left in this astral body which is not completely under the sway of the Ego.
That part of the astral body which man has been able to transform, we designate as “Manas” or “Spirit-Self”. This is the fifth member of his being. We may then say: The Ego contains the seed for the transformation of the astral body into Manas, Spirit-Self,
Now man has the possibility to transform not only his astral body, but also his etheric body, so that the Ego also becomes the sovereign of the etheric body. But you must realise that this is a far more difficult and slower work. The difference between the transformation of the astral body and of the etheric body is the following:—
Consider what you knew when you were eight years old, and what you have learned since your youth! The bearer of all these transformations is the astral body. Consequently it changes essentially every day through the external impressions which you take in. But this is not the case with the etheric body. If you wish to have an idea of this imagine the following:—If you were a choleric child at the age of eight, you will probably still lose your temper even to-day. Only a few people succeed in transforming themselves to such an extent as to change also their habits, inclinations, temperament and character. This does not in any way contradict what I have explained above. The astral body is indeed connected with pleasure and pain and the other sensations, but when these have become habitual and so-called character traits, then they are rooted in the etheric body; and if we wish to transform these habits, then the etheric body must be transformed, for it is the bearer of every habit and character-trait.
I have frequently compared the transformations of astral body and etheric body with the progress of the minute and second hands of the clock.
Later on we shall speak of the development of the more advanced pupil. He is not a pupil in the meaning of ordinary life, not only one who learns something. Undoubtedly, such a pupil must also learn a lot, but far more important than learning, is the above-mentioned work upon the etheric body: He must succeed, for instance, in transforming a choleric disposition into gentleness of character. Spiritual science in particular gives him indications for this.
He who succeeds in transforming from one day to the other at least one of his habits, that is to say, some quality of his etheric body, has attained a high stage of development. Such a transformation of the etheric body should go hand in hand with the other things which the disciple of occult science learns. But even if a man knows nothing of such a training, he nevertheless transforms his etheric body of his own accord—though slowly and gradually, and throughout many incarnations And that part of his etheric body which he has been able to transform, we designate as Budhi, or Life-Spirit, which constitutes the sixth member of human nature.
Then there is the stage lying far, far above the others, upon which man learns to work upon his physical body and to transform it. That part of his physical body which he has learned to control, we designate as Atma, or Spirit-Man. It is the seventh member of his being. Atma is connected with the German word “atmen”, to breathe, for the process of transformation goes out from the breathing process.
We can only form an idea of what it means to control one's physical body consciously, through the Ego, if we bear in mind how little we really know of our physical body. This knowledge has nothing to do with the assertions of modern anatomy concerning man's physical body. Long before modern anatomy existed, there were ancient teachings, which of course were not known publicly, but which contained a knowledge concerning man's inner being. This knowledge enabled the wise men of ancient times to follow, for instance, the currents of life and of the blood, and they were thus able to observe themselves inwardly, to observe the physical body and all its organs. When we shall have reached this stage of development, not one portion of our body will move without the conscious participation of our will. This is the transformation into Atma, the Spirit-Man.
Now someone might object: The Physical body is the lowest member of human nature; how is it possible that its transformation should constitute the highest member? Just because the physical body is the lowest member, man's highest effort is needed in order to gain control over this body. The transformation of the physical body is intimately connected with the acquisition of power over forces which permeate the whole cosmos. And the sway over these cosmic forces is what we designate as magic.
Man's true inner nature thus consists of seven parts. But those seven parts are completely intermingled. A true idea of this intermingling can only be obtained if we compare it with the seven colours of the rainbow, which are all contained in the light of the sun. Even as the light consists of these seven colours, so man consists of his seven members.
Let us now consider the significance of this structure of man's being in connection with the knowledge of man's whole life-path. Yesterday we learned to know the nature of sleep. The physical body and the etheric body lie in the bed; respiration and blood-circulation remain, as life-expression of the etheric body, but everything pertaining to the astral body is lifted out of the physical body and the etheric body together with the Ego.
When death arises, something else appears, in contrast to this. Whereas the physical body and the etheric body remain united throughout the life between birth and death, death separates the etheric body also, and not only the astral body, as in sleep, from the physical body. But the physical body is so complicated (let us bear in mind yesterday's explanations) that it must decay, if obliged to rely upon its own forces.
Let us now observe clairvoyantly the human being after death: Before us lies only the physical body, and above it soar, the astral body and the etheric body ... Immediately after death, the deceased human being experiences a peculiar manifestation: At the moment of death, the course of his whole life appears in the field of human memory, like a spread-out picture. Every event, even the most insignificant, passes before him in the form of an image. This is the natural result of the fact that the etheric body, besides having the above-mentioned quality of preventing the decay of the physical body, is also the bearer of memory. As soon as it loses its first task, it devotes itself intensely to this second task. Since every event in life, whether, pleasure or suffering, is connected with joy or pain, owing to the permeation of the etheric body with the astral body, now that the astral body is also severed from him, man experiences those memory pictures, that is to say, he experiences his whole past life, without any sensations or feelings, as if it were a great panorama.
As long as the etheric body remains connected with the physical body, the instrument which it must use, the brain renders our memories incomplete; we only retain fragments of life impressions in our memory. The deficiency of the physical brain is responsible for this, but as soon as the etheric body becomes emancipated from the physical brain, it can remember everything.
An analogy may even be found in ordinary life, during the shock which one experiences, for instance, at the moment of drowning, or crashing, etc. This is simply due to the fact that at such a moment the etheric body becomes forcefully severed from the physical body, which also takes place, for example, in a slight degree when an extremity falls asleep (pins and needles), or in hypnosis. In the case of a hypnotized person, the clairvoyant can see his etheric body hanging out at both sides of the head. Materialistic physiology objects that in hypnosis there is a physical change in the blood, but people simply mix up cause and effect.
Man's first experience after death is therefore this retrospection of his past life, which differs in length, but averages about three and a half days.
Then comes a second kind of death, when the etheric body completely severs itself also from the astral body, so that a kind of etheric corpse remains behind. But this corpse soon dissolves, more or less quickly in each individual case, and becomes part of the universal cosmic ether. Yet it does not dissolve altogether; a kind of essence remains from the past life. The Ego takes this essence along with it; it is an imperishable treasure, which remains for all the subsequent incarnations. After every incarnation a new leaf is added, so to speak, to the proceeding one. In Theosophy this essence of the etheric body is called the Causal Body, and the quality of the causal body determines the way in which the future incarnations take place.
Now the astral body remains alone ... What is the difference between this condition, in which it is severed from the other members, from the physical body and the etheric body, and that of sleep, in which it also remains alone? The forces which it had to use during sleep in order to elaborate and improve the physical body, have now become emancipated, through the fact that the physical body has definitely been laid aside. The astral body now uses those forces for its own self and is conscious of this. In this state of self-consciousness the astral body now passes through a time which can be understood best of all if we consider the following:—
Imagine that you are enjoying a specially tasty dish—you eat it and enjoy its taste. This pleasure is not rooted in the physical body, but in the astral body, but it can only arise because it has the required organ, namely a tongue and a palate. Thus the physical body supplies the instrument for the gratifications of the astral body.
Now, what takes place after death, when the physical body has been discarded? The instrument is lacking, the transmitter of enjoyment, but the astral body has not lost the longing and desire for some special pleasure. Now imagine this state as vividly as possible. It resembles the condition of a man who is thirsting in the midst of a desert. After death the astral body still feels the desire for certain enjoyments, in the same measure in which it was accustomed to feel this during the past life on earth, and for this reason the time after death is for so many people a time of unsatisfied desires.
This condition is named Kamaloka (Kama means desire, and locus place). It is the same condition which we find described in many myths—for instance, the tortures of Tantalus, or purgatory. Of course, this condition is not only a torturing one; it tortures us until the astral body has lost the habit of desiring enjoyments. The more needs the astral body feels during physical life the longer does this condition of Kamaloka last.
But you may gather from the above, that according to the quality of these needs experienced by a human being during his past life on earth; the astral body may encounter in Kamaloka experiences which are not only torturing, but under circumstances very good and pleasant. The astral body will, for instance, feel pleasure in every moment of joy given to him by Nature and its beauty. In order to experience this enjoyment of Nature and its beauty, we must indeed have eyes to see, but beauty is something that transcends the physical, and therefore this condition is in Kamaloka the source of increased enjoyment. These things produce great joys and wonderful experiences even during the Kamaloka period.
Thus we may render this Kamaloka time more beautiful by emancipating ourselves from purely physical enjoyments. If you consider this, you will be able to understand several things in life, for instance, everything which constitutes art. The more ideal art is, the more the ideal essence manifests itself through art, the stronger and the more uplifting will, be the influence of the work of art, an influence transcending physical life. The Spirit is the real element of art. The materialistic short-sightedness, alone has led to naturalism in art.
After passing through this Kamaloka period, we therefore reach the stage where we have lost the habit of physical enjoyments, and this means that we must now pass through an entirely different condition. The soul now discards all those parts of the astral body which man, that is to say, the Ego, has not yet transformed. The discarded astral sheath now constitutes the third corpse which we leave behind.
Now that the Ego has united itself with that which it has gained from the other bodies—viz. with the above-mentioned essence of the etheric body and with that of the astral body—it passes on to the Spirit-realm. There it lives until the time of a new birth.
We shall speak of this tomorrow. To-day I only wish to emphasize once more that all these spiritual worlds exist continually round about us, and not in a “Beyond”, which is spatially separated from us. One who can look into the spiritual worlds can at any time perceive the above-mentioned corpses, as shadows or spectres. It is these corpses which so frequently intrude themselves in spiritistic seances. But if such an astral corpse is mistaken for the individuality in question, it is just as foolish a mistake as that of taking the physical corpse for the living human being, Thus the astral corpse frequently reveals very ridiculous traits, for it possesses the very qualities which the Ego has discarded.
Dritter Vortrag
[ 1 ] Ein Allerheiligstes im Menschen ist dasjenige, was mit seinem Selbstbewußtsein bezeichnet wird. Wer sich das in der richtigen Weise klarmacht, der sieht ohne weiteres ein, daß mit diesem Worte «Selbstbewußtsein» eigentlich der Sinn des menschlichen Daseins ausgedrückt wird. Selbstbewußtsein ist die Fähigkeit, sich als ein Ich zu wissen.
[ 2 ] Sie kommen am besten zu einer Vorstellung davon, wenn Sie daran denken, daß es im ganzen Umkreis der deutschen Sprache einen Namen gibt, der sich grundsätzlich unterscheidet von allen andern: das ist das Wort Ich. Den Tisch kann jeder Tisch nennen, aber «Ich» kann jeder nur für sich selbst sagen, für jeden andern ist man ein Du. Niemals kann das Wort Ich von außen an mein Ohr klingen, wenn es mich selbst bedeuten soll. Das hat alle Geisteswissenschaft empfunden. Die hebräische Religion sprach zum Beispiel, wenn sie von diesem Wesen des menschlichen Inneren sprach, so, daß sie das den unaussprechlichen Namen Gottes nannte. Man sagte nämlich: Wenn das Ich ausgesprochen werden soll, muß es aus dem Mittelpunkt des Wesens selbst heraustönen. Kein äußeres Wesen kann den Namen aussprechen. Es war daher wie ein Schauer, der durch die ganze Versammlung ging, wenn der Priester das Wort Jahve, «Ich bin der ich bin» aussprach. Da beginnt der Gott im Menschen zu sprechen. Das ist die reine, ursprüngliche Bedeutung des hebräischen Gottesnamens. Sie werden noch andere Namen kennenlernen, aber alle stehen in einem gewissen Verhältnis zu diesem einen Namen. Und mit diesem Ich bezeichnen wir das vierte Glied der menschlichen Wesenheit. Von diesem Ich aus durcharbeitet der Mensch die andern Glieder seiner Wesenheit: den Astralleib, den Ätherleib und auch den physischen Leib. So weit wir auch zurückgehen in der Entwickelungsgeschichte der menschlichen Wesenheit, die vier Glieder waren immer im Menschen vorhanden; und dadurch unterscheidet er sich gerade von den Tieren.
[ 3 ] Machen wir uns einmal einen Begriff davon, wie sich in bezug auf diese vier Glieder der Entwickelte zum Unentwickelten verhält. Betrachten Sie einmal daraufhin einen von den Wildesten, der den andern Mitmenschen noch auffrißt, mit einem europäischen Durchschnittsmenschen, und diesen wieder mit einem Hochentwickelten, zum Beispiel Goethe, Schiller oder Franz von Assisi. Jener Wilde folgt unmittelbar seinen Trieben und Leidenschaften, wie sie in seinem Astralleib enthalten sind. Er hat zwar schon das Ich, aber das ist noch ganz in der Gewalt des Astralleibes. Der heutige Durchschnittsmensch unterscheidet schon, was gut und nicht gut ist. Das kommt daher, daß dieser Mensch schon an seinem Astralleibe gearbeitet hat. Er hat daran gearbeitet und sogar einige Triebe schon umgestaltet zu sogenannten Idealen. Eine um so höhere Entwickelungsstufe hat der Mensch erreicht, je mehr er von seinem Ich aus an seinem Astralleibe umgearbeitet hat. Der heutige europäische Durchschnittsmensch hat schon viel umgearbeitet. Eine Individualität wie Schiller oder Goethe hat bereits den weit größeren Teil seines Astralleibes umgearbeitet. Ein Mensch aber, der alle Leidenschaften schon unter seinen Willen gezwungen hat, wie zum Beispiel Franz von Assisi, hat schon einen Astralleib, der bereits ganz umgearbeitet ist vom Ich; es ist nichts mehr darin, was nicht unter der Herrschaft des Ich stände. So viel als der Mensch von seinem Astralleib derart umgearbeitet hat, so viel nennen wir sein Manas oder Geistselbst; das ist das fünfte Glied seiner Wesenheit. Wir können also sagen: Im Ich liegt der Keim zur Umarbeitung des Astralleibes in Manas, Geistselbst.
[ 4 ] Nun ist aber auch die Möglichkeit vorhanden, daß der Mensch nicht nur seinen Astralleib, sondern auch seinen Ätherleib umarbeitet, so daß das Ich auch Herr wird über den Ätherleib. Nur müssen Sie sich klarmachen, daß dieses viel schwieriger ist und langsamer vor sich geht. Der Unterschied der Umarbeitung von Astralleib und Ätherleib ist folgender: Bedenken Sie einmal, was Sie mit acht Jahren gewußt haben, und was Sie seit Ihrer Jugend sich alles angeeignet haben! Der Träger aller dieser Umwandlungen ist der Astralleib; er verändert sich also sozusagen tagtäglich ganz wesentlich durch alles das, was Sie an äußeren Eindrücken in sich aufnehmen. Anders aber ist es mit dem Ätherleib. Wollen Sie sich davon eine Vorstellung machen, dann stellen Sie sich folgendes vor: Waren Sie mit acht Jahren ein jähzorniges Kind, dann sind Sie wahrscheinlich auch heute noch manchmal jähzornig. Nur wenigen Menschen gelingt es, sich so zu verändern, daß sie auch ihre Gewohnheiten, ihre Neigungen, ihr Temperament, ihren Charakter umwandeln. Darin liegt durchaus kein Widerspruch mit dem oben Gesagten. Der Astralleib hat zwar zu tun mit Lust und Leid und unseren Leidenschaften; sind diese Leidenschaften aber zur Gewohnheit, zu sogenannten Charaktereigenschaften geworden, dann liegen sie verankert im Ätherleib; und wenn wir solche Gewohnheiten umwandeln wollen, dann muß sich der Ätherleib umwandeln, denn dieser ist der Träger aller Gewohnheiten und Charaktereigenschaften.
[ 5 ] Ich habe schon öfter die Veränderungen von Astralleib und Ätherleib verglichen mit dem Gang des Minuten- und Stundenzeigers einer Uhr.
[ 6 ] "Wir werden später von der Entwickelung des fortgeschrittenen Schülers sprechen. Ein solcher Schüler ist dies nicht im Sinne des gewöhnlichen Lebens, nicht einer, der bloß etwas lernt. Gewiß, ein solcher Schüler muß auch viel lernen, aber unendlich wichtiger als das Lernen ist dies oben geschilderte Hineinarbeiten in den Ätherleib: daß er es fertig bringt, Jähzorn in Sanftmut zu verwandeln. Gerade dafür gibt die Geheimwissenschaft dem Schüler die Anleitung.
[ 7 ] Eine hohe Stufe der Entwickelung hat derjenige erlangt, der es in der Hand hat, eine Gewohnheit, also eine Eigenschaft seines Ätherleibes, von heute auf morgen zu ändern. Eine solche Umwandlung des Ätherleibes muß Hand in Hand gehen mit dem, was der Schüler der Geheimwissenschaft sonst lernt. Aber auch wenn der Mensch nichts von einer solchen Schulung weiß, ändert er doch von selbst -— wenn auch langsam und allmählich, durch viele Verkörperungen hindurch — seinen Ätherleib. Und so viel nun von diesem Ätherleibe umgewandelt ist, so viel nennen wir Buddhi oder Lebensgeist; und das bildet das sechste Glied der menschlichen Wesenheit.
[ 8 ] Und dann gibt es noch die Stufe, die aber viel, viel höher liegt, auf welcher der Mensch auch lernt, in seinen physischen Leib hineinzuarbeiten und diesen umzugestalten. So viel er nun an Herrschaft über den physischen Leib gewonnen hat, so viel nennt man Atma oder Geistesmensch; es ist das siebente Glied seiner Wesenheit. Atma hängt zusammen mit dem Worte «atmen», weil es der Atmungsprozeß ist, von dem diese Umwandlung ausgeht. Was das heißt, bewußt seinen physischen Leib vom Ich aus zu beherrschen, davon macht man sich erst eine Vorstellung, wenn man bedenkt, wie wenig man eigentlich von seinem physischen Leibe weiß. Dieses Wissen hat nichts zu tun mit dem, was die heutige Anatomie über den physischen Körper zu sagen hat. Lange bevor es eine heutige Anatomie gab, gab es uralte Lehren, die allerdings nicht öffentlich bekanntgeworden sind, in welchen Sie aber ein Wissen über das Innere des Menschen finden. Dadurch konnten diese alten Weisen zum Beispiel die Strömungen des Lebens und des Blutes verfolgen; sie waren dadurch in der Lage, sich selbst innerlich anzuschauen, den physischen Körper zu beobachten in allen seinen Organen. Wenn wir uns so weit entwickelt haben, dann ist es möglich, daß kein Teilchen in unserem Leibe sich bewegt ohne unseren Willen. Das ist die Umwandlung in Atma, Geistesmensch.
[ 9 ] Nun könnte einer einwenden: Der physische Leib ist doch das niedrigste Glied der menschlichen Wesenheit, weshalb ist denn die Umwandlung desselben zum höchsten Gliede möglich? — Gerade weil der physische Leib das unterste Glied ist, braucht es die höchste Kraftanstrengung des Menschen, um diesen Körper in die eigene Gewalt zu bekommen. Mit der Umarbeitung dieses physischen Leibes geht Hand in Hand die Erlangung der Gewalt über Kräfte, die den ganzen Kosmos durchfluten. Und die Herrschaft über diese kosmischen Kräfte ist das, was man als Magie bezeichnet.
[ 10 ] So besteht der Mensch seinem wahren inneren Wesen nach aus sieben Teilen, aber diese sieben Teile gehen vollständig ineinander über. Man wird von dieser gegenseitigen Durchdringung aller sieben Teile sich nur dann eine rechte Vorstellung machen, wenn man sie vergleicht mit den sieben Farben des Regenbogens, die alle auch im Sonnenlicht enthalten sind. Wie das Licht aus diesen sieben Farben besteht, so auch der Mensch aus seinen sieben Gliedern.
[ 11 ] Nun wollen wir eingehen auf die Bedeutung dieser Gliederung für die Erkenntnis des ganzen Lebensweges des Menschen. Wir haben schon gestern gehört, welches die Natur des Schlafes ist. Im Bette liegt der physische Leib und der Ätherleib; es dauert fort, als die Lebensäußerung dieses Ätherleibes, Atmung und Blutkreislauf; aber alles, was zum Astralleib gehört, ist mit dem Ich aus physischem Leib und Ätherleib herausgehoben.
[ 12 ] Im Tode tritt im Gegensatz dazu etwas anderes ein. Während in der ganzen Zeit zwischen Geburt und Tod der physische und der Ätherleib ein Ganzes bleiben, trennt sich im Tode nicht nur wie im Schlafe der Astralleib, sondern auch der Ätherleib von dem physischen Leib. Dieser physische Leib ist nun aber — erinnern wir uns an das gestern Gesagte — so kompliziert, daß er, auf sich allein angewiesen, zerfallen muß. Betrachten wir nun einmal mit hellseherischem Blick den Menschen unmittelbar nach dem Tode: vor uns liegt lediglich der physische Leib, und darüber schweben Astralleib und Ätherleib. Da tritt nun unmittelbar nach dem Tode eine eigenartige Erscheinung in der Empfindung des so dahingegangenen Menschen auf: In dem Moment des Todes ersteht nämlich in dem Felde der menschlichen Erinnerung wie ein ausgebreitetes Tableau sein ganzer Lebensgang. Jede kleine, selbst kleinste Begebenheit zieht in Bildern an ihm vorüber. Das kommt ganz naturgemäß daher, weil ja der Ätherleib, neben der oben geschilderten Eigenschaft der Verhinderung einer Zersetzung des physischen Leibes, auch noch der Träger des Gedächtnisses ist. In demselben Moment, wo dieser Ätherleib seiner ersteren Aufgabe enthoben ist, lebt er sich ganz intensiv in diese zweite Aufgabe hinein. Da aber während des Lebens ein jedes Ereignis mit Lust und Schmerz, Freude und Leid verbunden war, infolge der Durchdringung mit dem Astralleibe, erlebt der Mensch jetzt, da sich ja auch der Astralleib von ihm gelöst hat, diese Erinnerungsbilder, das heißt sein ganzes verflossenes Dasein, ohne Empfindung, ohne Gefühl, wie in einem großen Panorama.
[ 13 ] Solange dieser Ätherleib mit dem physischen Leibe verbunden bleibt, ist das Instrument, dessen er sich bedienen muß, das Gehirn, etwas, was macht, daß unsere Erinnerungen nie vollständig sind; nur Bruchstücke der Lebenseindrücke behalten wir in der Erinnerung. Daran ist die Mangelhaftigkeit dieses physischen Gehirns schuld, während sich im Moment der Befreiung vom physischen Gehirn dieser Ätherleib an alles erinnert. Ein Analogon zu diesem Zustande findet sich schon im gewöhnlichen Leben beim Schock, den man zum Beispiel im Augenblick des Ertrinkens, des Abstürzens und so weiter erfährt. Das rührt ganz einfach davon her, daß in einem solchen Augenblick der Ätherleib gewaltsam gelockert wird vom physischen Leibe, was auch zum Beispiel in leichterer Art beim Einschlafen der Glieder geschieht, auch bei der Hypnose, bei welcher der Hellseher den Ätherleib zu beiden Seiten des Kopfes heraushängen sieht. Die materialistische Physiologie wendet ja ein, daß eine materielle Veränderung im Blute da vorliegt, aber das ist eine Verwechslung von Ursache und Wirkung.
[ 14 ] Das erste Schicksal des Menschen nach dem Tode ist also dieser Rückblick auf das verflossene Leben, der verschieden lang ist und durchschnittlich etwa dreieinhalb Tage dauert. Dann kommt eine Art zweiten Sterbens, indem sich das Ätherische vollkommen auch vom Astralleib löst, und dann eine Art Ätherleichnam zurückbleibt. Dieser Ätherleichnam löst sich sehr bald, wenn auch bei jedem Menschen verschieden schnell, im allgemeinen Weltenäther auf, jedoch nicht vollständig; eine Art Essenz aus dem verflossenen Leben bleibt, die das Ich mitnimmt und die ein unvergängliches Gut ist, das dem Menschen verbleibt für alle folgenden Verkörperungen. Nach einer jeden Verkörperung fügt sich gleichsam ein neues Blatt zu den vorangegangenen. Man nennt das in der Theosophie den Kausalkörper, und in der Qualität dieses Kausalkörpers liegt die Ursache dafür, wie sich die späteren Verkörperungen gestalten.
[ 15 ] Nun ist der Astralleib allein. Wie unterscheidet sich dieser Zustand vom Schlaf, wo er ja auch aus den andern Gliedern, dem physischen und Ätherleib herausgetreten, wo er also auch allein war? Die Kräfte, die er im Schlaf verwenden mußte zur Ausarbeitung und Ausbesserung des physischen Körpers, die sind dadurch, daß dieser physische Körper definitiv abgelegt ist, frei geworden; die verwendet der Astralleib jetzt für sich und wird sich dessen bewußt. In diesem Eigenbewußtseinszustand macht der Astralleib jetzt eine Zeit durch, die Sie sich am besten klarmachen, wenn Sie folgende Erwägung anstellen.
[ 16 ] Denken Sie einmal an den Genuß einer leckeren Speise; der Mensch genießt sie und hat seine Lust an diesem Genusse. Dieser Genuß sitzt nicht im physischen, sondern im Astralleibe; aber daß dieser Genuß zustande kommen kann, dazu braucht er das Werkzeug, nämlich eine Zunge, einen Gaumen; also liefert der physische Leib das Werkzeug für die Genüsse des Astralleibes. Wie ist das nun nach dem Tode, wo doch dieser physische Leib abgeworfen ist? Das Instrument, der Vermittler des Genusses fehlt, nicht aber hat der Astralleib die Sehnsucht, das Verlangen nach dem Genuß verloren. Stellen Sie sich einmal möglichst lebendig diesen Zustand vor. Es ist ein Zustand, wie ihn etwa der Durstende in der Wüste empfindet. Nach dem Tode wird eben der Astralleib die Begierde noch haben nach Genuß, und zwar in dem Maße, wie er es von dem verflossenen Leben her gewöhnt gewesen ist. Darum also ist für alle Menschen diese Zeit nach dem Tode eine Zeit des unbefriedigten Verlangens. Diesen Zustand nennt man Kamaloka; Kama bedeutet Begierde, locus: Ort. Es ist der gleiche Zustand, den wir geschildert finden in zahlreichen Mythen, zum Beispiel in den Qualen des Tantalus, oder im Fegefeuer. Natürlich ist dieser Zustand nicht nur ein qualvoller; qualvoll ist er nur so lange, bis sich dieser Astralleib das Verlangen nach Genuß abgewöhnt hat. Je mehr also der Astralleib hier im physischen Leben Bedürfnisse hatte, um so länger dauert dieser Zustand. Daraus können Sie aber schon entnehmen, daß je nach der Qualität der Bedürfnisse, die ein Mensch im verflossenen Leben gehabt hat, nicht nur Qualvolles, sondern auch unter Umständen etwas sehr Gutes und Angenehmes dem Astralleib im Kamaloka begegnen kann. So zum Beispiel erlebt er dann angenehm eine jede Freude, die er an der schönen Natur gehabt hat. Um diese Freude an der schönen Natur zu genießen, müssen wir zwar Augen haben zum Sehen, aber Schönheit ist etwas, was hinausgeht über das Physische, und deshalb ist auch im Kamalokaleben dieser Zustand die Quelle erhöhten Genusses. Solche Dinge sind die Ursachen von den großen Freuden und wundervollen Erlebnissen auch während der Kamalokazeit. Diese Zeit kann sich also der Mensch schon verschönern, wenn er sich frei macht vom Kleben an rein physischen Genüssen. Wenn Sie das bedenken, werden Sie manches im Leben verstehen, zum Beispiel in bezug auf alles, was Kunst heißt. Je idealer die Kunst ist, je mehr das Ideale durchleuchtet, um so stärker und um so erhebender wirkt das Kunstwerk über das Leben hinaus. Ihr Element ist das Geistige. Nur die materialistische Kurzsichtigkeit hat zum Naturalismus in der Kunst geführt. - Nach dem Durchleben dieser Kamalokazeit sind wir also an dem Punkte angekommen, wo der Mensch sich alle seine materiellen Genüsse abgewöhnt hat, und dieser Zeitpunkt bedeutet das Durchmachen eines ganz neuen Zustandes. Da legt die Seele nun auch alles das vom Astralleib ab, woran der Mensch, das heißt das Ich, noch nicht gearbeitet hat; und diese nun abgelegte Astralhülle ist somit der dritte Leichnam, den der Mensch dann zurückläßt.
[ 17 ] Und jetzt, nachdem das Ich mit dem, was es aus den andern Leibern erobert hat, also mit der oben geschilderten Essenz des Ätherleibes und nun auch mit jener des Astralleibes eins geworden ist, geht es hinüber in das Geisterland. Und das ist jene Zeit, welche die Seele von da an bis zu einer neuen Geburt durchlebt.
[ 18 ] Das wollen wir dann morgen besprechen. Heute möchte ich nur das eine nochmals betonen: daß alle diese geistigen Welten fortwährend um uns herum und nicht in einem Jenseits räumlich von uns getrennt sind, so daß sie für das Auge des Sehers jederzeit sichtbar sind. Und derjenige, welcher in diese geistigen Welten hineinschauen kann, kann auch jederzeit diese Schatten oder Schemen — denn das sind jene Leichname — sehen. Diese Leichname sind es gerade, die dann sehr häufig in die spiritistischen Sitzungen sich hineindrängen. Wenn aber die Teilnehmer an einer solchen spiritistischen Sitzung einen derartigen Astralleichnam für die betreffende Individualität selbst halten, so ist das ebenso töricht, als wenn man den physischen Leichnam für den Menschen selbst ansehen würde. Daher zeigt dieser Astralleichnam — denn es ist ja gerade das, was das Ich nicht gebrauchen kann - bei solchen spiritistischen Sitzungen sehr oft lächerliche Züge.
Third Lecture
[ 1 ] That which is designated by self-consciousness is the holy of holies in man. He who realizes this in the right way will readily see that the meaning of human existence is actually expressed by the word “self-consciousness”. Self-consciousness is the ability to know oneself as an ego.
[ 2 ] You will best get an idea of this if you remember that in the whole range of the German language there is one name that is fundamentally different from all the others: that is the word I. Anyone can call a table a table, but only you can say “I” for yourself; for everyone else you are a you. The word 'I' can never sound from outside to my ear if it is to mean myself. All spiritual science has felt this. For example, when the Hebrew religion spoke of this essence of the human inner being, it called it the unutterable name of God. It was said that if the 'I' is to be spoken, it must resound from the center of the being itself. No external being can utter the name. It was therefore like a shiver that went through the whole assembly when the priest pronounced the word Yahweh, “I am that I am”. That is when the God in man begins to speak. That is the pure, original meaning of the Hebrew name of God. You will get to know other names, but all of them are related to this one name. And with this I we denote the fourth link of the human being. From this I, the human being works through the other links of his being: the astral body, the etheric body and also the physical body. No matter how far we go back in the developmental history of the human being, these four links were always present in man; and that is precisely what distinguishes him from animals.
[ 3 ] Let us try to understand how the developed relates to the undeveloped in terms of these four elements. Consider, in that order, a savage who still eats his fellow man, an average modern human being, and then a highly developed person, such as Goethe, Schiller or Francis of Assisi. The savage follows his drives and passions directly, as they are contained in his astral body. He already has an ego, but it is still completely controlled by the astral body. The average person today already differentiates between good and not good. This is because this person has already worked on his astral body. He has worked on it and even transformed some instincts into so-called ideals. The more a person has worked on his astral body from his ego, the higher the level of development he has reached. The average person in Europe today has already transformed a great deal. An individuality such as Schiller or Goethe has already transformed the far greater part of his astral body. But a person who has already subdued all passions under his will, such as Francis of Assisi, for example, has an astral body that is already completely transformed by the I; there is nothing left in it that is not under the control of the I. As much as man has reworked of his astral body in this way, we call it his Manas or spiritual self; this is the fifth link in his being. We can therefore say: In the I lies the germ for reworking the astral body into Manas, spiritual self.
[ 4 ] But now there is also the possibility that man will not only remodel his astral body, but also his etheric body, so that the ego also becomes master of the etheric body. You must realize, however, that this is much more difficult and takes longer. The difference between the transformation of the astral body and that of the ether body is as follows: Just think about what you knew at the age of eight and everything you have acquired since you were young! The medium for all these transformations is the astral body; it changes, so to speak, day by day, quite substantially, through all the external impressions you take in. But it is different with the ether body. If you want to get an idea of what it is like, imagine the following: if you were a hot-tempered child at the age of eight, then it is quite possible that you are still hot-tempered sometimes today. Only a few people succeed in changing themselves in such a way that they also transform their habits, inclinations, temperament and character. This is not at all contradictory to what has been said above. The astral body is indeed connected with our desires and sufferings and our passions; but when these passions have become habits, so-called character traits, then they are anchored in the etheric body; and if we want to transform such habits, then the etheric body must transform itself, for it is the carrier of all habits and character traits.
[ 5 ] I have often compared the changes in the astral body and etheric body with the movement of the minute and hour hands of a clock.
[ 6 ] "We will speak later about the development of the advanced student. Such a disciple is not one in the sense of ordinary life, not one who merely learns something. Certainly, such a disciple must also learn a lot, but infinitely more important than learning is the above-described working into the etheric body: that he manages to transform a violent temper into gentleness. It is precisely for this that esoteric science gives the disciple the guidance.
[ 7 ] A high level of development has been attained by the one who can change a habit, that is, a property of his etheric body, overnight. Such a transformation of the etheric body must go hand in hand with what the student of the secret science otherwise learns. But even if a person knows nothing of such schooling, he still changes his ether body of his own accord, albeit slowly and gradually, through many embodiments. And as much of this ether body as is transformed, we call buddhi or life spirit; and this forms the sixth link of the human being.
[ 8 ] And then there is the stage, which lies much, much higher, on which man also learns to work into his physical body and to transform it. Now, the more control he has gained over his physical body, the more he is called an Atma or spiritual man; it is the seventh link in his being. Atma is related to the word “breathe”, because it is the breathing process that initiates this transformation. What it means to consciously control one's physical body from the ego is only realized when one considers how little one actually knows about one's physical body. This knowledge has nothing to do with what modern anatomy has to say about the physical body. Long before there was a modern anatomy, there were ancient teachings, which, however, have not become publicly known, but in which you can find knowledge about the inside of a person. This enabled these ancient sages, for example, to follow the flow of life and blood; it enabled them to look at themselves internally, to observe the physical body in all its organs. When we have developed to that extent, it is possible that no particle in our body moves without our will. That is the transformation into Atma, spiritual man.
[ 9 ] Now someone might object: the physical body is the lowest link in the human being, so why is it possible to transform it into the highest link? Precisely because the physical body is the lowest link, it takes the greatest effort on the part of the person to gain control over this body. The transformation of this physical body goes hand in hand with the attainment of control over the forces that permeate the entire cosmos. And mastery over these cosmic forces is what is referred to as magic.
[ 10 ] Thus, man, according to his true inner being, consists of seven parts, but these seven parts merge completely into one another. One will only get a proper idea of this interpenetration of all seven parts if one compares it to the seven colors of the rainbow, which are all also contained in sunlight. Just as light consists of these seven colors, so too does the human being consist of his seven limbs.
[ 11 ] Now we will discuss the significance of this division for the knowledge of the entire path of life of the human being. We already heard yesterday what the nature of sleep is. In the bed lie the physical body and the etheric body; respiration and blood circulation continue as the life expression of this etheric body; but everything that belongs to the astral body is lifted out of the physical body and etheric body with the I.
[ 12 ] In death, something else enters in contrast to this. While the physical and etheric bodies remain a unity throughout the entire time between birth and death, in death not only the astral body separates, as in sleep, but also the etheric body from the physical body. This physical body, however, is so complicated that it must disintegrate when it is left to its own devices. Let us now look at a person with clairvoyant vision immediately after death: we see only the physical body, with the astral and etheric bodies hovering above it. Immediately after death, a strange phenomenon occurs in the consciousness of the person who has just passed away: at the moment of death, the entire course of his life arises in the field of human memory like an extended tableau. Every little, even the smallest event passes before him in pictures. This is quite natural, because the etheric body, in addition to the property described above of preventing the physical body from decomposing, is also the carrier of memory. At the same moment that this etheric body is relieved of its former task, it becomes intensely involved in this second task. But since during life every event was connected with pleasure and pain, joy and suffering, due to the interpenetration with the astral body, the human being now, since the astral body has also detached itself from him, experiences these memory images, that is, his entire past existence, without sensation, without feeling, as in a great panorama.
[ 13 ] As long as this etheric body remains connected to the physical body, the instrument it has to use, the brain, is something that makes our memories never complete; we only retain fragments of life impressions in our memory. This is due to the imperfection of this physical brain, whereas at the moment of liberation from the physical brain, this etheric body remembers everything. An analogy to this state can be found in ordinary life in the shock one experiences, for example, at the moment of drowning, falling, and so on. This is simply due to the fact that in such a moment the etheric body is forcibly loosened from the physical body, which also happens, for example, in a lighter way when the limbs fall asleep, also during hypnosis, in which the clairvoyant sees the etheric body hanging out on both sides of the head. Materialistic physiology objects that there is a material change in the blood, but this is a confusion of cause and effect.
[ 14 ] The first fate of man after death is thus this review of the past life, which varies in length and lasts on average about three and a half days. Then comes a kind of second death, in that the etheric completely detaches itself from the astral body as well, and then a kind of etheric corpse remains. This etheric corpse very soon dissolves in the universal ether, although at different speeds for each person, but not completely; a kind of essence from the past life remains, which the ego takes with it and which is an imperishable good that remains with the person for all subsequent embodiments. After each embodiment, a new leaf is added to the previous ones, as it were. In Theosophy, this is called the causal body, and it is the quality of this causal body that determines how the later embodiments take shape.
[ 15 ] Now the astral body is alone. How does this state differ from sleep, when it also emerged from the other members, the physical and etheric body, and was therefore also alone then? The forces that it had to use in sleep to develop and repair the physical body have been released by the fact that this physical body has been discarded permanently; the astral body now uses these for itself and becomes aware of them. In this state of self-awareness, the astral body is now going through a period that you can best understand by considering the following.
[ 16 ] Think about enjoying a delicious meal; a person enjoys it and experiences pleasure from this enjoyment. This enjoyment does not reside in the physical body, but in the astral body; but in order for this enjoyment to come about, it needs the tool, namely a tongue, a palate; thus the physical body provides the tool for the pleasures of the astral body. But what happens after death, when this physical body has been discarded? The instrument, the mediator of pleasure, is missing, but the astral body has not lost its longing, its desire for pleasure. Imagine this state as vividly as you can. It is a state similar to that felt by a thirsty person in the desert. After death the astral body will still have the desire for enjoyment, and to the extent that it was accustomed to it in the past life. That is why this time after death is a time of unsatisfied desire for all people. This state is called Kamaloka; Kama means desire, locus: place. It is the same state that we find described in numerous myths, for example in the torments of Tantalus, or in purgatory. Of course, this state is not only an agonizing one; it is agonizing only until this astral body has given up the desire for enjoyment. The more the astral body craved things during its physical life, the longer this state will last. From this you can see that, depending on the desires a person had in a past life, the astral body may not only experience torment when it reaches Kamaloka, but also, under certain circumstances, something very good and pleasant. For example, it experiences every joy it has had in the beautiful nature as pleasant. To enjoy this joy of the beautiful nature, we must have eyes to see, but beauty is something that goes beyond the physical, and that is why this state is also a source of increased enjoyment in the time of the kamala life. Such things are the causes of the great joys and wonderful experiences during the time of the kamala. Man can brighten up this time for himself if he frees himself from clinging to purely physical pleasures. If you consider this, you will understand many things in life, for example, in relation to everything that is called art. The more ideal the art is, the more the ideal is illuminated, the stronger and the more uplifting the work of art has an effect beyond life. Its element is the spiritual. Only materialistic short-sightedness has led to naturalism in art. After living through this time of Kamaloka, we have arrived at the point where man has given up all his material pleasures, and this point in time marks the transition to a completely new state. The soul now also discards from the astral body everything that the human being, that is, the ego, has not yet worked on; and this now discarded astral shell is thus the third corpse that the human being then leaves behind.
[ 17 ] And now, after the I has become one with what it has conquered from the other bodies, thus with the essence of the etheric body described above and now also with that of the astral body, it passes over into the spirit world. And that is the time that the soul lives through from then until a new birth.
[ 18 ] We will discuss that tomorrow. Today I would just like to emphasize one thing again: that all these spiritual worlds are continually around us and not spatially separated from us in an afterlife, so that they are always visible to the eye of the seer. And anyone who can see into these spiritual worlds can also see these shadows or spectres — for that is what these corpses are — at any time. It is precisely these corpses that very often intrude into spiritualistic seances. But if the participants in such a spiritualistic seance mistake the astral corpse for the individuality concerned, it is just as foolish as mistaking the physical corpse for the human being himself. Therefore, during such spiritualistic seances, the astral corpse, which is precisely what the ego cannot use, very often takes on ridiculous features.