The Rudolf Steiner Archive

4. Man and His Entities

(The Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Nature of Human Beings) Reincarnation and Karma (The Reincarnation of the Spirit and Destiny)

Article in the “Stadt-Anzeiger” from April 29, 1905, morning edition, second page

[ 1 ] On Tuesday, at the Theosophical Society, Dr. Rudolf Steiner, Secretary General of the German Branch, spoke about the three aspects of the human being—the physical, the psychical, and the spiritual—and on Thursday, about the fundamental concepts of Theosophy: reincarnation, karma, the reincarnation of the spirit, and destiny. In his lecture, the speaker explained how the human being is composed of various constituents and how the practical mystic, by undergoing a certain training, is able to turn his attention completely away from the physical body, so that he no longer sees it, but instead perceives the space around it as filled by a similar entity—the etheric body, which is extraordinarily finely organized and is the bearer of life. In the ordinary human being, it is just as mortal as the physical body. The third is the astral body, the bearer of pleasure and pain, desire and passion; within it dwells the fourth member, the true “I.” Now, according to the speaker, as a person continues to develop, the transformed astral body ascends to Manas, the fifth member of the human being; likewise, a person can transform their etheric body into Budhi; and the immortal seventh member of the being is the highest state of perfection.

[ 2 ] In his second lecture, Dr. Steiner spoke at length about the meaning of life and raised two concepts: the question of reincarnation and that of human destiny. Reincarnation, as the speaker explained, means nothing other than that human beings must recognize something eternal and enduring in human nature—that this enduring aspect is not exhausted in the time between birth and death, but that life continues after death, only to incarnate anew later and resume the cycle once more. We are not dealing with a single human life, but with many, and with the fact that what exists has already been here and will return. Above all birth and death stands something higher that transcends them; life manifests itself in ever-renewed repetition. As natural science teaches, life can arise only from life; theosophy adds that the spiritual can arise only from the spiritual. In the case of humans, the individual is described; in the case of animals, the species is described; humans have a biography, animals do not; individuality belongs to humans alone—that is what endures, just as the species endures in animals. Insofar as humans belong to the animal kingdom, theosophy describes them, like natural science, as a species; yet their essence as a species does not exhaust their individuality. Through their actions and way of life, humans spiritually reshape their individuality in the next life, just as animals physically change over many generations through altered lifestyles. Through our past actions, we have determined our destiny and continue to determine the destiny of our future lives. The practical mystic and the sage view pain and suffering merely as experiences and lessons; they would not wish to be without them, for they have learned to overcome them. At the end of his lecture, the speaker concluded that as long as a person does not work on themselves, external forces will work upon them. The more a person frees himself from these forces, the more he becomes master of his destiny—insofar as it is bound to his astral body—and capable of rising to the challenge of karma. This also explains the words of a great theosophist: “Man is not immortal; he makes himself immortal.” — The lectures, which were received with approval, were followed by stimulating discussions.