The Rudolf Steiner Archive

21. The Health Craze in the Light of Spiritual Science

[ 1 ] The common belief is that there are so many different diseases, but only one kind of health. This, however, is a nonsensical view, for in truth there are as many kinds of health as there are people. Health is, in fact, something entirely individual and, ultimately, slightly different for each person. Yet people form only a very general image of a healthy person, and whatever does not fit this image is regarded as a disease. One should ensure that a person, despite the abnormality of their illness, is able to lead the best and most comfortable life possible, as if they did not have that abnormality at all. However, one should not attempt to force them back into that general mold that one has somehow created and now wishes to impose on everyone.

[ 2 ] Admittedly, some people need a certain degree of abnormality. That is not to say, however, that we should simply let illnesses run their course. If we want to take the concept of “health” seriously, we must consider a different concept of development in all its depth and significance.

[ 3 ] Animals in their natural habitats never overeat, but this often happens when they are brought into civilization. In this environment, they contract various diseases. Animals also develop certain diseases as soon as they are placed in captivity, whereas they were completely unaffected by them in the wild. Certain mental illnesses are, in fact, direct consequences of a particular stage of civilization.

[ 4 ] Physically and chemically, the animal body is an impossible mixture. The life body is therefore a necessary link for its preservation. The astral body contains the causes of what happens in the physical and etheric bodies. However, in animals, the astral body does not have as wide a range of individual developmental possibilities as it does in humans. There is a tightly closed circle of animal instincts, desires, and passions. The animal fits completely into its environment—with its physical, etheric, and astral bodies. A captive animal can be taught to adapt to different conditions only with regard to its physical and etheric bodies; however, one cannot influence its astral body. Therefore, the animal cannot integrate itself into new conditions in a healthy way, because this would have to originate from the astral body.

[ 5 ] In human beings, too, profound changes originate in the astral body. If we wish to remain healthy during the transition from simpler to more complex circumstances, we must first adapt to those new circumstances from within—from the “I” and the astral body. This adaptation is a process in which the “I” works on the astral body, and only this process brings health to the etheric body and the physical body as well.

[ 6 ] Human beings are inherently predisposed to this development, right down to their physical bodies. Not every phenomenon has the same meaning across all kingdoms of nature, contrary to what materialist thinking assumes. This is the case, for example, with bone softening, or rickets. Human beings, with all their parts and limbs, are undergoing a process of progressive development. The body has evolved from entirely different, earlier forms into its present shape. The ego and the astral body will continue to transform the human organism. In his skeletal system, the human being must still retain the potential for softening so that he can continue to develop there as well. In human beings, there are tendencies toward both softening and hardening, so that they do not have to remain in a static state. The inner human being—the “I” and the astral body correctly guided by it—must direct such transformations. Rickets is a premature transformation of the bones because it is not correctly guided by the “I.”

[ 7 ] Spiritual science must intervene in the realm of predispositions to disease, correcting medicine in this regard and steering it in the right direction. Every person has their specific place in existence and must accordingly transform their organs in their own individual way for the sake of their personal health.

[ 8 ] Paracelsus taught profound truths on this subject and was far ahead of his time. Health, he believed, is an entirely individual matter and cannot be viewed or corrected in a cookie-cutter fashion when a disorder arises.

[ 9 ] What standard does the self use to maintain health? This cannot be studied empirically. The point is that the correct standard for health is recognized in inner harmony and well-being, in the joy of being, and in an unclouded and undisturbed zest for life. This emotional state of well-being is worth far more than any external ointments or sunbathing. Where one finds joy in flowers, trees, and sunshine—where one’s zest for life is heightened and one’s love of life is strengthened—there one remains healthy or can restore balance to impaired health. A healthy soul also creates a healthy body. On the contrary, external concoctions and procedures can rob a person of their health. Therefore, maintaining the health of the soul is of primary importance. “Mens sana in corpore sano!”

[ 10 ] Only now can this saying be properly understood. A healthy body is an indication of a healthy soul. On the other hand, a healthier soul can never be created through external changes to the body.

[ 11 ] But how does this attitude square with the doctrine of asceticism, as it is sometimes attributed to Theosophy? Theosophy is completely misunderstood if one thinks it preaches self-mortification. The Theosophist does not practice self-mortification; on the contrary, he would be mortifying himself if he had to participate in all the social fuss—for example, sitting down to dinner or going to the theater. From the perspective of correctly understood Theosophy, it is nonsense to say that this or that is prescribed for people, or that they must live in a certain way. Theosophy, in this sense, has no dogmas and does not advocate vegetarianism. However, some individual Theosophists, guided by their feelings and sensibilities, choose not to eat meat.

[ 12 ] For others, however, eating meat is still a necessity. One may also come to hold the view, in an even higher sense, that one should no longer eat meat. A doctor, who was by no means a Theosophist, answered the question of why he did not eat meat by saying that it simply disgusted him, just as it disgusts most people to have to eat cat or horse meat. For those who are making progress in their spiritual development, the desire for various things simply ceases to arise. Their instinct for certain foods has simply changed. Those who are still attached to the hustle and bustle should simply be left to it, and those who have no desire for it should not go there either. It is the refinement of the instincts and desires that keeps the physical organs healthy and makes them healthy.

[ 13 ] Thus, the humanities-based worldview seeks to give human beings the ability to guide their astral bodies so that they come into harmony with the law of humanity’s progress. One does not merely come to a standstill in the process of knowing, but also in the experience of one’s own life.

[ 14 ] The “I” of many people often follows false lights, thereby giving rise to selfishness, the spirit of lies and error, and thus to errant temperaments and passions. When the “I” is not in harmony with the world order, it wanders erratically and follows every false light that appears. It is important to familiarize oneself with these wayward temperaments and character traits. Few people today are capable of being truly sincere and truth-loving. This deficiency, however, gives rise to illness and infirmity. For this reason, some individuals can no longer be helped in certain respects because they are entangled in overly complex relationships with communities, making it impossible for them to extricate themselves. Indeed, in a community where the sick dwell alongside the healthy, the actual causes of illness often lie with the healthy rather than with the sick. And the more susceptible individuals absorb these illnesses, which are fundamentally the fault of the stronger individuals. Maintaining one’s health is therefore a duty toward all fellow human beings. Many a person carries within them an illness from a fellow human being without having caused the illness themselves.

[ 15 ] By keeping our inner self healthy, we can bring ourselves into harmony with the great laws of the universe and thereby eliminate both our own and others’ illnesses. However, this requires genuine cooperation among people. Only in this way can general health be guaranteed.

[ 16 ] Myopia, for example, stems from the fact that in our current educational system, the eye is forced to remain too passive—it receives impressions only from the outside, rather than being prompted by the soul to look and observe in the great outdoors, where there are objects both near and far. This adaptation must be brought about by the soul. Where this does not happen, the eye loses its ability to adapt.

[ 17 ] A worldview that allows everything to be dictated from the outside is extremely unhealthy; on the other hand, one that drives from within and has a creative effect is a truly healthy worldview. The constant reception of impressions from the outside alone produces the same effect as what we have described in relation to the eye as nearsightedness.

[ 18 ] One must form one’s worldview through an enlightening love. Many of today’s books are written in such a way that truths are, as it were, spoon-fed to people. However, those books that require long study and reflection to grasp their content—these are the truly good books in the theosophical sense. They are designed to stimulate inner creativity.

[ 19 ] For children, one can dissect plants in the classroom; outdoors in nature, however, one should help young people connect with the whole of living nature through their senses. Analysis and destruction would be out of place there. Love, in whatever form it may appear, has a healing effect on people because it produces noble feelings and gives something of itself. Creative expression in art and science—or in similar pursuits—is also healthy. Everything that stimulates people to act of their own accord is healthy. Theosophy seeks to refine and harmonize people’s inner emotional life by showing them the developments in the external world and pointing out the harmony that reigns within it. This makes our spirit productive and fosters health in both soul and body. Such a worldview enables people to form inner counterbalances to all external influences, with which they arm themselves against hypochondria and hysteria. Where this inner anchor is developed, the person is then fortified to face any external situation. They can then also indulge in pleasure without coming to harm. It becomes an expression of their deepest and truest health.

[ 20 ] When theosophy is introduced into life in this way, it proves its worth in our lives, and this in turn proves its validity without the need to logically refute any objections to it.