The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Lecture II

[ 1 ] Today we will examine three important concepts related to the aspects of human nature. They serve, so to speak, as a guide through the entire world. These are: activity or movement, wisdom—which is also called the Word—and, thirdly, will. When we speak of activity, we actually mean something very general. The esotericist, however, sees in activity, first and foremost, the foundation of the entire universe as it surrounds us. For the esotericist, the primary form of the universe is a product of activity. To the ordinary human mind, the world appears as something finished; the esotericist, however, tells himself that what we see is a product of activity. What appears to be finished is a stage of progressive activity, a point of transition. The entire world is constantly in a state of activity. This activity is, in fact, karma,

[ 2 ] When we speak of human beings, we speak of their astral body in terms of karma and activity. In fact, the astral body is what is closest to the human being. Whatever a person experiences—which determines their well-being or misfortune, their pleasure or suffering—originates from their astral body. Love, passion, joy, pain, ideals, and duty are all connected to the astral body. When we speak of pleasure and suffering, instincts, wishes, and desires, we are speaking of the astral body. Human beings constantly experience the astral body, but the seer perceives the form of the astral body. This astral body is in a state of constant transformation. At first, it is undifferentiated, as long as the human being has not yet worked on it. However, in our time, the human being is constantly working on it. When the human being distinguishes between what is permitted and what is forbidden, he works inward from his “I.” From the middle of the Lemurian period until the middle of the sixth root race, the human being has been working on his astral body.

[ 3 ] Why do humans work on this? They work on their astral body because, in the realm of action, every single action elicits a counter-reaction. Every action elicits a counter-reaction. When we run our hand across the tabletop, it becomes hot. The heat is the counter-reaction to our action. Thus, every action gives rise to another. Because certain animals migrated into the dark caves of Kentucky, they no longer needed their eyesight but only sensitive tactile organs to find their way. The result was that blood drained from their eyes and they went blind. This was the consequence of their action—migrating into the caves of Kentucky.

[ 4 ] The human astral body is in constant activity. That is what constitutes its life. In the strictest sense, this activity is called human karma. What I do today finds expression in the astral body. If I strike someone, that is an action and elicits a counter-strike. This is balancing justice: karma. Activity is a blow that provokes a counterblow. This must then be linked to the concept of cause and effect. In karma, there is always something out of balance; it always demands something else.

[ 5 ] The second aspect in human nature and in the universe is: wisdom. Just as karma is something unbalanced, wisdom has an element of calm and balance. That is why it is also called rhythm. All wisdom, in its form, is rhythm. In the astral body, there may be a great deal of sympathy, in which case there is a lot of green in the aura. This green was once challenged as a contrasting color. Green was originally counterbalanced by red, a selfish instinct. Through activity—karma—this has been transformed into green. In wisdom, in rhythm, everything is complete and balanced. In human beings, everything rhythmic and wise resides in the etheric body. The etheric body is therefore the aspect of the human being that represents wisdom. Calm and rhythm reign in the etheric body.

[ 6 ] The physical body actually represents the will. In contrast to mere stillness, the will is the creative force that brings things into being. Thus, we have the following progression: first, karma—activity, the unbalanced; second, wisdom—that which has come to rest; third, the will—an existence so abundant that it can surrender itself. Thus, activity, wisdom, and the will are the three stages through which all existence flows.

[ 7 ] Let us consider the human being standing before us from this perspective. First of all, the human being has a physical body. The human being has absolutely no influence over the physical body as it currently exists. What the human being is and does physically is created from the outside by creative forces. He cannot regulate the movement of his brain molecules himself, nor can he control his blood circulation of his own accord. This simply means that the physical body is created without the human being and is also sustained by other forces. It has, as it were, merely been lent to him. The human being is incarnated into a physical body that has been created for him by other forces. The etheric body, too, is in a certain sense created for him by other forces. In contrast, the astral body is formed partly by other forces and partly by the human being himself. To the extent that the astral body is shaped by the human being himself, it becomes his karma. What he has worked into it himself must have a karmic effect. This is also the immortal, the imperishable aspect of him. The physical body came into being through the karma of other beings; but the part of the human being’s astral body into which he has worked since the Lemurian era—that is his karma. Only when the human being has worked through the entire astral body has he reached the stage of freedom. Then the entire astral body has been transformed from within. Human beings are then entirely the result of their own actions, of their own karma.

[ 8 ] If we single out any stage of development, we find that the human being has an astral body that is, in part, the product of his own work. However, what is the product of his own work lives within the etheric body and the physical body. What the human being has made of himself lives within the physical body, and through the physical body it lives in the physical world. He would not be able to form concepts of the physical world if he did not work within it through his organs. What the human being experiences in the astral body, he works into himself. When observing the physical world, all three of his bodies are active. For example, when he sees a rose, all three bodies are involved. First, he sees the color red; this involves the physical body. In a camera obscura, the rose makes the same impression. Second, however, this rose is perceived by the human being in the etheric body as a living image. Third, the rose brings joy to the person, and this involves the astral body. These are the three stages of human observation. The innermost being of the person works through the three bodies into the outer world. Whatever a person takes in from the outer world, they take in through these three bodies.

[ 9 ] All these things, which relate to human activity or karma, are rooted in desire. Human beings would not need to act if they had no desire. However, they have the desire to participate in their environment. That is why we also call their astral body their “body of desire.”

[ 10 ] There is an inner connection between human activity and the human organs. Human beings need their organs for both their basest and their noblest instincts. They need them in art as well. Once a person has, as it were, drawn everything out of the world, they no longer need their organs. Between birth and death, a person becomes accustomed to perceiving the world through his organs. After death, he must slowly shed this habit. If he still wishes to use his organs to perceive the world even then, he finds himself in the state known as Kamaloka. It is a state in which the desire to perceive through the senses still exists, even though the senses themselves are no longer present. If, after death, a person could tell themselves that they no longer wish to use their senses, there would be no more Kamaloka for them. In Devachan, however, everything that a person previously perceived through their senses in life is now perceived from within, without the use of the senses.

[ 11 ] Karma, a person’s activity through the astral body, is something unbalanced. However, as this activity gradually reaches a state of equilibrium, a balancing out occurs. When a pendulum is set in motion, it gradually returns to equilibrium. Every unbalanced activity eventually transitions into a state of rest. A few irregularities can be observed, but when the irregularities are infinitely numerous, they balance each other out again. For example, one can use an instrument to observe the irregularities caused in a city by the operation of electric trains. In a small town, where the trams do not move around as much, the instrument continuously shows strong fluctuations; but in a large city, where movement is much stronger and more frequent, the instrument is much more at rest because the many irregularities balance each other out. So it is in Devachan with every irregularity.

[ 12 ] In Devachan, the human being looks within. He observes what he has taken in; he must continue to observe it until it has reached a rhythmic state.

[ 13 ] A blow provokes a counterblow; but the counterblow does not return until it has passed through many intermediaries. In the meantime, however, the effect continues. The relationship between the blow and the counterblow is transformed into wisdom in Devachan. What a person has transformed into wisdom is transformed within the person into rhythm, in contrast to activity. What has been transformed into rhythm passes into the etheric body. After Devachan, one has become wiser and better because one has processed all experiences in Devachan. Those vibrations from the astral body that have been incorporated into the etheric body are immortal. When a person dies, what they have processed from the astral body remains, as does the small portion of the etheric body that they have worked on; the rest of the etheric body dissolves into the world ether. To the extent that a person has processed this small portion of the etheric body, that portion is immortal. That is why, upon their return, they rediscover this portion of the etheric body. What they need to supplement this portion of the etheric body determines the duration of their stay in Devachan.

[ 14 ] When a person has reached the point where he has completely transformed his entire etheric body, he no longer needs Devachan. This is the case with the advanced initiate, who has transformed his etheric body to such an extent that the entire etheric body remains after death and does not need to pass through Devachan. This is called renouncing Devachan. One can allow a person to work on their etheric body if one is certain that they will no longer bring anything evil into the rest of the world; otherwise, they would project their evil instincts into the world. In hypnosis, it is possible that the hypnotized person may project the hypnotist’s evil instincts into the world. In a normal person, the physical body prevents the etheric body from being tugged and pulled in all directions. However, when the physical body is in a state of lethargy, one can work into the etheric body. If one hypnotizes a person and works negative instincts into them, these remain even after death. Many practices of black magicians consisted of creating willing servants in this way. The rule of white magicians is not to allow anyone to influence another’s etheric body to a greater extent than that to which the person’s instincts have already been purified through catharsis. Calm and wisdom reign in the etheric body. When something evil enters it, that evil comes to rest and thereby remains.

[ 15 ] Before a person, as a student, is guided to the point where they can work on their etheric body at will, they must at least partially be able to assess their karma and attain self-knowledge. Therefore, meditation must not be undertaken without continuous self-knowledge and self-observation. This enables the individual to see the Keeper of the Threshold at the right moment: the karma that he still has to work off. When one reaches this stage in a normal state, it means nothing other than the recognition of the karma that still remains. When I begin to work into the etheric body, I must resolve to balance the karma that still remains. It may happen that the Keeper of the Threshold appears in an abnormal manner. This occurs when a person feels such a strong attraction to the life between birth and death that, due to a lack of inner activity, they cannot remain in Devachan long enough. If a person has become too accustomed to looking outward, they have nothing to see within. They then soon return to physical life. Their desires remain; the brief stay in Devachan is soon over; and when they return, the form of their former desires is still present in Kamaloka; they still encounter it there. They reincarnate. There, the old astral body mingles with his new one; this is the previous karma, the Guardian of the Threshold. He then has his past karma constantly before him; this becomes a peculiar kind of doppelgänger.

[ 16 ] Many of the popes from the infamous Papal Age, such as Alexander VI, had such doppelgängers in their next incarnation. There are people—and this is by no means rare today—who constantly have their former lower nature at their side. This is a specific kind of madness. It will become ever stronger and more intense because life in the material realm is expanding more and more. Many people who are now completely absorbed in material life will have the abnormal form of the Keeper of the Threshold at their side in their next incarnation. If spiritual influence were not being exerted very strongly now, a kind of epidemic manifestation of the Keeper of the Threshold would occur as a consequence of materialistic culture. A harbinger of this is the nervousness of our century. It is a kind of absorption in the periphery. All the nervous people of today will be driven by the Keeper of the Threshold in their next incarnation. They will be driven into a premature incarnation, a kind of cosmic premature birth. What we must strive for through Theosophy is a sufficiently long period in Devachan to avoid such premature incarnations.

[ 17 ] Christ’s entry into world history must be viewed from this perspective. Previously, anyone who wished to attain a life in Christ was led to the point where they had to enter into the Mystery. There, the physical body was rendered lethargic, and only the pure priesthood imparted to the astral body what was still lacking for its purification. That was the initiation.

[ 18 ] But because Christ came into the world, it came to pass that those who felt drawn to him could receive from him a substitute [for this old form of initiation]. It is always possible, through union with Christ, to purify one’s astral body to such an extent that one can integrate it into one’s etheric body without causing harm to the world. When one considers this, the concept of the vicarious atoning death takes on an entirely different meaning. This is what is meant by the atoning death of Christ. Previously, everyone who wished to attain purification had to undergo death within the Mysteries. Now, the One has suffered it for all, so that through this initiation of world-historical significance, a substitute has been created for the old initiation. Through Christianity, much that was previously not communal has been made communal. The active power is expressed in that, through introspection and true mysticism, communion with Christ is made possible. This was also embedded in the language itself. The first Christian initiate in Europe, Ulfilas, embedded it into the German language itself, so that human beings found the “I” within the language. Other languages express this relationship to the “I” through a particular form of the verb—for example, “amo” in Latin—but the German language adds the “I.” “I” stands for J.Ch. = Jesus Christ. This was intentionally embedded in the German language; it is no coincidence. It is the initiates who created the language. Just as Sanskrit has “AUM” for the Trinity, we have the symbol “ICH” for the inner self of the human being. Through this, a center was created through which the passions of the world can be transformed into rhythm. They must be brought into rhythm through the “Ich.” This center is, literally, the Christ.

[ 19 ] All Western nations have developed activity and passions. An impulse must come from the East to bring calm to these very same nations. A harbinger of this is already found in Tolstoy’s book *Idleness*. In the activities of the West, we often find chaos. This chaos continues to grow. The spirituality of the East is meant to bring a center to the chaos of the West. What has been practiced for a long time as karma is transformed into wisdom. Wisdom is the daughter of karma. All karma finds its balance in wisdom. A sage who has reached a certain level is called a “Sun Hero” because his inner being has become rhythmic. His life is a reflection of the sun, which traverses the sky in rhythmic paths.

[ 20 ] The word “AUM” is the breath. The breath is to the word as the Holy Spirit is to Christ, as the Atma is to the self.