The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Lecture XXI

[ 1 ] To gain a clear understanding of the principle of reincarnation, we must first familiarize ourselves with a concept that is central to our entire worldview: the law of action and reaction. Every action produces its reaction.

[ 2 ] What can be perceived in a general sense—namely, when I strike a person and they strike back, that is, when a blow is met with a counterblow—can also be observed throughout nature. This is stated in many places in Newton’s works. It certainly applies to the occult realm as well. The counteraction is not always perceptible, but it is eminently perceptible, for example, when pressure is applied to a rubber ball. The greater the pressure, the greater the counteraction. Now, when an effect such as heat arises in nature, this heat must be drawn from another part of the environment; there, cold arises as a counteraction.

[ 3 ] This law of action and reaction, however, also applies to the entire spiritual world, and it is extremely important to know this if one wishes to understand karma and reincarnation. An action finds its expression on the physical plane. A feeling does not manifest directly on the physical plane. If I am bound to someone by friendship, we may be physically separated, so that our feeling cannot manifest outwardly through an action, and yet we can still love one another. A feeling finds its direct expression on the astral plane. Only when the feeling translates into action does it find its expression on the physical plane. We must take this distinction into account. We must be absolutely clear that every action that takes place on the physical plane has an effect somewhere and consequently also has a counter-effect. An action always brings about a change on the physical plane.

[ 4 ] If we want to understand the world more deeply, we must not limit ourselves solely to what we can see. All physical phenomena are underpinned by forces that bring them about. When we examine the structure of a crystal, for example, we can observe its shape and color on the physical plane. But there are, of course, forces involved that build it up. These forces cannot be perceived on the physical plane. Yet these forces must first be present. These forces, which create the forms on the physical plane and act as formative agents there, are themselves not on the physical plane.

[ 5 ] If we try to immerse ourselves meditatively in a crystal—for example, an octahedron-shaped crystal—if we allow it to sink completely into our soul and adapt inwardly to the crystal’s form, perhaps by letting the crystal’s shape take effect on us for an hour and then being able to will it away, then we reach the Arupa plane... (Gap in the text.) So if one allows any crystal—for example, a rock crystal—to work its way into one’s being, then retains the forms in the soul’s inclinations and finally lets them disappear, one is on the Arupa plane. Through this, we learn that the forces that constitute the crystal are on the Arupa plane.

[ 6 ] Everything that underlies the phenomena of the physical plane as forces can be found on the Arupa plane. Admittedly, such observations do not yield insights that relate directly to human life. In fact, it is very difficult to project oneself onto the Arupa Plane through the observation of human actions, except in the case of the actions of adepts. But we gain a great deal when, starting from the purely physical realms, we undertake a procedure such as immersing ourselves in a crystal, because there is, in particular, great purity and great chastity in the crystal. There are no instincts or desires within it.

[ 7 ] This ideal, which humankind is to attain in the distant future, appears in all its purity when we immerse ourselves in the silent mineral kingdom. A silent, unobtrusive, desireless stone possesses, especially for the occultist, an immense magical power. Even in the plant world, one cannot make that silent, chaste purity the object of one’s contemplation as one can in this oldest of kingdoms.

[ 8 ] Since forces that actually exist on the Arupa plane are at work on the physical plane, we must always consider two aspects of the physical world: the visible phenomena and the hidden forces. When we act on the physical plane, we first bring about phenomena, but every action actually extends up to the Arupa plane and has its counteraction there. Actions on the physical plane are imprinted on the Arupa plane like the mark of a seal and remain there. The substance of the Arupa plane is fine, soft, and durable; it is Akasha, and human actions remain imprinted there.

[ 9 ] We now turn to all those expressions of human beings that contain feelings. All the feelings that human beings express have their repercussions just as actions do; however, feelings do not extend as far as the Arupa plane, but find their repercussions in the lower regions of the Devachan plane, on the Rupa plane.

[ 10 ] In fact, this can be deduced simply by observing nature to a certain extent. If we concentrate on a plant in the same way as we do on a crystal, we must allow our imagination to linger much longer with the plant, for we must not only let its form work upon us, but also its inner movement, its life. In this way, we can also have certain experiences, though it simply takes longer than with a mineral. One must see the plant every day as a growing plant. If we first allow the small plant to make an impression on us and meditatively observe its growth until it has produced flowers and fruit, then let this impression linger, and erase its sensory form from within us—one could practice this for decades—then what the plant has awakened in us in terms of soul forces will transport us to the lower regions of the Devachan plane.

[ 11 ] Now we must ask ourselves: What force is at work in plants and gives rise to life? - If we could crawl inside a plant, live there, and grow along with it—if we could detach ourselves from our own selves and merge with the vegetation—then we would come to know from the outside something we know quite well from within: namely, human emotion—pleasure and suffering, sorrow and joy, and so on. If one could project pleasure out of oneself, one would be able to use that pleasure to cause mere mineral components to grow. Through this force, certain yogis find a way to influence the growth of plants; however, they have practiced these observations and meditations for many years, indeed throughout many incarnations.

[ 12 ] This feeling has its counterpart on the lower Devachan plane. A person has no influence over plants unless they have developed yogic powers, but we can have a revitalizing effect on our fellow human beings through a warm feeling. An educator of children, in particular, can observe this. When one faces a child with warm compassion during a lesson, one realizes the invigorating power that feeling possesses. In many other ways, too, one can observe the effects of feeling in the world. Wherever growth begins, feeling is also called upon. Art initiates growth in human beings. The artist possesses, at the very least, the beginnings of what constitutes an organizing force; at least a great artist does, such as the creator of the Head of Zeus. Artistic creation, in connection with human feelings, is something that, if elevated to a higher level, would make it possible to cause plants to grow. Theosophy should once again provide an opportunity for understanding all that is truly artistic, where it is grasped as a concept of world culture in the purest, noblest sense.

[ 13 ] Everything that is composite on the physical plane lacks an etheric body; but everything that grows has an etheric body. When a person engages in artistic, contemplative, or creative activities, they act upon the etheric body. An artistically crafted clay sculpture or a painting acts directly upon the etheric body. A virtue, on the other hand, acts upon the astral body. Some noble people who return from Devachan—because they have done nothing to engage in an activity that organizes in the sense of beauty—find themselves with an etheric body that does not at all correspond to their advanced astral body. This is why many people who lived very saintly lives in their last incarnation—but without engaging with outwardly sensually noble things—experience a fear of reincarnation, because their etheric body has not been ennobled by sensually beautiful things.

[ 14 ] This very often leads to a fear of incarnation, and in extreme cases, to idiocy in reincarnation. If a person experiences all the disadvantages of his etheric body in a life of idiocy, this is balanced out in the following incarnation. Because a person experiences a shock at the moment of incarnation—at birth—if he has not ennobled his etheric body through the influence of sensual beauty, Freemasonry has adopted beauty as its second principle. Wisdom, beauty, and power or strength are the three constructive forces; they must be developed. Whoever possesses all three becomes a human being who fits into the next incarnation with all three bodies.

[ 15 ] These things impose upon us the duty to reintroduce artistic activity into theosophic life. This has now also been incorporated into the mainstream of the Theosophical Movement. Initially, the teachings alone were intended to act upon the astral body. Now, emotion, too, is to influence the etheric body. The great teachings are not merely spoken, but built, painted, and sculpted. If we have a world around us that is built in the styles of the great Theosophical Movement, then we have accomplished much. Christianity is not only found in the canon but has also been painted by Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo, and built into the Gothic cathedrals. Then the musical element emerged, into which Christianity grew after it had been internalized.

[ 16 ] After the world of emotions, we ascend to the world of thought. When a person conceives a pure thought, he enters a different state than that brought about by his emotions and actions. For whoever conceives a pure thought also generates a counterforce through that thought. Europeans very rarely have such a pure thought; rather, their thoughts are usually clouded by instincts, desires, and passions. For the most part, there is only one instance in which Europeans have pure thoughts, namely in mathematics. When people do calculations, their passions play very little role. Because most people want emotion and criticism to be involved in everything, they do not love mathematics. This is not something that can be decided by a parliamentary vote. People recognize mathematical truth through truth itself; a problem can be solved in only one way. Whether one person or a million people decide, the problem must always be solved in the same way. We would have no need for majority decisions anywhere if it were possible to make decisions in all fields as dispassionately and objectively as in mathematics. In Europe, one can only point to this as an ideal—that one day judgments will be made in such a dispassionate, objective manner in other areas of life as well.

[ 17 ] The researchers would not be arguing at all if they considered the factors completely objectively, for the truth cannot present itself to people in different ways. People hold different opinions because they are involved in their ideas in different ways through their instincts and passions. Haeckel has different instincts than Wasmann; therefore, they both judge differently. In a truly philosophical sense—in the highest sense of the word—no philosophy has spoken about human affairs as objectively, with the purity of mathematical judgments, as Vedanta philosophy. Whoever immerses himself in it knows what it means: “I need no one else to know whether something is true.”—Whoever truly rises to this clear, dispassionate way of thinking needs no other opinion.

[ 18 ] Heraclitus and Hegel were more free from their passions than Du Bois-Reymond, Herbert Spencer, and Haeckel; that is why they stand on a higher plane. There are different points of view and judgments, but no truths that truly contradict one another. Haeckel’s truth crawls along the ground; Vedanta wisdom rises in dispassionate purity and surveys things from on high. It does not contradict materialism, but occupies a higher vantage point than materialism. In his *Metamorphosis of Plants*, Goethe attempted to create such a dispassionate form as the mathematician creates. He actually wanted to create such dispassionate thoughts and bring the mathematical spirit into the higher realms. Only a little yoga, a little purification of the emotions, can make clear what Goethe means by his botany.

[ 19 ] Because thought is sacred in this way, one is on the Devachan plane with one’s thoughts. The European is almost never on the Devachan plane except when he is calculating. Certain aspects of artistic creation also rise to the Devachan plane. Where Goethe reaches the highest heights as an artist, he is very difficult to understand. He attempted to incorporate this dispassionate thought into “Iphigenia” and “Tasso”; but even more so in the drama “The Natural Daughter.” It is precisely these dramas that have had a powerful effect on people who were strong and energetic. Such people have shed tears over *The Natural Daughter*.

[ 20 ] The counteraction to such a thought, which is on the Devachan plane, is found on the astral plane. These thoughts radiate downward toward the astral plane, while other influences radiate upward. For example, in Fichte’s case, the content of the thought in “Die natürliche Tochter” acted upon the astral plane—upon his feelings—and moved him to tears. That was the counter-effect of the thought. Some people are most deeply moved by the influence of such pure thoughts. In the case of action and feeling, the counter-effect moves upward; here, it moves downward.

[ 21 ] Even though thoughts rarely manifest as pure thoughts in and of themselves, they are nevertheless always present as driving forces. Even though there is much disagreement among opinions, the thoughts are still there. When a person lives in thought on the Devachan plane, he must grasp that thought in such a way that he develops a feeling for it. Most people agree with the first theosophical principle insofar as it is an opinion. But if one asks whether they also hold it with feeling, one will come to a different conclusion. Only when one has brought an opinion to which one adheres down to the astral plane has one’s own feeling become fully imbued with it; only then does the opinion truly become active. The Theosophical Movement seeks to develop people, to bring them—along with their lives and feelings—to the level of its principles.

[ 22 ] Let us recapitulate. All of our external actions have an effect on the Arupa plane. We leave behind a whole framework of effects on the Arupa plane during a single lifetime between birth and death. An imprint of everything we have felt in life exists on the Rupa plane. An imprint of everything we have thought exists on the astral plane. After death, we first pass through Kamaloka and then arrive on the Rupa plane. We arrive there when we have not yet conceived very many such Devachan thoughts. Once we have conceived such Devachan thoughts, we have already become chelas, secret disciples; then we already have the Devachan plane entirely within us.

[ 23 ] The chela can remain on the astral plane; he forgoes Devachan because, through his pure thoughts, he has purified and strengthened his astral body to such an extent that he can continue to use it. For us, everything in the Kamaloka that has not yet been processed and refined by the Self dissolves there. In the case of the primitive human, the greatest portion dissolves; in the case of the highly evolved human, the smallest portion dissolves. The astral body that has already been refined is taken along to Devachan. Everything we have developed as our emotional life prepares us for a new life and works upon us. Once we have become one with all our actions, we are propelled back toward our next incarnation. The immortalized part of the “I”—the “I” and the refined astral body—now returns and, in the astral realm, reattaches itself to a body that corresponds to what has not yet been refined. The preparation for attaching a foreign astral limb is acquired precisely in Devachan. Then it attaches itself to the etheric body. As a result, a preview of everything that awaits the person emerges. Just as, upon leaving the physical body, memory of the immediate past—all the way back to birth—awakens in the etheric and astral bodies, so now does the foreknowledge of what is to come. At this point, something unusual can sometimes occur: one may suffer a shock that causes idiocy. — As the descent continues, the physical body is reattached.

[ 24 ] Because thoughts operate only on the astral plane, they are the most intimate in karmic terms. They are creativity in and of themselves. That is why the saying holds true: What you think today, you will be tomorrow! — The purer and more supersensible the thought, the more one becomes the creator of one’s own character.

[ 25 ] Fate is shaped by other factors as well: emotions create the opportunities, and actions give them form.

Appearance		Forces
Physical Plane	Actions	Arupa Plane
Astral Plane	Feelings	Rupa Plane
Devachan Plane	Thoughts	Astral Plane