The Rudolf Steiner Archive

26. Introduction to Theosophy I

[ 1 ] In general, theosophy has only been known for a few decades, and yet it has always existed. Here we will discuss in particular how it meets the needs of our time. The word “theosophy” originates from the Apostle Paul. He speaks of two kinds of knowledge: one concerning the perception of the world and humanity through the sense organs, and one for contemplating the divine core within human beings. Through this knowledge, human beings ascend into the hidden spiritual world. Paul had been called to work through his powerful word. In Athens, he established an esoteric school, which was later continued by Dionysius the Areopagite, and from there the secret teachings we have today spread. Although we cannot trace their footsteps throughout history, we do occasionally find inspired “bearers of these secret teachings.” We see how they imparted these teachings to a select few disciples, giving rise to brotherhoods such as the Knights of the Holy Grail and, later, the Rosicrucian schools. It is primarily the latter that will be discussed here. Today we will speak about the nature of the human being as taught by the occult tradition.

[ 2 ] Where does our knowledge of the spiritual worlds come from? There have always been individuals who have been initiated, and within them what exists in the spiritual worlds has been vividly revealed. We do not perceive those worlds, but that does not give us the right to deny their existence; just as a blind person would be mistaken if he were to deny what we tell him about his surroundings. Worlds full of beings exist right in our midst, and just as a blind person can only see his surroundings after undergoing an operation, so too must we, in order to perceive these higher worlds, undergo what I would call a spiritual operation—which is precisely what initiation is. Spiritual science is the result of the life that the initiates led in these higher worlds through the organs of perception that developed within them [...]. We shall yet see what is necessary to develop these organs within ourselves.

[ 3 ] What, then, does the initiate see? For him, the physical world and what physiology and biology reveal are only a part of what he sees. Even the physical aspect of the human being, which originates in the mineral world, appears quite different to him; everywhere he sees something higher. We will speak in more detail later about this spiritual origin of the physical world, which is the Logos, of whom it is said in the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.”

[ 4 ] The first component of the human being is his physical body. This is permeated by the etheric or life body, which is the second component and is already supersensible. Human beings possess it, just as do all the kingdoms of nature—with the exception of the mineral kingdom, which does possess it but not in an individualized form. In the Gospel of John, the etheric body is called “life”—universal life. We shall see later what happens to it upon a person’s death.

[ 5 ] The third part is the astral body. In reality, a human being does not occupy only as much space in the universe as is needed for his physical body. Beyond this, he has a larger body that is the vessel of pleasure and pain and of the sensations that come to us in daily life. Only humans and animals possess it—each for themselves—while plants do not. It consists of a special substance called “astral.” Through our physical eyes we perceive physical light, but the clairvoyant perceives another light through his spiritual eye, of which the former is merely the physical shell. This second light is the spiritual or astral light from which the astral body is woven. This body resembles an egg-shaped cloud, in contrast to the etheric body, which closely resembles the form of the physical body. The Gospel of John says: “And life became the light of mankind.” It is precisely from this light that the astral body is formed. Now comes the fourth member, which is unique to human beings and makes them the highest of all creatures. Every thing has its own name, which distinguishes it from other things; we can call it by its name because it is distinct from us. But the “I” is unique and the same in all human beings. Therefore, we are in reality a single “I,” and the distinction between “I” and “you” is possible in all cases except this one. In this supersensible part of the human being, the divine makes itself known. But this does not make the human being a god. Human beings are merely as a drop is to the sea; the drop is of the same substance as the sea, but is not therefore the sea.

[ 6 ] It was the “I” that spoke through Moses: “Ejeh asher ejeh”—“I am who I am.” It was this same “I” that the priests called “Yahweh-I-am,” the manifestation of God through the innermost being of the human being. The clairvoyant can observe how the I spreads out into the whole world, into people who lack self-awareness—as primitive humans were in the Lemurian era—that is, into darkness. That is why the Gospel of John says: The light shone into the darkness, but the darkness did not comprehend it. Only gradually, as the “I” descends, will the darkness—that is, every single human being—understand it. This understanding of the light coincides with the visions of the disciples in the school of Dionysius the Areopagite.

[ 7 ] Now we come to a very ordinary fact of our lives that is extremely important, yet often overlooked: waking and sleeping. In the waking state, a person reveals all of their bodies to the clairvoyant eye, including the “I,” which radiates its light like a star. In the state of sleep, however, the circumstances change. While the physical body and the life body lie on the bed, the astral body and the “I” depart. The so-called unconsciousness sets in; joy and pain no longer occur. In the morning, the “I” and the astral body re-enter their physical vessel.

[ 8 ] Since every body is nothing more than a means of perception in relation to the sense organs, a person can perceive as many worlds—world revelations—as he has senses. The clairvoyant, however, lives in multiple worlds because he has developed the relevant faculties for this purpose. For him, the spiritual world then becomes a reality.

[ 9 ] The relationship between life and death is the same as that between waking and sleeping, but to a greater degree. We will speak in more detail about life and death later. Today, however, we want to take a closer look at what happens at the moment of death. Under normal circumstances, the physical body and the life body remain together throughout life. At death, however, the physical body remains behind alone; the life body, the astral body, and the “I” withdraw, and the physical corpse dissolves into its elements.

[ 10 ] The first sensation the deceased experiences is the feeling of expanding, more and more, and permeating their surroundings. It is a feeling of the greatest bliss to feel so united with that from which one was previously separated. The clairvoyant can experience this even during their lifetime. One could compare this feeling to dissolving into astral light, just as snow [melts] in the sun. In the Mysteries, this was called “transforming into Dionysus.” The deceased now has his own life spread out before him like a panorama, because the life body—the bearer of memory—is now freed from the physical body, which obscured it on Earth and allowed only imperfect perceptions. This panorama forms a single image, which the deceased views entirely objectively and impartially. Depending on the individual, this lasts approximately as long as he was able to remain awake during his life. For thirty-six to forty-eight hours, the deceased still carries his etheric body with him and can therefore easily reveal himself to our physical [...] organs of perception. Then the person sheds his second corpse; the usable part of the life body is absorbed by the higher bodies, while the rest falls away like dross. This fact explains the expression that frequently appears in the Bible: “It was as if scales had fallen from his eyes.” The person takes something with them like an extract of their life’s panorama, in which all their experiences are condensed. They take this with them into a higher world; this world can also be reached by the clairvoyant.