VI.
MAN'S DESCENT INTO AN EARTHLY INCARNATION.
When, as we saw
yesterday, man has reached the stage in the spiritual world
in which he has, so to speak, transformed everything which he
possessed in the form of capacities and talents acquired
during his earthly life, then the time has come for him to
prepare for a new incarnation. But we must realise that two
things should be dealt with in that which comes towards us
from the human being. One thing is that which reproduces
itself in the course of physical heredity, and the other is
that which the human being brings along into the world from
his earlier lives on earth.
To-day we shall
have to describe man's descent into the world, but you need
not object to the word “descent”, for it is not a
spatial descent, but a gradual process of development whereby
man comes out of the world which is round about us and enters
into the physical world.
Yesterday we
saw that the spiritual world should not be sought in a
“Beyond”, but that it is also round about us;
modern man, however, is not able to perceive this spiritual
world.
Out of this
spiritual world develops that which we designate as a new
embodiment. We saw that from his former life man retains an
essence of his etheric and of his astral body, a survey of
his experiences, and that he also took with him into the
spiritual world that part of his astral body which he had
been able to transmute, casting off the unrefined part.
It will be
easier to form an idea of reincarnation if we bear in mind a
few other things concerning the life after death. We saw that
immediately after his physical death man lives for about
three and a half days within his etheric body and that his
past life rises up before him in these three and a half days
like a kind of picture. The etheric body dissolves and then
comes the Kamaloka time; this is the time of purification, in
which the astrality still requiring purification is cleaned
and purged.
But now I must
mention another experience. When this memory picture arises
immediately after death, man has a significant experience. He
has the experience as if he suddenly grew in size, quickly
breaking through his own surface and growing out into space.
This feeling does not vanish until he is born again. Man
feels that he is as large as the whole world to which he
belongs, as large as the whole space of the universe. This
will enable you to realise that man can look upon his body
and experience it as something which does not belong to him,
for he sees his passions as if they were outside his body. He
has the strange feeling of being spread out over the whole
universe.
Then comes
something which is more difficult to understand. During the
whole time of Kamaloka man feels as if he were really split
up into space. You may understand this better if you bear in
mind the following: During the time of Kamaloka, when man
lives through his life backwards as far as his childhood, in
the manner described, he passes through all his experiences
as if they were reflected in a mirror. If he once slapped
someone's face it is he who now feels the slap, for he feels
that he is a part of the world once occupied by the other
person. For example, if you died here in Kassel and the other
person whom you slapped lives in Paris, then you feel as if
one part of your being were in Paris. Thus you feel as if you
were split up over, the whole world; parts of you live, so to
speak, wherever you have to look for something. But you
should understand this in such away that you cannot feel
anything in the space between Kassel and Paris. If you thus
bear in mind all the events of your life, you really feel
split up into many many places during your passage through
the period after death.
The following
may serve you as a simile: A wasp. consists of two parts, a
front and a back part, with a very thin connection. Now
imagine that the back part were completely severed, but that
the wasp nevertheless, drags it along with it. This is more
or less the way in which you can picture to yourself what I
have just described: You feel that you consist of single
parts and that there is no connection between them. But when
the human being enters Devachan, he once more feels as he did
immediately after death, namely as if he filled up the whole
space of the universe.
Now, when in
Devachan man has transformed all his dispositions into
talents and capacities, the Ego once more feels attracted
towards the physical earth and endeavors to descend to the
earth in a physical incarnation. First of all the Ego
surrounds itself with an astral body. This process takes
place through the fact that Ego attracts everything astral;
the astral substance comes shooting towards it, as it were.
It is just as if you were holding a magnet in front of iron
filings; even as these filings are attracted in definite
forms, so the Ego attracts the astral substance. But while
passing through the soul and spirit realms the Ego has gained
impressions through its experiences and all these form the
fundamental forces which help to build up the new astral
body. The new astral body thus takes along with it everything
that the human being has experienced during his former life
and in Kamaloka. All the impressions which he has had there,
have a definite influence upon the way in which the new
astral body enters into him.
The human being
has now acquired an astral body; but he must also have the
other members. The astral body has only been formed through
its own forces of attraction. Before conception, man is
enfolded only by this astral body. The seer therefore
continually sees these astral germs of human beings waiting
to be born — that is to say, waiting to be conceived.
He sees them flying about with a tremendous speed; bell-like
shapes move about. through space with enormous speed;
distances play no part whatever; they move so rapidly that
distances play no part at all.
Now comes the
enfolding with an etheric body; but that a process in which
the human being does not become enfolded with his own forces
alone. His own forces, which lie in him, can no longer care
for the etheric body; for that purpose, man needs the help,
of certain spiritual Beings who must cooperate in this.
You may have an
idea of these Beings if you bear in mind that you sometimes
use words which you do not generally connect with any
definite thought; for instance, the word Folk-spirit,
Folk-soul. To-day we have no definite idea in connection with
this word, but only something quite abstract. But the
clairvoyant seer connects with it something quite different.
There really are Beings of a higher nature, who exist even as
we ourselves exist, but who never incarnate in the flesh, and
these beings are the souls, or the souls of
tribes and races. We do not use a vague expression when
speaking of the Folk-soul: The Folk-soul is a real being,
except that it does not possess a physical body, for its
lowest member is the etheric body. Then the Folk-soul has an
astral body, the Ego, Manas, Budhi, Atma, and a still higher
member which man does not attain and which Christian
Esoterisism calls the Holy Spirit, and which
Theosophy generally designates as the Logos.
The clairvoyant
seer may therefore address the Folk-Soul even as he addresses
other human beings. To-day we have no real conception of such
things and believe that this word designates characteristics
of single nations. But this is not true — a reality is
connected with it. The understanding for such things was
necessarily lost through the materialistic conception, but it
will be reached again. To-day men are inclined to dissolve
such things into empty concepts. This had to come. For this
same reason a book had to be published in our modern epoch
which constitutes, so to speak, the very opposite of a
theosophical conception. This book had to appear and has been
greatly admired. It is Fritz Mauthner's
“Kritik der Sprache”
(The Critique of Language). Mauthner is a
thinker who dissolves everything which lies beyond sensory
things. Only a radical thinker who had been abandoned by
every good spirit, could have the courage to write as
Mauthner did, breaking with everything that is spiritual and
real. In centuries to come, men will turn to this very book
when they wish to know how people used to think at the
beginning of the 20th century.
The Folk-Soul
is a reality; it spreads out like a mass of fog, and in it
are embedded all the etheric bodes of the individual human
beings belonging to a definite nation and its forces stream
into the etheric bodies of individual men.
Now there are
spiritual beings having the rank of these Folk-souls, who
cooperate in the building up of the etheric body of the new
soul. These spiritual beings bring about the fact that the
human being is led towards the nation which is most suited to
him. The etheric body does not always fit quite perfectly;
all the disharmonies which you often encounter in life often
depend upon the fact that man is unable to build up his
etheric body through his own forces. A complete harmony will
only be reached upon a much later stage of development of the
earth.
The enfolding
with the etheric body takes place with great rapidity —
a speed which you cannot conceive of if you compare it with
physical conditions. Still higher spiritual beings then lead
man towards the parents who are able to supply him with the
substance which he needs for his physical body.
The modern
materialist who sees that the son resembles his parents, will
not be able to believe that something else is also connected
with the body inherited from the parents. Of course, as
regards our body we resemble our ancestors, but this does not
contradict the facts explained above.
Let us observe
a definite case — the family of Bach In the course of
two hundred and fifty years, over 29 more or less significant
musicians have come out of that family. Materialists will
say: This clearly proves that there is such a thing as
heredity! — In the same way the family Bernoulli
produced eight mathematicians in a short time. How can we
explain this? We can understand this best of all if we bear
in mind hereditary conditions. As this is easier to grasp in
the case of a musician lot us observe the family of Bach.
Let us suppose
that a young Bach had lived in Rome during his former
incarnation, that he had elaborated his dispositions and was
ready to reincarnate. Supposing he had brought with him, as
the result of his former incarnations, the greatest musical
gifts; he could do nothing with these gifts if he were not
able to find a well developed ear. Without such a well
developed ear, he would be just as helpless as a great artist
without an instrument. Necessarily such an individuality
would have to incarnate in a body supplying a good organ for
his dispositions. But the external form of the inner and
outer organs is hereditary and if this individuality wished
to become a musician, a well developed ear would be
essential! Where can he most easily acquire such an organ? In
a family of musicians. So he is led towards a family where he
can find the best organ for his further development and the
unfolding of the talents reposing in him. At that time, the
best which could be found in that direction were the parents
of Johann Sebastian Bach.
And how do
matters stand with the brothers Bernoulli? Mathematical
thought does not depend upon the structure of the brain (for
mathematical logic does not differ from any other), but the
mathematical gift is based upon the specially exact
development in the structure of the three semicircular
canals. This is an organ not larger that a pea, embedded in
the middle of the ear and consisting of three semicircular
canals, exactly corresponding to the three-dimensional space.
If one canal lies exactly horizontally, then the second one
stretches from right to left, and the third one from the
front to the back.
[Note 1]
They all face one another in an angle of 90 degrees The essential
thing is therefore this exact position: The more exact the
right angle is, the better does the organ function. If the
organ is in any way injured, giddiness arises; you can no
longer orientate yourself in space. The mathematical talent,
that is to say, the possibility of using it, is based upon a
specially fine elaboration of these canals. And this organ is
inherited in the same way as, the musical ear.
The brain forms
thoughts concerning space in exactly the same way in which it
forms thoughts on philosophy. But the fact of having an
understanding for the forms in space depends upon these three
semicircular canals. Thus an individuality with highly
developed mathematical gifts will incarnate in a family in
which this organ has reached the most perfect development and
this was the case in the family Bernoulli.
A suitable
instrument is also needed in order to be morally efficient.
An individuality with a high morality therefore seeks parents
who promise to supply the best instrument for this purpose.
The proverb, which is often used so superficially and
trivially: “one cannot be too careful in the choice of
one's parents”, is true in the deepest and most earnest
sense, for a child chooses its own parents, so to speak.
Many people
might object to this and ask: How can we explain mother-love,
if that is so? For mother-love depends on the fact that the
mother knows that the child is part of her own self. But
viewed in the right light, mother-love does not suffer in any
way — on the contrary, we learn to know it better.
Why is a child
born to a certain mother? Because its spiritual qualities
lead it to a mother who is spiritually related to it, and the
child loves its mother even before it is conceived;
mother-love is, as it were, the counter-part of this primary
love and attraction. Consequently this insight even deepens
the idea of mother-love.
Now the
occasion for incarnate is essentially dependent on the
qualities of father and mother; and there, father and mother
work differently. When a human being descends to a new birth,
the Ego, which possesses more volitional forces, feels more
attracted by the father, and the more astral forces by the
mother. The father has a greater influence upon the Ego, the
will and character, and the mother has more influence upon
the astral body — that is to say, more in the direction
of thought. Of course, it is best of all if both parents are
suited to the individuality seeking to incarnate.
When man
descends, those forces are also active which were impressed
upon him when he ascended to the spiritual worlds. All this
develops forces of attraction and he is drawn into the sphere
which was related to him from the very beginning. He is
consequently led towards those human beings with whom he was
already connected before.
Let me give you
an example based on real fact. It once happened that a man
was sentenced to death by a vehmgericht of four or
five judges and executed. The former life of these six men
was investigated through spiritual science and it appeared
that they had formerly all been together on earth, but that
the executed man had been their chieftain and that the others
had been sentenced to death by him. The last execution was
therefore a kind of atonement. This case in particular brings
into clear evidence the law of Karma.
Thus the
various forces which man attracted during his former life
exercise a determining influence when he is born again, both
in regard to the structure of his body and the place of
birth, and in regard to his later destiny. Disharmonies
appear in the physical body even more strongly than in the
etheric body.
All these
things show how man becomes enfolded by the three bodies when
he is born again. And in every incarnation one Ego works upon
the astral body, the etheric body and the physical body.
Later on we shall see how man ascends to this high degree of
perfection, for he transforms the astral body and the etheric
body more and more. Out of the purified astral body develops
Manas, out of the purified etheric body Budhi, and out of the
purified physical body Atma. We are therefore able to imagine
the ever growing perfection of man from incarnation to
incarnation.
This appears
most beautifully in the Lord's Prayer. But we can only
understand it in the right way if we grasp it in the truly
Christian meaning, as it was grasped in the Occult School of
St. Paul. In this School the Lord's Prayer was explained
according to its true Christian meaning, and the pupils were
told: Imagine the higher members of human nature, which
develop, through the fact that man more and more refines his
three lower members. Early Christianity used to look upon
these three higher members (Manas, Budhi, Atma) as man's
higher nature. By developing the three higher members more
and more, man gradually approaches the Godhead. From this
standpoint, the esoteric Christians of the past used to call
the three highest members the Divine Nature, and they called
the highest Atma, i.e. the Father. This is the deepest divine
essence in man: the Father in Heaven.
The Father is
the essence towards which all men develop. He is the centre
of the world's creation. The creation in the Christian
meaning, can be best imagined if we bear in mind the
sacrifice. Think of your mirrored-image, and assume that you
could be just as selfless as this mirrored image, to the
point of being able to sacrifice your own life. This is how
we must think of a selfless creative activity: We ourselves
must become completely one with the created object.
Now imagine the
Father as the centre of a reflecting hollow sphere: The
Father's image will in that case be reflected a
thousand-fold. The esoteric Christian of olden times said to
himself: Look at the world: All the Beings in it are, after
all, the reflected images of God. And in their esoterisism
they used to call this reflection of the Godhead's own image
“the Kingdom”, that is to say: God, reflecting
Himself everywhere.
“Continue
now to develop your feelings,” was the instruction
given to the pupil of esoteric Christianity in olden times,
“continue to develop, your feelings. and if you can
perceive God in everything, if you have dissolved the Godhead
in an infinite number of single objects, and if you wish to
distinguish these objects you must give each a name. This
name: must be sanctified, it must be hallowed, for every
single creature is a mirrored image of' the
Godhead.”
In the course
of his development, aiming at the attainment of God, man
enters into these three elements. But you must not think that
man becomes God. Take a drop out of the ocean: In its essence
it is akin to the ocean, but it is not the ocean. In the same
way the drop of divine nature within us is akin to God, to be
sure, but it is not “the Godhead.” By developing
the three highest members more and more, man gradually
becomes united with the Kingdom; for the spiritual world
comes down to him.
Here you have
the three first entreaties in the Lord's Prayer: the first
place, the appeal to the Father; in the second
place, the entreaty that the Kingdom should come to
us; in the third place, the Hallowing of the Name.
If we develop
those three highest members within us, we shall always
endeavour to avoid acting in a way which is not in harmony
with the Spirit of the Father, from Whom we descend and to
Whom we go in our development.
In contrast to
the three higher members esoteric Christianity then considers
the four lower members of man which must also become more and
more perfect.
The physical
body consists of the same substances which are also to be
found outside in Nature, and these substances continually go
in and out of our physical body. Indeed, if the physical body
is to remain healthy, they must continually go in and
out.
The etheric
body has forces which are inter-related with the whole
Folk-soul, even as the physical body's forces are
inter-related with the whole of Nature. If the physical body
is to remain sound, physical substances must go in and out of
it day by day. If the etheric body is to remain sound, it
must not develop upon an individual basis, but enter into
harmony with the whole Folk-soul and with all the higher
Beings.
The word
“trespasses” is connected with the word
“debts.” Debts clearly show that you do not stand
there isolated, but that you live within social connection
with your fellow-men.
That which
brings disorder into the astral body of man was considered in
early Christian esotericism as something connected with man's
inclinations, passions, impulses and desires. Everything
which can bring disorder into these is expressed by the word
“temptation”. “Trespasses” are
something which brings man into connection with the social
community, whereas “temptation” is something into
which every man may fall, in so far as he is an individual
being.
If physical
substances did not go in and out of our physical body, this
body would come into disorder. Hence, we pray: this day our
daily bread.
If the etheric
body did not enter into a harmonious relationship with the
Folk-soul, that is to say, if it did not insert itself
harmoniously into the whole social structure, this body too
would come into disorder. Hence we pray: Forgive us our
trespasses.
If man fell
into the error of giving way to every temptation which
approaches him, this would bring disorder into his astral
body. Hence we pray: Lead us not into temptation.
The Ego can
commit errors which we designate as “evil”.
Everything which transforms a normal, sound
self-consciousness
into to evil, that is to say, into selfishness, belongs to
these errors of the Ego (which is our own Self). To these
errors belong all the aberrations of selfishness and egoism.
Hence we pray: Deliver us from evil.
The physical
body can thus develop soundly if we nourish it in the right
way with daily bread.
The etheric
body can develop soundly, if we bring it into a right harmony
with the social structure in which we live.
The astral body
can develop soundly, that is to say, it can be purged and
purified, if we overcome all temptations.
The Ego can
develop soundly, if we endeavour to transform every form of
egoism into altruism, every form of selfishness to
selflessness. Thus we may see in the Lord's Prayer a prayer
encompassing the whole development of man.
Someone might
now object — and you will often come across this
objection: The Lord' s Prayer is one that was given by Christ
Jesus for every man. Of what use are explanations such as the
above, since the majority of men knows nothing about
them?
The naive'
person need not know anything about them. Look at the rose.
The greatest wisdom has built up the rose, and yet even the
simplest man may rejoice in it! It is not necessary to know
anything of the wisdom contained, in the rose. It is the same
with the Lord' s prayer. A power goes out from it and
influences the human soul, even if the soul in its simplicity
does not know this . But the Lord's Prayer could never
contain this force had it not been drawn out of the deepest
wisdom. Every great prayer, such as this greatest of all
prayers, has been drawn out of the deepest wisdom, and the
power of such prayers is based upon this fact. If you think
that this is simply a thought-out explanation, you will be
wrong, for the Being Who gave us the Lord' s Prayer laid into
it this deep power.
You may
therefore see that only with the help of spiritual science
can we understand that which we practice daily the power of
which has been experienced by mankind for nearly two thousand
years.
Now we have
reached a stage in the development of humanity where it is no
longer possible to proceed without such a deepening of our
understanding. Formerly, that is to say, up to that moment,
humanity was able to feel the spiritual forces contained in
this prayer without knowing its deeper meaning. But now
humanity has progressed so far in its development that it
must ask after this meaning, and an answer has to be given
now.
The Christian
religion will not lose any of its value thereby, but it will,
on the contrary, manifest itself in its whole depth.
Religious truths will be gained anew through the greatest
wisdom. The esoteric explanation of the Lord's Prayer is an
example of this. (See Rudolf Steiner's booklet:
The Lord's Prayer)
It shows us the path which man must tread
through many incarnations. If he walks in the spirit of the
four petitions referring to the four lower members, they will
help him to fulfil the work leading to the development of his
higher members, as expressed in the first three petitions of
the Lord's Prayer.
Notes:
Note 1. In
regard to the human head, and the directions “above,
below”, “right and left”, “in
front and at the back”, the organ as a whole stands
like a cubus poised on its point.
|