The
Consequences of a Covid-19 Infection
When speaking of the “inability to act” of the
spirit-mechanisms of the higher I, or of no longer being
able to act adequately, this means that every adult person
infected with the Sars-CoV-2 virus in whom the I — around 21
years of age — can fully enter into its function in the human
organism, will have to deal in one way or another with the
effects of meeting with that “counter-spirituality”
particle, whether noticed or not (And I may add that if it is
not noticed, it would in most cases not be an advantage from a
spiritual point of view).
Due
to the measures that have been taken to avert the spread of
infection on a larger scale, there are dramatic consequences
for countless people, the effects of which are not yet
foreseeable. Starting with mental disturbances, which run
through all age groups, but which probably affect children and
the elderly the most. The economic consequences are obvious;
how societies as such develop in their respective internal
organisms, that is, how people react among themselves and
toward each other, is put to the test; and that
national-chauvinistic or “economic-chauvinistic”
tendencies are emerging in countries and peoples can already be
seen in the distribution of vaccines — whatever one may
personally think of vaccination itself — (the vaccines that are
sent, if at all, by the economically prosperous countries to
the poorer countries are those which their own populations do
not prefer.) And surely there are many other consequences that
have resulted from the rules and precautions taken to contain
the pandemic that will be seen and felt in the future.
In
addition to these catastrophes, another one is now looming
which is directly related to the virus: Aside from the
suffering of those who have experienced a disruption in their
lives due to the illness caused by Covid-19, apart from those
people who lost their lives due to the Covid-19 disease, which
— as indicated in the first volume — might represent
“interference” with individual karma, and apart
from those who also suffer through the loss of a loved one, the
physical, psychological and spiritual long-term
consequences of a Sars-CoV-2 infection will assume tremendous
significance.
It
is not possible to thoroughly address the consequences of such
an encounter of this counter-spirituality with the I of an
unprepared person within the framework of this short book,
which can only illuminate a few aspects, and barely touch upon
them.
The
fact that a growing proportion of formerly infected persons —
regardless of whether the course of the initial disease was
severe, mild, or asymptomatic — are affected by a so-called
long covid or post covid syndrome, indicates the
lasting effects caused by the infection, (which, incidentally,
do not happen in influenza virus infections, with which the
Sars-CoV-2 infection is often compared or equated. An Influenza
infection can also be severe and even fatal, but once the
disease is over the symptoms do not persist and serious damage
and impairments of various kinds do not occur at a much
later point in time as a result of the original disease).
It
is self-evident in an epoch of development of humanity, in
which the single human soul is to find the entry-point to its
higher development through thinking, that is, over the
bridge of understanding, of insight into the
communications of super-sensory facts, that it is just this
entry-point that can be severely handicapped by an injury to
the thinking organ or by damage to the nerves, which can occur
as a consequence of the Covid-19 disease. The damage thus
extends from the respiratory problems of acute illness (cf.
Volume I) in a later stage, when the acute illness is believed
to have ended, to those areas from which — considered from the
viewpoint of humanity as a whole — the initial
“sinning” originated. It can result in difficulties
concentrating, weakness in remembering, word-finding disorders,
and even to declining intelligence, that is, dementia-like
symptoms.
But
spiritually considered, these symptoms are caused by the I
being under attack. This I is destined to take over the
leadership of the lower component-members. In the present stage
of the development of humanity it has first of all the task of
taking over the fully conscious guidance of the astral body,
i.e. of the soul. When this is one day fully accomplished, this
guidance of consciousness will gradually extend to the etheric
body. And when man ascends to his highest level of existence,
his I also gains full power of consciousness over his physical
body. Since an attack takes place on the I by what one could
also call the “anti-I-spirit,” which has sought the
Sars-CoV-2 virus as a suitable carrier medium, the cause for
the consequential damages of the infection occurring in the
nerve-sense-system of the human being is to be sought here,
namely in the I under attack. But since the I is the highest
component-member of the human being and — whether from
“without” or “within,” unconsciously or
consciously for the incarnated human being — the administrator
and shape-giver of all the component-members, ultimately all
the component members (and thus also all members of the
physical body), it can be affected by injury.
There has already been talk of an autoimmune reaction. Due to
this unequal altercation with the spirituality of the
Sars-CoV-2-virus, a weakening of the I takes place, not only in
relation to its guidance of the lower component-members, but
also in its actual function toward the organism. The I is
attacked and manipulated in such a way that it doesn't protect
and ennoble its lower component-members, but assaults and
demolishes them. The I, spoken simply, is brought by the
I-opponent to do the opposite of what its actual nature and
task is. Since the I does not only stand above the
physical body, but also above the etheric and astral
bodies, it has a damaging effect on these component-members
when it is brought to act in this opposing way. Thus, the human
being does not “only” develop a multi-organ illness
which, depending on individual conditions, affects the most
diverse areas of the physical body, but he also potentially has
to struggle with the effects on his astral and etheric bodies.
This can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed, depression,
anxiety and personality changes, as well as the feeling of no
longer being who one actually is. These phenomena can also come
at a later point of time in life, or they can ebb and flow
insidiously. And also the uncertainty of not knowing what the
course of the illness will be means a successive attrition of
the soul.
Now
comes the vehemence which can be connected to an attack on the
I and which must be borne. If one doesn't recognize this
spiritual dimension and — as is currently widespread within the
anthroposophical movement — thinks that a Covid-19 infection
consists of more or less serious “common cold
symptoms,” then one is looking (with a most limited view)
only at the physical symptoms that appear during the acute
phase of the illness. Because he knows about reincarnation, the
anthroposophist could be inclined to say to himself: I don't
care as much about the physical body as the materialist does.
For me spiritual development is important! So it's not so
important to me if the physical body in this life is damaged or
not. I'll be getting a new one in the next life
anyway. This would be a doubly short-sighted viewpoint!
This attitude may have a certain justification, but of course
the anthroposophical spiritual student in particular will
strive to take adequate care of his physical body as well,
because he knows that the human being can only fulfill his life
tasks, which he has undertaken in the spiritual world during
prenatal existence, if he does not negligently ruin his
physical body. The human being needs the physical body to
fulfill his karmic tasks. And the other part of the doubly
short-sighted view consists of not realizing that in this case
he is involved with something that exceeds the challenge to his
physical body. The damage goes far beyond the purely physical
damage that can be observed. Here for the first time in the
development of humanity, the I is directly threatened in this
specific way in its actual, higher function. It is about damage
to the higher forces of consciousness!
If
the I cannot readily, or can no longer fully assume its actual
function, it is much more difficult for the person concerned to
follow the training path of spiritual self-education, or to be
open to the spiritual worlds at all. Achieving higher
consciousness development will become even harder for the human
being compared to the conditions already made difficult by
materialistic thinking. And for those who have already achieved
it, meditation will certainly not be easier at first. They will
have to struggle greatly so that the I becomes master over the
lower soul-components, because it is really an attack on
the I, even if it takes place via the domain of the asuras, via
the gateway of the physical body, via damage to the physical
body. When the I is attacked, it affects all the other
component members. So just as the I is able to become master of
the lower component-members in the best sense, if it is weak
powerful effects on the lower component-members also emanate
from it. For this weakness affects the other component-members
of man with just as much negative, destructive strength as his
moral maturity can have the strongest positive effects on the
other component members. If the master in the house gets weak
and sick, everything becomes disorderly.
The
I enables the human being to live selflessly.
Selflessness is a gift to the human environment,
it is the water of life for the whole human organism. For this
the I has been given to humanity. Selflessness is the actual
quality of the I, to which it is destined. But it can only be
received or unfolded by means of the human being's free
decision. But because neglect has occurred in the I's
development, the scourge known as Covid-19 is a phenomenon that
affects the whole of humanity. What good could be brought forth
for the human organism through the selflessness of the I, is
reversed by the neglect of the I and now has an effect on the
human organism in a bad sense, that is, as a
“pandemic.” (This neglect was, so to speak, the
origin of the virus.) Therefore, it is also a phenomenon that
crisscrosses individual karma (see volume 1, page 24ff). And
for the same reason, one should not commit the error of
thinking that the people who become ill from Covid-19 are not
strong in their I for karmic reasons. It may very well happen
that people who have not yet begun consciousness-soul activity
fall ill with Covid-19. But this neglect is a
“humanity-epochal” neglect, which is why also those
souls who have begun to achieve a consciousness-soul awakening
in any way (not necessarily the anthroposophical path of
training), are likewise not protected from the disease of
Covid-19 and its consequences. As it is characteristic for
“humanity-epochal” neglect, those who have
contributed least to this neglect are also affected. Such souls
then share — as somewhat innocent, but not necessarily
voluntary victims — in their individual karma the consequences
of the karma of humanity. If one wishes to understand the
spiritual dimension of the Coronavirus problem, one must also
keep in mind that — as already mentioned above and emphasized
once more here — that when dealing with neglect involving the
I, humanity risks having the rug being pulled out from under
the effectiveness of its own spiritual inspiration, sent to it
from the spiritual world, because the physical conditions for
its effectiveness are made more difficult or are withdrawn.
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