The Threshold of the Spiritual World
GA 17
VII. Summary of the Foregoing
[ 1 ] Man bears within him a soul-centre belonging to a spiritual world. This is the permanent human entity, which passes through repeated earthly lives in such a way that in one earthly life it is trained in normal consciousness as a being independent of that consciousness, then experiences itself in a purely spiritual world, after human physical death, and in due time realises in a new earthly life the results of the preceding one. This permanent entity acts as the inspirer of man's destiny in such a way that one earthly life follows another as a consequence which is based on the order of the cosmos.
[ 2 ] Man is this permanent entity itself; he lives in it as though in his other self. Inasmuch as he, as a being, is that other self, so he lives in an astral body, in the same way as he is living in a physical and etheric body. Just as the environment of the physical body is the physical world and that of the etheric body the elemental world, so the environment of the astral body is the world of the spirit. [ 3 ] Beings of the same nature and origin as man's other self are working in the physical and elemental worlds as Ahrimanic and Luciferic powers. The way in which they work makes the relation of the astral body to the etheric and physical bodies intelligible.
[ 4 ] The original source of the etheric body is to be found in a long-past period of the earth, its so-called Sun condition.
[ 5 ] In accordance with the foregoing, the following survey of man may be made:
[ 6 ] I. The physical body in the environment of the physical world. By means of this body man recognises himself as an independent individual (ego).
[ 7 ] II. The subtle (etheric or vital) body in the elemental environment. By means of this body man recognises himself as a member of the earth's vital body, and hence indirectly as a member of three successive planetary states.
[ 8 ] III. The astral body in a purely spiritual environment. Through this body man is a member of a spiritual world of which the elemental and physical worlds are reflections. In the astral body lives man's other self, and this comes to expression in repeated earthly lives.
Zusammenfassung des Vorangehenden
[ 1 ] Der Mensch trägt in sich einen seelischen Wesenskern, welcher einer geistigen Welt angehört. Dieser seelische Wesenskern ist das menschliche Dauerwesen, welches in wiederholten Erdenleben sich so auslebt, daß es sich in einem Erdenleben innerhalb des gewöhnlichen Bewußtseins als eine diesem Bewußtsein gegenüber selbständige Wesenheit heranbildet, nach dem physischen Tode des Menschen in einer rein geistigen Welt erlebt, und nach entsprechender Zeit die Ergebnisse des vorangehenden Erdenlebens in einem neuen darlebt. Es wirkt dieses Dauerwesen so, daß es zum Inspirator des Schicksals des Menschen wird. Es inspiriert dieses Schicksal so, daß sich ein Erdenleben als die durch die Weltordnung begründete Folge der vorangehenden ergibt.
[ 2 ] Der Mensch ist dieses Dauerwesen selbst; er lebt in ihm als in seinem «anderen Selbst». Insoferne er als Wesen dieses «andere Selbst» ist, lebt er in einem astralischen Leibe, wie er in einem physischen und ätherischen Leibe lebt. Wie die Umgebung des physischen Leibes die physische, diejenige des ätherischen Leibes die elementarische Welt ist, so ist die Umgebung des astralischen Leibes das Geistgebiet.
[ 3 ] Wesen, welche derselben Art und desselben Ursprungs sind wie das «andere Selbst» des Menschen, wirken in der physischen und elementarischen Welt als ahrimanische und luziferische Kräfte. Durch die Art, wie diese wirken, wird das Verhältnis des astralischen Menschenleibes zu dem ätherischen und dem physischen verständlich.
[ 4 ] Der Urquell des ätherischen Leibes ist in einem langvergangenen Zustand der Erde, ihrer sogenannten Sonnenzeit, zu suchen.
[ 5 ] Schematisch kann man nach dem Vorangehenden den Menschen so betrachten:
[ 6 ] I. Den physischen Leib in der physisch-sinnlichen Umwelt. Durch ihn erkennt sich der Mensch als selbständiges Eigenwesen (Ich).
[ 7 ] II. Den feinen (ätherischen) Leib in der elementarischen Umwelt. Durch ihn erkennt sich der Mensch als Glied des Erdenlebensleibes und dadurch mittelbar als Glied dreier aufeinanderfolgender planetarischer Zustände.
[ 8 ] III. Den astralischen Leib in einer rein geistigen Umwelt. Durch ihn ist der Mensch ein Glied einer geistigen Welt, von welcher die elementarische und die physische Welt Spiegelungen sind. In ihm liegt das «andere Selbst» des Menschen, welches sich in wiederholten Erdenleben zum Ausdrucke bringt.
Summary of the foregoing
[ 1 ] The human being carries within himself a spiritual core of being which belongs to a spiritual world. This spiritual core of being is the human permanent being, which lives itself out in repeated earth lives in such a way that it forms itself in an earth life within the ordinary consciousness as an independent being in relation to this consciousness, experiences itself after the physical death of man in a purely spiritual world, and after a corresponding time lives out the results of the preceding earth life in a new one. This permanent being works in such a way that it becomes the inspirer of the human being's destiny. It inspires this destiny in such a way that an earthly life results as the consequence of the previous one based on the world order.
[ 2 ] Man is this permanent being himself; he lives in it as in his "other self". Insofar as he is this "other self" as a being, he lives in an astral body, just as he lives in a physical and etheric body. Just as the environment of the physical body is the physical world and that of the etheric body is the elemental world, so the environment of the astral body is the spiritual realm.
[ 3 ] Beings of the same nature and origin as the "other self" of the human being act in the physical and elemental world as ahrimanic and luciferic forces. The relationship between the astral human body and the etheric and physical bodies can be understood through the way in which they work.
[ 4 ] The original source of the etheric body is to be sought in a long-past state of the earth, its so-called solar time.
[ 5 ] According to the foregoing, the human being can be viewed schematically as follows:
[ 6 ] I. The physical body in the physical-sensual environment. Through it, man recognizes himself as an independent being (I).
[ 7 ] II. The subtle (etheric) body in the elemental environment. Through it man recognizes himself as a member of the earth-life body and thus indirectly as a member of three successive planetary states.
[ 8 ] III. The astral body in a purely spiritual environment. Through it, the human being is a member of a spiritual world, of which the elementary and physical worlds are reflections. In it lies the "other self" of the human being, which expresses itself in repeated earthly lives.