Supersensible Knowledge
GA 55
28 February 1907, Berlin
X. Stages in Man's Development in the Light of Spiritual Science
The saying above the ancient Greek Temple: “Know Thyself,” has resounded to mankind down the ages like a summons to earnest self-introspection. And indeed it expresses one of the greatest truths, but even more than other great truths it is all too easily misunderstood. The real meaning points to something powerful and universal. Originally it neither suggested that a person should contemplate his ordinary everyday self, nor expect to find the sum total of all knowledge within his own being. Rightly understood, the call is for knowledge of the higher self.
But where is a person's higher self to be found? We can by means of a comparison make clear where the higher self exists, and what the saying means: We know for certain that without eyes we would not perceive light; it is, however, equally certain that we would not have eyes had the light flooding all space not first created them. Out of an originally lower organism without sight, knowing only darkness, the light enticed forth the eyes. Hence the truth of Goethe's saying: “The eyes are created by the light for the light.” However, the purpose of the eyes is not to perceive themselves. From the point of view of the eye, we must say that they fulfill their task all the better the more they forget themselves and recognize their creator—the light.
The true mission of the eyes is to forget their inner being and recognize what created them, that is what to the eyes is the higher self—the light. The situation is the same in regard to a person's ordinary self; that too is nothing but an organ, a tool; and self-knowledge becomes ever greater the more this self can forget itself and become aware of the spirit-light, existing in the eternal world, that created our spiritual eyes and continually does so. Therefore, self-knowledge rightly understood means self-development. This we must keep in mind and see as background to today's lecture, which concerns the subject of self-knowledge in the highest sense of the word.
Taking all aspects of an individual's nature into consideration, let us look at the way he evolves during his life between birth and death. In so doing, we must not forget that when a person starts his life an earth he is not a newly created entity; he brings certain qualities with him. Repeated earth lives are behind him, during which the fundamental character of his individuality has already been established. We must consider a person's existence after death if we are to recognize what he brings with him through birth. That existence will reveal what he has retained throughout the time between death and new birth, and so brings with him into a new life.
Let us remind ourselves that at death the human being leaves behind only the physical corpse. The main difference between death and sleep is that the human being asleep possesses a physical and an etheric body; only the astral body and what we call “I” are lifted out. Just as an architect is needed to create a building, as the bricks do not come together of themselves, so do the physical forces need the ether body as an inner architect. The ether body holds together the physical matter and forces from birth to death. At every moment it prevents the chemical combinations from falling apart. But at death it leaves the physical body, which consequently is left behind as the decaying corpse. Thus, in sleep it is only the “I” and astral body, the bearer of pleasure and pain, cravings and sentiments, that leaves, whereas in death the ether body also leaves and remains with the astral body and the “I” for a short time. This is an important moment in a person's existence. During that short time there passes before the human soul with lightning speed a mighty memory tableau of his whole past life. This tableau is like a painting, and just as we do not feel the stab of the dagger depicted in a painting, so do we not experience either pleasure or pain in what the tableau portrays. We stand before our past life as objective observer.
Then comes the time when the ether body withdraws and disperses into the general world ether. However, something of the ether body remains, which is like an extract or a summary of the past life. The tableau becomes indistinct and dissolves, but the extract remains united with a person throughout his further journey. In fact, an essence or extract also remains of the physical body, which is of course not something that can be seen with physical sight; it is like a center of energy that remains with the ether body; it is what gives the physical body its human form.
After the ether body has dissolved, the astral body still remains. An individual now passes through a condition during which he gradually adjusts to being without a physical environment. We must realize that everything a person has experienced as lower enjoyment clings to the astral body. The physical body has no cravings; it experiences no pleasure, but is the instrument that enables the astral body to obtain enjoyment. Take the case of a gourmet. It is not the physical body that enjoys the food, but the astral body that uses the physical body as a tool to enjoy it. The craving remains after the physical body is laid aside, but now the tool for obtaining satisfaction is lacking. This indicates the nature of the astral body's existence after death, comparable to someone suffering thirst in a region for the length and breadth of which there is no water. Instincts, cravings and passions are now felt by the astral body as burning thirst, not because the objects of its desires are not there, but because the organs are lacking through which satisfaction can be obtained. That is why religion speaks of the ordeal by fire that human beings undergo after death.
The human being remains in kamaloca for as long as the astral body retains a longing for the physical body. Gradually it frees itself of its dependence on what surrounded it when clothed in a physical body. Someone who has purified his passions already during life, so that instead of coarser enjoyments he takes pleasure in what is beautiful, artistic and spiritual, will shorten his time kamaloca. On the other hand, those who only find pleasure in things for which a physical tool is needed will remain a long time in the region of burning thirst. Eventually what is not purified falls away like a kind of astral corpse, comparable to what is left behind of the physical and etheric bodies. The more of the astral body a person has purified, the more he is able to retain and add to the extracts from the physical and etheric bodies.
With these three extracts, a person passes into the essentially spiritual world where everything the “I” has experienced and has acquired during earthly life is perfected. Some people enter life possessing great talents, discernible already in childhood, and only waiting to be brought out. A person can bring such talents because his earthly experiences were transformed into abilities during his sojourn in Spirit Land.
In the course of each life on earth, a person adds something new to the extracts of his three bodies. If a person is born with special talents, it shows that he has made good use of his former lives. He has as it were added many pages to the record of his experiences and achievements. When he enters a new life he receives a physical body from physical ancestors. The core of his being, bringing the fruits of former experiences, is drawn to a family that can provide the physical characteristics he needs for making use of the already acquired capabilities. The characteristics a person inherits do not determine his actions or his abilities; all they provide is the tool with which to express them. However, the tool is essential. A master pianist needs an instrument, and so does the incarnating individuality. If a person is to express himself properly in the physical world, the new body that clothes him must be the right tool. This tends to give rise to the mistaken view that everything is inherited. Heredity certainly plays a part, but only insofar as the incarnating individuality feels drawn to parents that can provide him with the most suitable tool.
Everything as yet not purified that was left behind at different stages gathers again about the person. He must receive it back in order to continue the purification of the being.
We have already discussed various aspects of what takes place during the first half of a person's life. In order to see how his fate and fortune in later life depends upon the way his physical, etheric and astral bodies develop during the first half, we must repeat some aspects connected with school life and education that reach further completion in the second half. This is an important issue, and it is essential to recognize certain significant laws. These are laws that apply in general, though they may become modified in various ways. In order to adjust properly to life and recognize one's destination ever more clearly, the working of these laws must be understood.
Let us begin with birth. We know that-at physical birth only the physical body is fully born. The organs could develop before birth because the embryo is completely protected by the surrounding maternal sheath. Only when this is pushed aside is this body exposed to the physical elements. The ether body is not born yet, even less the astral body; they are still surrounded by an etheric and an astral sheath. These sheaths, visible only to spiritual sight, are not part of a person's own nature, but they envelop and protect him. At the change of teeth in the seventh year when the ether body is born, the etheric sheath is pushed aside as was the maternal body at physical birth. And only at puberty is the astral body born and fully exposed to the influences of the external world.
It must be realized that in the first seven years of life only what is described as the essence or extract of the former physical body is freed; this is what gives the physical its form, guiding its structural development. The organs grow larger, but their shape and function are inherent in them. It is of the greatest importance that everything in the environment of the growing child enables the physical structure to unfold in the best possible way. The essential aspect of this period can be summed up in two significant words: imitation and example. At this age the child Imitates everything that goes on or exists around him. It is this activity of imitation that coaxes the inner organs to develop their inherent form. The brain of a seven-year old may still be incomplete, but the foundation for the child's further development is laid, and any lack cannot be made up later. The appearance of the second teeth marks the end of the activity of the physical principle, which is the principle of structure and form. The teeth are the outwardly visible sign that the bones and joints and also the softer organs have consolidated. The influence of light is what entices the power of sight to the surface in the eyes.
As already mentioned, it is best not to give children perfect dolls and similar toys. A healthy child will only get pleasure from it for a short while. A knot in a table napkin with indications of eyes and ears will provide far more pleasure; this is because the child's fantasy becomes active in providing what the doll lacks. This encourages the development of the inner Organs; they become strong, as a muscle becomes strong when activated. The environment should provide happiness, pleasure and enjoyment because it calls up in the child inner feelings and activity that flow like strong up-building forces through its organs. A bad environment at this time in the child's life does more to harm the organs than anything else. The notion, based on false asceticism, that the child benefits from being accustomed to an austere, lackluster existence is utterly wrong. As regards nourishment, if the child is given the right food it will develop a liking for what is beneficial, whereas wrong food will cause sickness.
Through spiritual science we can gain insight into what would be done at every age. Thus, we must be clear that as the physical principle is at work in the first seven years, and should be left undisturbed, our primary concern must be to do what is right and healthy for the child's bodily nature. Regarding nutrition it must be realized that there exists a spiritual bond between mother and child, especially during the early years; the mother who breast-feeds her child pays heed to this relationship. The milk contains more than its physical, chemical components; spiritually it is related to the child. It is evident from spiritual research that the milk issues from the mother's ether body. Because the child's own ether body is not born yet, it can at first only tolerate what has been prepared by another ether body. Statistical evidence shows that of those who die in infancy, 16 to 20 percent have been breast-fed by their own mother, while 26 to 30 percent have not. This is an indication of the close affinity between the ether bodies. The affinity expresses itself physically in family likeness. Traits and characteristics pointing to the line of descent develop and become established during the first years.
What is of paramount importance from the seventh to the fourteenth year can also be summed up in two significant words: emulation and authority. This is the time when it is essential that the evolving human being can look up to someone who for him or her incorporates all that is good, beautiful and wise. To the child this person must be the embodiment of everything contained in maxims and precepts. Preaching moral axioms has far less effect than presenting to the child ideal examples to emulate—examples showing the path to Olympus. To be able at this age to look up to someone with feelings of deepest reverence and respect is of great significance for the rest of a person's life. What matters here is of course the emulation. This is why the teaching of history should be so conducted that figures illustrating wisdom and strength of character are brought before the child. From descriptions of the characteristics of a folk or a race, one proceeds to descriptions of individuals where ancestry no longer plays a part. Emulation of relatives widens to become emulation of strangers. The child's horizon expands through awareness of other people; the ether body also widens beyond its own race and clan.
Whereas before the change of teeth, features that show family likeness become defined, now when the child's life widens beyond the family circle, his gestures, that is, what is distinctly individual, become characteristic. At this time the etheric sheath dissolves. Influence can now be brought to bear on the ether body. This influence should come from people who, because of what they themselves are, can bring out the attributes stored in the child's ether body. Furthermore, now that the ether body, after the seventh year, is no longer restricted, those basic traits, the fruits brought over from former incarnations, begin to develop. Consequently, a true principle of education demands that the educator should now, as it were, stand back and consider just what it is the child has brought over; for thanks to the freed ether body the organs should now become stronger and increase in size.
Up to the seventh year physical forces elaborated and plastically formed the organs, but now our task is to instill into these organs, as they grow larger, all the attributes related to the ether body, such as conscience, energy and morality. Everything we bring the child must be pictorial and imbued with a pure spiritual delight in the world, for these are qualities that must be so deeply imprinted that they become part of the ether body. If the human being is to develop a strong character, his ether body must be able to evolve unimpeded. The educator must at this time say to himself: What I am dealing with is not something to be molded arbitrarily; I may do irrevocable harm unless I pay heed to what the child has brought over from the ether body of his former life. This is also the reason why it is important that physical exercises produce a feeling in the child of growing strength and increase of stature. The child should experience a sensation of growing, not just physically, but morally. These feelings work plastically on the ether body, as the physical principle did earlier on the physical body.
The astral attributes which an individual brings with him develop while the astral body is still surrounded by its astral sheath, as did the physical organs while still surrounded by the maternal body before birth. Only when puberty is reached does the astral body become free, that is, become open to external influence. Only now should appeal be made to the power of judgment and abstract thought. Before puberty the child should not be obliged to form personal opinions and judgments. The ability to do so is not present until the astral body is born. Before puberty the child should be able to look up to those with authority and obtain from them the important beliefs and opinions; to be obliged to formulate personal opinion at this time only leads to astral distortions. Not only is it absurd for anyone so young to have opinions about this or that belief or confession, but it is also detrimental to healthy development. It is a sign that something important has been neglected in his education. It shows the child has not had the opportunity to develop that great inner strength that matures under the influence of the right kind of authority. At this time, from the fourteenth year onwards, when the astral body is born, slowly and gradually the power of judgment begins to ripen and leads to convictions. Artistic accomplishment, religious and moral feelings now set their stamp on the countenance. A child now faces the world as a distinct individual. This gradual process lasts up to the twenty-first or twenty-third year.
It is an important moment when at the time of puberty awareness of other people as individuals awakens. Just as: “All that is transient but as symbol is sent,” so too is the becoming aware of the other sex symbolic. Only now does the human being attain a personal relationship to the world; thus, love of the individual awakens. Up to then the relationships are more universally human, whereas now personal judgment plays a part. The astral extract a person brought over into life is now freed and able to develop. It comes to expression as high ideals, beautiful hopes and expectations of life, all of which are forces that are essential to human beings. A person's development will take the right course if, rather than having something external imposed upon him, his inherent inclinations and talents are brought out during his school days. Ideals are not simply there; they originate in forces that are astir within youth which at this time strive for expression. Nothing is worse for later life than an absence of feelings of great hopes and expectations; right up into the twenties, they constitute real forces. The more we are able to bring out a person's inner inclinations and talents brought over from former lives, the more we benefit his development. Not until the twenty-third year does this come to an end; then a person is ready to begin his “years of apprenticeship” (Wanderjahre). Only now is the “I” born; only now does a person face the world as an independent personality.
Now is the “I,” as a result of collaboration with his four members, in direct contact with the world. The fruits of former life experiences no longer have to be inwardly developed; an individual is ripe to face the reality of the world. If a person is obliged to do so earlier, his best talents and abilities are spoiled; the essence brought over as forces is deadened. It is a sin against youth if the person is exposed to the prosaic aspects of life at an earlier age. Now a person matures; the time has come when that individual is truly able to learn from life. He approaches his “years of mastery” (Meister-jahren) between his twenty-eighth and thirty-fifth years. However, these time limits must not be taken too rigidly.
About the thirty-fifth year a human being reaches the middle of life. Those with spiritual insight have always regarded this age as extremely important. They have recognized that, while up to the twenty-first year a person evolves, the talents and abilities contained as predispositions in his three bodies—and up to the twenty-eighth year what the world offers him—now at the age of thirty-five he begins to work on his three bodies. First of all a person strengthens the astral body. Up till now the world has taught him, but now his judgment begins to carry weight with his fellowmen. It would be well if his opinions have not been so far too definite, too conclusive; they should not become consolidated until about the age of thirty-five. From now on the astral body becomes ever denser; if up till now the person has been a learner, he or she can now become an adviser. A person's judgments have significance and are taken into account when problems are in the balance. The apprentice has become counselor.
After the thirty-fifth year and beyond, the astral body influences the “I,” the blood and the nervous system; it acts on growth and has a stabilizing, consolidating effect that results in a certain firmness. What a human being absorbs in his life of thoughts and feelings of a spiritual nature comes to expression as cultural interest and courage. One could therefore also call this “a period when the systems of blood and nerves are elaborated.” It all comes to an end physically when the ether body begins to withdraw its activity from the external aspect of the physical body, at about the thirty-fifth year. It is also the reason why a human then ceases to grow; a person solidifies, fat begins to be deposited; the strength of the muscles diminishes. It all stems from the fact that the ether body is withdrawing. However, it also means that forces are released as they no longer have to work on the physical body. They can now unite with what has inwardly been elaborated: a person becomes wise. It was well-known in ancient times that in public life a person's counsel could not be of value until the ether body began to withdraw from the physical body. Only then was a person ready to enter public life; only then could his or her talents be of benefit to the people and the state.
Human beings withdraw more and more into their inner being after the thirty-fifth year. No longer does a person have the longings and expectations of youth; he is instead capable of judgment, which one feels carries weight. At the same time certain abilities connected with the ether body, such as memory, begin to wane. About the fiftieth year the physical principle also begins to withdraw. More and more calcium is deposited while the tissue becomes slack. The withdrawing physical principle gradually unites with the etheric principle; what has gone into the Bones, muscles, blood and nerves begins to develop a life of its own. The human being becomes more and more spiritual. All this is certainly greatly enhanced and furthered if the early education was right, particularly as far as the astral body is concerned. Unless the astral body has experienced youthful joy and expectation, it will not now contain what it should be able to imprint on the denser ether body. If that is lacking, then the strong inner life described cannot unfold. We find instead what is called the “childishness of old age.” People who in their youth failed to be imbued with fresh vigorous forces will begin in old age to dry up. It is especially important to take note of this fact from the point of view of spiritual science.
With the thirty-fifth year, the most favorable time arrives for attaining spiritual insight and developing spiritual faculties. A person's karma is particularly auspicious when this does not happen too late in life. The forces that otherwise flow into the bodily nature are becoming free and are at our disposal. As long as a person is obliged to direct his forces outwards, he cannot direct them inwards; that is why the age of about thirty-five is the most favorable time for developing spiritual insight. Development in the first half of life proceeds according to specific time sequences; as indicated by spiritual science, they also exist in the second half, but are not so sharply defined.
Human beings begin to work towards the future in the second half of life. What they inwardly develop at an older age becomes in the future organ and body-building forces; later they participate in cosmic forces. What will thus exist in the future is already indicated in the first half of life. Young people in particular may find this division oppressive; not, however, if spiritual science has been absorbed and understood. When human life is surveyed from a higher viewpoint, it is precisely through such details that one gains practical insight into life's requirements. One must have patience and be able to wait until the organs that are necessary in a particular sphere have developed.
Der Lebenslauf des Menschen vom Geisteswissenschaftlichen Standpunkte
Der alte Wahrspruch eines griechischen Mysterientempels: «Erkenne dich selbst» geht durch die Menschheit als eine Aufforderung zu der tiefsten menschlichen Betrachtungsweise. Er stellt eine der größten Wahrheiten dar, aber es geht mit diesem Ausspruch wie mit allen eigentlichen großen Wahrheiten: Richtig verstanden, bedeuten sie etwas Universelles, etwas Gewaltiges. Aber nur allzu leicht können sie mißverstanden werden — und dieser insbesondere. Er ist niemals im ursprünglichen Sinne so gemeint gewesen, daß der Mensch sein alltägliches Selbst betrachten soll, auch niemals so, daß der Mensch die Summe alles Wissens in sich selber finden könne. Wenn wir ihn richtig verstehen, so bedeutet er eine Aufforderung, das Selbst, das höhere Selbst des Menschen zu erkennen.
Wo ist das höhere Selbst des Menschen?
Wir können uns durch einen Vergleich klarmachen, wo dieses höhere Selbst ist und was dieser Spruch bedeutet. Gewiß, hätten wir nicht Augen, wir könnten unmöglich das Licht um uns herum wahrnehmen. Aber niemals — und das gilt als ebenso sicher — niemals könnten wir Augen haben, wenn nicht das den Raum durchflutende Sonnenlicht erst diese Augen geschaffen hätte. Aus ursprünglich niederen Organisationen, aus einem Lebewesen, das keine Augen hatte, das um sich nur Dunkles hatte, lockte geradezu das Licht erst die Augen heraus. Darum ist es so tief begründet, was Goethe sagt: «Die Augen sind am Licht und für das Licht gebildet.» Aber die Augen sind nicht da, um sich selbst zu betrachten. Wollten wir vom Standpunkt der Augen sprechen, so müßten wir sagen: Die Augen erfüllen ihren Zweck um so besser, je mehr sie sich selbst vergessen und ihren Schöpfer — das Licht — erkennen. Der Mensch würde nimmermehr die Mission der Augen erfüllen, wenn er hereinblicken könnte in dieses Augeninnere selbst. Dieses sogenannte Innere vergessen und gerade das, was das Innere geschaffen hat, das höhere Selbst des Auges, das Licht, erkennen, das ist die Aufgabe, die Mission des Auges! Ähnlich verhält es sich mit dem, was der Mensch das gewöhnliche Selbst nennt. Auch das ist nichts anderes als Organ, Werkzeug, und die Selbsterkenntnis steigt um so höher, je mehr dieses Selbst des Menschen sich selbst vergessen kann, je mehr es gewahr wird, daß in der Außenwelt ebenso das Geisteslicht ist, das unsere geistigen Augen geschaffen hat und noch fortwährend schafft. Daher ist mit Selbsterkenntnis, wenn sie richtig verstanden wird, Selbstentwicklung gemeint. Dies müssen wir im Hintergrunde sehen, wenn wir heute ein Thema — wichtig für den Menschen wie wenige — betrachten wollen: das Thema der Selbsterkenntnis im höchsten Sinne des Wortes.
Wir wollen den Menschen betrachten von der Geburt bis zum Tode, und wollen die ganze Wesenheit des Menschen dabei berücksichtigen. Dann müssen wir allerdings nicht vergessen, daß der Mensch bei Beginn seines physischen Daseins bereits etwas mitbringt, daß er uns nicht wie etwas Neugebildetes entgegentritt, sondern wie ein Wesen, das schon wiederholte Erdenleben hinter sich hat und in diesen Erdenleben sich den Grundcharakter seiner Individualität bereits geholt hat. Wollen wir verstehen, was der Mensch bei seiner Geburt sich mitbringt, so müssen wir den Menschen betrachten nach dem Tode. Denn daraus wird sich uns ergeben, was sich der Mensch durch den Zeitraum vom Tode bis zur neuen Geburt aufbewahrte, um es bei der neuen Geburt mitzubringen.
Erinnern wir uns, was geschieht, wenn der Mensch stirbt: er hinterläßt den physischen Leichnam. Der wesentliche Unterschied zwischen Tod und Schlaf ist der, daß der Mensch im Schlafe im Bette liegen hat den physischen und den Ätherleib, und daß nur herausgeholt ist der Astralleib und das, was wir das Ich nennen. Ebenso wie die Ziegelsteine nicht von selbst zum Palast zusammenlaufen, so brauchen die physischen Kräfte den Ätherleib als inneren Architekten. Er ist mit dem Menschen verbunden und erhält von der Geburt bis zum Tode den Zusammenhang der physischen Stoffe und Kräfte; er rettet jeden Augenblick die chemische Mischung vor dem Verfall. Im Tode hebt er sich jetzt wirklich heraus, und daher bleibt der physische Teil als der verfallende Leichnam zurück. Im Schlafe also geht nur der Astralleib, als der Träger von Lust und Leid, Begierden und Affekten, und dazu das Ich aus dem physischen Leib heraus; im Tode trennt sich nun noch der Ätherleib heraus und ist eine Weile mit dem Astralleib und dem Ich zusammen. Dies ist ein wichtiger Augenblick im Dasein des Menschen. In diesem Augenblick geht an der menschlichen Seele blitzschnell die Erinnerung an das ganze bisherige Erdenleben vorüber, von der Geburt bis zum Tode, wie ein großes Tableau. Dieses Tableau stellt sich wie ein Gemälde dar. Alles, was uns mit Lust und Leid verknüpft hat, das empfinden wir in diesem Augenblicke nicht. Wie wir bei einem Gemälde nicht den Dolchstich fühlen, so fühlen wir auch dabei nicht all den Schmerz und all das Leid, die Lust oder Freude, die da an uns vorübergleiten. Wie objektive Betrachter stehen wir da dem verflossenen Leben gegenüber.
Dann kommt der Zeitpunkt, wo sich auch der Ätherleib herauszieht und auflöst im allgemeinen die Welt durchflutenden Weltenäther. Aber etwas bleibt da von dem Ätherleib zurück: das ist eine Art Auszug aus dem ganzen bisherigen Leben. Das Tableau verliert sich und löst sich auf; aber wie wenn wir in einem Buche einen kurzen Auszug machen, so bleibt hier durch die ganzen folgenden Wege mit dem Menschen etwas wie eine Art Essenz vereinigt. Zu gleicher Zeit müssen wir uns eines klarmachen: Neben dieser Essenz vom Ätherleib bleibt, wenn auch wenig, nur gleichsam ein Kraftpunkt, auch eine Essenz von dem physischen Leibe des Menschen zurück; selbstverständlich nicht so, daß ihn ein physisches Auge sehen kann, sondern wie ein Kraftzentrum. Das ist mit dem Lebensleib ebenfalls verbunden, und das gibt dem physischen Leibe gerade die menschliche Form. Dann geht der Mensch durch einen Zustand durch, in dem er sich allmählich den Zusammenhang mit der physischen Welt abgewöhnt.
Jetzt ist nach dem Tode noch der Astralleib des Menschen da. Um uns klarzumachen, welches Leben jetzt der Astralleib führt, stellen wir uns vor: alles, was der Mensch auch an den niedrigsten Genüssen erlebt, bleibt an seinem Astralleib haften. Der physische Leib fühlt nicht die Freude und hat keine Begierden; er ist das Werkzeug des Astralleibes, und der hat daran seine Freude und seinen Genuß. Wenn wir zum Beispiel einen Feinschmecker vor uns haben, so hat nicht sein physischer Leib Genuß an den Genußmitteln, sondern der Astralleib empfindet ihn, indem er sich des physischen Werkzeuges zum Genuß bedient. Die Sucht zu genießen bleibt auch, wenn er den physischen Leib abgelegt hat; nur die Werkzeuge fehlen jetzt. Daraus ersehen Sie die Natur des Astralleibes, wie der jetzt nach dem Tode lebt. Es ist so, wie wenn Sie durch eine Gegend gehen, lechzend vor Durst, aber diesen Durst nicht befriedigen können, weil weit und breit keine Quelle ist. In ähnlicher Weise empfindet der Astralleib aus einem guten Grunde Begierden, Genußsucht, Affekte, die er früher gehabt hat, als einen brennenden Durst — nicht weil die Dinge nicht da sind, sondern weil ihm die Organe fehlen, um den Genuß zu befriedigen. Gerade deshalb haben die Religionen die Feuerqualen, die der Mensch nach dem Tode zu bestehen hat, als Beispiel dafür hingestellt.
Bis sich der Astralleib seinen Zusammenhang mit dem physischen Leibe abgewöhnt hat, bleibt er im Kamaloka, wo sich der Astralleib nach und nach freimachen muß von dem, was ihm zugeströmt ist, während er den physischen Leib hatte. Ein Mensch, der schon in diesem Leben seine Affekte geläutert hat, der nicht mehr an den rohen Genüssen der Nahrungsmittel, sondern an dem Schönen, der Kunst oder an der Geistigkeit seinen Gefallen findet, wird sich sein Kamaloka abkürzen; ein Mensch, der sich aber nur befriedigen kann durch die Anwendung dessen, was ihm die physischen Werkzeuge geben können, wird lange in der Sphäre des brennenden Durstes leben, und dieser Zustand endet damit, daß alles, was der Mensch in seinem Astralleib noch nicht vergeistigt hat, wie eine Art von Leichnam vom Astralleib abfällt, so wie der Ätherleib und der physische Leib abgefallen sind, und um so mehr abfallen muß, je weniger er seinen Astralleib geläutert und gereinigt hat. Daher wird später eine geläuterte Natur viel mitnehmen von ihrem Astralleib und zu dem hinzufügen, was wir die Essenz des physischen und Ätherleibes nannten.
Mit diesen drei Essenzen geht das Ich nun ein in die eigentliche geistige Welt, und in dieser geistigen Welt hat das Ich auszubilden alles, was es hier während dieses Lebens erlebt und erworben hat. Sie brauchen nur daran zu denken, daß der eine schon mit großen Anlagen in das Leben hineinkommt, als ganz junges Kind Anlagen hat, die wir nur herauszuholen brauchen. Die hat er, weil er während des Aufenthaltes im Geistesland seine Erfahrungen ausgebildet hat, die zu Fähigkeiten und Anlagen während dieser Zeit umgewandelt worden sind.
Im Laufe eines jeden Erdenlebens bringt der Mensch etwas Neues hinzu zu den drei Essenzen seiner Leiber. Ein Mensch, der als ein besonders begabter Mensch geboren wird, hat seine früheren Leben gut angewendet, hat in seinem verflossenen Leben viele Blätter wie zu einem Buche zusammengelegt, und darin stehen die Erfahrungen und Errungenschaften seiner früheren Erdenleben. Damit tritt der Mensch in ein neues Leben ein und erhält einen physischen Leib von seinen physischen Vorfahren. Dieser Wesenskern, der sich aus den früheren Erlebnissen die Früchte mitbringt, wird zu der Familie hingezogen, die ihm die physischen Merkmale geben kann, die ihn befähigen, seine individuellen Anlagen, die er sich früher erworben hat, zu gebrauchen. Nicht sind es die Vererbungsmerkmale, die des Menschen Handeln und Fähigkeiten ausmachen, die liefern nur die Werkzeuge; aber die Werkzeuge müssen da sein. Wie der Klaviervirtuose ein Instrument, so muß die Individualität, wenn sie von einem neuen physischen Leib umhüllt wird, in diesem die richtigen Werkzeuge finden, um sich in der physischen Welt in der richtigen Weise zum Ausdruck bringen zu können. Daher die Täuschung, als ob nur physische Vererbung vorliegt. Gewiß liegt sie vor, aber nur weil die Individualität sich zu den Eltern hingezogen fühlt, die ihr die geeigneten Werkzeuge geben können. Alles, von dem wir gesagt haben, daß es im Laufe der Zeit abgeworfen worden ist, muß sich in derselben Weise wieder um den Menschen herum kristallisieren; alles das erhält der Mensch wiederum neu, damit er im weiteren Leben von neuem zur Läuterung seiner Wesenheit beitragen kann.
Für die erste Hälfte des menschlichen Lebens haben wir schon die Bausteine zusammengetragen. Wir werden nun etwas zu wiederholen haben aus dem Bereich der Erziehungs- und Schulfragen, werden das für den zweiten Teil des menschlichen Lebenslaufes weiter auszubauen haben, um zu sehen, wie der physische, ätherische und astralische Leib im ersten Teil des menschlichen Lebenslaufes sich entwickeln, und wie Glück und Inhalt des Menschenlebens davon abhängen. Dies ist ein wichtiges Kapitel, das wir allerdings so auffassen müssen, daß es große Gesetze hinstellt, die vielfach Abänderung erfahren, aber in großen Umrissen gilt es. Und nur wer die Gesetze kennt und sie immer zu beachten versteht, wird sich in der richtigen Weise in den Lebenslauf einfügen, wird seiner Bestimmung immer klarer und klarer entgegengehen können.
Beginnen wir bei des Menschen Geburt. Wir haben schon davon gesprochen, daß bei der physischen Geburt eigentlich erst sein physischer Leib völlig geboren wird, der bis dahin von der physischen Mutterhülle umgeben wurde. Da haben sich alle Organe nur dadurch entwickelt, daß der Mensch bis zur physischen Geburt gegen alle Seiten hin geschützt ist. Und nun ist es, wie wenn der Mensch die physische Mutterhülle zurückstößt und sein physischer Leib jetzt allein erst den Wirkungen der physischen Elemente ausgesetzt ist. Nach dieser Geburt ist der Ätherleib noch nicht und noch weniger der Astralleib geboren; diese sind noch eingehüllt von einer Äther- und von einer astralen Hülle. Wie eine Schale, die nur für das geistige Auge des Sehers sichtbar ist, umgibt eine astrale und eine ätherische Hülle den Menschen, die nicht seiner eigenen Natur angehören, die ihn schützen und einhüllen. Die Ätherhülle umgibt den Menschen bis zum siebenten Jahre, der Zeit des Zahnwechsels. Da erst wird der Ätherleib geboren; da erst wird die Ätherhülle zurückgedrängt, wie die physische Hülle bei der physischen Geburt; und mit der Geschlechtsreife wird erst der Astralleib der äußeren Welt vollständig ausgesetzt.
Wir müssen uns klarmachen, daß in den ersten sieben Jahren des Lebens nur jene Essenz, die wir die Essenz des physischen Leibes nannten, vollständig frei wirkt, daß sie die physische Form gibt; sie leitet die physische Struktur ein. Die Organe wachsen in der Außenwelt heran, so daß sie ihre Form, ihre Anlage haben und nur noch weiterwachsen brauchen. Wir müssen daher alles in seine Umgebung bringen, was die Struktur des physischen Leibes in der allerbesten Weise entfalten kann. Dafür konnten wir zwei Zauberworte anführen: Nachahmung und Beispiel oder Vorbild. Alles, was um das Kind herum ist, wird von ihm nachgeahmt, und diese Nachahmung lockt die inneren Organe zu ihrer Form. Wenn auch das Gehirn mit dem siebenten Jahre noch sehr unvollkommen ist, die Richtung hat es doch erhalten, und was ihm bis dahin vorenthalten ist, kann es später nicht mehr nachholen. In den Zähnen macht das physische Prinzip gleichsam Schlußpunkt, denn es ist das Prinzip des Gestaltens, des Formens. So wie die Zähne am anschaulichsten zeigen, daß die Glieder sich konsolidiert haben, so sind auch die anderen weicheren Organe bestimmt. Das Licht wirkt und lockt die Kraft des Auges an die Oberfläche. Wir haben erwähnt, daß es gut ist, dem Kinde mögJichst nicht fertige Puppen und derartiges zu geben; wir haben erwähnt, daß ein gesundes Kind nur für eine kurze Zeit Freude daran findet. Dagegen hat es seine Freude daran, wenn Sie eine Serviette zusammenbinden und mit Tintenklecksen Augen und Ohren machen und ihm als Spielzeug geben. Wie ein Muskel nur stark wird, wenn er angewendet wird, so ist es auch hier: jetzt muß das Kind arbeiten und das in der Phantasie aufbauen, was die Puppe nicht hat. Da wird der innere organische Aufbau bewirkt. Es ist daher von besonderer Bedeutung, daß man das Kind innerlich arbeiten läßt, in seine Umgebung das bringt, was die Organe durchströmt mit Freude und Lust und Genuß an der Umgebung. Das schafft Kraft für die Bildung der Organe. Durch nichts kann man die Organe mehr ruinieren, als wenn man dem Kinde nicht das Richtige zuführt. Die Phantasie, die in ihm tätig ist, arbeitet an den Formen seiner Organe, und nichts wäre verfehlter, als durch eine falsche Askese das Kind an ein lustloses Dasein gewöhnen zu wolJen. Freude ist der Praktiker in den ersten Lebensjahren, und die gesunden Lebensinstinkte sind die Bildner, die man nur nicht verderben soll. Die richtige Nahrung, dem Kinde gereicht, wird bewirken, daß das Kind Lust an der Ernährung bekommt, die ihm frommt; falsche Nahrung wird das Kind krank machen. Für jede Stufe, für alles weiß die Geisteswissenschaft da die nötigen Dinge. So müssen wir uns darüber klar sein, daß in den ersten sieben Jahren das Gattungsgemäße vorzugsweise herauskommt, denn das physische Prinzip arbeitet an dem Menschen, und ungestört müssen wir das Kind arbeiten lassen.
Bei der Ernährungsfrage tritt ein innerlicher Zusammenhang hervor zwischen der Muttermilch und dem Kinde, der sich dadurch ausdrückt, daß in den ersten Lebensjahren geradezu ein geistiges Verhältnis zwischen der Mutter und dem Kinde besteht; und eine Mutter, die ihr Kind selbst nährt, beachtet das. In der Muttermilch ist nicht bloß das, was physisch und chemisch ist, es ist etwas, was geistig verwandt ist mit dem Kinde. Der Geisteswissenschafter sieht da etwas, was aus dem Ätherleib der Mutter herausgeboren ist, und weil der Ätherleib des Kindes noch ungeboren ist, so verträgt er in der ersten Zeit insbesondere nur das, was schon durch einen anderen Ätherleib zubereitet ist. Es besteht ein inniger Kontakt zwischen dem, was das Kind braucht, und dem, was ihm die Mutter selbst reicht. Prozentual betrachtet: Etwa 16 bis 20 Prozent derjenigen Kinder, die im Säuglingsalter sterben, sind solche, die von der eigenen Mutter genährt werden; dagegen 26 bis 30 Prozent solche, die von Fremden genährt werden. Darin sehen Sie den Zusammenhang zwischen den Lebensleibern. Es ist eine Art Charakter, der sich in den ersten Lebensjahren physisch zum Ausdruck bringt; das mehr Gattungsmäßige bildet sich heraus, konsolidiert sich, wird fest, gibt ihm den Charakter, durch den es einem bestimmten Geschlecht angehört. Die Familienzüge prägen sich erst von dieser Zeit an auf seinem Antlitz aus.
Die Zeit vom siebenten bis zum vierzehnten Jahre ist die, für welche wir schon die beiden Zauberworte «Nacheiferung» und «Autorität» angeführt haben. Der Mensch braucht in dieser Zeit einen andern Menschen, der für ihn die Verkörperung alles Guten, Schönen und Weisen ist; er braucht einen Menschen überhaupt, in dem er die Grundsätze und Lehren verleiblicht sieht. Mit Moralpredigen ist in dieser Zeit viel weniger getan, als wenn Sie dem Kinde Vorbilder anführen, die dem Kinde den Weg hinauf zum Olymp zeigen. Für die ganze spätere Zeit ist es für den Menschen von Bedeutung, wenn er jetzt einen Menschen über sich sieht, vor dem er eine tiefe Achtung hat. Selbstverständliche Nachfolge ist es, um die es sich da handelt. Daher müssen wir den Geschichtsunterricht so einrichten, daß wir die Weisheit und verkörperte Charakterstärke dem Kinde im Bilde vor Augen führen; und vom Art-Charakter geht er über mehr zu einem Spezial-Charakter, was nicht mehr mit der Vorfahrenreihe zusammenhängt. Aus der Nachahmung der Eltern wird die Nachahmung der fremden Art. Der Gesichtskreis erweitert sich über das Familienhafte hinaus; wir müssen Menschen in die Nähe des Kindes bringen, damit der Ätherleib sich weiter ausbreiten kann über das Artgemäße hinaus. Während bis zum Zahnwechsel das sich ausprägt, was den Menschen in die Familie hineinstellt, bekommen die Gesten jetzt ihren Charakter; das, was den Menschen zu einem besonderen Menschen macht, prägt sich aus, wenn der Mensch heraustritt aus dem Kreise der Familie. Denn jetzt ist die Ätherhülle zerschlagen, nun kann auf den Ätherleib gewirkt werden, wenn in des Kindes Umgebung solche Menschen sind, die durch das, was sie in sich selber tragen, solche Eigenschaften ausbilden können, die im Ätherleib des Kindes aufgespeichert liegen. Und jene Grundanlagen, die der Mensch als Früchte seiner früheren Inkarnation in seinem Ätherleib mitgenommen hatte, entwickeln sich jetzt, wo nach dem siebenten Jahre der Ätherleib nach allen Seiten frei ist. Daher muß der Erzieher womöglich etwas zurücktreten und nicht darauf pochen: dies sind die richtigen Erziehungsgrundsätze, sondern auf das sehen, was das Kind mitgebracht hat; denn jetzt müssen durch den freigewordenen Ätherleib nach allen Seiten die Organe erstarken und sich vergrößern. Während bis zum siebenten Jahre die physischen Organe durch physische Kräfte ausgearbeitet und plastisch gestaltet wurden, haben wir jetzt diese sich vergrößernden Organe, um Gewissen, Moral, Tatkraft, all die ätherischen Eigenschaften da hineinzuarbeiten. Alles, was bildhaft ist, was mit der reineren geistigen Freude an der Natur zusammenhängt, müssen wir hineinprägen, denn das muß so fest im Menschen sitzen, daß es im Ätherleib haftet: Einen festen Charakter kann der Mensch nur haben, wenn er so seinen Ätherleib frei entwickeln kann. Und ein Erzieher muß sich in dieser Zeit sagen: Du hast es nicht zu tun mit etwas, das du formen kannst, so wie du willst; sondern du kannst da etwas für das ganze Leben verderben, wenn du nicht erlauschest, was aus dem früheren Ätherleib herübergekommen ist. Daher müssen auch die physischen Übungen so ausgedacht sein, daß in dem Kinde das Gefühl des Erstarkens, des Vermehrtwerdens lebt. «Ich werde größer», «ich wachse», muß eine moralische, nicht bloß physische Empfindung im Kinde sein. Das arbeitet ebenso plastisch am Ätherleib wie das physische Prinzip am physischen Leibe.
Und in derselben Weise wie, während die physische Mutterhülle den physischen Leib umgibt, die physischen Organe sich ausbilden, so umgibt die Astralhülle noch die astralen Eigenschaften, die der Mensch sich mitbringt; die bilden sich zunächst in der astralischen Hülle, und erst mit der Geschlechtsreife tritt der Mensch der Welt mit einem freien Astralleib entgegen. Jetzt erst kann Urteil, Kritik und Begriffsbildung hineingreifen. In einem früheren Lebensalter würde ihm das viel zu früh gegeben werden. Der Mensch sollte in einem früheren Lebensjahre noch kein Bekenntnis haben, denn das kann er sich erst bilden, wenn sein Astralleib geboren ist. Vorher soll er aufschauen zu den Bekennern und von ihnen entgegennehmen, was er glauben soll; denn in diesem Zeitalter sich das selbst bestimmen, gibt eine astrale Karikatur. Vom okkulten Standpunkt ist es unmöglich, wenn der junge Mensch veranlaßt wird, schon irgendein Bekenntnis zu haben. Es ist sinnlos und ist entwicklungswidrig, wenn ein Kind in diesem Lebensalter es für möglich hält zu sagen: Ich habe ein eigenes Glaubensbekenntnis. Das wäre ein Zeichen, daß etwas in der Erziehung des betreffenden Menschen versiäumt worden ist; daß er nicht jene große Kraft in sich hat ausbilden können, die gerade unter dem Eindruck der berechtigten Autorität heranreift. Der Astralleib wird in dieser Zeit geboren, und langsam und allmählich hat in dieser Zeit vom vierzehnten Jahre ab das Urteil heranzureifen, das zum Bekenntnis führt. Das ist die Zeit, wo religiöse, moralische Empfindungen, wo künstlerische Errungenschaften in seinem Antlitz sich ausprägen. Dadurch kann er frei und als einzelnes Individuum der Welt gegenübertreten. Das dauert bis zum einundzwanzigsten oder dreiundzwanzigsten Jahre,
Es ist ein wichtiger Moment, wo mit der Geschlechtsreife der Mensch dem Menschen entgegentritt. Wie alles Vergängliche ein Gleichnis ist, so ist auch das Gegenübertreten des Männlichen und Weiblichen ein Symbolum. So wie die Liebe zum Einzelnen nach und nach erwacht, so erwachen jetzt überhaupt erst die persönlichen Verhältnisse zur Umgebung; vorher sind es allgemein menschliche Verhältnisse. Eigenes Urteil und eigene Verhältnisse zur Umwelt treten erst jetzt auf. Da kommt im Astralen der Fond heraus, den der Mensch sich mitgebracht hat und der sich jetzt erst frei entwickeln kann. Alle hohen Ideale, alle schönen Lebenshoffnungen und Lebenserwartungen, die nichts anderes sind als das, was im Astralleib als astraler Fond mitgebracht wird, sind Kräfte, die da sein müssen. Der Mensch entwickelt sich recht, der seine Lehrzeit so durchmacht, daß er das, was in ihm veranlagt ist, nach und nach herausbringt, nicht das, was in der Welt ist, sondern was er sich mitbringt. Ideale sind nicht da, sondern wir haben sie, weil die Kraft in uns rege ist, die in dieser Zeit jenes Hinausstreben des Jünglings macht; und nichts ist schlimmer für das spätere Leben, als wenn diese Kräfte bis zum zwanzigsten Jahre nicht da waren, die Lebenshoffnung und Lebenssehnsucht sind, denn das sind reale Kräfte. Je mehr wir von dem heutigen Fond des Inneren herauszubringen imstande sind, desto besser fördern wir den sich entwickelnden Menschen. Erst mit dem dreiundzwanzigsten Jahre ist das alles herausgebracht, und dann kann der Mensch seine Wanderjahre antreten. Da erst ist sein Ich geboren, da tritt er als eine freie Persönlichkeit frei der Welt gegenüber.
Jetzt ist das, was sein Ich, seine vier Glieder sich zusammengearbeitet haben, in unmittelbarem Umgang mit der Welt. Jetzt wirkt ganz frei, ohne daß er ein Inneres erst noch ausgebildet braucht, die innere Lebenserfahrung des Menschen; jetzt erst ist er reif, der unmittelbaren Wirklichkeit gegenüberzutreten. Hat er das schon früher getan, so sind die schönsten Anlagen in ihm verdorben; er hat da die Kräfte ertötet, die er als Fond mitgebracht hat. Es ist eine Versündigung an der Jugend, wenn wir die Prosa des Lebens früher wirken lassen. Jetzt reift der Mensch heran, und es kommt nun die Zeit, wo er so recht vom Leben lernen kann. Er entwickelt sich jetzt nach den sogenannten Meisterjahren hin, die in die Zeit vom achtundzwanzigsten bis zum fünfunddreißigsten Jahre fallen. Nehmen Sie aber den Zeitraum nicht zu pedantisch.
Um das fünfunddreißigste Jahr herum, da liegt des Menschen Lebensmitte, was alle Zeiten, die etwas gewußt haben von der Geisteswissenschaft, als etwas ungeheuer Wichtiges angesehen haben. Denn während bis zum einundzwanzigsten Jahre der Mensch aus seinen drei Leibern herausgeholt hat, was in ihm veranlagt ist, und bis zum achtundzwanzigsten Jahre aus der Umgebung herausgeholt hat, was sie ihm frei bieten konnte, beginnt er jetzt frei an seinen Leibern zu arbeiten, zuerst seinen astralen Teil zu festigen. Vorher hat er zu lernen gehabt aus der Umgebung und von der Umgebung; jetzt wird sein Urteil so, daß es eine gewisse Tragkraft bekommt für die Umgebung, und der Mensch tut wohl, wenn er vorher mit seinem Urteil über die Welt nicht zu stark abschließt. Erst gegen das fünfunddreißigste Jahr zu sollten wir unser Urteil verfestigen. Dann wird der Astralleib immer dichter und dichter. Haben wir bis dahin geübt, so dürfen wir jetzt ausübend werden. Jetzt fängt unser Urteil an, für die Umgebung etwas zu bedeuten. Jetzt, wo es heißt, mittun für die Welt, beginnt der Mensch sein Urteil in die Waagschale zu legen. Nun wird aus dem Wandernden ein Ratender, und nun können sich die andern nach ihm richten.
Mit dem fünfunddreißigsten Jahre beginnt es, daß die Erfahrungen zu einer Art von Weisheit werden können. Mit dem fünfunddreißigsten Jahre ist der Zeitpunkt eingetreten, der sich auch im physischen Leben dadurch kennzeichnet, daß der Astralleib und Ätherleib sich von der Welt zurückziehen. Bis zum einundzwangzigsten Jahre und darüber hinaus wirkt der Astralleib im Ich, im Blut und Nervensystem. Da wirkt er wachsend, verfestigend, konsolidierend, der Mensch bekommt in dieser Beziehung eine gewisse Festigkeit. Was sich in seiner Gefühls- und Gedankenwelt richtig kristallisiert, das wird er in Einklang und zum Ausdruck bringen in Mut und Geistestätigkeit. Daher können wir diese Zeit auch die Zeit der Ausbildung des Blut- und Nervensystems nennen. Diese Zeit ist physisch abgeschlossen etwa gegen das fünfunddreißigste Jahr zu, wo sich der Ätherleib mehr zurückzieht von dem Wirken im äußeren physischen Leibe. Daher die Eigenart, daß von dieser Mitte an der Mensch allmählich aufhört, sich zu vergrößern; er konsolidiert sich, das Fett fängt an sich abzulagern, und die Muskeln gewinnen an Stärke. Das rührt aber nur davon her, daß der Ätherleib beginnt, sich zurückzuziehen. Daher werden auch die Kräfte des Ätherleibes frei, weil sie nicht mehr an dem physischen Leib zu arbeiten haben, und es gliedert sich zusammen mit dem, was der Mensch innerlich ausgebildet hat. Da wird der Mensch weise, Daher haben die Alten wohl gewußt, daß der Rat eines Menschen im öffentlichen Leben erst dann eine Bedeutung haben kann, wenn der Ätherleib sich zurückzieht vom physischen Leibe: dann kann er eintreten ins öffentliche Leben, und seine Anlagen haben für Staat und öffentliches Leben eine Bedeutung.
Vom fünfunddreißigsten Jahre ab zieht sich der Mensch immer mehr und mehr ins Innere zurück, Wenn wir auf einen solchen Menschen hinsehen, wird er nicht mehr jene Jugenderwartung und jene Jugendsehnsucht haben; dafür aber hat er seine Urteile, etwas, von dem wir fühlen, daß es eine Kraft ist im öffentlichen Leben. Nun sehen wir auch, wie diejenigen Kräfte und Fähigkeiten, die an dem ÄtherJeib hängen, wie das Gedächtnis, abzunehmen beginnen. Und nun kommen wir in die Jahre hinein, etwa gegen fünfzig, wo auch das physische Prinzip sich zurückzieht von dem Menschen, immer mehr und mehr Knochenerde absetzt, wo die Gewebe locker werden. Das physische Prinzip verbindet sich immer mehr mit dem Ätherprinzip, und das, was in Knochen, Muskeln, Blut und Nerven gegangen ist, fängt an, ein eigenes Leben zu entwickeln. Geistiger und immer geistiger wird der Mensch. Allerdings muß das dadurch gefördert werden, daß die frühere Erziehung in richtiger Weise gelenkt worden ist. Da muß der Astralleib auch etwas gehabt haben. Hat der Astralleib keine Jugendfreuden gehabt, dann ist das nicht in ihm, was sich jetzt in den dichteren Ätherleib einprägen soll. Und ist das nicht drinnen, dann kann jenes mächtige Innenleben sich nicht entwickeln, und es muß das eintreten, was man das Kindischwerden im Alter nennt. Jene, die in der Jugend nicht die frische Kraft bekommen haben, fangen an auszudorren. Es ist geradezu auch in geisteswissenschaftlicher Beziehung außerordentlich wichtig, das zu beobachten.
Die günstigste Zeit für die Entfaltung spiritueller Anlagen ist die Zeit, wenn das fünfunddreißigste Jahr gekommen ist. Da werden die Kräfte, die sonst in den Körper hineingehen, frei, man hat sie zur Verfügung und kann mit ihnen arbeiten. Es ist daher ein besonders günstiges karmisches Geschick, wenn der Mensch nicht zu spät zur okkulten Entwicklung kommt. Solange der Mensch noch damit zu tun hat, seine Kräfte nach außen zu richten, solange kann er sie nicht nach innen richten. Daher muß der Zeitpunkt um das fünfunddreißigste Jahr herum als ein Kulminationspunkt angesehen werden. In der ersten Hälfte des Lebens hat sich alles schon zu einem rhythmischen Gang entwickelt, aber in der zweiten Hälfte sind die Grenzen nicht mehr so bestimmt, obwohl in der Geisteswissenschaft Grenzen immer angegeben worden sind, aber diese sind ungenau.
Wir arbeiten da der Zukunft erst entgegen. Was der Mensch in der höheren Altersstufe in seinem Innern ausbildet, wird in der Zukunft Organ- und Körper-schaffend sein; das wird auch im Welten-Kosmos später mitwirken. Es wird in der Zukunft etwas da sein, was wir an der ersten Hälfte jetzt schon beobachten können. Diese Einteilung hat vielleicht, namentlich für die Jugend, etwas Bedrückendes, aber wer die Lehren der Geisteswissenschaft wirklich in sich aufnimmt, kann das nicht mehr empfinden. Wenn Sie das Menschenleben von einem hohen Standpunkt aus überschauen, werden Sie sehen, daß gerade durch eine solche Betrachtung des Lebenslaufes der Mensch zum richtigen Gebrauch und zu der Praxis hingeführt wird. Der Mensch wird die Resignation üben müssen, zu warten, bis er die Organe hat, um in der ihnen entsprechenden Sphäre richtig zu wirken.
The Life Course of Human Beings from a Spiritual Science Point of View
The ancient maxim of a Greek mystery temple, “Know thyself,” has been passed down through humanity as an invitation to the deepest human contemplation. It represents one of the greatest truths, but this saying is like all truly great truths: when understood correctly, they mean something universal, something powerful. But they can all too easily be misunderstood — and this one in particular. It was never meant in its original sense to mean that human beings should contemplate their everyday selves, nor that human beings could find the sum of all knowledge within themselves. If we understand it correctly, it means a call to recognize the self, the higher self of man.
Where is the higher self of man?
We can use a comparison to clarify where this higher self is and what this saying means. Certainly, if we did not have eyes, we could not possibly perceive the light around us. But never — and this is just as certain — could we have eyes if the sunlight flooding through space had not first created these eyes. From originally lower organisms, from a living being that had no eyes, that had only darkness around it, it was the light itself that brought forth the eyes. That is why what Goethe says is so profoundly true: “The eyes are formed by the light and for the light.” But the eyes are not there to look at themselves. If we wanted to speak from the point of view of the eyes, we would have to say: the eyes fulfill their purpose all the better the more they forget themselves and recognize their creator — the light. Human beings would never fulfill the mission of the eyes if they could look into the innermost part of the eye itself. To forget this so-called innermost part and to recognize precisely what has created it, the higher self of the eye, the light, that is the task, the mission of the eye! The same applies to what human beings call the ordinary self. This, too, is nothing more than an organ, a tool, and self-knowledge increases the more this self of man can forget itself, the more it becomes aware that in the outer world there is also the light of the spirit that has created our spiritual eyes and continues to create them. Therefore, self-knowledge, when properly understood, means self-development. We must keep this in mind when we consider a topic that is important for humans like few others: the topic of self-knowledge in the highest sense of the word.
We want to consider humans from birth to death, taking into account the whole essence of the human being. Then, however, we must not forget that human beings already bring something with them at the beginning of their physical existence, that they do not come to us as something newly formed, but as beings who have already lived through repeated earthly lives and have already acquired the basic character of their individuality in these earthly lives. If we want to understand what human beings bring with them at birth, we must consider human beings after death. For this will reveal to us what human beings have preserved during the period between death and new birth in order to bring it with them at new birth.
Let us remember what happens when a human being dies: they leave behind their physical corpse. The essential difference between death and sleep is that when a human being sleeps in bed, they have their physical and etheric bodies, and only the astral body and what we call the I are taken out. Just as bricks do not come together by themselves to form a palace, so the physical forces need the etheric body as their inner architect. It is connected to the human being and maintains the connection between the physical substances and forces from birth to death; it saves the chemical mixture from decay at every moment. In death, it now truly withdraws, and therefore the physical part remains behind as the decaying corpse. During sleep, only the astral body, as the bearer of pleasure and pain, desires and emotions, and the ego leave the physical body; at death, the etheric body also separates and remains with the astral body and the ego for a while. This is an important moment in human existence. At this moment, the memory of the entire previous earthly life, from birth to death, flashes before the human soul like a large tableau. This tableau presents itself like a painting. Everything that has connected us with pleasure and suffering is not felt at this moment. Just as we do not feel the stab of a dagger when looking at a painting, so too do we not feel all the pain and suffering, the pleasure or joy that passes before us. We stand before our past life as objective observers.Then comes the moment when the etheric body also withdraws and dissolves into the world ether that generally permeates the world. But something remains of the etheric body: it is a kind of extract from the whole of life up to that point. The tableau fades and dissolves; but just as when we make a short excerpt from a book, something like an essence remains united with the human being throughout all the paths that follow. At the same time, we must realize that, in addition to this essence of the etheric body, there remains, albeit to a lesser extent, a kind of power center, an essence of the human physical body; not, of course, in a way that can be seen by the physical eye, but as a center of power. This is also connected to the life body, and it is this that gives the physical body its human form. Then the human being goes through a state in which he gradually weans himself off his connection with the physical world.
Now, after death, the human being's astral body is still there. To understand what kind of life the astral body now leads, let us form a mental image: everything the human being experiences, even the lowest pleasures, remains attached to his astral body. The physical body does not feel joy and has no desires; it is the tool of the astral body, which derives its joy and pleasure from it. If, for example, we have a gourmet in front of us, it is not his physical body that enjoys the delicacies, but the astral body that feels it by using the physical tool for enjoyment. The addiction to enjoyment remains even after he has shed his physical body; only the tools are now missing. From this you can see the nature of the astral body as it now lives after death. It is as if you were walking through a region, thirsting for water, but unable to quench your thirst because there is no spring far and wide. In a similar way, the astral body feels desires, cravings for pleasure, and emotions that it had before as a burning thirst — not because the things are not there, but because it lacks the organs to satisfy the pleasure. This is precisely why religions have presented the torments of fire that humans must endure after death as an example of this.
Until the astral body has broken its connection with the physical body, it remains in Kamaloka, where it must gradually free itself from what has flowed into it while it had the physical body. A person who has already purified their emotions in this life, who no longer finds pleasure in the crude enjoyment of food, but in beauty, art, or spirituality, will shorten their Kamaloka; but a person who can only satisfy themselves by using what their physical tools can give them will live for a long time in the sphere of burning thirst, and this state ends with everything that the person has not yet spiritualized in their astral body falling away from the astral body like a kind of corpse, just as the etheric body and the physical body have fallen away, and the less they have purified and cleansed their astral body, the more it must fall away. Therefore, a purified nature will later take much from its astral body and add it to what we called the essence of the physical and etheric bodies.
With these three essences, the ego now enters the actual spiritual world, and in this spiritual world, the ego has to develop everything it has experienced and acquired here during this life. You only need to remember that some people enter life with great talents, have talents as very young children that we only need to bring out. They have these because, during their stay in the spiritual realm, they developed their experiences, which were transformed into abilities and talents during this time.
In the course of each earthly life, human beings add something new to the three essences of their bodies. A person who is born as a particularly gifted individual has made good use of their previous lives, has gathered many pages in their past life, like a book, and in it are the experiences and achievements of their previous earthly lives. With this, the person enters a new life and receives a physical body from their physical ancestors. This core of being, which brings with it the fruits of previous experiences, is drawn to the family that can give it the physical characteristics that enable it to use the individual talents it has acquired in the past. It is not hereditary characteristics that determine a person's actions and abilities; they only provide the tools. But the tools must be there. Just as a piano virtuoso needs an instrument, so individuality, when it is enveloped in a new physical body, must find the right tools in it to be able to express itself in the right way in the physical world. Hence the illusion that only physical heredity exists. Certainly, it is present, but only because individuality is drawn to parents who can provide it with the appropriate tools. Everything that we have said has been discarded over time must crystallize around the human being in the same way; the human being receives all of this anew so that he or she can contribute to the purification of his or her being in later life.
We have already gathered the building blocks for the first half of human life. We will now have to repeat something from the field of education and school issues, and will have to expand on this for the second part of the human life course in order to see how the physical, etheric, and astral bodies develop in the first part of the human life course, and how happiness and the content of human life depend on this. This is an important chapter, which we must understand, however, as setting forth great laws that undergo many changes, but which are valid in broad outlines. And only those who know the laws and always know how to observe them will fit into the course of life in the right way and will be able to move toward their destiny with ever greater clarity.
Let us begin with the birth of the human being. We have already spoken of the fact that at physical birth, it is actually only the physical body that is completely born, which until then was surrounded by the physical mother's womb. All the organs developed only because the human being was protected on all sides until physical birth. And now it is as if the human being pushes back the physical mother's womb and his physical body is now alone exposed to the effects of the physical elements. After this birth, the etheric body is not yet born, and even less so the astral body; these are still enveloped by an etheric and an astral shell. Like a shell that is only visible to the spiritual eye of the seer, an astral and an etheric shell surround the human being, which do not belong to his own nature, but protect and envelop him. The etheric sheath surrounds the human being until the age of seven, the time of tooth replacement. Only then is the etheric body born; only then is the etheric sheath pushed back, like the physical sheath at physical birth; and only with sexual maturity is the astral body completely exposed to the outer world.
We must realize that in the first seven years of life, only that essence which we called the essence of the physical body acts completely freely, giving the physical form; it initiates the physical structure. The organs grow in the outer world so that they have their form, their predisposition, and only need to continue growing. We must therefore bring everything into its environment that can develop the structure of the physical body in the very best way. For this we could cite two magic words: imitation and example or role model. Everything around the child is imitated by it, and this imitation entices the internal organs to take shape. Even if the brain is still very imperfect at the age of seven, it has nevertheless been given direction, and what it has been deprived of until then cannot be made up for later. In the teeth, the physical principle reaches its conclusion, so to speak, for it is the principle of shaping and forming. Just as the teeth most clearly show that the limbs have consolidated, so too are the other softer organs determined. Light acts and draws the power of the eye to the surface. We have mentioned that it is good not to give children ready-made dolls and such things; we have mentioned that a healthy child will only enjoy them for a short time. On the other hand, they will enjoy it if you tie a napkin together and make eyes and ears with ink blots and give it to them as a toy. Just as a muscle only becomes strong when it is used, so it is here: now the child must work and build up in its imagination what the doll does not have. This brings about the inner organic development. It is therefore of particular importance to let the child work inwardly, to bring into its environment what flows through the organs with joy and pleasure and enjoyment of the environment. This creates strength for the formation of the organs. Nothing can ruin the organs more than not giving the child the right things. The imagination that is active in the child works on the forms of its organs, and nothing would be more wrong than to try to accustom the child to a joyless existence through false asceticism. Joy is the practitioner in the first years of life, and healthy life instincts are the formers that must not be spoiled. The right food, given to the child, will cause the child to enjoy the nutrition that is good for him; wrong food will make the child sick. Spiritual Science knows the necessary things for every stage, for everything. So we must be clear that in the first seven years, what is characteristic of the species comes out preferentially, because the physical principle is at work in the human being, and we must let the child work undisturbed.
When it comes to nutrition, there is an inner connection between breast milk and the child, which is expressed in the fact that in the first years of life there is a spiritual relationship between the mother and the child; and a mother who nurses her child herself is aware of this. Breast milk contains not only physical and chemical elements, but also something that is spiritually related to the child. The Spiritual Science investigator sees something that is born out of the mother's etheric body, and because the child's etheric body is not yet formed, it can initially only tolerate what has already been prepared by another etheric body. There is an intimate connection between what the child needs and what the mother herself gives it. In percentage terms, about 16 to 20 percent of children who die in infancy are those who are nursed by their own mothers, compared to 26 to 30 percent who are nursed by strangers. Here you can see the connection between the life bodies. It is a kind of character that expresses itself physically in the first years of life; the more generic traits develop, consolidate, become fixed, and give the child the character that belongs to a particular gender. Family traits only begin to appear on the child's face from this time onwards.
The period from the age of seven to fourteen is the one for which we have already mentioned the two magic words “emulation” and “authority.” During this time, human beings need another human being who embodies all that is good, beautiful, and wise; they need a human being in whom they can see the principles and teachings embodied. Moralizing does much less good at this age than showing the child role models who point the way up to Olympus. It is important for the child's whole future life if he or she now sees a person above him or her whom he or she deeply respects. What is at stake here is natural imitation. Therefore, we must organize history lessons in such a way that we present the child with images of wisdom and embodied strength of character; and from the character of the species, he moves on to a special character that is no longer connected with the line of ancestors. Imitation of the parents becomes imitation of the foreign species. The field of vision expands beyond the family; we must bring people into the child's vicinity so that the etheric body can spread beyond the species. While what places the human being in the family is expressed until the change of teeth, gestures now take on their character; what makes a human being a special human being is expressed when the human being steps out of the family circle. For now the etheric sheath is broken, and the etheric body can be influenced if there are people in the child's environment who, through what they carry within themselves, can develop the qualities that are stored in the child's etheric body. And those basic dispositions that the human being had brought with them in their etheric body as the fruits of their previous incarnation now develop, now that after the age of seven the etheric body is free on all sides. Therefore, the educator must step back as much as possible and not insist that these are the correct principles of education, but rather look at what the child has brought with them; for now, through the etheric body that has been freed, the organs must strengthen and enlarge in all directions. While up to the age of seven the physical organs were developed and shaped by physical forces, we now have these enlarging organs in order to work conscience, morality, energy, and all the etheric qualities into them. We must impress upon them everything that is pictorial, everything that is connected with the purer spiritual joy of nature, for this must be so firmly rooted in the human being that it adheres to the etheric body: a person can only have a firm character if they can develop their etheric body freely in this way. And an educator must say to themselves during this time: You are not dealing with something that you can shape as you wish; rather, you can ruin something for life if you do not listen to what has come over from the earlier etheric body. Therefore, physical exercises must also be designed in such a way that the child experiences a feeling of growing stronger and becoming more powerful. “I am getting bigger,” “I am growing” must be a moral, not merely a physical sensation in the child. This works just as plastically on the etheric body as the physical principle works on the physical body.
And in the same way that the physical organs develop while the physical mother's shell surrounds the physical body, the astral shell still surrounds the astral qualities that the human being brings with them; these first develop in the astral shell, and only with sexual maturity does the human being encounter the world with a free astral body. Only now can judgment, criticism, and conceptualization intervene. At an earlier age, this would be given to him far too early. Human beings should not have any beliefs in their earlier years, for they can only form these once their astral body has been born. Before that, they should look up to those who profess a belief and accept from them what they should believe; for at this age, to determine this for oneself results in an astral caricature. From an occult point of view, it is impossible for young people to be induced to have any kind of creed. It is pointless and contrary to development if a child of this age considers it possible to say: I have my own creed. That would be a sign that something has been neglected in the education of the person concerned; that he has not been able to develop within himself that great power which matures precisely under the influence of justified authority. The astral body is born during this period, and slowly and gradually, from the age of fourteen onwards, the judgment that leads to confession must mature. This is the time when religious and moral feelings and artistic achievements become apparent in the child's face. This enables them to face the world freely and as an individual. This lasts until the age of twenty-one or twenty-three.
It is an important moment when, with sexual maturity, the human being encounters the human being. Just as everything transitory is a parable, so too is the encounter between male and female a symbol. Just as love for the individual gradually awakens, so now personal relationships with the environment begin to awaken; before that, they are general human relationships. One's own judgment and one's own relationship to the environment only now come into being. This is when the astral background that the human being has brought with them emerges and can now develop freely. All high ideals, all beautiful hopes and expectations for life, which are nothing other than what is brought along in the astral body as astral background, are forces that must be present. The human being develops correctly who goes through his apprenticeship in such a way that he gradually brings out what is inherent in him, not what is in the world, but what he brings with him. Ideals are not there, but we have them because the power within us is active, which at this time makes the young person strive for them; and nothing is worse for later life than if these powers, which are the hopes and longings of life, were not there by the age of twenty, for these are real powers. The more we are able to bring out of today's inner resources, the better we promote the developing human being. Only at the age of twenty-three is all this brought out, and then the human being can begin his or her years of wandering. Only then is his or her ego born, and only then does he or she face the world as a free personality.
Now what his ego, his four limbs, have worked together is in direct contact with the world. Now the inner life experience of the human being works completely freely, without him first needing to develop an inner life; only now is he mature enough to face immediate reality. If he has done this earlier, the most beautiful qualities in him are spoiled; he has killed the powers he brought with him as a foundation. It is a sin against youth when we let the prose of life take effect too early. Now the human being matures, and the time comes when he can really learn from life. He now develops towards the so-called master years, which fall between the ages of twenty-eight and thirty-five. But don't take the time frame too pedantically.
Around the age of thirty-five, a person reaches the middle of their life, which all ages that have known something about Spiritual Science have regarded as something tremendously important. For while up to the age of twenty-one, the human being has drawn out of his three bodies what is inherent in him, and up to the age of twenty-eight, he has drawn out of his environment what it could freely offer him, he now begins to work freely on his bodies, first of all to strengthen his astral part. Previously, they had to learn from and about their environment; now their judgment becomes such that it acquires a certain bearing on their environment, and it is good for people not to be too definitive in their judgment of the world at this stage. It is only around the age of thirty-five that we should consolidate our judgment. Then the astral body becomes denser and denser. If we have practiced up to that point, we can now become active. Now our judgment begins to mean something to our surroundings. Now, when it is time to contribute to the world, human beings begin to bring their judgment to bear. Now the wanderer becomes an advisor, and now others can follow his lead.
At the age of thirty-five, experiences can begin to turn into a kind of wisdom. At the age of thirty-five, a point in time has been reached that is also marked in physical life by the astral body and etheric body withdrawing from the world. Up to the age of twenty-one and beyond, the astral body works in the ego, in the blood and nervous system. There it has a growing, strengthening, consolidating effect, and the human being acquires a certain stability in this respect. What crystallizes correctly in his world of feelings and thoughts, he will bring into harmony and express in courage and mental activity. Therefore, we can also call this time the time of the formation of the blood and nervous systems. This period is physically completed around the age of thirty-five, when the etheric body withdraws more from its activity in the outer physical body. Hence the peculiarity that from this point on, the human being gradually ceases to grow; he consolidates, fat begins to accumulate, and the muscles gain strength. But this is only because the etheric body begins to withdraw. Therefore, the forces of the etheric body are also freed, because they no longer have to work on the physical body, and it is integrated with what the human being has developed internally. This is when the human being becomes wise. This is why the ancients knew that a person's advice in public life can only be meaningful when the etheric body withdraws from the physical body: only then can they enter public life, and their talents become meaningful for the state and public life.
From the age of thirty-five onwards, the human being withdraws more and more into his inner life. When we look at such a person, he no longer has the expectations and longings of youth; but instead he has his judgments, something that we feel is a force in public life. Now we also see how those powers and abilities that are connected to the etheric body, such as memory, begin to decline. And now we come to the age of about fifty, when the physical principle also withdraws from the human being, more and more bone dust settles, and the tissues become loose. The physical principle connects more and more with the etheric principle, and what has gone into the bones, muscles, blood, and nerves begins to develop a life of its own. The human being becomes more and more spiritual. However, this must be encouraged by the fact that earlier education has been guided in the right way. The astral body must also have had something. If the astral body has not experienced the joys of youth, then what is now to be imprinted in the denser etheric body is not present in it. And if that is not present, then that powerful inner life cannot develop, and what is called becoming childish in old age must occur. Those who did not receive fresh strength in their youth begin to wither away. It is extremely important to observe this, especially in relation to spiritual science.
The most favorable time for the development of spiritual aptitudes is when the age of thirty-five has been reached. Then the forces that otherwise go into the body become free, one has them at one's disposal and can work with them. It is therefore a particularly favorable karmic destiny if a person does not come to occult development too late. As long as a person is still busy directing their energies outward, they cannot direct them inward. Therefore, the time around the age of thirty-five must be regarded as a culmination point. In the first half of life, everything has already developed into a rhythmic process, but in the second half, the boundaries are no longer so definite, although boundaries have always been specified in Spiritual Science, but these are imprecise.
We are only working towards the future. What a person develops within themselves in their later years will create organs and bodies in the future; and will also have an effect in the world cosmos later on. There will be something in the future that we can already observe in the first half. This division may seem somewhat oppressive, especially for young people, but those who truly take in the teachings of Spiritual Science can no longer feel this way. If you look at human life from a higher perspective, you will see that it is precisely through such a view of the course of life that human beings are led to the right use and practice. Human beings will have to practice resignation, waiting until they have the organs to work properly in their corresponding sphere.