The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Lecture Eleven

[ 1 ] What is commonly referred to in Sanskrit as Devachan is the long period of time that elapses between a person's death and a new birth. After death, the soul first learns on the astral plane to unlearn the instincts bound to its body. It then passes into Devachan, where it spends a long life between two incarnations. Like the astral world, the world of Devachan is not a place but a state. It surrounds us even in this present life, but we are unaware of it. In order to understand the Devachanic state comparatively, as well as the effects of Devachan on earthly life and the life of the cosmos, it is best to start once again from the state of sleep.

[ 2 ] Sleep is a mysterious state for the vast majority of people. During sleep, the etheric body of the human being remains connected to the sleeping body and continues its vegetative and renewing work. But the astral body and the ego of the individual detach themselves from the sleeping body in order to lead an independent life.

[ 3 ] During the day, our entire conscious life consumes the physical body. From morning to evening, the human being uses up his or her energy, and the astral body transmits sensations and impressions to the physical body, which consume and exhaust it. At night, however, the astral body acts in a completely different way. It no longer transmits impressions from outside, but processes these impressions and creates order and harmony where the life of the day had created disorder and disharmony through the chaos of perceptions. During the day, the astral body behaves passively; it is a receiver and transmitter. At night, its role is active, namely organizing and building up, in order to replace the depleted forces.

[ 4 ] The nature of human beings in their present state means that their astral body cannot simultaneously perform this nightly restorative work and perceive what is happening around them in the astral world. How can the astral body be relieved of its work in order to free it for life in the astral world?

[ 5 ] The adept's method of liberating his astral body consists in cultivating feelings and thoughts that already have a certain rhythm that can be communicated to the physical body, and on the other hand, avoiding all those feelings and thoughts that bring disorder and disruption into it. He spurns extreme feelings of joy and pain and sets an example of complete mental balance.

[ 6 ] A supreme law governs nature, and that is rhythm. When a person has developed the twelve-petaled lotus flower, which represents their astral and spiritual organ of perception, they can control their body and give it a new rhythm that eliminates the symptoms of fatigue within it. Thanks to this rhythm and this restoration of harmony, the astral body no longer needs to carry out its rebuilding work while the physical body sleeps, without which the physical body would decay.

[ 7 ] Our entire daily life consists of a constant disruption of our physical body. All illnesses have their origin in the excesses of the astral body. For example, those who eat excessively awaken desires for pleasures in their astral body that have a destructive effect on their physical body. They ruin their body in order to obtain chaotic pleasures. This is why certain religions prescribe fasting. Fasting reduces the burden on the astral body, calming it and partially detaching it from the physical body. Its vibrations are calmed and give the etheric body a regular rhythm. Fasting thus enables the etheric body to maintain its rhythm. It brings life, namely the etheric body and form, i.e., the physical body, into harmony and at the same time establishes harmony between the world and the human being.

[ 8 ] Now let us see what role the astral body plays during sleep. Where is the human ego during this time? Strictly speaking, in devachan. But in sleep we have no consciousness whatsoever. It is important to distinguish between dream-filled sleep and deep sleep. Dream-filled sleep corresponds to astral consciousness. Dreamless deep sleep, which sets in after the first dreams, corresponds to the devachanic state. We do not remember this because this state is not conscious to the ordinary physical brain. The initiate possesses continuity of consciousness during the waking state, sleep with dreams, and dreamless sleep. He connects these three states in the whole of his existence.

[ 9 ] Let us now examine the situation of human beings after death in devachan. After a certain time, the etheric body dissolves into the energy currents of the life ether. What is now the task of the astral body and consciousness? The ego and astral body must build a new etheric body for the next earthly existence. The stay in Devachan is partly devoted to acquiring these abilities. In fact, the substance of the etheric body, like that of the physical body, is not permanent. That of the physical body changes constantly, in such a way that it is completely renewed in the course of seven years. Similarly, the etheric substance renews itself, although its form and structure remain uniform under the care of the higher self. At death, this substance returns completely to the etheric world, and just as with the physical body, nothing of it remains from one incarnation to the next. Successive incarnations therefore take place with completely new etheric bodies each time, and this is the reason why physiognomy and body shape change so much from one incarnation to another. They do not depend on the will of the individual, but on their karma, their emotional life, and their unconscious will impulses.

[ 10 ] The situation is quite different for a spiritual student undergoing initiation. He develops his etheric body here on earth in such a way that it becomes permanent and enables him to enter the devachan after death. He is sufficiently advanced to awaken the life spirit, which forms one of his three imperishable members, here on earth in the bosom of his etheric forces. This etheric body, transformed into the life spirit, is called budhi in Sanskrit. Once the disciple has attained this life spirit, he no longer needs to completely transform his etheric body between two incarnations. He then spends a much shorter time in Devachan. Therefore, from one incarnation to the next, he displays the same basic disposition, the same temperament, the same basic character. When the occult master has managed to consciously control not only his etheric body but also his physical body, a spiritual member of the being is also created, which in Sanskrit is called Atma, meaning spirit man. Having reached this level, the initiate retains the features of his physical appearance in every incarnation on earth. He retains his total consciousness during the transition from earthly life to heavenly life and from one incarnation to another. This is the origin of the legend of initiates who live for a thousand or two thousand years. This means that for them there is neither Kamaloka nor Devachan, but a continuous consciousness beyond death and birth.

[ 11 ] The following objection is sometimes made with regard to reincarnation: when a person has fulfilled their task on earth, they know it; why then must they return? — The objection would be valid if the person returned to the same earth. But since they usually return only after two thousand years, they find a new nature, a new Earth and humanity, for these have evolved, and so they can learn new things each time and fulfill a new mission.

[ 12 ] These periods of renewal of the Earth, which determine the time of reincarnation, are themselves determined by the passage of the Sun through the signs of the zodiac. Eight centuries before Christ, the sun had its vernal equinox in the sign of Aries. We see a reflection of this in the legend of the Golden Fleece and in the designation “Lamb of God” for Christ. 2160 years earlier, the vernal equinox of the sun was in the sign of Taurus. This had an influence on cults such as that of the Apis bull in Egypt or the cult of Mithras in Persia. Another 2160 years earlier, the vernal equinox was in Gemini, which is reflected in the cosmogony of ancient Persia and in the opposing figures of Ormuzd and Ahriman. As the Atlantean civilization comes to an end and the time of the Vedas dawns, the sun has its vernal equinox in Cancer, whose sign is written as follows: 77=%. This marks the end of one period and the beginning of a new one.

[ 13 ] Peoples have always been aware of the importance of the relationships that connect them to the constellations. In fact, the great periods of human history are subject to the influence of celestial changes, the movement of the Earth in relation to the Sun and the stars.

[ 14 ] This fact explains the difference between the epochs and gives new meaning to the incarnations that take place in each of these epochs. For 2160 years constitute the period necessary for one male and one female incarnation, that is, for the two aspects under which man acquires the entire wealth of experience of an epoch.

[ 15 ] What is it that brings forth new flora and fauna on Earth? It is the devas and the figures of Devachan.

[ 16 ] Darwin seeks to explain earthly evolution through the struggle for existence, which in reality explains nothing. For the occultist, it is the formative effects from the Devachan that change the flora and fauna. The more advanced the human being is, the more he can participate in this work. The activity of man has a greater influence on the forms of nature the more he has developed his consciousness. The initiate can work in the world where new plants originate. For Devachan is the realm where vegetation takes shape. In Kamaloka, the astral world, man works on the development of the animal kingdom. Kamaloka is in the sphere of the moon, while Devachan is connected with the sun.

[ 17 ] Thus, humans are connected with all the kingdoms of nature. Plato speaks of the symbol of the cross, saying that the world soul is attached to the world body in the form of a cross. What does this cross mean? It is the soul that passes through all the kingdoms of nature. In fact, unlike humans, plants have their roots, or if you will, their heads, which carry the forces of nutrition, at the bottom, and in contrast, they chastely turn their reproductive organs upward toward the sun. Animals occupy a middle position in a mostly horizontal position. Humans and plants are oriented vertically and, together with the horizontally oriented animal, form a cross, the world cross.

[ 18 ] In future times, the participation of humans who dwell in the higher worlds after death in the construction of the lower realms will be a conscious one. Consciousness will direct the relationships in such a way that a new flora will always correspond to a new human culture. The divine mission of the spirit is to forge the future. There will then be neither miracles nor chance. Flora and fauna will be the free expression of the transformed human soul.

[ 19 ] The work on earth is carried out from two sides: by the devas, the gods, and by human beings.

[ 20 ] When we build a cathedral, we work with minerals. The mountains on either side of the Nile are the work of the gods, the temples on its banks are the work of human beings. And both have the same goal: the transformation of the earth.

[ 21 ] Later, humans will learn to shape all the kingdoms of nature with the same consciousness with which they now shape the mineral kingdom. They will shape living beings and take on the work of the gods. In this way, they will transform the earth into Devachan.