The Rudolf Steiner Archive

12. The Nature of Human Beings

[ 1 ] Yesterday, I attempted to give you an overview of the different types of animation in the world around us. Today, we will take a closer look at the nature of human beings themselves. Some things that are already familiar will also need to be mentioned here. Let us first consider the facts about the nature of human beings in such a way that they fit best into the picture I was able to give you yesterday. We will then see how human beings, in relation to their lowest body, appear to have grown out of the first kingdom that surrounds us and which we have characterized as the mineral kingdom. When we look at the human being standing before us, the first thing we perceive is the most tangible: his physical body. For occult researchers, however, this is only one member of his human nature. It is easy to form a false idea of this physical body if one thinks that the physical body is simply what one can see with the eyes and touch with the hands. This is the same mistake as thinking that hydrogen is water. The higher members are already mixed in with this physical human body. Just as it appears to us physically, this physical human body is already permeated by the other members of human nature, so that what appears to us as flesh and bones cannot simply be called the physical body. This physical human body is indeed made up of the same substances and forces as those you find outside in the mineral world, but these same substances and forces are artfully combined in the human body. However, the fact that it looks and feels the way it does is due to the fact that the other members of the human being are already mixed in. What the eye sees of the physical human body is not actually the physical body. That exists as such when the human being has just passed through the gate of death: the corpse is the actual physical body, that which is freed from all the members of the higher human nature. When this physical body is left to itself, it follows laws that are completely different from those it followed up to that moment. Up to that point, it has actually always contradicted the physical and chemical laws. The human body would be a corpse every moment of earthly life if it were not constantly permeated by the etheric body, which fights against the decay of the physical body throughout life. The etheric or life body is the second member of the human being.

[ 2 ] Let us assume here that plants and animals also have an etheric body. But in a certain respect, the human being also differs from the animal in its etheric body. And this difference should now be of particular interest to us: How does the human etheric body differ from that of the animal? — But first, let us ask: How does clairvoyant consciousness come to know something about the etheric body of the human being? To answer this question, we must describe clairvoyance.

[ 3 ] Anyone who has reached a certain level of clairvoyance has also acquired the ability, the powerful force, to control their mind to such an extent that they are able to focus their attention on something or divert it away from something to a much greater degree. If you ask an ordinary person to divert their attention in such a way that they can, so to speak, detach themselves from their physical form, they will only be able to do so in extremely rare cases; but the clairvoyant is perfectly capable of doing this. The space in which the physical body is normally located is then filled for the clairvoyant, illuminated by this etheric body or life body. It has approximately the human form in the head, torso, and shoulders. The further down it goes, the less it resembles the human form. In animals, the etheric body is very different from the physical body. In horses, for example, as you know, the etheric head protrudes far out. And if you could observe the etheric body clairvoyantly in an elephant, you would be amazed at its enormous structure. The further down we go in the human form, the more the etheric body changes in relation to the physical form. Otherwise, however, the left and right sides correspond to each other in a certain way in the physical and etheric bodies. The physical heart lies slightly to the left; the corresponding organ in the etheric body is the etheric heart, which lies on the right side. The greatest difference between the physical and etheric bodies, however, is that the etheric body of the man is female and that of the woman is male. This fact is very important, and many mysteries of human nature can be explained on the basis of this occult research. Thus, in humans there is a kind of correspondence, while in animals there is a great difference between this second member of the human being and the first.

[ 4 ] You can understand the astral body much more clearly in humans. It is the third member of the human being. The etheric body is already a fact for the clairvoyant, but of course a fantasy for the materialist. External, anatomical, physiological science investigates only the physical body in humans. But within this physical body there is something that is much closer to human consciousness than blood and nerves. For humans are aware of their desires, their suffering, their joy, and these take place in the space filled by their physical body. The carrier of these, which is invisible to him, becomes visible to clairvoyant consciousness like a luminous cloud: it is the astral body. This differs greatly from the etheric body.

[ 5 ] The movement in the physical body cannot be compared with the extraordinary mobility of the etheric body. In healthy people, it has the color of the blossom of a young peach tree. Everything about it shines and glitters in its own unique shades, from rose red to dark and light to white and luminous; at the same time, the etheric body has a definite boundary, even if it is fluctuating. The astral body is completely different. It displays the most varied colors and forms, like a cloud flowing by in constant, changing motion. And what forms in the cloud is expressed in the feelings and sensations that people have toward one another. When the clairvoyant sees the bluish-red color appear in the astral body, he sees, as it were, love flowing from person to person, but he also sees all the ugly feelings that play between people. And since the soul activity of human beings is constantly changing, the colors and forms of the astral body are also constantly changing; they appear and disappear in a colorful play and form their inclusions.

[ 6 ] The fourth member of the human being is the carrier of the I.

[ 7 ] Thus, in the human being we now have the physical body, which in nature corresponds to the mineral, then the etheric body, which is comparable to the plant, and thirdly the astral body, which the animal has in common with the human being. Only the astral body is much more mobile in humans than in animals.

[ 8 ] The ego carrier, the fourth member of the human being, is like a kind of oval figure whose origin can be traced back to the forebrain. There it is visible to the clairvoyant as a bluish-glowing sphere. From it flows, in an oval shape, like a spatial egg, one might say, a kind of blue that plays into the human being. How can this ego carrier be seen? Only when the clairvoyant is able to remove the astral body from the human being can he perceive the ego carrier. The human being shares the other three bodies with the three kingdoms of nature: the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms. But it is through the ego carrier that they differ from these, and this makes them the crown of creation.

[ 9 ] By considering the fourfold nature of the human being in this way, we have at the same time brought to mind what human beings have, so to speak, received from the higher worlds, regardless of their stage of development. It is precisely because he has these four members of the human being that he is human. Only now, when the ego works on the other three bodies, does the work of the human being himself begin. A human being stands higher or lower in his development, depending on how he accomplishes his work on the three lower members of his being. The ego begins to work first on the astral body. This work expresses itself very differently in a lower human being and in a higher personality, such as Schiller, for example. One has accomplished less in the transformation of his astral body than the other. This inner work on oneself is called purification or catharsis in the secret language. In this way, the ego works on the perfection of the astral body. In all people, therefore, you will find that the astral body is divided into two parts: one part is worked through, purified, the other is not. Let us now assume that the ego continues to work steadily on the astral body, then the person will gradually reach the point where they no longer have to command themselves to do good, but doing good will become a habit. There is a difference between a person merely following a commandment and being so strong in love that they cannot help but do what is good, wise, and beautiful. If a person merely follows a commandment, the I works on the astral body; but if doing good becomes a habit, the I is already working on the etheric body.

[ 10 ] How does the ego work on the etheric body? To understand this, let us take an example. When something is explained to you and you understand it, the ego has worked into the astral body. But if you say a prayer every day, for example the Lord's Prayer, you are working into the etheric body by repeating the same thing every day, by the soul repeatedly bringing about the same activity. Repetition is something quite different from understanding something once. Let us make it clear to ourselves how one thing works on the astral body and the other on the etheric body from the ego.

[ 11 ] Look at the growth of a plant. It sprouts the seed, the stem, and produces leaf after leaf, always new green leaves. It can do this because it is endowed with an etheric body, for the principle of the etheric body is that of repetition. Wherever repetition occurs, an etheric body is at work. The completion of the plant, the flower, is brought about by another principle, the astral body that overshadows it. So completion is the principle of astrality. Remember this well—you can also observe it in humans in the construction of their physical body. Look at the spine, the ever-repeating vertebrae, there you have the etheric body expressed in the physical. Now look at the human head, the brain: there you have the conclusion, the astral body in physical form. You have the same process spiritually as the unique understanding through the effect on the astral body, and as an activity achieved through the daily repetition of the same prayer or the same meditation exercise, a working on the etheric body. The essence of meditation can be seen in this: through the principle of repetition, it works not only into the astral body, but also into the etheric body. The great religious teachers have therefore achieved so much because they gave humanity content in which a continuing power was revealed that is still at work today. Thus, the etheric body of the human being is also twofold: it has a part that has been worked through, which is still small in the average human being, and a part that has not yet been worked on by the I.

[ 12 ] There is a third aspect for the human being: he can work on the physical body from his I. This is the hardest work. Human beings have been working unconsciously on their physical bodies all along, but not from their ego. This is only possible for the most advanced.

[ 13 ] In this way, we learn about the four lower members of the human being and the three higher members, which are the products of the transformation of the three lower bodies through the work of the ego. There is a considerable difference in this processing of the three lower members: it happens consciously or unconsciously. Unconsciously, that is, without the person concerned knowing it, through contemplating and absorbing artistic works, pictures, and so on, through devotional meditation and prayer. However, people are not aware that they are working on their etheric and astral bodies; conscious work on them begins relatively late. We must therefore distinguish between conscious and unconscious work by the human being on the lower members of his being. The human astral body consists of two parts: an unconscious and a conscious part. The part of the astral body that has been worked through unconsciously from the I is called the sentient soul; this is fully developed in human beings today. What has been worked on unconsciously in the etheric body from the I is the intellectual soul. What has been unconsciously transformed in the physical body over a long period of time is the conscious soul. Thus, we distinguish in human beings the physical body, the etheric body, the astral body, and the I, and from this, as something unconsciously processed by the astral body, the sentient soul; from the etheric body, the intellectual soul; and from the physical body, the conscious soul. We therefore have six or seven members of human nature, which have come into being through the unconscious work of the human being upon himself. Now conscious work begins. What arises from this? It is that which the human being consciously works into the astral body, the spirit self or manas; what the human being consciously works on his etheric body—but this only happens with conscious occult training—is called buddhi or the life spirit. And what happens when the ego is able to consciously work on the physical body, that is, to work forces into the physical body? Through occult training, through the breathing process, this can really happen consciously, but it must be done very carefully and very subtly, because with incorrect training, as is often given in public writings, one can also cause great harm to the European body, and one must know what is appropriate for the constitution of modern humans. Through such conscious breathing, the physical body is then transformed from the ego into the Atman or spiritual human being.

[ 14 ] The essence of the human being was fourfold when it took on earthly form. With the first earthly incarnation, it already begins the work on itself through the ego. In the process, it unconsciously develops the three aspects of the soul through its incarnations: the sentient soul, the intellectual soul, and the conscious soul. We will see later how the conscious transformation of the physical body, the etheric body, and the astral body into the three higher members takes place. Here you now have, so to speak, the sevenfold nature of the human being, which develops in this way through incarnation. The four members: the physical body, the etheric body, the astral body, and the I are the so-called sacred fourfold nature, revered in all occult schools, to which a sacred threefold nature is added, consciously structured into a sevenfold and a tenfold nature. Thus we have placed before our soul the universal human being, who has everything within himself, surrounding him like a fan, but who rises above it through his ego.

[ 15 ] Now let us also consider the human being in wakefulness and sleep, in order to understand how the bodies are connected. What happens when joy and pain are stilled within the human being, when consciousness sinks into sleep? The astral body and the ego are then outside the physical and etheric bodies. Something very peculiar occurs for the human being in the state of sleep. Just as a plant is during the day, so is the human being at night: they have only the physical and etheric bodies within them; they have, so to speak, descended into a plant-like state. The human being splits into two parts: the physical and etheric bodies remain in bed, while the astral body and the ego are outside. Now you might ask: “Is the human being in bed a plant?” - No, not that, but both consist of the same bodily composition. On our Earth, a being with a physical and etheric body can only exist if it is a plant. Because an astral body and an I dwell within it, the other bodies—the physical and the etheric—also change. Plants have no nerve cords, and only the physical body, in which an I dwells, has warm blood. Higher animals are to be regarded as degenerate forms of the original human being. In the physical body, the I expresses itself in the blood system, the astral body in the nerves, the etheric body in the glandular system, and the physical nature in the human being’s own body. Now, if the astral body is the actual creator of the nervous system—and it is—then the nervous system finds itself in a very desolate state at night, for it is abandoned by its master; the glandular system, however, is not, for the etheric body remains faithful to it. But the circulatory system of the physical and etheric bodies is also faithlessly abandoned by the ego at night. The physical body can stand on its own, for physical nature remains the same, as does the glandular system, since the etheric body remains in the physical body at night. But the nervous system is abandoned by its master. Let us now ask clairvoyant consciousness what then happens in the physical body? To the same extent that the human astral body leaves the physical and etheric bodies during the night, to that same extent a divine-spiritual astral body enters the bodies lying in bed. The same applies to the circulatory system: a divine-spiritual I enters and sustains it. Even at night, the human being is a fourfold being, but something else lives within them: a being of a higher order takes possession of the two bodies lying in bed. And when the human being—that is, their astral body and their ego—returns to their etheric and physical bodies in the morning, their small astral body drives out a more powerful one. The same happens with his blood system: his ego drives out the divine-spiritual ego that has nourished it during the night.

[ 16 ] Divine-spiritual beings are always present in our environment. These must now withdraw during the day, and we do the same at night. These divine-spiritual beings sleep during the day: the sleep of the gods and the sleep of humans correspond completely. A divine-spiritual ego and a divine-spiritual astral body enter the human being lying in bed in the evening, entering his physical and etheric bodies, and return from them in the morning. In humans, this happens in exactly the opposite way: they leave their bodies in the evening and take possession of them again in the morning. Even in religions, a sense of the gods' sleep during the day has remained. There are countries where churches are closed at midday because that is when the gods sleep most deeply.

[ 17 ] Let us now look at what is outside the human being at night: the astral body and the I. We know that impulses, desires, and passions are rooted in the astral body, but human beings are not aware of them at night. Why is this? Because in their present state of development, the astral body and the I do not have organs of perception. The present human being can only perceive with the physical organs. For as many organs as the human being has, so many worlds open up to him, surround him. If he has one more organ, a new world opens up to him. The astral body of the human being, if the human being has not yet become clairvoyant, does not yet have any organs, which is why the human being does not perceive anything at night. We can easily imagine that humans can exist without senses. We know that there are blind people and those who lack other senses; no world exists for humans if they cannot use their senses. Therefore, in the morning, when humans can use their physical senses again, the world is there around them once more. But it is different at death. The etheric body and the physical body remain connected throughout life; at death, the etheric body usually leaves the physical body for the first time. The moment of death is therefore described by those who know something about it as a moment of looking back, when the whole past life passes before the person like a panorama. Why? Because the etheric body is the carrier of memory, and this memory is now set free. As long as the etheric body is in the physical body, it cannot unfold its full power, but can only develop as much of it as the physical instrument allows. Now, however, in death, it becomes free and can develop without the physical body what has been inscribed in it during the entire lifetime. This panorama can also occur through a shock, but in this case the person must not lose consciousness as they do after death, for example in the case of mortal danger. But this is an exceptional case.

[ 18 ] Now you may ask: How long does this tableau last? This varies greatly from person to person. In general, one can say that it lasts as long as a person can remain awake in life without being overcome by sleep; that is: twenty hours, fifty, sixty to eighty hours. The outer limit that a person can reach while awake is approximately the duration of this panorama. This flashback lasts for that long, then it ebbs away, and at the same time the clairvoyant sees how the etheric body detaches itself, but not completely, and that is the essential point. The person takes an essence, an extract, with them, and with the essence of their etheric body, the fruits of their last life. In this way, the human being ascends. Now he retains the essence of his etheric body, his astral body, and his ego until he also discards the astral body. Now he has discarded two corpses, and then he enters the spiritual world.

[ 19 ] Tomorrow we will consider life after death and entry into the devachanic world.