The Rudolf Steiner Archive

13. The Purpose of Earthly Life as a Gateway to the Afterlife

[ 1 ] There are still some people—indeed, many people—today who say: Well, there may be a spiritual and emotional life after death, but why should we worry about that now? We can simply live this earthly life with everything it has to offer, and we can wait to see if that other life will reveal itself when death comes!

[ 2 ] Spiritual Science shows us, however, that between death and birth, human beings encounter certain beings. Just as they encounter many beings of the natural kingdoms here, so too do they encounter the beings of the higher hierarchies and the more or less elemental beings there. If a person goes through life without the ability to judge, it is because between death and birth they were unable to encounter the beings who could have given them the strength to develop their powers in such a way that they could be morally and intellectually capable in this life. Now, however, the possibility and ability to meet certain beings between death and birth again depends on the last life. If, in our earthly life, we have never engaged in thoughts that ascend toward the spiritual world, in thoughts that deal with the supersensible; if in our last earthly life we were completely absorbed in the outer world, in the world of the senses, if we lived only in the intellect insofar as it is directed toward the outer physical world, then we make it impossible for ourselves to approach certain beings between death and new birth and to receive from them abilities for the next life. In a sense, the realm on the other side is gloomy and dark for us, and we cannot find the forces of the higher hierarchies in the darkness. Human beings then proceed through the life between death and new birth without taking notice of the beings from whom they ought to receive forces for the following earthly life.

[ 3 ] And where does the light come from that allows us to illuminate the darkness between death and birth? Where do we get this light? Between death and a new birth, no one gives us light. The beings are there, and the point is that we come together with them because we have kindled the light ourselves in our last earthly life through our engagement with the spiritual world. After death, we can no longer illuminate the darkness if we have not taken the light with us as we passed through the gate of death.

[ 4 ] We can see from this just how false the claim is that one need not concern oneself with the spiritual life here, but can simply wait and see what happens. Indeed, if one waits to see what happens, then darkness is what comes.

[ 5 ] Earthly life is therefore not merely a point of passage, but has a mission; it is as necessary for the afterlife as the afterlife is for earthly life. The lights for the life beyond must be carried there from Earth. Thus it can happen that a person here remains oblivious to the supersensible world, that they stumble past the opportunity and the abilities to create tools for their next life.

[ 6 ] But then, once again, the human being passes through the gate of death after a life in which he was inadequate in one way or another. As you can see, the picture that emerges is almost bleak. If nothing else were to happen, the human being would indeed become increasingly inadequate. For if a person has first closed themselves off from the supersensible world in an earthly life through a wilful dullness, they are even less capable of developing the necessary faculties in the next life. And if nothing else were to happen, they would have to continue developing in this way. Thus, their development would go further and further downhill.

[ 7 ] But then something else happens. If a person walks the earth in a state of wilful dullness, then in the life following their second earthly existence, Lucifer approaches them with his power. In the next life between death and rebirth, if Lucifer did not approach him, the human being would be groping in darkness all the more. But because he has lived through a life such as the one just described, Lucifer can approach him, and he now illuminates for him those forces and beings that he needs for the next life. The result of this is that they are all colored by the light of Lucifer. After this dull existence and after being guided by Lucifer through the life between death and new birth, he then enters a new earthly life: he is then fully endowed with abilities that prepare his organs in such a way that they expose him everywhere to the temptations of Lucifer on Earth.

[ 8 ] Such a person may well be intelligent and sensible, but their mind will be cold and calculating, and above all permeated by self-interest and selfishness. To the seer, it becomes apparent that so many people in the world, who are actually intelligent and sensible, are cold and selfish in their actions, so that when one comes into contact with them, they take advantage of one in order to advance themselves as much as possible and put themselves in the spotlight; — it becomes clear to him upon observing such people that in their previous life in the spiritual world they were led by Lucifer and that they led a dull life in their previous earthly incarnation: groping in darkness in that more distant life, previously a wilful closing off from the spiritual world.

[ 9 ] And it must be said: Such a realization opens up a bleak prospect for materialistic humanity. People who are materialistic in their outlook today and reject engagement with the spiritual world—who regard the life of the soul as concluded at the moment of death—face a life such as the one I have just described. However, it is not enough for us to merely speculate in abstract terms about the connections between different lives; rather, a concrete overview reveals to us the most manifold connections between past and future earthly lives and the successive lives in the spiritual realm. We must hold fast to the fact that earthly life has great significance for life after death.

[ 10 ] And so it also has another meaning. It means that we can truly encounter certain beings on Earth—in the full sense of the word—only by becoming truly acquainted with them. And among these beings, above all, is the human being himself. If the bond between human beings could not be formed on Earth, it could not be formed in the spiritual realm either. The connections that exist between human beings are such that they are formed here and then continue in the spiritual world. However, we can never form them with human beings who are in some way predestined to be incarnated on Earth if, while on Earth, we have the opportunity to get to know them but do not make use of it; we cannot make up for what we have missed here in the spiritual world during the time we spend between death and a new birth.

[ 11 ] Let’s take an example: Gautama Buddha. He was a human being who, in that life in the sixth century B.C.E., lived as a prince and who, at the age of 29, ascended from the status of Bodhisattva to that of Buddha. This means: he became a Buddha, and a Buddha no longer needs to incarnate in a physical human body. Gautama Buddha thus lived out his final earthly life at that time. A large number of people came into contact with this being on Earth back then. Even in earlier incarnations on Earth, people came into contact with the Bodhisattva. All these relationships can continue into the spiritual world. Those who came into contact with Gautama Buddha here on Earth can continue this relationship—which developed between them and Gautama Buddha, much like that of a student to a teacher—into the spiritual world. But there were souls in the course of Earth’s evolution who never established a relationship with the Gautama Buddha on Earth. These souls, even if they have attained a very special level of maturity, can no longer simply come into contact in the spiritual world with the Gautama Buddha—with the soul that was incarnated in the Gautama Buddha at that time. However, in the case of Gautama Buddha, a kind of substitute comes into play; something takes his place that acts as a substitute if one has not come into a certain contact with him on Earth. For the Buddha underwent a very special destiny after he was Gautama Buddha and no longer needed to return to Earth, but lives on in a purely spiritual region. At first, he remained connected to earthly conditions; only not from the earth, to which he no longer returned, but from the spiritual regions did the being of Gautama Buddha work its way into earthly existence. We know that the Gautama Buddha allowed his being to radiate into that boy Jesus of whom the Gospel of Luke tells us. There the supersensible being of the Buddha radiated into the astral body of the boy Jesus of Luke, thus working from the supersensible world into earthly existence. But with their ordinary modes of perception, earthly human beings could no longer come into contact with him; rather, only those who, from the earth, found access to him through higher development—such as Francis of Assisi—could come into contact with the soul of Gautama Buddha. Before he entered earthly life, and before the end of his last life between birth and death, the being of Francis of Assisi lived in a mystery colony located in southeastern Europe, where the teachers were not physical beings but teachers from the supersensible hierarchy to which the Buddha belonged—or rather, the soul that was once incarnated in the Buddha. In such a mystery center, there are disciples who have already developed the high abilities required to perceive the supersensible world. Such disciples are capable of having teachers who work from the spiritual world alone. And so the Buddha taught in that mystery center; and Francis of Assisi, in his former incarnation, was a devoted disciple of the Buddha. And at that time, Francis of Assisi took in everything that enabled him, in the life he then entered, to illuminate himself with the higher hierarchies, which then allowed him to enter existence as the great mystic who was able to have such a powerful impact in his time. All of this is possible, since the soul of Francis of Assisi, through its higher abilities at that time, entered into a relationship with Gautama Buddha, even after the latter was able to influence him from the supersensible world.

[ 12 ] But for ordinary human life, which depends on the life unfolded through the senses and the intellect, such an encounter is, of course, not possible. And so what has just been said applies: that we can no longer encounter a human being if we have not encountered them in the physical world.

[ 13 ] The exception we have just encountered in the case of Buddha now gives rise to further exceptions. And while it is impossible for the ordinary human being to encounter people in the spiritual realms with whom he has not established a relationship here, it is nevertheless possible for the earthly human being who has received the Christ impulse here, and has been permeated by it, to encounter—between death and a new birth—if not other people with whom he has not established a connection here, then at least the Buddha over there. For something quite special is indeed in store for him.

[ 14 ] At the beginning of the seventeenth century, a planet other than Earth was at the point of a developmental crisis similar to the one Earth faced when the Mystery of Golgotha unfolded. And just as Christ appeared in this earthly existence from higher regions at that time, so did the Buddha appear on Mars during that Martian crisis around the seventeenth century. That is to say, after the Buddha had passed through his earthly incarnations up to his last, it was no longer necessary for him to return to an earthly life; but he continued his work in other regions. The Buddha, so to speak, moved out of earthly conditions to Mars. And while Mars had until then been the primary source of the forces that the Greeks described as the conflict that is fruitful for the world, this mission of Mars had come to an end by the seventeenth century, and a new intervention was necessary there: the Buddha accomplished the Buddha Crucifixion there. The Buddha Mystery did not unfold on Mars as the Christ Mystery unfolded on Earth, but the Prince of Peace, the Buddha, who in his last earthly life radiated peace and love everywhere, was transferred into Mars, which was filled with strife. And the placing of this being, who is entirely filled with forces of peace and love, into the realm of strife and disharmony—that, in a certain sense, was also a crucifixion.

[ 15 ] To the seer’s eye, two moments come together wonderfully. When one directs one’s gaze toward the eighty-year-old dying Buddha here on Earth, it is precisely this death of the Buddha that is something strangely moving and deeply stirring. 483, on a magnificent full-moon night, bathed in the silver moonlight, the Buddha died, radiating peace and gentleness. That was his final moment on Earth. Then he continued to influence the Earth in the manner I have just described to you. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the seer sees the gentle, silver moral light of the Buddha shining again on Mars. These are two wonderful moments that come together in world history.

[ 16 ] And the people here on Earth who receive the Christ impulse in the appropriate way—when they live on the other side, they pass through the cosmic world. We all pass through these worlds of the cosmos. First, we pass through the planets of our solar system. We experience a lunar phase, a Mercury phase, a Venus phase, a solar phase, a Mars phase, a Jupiter phase, and a Saturn phase. Afterward, we go out into the vicinity of our solar system, only to return again. And it is precisely then that we encounter these forces and beings from whom we must receive what we need to build our next earthly life. And the one who has received the Christ impulse here on Earth can then, as they pass through the sphere of Mars, receive what flows forth from the Buddha. This is such a case, an exceptional case, where even souls who did not meet the Buddha in their previous earthly incarnations can still encounter this Buddha now, between death and new birth.

[ 17 ] It has become apparent to the clairvoyant eye that some people who lived in the seventeenth century demonstrated their remarkable gift by receiving their power from the Buddha in the spiritual worlds during the time preceding their birth. Fundamentally, people’s ability to absorb these powers is still limited, because the Buddha has not yet long since accomplished this mystery on Mars. In the future, human souls will increasingly absorb powers from the Buddha in the Martian sphere. But already in the nineteenth century, for those who can perceive such things, there have appeared human beings who are able to develop their abilities here in earthly life because they received influences from the Buddha during their passage through the Martian sphere. So complex and so wondrous are these lives between death and new birth.

[ 18 ] Human beings must take with them from here the light that can illuminate the experiences between death and a new birth; otherwise, they will grope in the dark. And so it is in this particular case as well. The human being who departs from Earth through the gate of death without having received the Christ impulse here—who wanted nothing to do with it—can then pass through the Mars sphere in the spiritual world in the following life without having the slightest inkling of the influences of the Buddha. The Buddha is as if not there for him. For we must bear this in mind: Although we pass by the beings of the higher hierarchies, whether we notice them and whether we can engage with them as necessary depends on how we have kindled the light within ourselves in our last earthly life, so that we do not pass them by but can receive something from them. — Thus, the person who says, “It is unnecessary to concern oneself with the beyond during one’s earthly life,” is entirely wrong.

[ 19 ] You have now seen that, from a higher perspective, earthly life is actually a kind of special case. Here in the earthly sphere, we live embodied in the physical body between birth and death. Between earthly lives, we pass through the spiritual world. In addition to earthly embodiment, one can speak of an “embodiment” between death and new birth, or rather of an ensoulment. What I have described for the other world also applies to the Earth. Consider, then, that for the inhabitants of Mars—who belong specifically to Mars—a human being living there between death and a new birth can pass through Martian existence without coming into contact with the Martian beings. He does not see them, and they do not see him. The same is true for Earth. Beings who actually belong to other planets pass through the Earth sphere continuously, just as humans belong to Earth. Martians live out their regular lives on Mars, and between their experience corresponding to death—though it is somewhat different—and their new life on Mars, they pass through the other planets. So that, in fact, inhabitants of the other planets are constantly passing through our Earth sphere. Earthlings cannot enter into any relationship with them, because they live under entirely different conditions of existence and because, under certain circumstances, they may not have established any connections with these beings on Mars at all.

[ 20 ] What would be necessary to encounter these beings passing through Earth’s sphere, who actually belong to other planets? It would be necessary to have developed points of contact with them on their own planets. This is only possible if one can already consciously establish a relationship with beings other than Earthlings here on Earth through the development of extrasensory powers.

[ 21 ] Thus, the possibility does indeed arise that those who have undergone higher spiritual training may also encounter travelers from other planets. And as strange as it may seem, what I am telling you is truly true: For those who today hear the strange theories that physics and astronomy put forward about the inhabitants of Mars—for those who come to know them as travelers passing through our Earth and learn from them what life on Mars is like, for that is how one learns it—for them, these hypotheses are very strange; for it is quite different. I am explaining all these things because I would like you to broaden your perspective from earthly life to the other worlds, beyond the visible beings that surround us, to the beings that cannot be perceived until one’s eyes are opened to them.

[ 22 ] But not only are we unable to meet people on other planets between death and a new birth with whom we have not established relationships here on Earth, we also cannot come into contact with such circumstances between death and a new birth that are part of the earthly mission, which must develop here and with which we have not entered into any relationships on Earth or with which we do not come into contact through the vicissitudes of earthly life.

[ 23 ] Spiritual Science or anthroposophy, for example—what is it in a cosmic context? Well, someone who comes up with all sorts of theories might easily believe that Spiritual Science is something that can be taught and learned throughout all worlds. But that is not how the universe is structured. Every region of the world has its own special task—and this does not repeat itself in the same way throughout the universe. Spiritual Science is possible only on Earth, not on another planet or in another region. That is why the creative powers made the Earth, so that what can arise only on Earth might arise here. Spiritual Science can only arise on Earth; it cannot be learned anywhere else; it is a revelation about the supersensible world, but in the form in which it appears, it can only appear here.

[ 24 ] Now one might say: Yes, that may all be true, but surely a person could learn about the supersensible world in a different way than through Spiritual Science! — Yes, one might think so, but it is not true. For human beings are constituted in such a way that, if they wish to establish a relationship with the higher world in a way that is right for them, they can only do so through Spiritual Science. If a person fails to approach Spiritual Science or anthroposophy while on Earth, no other life will help them to come to know it. Nor will any other life help them to come to know the supersensible world in a truly human way. — This need not lead us to despair regarding the many people who still want to know nothing of Spiritual Science: they will return and come into contact with it later. Anthroposophy is established on Earth so that it can convey to human beings what must be known about the supersensible world in a human way. Only one kind of transmission is possible, and that is possible only through human mediation. When a person has entered the spiritual world through the gate of death without having learned anything about Spiritual Science here, they can learn about it through having been in relationship with people on Earth who are in contact with it. It is a roundabout way, but it is a possible path. Let us take the example of two people who were close friends here on earth: one is connected to anthroposophy, the other is not; the latter dies, and the former can help him greatly by reading to him, familiarizing him with what surrounds him after death. Thus, a person can, so to speak, read an important work of Spiritual Science with a dead person: the dead person listens to him, as the seer can confirm.

[ 25 ] Sometimes this is the case; the facts speak for themselves, and even though one might raise many “whys,” these “whys” are of no consequence compared to the fact that I can present to you as a fully observed fact: It may be that a simple person who has merely come into contact with Spiritual Science and who truly loved the deceased can read to a deceased person more effectively than a seer who, while able to contact the deceased, had no emotional connection to them in this life. At times, however, it may also be the case that seers take it upon themselves to read to the dead whom they did not know; yet it is far more common that one finds it impossible to read to a deceased person with whom one had no prior contact. From this fact, you can sense the great significance of spiritual communities such as the anthroposophical one: there, in a certain way, what we have just characterized as a kind of shared living, of coming into contact, is replaced. If such communities did not exist, every deceased person would indeed be dependent on having readings performed only by those very close to them. Only such spiritual communities, where spiritual ideals are cultivated together, expand this possibility. And so it can happen—and it does happen—that one encounters an anthroposophist who, in a certain way, is able, through what he has already learned, to read aloud spiritual thoughts with great concentration or to let them unfold within his own soul. Then one can say to him: Look, a person has died; I’ll show you his handwriting; he was also an anthroposophist; he belonged to the same community. Then it may be enough for the person in question to see only handwriting—not photographs—and to learn a favorite saying of the deceased, and it may be that the somewhat more advanced anthroposophist can also read to such a person in the most fruitful way, even though he never came into contact with them in life. This will also be a beautiful task for a spiritual community: to bridge the gulf between the living and the dead in such a powerful way.

[ 26 ] Today, anthroposophists still find themselves drawn to various tasks that lie solely on the physical plane, because there is still a great deal of materialistic thinking within them, even though they have theoretically embraced the science of anthroposophy. The true spiritual tasks will only come when Spiritual Science has penetrated even more deeply into the souls: then souls will be found who will take on the task of helping the dead and guiding them forward. Within our community, in a certain sense, the beginning was made long ago, so that what has been able to happen in this area must now bring great satisfaction.

[ 27 ] However, if an anthroposophist has passed through the gate of death—that is, has taken spiritual thoughts with them—then, while living in the spiritual world, they may under certain circumstances be able to serve the dead themselves and act as their teacher. But these things are generally more difficult than one might think. It is easier to do all this on earth than in the spirit world, because the communities that may exist after death are entirely dependent on the communities that existed before death.

[ 28 ] If, for example, two people lived together on earth, one of whom was an anthroposophist and the other did not care for Spiritual Science, but now, after death, longs for it, it may happen that the anthroposophist still living here will strive, until his own death, to read aloud to the departed one. After a certain time, the one left behind, who read to the other, passes through the gate of death himself; he is then with him in the spiritual world. Indeed, a resonance of the relationship that existed here on earth then reemerges, and this presents a difficulty—whereas there was no difficulty when one was still on earth and the other had died. Dissonances arise when they are reunited under the same conditions of existence that had prevailed in their earthly relationships. And just as here one soul wanted to know nothing of the other regarding Spiritual Science, so it is on the other side as well. But this shows us once again how conditions on the other side depend on conditions here on Earth. Things are simply very complicated and cannot be constructed merely in the mind.

[ 29 ] But what lies at the heart of the mission of Spiritual Science comes vividly to life before our souls through such facts. This shows us how the gulf between the living and the dead is bridged. We see that, under certain circumstances, the dead can influence the physical world just as the living can influence the spiritual world. We can investigate how the dead influence the physical world.

[ 30 ] Basically, people here on Earth know very little about what surrounds them. How do people actually view life? They view it in such a way that they link the events that unfold as if on a thread, seeing one as the cause and the other as the effect, but they don’t think much beyond that. As strange as it may sound, that is how it is. What happens is the very least of real life’s content—merely the outer content of real life. There is something else in life besides what happens in this way; something that is no less significant for life.

[ 31 ] Let’s take an example. A person is accustomed to leaving his house at exactly eight o’clock every day. Every day he has a specific route to take that passes through a square. One day, circumstances cause him to leave three minutes later than usual; but he takes the same route. As he passes through the colonnade he must walk under every day, he notices something strange: the ceiling of the colonnade has collapsed! Had he left at his usual time, the ceiling would certainly have crushed him.

[ 32 ] There are many such things in life. How often can we tell ourselves that something entirely different might have been possible—had this or that condition been present—than what actually happened? We are, after all, shielded from many things in life; much that could have happened does not. For in life we consider only the external realities, but not the inner possibilities; yet these possibilities lie constantly behind life. If a past day has brought us this or that event, that is, in essence, only the external reality, and behind it lies a whole world of possibilities. Consider, for example, the sea, my dear friends. Many, many herring live in the sea; but for them to have come into being, there were not just as many eggs as there are now herring. Many, infinitely many eggs perish; they do not reach their goal; only the possible number of herring survives. But this is how it is with all of life. What we experience from morning to evening is only a fragment of a vast number of possibilities. At every moment, we pass by things that are possible but do not happen. When something that could have happened passes us by, that is a special moment for us. Think of the example of the man who need only have left the house as usual: he would have been struck down by the ceiling of the colonnade. Yet such possibilities are constantly present for us. In such a moment, when a person arrives three minutes later in front of the building that would otherwise have struck him down had he come earlier, there lies the opportune moment for the spiritual world to flash within him. There, one of those experiences may dawn upon him that can bring him into contact with the dead. Today, people do not yet pay attention to these things because they actually live only on the surface of things.

[ 33 ] Spiritual Science will gradually become the elixir of life, and people will not only see what external reality is, but will also pay attention to what is making itself known in their inner lives. And among these will often be the voices of the dead, who still have something to ask of the living.

[ 34 ] Just as we have seen in the reading that the living can influence the dead, so too can the dead influence the living. The time will come when people will speak to the dead in spirit. They will speak to the dead and, in a sense, listen to them. Since death changes only the outer form of the human being, while the soul continues to develop, the state of humanity that people now experience—in which they have no communion with those who merely live in a different form, who simply lead a different kind of life—is still a rather imperfect one. When Spiritual Science is no longer merely a theory but permeates the souls, a living communion with the dead will always be possible. What is now accessible only in a certain way to the seer will gradually become a shared human heritage.

[ 35 ] You might say: That may be true for the seer; he can visit people between death and a new birth. But this is very difficult today because disbelief in the spiritual world and a lack of connection to it create obstacles even for those who are able to connect with the spiritual world. — There are simply certain things that can only unfold unhindered if they are part of humanity’s common heritage. A person may be the most skilled architect, but if no one commissions him to build anything, he simply cannot build. The same can be true for the seer. He may have the ability to ascend into the spiritual world to the dead: but if this is made difficult by the fact that communion with the dead is impossible for most people, it can succeed for the seer only in exceptional cases.

[ 36 ] My dear friends, I wanted to show you how Spiritual Science can influence life. And perhaps even better than what we learn theoretically is to cultivate this feeling, this sense of the task of Spiritual Science in humanity’s future. Through this, everyone who belongs to this anthroposophical movement gains an impression of what they are actually doing. They gain an impression of the immeasurable task that is to be accomplished precisely through Spiritual Science or anthroposophy. And through this, one learns to hold fast to it with full seriousness and dignity; one learns not to take it as something trivial, meant merely to uplift us, but to take it as something that will become increasingly necessary for humanity as we look toward the future. It is this that I wanted to evoke in you through today’s reflections.