Manifestations of Karma
GA 120
21 May 1910, Hamburg
6. The Relationships Between Karma and Accidents
It is easily understood that karmic law can operate when, in the sense demonstrated, a cause of illness asserts itself from within man. But it is more difficult to understand that the experiences and actions of a previous life brought in by the individual at birth can provoke such illnesses as are the result of exterior causes—such illnesses as science calls infections. Nevertheless, if we go deeper into the true nature of karma, we shall learn not merely to understand how these external causes can be related to the experiences and deeds of earlier lives, but we shall also learn that accidents which befall us, events which we are prone to describe as chance, may stand in a definite relationship with the course of a previous life. We must indeed penetrate somewhat deeper into the whole nature of man's being if we wish to understand the conditions that are so veiled by our human outlook.
We saw yesterday how chance or accident always presents the external event in a veiled form, because in those instances where we speak of chance, the external deceptions created by the ahrimanic powers are the greatest possible. Now let us examine in detail how such accidents, that is to say those events that are generally called ‘accidents,’ come about.
Here it is necessary to bear in mind the law, the truth—the recognition that in life much of what we describe as ‘arising from within,’ or as ‘derived from the inner being of man’ is already clothed in illusion, because if we truly rise above illusion, we find that much of what we at first believe to have originated within man must be described as streaming in from outside. We always encounter this when we have to deal with those dispositions, those traits of character, which are summed up under the name of ‘hereditary characteristics.’ It seems as though these hereditary characteristics are a part of us only because our forbears had them, and it may appear to us in the most eminent degree as though they had fallen to our lot through no fault of our own, and without our co-operation. It is easy to arrive at a mistaken distinction between what we have brought from earlier incarnations and what we have inherited from our parents and forbears. When we reincarnate we do not come haphazard to such and such parents or to such and such a country. There is operating here a motive allied to our innermost being. Even in those hereditary characteristics which have nothing to do with illness, we must not assume anything haphazard. In the case of a family such as Bach's for instance, there were for many generations again and again more or less renowned musicians born (there were more than twenty more or less renowned musicians in Bach's family). We might well believe that this has purely to do with the line of heredity, that the characteristics are inherited from the forbears, and that as such characteristics are there, certain tendencies towards musical talent brought over from a previous incarnation will be unfolded. This is not so however; the facts are quite different.
Suppose that someone has the opportunity of receiving many musical impressions in a life between birth and death, that these musical impressions pass by him in this life, simply for the reason that he has not a musical ear. Other impressions which he receives in this life do not pass by him in the same way, because he has organs so formed that he can transform the experiences and impressions into capacities of his own. Here we can say that a person has impressions in the course of his life which are capable of being transformed into capacities and talents through the disposition which he has brought with him from his last birth; and he has other impressions, which on account of his general karma, because he has not received the suitable powers, he cannot transform into the corresponding capacities. They remain, they are stored up, and in the period between death and a new birth they are converted into the particular tendency to be expressed in the next incarnation. And this tendency leads the person to seek for reincarnation in a particular family which can provide him with the suitable organs. Thus if someone has received a great many musical impressions, and because of an unmusical ear, he was unable to transform them into musical capacities or enjoyment, this incapacity will be connected with the tendency in his soul to come into a family where he will inherit a musical ear. From this we shall now see that if a certain family inherits a certain construction of the ear—which can be inherited just as well as the external form of the nose—all those individuals who in consequence of their former incarnation long for a musical ear, will strive to come into this family. From this we see that, in fact, a person has not inherited a musical ear or a similar gift in a particular incarnation. ‘by chance,’ but that he has looked for and actually sought for the inherited characteristic.
If we observe such a person from the moment of his birth, it will seem to us as though the musical sense were within him, a quality of his inner being. If, however, we extend our investigation to the time before his birth, we shall find that the musical ear for which he had to seek is something that has come to him from outside.
Before his birth or conception the musical ear was not within him. There was only an impulse urging him to acquire such an ear. In this case man has drawn to himself something external. Before reincarnation the feature which is later termed hereditary was something external. It approached man, and he hastened to take it. At the moment of incarnation it became internal, and made its appearance within. Thus, in speaking of hereditary disposition, we suffer from a delusion, because we do not take into account the time when the inner quality was an external one.
Let us now enquire whether an external event occurring between birth and death, might not be the same as the case we have just now been discussing—whether it might be capable of being transformed into something internal. We cannot reply to this question without examining still more closely the nature of sickness and health. (We have given many instances in order to characterise sickness and health. And you know that I do not define, but try little by little to describe things, and to add ever more characteristics, so that they may gradually become comprehensible. So let us now add some more characteristics to those we have already collected.)
We must compare sickness and health with something that appears in normal life, namely, sleeping and waking, and we shall then find something of still greater significance. What is taking place within a human being when the daily states of sleeping and waking succeed one another? We know that when we sleep, the physical and the etheric body are abandoned by the astral body and the Ego, and that the awakening is a return of the astral body and Ego to the physical and etheric body. Every morning on waking, all that constitutes our inner being—astral body and Ego—dives down again into our physical and etheric bodies. What happens with regard to those experiences which a human being has when going to sleep and when awakening?
If we consider the moment of going to sleep, we see that all experiences which from morning to night fluctuated in our lives, especially the psychic experiences of joy and sorrow, happiness and pain, passions, imaginations, and so forth, sink down into the subconscious. In normal life, when asleep, we ourselves are unconscious. Why do we lose consciousness when we fall asleep? We know that during the state of sleep we are surrounded by a spiritual world, just as in the waking state we are surrounded by things and facts of the physical world of the senses. Why do we not perceive this spiritual world? Because in normal life to see the spiritual facts and spiritual things surrounding us at the present stage of human development between going to sleep and awakening, would prove dangerous in the highest degree. If the person were today to pass over consciously into the world which surrounds us between going to sleep and awakening, his astral body which gained its full development in the Ancient Moon period, would flow out into the spiritual world, but this could not be done by the Ego, which can be developed only during the Earth period, and which will have completed its Evolution at the end of the Earth period. The Ego is not sufficiently developed to be able to unfold the whole of its activity between falling asleep and awakening. If we were to fall asleep consciously, the condition of our Ego could be illustrated as follows. Let us suppose that we have a small drop of coloured liquid; we drop this into a basin of water and allow it to mix. The colour of that small drop will no more be seen because it has mixed with the whole mass of the water. Something of this nature happens when man in falling asleep leaves his physical and etheric bodies. The latter principles are those which hold together the whole of the human being. As soon as the astral body and Ego leave the two lower principles, they disperse in all directions, impelled always by this principle of expansion. Thus it would happen that the Ego would be dissolved, and we should indeed be able to envisage the pictures of the spiritual world, but should not be able to understand them by means of those forces which only the Ego can bring to bear—the forces of discernment, insight, and so forth—in short, with the consciousness we apply to ordinary life. For the Ego would be dissolved and we should be frenzied, torn hither and thither, swimming without individuality and without direction in the sea of astral events and impressions. For this reason, because in the case of the normal person the Ego is not sufficiently strong, it reacts upon the astral body and prevents it from entering consciously the spiritual world which is its true home, until there comes a time when the Ego will be able to accompany the astral body wherever it may penetrate. Thus there is a good reason for our losing consciousness when we fall asleep, for if it were otherwise, we should not be able to maintain our Ego. We shall be able sufficiently to maintain it only when our Earth evolution is achieved. That is why we are prevented from unfolding the consciousness of our astral body.
The very reverse takes place when we awaken. When we awaken and sink down into our physical and etheric bodies, we ought in reality to experience their inner nature. But this does not happen, for at the moment of waking we are prevented from regarding the inner nature of our corporeal being, because our attention is immediately directed to external events. Neither our faculty of sight nor our faculty of perception is directed towards penetration of the inner being, but is distracted by the external world. If we were immediately to apply ourselves to our inner being, there would be an exact reversal of the situation that would occur if we fell asleep and entered the spiritual world with our ordinary consciousness. Everything spiritual that we had acquired through our Ego in the course of our Earth life would then concentrate, and after our re-entry into the physical and etheric bodies, it would act upon them most powerfully, bringing about a tremendous increase of our egotism. We should sink down with our Ego; and all the passions, the desires, the greed, and the egotism of which we are capable would be concentrated within this Ego. All this egotism would pour away into the life of the senses. So that this may not happen we are distracted by the external world, and are not permitted to penetrate our inner being with our consciousness.
That this is so can be confirmed from the reports of those mystics who attempted really to penetrate the inner being of man. Let us consider Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, and other mystics of the Middle Ages, who in order to descend into their own inner being dedicated themselves to a state in which their attention and interest was entirely turned away from the external world. Let us read the biographies of many Saints and Mystics who tried to descend into their inner selves. What was their experience? Temptations, tribulations, and similar experiences which they have depicted in vivid colours. These were compressed in the astral body and Ego, and made themselves felt as opposing forces. That is why all those who as Mystics have attempted to descend into the inner self found that the further they descended, the more were they impelled to an extinguishing of their Ego. Meister Eckhart found an excellent word to describe this descending into his own inner self. He speaks of ‘Ent Werdung,’ that is to say the extinction of the Ego. And we read in “;The Theologia Germanica”; (German Theology) how the author describes the mystic path into the inner human being, and how he insists that he who wishes to descend will act no longer through his own Ego, but that Christ with Whom he is fully permeated, will act within him. Such Mystics sought to extinguish their Ego. Not they themselves, but Christ within them should think, feel, and will, so that there may not emerge what dwells within them in the form of passion, desire and greed, but rather that which streams into them as Christ. That is why St. Paul says ‘Not I, but Christ in me.’
We can describe the processes of awakening and falling asleep as inner experiences of the human being: awakening as a sinking down of the compressed Ego into the corporeality of man, and falling asleep as a liberation from consciousness, because we are not yet ready to see that world into which we penetrate on falling asleep. Through this we understand waking and sleeping in the same sense in which we understand many other things in this world, as a permeation by one another of the various members of the human entity. If we consider a waking person from this point of view, we shall say that in him are present the four members of the human entity, the physical body, etheric body, astral body, and the Ego, and that they are linked together in a certain way. What results from this? The fact of ‘being awake.’ For we could not be awake were we not so to descend into our corporeality that our attention is distracted by the external world. Whether we are awake or not depends upon a certain regulated co-operation of our four members. And again, whether we are asleep or not depends upon the proper separation of our four members. It is not enough to say that we consist of physical body, etheric body, astral body, and Ego, for we understand man only when we know to what extent the various members are linked together in a certain state, and how intimately they are connected. This is necessary to an understanding of human nature. Now let us examine how these four members of man are linked together in the case of a normal person. Let us set out from the standpoint that the condition of man when awake is the normal condition.
Most of us will remember that the consciousness we at present possess as earth-men between birth and death, is only one of the possible forms of consciousness. If, for instance, we study ‘Occult Science,’ we shall see that our present consciousness is a stage among seven different stages of consciousness, and that this consciousness which we possess today developed out of three other preceding stages of consciousness, and that it will at a later period develop into three other succeeding forms of consciousness. When we were Moon beings we had not yet an Ego. The Ego became united with man only during the Earth period. That is why we could not gain our present consciousness before the Earth period. Such a consciousness as we have today between birth and death, presumes that the Ego co-operates with the other three members exactly as it is doing today and is the most exalted of the four members of the human entity. Before we were impregnated with the Ego we comprised only physical body, etheric body, and astral body. The astral body was then our most exalted member, and our consciousness then was such as can to-day be compared only with our dream consciousness which is a survival of the past. But we must not think of the present dream consciousness, but one in which the dream images represent realities. If we study the dream as it is to-day, we shall find in its manifold images much that is chaotic, because our present dream consciousness is an ancient inheritance. But if we study the consciousness that preceded that of today, we should find that we could not at that time see external objects such as plants, for instance. Thus it was impossible for us to receive an external impression. Anything that approached us evoked an impression analogous to that of a dream, but corresponded to a certain external object or impression.
Thus before dealing with the Ego-consciousness, we shall have to deal with a consciousness which might be termed an astral consciousness, because it is attached to the astral body which was formerly the most exalted member. It is dim and nebulous, and not yet irradiated by the light of the Ego. When man became earth-man, this consciousness was outshone by the Ego-consciousness. The astral body, however, is still within us, and we might ask how it was that our astral consciousness could be so dimmed and eliminated that the Ego-consciousness could fully take its place? This became possible because through man's impregnation by the Ego, the earlier connection between the astral body and the etheric body was greatly loosened. The earlier and more intimate connection was, so to speak, dissolved. Thus before the Ego-consciousness, there existed a far more intimate relationship between man's astral body and the lower members of his being. The astral body penetrated further into the other members than it does today. In a certain respect the astral body has been wrested from the etheric and physical bodies.
We must make ourselves quite clear about this process of the partial exit, this detachment of the astral body from the etheric and physical bodies. Even today, might there not be a possibility with our ordinary state of consciousness to establish something similar to this ancient relationship? Could it not happen also today in a human life, that the astral body should try to penetrate further into the other members than it ought, to impregnate and penetrate more than is its due? A certain normal standard is necessary for the penetration of the astral body into the etheric and physical bodies. Let us suppose that this standard is exceeded in one direction or another. Certain disturbances in the whole of the human organism will result from this. For what man is to-day depends upon that exact relationship between the various principles of his being which we find in a normal waking state. As soon as the astral body acts wrongly, as soon as it penetrates deeper into the etheric and physical bodies, there will be disorder. In our past discussions we saw that this really takes place. We then looked at the whole process from another aspect. When does this happen? It happens when man in an earlier life impregnated his astral body with something, allowed something to flow into it that we conceive as a moral or intellectual transgression for that earlier life. This has been engraved on the astral body. Now, when man enters life anew, this may in fact cause the astral body to seek a different relationship with the physical and etheric bodies than it would have sought had it not in the preceding life been impregnated with this transgression. Thus are the transgressions committed under the influence of Ahriman and Lucifer transformed into organising forces which, in a new life induce the astral body to adopt a different relationship towards the physical and etheric bodies than would be the case had such forces not intervened.
So we see how earlier thoughts, sensations, and feelings affect the astral body and induce it to bring about disorders in the human organism. What happens when such disorders are brought about? When the astral body penetrates further into the physical and etheric bodies than it normally should, it brings about something similar to what takes place when we awaken, when our Ego sinks down into the two lower principles. Awakening consists in the sinking down of the Ego-man into the physical and etheric bodies. In what then consists the action of the astral body when, induced by the effects of earlier experiences, it penetrates the physical and etheric bodies further than it should? That which takes place when our Ego and our astral body sink down into our physical and etheric bodies on awaking and perceive something, shows the very fact of our awakening. Just as the state of waking is the result of the descent of the Ego-man into our physical and etheric bodies, there must now take place something analogous to what is done by the Ego—something done by the astral body. It descends into the etheric body and the physical body. If we see a man whose astral body has a tendency towards a closer union with the etheric and the physical bodies than should normally take place, we shall see the astral body accomplish the phenomenon which we otherwise achieve by the Ego upon awakening. What is this excessive penetration of the physical and etheric bodies by the astral body? It consists in that which may otherwise be described as the essence of disease. When our astral body does what we otherwise do upon awakening, namely pushes its way into the physical body and the etheric body, when the astral body which normally should not develop any consciousness within us, strives after a consciousness within our physical and etheric bodies, trying to awaken within us, we become ill. Illness is an abnormal waking condition of our astral body. What is it we do when in normal health we live in an ordinary waking condition? We are awake in ordinary life. But so that we could possess an ordinary waking condition, we had at an earlier stage to bring our astral body into a different relationship. We had to put it to sleep. It is essential that our astral body should sleep during the day whilst we are dominated by our Ego-consciousness. We can be healthy only if our astral body is asleep within us. Now we can conceive of the essence of health and illness in the following way. Illness is an abnormal awakening within man of the astral body, and health is the normal sleeping state of the astral body.
And what is this consciousness of the astral body? If illness really is the awakening of the astral body, something like a consciousness must be manifested. There is an abnormal awakening, and so we can expect an abnormal consciousness. A consciousness of some kind there must be. When we fall ill something must happen similar to what occurs when we awake in the morning. Our faculties must be diverted to something different. Our ordinary consciousness awakens in the morning. Does any consciousness arise when we become ill?
Yes, there arises a consciousness that we know all too well. And which is this consciousness? A consciousness expresses itself in experiences! The consciousness which then arises is expressed in what we call pain, which we do not have during our waking condition when in ordinary health, because it is then that our astral body is asleep. ‘The sleeping’ of the astral body means that we are in regular normal relationship to the physical and etheric bodies, and are without pain. Pain tells us that the astral body is pressing into the physical body and the etheric body in such a way in an abnormal state, and is acquiring consciousness. Such is pain.
We must not apply this statement without limits. When we speak in terms of Spiritual Science we must put limits to our statements. It has been stated that when our astral body awakens, there arises a consciousness that is steeped in pain. We must not conclude from this that pain and illness invariably go together. Without exception, every penetration into the etheric and physical bodies by the astral body constitutes illness, but the inverse does not hold. That illness may have a different character will be shown by the fact that not every illness is accompanied by pain. Most people take no notice of this because they usually do not strive after health, but are satisfied to be without pain; and when they are without pain they believe themselves to be healthy. This is not always the case; but generally in the absence of pain, people will believe themselves to be healthy. We should be under a great delusion if we believed that the experience of pain goes always together with illness. Our liver may be damaged through and through, and if the damage is not such that the abdominal wall is affected, there will be no pain at all. We may carry a process of disease within us which in no way manifests itself through pain. This may be so in many instances. Objectively regarded these illnesses are the more serious, for if we experience pain we set to work to rid ourselves of it, but when we have no pain we do not greatly trouble to get rid of the disease.
What is the position in those cases where there is no pain with illness? We need but remember that only little by little did we develop into human beings such as we are today, and that it was during our earth period that we added the Ego to the astral body, etheric body, and physical body. Once, however, we were men who possessed only etheric body and physical body. A being possessing only these two principles is like a plant of the present day. We meet here a third degree of consciousness infinitely more vague, which does not attain to the clarity even of today's dream consciousness. It is quite a mistake to believe that we are devoid of consciousness when we sleep. We have a consciousness, but it is so vague that we cannot call it up within our Ego to the point of memory. Such a consciousness dwells also within plants; it is a kind of sleep consciousness of still lower degree than the astral consciousness. We have now reached a still lower consciousness of man.
Let us suppose that through experiences in a previous incarnation we have brought about not only that disorder which comes into our organism when the astral body goes beyond its bounds, but also disorder caused by the etheric body pushing its way wrongly into the physical body. There certainly may arise such a condition where the relationship between the etheric body and the physical body is abnormal for present day man, where the etheric body has penetrated too far into the physical body. Let suppose that the astral body takes no part in this; but that the tendency created in an earlier life effects a closer connection that there should be between the etheric body and the physical body in the human organism. We have here the etheric body behaving in the same way as the astral body when we have pain.
If the etheric body in its turn sinks too deeply down into the physical body, there will appear a consciousness similar to that which we have during sleep, like the plant consciousness. It is not surprising therefore that this is a condition of which we are not aware. Anyone unaware of sleep will be equally unaware of this condition. And yet it is a form of awakening! As our astral body will awake abnormally when it has sunk too deeply into the etheric and physical bodies, so will our etheric body awake in an abnormal manner when it penetrates too deeply into the physical body. But this will not be perceived by us, because it is an awakening to a consciousness even more vague than the consciousness of pain. Let us suppose that a person has really in an earlier life done something that between death and re-birth is so transformed that the etheric body itself awakens, that is, it takes intense possession of the physical body. If that happens there awakes within us a deep consciousness that cannot however be perceived in the same manner as other experiences of the human soul. Must it, however, be ineffectual because imperceptible? Let us try to explain the peculiar tendency acquired by a consciousness which lies still one degree deeper.
If you burn yourself—which is an external experience—this causes pain. If a pain is to appear, the consciousness must have at least the degree of consciousness of the astral body. A pain must be in the astral body; thus, whenever pain arises in the human soul, we are dealing with an occurrence in the astral body. Now let us suppose something happens which is not connected with pain, but is, however, an external stimulus, an external impression. If something flies into your eye, this causes an external stimulus and the eye closes. Pain is not connected with it. What does the irritant produce? A movement. This is something similar to what occurs when the sole of your foot is touched; it is not pain, but still the foot twitches. Thus there are also impressions upon a human being which are not accompanied by pain, but which still give rise to some sort of an event, namely, a movement. In this case, because he cannot penetrate down into this deep degree of consciousness, the person does not know how it comes about that a movement follows the external stimulus. When you perceive pain and you thereby repulse something, it is the pain which makes you notice that which you then reject. But now something may come which urges you to an inner movement, to a reflex movement. In this case the consciousness does not descend to the degree at which the irritant is transformed into movement. Here you have a degree of consciousness which does not come into your astral experience, which is not experienced consciously, which runs its course in a kind of sleep consciousness, but is not, however, such, that it does not lead to occurrences. When this deeper penetration of the etheric body into the physical body comes about, it produces a consciousness which is not a pain consciousness, because the astral body takes no part in it, but is so vague that the person does not perceive it. This does not necessarily mean that a person in this consciousness cannot perform actions. He also performs other actions in which his consciousness takes no part. You need only remember the case in which the ordinary day-consciousness is extinguished and a person while walking in his sleep commits all kinds of acts. In this case there is a kind of consciousness which the person cannot share in, because he can only experience the two higher forms of consciousness: the astral consciousness as pleasure and pain, etc., and the Ego-consciousness as judgement and as the ordinary day-consciousness. This does not imply that a man cannot act under the impulse of this sleep consciousness.
Now we have the consciousness which is so deep that a man cannot attain to it when the etheric body descends into the physical body. Let us suppose that he wishes to do something concerning which in normal life he can know nothing, which is connected in some way with his circumstances; he will do this without knowing anything about it. Something in him, namely, the thing itself, will do this without his knowing anything about it. Let us now take the case of a person who through certain occurrences in a former life has laid down causes for himself, which in the period between death and re-birth work down to where they lead to a penetration of the etheric body into the physical body. Actions will proceed from this which lead to the working out of more deeply-lying processes of disease. In this case the person will be forced by such activities to search out the external causes for these diseases.
It may seem strange that this is not clear to the ordinary Ego-consciousness—but a person would never do it from this consciousness. He would never in his ordinary Ego-consciousness expose himself to a host of bacilli. But let us suppose that this dim consciousness finds that an external injury is necessary, so that the process which we have described as the whole purpose of illness may come about. This consciousness which penetrates into the physical body then seeks for the cause of the disease or of the illness. It is the real being of man which goes in quest of the cause for illness in order to bring about what we called yesterday the process of illness. Thus from the deeper nature of disease and illness we shall understand that even if no pain appears, inner reactions may always come, but if pain is manifested—as long as the etheric body penetrates too far into the physical body—there may always come that which one may call: the search for the external causes of illness through the deeper-lying strata of human consciousness itself. Grotesque as it may sound, it is nevertheless true, that we search with a different degree of consciousness for the external causes of our diseases—just as we do for our inherited characteristics—when we need them. But, again, what we have just said only holds good within the limits we have described to-day.
In this lecture it has been our special task to show that a person may be in the position—without following it with the degree of consciousness of which he is aware—to look for an illness, and this is brought about by an abnormal, deeper condition of consciousness. We had to show that in an illness we are concerned with an awakening of stages of consciousness which as human beings we have long transcended. Through committing errors in a previous life, we have evoked deeper degrees of consciousness than are appropriate to our present life; and what we do from the impulses of this deeper consciousness influences the course of the disease, as well as the process which actually leads to it. Thus we see that in these abnormal conditions ancient stages of consciousness appear which man has long since passed. If you consider the facts of every-day life but a little, you will be able to understand in a general way what has been said today. It is indeed the case, that through his pain, man descends more deeply into his being, and this is expressed in the well-known statement that a person only knows that he possesses an organ when it begins to give him pain. That is a popular saying, but it is not so very stupid. Why does a person in his normal consciousness know nothing about it? Because in normal cases his consciousness sleeps so deeply that it does not dip intensely enough into his astral body; but if it does, then pain appears, and through the pain he knows that he has the organ in question. In many of the popular sayings there is something which is quite true, because they are heirlooms of earlier stages of consciousness in which man, when he was able to see into the spiritual world, was aware of much that we now have to acquire with effort. If you understand that a person may experience deeper layers of consciousness, you will also understand that not only external causes of illness may be sought by man, but also external strokes of fate which he cannot explain rationally, but the rationality of which works from the deeper strata of consciousness. Thus it is reasonable to suppose that a man would not out of his ordinary consciousness place himself where he may be struck by lightning; with his ordinary consciousness he would do anything to avoid standing where the lightning may strike him. But there may be a consciousness active within him, which lies much deeper than the ordinary consciousness, and which from a foresight which is not possessed by the ordinary consciousness leads him to the very place where the lightning may strike him—and wills that he should be so struck. The man really seeks out the accident.
We have understood that it is possible to attribute karmic influences to accidents and other exterior causes of illness. How this is brought about in detail, how those forces which are in the deeper layers of consciousness act on human beings, and whether it is permissible for our ordinary consciousness to avoid such accidents, are questions we shall be dealing with later. In the same way as we can understand that if we go to a place where we may be exposed to an infection, we have done so under the influence of a degree of consciousness that has driven us there, so also must we be able to understand how it is that we take precautions to render such infections less effective, and that through our ordinary consciousness we are in a position to counteract these effects by hygienic measures. We must admit that it would be most unreasonable if it were possible for the sub consciousness to seek disease germs if they could not on the other hand be counteracted through the ordinary consciousness.
We shall see that it is both reasonable to seek out causes of illness, and reasonable too, out of the ordinary consciousness to take hygienic measures against infection, thus hindering the causes of illness.
Sechster Vortrag
Daß eine karmische Gesetzmäßigkeit dann wirken kann, wenn in dem gestern und vorgestern angedeuteten Sinne von dem Inneren des Menschen heraus die Krankheitsursache sich geltend macht, das wird ja leicht begreiflich sein. Wenn aber die Krankheitsursache in gewissem "Sinne von außen hereinwirkt - und für wie vielerlei wird heute von der Wissenschaft die Krankheitsursache draußen gesucht in der Infektion -, wenn also das Hauptaugenmerk gerichtet werden muß auf eine äußere Veranlassung zur Krankheit: daß dann die karmische Gesetzmäßigkeit — das, was sich der Mensch als Wirkungen der Erlebnisse und Handlungen seines früheren Lebens mitgebracht hat durch die Geburt — auch in der Weise wirken kann, daß sie diese äußeren Krankheitsursachen herbeischafft, das scheint gewiß vielen noch, und mit Recht, weniger begreiflich zu sein. Dennoch aber werden wir, wenn wir noch weiter die eigentliche Wesenheit des Karma verfolgen, nicht nur verstehen lernen, wie äußere Ursachen zusammenhängen können mit dem, was wir in früheren Leben erlebt und getan haben, sondern wir werden sogar begreifen lernen, daß äußere Lebensunfälle, die uns treffen, also Ereignisse, die man so gern heute zufällig nennen möchte, in einem gesetzmäßigen Zusammenhange stehen können mit dem Verlauf voriger Leben. Allerdings werden wir noch etwas tiefer eindringen müssen in die ganze Natur der menschlichen Wesenheit, wenn wir gerade derartige, eigentlich durch unser ganzes menschliches Anschauen verschleierte Verhältnisse beleuchten wollen.
Wir haben ja gestern damit geschlossen, daß wir gezeigt haben, wie der Zufall uns immer eigentlich in einer verschleierten Gestalt das äußere Ereignis darbietet, weil an den Stellen, wo wir vom Zufall sprechen, die Möglichkeit der äußeren Täuschung, die durch die ahrimanischen Mächte herbeigeführt wird, am größten ist. Nun wollen wir einmal das Zustandekommen solcher Zufälligkeiten, das heißt solcher Ereignisse, die man im gewöhnlichen Leben als «Zufälligkeiten» bezeichnet, in einzelnen Fällen vor uns hinstellen.
Da ist es notwendig, daß wir uns zuerst ein Gesetz, eine Wahrheit, eine Erkenntnis vorhalten: daß im Leben gar manches, was wir mit dem Ausdruck bezeichnen «von innen herauskommend», «von dem Inneren des Menschen stammend», sich schon eigentlich in eine Täuschung kleidet, weil mancherlei, was wir zunächst als im Inneren des Menschen verursacht glauben, wenn wir in Wahrheit über die Illusion hinauskommen, schon als etwas von außen nach innen Strömendes bezeichnet werden muß. Und ein solches tritt uns immer da entgegen, wo wir es zu tun haben mit allen jenen Erlebnissen des Menschen, allen jenen Wirkungen auf den Menschen, welche wir begreifen unter dem Namen der «vererbten Merkmale». Die vererbten Merkmale, die uns so entgegentreten, als ob wir sie nur deshalb hätten, weil sie unsere Vorfahren auch hatten, können uns im eminentesten Maße erscheinen, als ob sie uns ohne unsere Schuld, ohne unser Zutun zugefallen wären. Und wir können leicht zu einer falschen Unterscheidung dessen kommen, was wir uns aus unseren früheren Inkarnationen mitbringen, von dem, was wir von Eltern oder Voreltern geerbt haben. Nun aber geschieht das Wiedereintreten in eine Verkörperung keineswegs so, als ob wir ohne irgendeine Veranlassung, die mit unserem Inneren zusammenhängt, zu diesem oder jenem Elternpaar, zu diesem oder jenem Volk, in diese oder jene Gegend hingedrängt würden. Schon bei den durchaus nicht in das Gebiet der Krankheiten hineinfallenden vererbten Merkmalen dürfen wir so etwas keineswegs voraussetzen, sondern wir müssen uns sagen: Wenn zum Beispiel in einer Familie, wie der des Musikers Bach, durch viele Generationen hindurch immer wieder und wieder kleinere und größere Musiker geboren wurden - der eine ist dann gewöhnlich hervorragender, aber in der Familie Bach sind über zwanzig mehr oder weniger begabte Musiker geboren worden -, so könnte man leicht glauben, daß man es mit der reinen Vererbungslinie zu tun hätte, daß also Merkmale von den Vorfahren vererbt werden und daß der Mensch gerade deshalb, weil solche Merkmale vorliegen, gewisse aus früheren Inkarnationen mitgebrachte Eigenschaften zu musikalischen Talenten entfaltet. Das ist aber nicht so, sondern die Sache verhält sich vielmehr ganz anders.
Nehmen wir an, es würde jemand in einem Leben zwischen Geburt und Tod Gelegenheit haben, viele musikalische Eindrücke zu empfangen. Diese musikalischen Eindrücke gingen aber in diesem Leben an ihm vorüber, einfach aus dem Grunde, weil er kein musikalisches Ohr hatte. Andere Eindrücke seines Lebens werden nicht an ihm in derselben Weise vorübergehen, weil er gerade so gebaute Organe hat, daß er die Erlebnisse und Eindrücke in eigene Fähigkeiten umsetzen kann. Daher werden wir sagen können, ein Mensch habe in seinem Leben solche Eindrücke, die er durch die Anlage, welche er von seiner letzten Geburt mitbekommen hat, umzusetzen vermag in Fähigkeiten und Talente; andere Eindrücke hat er, welche er vermöge seines Gesamtkarma, weil er durch dieses nicht die entsprechenden Anlagen erhalten hat, nicht umsetzen kann in die entsprechenden Fähigkeiten. Die bleiben aber vorhanden, bleiben aufgespeichert und bilden sich um in der Zeit zwischen Tod und neuer Geburt zu der besonderen Tendenz, in der nächsten Inkarnation nunmehr zum Ausleben zu gelangen. Und diese Tendenz führt den Menschen dahin, im nächsten Leben seine Leiblichkeit gerade in einer solchen Familie zu suchen, welche ihm die entsprechenden Anlagen geben kann. Hat also jemand viele musikalische Eindrücke empfangen und sie wegen eines unmusikalischen Ohres nicht umwandeln können in musikalische Fähigkeiten oder Genüsse, so wird gerade diese Unmöglichkeit die Tendenz in seiner Seele hervorrufen, in eine solche Familie hineinzukommen, welche ihm ein musikalisches Ohr vererben kann, So verstehen wir es, daß, wenn in einer Familie sich der Bau des Ohres ebenso vererbt wie etwa die äußere Form der Nase, alle diejenigen Individualitäten sich zusammendrängen werden in diese Familie, die gerade lechzen - infolge ihrer früheren Inkarnation — nach dem Besitz eines musikalischen Ohres. Und so sehen wir, daß der Mensch in der Tat nicht «zufällig» in irgendeiner Inkarnation ein musikalisches Ohr oder ähnliches geerbt hat, sondern daß er diese vererbten Merkmale gesucht hat, wirklich aufgesucht hat.
Beobachten wir jetzt einen solchen Menschen vom Zeitpunkt seiner Geburt an, dann wird es uns so vorkommen, als ob das musikalische Ohr in ihm wäre, eine Eigenschaft in seinem Inneren. Würden wir aber mit unseren Betrachtungen hinübergehen vor seine Geburt, so würden wir finden, wie das musikalische Ohr, das er sich erst aufgesucht hat, etwas ist, was von außen an ihn herangekommen ist. Vor der Geburt oder Empfängnis war das musikalische Ohr nicht etwas, was in seinem Inneren war, sondern da war nur die Tendenz vorhanden, zu einem solchen Ohr hingetrieben zu werden. Da hat der Mensch ein Äußeres an sich herangezogen. Vor der Wiederverkörperung war die Eigenschaft, die wir nachher eine vererbte nennen, etwas Äußeres; das ist an den Menschen herangekommen, er ist dazu hingeeilt. Mit der Verkörperung wird es dann etwas Inneres und tritt in dem Inneren dieses Menschen auf. — Reden wir also von «vererbten Anlagen», so geben wir uns wieder einer Täuschung hin, welche darin besteht, daß wir etwas, was erst ein Inneres geworden ist, nicht in jenem Zeitpunkt betrachten, wo es noch ein Äußeres war.
Fragen wir uns nun einmal, ob es so wie in diesem Falle, den wir jetzt angeführt haben, nicht auch mit äußeren Ereignissen sein könnte, welche während unseres Lebens zwischen Geburt und Tod eintreten, daß auch da ein Äußeres sich in ein Inneres verwandeln könnte? — Diese Frage würden wir uns nicht beantworten können, wenn wir nicht noch tiefer als bisher das Wesen von Krankheit und Gesundheit ins Auge fassen. Wir haben mancherlei angeführt, um Krankheit und Gesundheit zu charakterisieren, und Sie wissen, daß ich nicht definiere, sondern versuche, nach und nach die Dinge zu beschreiben, immer mehr Merkmale zu den Dingen hinzuzufügen, damit sie nach und nach begreiflich werden. Also mehr Merkmale wollen wir jetzt hinzufügen zu den schon gewonnenen.
Wir müssen Krankheit und Gesundheit vergleichen mit etwas, was im normalen Leben auftritt; dann werden wir etwas noch Tieferes finden, nämlich den Vergleich mit Schlafen und Wachen. Was geschieht im Menschenwesen, wenn die täglichen Zustände Wachen und Schlafen miteinander abwechseln? Wir wissen, daß beim Einschlafen im Bette zurückgelassen wird der physische Leib und der Atherleib und daß herausgehen aus dem physischen Leib und dem Ätherleib der astralische Leib und das Ich. Es ist also das Einschlafen für uns ein Herausziehen von Ich und astralischem Leib aus physischem Leib und Ätherleib; das Aufwachen dagegen ist ein Wiederhineingehen des astralischen Leibes und des Ich in den physischen Leib und Ätherleib. Jeden Morgen beim Aufwachen taucht also der Mensch unter in seinen physischen Leib und Atherleib mit dem, was er als innerer Mensch, als astralischer Leib und als Ich ist. Was geschieht nun in bezug auf das, was sich im Menschenwesen als Erlebnis abspielt beim Einschlafen und beim Aufwachen?
Wenn wir den Moment des Einschlafens ins Auge fassen, so stellt er sich uns so dar, daß alle Erlebnisse, die vom Morgen bis zum Abend in unserem Leben auf und ab fluten, daß vor allem die Seelenerlebnisse Lust und Leid, Freude und Schmerz, Leidenschaften, Vorstellungen und so weiter hinuntersinken in ein Unbewußtes. Wir selber sind im normalen Leben, wenn wir schlafen, einem Unbewußten hingegeben. Warum werden wir mit dem Einschlafen unbewußt? - Wir wissen ja, daß wir während des Schlafzustandes von einer geistigen Welt umgeben sind, wie wir im Wachzustande umgeben sind von den Dingen und Tatsachen der physisch-sinnlichen Welt. Warum sehen wir diese geistige Welt nicht? Im gewöhnlichen normalen Leben sehen wir die geistigen Tatsachen und geistigen Dinge, die um uns herum sind, aus dem Grunde nicht, weil für uns dieses Sehen bei der gegenwärtigen Menschenreife vom Einschlafen bis zum Aufwachen im höchsten Grade gefahrbringend wäre. In dem Augenblick, wo der Mensch heute bewußt übergehen würde in die Welt, die ihn zwischen Einschlafen und Aufwachen umgibt, würde zwar sein astralischer Leib, der ja während der alten Mondenzeit seine volle Ausbildung erfahren hat, in die geistige Welt ausfließen; aber nicht könnte es das Ich, das ja erst während der Erdenzeit sich entwickeln soll und vollständig entwickelt sein wird am Ende der Erdenzeit. Das Ich ist noch nicht so voll entwickelt, daß es vom Einschlafen bis zum Aufwachen seine volle Tätigkeit entfalten könnte.
Es ist mit dem Ich so, daß wir den Zustand, in den es käme, wenn der Mensch bewußt einschlafen würde, damit vergleichen könnten, daß wir sagen: Nehmen wir an, wir haben ein kleines Tröpfchen einer gefärbten Flüssigkeit, das bringen wir in ein Bassin mit Wasser und lassen es sich darinnen verteilen. Dann wird man von der Farbe dieses Tröpfchens nichts mehr sehen, weil es sich in der ganzen breiten Masse hat auflösen müssen. — So etwas geschieht auch, wenn der Mensch im Einschlafen aus dem physischen Leib und Ätherleib herausgeht. Physischer Leib und Atherleib sind das, was die ganze menschliche Wesenheit zusammenhält. In dem Augenblick, wo der astralische Leib und das Ich die beiden unteren Glieder verlassen, streben sie auseinander nach allen Seiten hin, haben nur das Bestreben, sich fortwährend auszudehnen. Es würde also dem Ich so gehen, daß es aufgelöst würde, und der Mensch würde vor sich haben zwar die Bilder der geistigen Welt, aber er würde sie mit denjenigen Kräften, die nur sein Ich entfalten kann - denn das Ich wäre ja aufgelöst -, also mit Urteilskräften und Begriffsvermögen und so weiter, nicht verfolgen können, also nicht mit demselben Bewußtsein, mit welchem er die Zustände des Alltags verfolgt. Er würde außer sich sein, würde hin und her gerissen, wesens- und richtungslos schwimmend auf dem Meere der astralischen Eindrücke. Aus diesem Grunde, weil das Ich noch nicht stark genug ist im normalen Zustande des Menschen, wird das Ich so lange zurückwirken auf den astralischen Leib und ihn verhindern, bewußt einzutreten in seine eigentliche Heimat, in die geistige Welt, bis das Ich selber überall mit hin kann, wohin der astralische Leib dringt. So also hat es einen guten Sinn, daß wir das Bewußtsein verlieren im Einschlafen. Wir könnten unser Ich nicht erhalten. Wir werden es erst erhalten können in genügender Weise, wenn die Erdentwickelung an ihrem Ende angekommen sein wird. Deshalb sollen wir auch unseren astralischen Leib nicht entfalten können in bezug auf seine Bewußtseinsfähigkeit.
Gerade das Umgekehrte tritt ein, wenn der Mensch aufwacht. Wenn er aufwacht und untertaucht in den physischen Leib und Atherleib, würde er eigentlich erleben müssen das Innere des physischen Leibes und des Ätherleibes. Das tut er aber nicht. Im Augenblick des Aufwachens wird er verhindert, hineinzuschauen in das Innere seiner Leiblichkeit, denn da wird gleich die Aufmerksamkeit auf die äußeren Erlebnisse gelenkt. Da wird nicht seine Sehkraft, seine Erkenntniskraft dahin gelenkt, sein Inneres zu durchschauen, sondern sie wird abgelenkt auf die Außenwelt. Würde der Mensch sich im Inneren ergreifen, so würde genau das Gegenteil eintreten von dem, was eintritt, wenn sich der Mensch bewußt beim Einschlafen in die geistige Welt hineinbegeben könnte. Alles, was der Mensch sich schon im Verlaufe des Erdenlebens an Geistigem durch sein Ich errungen hat, das würde sich zusammendrängen und es würde jetzt im physischen Leibe und Atherleibe nach dem Untertauchen mit aller Kraft auf ihn wirken. Das würde zur Folge haben, daß alles, was nur irgendwie egoistische Eigenschaft ist, sich mit aller Macht entfalten würde. Und der Mensch würde hinuntertauchen mit seinem Ich und würde mit jedem Stück, mit dem er hinuntertaucht, seine Leidenschaften, Triebe und Begierden in einem immer kraftvolleren Egoismus ergießen. Aller Egoismus würde sich ergießen in sein Triebleben. Damit das nicht geschieht, werden wir abgelenkt auf die Außenwelt und nicht mit unserem Bewußtsein in unser Inneres hineingelassen.
Daß das so ist, kann auch aus den Berichten derjenigen hervorgehen, die als Mystiker versuchten, wirklich hineinzukommen in das menschliche Innere. Sehen Sie sich um bei Meister Eckart, bei Johannes Tauler oder bei sonstigen Mystikern des Mittelalters, welche wirklich den Gang in das menschliche Innere unternommen haben. Da haben Sie Mystiker, welche sich hingegeben haben einem Zustand, wo sie ihre Aufmerksamkeit vollständig ablenkten von dem, was sie an der Außenwelt interessieren konnte, um hinunterzusteigen in das eigene Innere. Lesen Sie die Biographien der Heiligen oder der Mystiker, die in das eigene Innere hineinzusteigen versuchten. Was haben sie erfahren? Versuchungen, Anfechtungen und dergleichen, die sie in lebendigen Farben schildern. Das war dasjenige, was sich aus dem zusammengepreßten astralischen Leib und Ich als eine Widerkraft geltend machte. Daher haben diejenigen, welche sozusagen ungeschoren als Mystiker in das eigene Innere hinuntersteigen wollten, mit aller Macht darauf gedrungen, daß in demselben Maße, als sie hinunterstiegen, das Ich ausgelöscht würde. Ein schönes Wort hat sogar Meister Eckart gefunden, um dieses Hinuntersteigen in die eigene Leiblichkeit zu bezeichnen. Er spricht von «Entwerdung», das heißt Auslöschen des Ich. Und lesen Sie in der «Deutschen Theologie», wie der Verfasser darstellt den mystischen Gang in das menschliche Innere, wie er darauf dringt, daß derjenige, der hinuntersteigen will in die Leiblichkeit, nicht mehr aus seinem Ich handelt, sondern daß in ihm der Christus handelt, mit dem er sich ganz durchdrungen hat. Auslöschen wollten solche Mystiker ihr Ich. Nicht sie sollen denken, fühlen und wollen, sondern der Christus in ihnen soll denken, fühlen und wollen, damit nicht dasjenige aus ihnen herauskommt, was in ihnen als Leidenschaften, Trieb und Begierde lebt, sondern damit dasjenige herauskommt, was sich als der Christus in sie ergießt. Daher sagt Paulus: «Nicht ich, sondern der Christus in mir»! Aus solchen Tiefen gehen solche Dinge hervor.
So können wir schildern Aufwachen und Einschlafen als innere Erlebnisse der menschlichen Wesenheit: Aufwachen als ein Hinuntertauchen der zusammengepreßten Ichheit in die Leiblichkeit des Menschen, Einschlafen als ein Sich-Befreien vom Bewußtsein, weil man noch nicht reif ist, in jener Welt zu schauen, in die man eigentlich hineindringen muß beim Einschlafen. Dadurch verstehen wir Wachen und Schlafen in jenem Sinne, in welchem wir mancherlei in der Welt verstehen müssen: als das Sich-Durchdringen der verschiedenen Glieder der menschlichen Wesenheit. Betrachten wir von diesem Gesichtspunkte aus einen wachenden Menschen, so sagen wir: In dem wachenden Menschen stecken darinnen vier Glieder der menschlichen Wesenheit: physischer Leib, Ätherleib, astralischer Leib und Ich, und sie stecken in einer bestimmten Weise ineinander. Was folgt daraus? Eben das Wachen! Denn es könnte der Mensch nicht wachen, wenn er nicht so hineinsteigen würde in seine Leiblichkeit, daß die Aufmerksamkeit durch die Außenwelt abgelenkt würde. Gerade von einem ganz bestimmten, geregelten Zusammenwirken der vier Glieder des Menschen hängt es ab, daß der Mensch wacht. Und wieder von dem richtigen Getrenntsein seiner vier Glieder hängt es ab, daß der Mensch schläft. Wir reichen damit nicht aus, daß wir sagen: Der Mensch besteht aus physischem Leib, Ätherleib, astralischem Leib und Ich, sondern wir verstehen den Menschen erst dann, wenn wir wissen, in welchem Grade die verschiedenen Glieder bei einem bestimmten Zustande miteinander verknüpft sind, wie sie ineinanderstecken. Das ist das Wesentliche für die Erkenntnis der menschlichen Natur. Nun betrachten wir die Art des Zusammengefügtseins der vier Glieder des Menschen, wie es uns beim wachenden Menschen entgegentritt, als das Normale. Wir wollen einmal von diesem Begriff ausgehen: als das Normale den Zustand des wachenden Menschen zu betrachten.
Nun werden sich die meisten von Ihnen erinnern, daß das Bewußtsein, welches wir gegenwärtig als Erdenmenschen haben zwischen Geburt und Tod, nur eine ist von den überhaupt möglichen Bewußtseinsformen. Wenn Sie zum Beispiel die «Geheimwissenschaft im Umriß» oder die früheren Aufsätze «Aus der Akasha-Chronik» studieren, so werden Sie sehen, daß das heutige Bewußtsein eine Bewußtseinsstufe unter sieben verschiedenen Bewußtseinsstufen ist, daß dieses Bewußtsein, das wir heute haben, sich erst entwickelt hat aus drei andern, vorangegangenen Bewußtseinszuständen und sich später entwickeln wird zu drei andern, nachfolgenden Bewußtseinsformen. Während der Mensch Mondenmensch war, hatte er noch kein Ich. Das Ich verband sich mit dem Menschen erst während der Erdenzeit. Daher konnte der Mensch auch die heutige Art des Bewußtseins erst während der Erdenzeit haben. Ein solches Bewußtsein wie das, was wir heute haben zwischen Geburt und Tod, setzt voraus, daß das Ich genau so, wie es heute der Fall ist, mit den andern drei Gliedern zusammenwirkt und das höchste ist unter den vier Gliedern der menschlichen Wesenheit. Bevor der Mensch mit dem Ich befruchtet worden ist, bestand er nur aus physischem Leib, Ätherleib und astralischem Leib. Da war der astralische Leib sein höchstes Glied, und sein Bewußtseinszustand war ein solcher, daß wir ihn heute höchstens, wenn wir etwas aus dem gewöhnlichen Leben nehmen, mit dem vergleichen könnten, was der Mensch sich wie ein altes Erbstück erhalten hat im Traumbewußtsein. Aber Sie müssen sich nicht das heutige Traumbewußtsein vorstellen, sondern ein solches, das in den Bildern des Traumes Realitäten wiedergibt. Wenn Sie den heutigen Traum studieren, werden Sie in den verschiedensten Bildern recht viel Chaotisches finden, weil das heutige Traumbewußtsein ein altes Erbstück ist. Aber wenn Sie das Bewußtsein, welches dem heutigen vorangegangen ist, studieren würden, dann würden Sie finden, daß Sie äußere Gegenstände, zum Beispiel Pflanzen, damals nicht würden gesehen haben. Also es wäre ein äußerer Eindruck auf den Menschen unmöglich gewesen. Wenn etwas in die Nähe des Menschen gekommen wäre, hätten Sie einen Eindruck bekommen, der seinen Umweg nimmt über das Traumbild in das menschliche Innere, das also ein Sinnbild ist, welches aber einem bestimmten äußeren Gegenstande und Eindruck entsprochen haben würde.
Also wir haben es vor dem Ich-Bewußtsein zu tun mit einem solchen Bewußtsein, das an den astralischen Leib als das damals höchste Glied gebunden ist, das astralische Bewußtsein, das dumpf und dämmerhaft ist und noch nicht durchleuchtet ist von dem Lichte des Ich. Dieses astralische Bewußtsein ist beim Menschen, als er Erdenmensch geworden ist, überleuchtet worden, übertönt worden von dem Ich-Bewußtsein. Nun ist aber der astralische Leib noch immer in uns, und wir können fragen: Wodurch ist das geschehen, daß unser astralisches Bewußtsein überhaupt hat übertönt, ausgeschaltet werden können, so daß das Ich-Bewußtsein ganz an seine Stelle treten konnte? -— Das wurde dadurch möglich, daß durch die Befruchtung des Menschen mit dem Ich die frühere Verbindung zwischen astralischem Leib und Ätherleib zu einer viel loseren gemacht worden ist. Es ist sozusagen die frühere innigere Verbindung gelöst worden. Also es war vor dem Ich-Bewußtsein eine viel innigere Verbindung vorhanden zwischen dem astralischen Leib des Menschen und den niedrigeren Gliedern seiner Wesenheit. Es drängte sich der astralische Leib viel mehr hinein in die andern Glieder, als er es heute tut. Entrissen worden ist in einer gewissen Beziehung der astralische Leib dem Ätherleib und dem physischen Leib.
Nun müssen wir uns einmal diesen Vorgang des sozusagen teilweisen Herausgehens, des Losemachens des astralischen Leibes von Ätherleib und physischem Leib ganz klarmachen. Dann werden wir uns fragen: Gibt es vielleicht auch heute noch die Möglichkeit, bei unserem gewöhnlichen Ich-Bewußtsein etwas herzustellen, was dieser alten Verbindung ähnlich wäre? Könnte es auch heute im Menschenleben geschehen, daß der astralische Leib tiefer hinein will in die andern Glieder, als er soll, sich mehr mit allerlei imprägniert und durchdringt, als es ihm zukommt?
Also ein gewisses Normalmaß ist notwendig für das Durchdringen des astralischen Leibes mit Ätherleib und physischem Leib. Nehmen wir nun an, das Normalmaß wird nach irgendeiner Richtung hin überschritten. Dann wird eine Störung eintreten müssen im ganzen menschlichen Organismus; denn was der Mensch heute ist, das hängt davon ab, daß dieses bestimmte Verhältnis zwischen den verschiedenen Wesensgliedern da ist, das uns im wachenden Menschen vor Augen tritt. In dem Augenblicke, wo sich der astralische Leib unrichtig benimmt, wo er tiefer hineindringt in physischen Leib und Atherleib, muß eine Störung auftreten. Nun haben wir aber in den letzten Betrachtungen gesehen, daß das, was wir jetzt folgern, wirklich geschieht. Wir haben den ganzen Vorgang nur von der andern Seite her dargestellt. Wann geschieht es denn?
Es geschieht dann, wenn der Mensch in einem früheren Leben in seinen astralischen Leib etwas hineingeprägt hat, irgend etwas hat einfließen lassen, was wir für das frühere Leben als eine moralische oder intellektuelle Verfehlung auffassen. Das hat sich dem astralischen Leib eingegraben. Das ist jetzt etwas, wenn der Mensch neuerdings ins Leben tritt, was in der Tat den astralischen Leib veranlassen kann, einen andern Zusammenhang zu suchen mit dem physischen Leib und Ätherleib, als er ihn gesucht hätte, wenn er nicht diese Verfehlung im vorigen Leben in sich hineingeprägt hätte. Also gerade unsere Verfehlungen sind es, die sich unter dem Einfluß von Ahriman und Luzifer vollzogen haben und sich umgestaltet haben in organisierende Kräfte, welche im neuen Leben den astralischen Leib veranlassen, sich anders zum physischen Leib und Ätherleib zu stellen, als er es tun würde, wenn sich solche Kräfte nicht in ihn hineingedrängt hätten.
So sehen wir, wie gerade die Wirkungen früherer Gedanken, Empfindungen und Gefühle den astralischen Leib zu dem veranlassen, was Unordnung hervorrufen muß in der menschlichen Organisation. Wenn aber solche Unordnung hervorgerufen wird, was tritt dann ein? Wenn sich der astralische Leib mehr hineindrängt in den physischen Leib und Atherleib, als er es beim normalen Menschen sollte, so tut er etwas ganz Ähnliches, wie wir des Morgens tun beim Aufwachen, wo wir in dem Moment des Aufwachens mit unserem Ich in unsere zwei Leiber hinuntertauchen. Aufwachen besteht im Hinuntertauchen des Ich-Menschen in den physischen Leib und Ätherleib. Worin besteht nun das, was der astralische Leib tut, wenn er mehr in den physischen Leib und Ätherleib hineintritt, als er soll, veranlaßt durch die Wirkungen früherer Erlebnisse? -— Was sonst eintritt, wenn wir mit dem Ich und astralischen Leib untertauchen in den physischen Leib und Ätherleib, wenn wir des Morgens aufwachen und etwas wahrnehmen, das zeigt sich gerade darin, daß wir aufwachen. Wie der ganze Wachzustand die Folge ist des Untertauchens des Ich-Menschen in den physischen Leib und Atherleib, so muß jetzt etwas auftreten, was der astralische Leib tut, also etwas, was wir sonst als Ich-Menschen tun. Er taucht unter in den Ather- und physischen Leib. Wenn wir also einen Menschen vor uns haben, bei dem der astralische Leib die Tendenz aufgenommen hat, sich mehr zu vereinigen mit Atherleib und physischem Leib, als es normalerweise der Fall sein sollte, so haben wir dieselbe Erscheinung für den Astralleib vor uns, welche wir sonst beim Aufwachen für den IchMenschen vor uns haben. Was ist dieses zu starke Eindringen des astralischen Leibes in den Ätherleib und physischen Leib? Das ist etwas, was wir sonst als das Wesen der Krankheit bezeichnen können. Wenn unser astralischer Leib dasselbe tut, was wir sonst beim Aufwachen tun, nämlich sich hineindrängt in den physischen Leib und Ätherleib, wenn der astralische Leib, der sonst bei uns kein Bewußtsein entwickeln sollte, nach einem Bewußtsein strebt im physischen Leib und Atherleib, wenn er in uns aufwachen will, dann werden wir krank. Krankheit ist ein abnormer Wachzustand unseres astralischen Leibes. Was tun wir denn eigentlich, wenn wir im normalen Wohlbefinden stehen, wenn wir im gewöhnlichen Wachzustand leben? Dann wachen wir für das gewöhnliche Leben. Aber damit wir das gewöhnliche Wachbewußtsein haben können, mußten wir ja den astralischen Leib früher in eine andere Verbindung bringen. Wir mußten ihn zum Schlafen bringen. Der astralische Leib muß, wenn wir am Tage unser Ich-Bewußtsein haben, schlafen; wir können nur gesund sein, wenn unser astralischer Leib schläft in uns. Daher können wir jetzt das Wesen von Gesundheit und Krankheit in folgender Weise auffassen: Krankheit ist ein abnormes Aufwachen des astralischen Leibes im Menschen, und Gesundheit ist der normale Zustand des Schlafens des astralischen Leibes.
Und was ist denn das Bewußtsein dieses astralischen Leibes? Wenn wirklich Krankheit das Aufwachen des astralischen Leibes wäre, müßte ja etwas bei ihm eintreten wie ein Bewußtsein. Er wacht abnormerweise auf; also könnten wir ein abnormes Bewußtsein erwarten; aber ein Bewußtsein müßte da sein. Wenn wir in die Krankheit verfallen, müßte etwas Ähnliches entstehen, wie es sonst des Morgens beim Aufwachen eintritt. Es müßte unser Erleben abgelenkt werden auf irgend etwas anderes. Am Morgen taucht sonst unser gewöhnliches Bewußtsein auf. Wenn wir nun krank werden, taucht dann ein Bewußtsein auf?
Ja, es taucht ein Bewußtsein auf, das der Mensch nur allzugut kennt. Und welches ist dieses Bewußtsein? Ein Bewußtsein drückt sich in Erlebnissen aus! Das Bewußtsein, was da auftaucht, drückt sich aus in dem, was wir den Krankheitsschmerz nennen, den wir nicht haben im normalen Wohlbefinden des Wachzustandes, weil da unser astralischer Leib gerade schläft. Schlafen des astralischen Leibes heißt, daß er sich in regelmäßigem Zusammenhang befindet mit physischem Leib und Atherleib, bedeutet Schmerzlosigkeit. Der Schmerz ist der Ausdruck dafür, daß der astralische Leib sich so hineinpreßt in den physischen Leib und Ätherleib, wie er nicht drinnen sein soll - und zum Bewußtsein kommt. Das ist der Schmerz.
Nun handelt es sich darum, daß wir nicht etwa das, was eben gesagt worden ist, wieder grenzenlos ausdehnen. Es muß, wenn geisteswissenschaftlich gesprochen wird, immer die Grenze eingehalten werden, innerhalb deren etwas gesagt wird. — Es ist gesagt worden, daß wenn unser astralischer Leib aufwacht, ein Bewußtsein entsteht, das von Schmerz durchtränkt ist. Daraus dürfen wir aber nicht schließen, daß Schmerz und Krankheit immer zusammenfallen. Es ist durchaus ein jegliches Hineinpressen des astralischen Leibes in den Atherleib und physischen Leib ein Kranksein. Aber umgekehrt besteht nicht jedes Kranksein darin, und daß Kranksein auch einen anderen Charakter haben kann, werden wir uns dadurch begreiflich machen können, daß keineswegs alles Kranksein von Schmerzen begleitet ist. Das beachten nur die meisten Menschen deshalb nicht, weil sie zumeist im Leben nicht anstreben, gesund zu sein, sondern sie streben an, schmerzlos zu sein, und wenn sie schmerzlos sind, halten sie das für gesund. Das ist nicht immer so; aber in sehr vielen Fällen wird der Mensch glauben, wenn er schmerzlos ist, sei er gesund. Wir würden uns einer gewaltigen Täuschung hingeben, wenn wir glauben wollten, daß Schmerzempfinden und Kranksein zusammenfällt. Es kann die Leber eines Menschen durch und durch beschädigt sein; wenn der Schaden nicht ein solcher ist, daß durch ihn zum Beispiel das Bauchfell affiziert wird, so tritt gar kein Schmerz auf. Eskann der Mensch einen Krankheitsprozeß in sich haben, der sich gar nicht in Schmerzen äußert. Das kann in vielen Fällen so sein. Vor einer objektiveren Betrachtung sind diese Erkrankungen sogar die schlimmeren. Denn wenn der Mensch Schmerzen empfindet, geht er darauf aus, die Schmerzen loszuwerden; wenn er keine Schmerzen hat, gibt er sich nicht besonders viel Mühe, die Krankheit loszubekommen.
Wie verhält es sich nun mit den Erscheinungen, wo keine Schmerzen mit den Krankheitsfällen parallel gehen? Was haben wir da getan? — Da brauchen wir uns nur zu erinnern, daß wir uns wirklich als menschliche Wesen, wie wir heute sind, nach und nach entwickelt haben, daß wir während der Erdenzeit das Ich hinzugefügt haben zu astralischem Leib, Atherleib und physischem Leib. Aber wir waren auch einmal ein Mensch, der nur physischen Leib und Atherleib gehabt hat. Ein Wesen, das nur physischen Leib und Ätherleib hat, ist wie eine heutige Pflanze. Bei solchen Wesen kommen wir zu einem dritten Grade von Bewußtsein, einem viel, viel dumpferen Bewußtsein, das nicht einmal bis zur Helligkeit des heutigen Traumbewußstseins hinaufreicht. Es ist ja durchaus ein Irrtum, wenn wir glauben, daß der Mensch im Schlafe kein Bewußtsein hat. Er hat ein Bewußtsein; nur ist es so dumpf, daß er es nicht bis zur Erinnerung in seinem Ich heraufrufen kann. Aber auch in der Pflanze sitzt ein solches Bewußtsein. Es ist eine Art Schlafbewußtsein, also ein noch tieferes als das astralische Bewußtsein. Da kommen wir herunter zu einem noch tieferen Bewußtsein des Menschen.
Nehmen wir nun an, der Mensch habe durch Erlebnisse in früheren Inkarnationen nicht nur solche Unordnung hineingebracht in seine Organisation, welche den astralischen Leib veranlaßt, sich in unordentlicher Weise hineinzuversenken in den physischen Leib und Atherleib, sondern er habe so etwas vollführt, was den Ätherleib veranlassen kann, in unrichtiger Weise sich in den physischen Leib hineinzudrängen. Es kann durchaus ein solcher Zustand eintreten, daß auch die Verbindung zwischen Atherleib und physischem Leib nicht die für den heutigen Menschen normale ist, daß sich der Atherleib zu tief hineindrängt in den physischen Leib. Der astralische Leib, sagen wir, wäre dabei gar nicht beteiligt, sondern was da im früheren Leben veranlagt worden ist, das bewirkt in der menschlichen Organisation eine dichtere Zusammenfügung von Ätherleib und physischem Leib, als es sonst sein soll. Da haben wir dasselbe bei dem Ätherleib, was wir bei dem astralischen Leibe haben im Schmerzbewußstsein.
Wenn der Ätherleib sich nun seinerseits zu tief hineinversenkt in den physischen Leib, so taucht ein Bewußtsein auf ähnlich wie des Menschen Schlafbewußtsein, wie das Pflanzenbewußtsein. Kein Wunder daher, daß das auch ein Zustand ist, der vom Menschen gar nicht empfunden wird. Wie er nicht im Schlaf empfindet, so empfindet er auch jetzt diesen Zustand nicht. Und doch ist es ein Aufwachen! Wie unser astralischer Leib abnormerweise aufwacht, wenn er zu tief hinuntertaucht in den Ätherleib und physischen Leib, so wacht der Ätherleib in abnormer Weise auf, wenn er zu tief in den physischen Leib hineintaucht. Nur kann es der Mensch nicht wahrnehmen, weil es das Aufwachen zu einem noch dumpferen Bewußtsein als das Schmerzbewußtsein ist. Aber nehmen wir an, der Mensch hätte wirklich in einem früheren Leben so etwas vollzogen, was sich zwischen Tod und neuer Geburt dazu umwirkt, daß der Ätherleib für sich aufwacht, das heißt, intensiven Besitz ergreift vom physischen Leib. Wenn das geschehen ist, lebt auf im Menschen ein tiefes Bewußtsein, das aber nicht in der Weise wahrgenommen werden kann, wie die sonstigen Erlebnisse der menschlichen Seele wahrgenommen werden. Braucht es deshalb nicht zu wirken, weil es nicht wahrgenommen wird? Versuchen wir uns klarzumachen, was ein Bewußtsein für eine eigentümliche Tendenz erhält, wenn es anfängt, um einen Grad tiefer zu liegen.
Wenn Sie einen solchen äußeren Eindruck erleben, wie zum Beispiel wenn Sie sich verbrennen, so verursacht das Schmerz. Wenn ein Schmerz entstehen soll, so muß das Bewußtsein wenigstens den Grad des Bewußtseins des astralischen Leibes haben. Ein Schmerz muß im astralischen Leibe leben. Wo also irgendeinmal in der Menschenseele Schmerz entsteht, ist eine Tatsache des astralischen Leibes vorhanden. Nehmen _ wir aber einmal an, es geschehe etwas, was nicht mit Schmerzen verbunden wäre, was dennoch aber einen äußeren Reiz, einen äußeren Eindruck hervorruft. Wenn irgend etwas auf Ihr Auge zufliegt, so verursacht das einen äußeren Reiz; das Auge schließt sich. Schmerz ist damit nicht verbunden. Was ruft der Reiz hervor? Eine Bewegung. Das ist etwas Ähnliches, wie wenn Ihre Fußsohle berührt wird: Schmerz ist es nicht — dennoch zuckt der Fuß. Es gibt also auch solche Eindrücke auf den Menschen, die nicht von Schmerzen begleitet sind, die dennoch aber herausfordern irgendein Geschehnis, eine Bewegung. Da weiß der Mensch nicht - weil er nicht bis in diesen tiefen Grad des Bewußtseins hinunterdringen kann -, wie so etwas zustande kommt, daß eine Bewegung folgt auf den Reiz. Wenn Sie Schmerz empfinden, und Sie weisen dadurch etwas zurück, so ist es der Schmerz, der Sie aufmerksam gemacht hat auf das, was Sie dann zurückweisen. Es kann aber etwas auftreten, was Sie zu einer inneren Bewegung drängt, zu einer Reflexbewegung. Da dringt das Bewußtsein nicht bis zu dem Grade hinunter, wo der Reiz in Bewegung umgesetzt wird. Da haben Sie einen solchen Bewußtseinsgrad, der nicht in Ihre astralischen Erlebnisse hineinkommt, der bewußt nicht erlebt wird, der in einer Art von Schlafbewußtseinssphäre verläuft, der aber darum doch nicht so ist, daß er nicht zu Geschehnissen führen könnte. Wenn ein solches tieferes Eindringen des Atherleibes in den physischen Leib stattfindet, so ist dies das Hervorbringen eines Bewußtseins, das nicht ein Schmerzbewußtsein ist, weil sich der astralische Leib nicht daran beteiligt, sondern das so dumpf ist, daß es der Mensch nicht wahrnimmt. Damit ist aber nicht gesagt, daß der Mensch in diesem Bewußtsein keine Handlungen ausführen kann, nicht etwas tun könnte, was der ganzen Sachlage entspräche. Der Mensch führt ja auch sonst Handlungen aus, bei denen sein Bewußtsein nicht dabei ist. Sie brauchen nur daran zu denken, wo das gewöhnliche Tagesbewußtsein ausgelöscht ist und der Mensch als Nachtwandler alle möglichen Handlungen ausführt. Da ist nicht etwa gar kein Bewußtsein vorhanden, sondern es ist ein solches Bewußtsein daran beteiligt, das der Mensch nicht miterleben kann, weil er nur die zwei höchsten Bewußtseinsformen erleben kann: das astralische Bewußtsein als Lust und Leid und dergleichen und das Ich-Bewußstsein als Urteil und als gewöhnliches Tagesbewußtsein. Deshalb ist aber die Sache doch nicht so, daß der Mensch aus diesem Schlafbewußtsein heraus nicht handeln könnte.
Nun haben wir also auch ein solches tiefes Bewußtsein, das der Mensch nicht mehr erreichen kann, wenn der Atherleib hinuntersteigt in den physischen Leib. Nehmen wir an, er will aber doch etwas tun, wovon er im normalen Leben nichts wissen kann, was irgendwie mit der Sachlage zusammenhängt, dann wird er das tun, ohne daß er davon etwas weiß. In ihm wird etwas, wird die Sache selbst das tun, ohne daß er selber davon weiß. — Betrachten wir jetzt einen Menschen, der durch irgendwelche Vorkommnisse in einem früheren Leben Ursachen in sich gelegt hat, welche in der Zeit zwischen Tod und neuer Geburt hinunterwirken bis dahin, wo sie zu einem tieferen Eindringen des Ätherleibes in den physischen Leib führen. Dann werden daraus Handlungen hervorgehen, welche zum Auswirken von tieferliegenden Krankheitsprozessen führen. Da wird der Mensch dazu gedrängt werden können, äußere Veranlassungen zu Krankheiten geradezu aufzusuchen.
Es kann sonderbar erscheinen, daß das nicht klar erscheint für das gewöhnliche Ich-Bewußtsein. Der Mensch würde es aber aus seinem gewöhnlichen Ich-Bewußtsein heraus auch nie tun. Er wird sich nie aus seinem gewöhnlichen Ich-Bewußtsein heraus befehlen, in einen Herd von Bazillen einzudringen. Nehmen wir aber an, jenes dumpfe Bewußtsein findet, daß es nötig ist, daß eine äußere Schädigung eintrete und daß sich das abspielen kann, was wir gestern genannt haben den ganzen Sinn des Krankseins. Dann sucht dieses Bewußtsein, das in den physischen Leib hineindringt, die Krankheitsursache auf. Es ist das eigene Wesen des Menschen, das die Krankheitsursache aufsucht, um das zu erreichen, was wir gestern den Krankheitsprozeß genannt haben. So werden Sie aus dem tieferen Wesen der Krankheit heraus begreifen, daß selbst dann, wenn noch keine Schmerzen auftreten, noch immer Gegenwirkungen auftreten können. Und auch wenn Schmerzen sich zeigen, kann noch immer, wenn nur der Ätherleib zu stark eindringt in den physischen Leib, dasjenige eintreten, was man nennen kann das Suchen von äußeren Krankheitsursachen durch tiefergelegene Schichten des menschlichen Bewußtseins selbst. So grotesk es klingt, so ist es doch richtig: Wir suchen uns, ebenso wie unsere vererbten Merkmale, mit einem andern Bewußtseinsgrade unsere äußeren Krankheitsursachen, wenn wir sie brauchen. Das eben Gesagte gilt aber wieder nur in den Grenzen dessen, wie es heute dargestellt ist.
Heute hat es sich vorzugsweise darum gehandelt, gerade klarzulegen, daß der Mensch imstande sein kann, ohne daß er es mit dem ihm bekannten Bewußtseinsgrade verfolgen kann, die Krankheit dadurch zu suchen, daß ein abnormer, tieferer Bewußtseinszustand hergestellt wird. Darum handelte es sich: zu zeigen, daß wir es in der Krankheit zu tun haben mit einem Erwachen von Bewußtseinsstadien, welche wir als Menschen früher schon überwunden haben. Dadurch, daß wir in einem früheren Leben Fehler auf uns geladen haben, verursachen wir, daß wir tiefere Bewußtseinsgrade hervorbringen, als es uns sonst für unser jetziges Leben geziemte. Und was wir aus den Antrieben dieser Bewußtseinsgrade tun, das beeinflußt den Verlauf des Krankheitsprozesses wie auch den Prozeß, der überhaupt erst zur Krankheit führt.
Da sehen wir, daß in den abnormen Zuständen alte Bewußtseinsstufen heraufsteigen, welche der Mensch längst überwunden hat. Wenn Sie nur ein wenig die Tatsachen des gewöhnlichen Lebens betrachten, können Sie sich schon ein wenig verdeutlichen, was heute gesagt worden ist. Es ist ja so, daß der Mensch durch seine Schmerzen gewissermaßen tiefer hinuntersteigt in sein Wesen. Sie kennen ja den Ausspruch, daß er dann erst weiß, daß er ein Organ hat, wenn es angefangen hat, ihn zu schmerzen. Das ist ein populärer Ausspruch; aber er ist nicht so ganz dumm. Warum weiß der Mensch im normalen Bewußtsein davon nichts? Weil sein Bewußtsein im normalen Falle so weit schläft, daß es nicht intensiv genug untertaucht in den astralischen Leib. Taucht es aber unter, dann entsteht Schmerz, und durch den Schmerz erfährt der Mensch, daß er das betreffende Organ hat. In gar manchen Aussprüchen des gewöhnlichen Lebens liegt etwas durchaus Wahres, weil sie Erbstücke sind aus den früheren Bewußtseinsstadien, in welchen der Mensch, als er in die geistige Welt hineingesehen hat, noch vieles gewußt hat von dem, was wir heute mühselig wieder heraufholen müssen.
Wenn Sie begreifen, daß der Mensch tiefere Schichten des Bewußtseins erleben kann, dann werden Sie auch die Möglichkeit haben, zu begreifen, daß nicht nur äußere Krankheitsursachen, sondern auch äußere Schicksalsschläge vom Menschen aufgesucht werden können, welche sich der Mensch nicht als vernünftig auslegen kann, aber deren Vernunft so wirkt, daß auf tiefere Schichten des Bewußtseins gewirkt wird. — So kann es auch wohl denkbar erscheinen, daß sich der Mensch bei gewöhnlicher Überlegung nicht gerade dorthin stellen wird, wo ihn ein Blitz treffen kann. Mit dem Oberbewußtsein wird er das vermeiden. Aber es könnte in ihm ein Bewußtsein tätig sein, das viel tiefer liegt als das Oberbewußtsein und das ihn gerade an die Stelle hinführt, wo ihn der Blitz treffen kann, unter einer Voraussicht, welche das Oberbewußtsein nicht hat, ein Bewußtsein, das also will, daß der Blitz ihn trifft, so daß der Mensch den Unfall geradezu aufsucht.
Daß durch karmische Wirkungen Unglücksfälle aufgesucht werden oder auch äußere Krankheitsursachen, das haben wir heute der Möglichkeit nach erst begriffen. Wie das im einzelnen geschieht, wie die Kräfte im Menschen wirken, welche in tieferen Bewußtseinsschichten sind, und wie es damit steht, ob unser Oberbewußtsein solche Unglücksfälle vermeiden darf, das ist wieder eine Frage, die uns auch noch beschäftigen wird. Wie wir verstehen können, daß, wenn der Mensch in eine Gegend geht, wo eine Infektion auf ihn ausgeübt werden kann, da ein Bewußtseinsgrad wirkt, der ihn dorthin getrieben hat, so müssen wir auch verstehen können, wie es sich damit verhält, daß der Mensch Einrichtungen trifft, damit solche Infektionen immer weniger wirken können, daß wir also durch hygienische Maßregeln durch das Oberbewußtsein die Dinge wieder abwenden können. Wir können auch begreifen die Möglichkeit, durch das Oberbewußtsein diese Wirkung abzulenken, und müssen sagen, daß es etwas höchst Unvernünftiges wäre, daß das Unterbewußtsein Krankheitskeime aufsuchen kann, wenn nicht auch auf der andern Seite Krankheitsursachen durch das Oberbewußtsein vermieden werden können.
Wir werden sehen, daß es «vernünftig» ist, Krankheitskeime aufzusuchen, und daß es auch «vernünftig» ist, von dem Oberbewußtsein aus hygienische Maßregeln zu ergreifen gegen das Eindringen von Infektionsstoffen, um dadurch Krankheitsursachen zu verhindern.
Sixth Lecture
It is easy to understand that a karmic law can take effect when the cause of illness manifests itself from within the human being in the sense indicated yesterday and the day before yesterday. But when the cause of illness manifests itself in a certain “external sense” — and today science seeks the cause of illness outside the body in infection, in many different ways — if, therefore, the main focus must be placed on an external cause of the illness: that the karmic law — that which the human being has brought with them through birth as the effects of the experiences and actions of their previous life — can also work in such a way that it brings about these external causes of illness, this still seems less understandable to many, and rightly so. Nevertheless, if we pursue the actual essence of karma further, we will not only learn to understand how external causes can be connected with what we have experienced and done in previous lives, but we will even learn to understand that external accidents that befall us, events that we are so fond of calling chance today, can be connected in a lawful way with the course of previous lives. However, we will have to delve even deeper into the whole nature of the human being if we want to shed light on such circumstances, which are actually veiled by our entire human perception.
Yesterday we concluded by showing how chance always presents external events to us in a veiled form, because in those areas where we speak of chance, the possibility of external deception brought about by the Ahrimanic forces is greatest. Let us now consider the origin of such coincidences, that is, of events which in ordinary life are called “coincidences,” in individual cases.
It is necessary that we first keep in mind a law, a truth, a piece of knowledge: that in life, many things that we describe as “coming from within,” “originating from within the human being,” are actually clothed in deception, because many things that we initially believe to be caused within the human being, when we see beyond the illusion, must in truth be described as something flowing from outside to inside. And we always encounter this when we deal with all those experiences of human beings, all those effects on human beings that we understand under the name of “inherited characteristics.” The inherited characteristics that confront us as if we had them only because our ancestors also had them can appear to us in the most eminent degree as if they had come to us through no fault of our own, without our doing anything. And we can easily come to a false distinction between what we bring with us from our previous incarnations and what we have inherited from our parents or ancestors. Now, however, re-entry into an incarnation does not happen as if we were compelled, without any cause related to our inner being, to be born to this or that pair of parents, to this or that people, in this or that region. Even in the case of inherited characteristics that do not fall within the realm of disease, we must not assume such a thing, but must say to ourselves: If, for example, in a family such as that of the musician Bach, smaller and greater musicians were born again and again through many generations—one is then usually outstanding, but more than twenty more or less talented musicians were born into the Bach family—one could easily believe that one was dealing with pure heredity, that characteristics are inherited from ancestors and that, precisely because such characteristics are present, human beings develop certain qualities brought with them from previous incarnations into musical talents. But this is not the case; the situation is quite different.
Let us assume that someone in a lifetime between birth and death has the opportunity to receive many musical impressions. However, these musical impressions passed him by in this life simply because he had no ear for music. Other impressions of his life will not pass him by in the same way because he has organs that are constructed in such a way that he can transform experiences and impressions into his own abilities. We can therefore say that a person has impressions in his life which he is able to transform into abilities and talents through the predisposition he received at his last birth; he has other impressions which he cannot transform into corresponding abilities because he did not receive the appropriate predispositions through his total karma. However, these impressions remain, are stored, and in the time between death and rebirth are transformed into a particular tendency that will now be lived out in the next incarnation. And this tendency leads the person to seek physical existence in the next life in a family that can give them the appropriate predispositions. So if someone has received many musical impressions and, because of an unmusical ear, has been unable to transform them into musical abilities or enjoyment, it is precisely this impossibility that will give rise to the tendency in his soul to be born into a family that can pass on a musical ear to them. So we understand that if the structure of the ear is inherited in a family in the same way as, say, the external shape of the nose, all those individuals who, as a result of their previous incarnation, crave a musical ear will be drawn to this family. And so we see that man has not in fact “accidentally” inherited a musical ear or something similar in any incarnation, but that he has sought out these inherited characteristics, really sought them out.
If we now observe such a person from the moment of their birth, it will seem to us as if the musical ear is within them, a quality of their inner being. But if we were to take our observations back to before their birth, we would find that the musical ear, which they first sought out, is something that came to them from outside. Before birth or conception, the musical ear was not something that was inside him, but there was only a tendency to be drawn toward such an ear. The human being drew something external to himself. Before reincarnation, the characteristic that we later call inherited was something external; it came to the human being, he rushed toward it. With embodiment, it then becomes something internal and appears within the human being. So when we speak of “inherited predispositions,” we are again indulging in a delusion, which consists in not considering something that has only become internal at the moment when it was still external.
Let us now ask ourselves whether, as in the case we have just mentioned, the same might not be true of external events that occur during our lives between birth and death, that there too something external might be transformed into something internal? We would not be able to answer this question unless we looked even more deeply than before into the nature of illness and health. We have cited various things to characterize illness and health, and you know that I do not define, but try to describe things little by little, adding more and more characteristics to them so that they gradually become comprehensible. So let us now add more characteristics to those we have already gained.
We must compare illness and health with something that occurs in normal life; then we will find something even deeper, namely the comparison with sleeping and waking. What happens in the human being when the daily states of waking and sleeping alternate? We know that when we fall asleep in bed, the physical body and the etheric body are left behind, and that the astral body and the I leave the physical body and the etheric body. Falling asleep is therefore for us a withdrawal of the I and the astral body from the physical body and the etheric body; waking up, on the other hand, is a re-entering of the astral body and the I into the physical body and the etheric body. Every morning when we wake up, we immerse ourselves in our physical body and etheric body with what we are as inner human beings, as astral bodies and as I's. What happens in relation to what takes place in the human being as an experience when falling asleep and waking up?
If we consider the moment of falling asleep, it appears to us that all the experiences that ebb and flow in our lives from morning to evening, especially the soul experiences of pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, passions, ideas, and so on, sink down into the unconscious. In normal life, when we sleep, we ourselves are given over to the unconscious. Why do we become unconscious when we fall asleep? We know that during sleep we are surrounded by a spiritual world, just as when we are awake we are surrounded by the things and facts of the physical, sensory world. Why do we not see this spiritual world? In ordinary normal life, we do not see the spiritual facts and spiritual things that are around us because, at the present stage of human development, this seeing would be extremely dangerous for us between falling asleep and waking up. At the moment when human beings today would consciously pass into the world that surrounds them between falling asleep and waking up, their astral body, which has undergone its full development during the old lunar period, would indeed flow out into the spiritual world; but the I, which is only to develop during the earth period and will be fully developed at the end of the earth period, could not do so. The ego is not yet so fully developed that it could unfold its full activity between falling asleep and waking up.
The ego is such that we can compare the state it would enter into if a human being fell asleep consciously by saying: Let us suppose we have a small drop of a colored liquid, which we place in a basin of water and allow it to spread out. Then we will no longer see the color of this drop, because it has had to dissolve in the whole mass. Something similar happens when a person leaves the physical body and etheric body in falling asleep. The physical body and the etheric body are what hold the whole human being together. At the moment when the astral body and the I leave the two lower members, they strive apart in all directions, having only the desire to expand continuously. The ego would therefore be dissolved, and the human being would have before him the images of the spiritual world, but he would not be able to follow them with the powers that only his ego can develop — for the ego would be dissolved — that is, with powers of judgment and conceptual understanding, and so on, and therefore not with the same consciousness with which he follows the conditions of everyday life. He would be beside himself, torn back and forth, floating aimlessly and directionlessly on the sea of astral impressions. For this reason, because the ego is not yet strong enough in the normal state of human beings, the ego will continue to exert its influence on the astral body and prevent it from consciously entering its true home, the spiritual world, until the ego itself can go wherever the astral body goes. So it makes good sense that we lose consciousness when we fall asleep. We would not be able to preserve our ego. We will only be able to preserve it sufficiently when the earth's evolution has reached its end. That is why we should not be able to develop our astral body in terms of its capacity for consciousness.
The opposite occurs when a person wakes up. When he wakes up and submerges into the physical body and etheric body, he would actually have to experience the interior of the physical body and the etheric body. But he does not do this. At the moment of waking up, he is prevented from looking into the interior of his physicality, because his attention is immediately directed toward external experiences. Their powers of sight and cognition are not directed toward seeing through their inner being, but are diverted to the external world. If human beings were to grasp their inner being, exactly the opposite would happen to what happens when they consciously enter the spiritual world as they fall asleep. Everything that a person has already attained in the course of their earthly life through their ego would be compressed and would now, after submerging, act upon them with all its force in their physical body and etheric body. The result would be that everything that is in any way an egoistic quality would unfold with all its might. And the human being would sink down with his ego and, with every piece that sank down, would pour out his passions, instincts, and desires in an ever more powerful egoism. All egoism would pour out into his instinctual life. To prevent this from happening, we are distracted by the outer world and not allowed to enter our inner world with our consciousness.
That this is so can also be seen from the reports of those who, as mystics, tried to really get inside the human being. Look at Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, or other mystics of the Middle Ages who really undertook the journey into the human being. Here you have mystics who devoted themselves to a state in which they completely diverted their attention from anything in the outer world that might interest them in order to descend into their own inner being. Read the biographies of saints or mystics who attempted to enter their own inner being. What did they experience? Temptations, trials, and the like, which they describe in vivid colors. That was what asserted itself as a counterforce from the compressed astral body and ego. Therefore, those who wanted to descend into their own inner being unscathed, so to speak, as mystics, insisted with all their might that the ego be extinguished to the same extent that they descended. Meister Eckhart even found a beautiful word to describe this descent into one's own physicality. He speaks of “de-becoming,” that is, the extinguishing of the ego. And read in “German Theology” how the author describes the mystical journey into the human inner being, how he insists that those who want to descend into their physicality should no longer act out of their ego, but that Christ, with whom they have completely imbued themselves, should act in them. Such mystics wanted to erase their ego. They should not think, feel, and want, but Christ in them should think, feel, and want, so that what lives in them as passions, drives, and desires does not come out of them, but rather what pours into them as Christ comes out. That is why Paul says, “Not I, but Christ in me!” Such things come from such depths.
We can thus describe waking up and falling asleep as inner experiences of human nature: waking up as a descent of the compressed ego into the physicality of the human being, falling asleep as a liberation from consciousness because one is not yet ready to see into the world into which one must actually enter when falling asleep. This enables us to understand waking and sleeping in the same sense in which we must understand many things in the world: as the interpenetration of the various members of the human being. If we look at a waking human being from this point of view, we say: In the waking human being there are four members of the human being: the physical body, the etheric body, the astral body, and the I, and they are intertwined in a certain way. What follows from this? Waking! For human beings could not be awake if they did not enter into their physicality in such a way that their attention was distracted by the external world. It is precisely the very specific, regulated interaction of the four members of the human being that determines whether human beings are awake. And it is again the correct separation of these four members that determines whether human beings are asleep. It is not enough to say that human beings consist of a physical body, an etheric body, an astral body, and an ego; we can only understand human beings when we know to what degree the various members are connected with each other in a particular state, how they are intertwined. This is essential for understanding human nature. Now let us consider the nature of the connection between the four members of the human being as we encounter it in the waking human being as the normal state. Let us start from this concept: to consider the state of the waking human being as normal.
Now most of you will remember that the consciousness we currently have as earthly human beings between birth and death is only one of the forms of consciousness that are possible. If you study, for example, “An Outline of Secret Knowledge” or the earlier essays “From the Akashic Records,” you will see that today's consciousness is one level of consciousness among seven different levels of consciousness, that this consciousness we have today has developed from three other, previous states of consciousness and will later develop into three other, subsequent forms of consciousness. While humans were moon beings, they did not yet have an ego. The ego only connected with humans during their time on Earth. Therefore, humans could only have the present type of consciousness during their time on Earth. A consciousness such as we have today between birth and death presupposes that the ego interacts with the other three members in exactly the same way as it does today and is the highest of the four members of the human being. Before human beings were fertilized with the I, they consisted only of the physical body, the etheric body, and the astral body. The astral body was his highest member, and his state of consciousness was such that today, if we take something from ordinary life, we could at most compare it to what human beings have retained as an old heirloom in their dream consciousness. But you must not imagine today's dream consciousness, but one that reflects realities in the images of dreams. If you study today's dreams, you will find a great deal of chaos in the various images, because today's dream consciousness is an old heirloom. But if you were to study the consciousness that preceded today's, you would find that you would not have seen external objects, such as plants, at that time. So it would have been impossible for humans to have external impressions. If something had come close to the person, they would have received an impression that took a detour via the dream image into the human interior, which is therefore a symbol, but one that would have corresponded to a specific external object and impression.
So before the ego consciousness, we are dealing with a consciousness that is bound to the astral body as the highest member at that time, the astral consciousness, which is dull and dim and not yet illuminated by the light of the ego. This astral consciousness has been illuminated, drowned out by the I-consciousness when the human being became an earth human being. But now the astral body is still within us, and we may ask: How did it happen that our astral consciousness could be drowned out, eliminated, so that the I-consciousness could take its place completely? This was made possible by the fertilization of the human being with the ego, which loosened the former connection between the astral body and the etheric body. The former, more intimate connection was, so to speak, dissolved. Thus, before the ego consciousness, there was a much more intimate connection between the astral body of the human being and the lower members of his being. The astral body pressed itself much more into the other members than it does today. In a certain sense, the astral body has been torn away from the etheric body and the physical body.
Now we must clarify this process of the astral body's partial withdrawal, so to speak, of its detachment from the etheric body and the physical body. Then we will ask ourselves: Is it perhaps still possible today, in our ordinary ego consciousness, to create something similar to this old connection? Could it also happen today in human life that the astral body wants to penetrate deeper into the other members than it should, impregnating and permeating them more than is proper?
So a certain normal measure is necessary for the astral body to penetrate the etheric body and the physical body. Let us now assume that the normal measure is exceeded in some direction. Then a disturbance must occur in the entire human organism, for what the human being is today depends on the existence of this particular relationship between the various members of the human being, which we see in the waking human being. The moment the astral body behaves incorrectly, when it penetrates deeper into the physical body and etheric body, a disturbance must occur. But we have seen in our recent considerations that what we are now concluding actually happens. We have only presented the whole process from the other side. When does it happen?
It happens when a person has imprinted something in their astral body in a previous life, has allowed something to flow in that we regard as a moral or intellectual transgression in their previous life. This has become engraved in the astral body. When the person enters life again, this is something that can actually cause the astral body to seek a different connection with the physical body and etheric body than it would have sought if the person had not imprinted this transgression in their previous life. So it is precisely our transgressions that have taken place under the influence of Ahriman and Lucifer and have been transformed into organizing forces which, in the new life, cause the astral body to relate to the physical body and etheric body differently than it would have done if such forces had not forced their way into it.
Thus we see how the effects of earlier thoughts, feelings, and emotions cause the astral body to do what must bring disorder into the human organization. But when such disorder is brought about, what happens then? When the astral body pushes itself more into the physical body and etheric body than it should in a normal human being, it does something very similar to what we do in the morning when we wake up, where we dive down with our ego into our two bodies at the moment of waking up. Waking up consists of the I-human being sinking down into the physical body and etheric body. What does the astral body do when it enters the physical body and etheric body more than it should, caused by the effects of previous experiences? What else happens when we dive with our ego and astral body into the physical body and etheric body when we wake up in the morning and perceive something? This is revealed precisely in the fact that we wake up. Just as the entire waking state is the result of the submerging of the I-human being into the physical body and etheric body, so now something must occur that the astral body does, that is, something that we otherwise do as I-human beings. It submerges into the etheric and physical bodies. So when we have a person before us whose astral body has developed a tendency to unite more with the etheric and physical bodies than is normally the case, we have before us the same phenomenon for the astral body that we otherwise have for the I-human being when we wake up. What is this excessive penetration of the astral body into the etheric and physical bodies? It is something we can otherwise describe as the essence of illness. When our astral body does the same thing we normally do when we wake up, namely, push itself into the physical body and etheric body, when the astral body, which should not normally develop consciousness within us, strives for consciousness in the physical body and etheric body, when it wants to wake up within us, then we become ill. Illness is an abnormal state of wakefulness of our astral body. What do we actually do when we are in a normal state of well-being, when we live in the ordinary state of wakefulness? Then we are awake for ordinary life. But in order to have ordinary waking consciousness, we had to bring the astral body into a different connection earlier. We had to put it to sleep. When we have our ego consciousness during the day, the astral body must sleep; we can only be healthy when our astral body sleeps within us. We can therefore now understand the nature of health and illness in the following way: Illness is an abnormal awakening of the astral body in the human being, and health is the normal state of sleep of the astral body.
And what is the consciousness of this astral body? If illness were really the awakening of the astral body, something like consciousness would have to occur in it. It awakens abnormally, so we could expect an abnormal consciousness, but there would have to be consciousness. When we fall ill, something similar to what happens when we wake up in the morning should occur. Our experience should be diverted to something else. In the morning, our ordinary consciousness usually emerges. When we become ill, does consciousness emerge?
Yes, a consciousness arises that human beings know only too well. And what is this consciousness? Consciousness expresses itself in experiences! The consciousness that arises expresses itself in what we call the pain of illness, which we do not have in the normal state of well-being of the waking state, because then our astral body is asleep. Sleeping of the astral body means that it is in regular connection with the physical body and the etheric body, and means painlessness. Pain is the expression of the astral body pressing itself into the physical body and etheric body in a way that it should not be inside, and coming to consciousness. That is pain.
Now, it is important that we do not extend what has just been said indefinitely. When speaking in terms of spiritual science, the limits within which something is said must always be observed. It has been said that when our astral body awakens, a consciousness arises that is saturated with pain. However, we must not conclude from this that pain and illness always coincide. It is certainly a kind of illness when the astral body presses into the etheric body and the physical body. But conversely, not every illness consists of this, and we can understand that illness can also have a different character from the fact that not all illness is accompanied by pain. Most people do not notice this because they do not strive to be healthy in life, but rather strive to be painless, and when they are painless, they consider themselves healthy. This is not always the case, but in many cases people believe that if they are painless, they are healthy. We would be deceiving ourselves greatly if we believed that feeling pain and being ill are one and the same thing. A person's liver may be completely damaged, but if the damage is not such that it affects the peritoneum, for example, no pain will be felt at all. A person can have a disease process within them that does not manifest itself in pain at all. This can be the case in many instances. From a more objective point of view, these illnesses are even worse. For when a person feels pain, he seeks to get rid of it; when he feels no pain, he does not make much effort to get rid of the illness.
What about cases where there is no pain accompanying the illness? What have we done here? — We need only remember that we have gradually developed into human beings as we are today, that during our time on earth we have added the ego to the astral body, the etheric body, and the physical body. But we were once human beings who had only a physical body and an etheric body. A being that has only a physical body and an etheric body is like a plant today. With such beings we come to a third degree of consciousness, a much, much duller consciousness that does not even reach the brightness of today's dream consciousness. It is indeed a mistake to believe that human beings have no consciousness when they are asleep. He does have consciousness; it is just so dull that he cannot bring it up to the level of memory in his ego. But even plants have this kind of consciousness. It is a kind of sleeping consciousness, even deeper than astral consciousness. This brings us down to an even deeper level of human consciousness.
Let us now assume that through experiences in previous incarnations, human beings have not only brought such disorder into their organization that the astral body sinks into the physical body and etheric body in a disorderly manner, but that they have also done something that can cause the etheric body to press into the physical body in an incorrect manner. A situation may well arise in which the connection between the etheric body and the physical body is not normal for human beings today, in which the etheric body intrudes too deeply into the physical body. The astral body, let us say, would not be involved at all, but what has been predisposed in a previous life causes a denser fusion of the etheric body and the physical body in the human organization than is otherwise the case. We have the same thing with the etheric body as we have with the astral body in the consciousness of pain.
When the etheric body sinks too deeply into the physical body, a consciousness emerges similar to human sleep consciousness, like plant consciousness. No wonder, then, that this is also a state that is not perceived by humans at all. Just as they do not perceive anything in sleep, they do not perceive this state either. And yet it is an awakening! Just as our astral body awakens abnormally when it sinks too deeply into the etheric body and physical body, so the etheric body awakens abnormally when it sinks too deeply into the physical body. Only, human beings cannot perceive this because it is an awakening to a consciousness even more dull than the consciousness of pain. But let us assume that a person really did something in a previous life that caused the etheric body to awaken independently between death and rebirth, that is, to take intense possession of the physical body. When this happens, a deep consciousness lives on in the person, but it cannot be perceived in the same way as the other experiences of the human soul. Does it not need to have an effect because it is not perceived? Let us try to understand what peculiar tendency consciousness acquires when it begins to lie one degree deeper.
When you experience an external impression, such as when you burn yourself, it causes pain. For pain to arise, consciousness must have at least the degree of consciousness of the astral body. Pain must live in the astral body. Wherever pain arises in the human soul, there is a fact of the astral body. But let us assume that something happens that is not associated with pain, but nevertheless causes an external stimulus, an external impression. If something flies toward your eye, it causes an external stimulus; the eye closes. Pain is not associated with this. What does the stimulus cause? A movement. This is similar to when the sole of your foot is touched: it is not pain, yet the foot jerks. So there are also impressions on human beings that are not accompanied by pain, but nevertheless provoke some kind of event, a movement. Human beings do not know — because they cannot penetrate to this deep level of consciousness — how something like this comes about, how a movement follows the stimulus. When you feel pain and you reject something as a result, it is the pain that has made you aware of what you are rejecting. However, something may occur that urges you to make an inner movement, a reflex movement. Consciousness does not penetrate to the degree where the stimulus is converted into movement. You have a degree of consciousness that does not enter into your astral experiences, that is not consciously experienced, that takes place in a kind of sphere of sleep consciousness, but that is nevertheless not such that it cannot lead to events. When such a deeper penetration of the etheric body into the physical body takes place, this brings forth a consciousness that is not a consciousness of pain, because the astral body does not participate in it, but is so dull that the human being does not perceive it. This does not mean, however, that the human being cannot perform any actions in this consciousness, that he cannot do anything that would correspond to the whole situation. After all, human beings also perform actions in which their consciousness is not involved. You need only think of cases where ordinary daytime consciousness is extinguished and the human being performs all kinds of actions as a sleepwalker. It is not that there is no consciousness at all, but rather that a form of consciousness is involved which humans cannot experience because they can only experience the two highest forms of consciousness: astral consciousness as pleasure and pain and the like, and ego-consciousness as judgment and ordinary daytime consciousness. However, this does not mean that human beings are incapable of acting out of this sleeping consciousness.
So we also have this deep consciousness that humans can no longer reach when the etheric body descends into the physical body. Let us assume that he wants to do something that he cannot know anything about in normal life, something that is somehow connected with the situation. He will do this without knowing anything about it. Something within him, the thing itself, will do it without him being aware of it. Let us now consider a person who, through some events in a previous life, has laid causes within himself which, in the time between death and rebirth, work down to the point where they lead to a deeper penetration of the etheric body into the physical body. Then actions will arise from this which lead to the manifestation of deeper disease processes. The person will be compelled to seek out external causes for illness.
It may seem strange that this is not clear to the ordinary ego-consciousness. But the person would never do this out of their ordinary ego-consciousness. They would never command themselves out of their ordinary ego-consciousness to enter a hotbed of germs. But let us assume that this dull consciousness finds it necessary for an external injury to occur and for what we called yesterday the whole meaning of being ill to take place. Then this consciousness, which penetrates into the physical body, seeks out the cause of the illness. It is the human being's own nature that seeks out the cause of the illness in order to achieve what we yesterday called the disease process. Thus, from the deeper nature of illness, you will understand that even when no pain has yet appeared, counteractions can still occur. And even when pain appears, if the etheric body penetrates too strongly into the physical body, what can be called the search for external causes of illness by deeper layers of human consciousness itself can still occur. As grotesque as it sounds, it is nevertheless true: just as we seek our inherited characteristics, we also seek our external causes of illness with a different degree of consciousness when we need them. However, what has just been said only applies within the limits of how it is presented today.
Today, the main point has been to clarify that human beings are capable of seeking illness without being able to pursue it with their known level of consciousness, by establishing an abnormal, deeper state of consciousness. That was the point: to show that in illness we are dealing with an awakening of states of consciousness that we as human beings have already overcome in the past. By committing mistakes in a previous life, we cause ourselves to bring forth deeper levels of consciousness than would otherwise be appropriate for our present life. And what we do under the influence of these levels of consciousness influences the course of the disease process as well as the process that leads to the disease in the first place.
We see that in abnormal states, old levels of consciousness rise up that humans have long since overcome. If you consider the facts of ordinary life just a little, you can already understand a little of what has been said today. It is true that through their pain, humans descend deeper into their being, so to speak. You know the saying that you only know you have an organ when it starts to hurt. This is a popular saying, but it is not entirely stupid. Why does the human being know nothing about this in normal consciousness? Because in normal cases his consciousness is so asleep that it does not dive deeply enough into the astral body. But when it does, pain arises, and through the pain the person experiences that they have the organ in question. There is something quite true in many sayings of everyday life, because they are heirlooms from earlier stages of consciousness in which people, when they looked into the spiritual world, still knew much of what we today have to laboriously bring back to the surface.
If you understand that human beings can experience deeper layers of consciousness, then you will also be able to understand that not only external causes of illness, but also external blows of fate can be sought out by human beings, which they cannot interpret as reasonable, but whose reason works in such a way that deeper layers of consciousness are affected. — So it seems conceivable that, in normal circumstances, a person would not stand where they could be struck by lightning. With their higher consciousness, they will avoid this. But there could be a consciousness at work within them that lies much deeper than the higher consciousness and that leads them precisely to the place where they can be struck by lightning, with a foresight that the higher consciousness does not have, a consciousness that therefore wants them to be struck by lightning, so that they actually seek out the accident.
That accidents are sought out through karmic effects, or even external causes of illness, is something we have only just begun to understand today. How this happens in detail, how the forces in the human being that are in deeper layers of consciousness work, and how it stands with whether our conscious mind is allowed to avoid such accidents, is another question that will continue to occupy us. Just as we can understand that when a person goes to a place where they are susceptible to infection, a level of consciousness has driven them there, so we must also be able to understand how it is that people take measures to ensure that such infections have less and less effect, that we can avert them through hygienic measures taken by the conscious mind. We can also understand the possibility of deflecting this effect through the higher consciousness, and must say that it would be highly unreasonable for the subconscious to seek out germs of disease if, on the other hand, the causes of disease could not be avoided through the higher consciousness.
We will see that it is “reasonable” to seek out germs of disease, and that it is also “reasonable” to take hygienic measures from the superconsciousness against the invasion of infectious substances in order to prevent the causes of disease.