Theosophy
GA 9
III-1. The Soul World
[ 1 ] Our study of man has shown that he belongs to three worlds. From the world of physical corporality are taken the materials and forces that build up his body. He has knowledge of this world through the perceptions of his outer physical senses. Anyone trusting to these senses alone, and developing only their perceptive capacities, can gain for himself no enlightenment concerning the two other worlds, the soul-world and the spiritual. A man's ability to convince himself of the reality of a thing or a being depends on whether he has an organ of perception, a sense for it. It may, of course, easily lead to misunderstandings if one calls the higher organs of perception “spiritual senses,” as is done here: for in speaking of “senses” one involuntarily connects with them the thought of the “physical.” The physical world is in fact designated the “sensible,” in contradistinction to the “spiritual.” In order to avoid this misunderstanding, one must take into account that “higher senses” are spoken of here only in a comparative or metaphorical sense. As the physical senses perceive the physical, the soul and spiritual senses perceive the soul and spiritual worlds. The expression “sense” is used as meaning simply “organ of perception.” Man would have no knowledge of light and colour had he not an eye able to sense light; he would know nothing of sound had he not an ear able to sense sound. In this connection the German philosopher Lotze rightly says, “Without a light-sensing eye, and a sound-sensing ear, the whole world would be dark and silent. There would be in it just as little light or sound as there could be toothache without the pain-feeling nerve of the tooth.” In order to see what is said here in the right light, one need only think how entirely differently the world must reveal itself to man on the one hand, and on the other to the lower forms of animal life that have only a kind of sense of touch or sense of feeling spread over the whole surface of their bodies. Light, colour and sound certainly cannot exist for them in the same way as for beings endowed with ears and eyes. The vibrations which the firing of a gun causes, may also have an effect on them if they are struck by them. But in order that these vibrations of the air should present themselves to the soul as a report, an ear is necessary. And an eye is necessary in order that certain processes in the fine matter called ether should reveal themselves as light and colour. A man only knows something about a being or thing because through one of his organs he receives an effect from it. This relationship of man with the world of realities is excellently brought out by Goethe when he says, “It is really in vain that we try to express the nature of a thing. We are aware of activities, and a complete history of these activities would indeed embrace the nature of that thing. We endeavour in vain to describe the character of a man: if instead we put together his actions and deeds, a picture of his character will present itself to us. Colours are the deeds of fight, deeds and sufferings ... colours and fight are indeed linked in most intimate relationship, but we must think of them both as belonging to the whole of Nature; for through them the whole of Nature is engaged in revealing herself to the sense of the eye especially. In like manner Nature reveals herself to another sense ... Nature thus speaks downwards to other senses, to known, mis-known and unknown senses; she thus speaks with herself and to us through a thousand phenomena. To the attentive she is nowhere either dead or silent.” It would not be correct to interpret this saying of Goethe's as though by it the possibility of knowing the essential nature of things were denied. Goethe does not mean that one perceives only the activity of a thing, and that its nature is hidden behind this. He means rather that one should not speak at all of a “hidden being.” The being is not behind its revelation; it comes on the contrary, into view through the revelation. But this being is in many respects so rich that it can reveal itself to other senses in yet other forms. That which reveals itself does belong to the being: only—on account of the limitations of the senses—it is not the whole being. This thought of Goethe's corresponds entirely with the views of spiritual science set forth here.
[ 2 ] As in the body eye and ear develop as organs of perception, as senses for bodily processes, so is man able to develop in himself soul and spiritual organs of perception through which the soul and spiritual worlds will be opened to him. For those who have not such higher senses, these worlds are “dark and silent,” just as for a being without eyes and ears the bodily world is “dark and silent.” It is true that the relation of man to these higher senses is rather different from his relation to the bodily senses. It is good Mother Nature who sees to it, as a rule, that these latter are fully developed in him. They come into existence without his help. But on the development of his higher senses he must work himself. If he wishes to perceive the soul- and spirit-worlds, he must develop soul and spirit, as Nature has developed his body so that he may perceive the corporeal world around him and guide himself in it. Such a development of the higher organs not yet developed for us by Nature herself is not unnatural; for in the higher sense all that man accomplishes belongs also to Nature. Only he who is ready to maintain that man should remain standing at the stage at which he left the hand of Nature could call the development of the higher senses unnatural. By him the significance of these organs is “mis-known,” in the sense of the quotation from Goethe. Such a one might just as well oppose all education, for this also develops further the work of Nature. And he would have to oppose especially operations upon those born blind. For almost the same thing happens to that man who awakens the higher senses in himself, in the way set forth in the last part of this book, as happens to the person born blind and operated upon. The world appears to him with new qualities, events, and facts, of which the physical senses reveal nothing to him. It is clear to him that through these higher organs he adds nothing arbitrarily to the reality, but that without them the essential part of this reality would have remained hidden from him. The soul- and spirit-worlds are not to be thought of alongside or outside the physical world; they are not separated in space from it. Just as for persons born blind and operated upon, the previously dark world flashes out in light and colours, so do things which previously were only corporeal phenomena, reveal their soul- and spirit-qualities to one who is, in soul and spirit, awakened. It is true, moreover, that this world then becomes filled with other occurrences and beings that remain completely unknown to one whose soul- and spirit-senses are not awakened. (The development of the soul- and spirit-senses will be spoken of in a more detailed way farther on in this book. Here these higher worlds themselves will be first described. Anyone who denies the existence of these worlds says nothing more than that he has not yet developed his higher organs. The evolution of mankind is not terminated at any one stage; it must always progress.1See also under Addenda p. 69.
[ 3 ] The “higher organs” are often involuntarily pictured as too similar to the physical ones. It should, however, be realised that these organs are spiritual or soul-formations. One ought not to expect, therefore, that what is perceived in the higher worlds will be only a cloudy, attenuated form of matter. As long as something of this kind is expected one can come to no clear idea as to what is really meant here by “higher worlds.” For many persons it would not be nearly as difficult as it actually is to know something about these higher worlds, the elementary part, that is to say, if they did not form the idea that what they will see is again physical matter rarefied. Because they presuppose something of this kind, they are not, as a rule, at all willing to recognise what they are really dealing with. They look upon it as unreal, refuse to acknowledge it as something that satisfies them, and so on. True, the higher stages of spiritual development are accessible only with difficulty; but those stages which suffice for the perception of the nature of the spiritual—and that is already a great deal—would not be at all difficult to reach, if people would from the first free themselves from the preconception which consists in picturing to themselves the soul and the spiritual merely as being of a finer physical nature.
[ 4 ] Just as we do not wholly know a man when we have formed a picture of his physical exterior only, so also we do not know the world around us if we know in it only what the physical senses reveal to us. And just as a photograph becomes intelligible and living to us when we have become so intimately acquainted with the person photographed as to know his soul, so can we really only understand the corporeal world if we learn to know its soul- and spiritual-basis. For this reason it is advisable to speak, first about the higher worlds, the soul- and spirit-worlds, and only then judge of the physical from the standpoint of spiritual science.
[ 5 ] At this present stage of civilisation certain difficulties are encountered by anyone speaking about the higher worlds. For the greatness of this age consists above all in the knowledge and conquest of the physical world. Our words have, in fact, received their stamp and significance in relation to this physical world. Nevertheless we must make use of these current words so as to link on to something known. This opens the door to many misunderstandings on the part of those who will trust only their external senses. Much can at first be expressed and indicated only by means of similes and comparisons. It must be so, for such similes are a means by which man is first directed to these higher worlds, and through which his own ascent to them is furthered. (Of this ascent we shall speak in a later chapter, when the development of the higher organs of perception will be dealt with. To begin with, knowledge of the higher worlds must be gained by means of similes. Only then is man ready to acquire for himself the power to see into them.)
[ 6 ] As the substances and forces which compose and govern our stomach, our heart, our brain, our lungs, etc., come from the physical world, so do our qualities of soul, our impulses, desires, feelings, passions, wishes, sensations, etc., come from the soul-world. The soul of man is a member of this world, just as his body is part of the physical-corporeal world. If one wants at the outset to indicate a difference between the corporeal and soul-worlds, one could say that the latter is in all its objects and entities much finer, more mobile and plastic than the former. But it must be kept clearly in mind that on entering the soul-world one enters a world entirely different from the physical. If, therefore, “coarser” and “finer” be spoken of in this respect, readers must be fully aware that one is suggesting by means of a comparison something that is fundamentally different. It is the same with all that is said about the soul-world in words borrowed from the world of physical corporality. Taking this into account, it can be said that the formations and beings of the soul-world consist in the same way of soul-materials and are directed in the same way by soul-forces, as is the case in the physical world with physical substances and physical forces.
[ 7 ] Just as spatial extension and spatial movement are peculiar to corporeal formations, so are susceptibility and impelling desire peculiar to the things and beings of the soul-world. For this reason the soul-world is described as the world of desires or wishes, or as the world of longing. These expressions are borrowed from the human soul-world. One must therefore hold fast to the idea that the things in those parts of the soul-world which lie outside the human soul are just as different from the soul-forces within it, as the physical substances and forces of the external corporeal world are different from those parts which compose the physical body. (Impulse, wish, longing, are names for the material of the soul-world. To this material, let us give the name of “astral.” If one pays more attention specifically to the forces of the soul-world, one can speak of “desire-reality.” But it must not be forgotten that the distinction between “matter” and “force” cannot be as sharply drawn as in the physical world. An impulse can just as well be called “force” as “matter.” )
[ 8 ] The differences between the soul-world and the physical have a bewildering effect on one who obtains a view of the soul-world for the first time. But that is also the case when a previously inactive physical sense has been opened. The man born blind, when operated upon, has first to learn to guide himself through the world which he has previously known only by means of the sense of touch. Such a man, for example, sees the objects at first in his eyes, then he sees them outside himself, but they appear to him as if painted on a flat surface. Only gradually does he grasp perspective and the spatial distance between things, and so on. In the soul-world entirely different laws prevail from those in the physical. Now it is true that there are many soul-formations bound to those of the other worlds. The soul of man, for instance, is bound to the human body and to the human spirit. The occurrences to be observed in it are therefore influenced at the same time by the bodily and the spiritual worlds. This has to be taken into account in observing the soul-world; and one must take care not to claim as a law of the soul-world occurrences due to the influence of another world. When, for example, a man sends out a wish, that wish is brought to birth by a thought, by a conception of the spirit whose laws it accordingly follows. But just as the laws of the physical world can be formulated disregarding, for example, man's influence on it, so the same thing is possible with regard to the soul-world.
[ 9 ] An important difference between soul and physical processes can be expressed by saying that interaction in the former is much more inward than in the latter. In physical space there prevails, for example, the law of “impact.” When an ivory ball strikes another which is at rest, the latter moves in a direction which can be calculated from the motion and elasticity of the former. In soul-space, the mutual action of two forms which meet depends on their inner qualities. If they are in affinity they mutually interpenetrate each other and as it were grow together. They repel each other if their essential beings conflict. In physical space there are, for example, definite laws of vision. Distant objects diminish in perspective. When one looks down an avenue, the distant trees appear, according to the laws of perspective, to stand at shorter distances from each other than the near ones. In soul-space, on the contrary, all objects near and far appear to the clairvoyant at those distances from each other which are due to their inner nature. This is naturally a source of all manner of mistakes for those who enter the soul-world, and wish to become at home there by the help of the principles they bring with them from the physical world.
[ 10 ] One of the first things that a man must acquire in order to make his way about the soul-world, is the power to distinguish the various kinds of forms found there in a similar manner to that in which solid, liquid, airy or gaseous bodies are distinguished in the physical world. In order to do this one must know the two basic forces which are the most important here. They may be called sympathy and antipathy. According to the way in which these basic forces work in any soul-formation, its nature is decided. The force with which one soul-formation attracts others, seeks to fuse with them, to make its affinity with them effectual, must be designated as sympathy. Antipathy, on the other hand, is the force with which soul-formations repel, exclude each other in the soul-world, with which they assert their separate identity. The part played in the soul-world by a soul-formation depends upon the proportion in which these basic forces are present in it. One has to distinguish, in the first place, between three kinds of soul-formations according to the manner in which sympathy and antipathy work in them. These kinds differ from each other in that sympathy and antipathy have in them definitely fixed mutual relationships. In all three, both basic forces are present. Let us take, to begin with, a formation of the first kind. It attracts other formations in its neighbourhood by means of the sympathy ruling in it; but besides this sympathy there is at the same time present in it antipathy, through which it repels certain things in its surroundings. From the outside such a formation appears to be endowed with the forces of antipathy only. That, however, is not the case. There is sympathy and antipathy in it, but the latter predominates. It has the upper hand over the former. Such formations play a self-seeking role in soul-space. They repel much that is around them, and lovingly attract only little to themselves. They therefore move through soul-space as unchangeable forms. The force of sympathy in them makes them appear avaricious, with a greed that seems insatiable, as though it could never be satisfied. That is because the predominating antipathy repels so much of what approaches, that no satisfaction is possible. If one wishes to compare this kind of soul-formation with something in the physical world, one can say that it corresponds with the solid physical body. This region of soul-substance may be called Burning Desire. That portion of this Burning Desire which is mingled with the souls of animals and men determines in them what one calls the lower sensual impulses, their dominating selfish instincts.
The second kind of soul-formation is that in which the two basic forces preserve a balance, in which, accordingly, antipathy and sympathy act with equal strength. They approach other formations with a certain neutrality; they act on them as if related, but without especially attracting or repelling. They erect no solid barrier, as it were, between themselves and their surroundings. They constantly allow other formations in their surroundings to act on them; one can therefore compare them with the fluids of the physical world. And there is nothing of greed in the way in which such formations attract others to themselves. The activity meant here may be recognised, for example, when the human soul receives the sensation of a certain colour. If I have the sensation of a red colour, I receive to begin with a neutral excitation from my surroundings. Only when there is added to this excitation pleasure in the red colour does another soul-activity come into play. That which produces the neutral excitation is the action of soul-formations standing in such mutual relationship that sympathy and antipathy preserve an equal balance. The soul-substance here being considered, must be described as a perfectly plastic and mobile substance. Not self-seeking like the first it moves through soul-space in such a way that its being receives impressions everywhere, and it shows itself to have affinity with much that approaches it. An expression that might be applied to it is Flowing Susceptibility.
The third degree of soul-formation is that in which sympathy has the upper hand over antipathy. Antipathy produces the self-seeking self-assertion; this, however, retires into the background when inclination towards the things around takes its place. Let us picture such a formation within soul-space. It appears as a centre of an attracting sphere which spreads over the objects around it. Such formations must be specially designated as Wish-Substance. This designation appears to be the right one, for although antipathy, relatively weaker than the sympathy, is there, the attraction works in such a way as to bring the attracted objects within the soul-formation's own sphere. The sympathy thus receives an underlying tone of selfishness. This wish-substance may be likened to the airy or gaseous bodies of the physical world. As a gas strives to expand on all sides, so does the wish-substance spread itself out in all directions.
[ 11 ] Higher grades of soul-substance render themselves distinguishable by the fact that in them one of the basic forces, namely antipathy, retires completely into the background, and sympathy alone shows itself as the one really effective factor, which is able to express itself primarily within the various parts of the soul-formation itself. These parts act upon each other in mutual attraction. This force of sympathy within a soul-formation comes to expression in what one calls liking. And each lessening of this sympathy is disliking. Disliking is only lessened liking, as cold is only a lessened warmth. Liking and disliking compose what fives in man as the world of feeling in the strict sense of the word. Feeling is the activity of the soul within itself. What one calls soul-comfort depends on the way in which the feelings of liking and disliking interact within the soul.
[ 12 ] A still higher grade is occupied by those soul-formations whose sympathy does not remain shut up within the region of their own life. They differ from the three lower grades, as does in fact the fourth also, in that in them the force of sympathy has no opposing antipathy to overcome. It is only through these higher orders of soul-substance that the manifold variety of soul-formations can unite and form a common soul-world. In so far as there is any appearance of antipathy, it is when the soul-entity approaches some other object for the benefit of its own life, in order that it may itself be strengthened and enriched by the other. Where antipathy is stilled, the other object is received as a revelation, a source of discovery. This higher form of soul-substance plays in soul-space a similar role to that played by light in physical space. It causes a soul-entity to absorb into itself, as it were, the being or essence of others for their sake, or, in other words, to let itself be shone upon by them. It is only by drawing upon these higher regions that the soul-entities are awakened to their true soul-life. Their dull, darkened life opens outwards, and begins to shine and ray out into soul-space; the sluggish, dull weaving within itself which seeks to shut itself off through antipathy when only the substances of the lower regions are present, becomes force and mobility, which goes forth from within and pours itself outwards in streams.
[ 13 ] The Flowing Susceptibility of the second region is only effective when formations meet each other. Then, indeed, the one streams over into the other. But contact is essential. In the higher regions there prevails a free out-raying and outpouring. Rightly does one describe the essential nature of this region as an “out-raying,” for the sympathy which is developed acts in such a way that one can use as symbol for it the expression taken from the action of light. As a plant languishes in a dark cellar, so do the soul-formations without the soul-substances of the higher regions which give them life. Soul-Light, Active Soul-Force and the true Soul-Life, in the strict sense, belong to these higher regions, and thence pour themselves into the soul-beings.
[ 14 ] Thus we have to distinguish between three lower and three higher regions of the soul-world; and these two are linked together by a fourth, so that there results the following division of the soul-world:
- Region of Burning Desires.
- Region of Flowing Susceptibility.
- Region of Wishes.
- Region of Attraction and Repulsion.
- Region of Soul-Light.
- Region of Active Soul-Force.
- Region of Soul-Life.
[ 15 ] Throughout the first three regions, the soul-formations receive their qualities from the relative proportions of sympathy and antipathy; throughout the fourth region sympathy weaves its web within the soul-formations themselves; throughout the three highest, the power of sympathy becomes ever more and more free; illumining and quickening, the soul-substances of this region waft through soul-space, awakening that which, if left to itself, must lose itself in its own separate existence.
[ 16 ] For the sake of clarity it is here emphasised, though it should be superfluous, that these seven divisions of the soul-world do not represent regions separated one from another. Just as in the physical world, solid, liquid and airy or gaseous substances interpenetrate, so do Burning Desire, Flowing Susceptibility, and the forces of the World of Wishes in the soul-world. And as in the physical world, warmth penetrates bodies and light illumines them, so is it the case in the soul-world with attraction and repulsion, and with the Soul-Light. And something similar takes place with regard to the Active Soul-Force and the true Soul-Life.
I. Die Seelenwelt
[ 1 ] Die Betrachtung des Menschen hat gezeigt, daß er drei Welten angehört. Aus der Welt der physischen Körperlichkeit sind die Stoffe und Kräfte entnommen, die seinen Leib auferbauen. Er hat von dieser Welt Kenntnis durch die Wahrnehmungen seiner äußeren physischen Sinne. Wer allein diesen Sinnen vertraut und lediglich deren Wahrnehmungsfähigkeit entwickelt, der kann sich keinen Aufschluß verschaffen über die beiden andern Welten, über die seelische und geistige. — Ob ein Mensch sich von der Wirklichkeit eines Dinges oder Wesens überzeugen kann, das hängt davon ab, ob er dafür ein Wahrnehmungsorgan, einen Sinn, hat. — Es kann natürlich leicht zu Mißverständnissen führen, wenn man, wie es hier geschieht, die höheren Wahmehmungsorgane geistige Sinne nennt. Denn wenn man von «Sinnen» spricht, so verbindet man damit unwillkürlich den Gedanken des «Physischen». Man bezeichnet ja gerade die physische Welt auch als die «sinnliche» im Gegensatz zur «geistigen». Um das Mißverständnis zu vermeiden, muß man berücksichtigen, daß hier eben von «höheren Sinnen» nur vergleichsweise, in übertragenem Sinne gesprochen wird. Wie die physischen Sinne das Physische wahrnehmen, so die seelischen und geistigen das Seelische und Geistige. Nur in der Bedeutung von «Wahmehmungsorgan» wird der Ausdruck «Sinn» gebraucht. Der Mensch hätte keine Kenntnis von dem Licht und der Farbe, wenn er nicht ein lichtempfindendes Auge hätte; er wüßte nichts von Klängen, wenn er nicht ein klangempfindendes Ohr hätte. In dieser Beziehung sagt mit vollem Recht der deutsche Philosoph Lotze: «Ohne ein Licht empfindendes Auge und ohne ein Klang empfindendes Ohr wäre die ganze Welt finster und stumm. Es würde in ihr ebensowenig Licht oder Schall geben, als ein Zahnschmerz möglich wäre ohne einen den Schmerz empfindenden Nerv des Zahnes.» — Um das, was hiermit gesagt ist, im richtigen Lichte zu sehen, braucht man sich nur einmal zu überlegen, wie ganz anders, als für den Menschen, sich die Welt für die niederen Lebewesen offenbaren muß, die nur eine Art Tast- oder Gefühlssinn über die ganze Oberfläche ihres Körpers ausgebreitet haben. Licht, Farbe und Ton können für diese jedenfalls nicht in dem Sinne vorhanden sein wie für Wesen, die mit Augen und Ohren begabt sind. Die Luftschwingungen, die ein Flintenschuß verursacht, mögen auch auf sie eine Wirkung ausüben, wenn sie von ihnen getroffen werden. Daß sich diese Luftschwingungen der Seele als Knall offenbaren, dazu ist ein Ohr notwendig. Und daß sich gewisse Vorgänge in dem feinen Stoffe, den man Äther nennt, als Licht und Farbe offenbaren, dazu ist ein Auge notwendig. — Nur dadurch weiß der Mensch etwas von einem Wesen oder Dinge, daß er durch eines seiner Organe eine Wirkung davon empfängt. Dies Verhältnis des Menschen zur Welt des Wirklichen kommt trefflich in dem folgenden Ausspruch Goethes zur Darstellung: «Eigentlich unternehmen wir umsonst, das Wesen eines Dinges auszudrücken. Wirkungen werden wir gewahr, und eine vollständige Geschichte dieser Wirkungen umfaßte wohl allenfalls das Wesen jenes Dinges. Vergebens bemühen wir uns, den Charakter eines Menschen zu schildern; man stelle dagegen seine Handlungen, seine Taten zusammen, und ein Bild des Charakters wird uns entgegentreten. Die Farben sind Taten des Lichtes, Taten und Leiden . . . Farben und Licht stehen zwar untereinander in dem genauesten Verhältnis, aber wir müssen uns beide als der ganzen Natur angehörig denken; denn sie ist es ganz, die sich dadurch dem Sinne des Auges besonders offenbaren will. Ebenso entdeckt sich die ganze Natur einem anderen Sinne. . . So spricht die Natur hinabwärts zu anderen Sinnen, zu bekannten, verkannten, unbekannten Sinnen; so spricht sie mit sich selbst und zu uns durch tausend Erscheinungen. Dem Aufmerksamen ist sie nirgends tot noch stumm.» Es wäre unrichtig, wenn man diesen Ausspruch Goethes so auffassen wollte, daß damit die Erkennbarkeit des Wesens der Dinge in Abrede gestellt würde. Goethe meint nicht: man nehme nur die Wirkung des Dinges wahr und das Wesen verberge sich dahinter. Er meint vielmehr, daß man von einem solchen «verborgenen Wesen» gar nicht sprechen soll. Das Wesen ist nicht hinter seiner Offenbarung; es kommt vielmehr durch die Offenbarung zum Vorschein. Nur ist dies Wesen vielfach so reich, daß es sich andern Sinnen in noch anderen Gestalten offenbaren kann. Was sich offenbart, ist zum Wesen gehörig, nur ist es wegen der Beschränktheit der Sinne nicht das ganze Wesen. Diese Goethesche Anschauung ist auch durchaus die hier geisteswissenschaftlich gemeinte.
[ 2 ] Wie im Leibe Auge und Ohr als Wahmehmungsorgane, als Sinne für die körperlichen Vorgänge sich entwickeln, so vermag der Mensch in sich seelische und geistige Wahrnehmungsorgane auszubilden, durch die ihm die Seelen- und die Geisteswelt erschlossen werden. Für denjenigen, der solche höhere Sinne nicht hat, sind diese Welten «finster und stumm», wie für ein Wesen ohne Ohr und Auge die Körperwelt «finster und stumm» ist. Allerdings ist das Verhältnis des Menschen zu diesen höheren Sinnen etwas anders als zu den körperlichen. Daß diese letzteren in ihm vollkommen ausgebildet werden, dafür sorgt in der Regel die gütige Mutter Natur. Sie kommen ohne sein Zutun zustande. An der Entwickelung seiner höheren Sinne muß er selbst arbeiten. Er muß Seele und Geist ausbilden, wenn er die Seelen- und Geisteswelt wahrnehmen will, wie die Natur seinen Leib ausgebildet hat, damit er seine körperliche Umwelt wahrnehmen und sich in ihr orientieren könne. Eine solche Ausbildung von höheren Organen, welche die Natur noch nicht selbst entwickelt hat, ist nicht unnatürlich; denn im höheren Sinne gehört ja auch alles, was der Mensch vollbringt, mit zur Natur. Nur derjenige, welcher behaupten wollte, der Mensch müsse auf der Stufe der Entwickelung stehenbleiben, auf der er aus der Hand der Natur entlassen wird, — nur der könnte die Ausbildung höherer Sinne unnatürlich nennen. Von ihm werden diese Organe «verkannt» in ihrer Bedeutung im Sinne des angeführten Ausspruches Goethes. Ein solcher sollte nur aber auch gleich alle Erziehung des Menschen bekämpfen, denn auch sie setzt das Werk der Natur fort. Und insbesondere müßte er sich gegen die Operation von Blindgeborenen wenden. Denn ungefähr so wie dem operierten Blindgeborenen ergeht es dem, der in sich seine höheren Sinne in der Art erweckt, wie im letzten Teile dieser Schrift dargelegt wird. Mit neuen Eigenschaften, mit Vorgängen und Tatsachen, von denen die physischen Sinne nichts offenbaren, erscheint ihm die Welt. Ihm ist klar, daß er durch diese höheren Organe nichts willkürlich zu der Wirklichkeit hinzufügt, sondern daß ihm ohne dieselben der wesentliche Teil dieser Wirklichkeit verborgen geblieben wäre. Die Seelen-und Geisteswelt sind nichts neben oder außer der physischen, sie sind nicht räumlich von dieser getrennt. So wie für den operierten Blindgeborenen die vorherige finstere Welt in Licht und Farben erstrahlt, so offenbaren dem seelisch und geistig Erweckten Dinge, die ihm vorher nur körperlich erschienen waren, ihre seelischen und geistigen Eigenschaften. Allerdings erfüllt sich diese Welt auch noch mit Vorgängen und Wesenheiten, die für den nicht seelisch und geistig Erweckten völlig unbekannt bleiben. — (Später soll in diesem Buche genauer über die Ausbildung der seelischen und geistigen Sinne gesprochen werden. Hier werden zunächst diese höheren Welten selbst beschrieben. Wer diese Welten leugnet, der sagt nichts anderes, als daß er seine höheren Organe noch nicht entwickelt hat. Die Menschheitsentwickelung ist auf keiner Stufe abgeschlossen; sie muß immer weitergehen.)
[ 3 ] Man stellt sich oft unwillkürlich die «höheren Organe» als zu ähnlich den physischen vor. Man sollte sich aber klarmachen, daß man es mit geistigen oder seelischen Gebilden in diesen Organen zu tun hat. Man darf deshalb auch nicht erwarten, daß dasjenige, was man in den höheren Welten wahrnimmt, etwa nur eine nebelhaft verdünnte Stofftichkeit sei. Solange man so etwas erwartet, wird man zu keiner klaren Vorstellung von dem kommen können, was hier mit «höheren Welten» eigentlich gemeint ist. Es wäre für viele Menschen gar nicht so schwer, wie es wirklich ist, etwas von diesen «höheren Welten» zu wissen — zunächst allerdings nur das Elementare –, wenn sie sich nicht vorstellten, daß es doch wieder etwas verfeinertes Physisches sein müsse, was sie wahrnehmen sollen. Da sie so etwas voraussetzen, so wollen sie in der Regel das gar nicht anerkennen, um was es sich wirklich handelt. Sie finden es unwirklich, lassen es nicht als etwas gelten, was sie befriedigt, und so weiter. Gewiß: die höheren Stufen der geistigen Entwickelung sind schwer zugänglich; diejenige aber, die hinreicht, um das Wesen der geistigen Welt zu erkennen — und das ist schon viel –, wäre gar nicht so schwer zu erreichen, wenn man sich zunächst von dem Vorurteile freimachen wollte, welches darin besteht, das Seelische und Geistige doch wieder nur als ein feineres Physisches sich vorzustellen.
[ 4 ] So wie wir einen Menschen nicht ganz kennen, wenn wir bloß von seinem physischen Äußeren eine Vorstellung haben, so kennen wir auch die Welt, die uns umgibt, nicht, wenn wir bloß das von ihr wissen, was uns die physischen Sinne offenbaren. Und so wie eine Photographie uns verständlich und lebensvoll wird, wenn wir der photographierten Person so nahetreten, daß wir ihre Seele erkennen lernen, so können wir auch die körperliche Welt nur wirklich verstehen, wenn wir ihre seelische und geistige Grundlage kennenlernen. Deshalb empfiehlt es sich, hier zuerst von den höheren Welten, von der seelischen und geistigen, zu sprechen und dann erst die physische vom geisteswissenschaftlichen Gesichtspunkte aus zu beurteilen.
[ 5 ] Es bietet gewisse Schwierigkeiten, in der gegenwärtigen Kulturepoche über die höheren Welten zu sprechen. Denn diese Kulturepoche ist vor allem groß in der Erkenntnis und Beherrschung der körperlichen Welt. Unsere Worte haben zunächst ihre Prägung und Bedeutung in bezug auf diese körperliche Welt erhalten. Man muß sich aber dieser gebräuchlichen Worte bedienen, um an Bekanntes anzuknüpfen. Dadurch wird bei denen, die nur ihren äußeren Sinnen vertrauen wollen, dem Mißverständnis Tür und Tor geöffnet. — Manches kann ja zunächst nur gleichnisweise ausgesprochen und angedeutet werden. Aber so muß es sein, denn solche Gleichnisse sind ein Mittel, durch das der Mensch zunächst auf diese höheren Welten verwiesen wird und durch das seine eigene Erhebung zu ihnen gefördert wird. (Von dieser Erhebung wird in einem späteren Kapitel zu sprechen sein, in dem auf die Ausbildung der seelischen und geistigen Wahrnehmungsorgane hingewiesen werden wird. Zunächst soll der Mensch durch Gleichnisse von den höheren Welten Kenntnis nehmen. Dann kann er daran denken, sich selbst einen Einblick in dieselben zu verschaffen.)
[ 6 ] Wie die Stoffe und Kräfte, die unsern Magen, unser Herz, unsere Lunge, unser Gehirn und so weiter zusaremensetzen und beherrschen, aus der körperlichen Welt stammen, so stammen unsere seelischen Eigenschaften, unsere Triebe, Begierden, Gefühle, Leidenschaften, Wünsche, Empfindungen und so weiter aus der seelischen Welt. Des Menschen Seele ist ein Glied in dieser seelischen Welt, wie sein Leib ein Teil der physischen Körperwelt ist. Will man zunächst einen Unterschied der körperlichen Welt von der seelischen angeben, so kann man sagen, die letztere ist in allen ihren Dingen und Wesenheiten viel feiner, beweglicher, bildsamer als die erstere. Doch muß man sich klar darüber bleiben, daß man eine gegenüber der physischen völlig neue Welt betritt, wenn man in die seelische kommt. Redet man also von gröber und feiner in dieser Hinsicht, so muß man sich bewußt bleiben, daß man vergleichsweise andeutet, was doch grundverschieden ist. So ist es mit allem, was über die Seelenwelt in Worten gesagt wird, die der physischen Körperlichkeit entlehnt sind. Berücksichtigt man dieses, dann kann man sagen, daß die Gebilde und Wesen der Seelenwelt ebenso aus Seelenstoffen bestehen und ebenso von Seelenkräften gelenkt werden, wie das in der physischen Welt mit physischen Stoffen und Kräften der Fall ist.
[ 7 ] Wie den körperlichen Gebilden die räumliche Ausdehnung und räumliche Bewegung eigentümlich sind, so den seelischen Dingen und Wesenheiten die Reizbarkeit, das triebhafte Begehren. Man bezeichnet deshalb die Seelenwelt auch als die Begierden- oder Wunschwelt oder als die Welt des «Verlangens». Diese Ausdrücke sind der menschlichen Seelenwelt entlehnt. Man muß deshalb festhalten, daß die Dinge in denjenigen Teilen der Seelenwelt, die außer der menschlichen Seele liegen, von den Seelenkräften in dieser ebenso verschieden sind wie die physischen Stoffe und Kräfte der körperlichen Außenwelt von den Teilen, die den physischen Menschenleib zusammensetzen. (Trieb, Wunsch, Verlangen sind Bezeichnungen für das Stoffliche der Seelenwelt. Dieses Stoffliche sei mit «astral» bezeichnet. Nimmt man mehr Rücksicht auf die Kräfte der Seelenwelt, so kann man von «Begierdewesenheit» sprechen. Doch darf man nicht vergessen, daß hier die Unterscheidung von «Stoff» und «Kraft» keine so strenge sein kann wie in der physischen Welt. Ein Trieb kann ebensogut «Kraft» wie «Stoff» genannt werden.)
[ 8 ] Wer zum erstenmal einen Einblick in die seelische Welt erhält, für den wirken die Unterschiede, die sie von der physischen aufweist, verwirrend. Doch das ist ja auch beim Erschließen eines vorher untätigen physischen Sinnes der Fall. Der operierte Blindgeborene muß sich auch erst orientieren lernen in der Welt, die er vorher durch den Tastsinn gekannt hat. Ein solcher sieht zum Beispiel die Gegenstände zuerst in seinem Auge; dann erblickt er sie außer sich, doch erscheinen sie ihm zunächst so, wie wenn sie auf einer Fläche aufgemalt wären. Erst allmählich erfaßt er die Vertiefung, den räumlichen Abstand der Dinge und so weiter. — In der Seelenwelt gelten durchaus andere Gesetze als in der physischen. Nun sind ja allerdings viele seelische Gebilde an solche der andern Welten gebunden. Die Seele des Menschen zum Beispiel ist an den physischen Menschenleib und an den menschlichen Geist gebunden. Die Vorgänge, die man an ihr beobachten kann, sind also zugleich von der leiblichen und geistigen Welt beeinflußt. Darauf muß man bei der Beobachtung der Seelenwelt Rücksicht nehmen; und man darf nicht als seelische Gesetze ansprechen, was aus der Einwirkung einer andern Welt stammt. — Wenn zum Beispiel der Mensch einen Wunsch aussendet, so ist dieser von einem Gedanken, einer Vorstellung des Geistes getragen und folgt dessen Gesetzen. So wie man aber die Gesetze der physischen Welt feststellen kann, indem man von den Einflüssen absieht, die zum Beispiel der Mensch auf deren Vorgänge nimmt, so ist ein Ähnliches auch mit der seelischen Welt möglich.
[ 9 ] Ein wichtiger Unterschied der seelischen Vorgänge von den physischen kann dadurch ausgedrückt werden, daß man die Wechselwirkung bei den ersteren als eine viel innerlichere bezeichnet. Im physischen Raume herrscht zum Beispiel das Gesetz des «Stoßes». Wenn eine bewegte Elfenbeinkugel auf eine ruhende aufstößt, so bewegt sich die letztere weiter in einer Richtung, die sich aus der Bewegung und Elastizität der ersteren berechnen läßt. Im Seelenraume hängt die Wechselwirkung zweier Gebilde, die einander treffen, von ihren inneren Eigenschaften ab. Sie durchdringen sich gegenseitig, verwachsen gleichsam miteinander, wenn sie miteinander verwandt sind. Sie stoßen sich ab, wenn ihre Wesenheiten sich widerstreiten. –Im körperlichen Raume gibt es zum Beispiel für das Sehen bestimmte Gesetze. — Man sieht entfernte Gegenstände in perspektivischer Verkleinerung. Wenn man in eine Allee hineinsieht, so scheinen — nach den Gesetzen der Perspektive — die entfernteren Bäume in kleineren Abständen voneinander zu stehen als die nahen. Im Seelenraume erscheint dem Schauenden dagegen alles, das Nahe und das Entfernte, in den Abständen, die es durch seine innere Natur hat. Durch solches ist natürlich ein Quell der mannigfaltigsten Irrungen für denjenigen gegeben, der den Seelenraum betritt und da mit den Regeln zurechtkommen will, die er von der physischen Welt her mitbringt.
[ 10 ] Es gehört zu dem ersten, was man sich für die Orientierung in der seelischen Welt aneignen muß, daß man die verschiedenen Arten ihrer Gebilde in ähnlicher Weise unterscheidet, wie man in der physischen Welt feste, flüssige und luft- oder gasförmige Körper unterscheidet. Um dazu zu kommen, muß man die beiden Grundkräfte kennen, die hier vor allem wichtig sind. Man kann sie Sympathie und Antipathie nennen. Wie diese Grundkräfte in einem seelischen Gebilde wirken, danach bestimmt sich dessen Art. Als Sympathie muß die Kraft bezeichnet werden, mit der ein Seelengebilde andere anzieht, sich mit ihnen zu verschmelzen sucht, seine Verwandtschaft mit ihnen geltend macht. Antipathie ist dagegen die Kraft, mit der sich Seelengebilde abstoßen, ausschließen, mit der sie ihre Eigenheit behaupten. In welchem Maße diese Grundkräfte in einem Seelengebilde vorhanden sind, davon hängt es ab, welche Rolle dieses in der seelische~Welt spielt. Drei Arten von Seelengebilden hat man zunächst zu unterscheiden, je nach dem Wirken von Sympathie und Antipathie in ihnen. Und diese Arten sind dadurch voneinander verschieden, daß Sympathie und Antipathie in ihnen in ganz bestimmten gegenseitigen Verhältnissen stehen. In allen dreien sind beide Grundkräfte vorhanden. Man nehme zunächst ein Gebilde der ersten Art. Es zieht andere Gebilde seiner Umgebung vermöge der in ihm waltenden Sympathie an. Aber außer dieser Sympathie ist in ihm zugleich Antipathie vorhanden, durch die es in seiner Umgebung Befindliches von sich zurückstößt. Nach außen hin wird ein solches Gebilde so erscheinen, als wenn es nur mit Kräften der Antipathie ausgestattet wäre. Das ist aber nicht der Fall. Es ist Sympathie und Antipathie in ihm. Nur ist die letztere überwiegend. Sie hat über die erstere die Oberhand. Solche Gebilde spielen eine eigensüchtige Rolle im Seelenraum. Sie stoßen vieles um sich her ab und ziehen nur weniges liebevoll an sich heran. Daher bewegen sie sich als unveränderliche Formen durch den Seelenraum. Durch die Kraft der Sympathie, die in ihnen ist, erscheinen sie als gierig. Die Gier erscheint aber zugleich unersättlich, wie wenn sie nicht zu befriedigen wäre, weil die vorwaltende Antipathie so vieles Entgegenkommende abstößt, daß keine Befriedigung eintreten kann. Will man die Seelengebilde dieser Art mit etwas in der physischen Welt vergleichen, so kann man sagen: sie entsprechen den festen physischen Körpern. Begierdenglut soll diese Region der seelischen Stofflichkeit genannt werden. — Das, was von dieser Begierdenglut den Seelen der Tiere und Menschen beigemischt ist, bestimmt dasjenige in ihnen, was man die niederen sinnlichen Triebe nennt, ihre vorwaltenden selbstsüchtigen Instinkte. — Die zweite Art der Seelengebilde ist diejenige, bei denen sich die beiden Grundkräfte das Gleichgewicht halten, bei denen also Sympathie und Antipathie in gleicher Stärke wirken. Diese treten anderen Gebilden mit einer gewissen Neutralität gegenüber; sie wirken als verwandt auf sie, ohne sie besonders anzuziehen und abzustoßen. Sie ziehen gleichsam keirie feste Grenze zwischen sich und der Umwelt. Fortwährend lassen sie andere Gebilde in der Umgebung auf sich einwirken; man kann sie deshalb mit den flüssigen Stoffen der physischen Welt vergleichen. Und in der Art, wie solche Gebilde anderes an sich heranziehen, liegt nichts von Gier. Die Wirkung, die hier gemeint ist, liegt zum Beispiel vor, wenn die Menschenseele eine Farbe empfindet. Wenn ich die Empfindung der roten Farbe habe, dann empfange ich zunächst einen neutralen Reiz aus meiner Umgebung. Erst wenn zu diesem Reiz das Wohlgefallen an der roten Farbe hinzutritt, dann kommt eine andere Seelenwirkung in Betracht. Das, was den neutralen Reiz bewirkt, sind Seelengebilde, die in solchem Wechselverhältnisse stehen, daß Sympathie und Antipathie einander das Gleichgewicht halten. Man wird die Seelenstofflichkeit, die hier in Betracht kommt, als eine vollkommen bildsame, fließende bezeichnen müssen. Nicht eigensüchtig wie die erste bewegt sie sich durch den Seelenraum, sondern so, daß ihr Dasein überall Eindrücke empfängt, daß sie sich mit vielem verwandt erweist, das ihr begegnet. Ein Ausdruck, der für sie anwendbar ist, dürfte sein: fließende Reizbarkeit. — Die dritte Stufe der Seelengebilde ist diejenige, bei welcher die Sympathie die Oberhand über die Antipathie hat. Die Antipathie bewirkt das eigensüchtige Sichgeltendmachen; dieses tritt aber zurück hinter der Hinneigung zu den Dingen der Umgebung. Man denke sich ein solches Gebilde innerhalb des Seelenraumes. Es erscheint als der Mittelpunkt einer anziehenden Sphäre, die sich über die Gegenstände der Umwelt erstreckt. Solche Gebilde muß man im besonderen als Wunsch-Stofflichkeit bezeichnen. Diese Bezeichnung erscheint deshalb als die richtige, weil durch die bestehende, nur gegenüber der Sympathie schwächere, Antipathie die Anziehung doch so wirkt, daß die angezogenen Gegenstände in den eigenen Bereich des Gebildes gebracht yverden sollen. Die Sympathie erhält dadurch einen eigensüchtigen Grundton. Diese Wunsch-Stofflichkeit darf mit den gas- oder luftförmigen Körpern der physischen Welt verglichen werden. Wie ein Gas sich nach allen Seiten auszudehnen bemüht ist, so breitet sich die Wunsch-Stofflichkeit nach allen Richtungen aus.
[ 11 ] Höhere Stufen von Seelen-Stofflichkeit kennzeichnen sich dadurch, daß bei ihnen die eine Grundkraft völlig zurücktritt, nämlich die Antipathie, und nur die Sympathie sich als das eigentlich Wirksame erweist. Nun kann sich diese zunächst innerhalb der Teile des Seelengebildes selbst geltend machen. Diese Teile wirken gegenseitig aufeinander anziehend. Die Kraft der Sympathie im Innern eines Seelengebildes kommt in dem zum Ausdrucke, was man Lust nennt. Und jede Herabminderung dieser Sympathie ist Unlust. Die Unlust ist nur eine verminderte Lust, wie die Kälte nur eine verminderte Wärme ist. Lust und Unlust ist dasjenige, was im Menschen als die Welt der Gefühle – im engeren Sinne — lebt. Das Fühlen ist das Weben des Seelischen in sich selbst. Von der Art, wie die Gefühle der Lust und Unlust in dem Seelischen weben, hängt das ab, was man dessen Behagen nennt.
[ 12 ] Eine noch höhere Stufe nehmen diejenigen Seelengebilde ein, deren Sympathie nicht im Bereich des Eigenlebens beschlossen bleibt. Von den drei niederen Stufen unterscheiden sich diese, wie ja auch schon die vierte, dadurch, daß bei ihnen die Kraft der Sympathie keine ihr entgegenstrebende Antipathie zu überwinden hat. Durch diese höheren Arten der Seelen-Stofflichkeit schließt sich erst die Mannigfaltigkeit der Seelengebilde zu einer gemeinsamen Seelenwelt zusammen. Sofern die Antipathie in Betracht kommt, strebt das Seelengebilde nach etwas anderem um seines Eigenlebens willen, um sich selbst durch das andere zu verstärken und zu bereichern. Wo die Antipathie schweigt, da wird das andere als Offenbarung, als Kundgebung hingenommen. Eine ähnliche Rolle wie das Licht im physischen Raume spielt diese höhere Form von Seelen-Stofflichkeit im Seelenraum. Sie bewirkt, daß ein Seelengebilde das Dasein und Wesen der andern um deren selbst willen gleichsam einsaugt, oder man könnte auch sagen, sich von ihnen bestrahlen läßt. Dadurch, daß die Seelenwesen aus diesen höheren Regionen schöpfen, werden sie erst zum wahren Seelenleben erweckt. Ihr dumpfes Leben im Finstern schließt sich nach außen auf, leuchtet und strahlt selbst in den Seelenraum hin; das träge, dumpfe Weben im Innern, das sich durch die Antipathie abschließen will, wenn nur die Stoffe der unteren Regionen vorhanden sind, wird Kraft und Regsamkeit, die vom Innern ausgeht und sich nach außen strömend ergießt. Die fließende Reizbarkeit der zweiten Region wirkt nur beim Zusammentreffen der Gebilde.
[ 13 ] Dann strömt allerdings eins in das andere über. Aber Berührung ist hier notwendig. In den höheren Regionen herrscht freies Hinstrahlen, Ergießen. (Mit Recht bezeichnet man das Wesen dieses Gebietes als ein «Hinstrahlen», denn die Sympathie, welche entwickelt wird, wirkt so, daß man als Sinnbild dafür den Ausdruck gebrauchen kann, der von der Wirkung des Lichtes genommen ist.) Wie eine Pflanze im Keller verkümmert, so die Seelengebilde ohne die sie belebenden Seelen-Stoffe der höheren Regionen. Seelenlicht, tätige Seelenkralt und das eigentliche Seelenleben im engeren Sinne gehören diesen Regionen an und teilen sich von hier aus den Seelenwesen mit.
[ 14 ] Drei untere und drei obere Regionen der Seelenwelt hat man also zu unterscheiden; und beide sind vermittelt durch eine vierte, so daß sich folgende Einteilung der Seelenwelt ergibt:
- Region der Begierdenglut
- Region der fließenden Reizbarkeit
- Region der Wünsche
- Region von Lust und Unlust
- Region des Seelenlichtes
- Region der tätigen Seelenkraft
- Region des Seelenlebens
[ 15 ] Durch die ersten drei Regionen erhalten die Seelengebilde ihre Eigenschaften aus dem Verhältnisse von Antipathie und Sympathie; durch die vierte Region webt die Sympathie innerhalb der Seelengebilde selbst; durch die drei höchsten wird die Kraft der Sympathie immer freier und freier; leuchtend und belebend durchwehen die Seelenstoffe dieser Region den Seelenraum, aufweckend, was sich sonst durch sich selbst im Eigendasein verlieren müßte.
[ 16 ] Es sollte eigentlich überflüssig sein, doch wird, der Klarheit willen, hier doch betont, daß diese sieben Abteilungen der Seelenwelt nicht etwa voneinander getrennte Gebiete darstellen. So wie Festes, Flüssiges und Gasförmiges sich im Physischen durchdringen, so durchdringen sich Begierdenglut, fließende Reizbarkeit und die Kräfte der Wunschwelt im Seelischen. Und wie im Physischen die Wärme die Körper durchdringt, das Licht sie bestrahlt, so ist es im Seelischen mit Lust und Unlust und mit dem Seelenlicht der Fall. Und ein Ähnliches findet statt für die tätige Seelenkraft und das eigentliche Seelenleben.
I. The world of the soul
[ 1 ] The observation of man has shown that he belongs to three worlds. From the world of physical corporeality are taken the substances and forces that build up his body. He has knowledge of this world through the perceptions of his outer physical senses. He who trusts only these senses and only develops their ability to perceive cannot obtain any information about the other two worlds, the soul and spiritual. - Whether a person can convince himself of the reality of a thing or being depends on whether he has an organ of perception, a sense, for it. - Of course, it can easily lead to misunderstandings if one calls the higher organs of perception spiritual senses, as is done here. For when one speaks of "senses", one involuntarily associates this with the idea of the "physical". After all, the physical world is also referred to as the "sensual" as opposed to the "spiritual". In order to avoid misunderstanding, one must take into account that here the "higher senses" are only spoken of comparatively, in a figurative sense. Just as the physical senses perceive the physical, so the mental and spiritual senses perceive the mental and spiritual. The term "sense" is only used in the sense of "organ of perception". Man would have no knowledge of light and color if he did not have an eye that perceives light; he would know nothing of sounds if he did not have an ear that perceives sound. In this respect, the German philosopher Lotze rightly says: "Without an eye that perceives light and without an ear that perceives sound, the whole world would be dark and mute. There would be as little light or sound in it as a toothache would be possible without a nerve of the tooth that feels the pain." - In order to see what has been said here in the right light, one need only consider how completely differently the world must reveal itself to the lower creatures, which have only a kind of sense of touch or feeling spread over the entire surface of their bodies. Light, color and sound cannot be present for them in the same sense as for beings gifted with eyes and ears. The air vibrations caused by a shotgun blast may also have an effect on them when they are hit by them. An ear is necessary for these air vibrations to reveal themselves to the soul as a bang. And for certain processes in the fine substance called ether to reveal themselves as light and color, an eye is necessary. - Man only knows something of a being or thing by receiving an effect of it through one of his organs. This relationship of man to the world of the real is aptly expressed in the following statement by Goethe: "Actually, we undertake to express the essence of a thing in vain. We become aware of effects, and a complete history of these effects would at best encompass the essence of that thing. It is in vain that we endeavor to describe the character of a man; but put together his actions, his deeds, and a picture of character will present itself to us. The colors are deeds of light, deeds and suffering . . . Colors and light are indeed in the most exact relation to each other, but we must think of both as belonging to the whole of nature; for it is the whole of nature that wants thereby to reveal itself especially to the sense of the eye. In the same way the whole of nature reveals itself to another sense. . . Thus nature speaks downwards to other senses, to known, unknown, unknown senses; thus it speaks to itself and to us through a thousand phenomena. To the attentive it is nowhere dead nor mute." It would be incorrect to interpret this statement by Goethe in such a way as to deny the recognizability of the being of things. Goethe does not mean: one only perceives the effect of the thing and the essence is hidden behind it. Rather, he means that one should not speak of such a "hidden essence" at all. The essence is not behind its revelation; rather, it comes to light through the revelation. But this essence is often so rich that it can reveal itself to other senses in still other forms. What is revealed belongs to the essence, only it is not the whole essence because of the limitations of the senses. This Goethean view is also definitely the one meant here in terms of the humanities.
[ 2 ] Just as the eye and ear develop in the body as organs of perception, as senses for bodily processes, so man is able to develop in himself soul and spiritual organs of perception through which the soul and spiritual world are opened up to him. For those who do not have such higher senses, these worlds are "dark and mute", just as the physical world is "dark and mute" for a being without ears and eyes. However, man's relationship to these higher senses is somewhat different from his relationship to the physical senses. As a rule, benevolent Mother Nature ensures that the latter are fully developed in him. They come about through no fault of his own. He must work on the development of his higher senses himself. He must train soul and spirit if he wants to perceive the world of soul and spirit, just as nature has trained his body, so that he can perceive his physical environment and orient himself in it. Such a development of higher organs, which nature itself has not yet developed, is not unnatural; for in a higher sense everything that man accomplishes also belongs to nature. Only he who would maintain that man must remain at the stage of development at which he is released from the hand of nature - only he could call the development of higher senses unnatural. He "misjudges" the significance of these organs in the sense of Goethe's statement. But such a person should also fight against all human education, for it too continues the work of nature. And in particular he should oppose the operation on the blind. For he who awakens in himself his higher senses in the way described in the last part of this book will fare in much the same way as the blind-born who has undergone surgery. The world appears to him with new qualities, with processes and facts of which the physical senses reveal nothing. It is clear to him that through these higher organs he adds nothing arbitrarily to reality, but that without them the essential part of this reality would have remained hidden to him. The soul and spirit world are nothing beside or outside the physical, they are not spatially separated from it. Just as the previous dark world shines in light and color for the blind-born person who has undergone surgery, so things that previously only appeared to him physically reveal their soul and spiritual qualities to the soul and spiritually awakened. However, this world is also still filled with processes and beings that remain completely unknown to those who are not mentally and spiritually awakened. - (Later in this book, the development of the soul and spiritual senses will be discussed in more detail. These higher worlds themselves are first described here. Whoever denies these worlds says nothing other than that he has not yet developed his higher organs. The development of mankind is not completed at any stage; it must always continue.
[ 3 ] One often involuntarily imagines the "higher organs" to be too similar to the physical ones. However, one should realize that one is dealing with spiritual or mental entities in these organs. One should therefore not expect that what one perceives in the higher worlds is only a nebulously diluted materiality. As long as one expects such a thing, one will not be able to arrive at a clear idea of what is actually meant here by "higher worlds". For many people it would not be as difficult as it really is to know something of these "higher worlds" - at first, however, only the elementary - if they did not imagine that it must be something refined physical that they are supposed to perceive. Since they presuppose such a thing, they generally do not want to recognize what it really is. They find it unreal, do not accept it as something that satisfies them, and so on. Certainly, the higher stages of spiritual development are difficult to access; but the one that is sufficient to recognize the essence of the spiritual world - and that is already a great deal - would not be so difficult to reach if one first wanted to free oneself from the prejudice that consists in imagining the soul and the spiritual as a finer physical thing.
[ 4 ] Just as we do not fully know a person if we only have an idea of his physical appearance, we also do not know the world that surrounds us if we only know what the physical senses reveal to us. And just as a photograph becomes understandable and full of life when we get so close to the person photographed that we learn to recognize his soul, so we can only really understand the physical world when we get to know its soul and spiritual basis. It is therefore advisable to speak here first of the higher worlds, of the soul and the spirit, and only then to assess the physical world from the point of view of spiritual science.
[ 5 ] To speak of the higher worlds in the present cultural epoch presents certain difficulties. For this cultural epoch is above all great in its knowledge and mastery of the physical world. Our words have initially received their coinage and meaning in relation to this physical world. But we must use these common words in order to build on what we know. This opens the door to misunderstanding for those who only want to trust their outer senses. - Many things can initially only be expressed and hinted at in parables. But it must be so, for such parables are a means by which man is first referred to these higher worlds and by which his own elevation to them is promoted. (This elevation will be discussed in a later chapter, in which reference will be made to the development of the mental and spiritual organs of perception. First, man should take cognizance of the higher worlds through parables. Then he can think of gaining an insight into them himself.)
[ 6 ] Just as the substances and forces that compose and control our stomach, our heart, our lungs, our brain and so on originate from the physical world, so our spiritual qualities, our drives, desires, feelings, passions, wishes, sensations and so on originate from the spiritual world. Man's soul is a part of this spiritual world, just as his body is a part of the physical world. If we first want to indicate a difference between the physical world and the spiritual world, we can say that the latter is much finer, more flexible and more vivid in all its things and essences than the former. But one must remain clear about the fact that one enters a completely new world compared to the physical world when one enters the spiritual world. Therefore, if one speaks of coarser and finer in this respect, one must remain aware that one is comparatively suggesting what is fundamentally different. So it is with everything that is said about the world of the soul in words borrowed from physical corporeality. If one takes this into account, then one can say that the formations and beings of the soul world consist of soul substances and are also directed by soul forces, as is the case in the physical world with physical substances and forces.
[ 7 ] As spatial expansion and spatial movement are peculiar to physical entities, so is irritability and instinctive desire peculiar to spiritual things and entities. The world of the soul is therefore also called the world of desires or wishes or the world of "desire". These expressions are borrowed from the human soul world. It must therefore be noted that the things in those parts of the soul world which lie outside the human soul are as different from the soul forces within it as the physical substances and forces of the physical outer world are from the parts which make up the physical human body. (Drive, wish, desire are designations for the material of the soul world. This material is referred to as "astral". If one takes more account of the forces of the soul world, one can speak of "desire entity". But we must not forget that the distinction between "substance" and "force" cannot be as strict as in the physical world. An urge can just as easily be called "force" as "substance")
[ 8 ] For those gaining an insight into the spiritual world for the first time, the differences between it and the physical world are confusing. But this is also the case when opening up a previously inactive physical sense. A blind person who has undergone surgery must first learn to orient himself in the world that he previously knew through his sense of touch. Such a person, for example, first sees objects in his eye; then he sees them outside himself, but at first they appear to him as if they were painted on a surface. Only gradually does he grasp the deepening, the spatial distance of the objects and so on. - Different laws apply in the world of the soul than in the physical world. However, many spiritual entities are bound to those of the other worlds. The human soul, for example, is bound to the physical human body and to the human spirit. The processes that can be observed in it are therefore influenced by both the physical and the spiritual world. This must be taken into consideration when observing the world of the soul; and one must not address as spiritual laws what originates from the influence of another world. - For example, when a person sends out a wish, it is based on a thought, an idea of the spirit and follows its laws. But just as one can determine the laws of the physical world by disregarding the influences that, for example, man has on its processes, a similar thing is also possible with the spiritual world.
[ 9 ] An important difference between mental processes and physical processes can be expressed by describing the interaction in the former as much more internal. In physical space, for example, the law of "impact" prevails. If a moving ivory ball collides with a stationary one, the latter continues to move in a direction that can be calculated from the movement and elasticity of the former. In soul space, the interaction between two objects that meet depends on their inner properties. They permeate each other, grow together, as it were, if they are related to each other. They repel each other when their essences conflict. -In physical space, for example, there are certain laws governing vision. - One sees distant objects in perspective reduction. If one looks into an avenue, then - according to the laws of perspective - the more distant trees seem to stand at smaller distances from each other than the nearer ones. In the space of the soul, on the other hand, everything, near and far, appears to the observer at the distances that it has by its inner nature. This is naturally a source of the most diverse confusions for those who enter the soul space and want to cope with the rules that they bring with them from the physical world.
[ 10 ] One of the first things one must learn in order to orient oneself in the spiritual world is to distinguish between the different types of its entities in the same way as one distinguishes between solid, liquid and aeriform or gaseous bodies in the physical world. In order to do this, one must know the two fundamental forces that are most important here. They can be called sympathy and antipathy. How these basic forces work in a mental entity determines its nature. Sympathy is the force with which a soul entity attracts others, seeks to merge with them, asserts its kinship with them. Antipathy, on the other hand, is the force with which soul entities repel and exclude each other, with which they assert their individuality. The extent to which these basic forces are present in a soul structure depends on the role it plays in the soul world. Three types of soul formations must first be distinguished, depending on the effect of sympathy and antipathy in them. And these types differ from each other in that sympathy and antipathy are in very specific mutual relationships in them. In all three both basic forces are present. First take an entity of the first kind. It attracts other entities in its environment by virtue of the sympathy that exists within it. But apart from this sympathy, antipathy is also present in it, through which it repels what is in its environment. To the outside world, such an entity will appear as if it were only endowed with forces of antipathy. But this is not the case. There is sympathy and antipathy within it. Only the latter is predominant. It has the upper hand over the former. Such entities play a selfish role in the soul space. They repel much around them and lovingly draw only a few things towards them. This is why they move through the soul space as unchanging forms. Through the power of sympathy that is in them, they appear as greedy, but at the same time the greed appears insatiable, as if it could not be satisfied, because the prevailing antipathy repels so much that is accommodating that no satisfaction can occur. If one wants to compare the soul formations of this kind with something in the physical world, one can say: they correspond to solid physical bodies. This region of the soul's materiality should be called glow of desire. - That which is mixed into the souls of animals and men from this ardor of desire determines that in them which is called the lower sensual drives, their predominant selfish instincts. - The second type of soul formations is that in which the two basic forces maintain a balance, i.e. in which sympathy and antipathy act with equal strength. These approach other entities with a certain neutrality; they act on them as relatives without particularly attracting or repelling them. They do not, as it were, draw a firm boundary between themselves and their environment. They constantly allow other entities in their surroundings to have an effect on them; they can therefore be compared to the liquid substances of the physical world. And there is nothing of greed in the way such entities attract others to themselves. The effect that is meant here occurs, for example, when the human soul perceives a color. If I have the sensation of the red color, then I first receive a neutral stimulus from my surroundings. Only when the pleasure of the red color is added to this stimulus does another soul effect come into consideration. What causes the neutral stimulus are soul formations that are in such a reciprocal relationship that sympathy and antipathy balance each other out. The soul-materiality under consideration here must be described as a completely pictorial, flowing one. It does not move through the soul-space selfishly like the first, but in such a way that its existence receives impressions everywhere, that it proves to be related to much that it encounters. An expression that can be applied to it is probably: flowing irritability. - The third stage of the soul formations is that in which sympathy has the upper hand over antipathy. Antipathy brings about selfish self-interest, but this takes a back seat to the inclination towards the things around us. Imagine such an entity within the space of the soul. It appears as the center of an attractive sphere that extends over the objects of the environment. Such formations must be described in particular as desire-materiality. This designation appears to be the correct one because through the existing antipathy, which is only weaker than sympathy, the attraction nevertheless acts in such a way that the attracted objects are to be brought into the entity's own sphere. Sympathy thus acquires a selfish undertone. This materiality of desire may be compared with the gaseous or aeriform bodies of the physical world. Just as a gas strives to expand in all directions, so the materiality of desire expands in all directions.
[ 11 ] Higher levels of soul-materiality are characterized by the fact that in them one basic force, namely antipathy, recedes completely and only sympathy proves to be the actual effective force. Now this can initially assert itself within the parts of the soul structure itself. These parts attract each other. The power of sympathy within a soul structure is expressed in what is called desire. And every diminution of this sympathy is unpleasure. Unpleasure is only a diminished pleasure, just as cold is only a diminished warmth. Pleasure and displeasure is that which lives in man as the world of feeling - in the narrower sense. Feeling is the weaving of the soul within itself. What we call its comfort depends on the way in which the feelings of pleasure and displeasure weave in the soul.
[ 12 ] A still higher level is occupied by those soul formations whose sympathy does not remain resolved in the realm of self-life. These differ from the three lower levels, as does the fourth, in that the power of sympathy has no antipathy to overcome. Only through these higher kinds of soul-materiality does the diversity of soul-formations coalesce into a common soul-world. Insofar as antipathy comes into consideration, the soul entity strives for something else for the sake of its own life, in order to strengthen and enrich itself through the other. Where antipathy is silent, the other is accepted as a revelation, as a manifestation. This higher form of soul-materiality plays a similar role to that of light in physical space. It causes a soul entity to absorb the existence and essence of the others for their own sake, as it were, or one could also say to allow itself to be irradiated by them. By drawing from these higher regions, the soul beings are first awakened to true soul life. Their dull life in darkness opens up to the outside, shines and radiates itself into the soul space; the sluggish, dull weaving within, which wants to close itself off through antipathy when only the substances of the lower regions are present, becomes strength and activity that emanates from within and pours outwards. The flowing irritability of the second region only works when the formations meet.
[ 13 ] Then, however, one flows into the other. But touch is necessary here. In the higher regions there is free radiation, outpouring. (The nature of this region is rightly described as a "radiance", for the sympathy that is developed works in such a way that one can use the expression taken from the effect of light as a symbol for it). As a plant withers in the cellar, so do the soul-formations without the soul-substances of the higher regions which animate them. Soul light, active soul force and the actual soul life in the narrower sense belong to these regions and communicate from here to the soul beings.
[ 14 ] There are thus three lower and three upper regions of the soul world to be distinguished; and both are mediated by a fourth, so that the following division of the soul world results:
- Region of the ardor of desire
- Region of flowing irritability
- Region of desires
- Region of pleasure and displeasure
- Region of the light of the soul
- Region of the active soul power
- Region of the life of the soul
[ 15 ] Through the first three regions, the soul formations receive their qualities from the relationship between antipathy and sympathy; through the fourth region, sympathy weaves within the soul formations themselves; through the three highest, the power of sympathy becomes ever freer and freer; luminous and enlivening, the soul substances of this region waft through the soul space, awakening what would otherwise have to lose itself through itself in its own existence.
[ 16 ] It should actually be superfluous, but for the sake of clarity it is emphasized here that these seven divisions of the soul world do not represent separate areas. Just as solid, liquid and gaseous interpenetrate in the physical, so do the ardor of desire, flowing irritability and the forces of the desire world interpenetrate in the spiritual. And just as warmth permeates the bodies in the physical and light irradiates them, so it is the case in the soul with desire and displeasure and with the light of the soul. And something similar takes place for the active soul power and the actual life of the soul.