Theosophy
GA 9
III-4. The Spirit in the Spiritland After Death
[ 1 ] When the human spirit on its way between two incarnations has passed through the “World of Souls” it enters the “Land of Spirits” to remain there until it is ripe for a new bodily existence. We can only understand the meaning of this sojourn in “Spiritland” if we are able to interpret in the right way the aim and end of the pilgrimage of man during his incarnations. While man is incarnated in the physical body he works and creates in the physical world. And he works and creates in it as a spiritual being. He imprints on the physical forms, on the corporeal materials and forces, what his spirit thinks out and elaborates. He has therefore as a messenger of the spiritual world to embody the spirit in the corporeal world. Only by being incarnated can a man work in the corporeal world. He must take on the physical body as his instrument, that through the body he can work upon the other bodies around and they can work upon him. But what works through this physical corporality of man is the spirit. From this flow the purposes, the directions its work is to take in the physical world. Now as long as the spirit works in the physical body it cannot as spirit five in its true form. It can only shine through the veil of the physical existence. For as a matter of fact the thought-life of man really belongs to the spiritual world; and as it appears in the physical existence its true form is veiled. One can also say that the thought-life of the physical man is a shadow, a reflection of the activity of the true, spiritual being to whom it belongs. Thus, during physical life the spirit working through the physical body interacts with the earthly corporeal world. Now although it is in working on the physical corporeal world that one of the tasks of the spirit of man lies as long as he is proceeding from incarnation to incarnation, yet this task could not be carried out as it ought to be, were the spirit to lead an embodied existence only. For the purposes and goals of the earthly task are just as little elaborated or gained within the earthly incarnation, as the plan of a house comes into existence on the site on which the labourers work. Just as this plan is worked out in the offices of the architect, so are the aims and purposes of earthly creative activities worked out and elaborated in the “Land of Spirits.” The spirit of man has always to live again in this realm between two incarnations in order, equipped with what he brings with him from there, to be able to tackle the work in the physical life. As the architect, without working with brick and mortar, designs the plan of the house in his workroom in accordance with architectural and other laws, so has the architect of human activity, the spirit or Higher Self, to develop in the “Spiritland” its capacities and aims in accordance with the laws of that land, in order then to bring them over into the physical world. Only if the human spirit sojourns over and over again in its own region, will it also be able to bring the spirit, by means of the physical corporeal instruments, into the earthly world.
On the physical scene of action man learns to know the qualities and forces of the physical world. During his creative activity he gathers experiences there regarding the demands made by the physical world on anyone wishing to work in it. He there learns to know the qualities of the matter in which he wishes to embody his thoughts and ideas. The thoughts and ideas themselves he cannot extract from matter. Thus the physical world is both the scene of his creating and of his learning. What has been learned is then transmuted, in the “Spiritland,” into living faculties of the spirit. The above comparison can be carried farther, in order to make the matter clearer. The architect designs the plan of a house. It is carried out. While this goes on he gains a number of the most varied experiences. All of these experiences enhance his capacities. When he works out his next plan, all these experiences flow into it. And this next plan, when compared with the first, is seen to be enriched with all that was learned through the first. It is the same with the successive human lives. In the intervals between the incarnations, the spirit lives in its own sphere. It can give itself up entirely to the requirements of the spirit-life; freed from the physical body, it develops in every direction, and works into this development the fruits of its experiences in former earthly lives. Thus its attention is always directed to the scene of its earthly tasks; thus it works continually at following the earth, in so far as that is its present field of action, through its necessary development. It works upon itself, so as to be able in each incarnation to carry out its service during that life in accordance with the then condition of the earth.
This is of course only a general outline of the course of successive human lives. The reality will never be quite the same but will only more or less correspond with it. Circumstances may bring it about that a subsequent life of a man is much less perfect than a previous one. But taken as a whole such irregularities equalise themselves within definite limits in the succession of lives.
[ 2 ] The development of the spirit in “Spiritland” takes place through the man throwing himself completely into the life of the different regions of this land. His own life as it were dissolves into each region successively; he takes on, for the time being, their characteristics. Through this they permeate his being with theirs, in order that his being may be able to work, strengthened by theirs, in his earthly life. In the first region of the “Spiritland,” man is surrounded by the spiritual archetypes of earthly things. During life on earth he learns to know only the shadows of these archetypes which he grasps in his thoughts. What is merely thought on the earth is in this region experienced, lived. Man moves among thoughts; but these thoughts are real beings. What he has perceived with his senses during life on earth works on him now in its thought-form. But the thought does not appear as the shadow which hides itself behind the things; it is on the contrary the life-filled reality producing the things. Man is, as it were, in the thought-workshop in which earthly things are formed and constructed. For in the “Land of Spirit” all is vital activity and mobility. Here, the thought-world is at work as a world of living beings, creative and formative. We see how what we have experienced during the earthly existence is shaped. Just as in the physical body we experience the things of the senses as reality, so now as spirit we experience the spiritual formative forces as real. Among the thought-beings to be found there, is also the thought of our own physical corporality. We feel separated from this. We feel only the spiritual being as belonging to ourselves. And when we perceive the discarded body as if in memory, no longer as physical but as thought-being, then its relation to the external world becomes a matter of direct perception. We learn to look at it as something belonging to the external world, as a member of this external world. Consequently we no longer separate our own corporality from the rest of the external world, as something more nearly related to ourselves. We feel the unity in the whole external world including our own bodily incarnations. Our own embodiments dissolve here into a unity with the rest of the world. Thus here we look upon the archetypes of the physical, corporeal reality as a unity, to which we have ourselves belonged. We learn therefore gradually to know our relationship, our unity, with the surrounding world by observation. We learn to say to it “That which is here spread out around thee, thou wert that.” And that is one of the fundamental thoughts of ancient Indian Vedanta wisdom. The “sage” acquires, even during his earthly life, what others experience after death, namely, ability to grasp the thought that he himself is related to all things, the thought, “Thou art that.” In earthly life this is an ideal to which the thought-life can be devoted; in the “Land of Spirit” it is an immediate reality, one which grows ever clearer to us through spiritual experience. And man himself comes to know more and more clearly in this realm that in his own inner being he belongs to the spirit-world. He is aware of himself as a spirit among spirits, a member of the Primordial Spirits, and he will feel in his own self the word of the Primordial Spirit: “I am the Primal Spirit.” (The Wisdom of the Vedanta says, “I am Brahman,” i.e., I belong to the Primordial Being, in Whom all beings have their origin.) We see that what is grasped during earthly life as a shadowy thought, towards which all wisdom strives, is, in the “Spiritland,” an immediate experience. Indeed, it is only thought during the earth-life because it is a fact in the spiritual existence.
[ 3 ] Thus during his spiritual existence man sees the relationships and facts in the midst of which he stands during his earthly life, from a high watch-tower, as if from outside. And during his life in the lowest region of “Spiritland,” he lives thus in respect of the earthly relationships immediately connected with the physical corporeal reality. On earth man is born into a family, a race: he lives in a certain country. His earthly existence is determined by all these relationships. He finds this or that friend because relationships in the physical world bring it about. He carries on this or that business. All this decides the conditions of his earthly life. All this now presents itself to him during his life in the first region of “Spiritland” as living thought-reality. He lives it all through again in a certain way. But he lives it through from the active spiritual side. The family love he has extended, the friendship he has offered, become alive from within, and his capacities in this direction are enhanced. That element in the spirit of man which works as the power of love of family and friend is strengthened. He enters again on his later earthly existence a more perfect man in these respects.
It is to a certain extent the everyday relationships of the earth-life which ripen as the fruitage of this lowest region of “Spiritland.” And that element in man, which in its interests is wholly absorbed by these everyday relationships will feel itself in affinity with this region for the greater part of the life between two incarnations. The people with whom we have lived in the physical world, we find again in the spiritual world. Just as everything falls away from the soul which was peculiarly its own through the physical body, so also does the bond that in physical life linked soul and soul, loosen itself from those conditions which have meaning and reality only in the physical world. Yet there is carried over beyond death—into the spiritual world—all that soul was to soul in the physical life. It is natural that words coined from physical conditions can only reproduce inaccurately what takes place in the spiritual world. But if this is taken into account, it must be described as quite correct when it is said: souls who belong together in physical life find each other again in the spiritual world so as to continue their lives together there.
The next region is that in which the common life of the earth-world flows as thought-being, as the fluid element, so to speak, of “Spiritland.” As long as we observe the world during physical embodiment, fife appears to be confined within separate living beings. In “Spiritland” it is loosed from them and, like life-blood, flows as it were through the whole realm. It is there the living unity that is present in everything. Of this also only a reflection appears to man during the earthly fife. And this reflection expresses itself in every form of reverence that man pays to the whole, to the unity and harmony of the universe. The religious life of man is derived from this reflection. Man becomes aware that the all-embracing meaning of existence does not fie in what is transitory and separate. He regards the transitory as a “semblance” a likeness of an eternal, of a harmonious unity. He looks up to this unity in reverence and worship. He offers up to it religious acts and rites. In “Spiritland” there appears, not the reflection, but the real form, as living thought-being. Here man can really unite with the unity that he has reverenced on earth. The fruits of the religious life and everything connected with it make their appearance in this region. Man now learns through spiritual experience to recognise that his individual fate is not to be separated from the community to which he belongs. The capacity to know oneself as a member of a whole, develops here. The religious feelings, everything that has already during life striven after a pure and noble morality, will draw strength from this region during a great part of the spiritual life between incarnations. And the man will reincarnate with enhanced capacities in this direction.
[ 4 ] Whereas in the first region we are together with those souls with whom we have been linked by the closest ties during the preceding physical life, in the second region we enter the domain of all those with whom we felt ourselves to be united in a wider sense: through a common reverence, through a common religious confession, and so on. It must be emphasised that the spiritual experiences of the preceding regions persist through the subsequent ones. Thus a man is not torn away from the ties knit by family, friendship and so on, when he enters upon the life of the second and following regions. Moreover the regions of the “Spiritland” do not he like “divisions” apart from each other; they interpenetrate each other, and man experiences himself in a new region not because he has outwardly “entered upon” it in any form whatever, but because he has attained in himself the inner capacities for perceiving that within which he previously lived without perceiving it.
[ 5 ] The third region of “Spiritland” contains the archetypes of the soul-world. All that lives in that world is present here as living thought-being. We find here the archetypes of desires, wishes, feelings, etc. But here, in the spirit-world, no element of self-seeking clings to the soul. Like all life in the second region, in this third region all longings, wishes, all likes and dislikes form a unity. The desire and wish of another are not separable from my desire and wish. The sensations and feelings of all beings are a common world enclosing and surrounding everything else, just as the physical atmosphere surrounds the earth. This region is, as it were, the atmosphere or air of the “Spiritland.” Everything that a person has carried out in his life on earth in the service of the community, in selfless devotion to his fellowmen, will bear fruit here. For through this service, through this self-giving, he has lived in a reflection of the third region of the “Spiritland.” The great benefactors of the human race, the self-sacrificing natures, those who render great services to communities, have acquired their capacity to render them in this region, after having prepared themselves for a special relationship with it during their previous earthly lives.
[ 6 ] It is evident that the three regions of “Spiritland” just described stand in a certain relation to the worlds below them, to the physical world and the soul-world. For they contain the archetypes, the living thought-beings that take corporeal and soul-existence in those worlds. Only the fourth region is the “pure Spiritland.” But even this region is not that in the fullest sense of the word. It differs from the three lower regions owing to the fact that in them we meet with the archetypes of those physical and soul-relations, which man finds existing in the physical world and soul-world, before he himself begins to take any part in them. The circumstances of everyday life are linked to the things and beings which man finds already present in the world; the transitory things of this world direct his gaze to their eternal, primal foundation: and man's fellow creatures also, to whom he selflessly devotes himself, do not owe their presence there to man. But it is through him that there are in the world all the creations of the arts and sciences, of technology, of the State, and so on; in short all that he has embodied in the world as original works of his spirit. Without his co-operation none of the physical reproductions of all these would be in the world. The archetypes of these purely human creations are in the fourth region of the “Spiritland.” What man develops during his earthly life in the way of scientific discoveries, of artistic ideas and forms, of technology, bears fruit in this fourth region. It is out of this region therefore that artists, scientists, great inventors, draw their impulses and enhance their genius during their sojourn in “Spiritland,” in order during another incarnation to be able to assist in fuller measure the further evolution of human culture. But we must not imagine that this fourth region of the “Spiritland” has importance only for particularly outstanding men. It has importance for all men. Everything that occupies man in his physical life outside the sphere of everyday living, wishing and willing, has its primal source in this region. If a man did not pass through it in the period between death and a new birth, then in his subsequent life he would have no interests leading out beyond the narrow circle of his personal life-conduct to what is common to all humanity.
It has been said above that even this region cannot be called the “pure Spiritland” in the full sense of the word. This is because the state in which men have left civilisation on earth continues to influence their spiritual existence. They can enjoy in “Spiritland” only the fruits of what it was possible for them to carry out in accordance with their gifts and the stage of development of the race, State, etc., into which they were born.
[ 7 ] In the still higher regions of the “Spiritland” the human spirit is now freed from every earthly fetter. It rises to the pure “Spiritland” in which it experiences the intentions, the aims, which the spirit set itself to accomplish by means of the earthly life. Everything that has already been achieved in the world brings into existence only a more or less feeble copy of the highest intentions and aims. Each crystal, each tree, each animal, and all that is being achieved in the domain of human creation—all these are merely reflections of what the spirit intends. And man, during his incarnations, can only form a connection with these imperfect reflections of the perfect intentions and aims. Thus during one of his incarnations he himself can only be a reflection of what, in the kingdom of the spirit, he is intended to be. What he, as spirit in “Spiritland,” really is, therefore, comes into view only when he rises in the interval between two incarnations, to the fifth region of “Spiritland.” What he is here is really he himself: the being who maintains an external existence in the numerous and varied incarnations. In this region the true Self of man can freely live. And this Self is therefore that which appears ever anew in each incarnation as the one Self. This Self brings with it the faculties which have developed in the lower regions of the “Spiritland.” Consequently, it bears the fruits of former lives over into those following. It is the bearer of the results of former incarnations.
[ 8 ] When the Self lives in the fifth region of the “Spiritland” it is in the realm of intentions and aims. As the architect learns from the imperfections which show themselves in his work, and as he brings into his new plans only what he was able to change from imperfections to perfections, so the Self, in the fifth region, casts off from its experiences in former lives whatever is bound up with the imperfections of the lower worlds, and fertilises the purposes of the “Spiritland”—purposes with which it now lives—with the results of its former lives. It is clear that the force which can be drawn from this region will depend upon how much the Self, during its incarnation, has acquired in the form of results fit to be received into the world of purposes. The Self that has sought to fulfil the purposes of the spirit during earthly life through an active thought-life or through wise love expressed in deeds, will establish a strong claim to be received into this region. The Self that has expended itself entirely on the events of the everyday life, that has lived only in the transitory, has sown no seeds that can play a part in the purposes of the eternal World Order. Only that small portion of its activities which extended beyond the interests of everyday life can unfold as fruitage in these higher regions of the “Spiritland.” But it must not be supposed that what chiefly comes into consideration here is “earthly fame” or anything akin to it. No: it is rather a question of bringing into consciousness the fact that in the very narrowest circles of life each single thing has its significance in the eternal progress of existence. [ 9 ] We must make ourselves familiar with the thought that in this region a man must judge otherwise than he can in physical life. For instance: if he has acquired little that is related to this fifth region, there arises in him the urge to instil into himself for the following life an impulse, which will cause that life so to run its course that in its destiny (Karma) the consequential effect of that deficiency shall come to light. That which then, in the following earth-life, appears as painful destiny from the point of view of that life—nay, is perhaps deeply bewailed as such—is the very thing the man in this region of the “Spiritland” finds absolutely necessary for himself. Since a man in the fifth region lives in his own true Self, he is lifted out of everything from the lower worlds that envelops him during his incarnations. He is what he ever was and ever will be during the course of his incarnations. He is at one with the purposes which prevail during these incarnations, and which he members into his own Self. He looks back on his own past, and feels that everything he has experienced in it will be brought into the purposes he has to bring to realisation in the future. A kind of remembrance of his earlier lives and prophetic vision of his future lives flash forth. We see therefore that what in this book is called “Spirit-self” fives, in this region, as far as it is developed, in the reality that is appropriate to itself. It develops still further and prepares itself to make possible in a new incarnation the fulfilment of the spiritual purposes in earthly reality.
[ 10 ] If this “Spirit-self” has evolved so far during a succession of sojourns in “Spiritland” that it can move about quite freely in this land, it will more and more seek its true home there. Life in the spirit will be as familiar to it as life in physical reality is to earthly man. The view-points of the spirit-world are from now on the dominating ones, which it makes its own more or less consciously or unconsciously for the succeeding earthly lives. The Self can feel itself to be a member of the divine World Order. The limitations and laws of the earthly life no longer affect the man in his innermost being. Power for everything he carries out comes to him from this spiritual world. But the spiritual world is a Unity. He who lives in it knows how the Eternal has worked creatively upon the past and from out of the Eternal he can determine the direction for the future.5See also under Addenda p. 105. The survey of the past widens into a perfect one. A man who has reached this stage sets before himself aims to be carried out in a coming incarnation. From out of the “Spiritland” he influences his future so that it runs its course in harmony with the True and the Spiritual. During the stage between two incarnations such a man finds himself in the presence of all those exalted Beings before whose gaze the Divine Wisdom lies outspread. For he has climbed to the stage at which he can understand them.
In the sixth region of the “Spiritland,” man will fulfil in all his doings that which is most in accord with the true being of the world. For he cannot seek for what profits himself, but only for what ought to happen according to the rightful course of the World Order.
The seventh region of the “Spiritland” leads to the boundary of the “three worlds.” The man stands here in the presence of the “Life-kernels,” which are transplanted from higher worlds into the three which have been described, in order that in them they may fulfil their tasks. Therefore when a man is at the boundary of the three worlds he recognises himself in his own life-kernel. This means that for him the problems of these three worlds have been solved. He has a complete survey of the life of these worlds. In physical life, the powers of the soul through which it has in the spiritual world the experiences here described, remain unconscious under ordinary circumstances. They work in their unconscious depths upon the bodily organs, which bring about the consciousness of the physical world. That is precisely the reason why these powers remain imperceptible to this world. The eye too does not see itself, because forces are at work in it which make other things visible. If we would judge as to how far a human life running its course between birth and death can be the result of preceding earthly lives, we must take into consideration the fact that a point of view which itself lies within this same life, and which we should naturally accept in the first instance, can yield no possibility of judgment. For such a point of view, for instance, an earth life might appear full of suffering, imperfect, and so on, while precisely in this form it would be seen, from a point of view lying outside this life, to be in its suffering, in its imperfection, the natural outcome of previous lives. By treading the path of knowledge, as this is described in the next chapter, the soul sets itself free from the conditions of bodily life. Thus it can perceive in a picture the experiences which it undergoes between death and a new birth. Perception of this kind makes it possible to describe what happens in the “Spiritland,” as has here been done in outline. Only when we keep in mind the fact that the whole disposition of the soul is different in the physical body from what it is in periods of purely spiritual experience, only then shall we rightly understand the description here given.
4. Der Geist im Geisterland nach dem Tode
[ 1 ] Wenn der Menschengeist auf seinem Wege zwischen zwei Verkörperungen die «Welt der Seelen» durchwandert hat, dann betritt er das «Land der Geister», um da zu verbleiben, bis er zu einem neuen leiblichen Dasein reif ist. Den Sinn dieses Aufenthaltes im «Geisterland» versteht man nur, wenn man die Aufgabe der Lebenspilgerfahrt des Menschen durch seine Verkörperung hindurch in der richtigen Art zu deuten weiß. Während der Mensch im physischen Leibe verkörpert ist, wirkt und schafft er in der physischen Welt. Und er wirkt und schafft in ihr als geistiges Wesen. Was sein Geist ersinnt und ausbildet, das prägt er den physischen Formen, den körperlichen Stoffen und Kräften ein. Er hat also als ein Bote der geistigen Welt den Geist der Körperwelt einzuverleiben. Nur dadurch, daß er sich verkörpert, kann der Mensch in der Körperwelt wirken. Er muß den physischen Leib als sein Werkzeug annehmen, damit er durch das Körperliche auf Körperliches wirken und damit Körperliches auf ihn wirken kann. Was aber durch diese physische Körperlichkeit des Menschen hindurchwirkt, das ist der Geist. Von diesem gehen die Absichten, die Richtungen aus für das Wirken in der physischen Welt. — Solange nun der Geist im physischen Leibe wirkt, kann er als Geist nicht in seiner wahren Gestalt leben. Er kann gleichsam nur durch den Schleier des physischen Daseins hindurchscheinen. Das menschliche Gedankenleben gehört nämlich in Wahrheit der geistigen Welt an; und so, wie es im physischen Dasein auftritt, ist seine wahre Gestalt verschleiert. Man kann auch sagen, das Gedankenleben des physischen Menschen sei ein Schattenbild, ein Abglanz der wahren geistigen Wesenheit, zu der es gehört. So tritt während des physischen Lebens der Geist auf der Grundlage des physischen Körpers mit der irdischen Körperwelt in Wechselwirkung. Wenn nun auch gerade in dem Wirken auf die physische Körperwelt eine der Aufgaben des Menschengeistes liegt, solange er von Verkörperung zu Verkörperung schreitet, so könnte er doch diese Aufgabe keineswegs entspre chend erfüllen, wenn er nur im leiblichen Dasein lebte. Denn die Absichten und Ziele der irdischen Aufgabe werden ebensowenig innerhalb der irdischen Verkörperung ausgebildet und gewonnen, wie der Plan eines Hauses auf dem Bauplatz zustande kommt, auf dem die Arbeiter wirken. Wie dieser Plan im Büro des Architekten ausgearbeitet wird, so werden die Ziele und Absichten des irdischen Schaffens «im Lande der Geister» ausgebildet. — Der Geist des Menschen muß in diesem Lande immer wieder zwischen zwei Verkörperungen leben, um, gerüstet mit dem, was er sich von da mitbringt, an die Arbeit in dem physischen Leben herantreten zu können. Wie der Architekt, ohne die Ziegel und den Mörtel zu bearbeiten, in seiner Arbeitsstube den Hausplan verfertigt nach Maßgabe der baukünstlerischen und anderer Gesetze, so muß der Architekt des menschlichen Schaffens, der Geist oder das höhere Selbst, im «Geisterland» die Fähigkeiten und Ziele nach den Gesetzen dieses Landes ausbilden, um sie dann in die irdische Welt überzuführen. Nur wenn der Menschengeist immer wieder und wieder in seinem eigenen Bereich sich aufhält, wird er auch durch die physisch-körperlichen Werkzeuge in die irdische Welt den Geist tragen können. – Auf dem physischen Schauplatz lernt der Mensch die Eigenschaften und Kräfte der physischen Welt kennen. Er sammelt da während des Schaffens die Erfahrungen darüber, was für Anforderungen die physische Welt an den stellt, der in ihr arbeiten will. Er lernt da gleichsam die Eigenschaften des Stoffes kennen, in dem er seine Gedanken und Ideen verkörpern will. Die Gedanken und Ideen selbst kann er nicht aus dem Stoff heraussaugen. So ist die irdische Welt zugleich der Schauplatz des Schaffens und des Lernens. Im «Geisterland» wird dann das Gelernte in lebendige Fähigkeit des Geistes umgebildet. Man kann den obigen Vergleich fortsetzen, um die Sache sich zu verdeutlichen. Der Architekt arbeitet den Plan eines Hauses aus. Dieser wird ausgeführt. Dabei macht er eine Summe der mannigfaltigsten Erfahrungen. Alle diese Erfahrungen steigern seine Fähigkeiten. Wenn er den nächsten Plan ausarbeitet, fließen alle diese Erfahrungen mit ein. Und dieser nächste Plan erscheint gegenüber dem ersten bereichert um alles das, was an dem vorigen gelernt worden ist. So ist es mit den aufeinanderfolgenden menschlichen Lebensläufen. In den Zwischenzeiten zwischen den Verkörperungen lebt der Geist in seinem eigenen Bereich. Er kann sich ganz den Anforderungen des Geisteslebens hingeben; er bildet sich~ befreit von der physischen Körperlichkeit, nach allen Seiten aus und arbeitet in diese seine Bildung die Früchte der Erfahrungen seiner früheren Lebensläufe hinein. So ist sein Blick immer auf den Schauplatz seiner irdischen Aufgaben gerichtet, so arbeitet er stets daran, die Erde, insofern diese der Platz seines Wirkens ist, durch die ihr notwendige Entwickelung hindurch zu verfolgen. Er arbeitet an sich, um bei jedesmaliger Verkörperung dem Zustande der Erde entsprechend seine Dienste im irdischen Wandel leisten zu können. — Dies ist allerdings nur ein allgemeines Bild von den aufeinanderfolgenden menschlichen Lebensläufen. Und die Wirklichkeit wird mit diesem Bilde niemals ganz, sondern nur mehr oder weniger übereinstimmen. Die Verhältnisse können es mit sich bringen, daß ein folgendes Leben eines Menschen viel unvollkommener ist als ein vorhergehendes. Allein im ganzen und großen gleichen sich in den aufeinanderfolgenden Lebensläufen solche Unregelmäßigkeiten innerhalb bestimmter Grenzen wieder aus.
[ 2 ] Die Bildung des Geistes im «Geisterland» geschieht dadurch, daß der Mensch sich in die verschiedenen Regionen dieses Landes einlebt. Sein eigenes Leben verschmilzt in entsprechender Aufeinanderfolge mit diesen Regionen; er nimmt vorübergehend ihre Eigenschaften an. Sie durchdringen dadurch sein Wesen mit ihrem Wesen, auf daß ersteres dann mit dem letzteren gestärkt im Irdischen wirken könne. — In der ersten Region des «Geisterlandes» ist der Mensch umgeben von den geistigen Urbildem der irdischen Dinge. Während des Erdenlebens lernt er ja nur die Schatten dieser Urbilder kennen, die er in seinen Gedanken erfaßt. Was auf der Erde bloß gedacht wird, das wird in dieser Region erlebt. Der Mensch wandelt unter Gedanken, aber diese Gedanken sind wirkliche Wesenheiten. Was er während des Erdenlebens mit seinen Sinnen wahrgenommen hat, das wirkt auf ihn jetzt in seiner Gedankenform. Aber der Gedanke erscheint nicht als der Schatten, der sich hinter den Dingen verbirgt, sondern er ist lebensvolle Wirklichkeit, welche die Dinge erzeugt. Der Mensch ist gleichsam in der Gedankenwerkstätte, in der die irdischen Dinge geformt und gebildet werden. Denn im «Lande des Geistes» ist alles lebensvolle Tätigkeit und Regsamkeit. Hier ist die Gedankenwelt am Werke als Welt lebendiger Wesen, schöpferisch und bildend. Man sieht da, wie das gebildet wird, was man im Erdendasein erlebt hat. Wie man im physischen Leibe die sinnlichen Dinge als Wirklichkeit erlebt, so erlebt man jetzt als Geist die geistigen Bildungskräfte als wirklich Unter den Gedankenwesen, die da vorhanden sind, ist auch der Gedanke der eigenen physischen Leiblichkeit. Dieser fühlt man sich entrückt. Nur die geistige Wesenheit empfindet man als zu sich gehörig. Und wenn man den abgelegten Leib, wie in der Erinnerung, nicht mehr als physisch, sondern als Gedankenwesen gewahr wird, dann tritt schon in der Anschauung seine Zugehörigkeit zur äußeren Welt hervor. Man lernt ihn als etwas zur Außenwelt Gehöriges betrachten, als ein Glied dieser Außenwelt. Man trennt folglich nicht mehr seine Leiblichkeit von der anderen Außenwelt als etwas dem eigenen Selbst näher Verwandtes ab. Man fühlt in der gesamten Außenwelt mit Einschluß der eigenen leiblichen Verkörperungen eine Einheit. Die eigenen Verkörperungen verschmelzen hier mit der übrigen Welt zur Einheit. So blickt man hier auf die Urbilder der physisch-körperlichen Wirklichkeit als auf eine Einheit, zu der man selbst gehört hat. Man lernt deshalb nach und nach seine Verwandtschaft, seine Einheit mit der Umwelt durch Beobachtung kennen. Man lernt zu ihr sagen: Das, was sich hier um dich ausbreitet, das warst du selbst. –Das aber ist einer der Grundgedanken der alten indischen Vedanta-Weisheit. Der «Weise» eignet sich schon während des Erdenlebens das an, was der andere nach dem Tode erlebt, nämlich den Gedanken zu fassen, daß er selbst mit allen Dingen verwandt ist, den Gedanken: «Das bist du.» Im irdischen Leben ist das ein Ideal, dem sich das Gedankenleben hingeben kann; im «Lande der Geister» ist es eine unmittelbare Tatsache, die uns durch die geistige Erfahrung immer klarer wird. –Und der Mensch selbst wird in diesem Lande sich immer mehr bewußt, daß er, seinem eigentlichen Wesen nach, der Geisterwelt angehört. Er nimmt sich als Geist unter Geistern, als ein Glied der Urgeister wahr, und er wird in sich selbst des Urgeistes Wort fühlen: «Ich bin der Urgeist.» (Die Weisheit des Vedanta sagt: «Ich bin Brahman», das heißt ich gehöre als ein Glied dem Urwesen an, aus dem alle Wesen stammen. ) — Man sieht: was im Erdenleben als schattenhafter Gedanke erfaßt wird und wohin alle Weisheit abzielt, das wird im «Geisterland» unmittelbar erlebt. Ja es wird während des Erdenlebens nur deswegen gedacht, weil es im geistigen Dasein eine Tatsache ist.
[ 3 ] So sieht der Mensch während seines geistigen Daseins die Verhältnisse und Tatsachen, in denen er während des Erdenlebens mitten drinnen steht, von einer höheren Warte aus, gleichsam von außen. Und in der untersten Region des «Geisterlandes» lebt er auf solche Art gegenüber den irdischen Verhältnissen, die unmittelbar mit der physischen körperlichen Wirklichkeit zusammenhängen. – Der Mensch ist auf der Erde in eine Familie, in ein Volk hineingeboren; er lebt in einem gewissen Lande. Durch alle diese Verhältnisse wird sein irdisches Dasein bestimmt. Er findet, weil es die Verhältnisse in der physischen Welt mit sich bringen, diesen oder jenen Freund. Er treibt diese oder jene Geschäfte. Alles das bestimmt seine irdischen Lebensverhältnisse. Alles das tritt ihm nun während seines Lebens in der ersten Region des «Geisterlandes» als lebendige Gedankenwesenheit entgegen. Er durchlebt das alles in einer gewissen Art noch einmal. Aber er durchlebt es von der tätig-geistigen Seite aus. Die Familienliebe, die er geübt hat, die Freundschaft, die er entgegengebracht hat, werden in ihm von innen aus lebendig, und seine Fähigkeiten werden in dieser Richtung gesteigert. Dasjenige im Menschengeist, was als Kraft der Familien-, der Freundesliebe wirkt, wird gestärkt. Er tritt in dieser Beziehung später als ein vollkommenerer Mensch wieder ins irdische Dasein. — Es sind gewissermaßen die alltäglichen Verhältnisse des Erdenlebens, die in dieser untersten Region des «Geisterlandes» als Früchte reifen. Und dasjenige im Menschen, das mit seinen Interessen ganz in diesen alltäglichen Verhältnissen aufgeht, wird den längsten Teil des geistigen Lebens zwischen zwei Verkörperungen mit dieser Region sich verwandt fühlen. — Die Menschen, mit welchen man in der physischen Welt zusammengelebt hat, findet man in der geistigen Welt wieder. Gleich wie von der Seele alles abfällt, was ihr durch den physischen Leib eigen war, so löst sich auch das Band, das im physischen Leben Seele und Seele verknüpft, von den Bedingungen los, welche nur in der physischen Welt Bedeutung und Wirksamkeit haben. Doch setzt sich über den Tod hinaus alles — in die geistige Welt hinein – fort, was im physischen Leben Seele der Seele war. Es ist naturgemäß, daß Worte, welche für physische Verhältnisse geprägt sind, nur ungenau wiedergeben können, was in der geistigen Welt vorgeht. Sofern aber dieses in Betracht gezogen wird, so darf es durchaus als richtig bezeichnet werden, wenn gesagt wird: die im physischen Leben zusammengehörigen Seelen finden sich in der geistigen Welt wieder, um ihr Zusammenleben da in entsprechender Weise fortzusetzen. — Die nächste Region ist diejenige, in welcher das gemeinsame Leben der irdischen Welt als Gedankenwesenheit, gleichsam als das flüssige Element des «Geisterlandes», strömt. Solange man in physischer Verkörperung die Welt beobachtet, erscheint das Leben an einzelne Lebewesen gebunden. Im «Geisterland» ist es davon losgelöst und durchfließt als Lebensblut gleichsam das ganze Land. Es ist da die lebendige Einheit, die in allem vorhanden ist. Während des irdischen Lebens erscheint dem Menschen auch davon nur ein Abglanz. Und dieser spricht sich in jeder Form von Verehrung aus, die der Mensch dem Ganzen, der Einheit und Harmonie der Welt, entgegenbringt. Das religiöse Leben der Menschen schreibt sich von diesem Abglanze her. Der Mensch wird gewahr, inwiefern nicht im Vergänglichen, im einzelnen, der umfassende Sinn des Daseins liegt. Er betrachtet dieses Vergängliche als ein «Gleichnis» und Abbild eines Ewigen, einer harmonischen Einheit. Er blickt in Verehrung und Anbetung zu dieser Einheit auf. Er bringt ihr religiöse Kultushandlungen dar. — Im «Geisterland» erscheint nicht der Abglanz, sondern die wirkliche Gestalt als lebendige Gedankenwesenheit. Hier kann sich der Mensch mit der Einheit, die er auf Erden verehrt hat, wirklich vereinigen. Die Früchte des religiösen Lebens und alles dessen, was damit zusammenhängt, treten in dieser Region hervor. Der Mensch lernt nun aus der geistigen Erfahrung erkennen, daß sein Einzelschicksal nicht getrennt werden soll von der Gemeinschaft, der er angehört. Die Fähigkeit, sich als Glied eines Ganzen zu erkennen, bildet sich hier aus. Die religiösen Empfindungen, alles, was schon im Leben nach einer reinen, edlen Moral gestrebt hat, wird während eines großen Teiles des geistigen Zwischenzustandes Kraft aus dieser Region schöpfen. Und der Mensch wird mit einer Erhöhung seiner Fähigkeiten nach dieser Richtung hin wiederverkörpert werden.
[ 4 ] Während man in der ersten Region mit den Seelen zusammen ist, mit denen man im vorangegangenen physischen Leben durch die nächsten Bande der physischen Welt zusammengehangen hat, tritt man in der zweiten Region in den Bereich aller derjenigen, mit denen man in einem weiteren Sinne sich eins fühlte: durch eine gemeinsame Verehrung, durch gemeinsames Bekenntnis und so weiter. Betont muß werden, daß die geistigen Erlebnisse der vorangegangenen Regionen während der folgenden bestehen bleiben. So wird der Mensch nicht etwa den durch Familie, Freundschaft und so weiter geknüpften Banden entrissen, wenn er in das Leben der zweiten und der folgenden Regionen eintritt. — Auch liegen die Regionen des «Geisterlandes» nicht wie «Abteilungen» auseinander; sie durchdringen sich, und der Mensch erlebt sich in einer neuen Region nicht deswegen, weil er sie in irgendeiner Form äußerlich «betreten» hat, sondern weil er in sich die inneren Fähigkeiten erlangt hat, das wahrzunehmen, innerhalb dessen er vorher unwahmehmend war.
[ 5 ] Die dritte Region des «Geisterlandes» enthält die Urbilder der seelischen Welt. Alles, was in dieser Welt lebt, ist hier als lebendige Gedankenwesenheit vorhanden. Man findet da die Urbilder der Begierden, der Wünsche, der Gefühle und so weiter. Aber hier in der Geisterwelt haftet dem Seelischen nichts von Eigensucht an. Ebenso wie alles Leben in der zweiten Region, bildet in dieser dritten alles Begehren, Wünschen, alle Lust und Unlust eine Einheit. Das Begehren, der Wunsch des andern unterscheiden sich nicht von meinem Begehren und Wünschen. Die Empfindungen und Gefühle aller Wesen sind eine gemeinsame Welt, die alles übrige einschließt und umgibt, wie der physische Luftkreis die Erde umgibt. Diese Region ist gleichsam die Atmosphäre des «Geisterlandes». Es wird hier alles Frtichte tragen, was der Mensch im irdischen Leben im Dienste der Gemeinsamkeit, in selbstloser Hingabe an seine Mitmenschen geleistet hat. Denn durch diesen Dienst, durch diese Hingabe hat er in einem Abglanz der dritten Region des «Geisterlandes» gelebt. Die großen Wohltäter des Menschengeschlechtes, die hingebungsvollen Naturen, diejenigen, welche die großen Dienste in den Gemeinschaften leisten, haben ihre Fähigkeit hierzu in dieser Region erlangt, nachdem sie sich in früheren Lebensläufen die Anwartschaft zu einer besonderen Verwandtschaft mit ihr erworben haben.
[ 6 ] Es ist ersichtlich, daß die beschriebenen drei Regionen des «Geisterlandes» in einem gewissen Verhältnis stehen zu den unter ihnen stehenden Welten, zu der physischen und der seelischen Welt. Denn sie enthalten die Urbilder, die lebendigen Gedankenwesen, die in diesen Welten körperliches oder seelisches Dasein annehmen. Die vierte Region erst ist das «reine Geisterland». Aber auch diese ist es nicht in vollem Sinne des Wortes. Sie unterscheidet sich von den drei unteren Regionen dadurch, daß in diesen die Urbilder jener physischen und seelischen Verhältnisse angetroffen werden, die der Mensch in der physischen und seelischen Welt vorfindet, bevor er selbst in diese Welten eingreift. Die Verhältnisse des alltäglichen Lebens knüpfen sich an die Dinge und Wesen, die der Mensch in der Welt vorfindet; die vergänglichen Dinge dieser Welt lenken seinen Blick zu deren ewigem Urgrund; und auch die Mitgeschöpfe, denen sich sein selbstloser Sinn widmet, sind nicht durch den Menschen da. Aber durch ihn sind in der Welt die Schöpfungen der Künste und Wissenschaften, der Technik, des Staates und so weiter, kurz alles das, was er als originale Werke seines Geistes der Welt einverleibt. Zu alledem wären, ohne sein Zutun, keine physischen Abbilder in der Welt vorhanden. Die Urbilder nun zu diesen rein menschlichen Schöpfungen finden sich in der vierten Region des «Geisterlandes». Was der Mensch an wissenschaftlichen Ergebnissen, an künstlerischen Ideen und Gestalten, an Gedanken der Technik während des irdischen Lebens ausbildet, trägt in dieser vierten Region seine Früchte. Aus dieser Region saugen daher Künstler, Gelehrte, große Erfinder während ihres Aufenthaltes im «Geisterland» ihre Impulse und steigern hier ihr Genie, um bei einer Wiederverkörperung in verstärktem Maße zur Fortentwickelung der menschlichen Kultur beitragen zu können. — Man soll sich nicht vorstellen, daß diese vierte Region des «Geisterlandes» nur für besonders hervorragende Menschen eine Bedeutung habe. Sie hat eine solche für alle Menschen. Alles, was den Menschen im physischen Leben über die Sphäre des alltäglichen Lebens Wünschens und Wollens hinaus beschäftigt, hat seinen Urquell in dieser Region. Ginge der Mensch in der Zeit zwischen dem Tode und einer neuen Geburt durch sie nicht hindurch, so würde er in einem weiteren Leben keine Interessen haben, welche über den engen Kreis der persönlichen Lebensführung hinaus zum Allgemein-Menschlichen führen. — Es ist oben gesagt worden, daß auch diese Region nicht im vollen Sinne das «reine Geisterland» genannt werden kann. Das ist deshalb der Fall, weil der Zustand, in dem die Menschen die Kulturentwickelung auf der Erde verlassen haben, in ihr geistiges Dasein hineinspielt. Sie können im «Geisterland» nur die Früchte dessen genießen, was nach ihrer Begabung und nach dem Entwickelungsgrade des Volkes, Staates und so weiter, in die sie hineingeboren waren, ihnen zu leisten möglich war.
[ 7 ] In den noch höheren Regionen des «Geisterlandes» ist der Menschengeist nun jeder irdischen Fessel entledigt. Er steigt auf in das «reine Geisterland», in dem er die Absichten, die Ziele erlebt, die sich der Geist mit dem irdischen Leben gesetzt hat. Alles, was in der Welt schon verwirklicht ist, bringt ja die höchsten Ziele und Absichten nur in einem mehr oder weniger schwachen Nachbilde zum Dasein. Jeder Kristall, jeder Baum, jedes Tier und auch alles das, was im Bereiche menschlichen Schaffens verwirklicht wird, — all das gibt nur Nachbilder dessen, was der Geist beabsichtigt. Und der Mensch kann während seiner Verkörperungen nur anknüpfen an diese unvollkommenen Nachbilder der vollkommenen Absichten und Ziele. So kann er aber innerhalb einer seiner Verkörperungen selbst nur ein solches Nachbild dessen sein, was im Reiche des Geistes mit ihm beabsichtigt ist. Was er als Geist im «Geisterland» eigentlich ist, das kommt daher erst dann zum Vorschein, wenn er im Zwischenzustand zwischen zwei Verkörperungen in die fünfte Region des «Geisterlandes» aufsteigt. Was er hier ist, das ist wirklich er selbst. Das ist dasjenige, was in den mannigfaltigen Verkörperungen ein äußeres Dasein erhält. In dieser Region kann sich das wahre Selbst des Menschen nach allen Seiten frei ausleben. Und dieses Selbst ist also dasjenige, welches in jeder Verkörperung immer von neuem als das eine erscheint. Dieses Selbst bringt die Fähigkeiten mit, die sich in den unteren Regionen des «Geisterlandes» ausgebildet haben. Es trägt somit die Früchte der früheren Lebensläufe in die folgenden hinüber. Es ist der Träger der Ergebnisse früherer Verkörperungen.
[ 8 ] Im Reiche der Absichten und Ziele befindet sich also das Selbst, wenn es in der fünften Region des «Geisterlandes» lebt. Wie der Architekt an den Unvollkommenheiten lernt, die sich ihm ergeben haben, und wie er in seine neuen Pläne nur das aufnimmt, was er von diesen Unvollkommenheiten in Vollkommenheiten zu wandeln vermochte, so streift das Selbst von seinen Ergebnissen aus früheren Leben in der fünften Region dasjenige ab, was mit den Unvollkommenheiten der unteren Welten zusammenhängt, und befruchtet die Absichten des «Geisterlandes», mit denen es nunmehr zusammenlebt, mit den Ergebnissen seiner früheren Lebensläufe. Klar ist, daß die Kraft, die aus dieser Region geschöpft werden kann, davon abhängen wird, wieviel sich das Selbst während seiner Verkörperung von solchen Ergebnissen erworben hat, die geeignet sind, in die Welt der Absichten aufgenommen zu werden. Das Selbst, das während des irdischen Daseins durch ein reges Gedankenleben oder durch weise, werktätige Liebe die Absichten des Geistes zu verwirklichen gesucht hat, wird sich eine große Anwartschaft auf diese Region erwerben. Dasjenige, das ganz in den alltäglichen Verhältnissen aufgegangen ist, das nur im Vergänglichen gelebt hat, das hat keine Samen gesät, die in den Absichten der ewigen Weltordnung eine Rolle spielen können. Nur das wenige, das es über die Tagesinteressen hinaus gewirkt hat, kann als Frucht in diesen oberen Regionen des «Geisterlandes» sich entfalten. Aber man soll nicht meinen, daß hier etwa vor allem solches in Betracht kommt, was «irdischen Ruhm» oder ähnliches bringt. Nein, gerade das kommt in Frage, was im kleinsten Lebenskreise zum Bewußtsein führt, daß alles einzelne seine Bedeutung für den ewigen Werdegang des Daseins hat.
[ 9 ] Man muß sich vertraut machen mit dem Gedanken, daß der Mensch in dieser Region anders urteilen muß, als er dies im physischen Leben tun kann. Hat er zum Beispiel weniges sich erworben, was mit dieser fünften Region verwandt ist, so entsteht in ihm der Drang, sich für das folgende physische Leben einen Impuls einzuprägen, welcher dieses Leben so verlaufen läßt, daß im Schicksal (Karma) desselben die entsprechende Wirkung des Mangels zutage tritt. Was dann in dem folgenden Erdenleben als leidvolles Geschick, vom Gesichtspunkte dieses Lebens aus, erscheint–ja vielleicht als solches tief beklagt wird –, das findet der Mensch in dieser Region des «Geisterlandes» als für ihn durchaus notwendig. — Da der Mensch in der fünften Region in seinem eigentlichen Selbst lebt, so ist er auch herausgehoben aus allem, was ihn aus den niederen Welten während der Verkörperungen umhüllt. Er ist, was er immer war und immer sein wird während des Laufes seiner Verkörperungen. Er lebt in dem Walten der Absichten, welche für diese Verkörperungen bestehen und die er in sein eigenes Selbst eingliedert. Er blickt auf seine eigene Vergangenheit zurück und er fühlt, daß alles, was er in derselben erlebt hat, in die Absichten, die er in Zukunft zu verwirklichen hat, aufgenommen wird. Eine Art Gedächtnis für seine früheren Lebensläufe und der prophetische Vorblick für seine späteren blitzen auf. — Man si~ht: dasjenige, was in dieser Schrift das «Geistselbst» genannt worden ist, lebt in dieser Region, soweit es entwickelt ist, in seiner ihm angemessenen Wirklichkeit. Es bildet sich aus und bereitet sich vor, um in einer neuen Verkörperung sich ein Vollziehen der geistigen Absichten in der irdischen Wirklichkeit zu ermöglichen.
[ 10 ] Hat sich dieses «Geistselbst» während einer Reihe von Aufenthalten im «Geisterland» so weit entwickelt, daß es sich völlig frei in diesem Lande bewegen kann, dann wird es seine wahre Heimat immer mehr hier suchen. Das Leben im Geiste wird ihm so vertraut, wie dem irdischen Menschen das Leben in der physischen Wirklichkeit. Die Gesichtspunkte der Geisterwelt wirken fortan auch als die maßgebenden, die es für die folgenden Erdenleben zu den seinigen, mehr oder weniger bewußt oder unbewußt, macht. Als ein Glied der göttlichen Weltordnung kann sich das Selbst fühlen. Die Schranken und Gesetze des irdischen Lebens berühren es nicht in seiner innersten Wesenheit. Die Kraft zu allem, was es vollführt, kommt ihm aus der geistigen Welt. Die geistige Welt aber ist eine Einheit. Wer in ihr lebt, weiß, wie das Ewige an der Vergangenheit geschaffen hat, und er kann von dem Ewigen aus die Richtung für die Zukunft bestimmen. Der Blick über die Vergangenheit weitet sich zu einem vollkommenen. Ein Mensch, der diese Stufe erreicht hat, gibt sich selbst Ziele, die er in einer nächsten Verkörperung ausführen soll. Vom «Geisterland» aus beeinflußt er seine Zukunft, so daß sie im Sinne des Wahren und Geistigen verläuft. Der Mensch befindet sich während des Zwischenzustandes zwischen zwei Verkörperungen in Gegenwart aller derjenigen erhabenen Wesen, vor deren Blicken die göttliche Weisheit unverhüllt ausgebreitet liegt. Denn er hat die Stufe erklommen, auf der er sie verstehen kann. In der sechsten Region des «Geisterlandes» wird der Mensch in allen seinen Handlungen dasjenige vollbringen, was dem wahren Wesen der Welt am angemessensten ist. Denn er kann nicht nach dem suchen, was ihm frommt, sondern einzig nach dem, was geschehen soll nach dem richtigen Gang der Weltordnung. Die siebente Region des «Geisterlandes» führt an die Grenze der «drei Welten». Der Mensch steht hier den «Lebenskernen» gegenüber, die aus höheren Welten in die drei beschriebenen versetzt werden, um da ihre Aufgaben zu vollbringen. Ist der Mensch an der Grenze der drei Welten, so erkennt er sich somit in seinem eigenen Lebenskern. Das bringt mit sich, daß die Rätsel dieser drei Welten für ihn gelöst sein müssen. Er überschaut also das ganze Leben dieser Welten. Im physischen Leben sind die Fähigkeiten der Seele, durch welche sie die hier geschilderten Erlebnisse in der geistigen Welt hat, unter den gewöhnlichen Lebensverhältnissen nicht bewußt. Sie arbeiten in ihren unbewußten Tiefen an den leiblichen Organen, welche das Bewußtsein der physischen Welt zustande bringen. Dies ist gerade der Grund, warum sie für diese Welt unwahrnehmbar bleiben. Auch das Auge sieht nicht sich, weil in ihm die Kräfte wirken, welche anderes sichtbar machen. Will man beurteilen, inwiefern ein zwischen Geburt und Tod verlaufendes Menschenleben das Ergebnis vorangehender Erdenleben sein kann, so muß man in Erwägung ziehen, daß ein innerhalb dieses Lebens selbst gelegener Gesichtspunkt, wie man ihn zunächst naturgemäß einnehmen muß, keine Beurteilungsmöglichkeit liefert. Für einen solchen Gesichtspunkt könnte zum Beispiel ein Erdenleben als leidvoll, unvollkommen und so weiter erscheinen, während es gerade in dieser Gestaltung für einen außerhalb dieses Erdenlebens selbst liegenden Gesichtspunkt mit seinem Leid, in seiner Unvollkommenheit als Ergebnis früherer Leben sich ergeben muß. Durch das Betreten des Erkenntnispfades in dem Sinne, wie dies in einem der nächsten Kapitel geschildert wird, löst sich die Seele los von den Bedingungen des Leibeslebens. Sie kann dadurch im Bilde die Erlebnisse wahrnehmen, welche sie zwischen dem Tode und einer neuen Geburt durchmacht. Solches Wahrnehmen gibt die Möglichkeit, die Vorgänge des «Geisterlandes» so zu schildern, wie es hier skizzenhaft geschehen ist. Nur wenn man nicht versäumt, sich gegenwärtig zu halten, daß die ganze Verfassung der Seele eine andere ist im physischen Leibe als im rein geistigen Erleben, wird man die hier gegebene Schilderung im rechten Lichte sehen.
4. the spirit in the spirit land after death
[ 1 ] When the human spirit has wandered through the "world of souls" on its way between two embodiments, it enters the "land of spirits" to remain there until it is ready for a new bodily existence. The meaning of this sojourn in the "land of spirits" can only be understood if one knows how to interpret the task of man's life pilgrimage through his embodiment in the right way. While man is embodied in the physical body, he works and creates in the physical world. And he works and creates in it as a spiritual being. What his spirit conceives and forms, he imprints on the physical forms, the physical substances and forces. Thus, as a messenger of the spiritual world, he has to incorporate the spirit into the physical world. Only by embodying himself can man work in the world of the body. He must accept the physical body as his instrument so that he can work on the physical through the physical and so that the physical can work on him. But what works through this physical corporeality of man is the spirit from which the intentions, the directions for working in the physical world emanate. - As long as the spirit works in the physical body, it cannot live as a spirit in its true form. It can, as it were, only shine through the veil of physical existence. For the human thought life belongs in truth to the spiritual world; and as it appears in physical existence, its true form is veiled. One can also say that the thought life of the physical human being is a shadow image, a reflection of the true spiritual entity to which it belongs. Thus, during physical life, the spirit interacts with the earthly physical world on the basis of the physical body. Even if one of the tasks of the human spirit is to work on the physical body world as long as it moves from embodiment to embodiment, it could by no means fulfill this task appropriately if it only lived in the physical body. For the intentions and goals of the earthly task are just as little formed and gained within the earthly embodiment as the plan of a house comes into being on the building site where the workers are at work. Just as this plan is worked out in the architect's office, so the aims and intentions of earthly work are formed "in the land of the spirits". - The spirit of man must live in this land again and again between two embodiments in order to be able to approach the work in the physical life, equipped with what he brings with him from there. Just as the architect, without working on the bricks and mortar, produces the house plan in his workroom according to the laws of architecture and other laws, so the architect of human creativity, the spirit or the higher self, must train the abilities and goals in the "spirit land" according to the laws of this land in order to then transfer them into the earthly world. Only if the human spirit stays in its own realm again and again will it be able to carry the spirit into the earthly world through the physical-bodily tools. - In the physical arena, the human being gets to know the qualities and powers of the physical world. While creating, he gathers experience of the demands the physical world makes on those who want to work in it. He gets to know, as it were, the properties of the material in which he wants to embody his thoughts and ideas. He cannot suck the thoughts and ideas themselves out of the material. Thus the earthly world is simultaneously the scene of creation and learning. In "spirit land", what has been learned is then transformed into the living capacity of the spirit. The above comparison can be continued in order to clarify the matter. The architect works out the plan of a house. This is executed. In the process he makes a sum of the most varied experiences. All these experiences increase his skills. When he draws up the next plan, all these experiences flow into it. And this next plan appears to be enriched by everything that has been learned from the previous one. So it is with successive human lives. In the intervening periods between embodiments, the spirit lives in its own realm. It can devote itself entirely to the demands of spiritual life; freed from physical corporeality, it educates itself in all directions and works into this education the fruits of the experiences of its earlier lives. Thus his gaze is always directed towards the scene of his earthly tasks, thus he always works to pursue the earth, in so far as it is the place of his activity, through the development necessary for it. He works on himself in order to be able to render his services in the earthly change according to the state of the earth at each new embodiment. - This is, however, only a general picture of the successive courses of human life. And reality will never fully correspond to this picture, but only more or less. Circumstances can mean that a person's subsequent life is much more imperfect than a previous one. On the whole, however, such irregularities balance each other out within certain limits in successive lives.
[ 2 ] The formation of the spirit in the "spirit land" takes place through the fact that the human being settles into the various regions of this land. His own life merges with these regions in corresponding succession; he temporarily takes on their characteristics. They thereby permeate his being with their essence, so that the former can then work strengthened with the latter in the earthly realm. - In the first region of the "spirit land" man is surrounded by the spiritual archetypes of earthly things. During his life on earth he only gets to know the shadows of these archetypes, which he grasps in his thoughts. What is merely thought on earth is experienced in this region. Man walks among thoughts, but these thoughts are real entities. What he perceived with his senses during his life on earth now affects him in his thought form. But thought does not appear as the shadow that hides behind things, but is the living reality that creates things. Man is, as it were, in the thought workshop in which earthly things are formed and shaped. For in the "land of the spirit" everything is vital activity and activity. Here the world of thought is at work as a world of living beings, creative and formative. There you can see how that which you have experienced in your earthly existence is formed. Just as one experiences the sensual things as reality in the physical body, one now experiences as spirit the spiritual formative powers as real Among the thought beings that are present there is also the thought of one's own physical corporeality. One feels removed from it. Only the spiritual entity is felt to belong to you. And when one becomes aware of the discarded body, as in the memory, no longer as a physical but as a thought being, then its belonging to the outer world already emerges in the contemplation. One learns to regard it as something belonging to the external world, as a member of this external world. Consequently, one no longer separates one's corporeality from the other external world as something more closely related to one's own self. One feels a unity in the entire external world, including one's own bodily embodiments. One's own embodiments merge here with the rest of the world into a unity. In this way one looks at the archetypes of physical-bodily reality as a unity to which one has belonged. One therefore gradually learns to recognize one's relationship, one's unity with the environment through observation. One learns to say to it: That which spreads out around you here was you yourself. -But this is one of the basic ideas of ancient Indian Vedanta wisdom. The "wise man" already acquires during his life on earth what the other experiences after death, namely to grasp the thought that he himself is related to all things, the thought: "This is you." In earthly life this is an ideal to which the life of thought can devote itself; in the "land of spirits" it is an immediate fact which becomes ever clearer to us through spiritual experience. -And man himself becomes more and more aware in this land that he belongs, according to his actual nature, to the world of spirits. He perceives himself as a spirit among spirits, as a member of the primal spirits, and he will feel within himself the word of the primal spirit: "I am the primal spirit." (The wisdom of Vedanta says: "I am Brahman", that is, I belong as a member to the primordial being from which all beings originate. ) - One sees that what is grasped as a shadowy thought in earthly life and where all wisdom is directed, is directly experienced in the "spirit land". Indeed, it is only thought during earthly life because it is a fact in spiritual existence.
[ 3 ] Thus, during his spiritual existence, man sees the circumstances and facts in which he stands in the midst of during earthly life from a higher perspective, as it were from the outside. And in the lowest region of the "spirit land" he lives in such a way in relation to the earthly conditions that are directly connected with physical bodily reality. - Man is born on earth into a family, into a people; he lives in a certain country. His earthly existence is determined by all these conditions. He finds this or that friend because of the circumstances in the physical world. He does this or that business. All this determines his earthly living conditions. During his life in the first region of the "spirit land", all of this confronts him as a living thought entity. He relives it all in a certain way. But he lives through it from the active-spiritual side. The family love he has practiced, the friendship he has shown, come to life in him from within, and his abilities are enhanced in this direction. That which works in the human spirit as the power of family love and the love of friends is strengthened. In this respect he later re-enters earthly existence as a more perfect human being. - It is, so to speak, the everyday relationships of earthly life that ripen as fruit in this lowest region of the "spirit land". And that part of the human being whose interests are completely absorbed in these everyday relationships will feel related to this region for the longest part of the spiritual life between two embodiments. - The people with whom one has lived in the physical world will be found again in the spiritual world. Just as the soul loses everything that was its own through the physical body, so the bond that links soul and soul in physical life also detaches itself from the conditions that only have meaning and effectiveness in the physical world. But everything that was the soul of the soul in physical life continues beyond death - into the spiritual world. It is natural that words which are coined for physical circumstances can only inaccurately describe what happens in the spiritual world. But insofar as this is taken into consideration, it can certainly be described as correct when it is said that the souls belonging together in physical life find each other again in the spiritual world in order to continue their life together there in a corresponding way. - The next region is that in which the common life of the earthly world flows as a thought entity, as it were as the fluid element of the "spirit land". As long as one observes the world in physical embodiment, life appears to be bound to individual living beings. In the "spirit land" it is detached from this and flows through the whole land as the lifeblood, as it were. It is the living unity that is present in everything. During earthly life, only a reflection of it appears to man. And this is expressed in every form of reverence that man pays to the whole, to the unity and harmony of the world. People's religious life is based on this reflection. Man becomes aware of the extent to which the comprehensive meaning of existence does not lie in the transient, in the individual. He sees this transience as a "likeness" and image of an eternal, harmonious unity. They look up to this unity in veneration and worship. He offers it religious acts of worship. - In the "spirit land" it is not the reflection that appears, but the real form as a living thought entity. Here man can truly unite with the unity he worshipped on earth. The fruits of religious life and all that is connected with it emerge in this region. Man now learns to recognize from spiritual experience that his individual destiny should not be separated from the community to which he belongs. The ability to recognize oneself as a member of a whole develops here. The religious sentiments, everything that has already striven for a pure, noble morality in life, will draw strength from this region during a large part of the spiritual intermediate state. And man will be reincarnated with an increase of his faculties in this direction.
[ 4 ] While in the first region one is together with the souls with whom one was connected in the previous physical life through the closest bonds of the physical world, in the second region one enters into the realm of all those with whom one felt one in a broader sense: through a common worship, through common confession and so on. It must be emphasized that the spiritual experiences of the previous regions remain during the following ones. Thus a person is not torn away from the bonds of family, friendship and so on when he enters the life of the second and subsequent regions. - Nor do the regions of the "spirit land" lie apart like "compartments"; they interpenetrate, and the person experiences himself in a new region not because he has "entered" it externally in some form, but because he has acquired the inner abilities to perceive that within which he was previously imperceptible.
[ 5 ] The third region of the "spirit land" contains the archetypes of the spiritual world. Everything that lives in this world is present here as a living thought entity. Here we find the archetypes of desires, wishes, feelings and so on. But here in the spirit world nothing of selfishness clings to the soul. Just like all life in the second region, in this third region all desire, wishing, all lust and dislike form a unity. The desires and wishes of others are no different from my own desires and wishes. The sensations and feelings of all beings are a common world that encloses and surrounds everything else, just as the physical circle of air surrounds the earth. This region is, as it were, the atmosphere of the "spirit land". Everything that man has done in earthly life in the service of community, in selfless devotion to his fellow human beings, will bear fruit here. For through this service, through this devotion, he has lived in a reflection of the third region of the "spirit land". The great benefactors of the human race, the devoted natures, those who perform the great services in the communities, have attained their ability to do so in this region, having acquired in previous lives the eligibility for a special kinship with it.
[ 6 ] It is evident that the three regions of the "spirit land" described above stand in a certain relationship to the worlds below them, to the physical and the spiritual world. For they contain the archetypes, the living thought beings, which take on a physical or spiritual existence in these worlds. Only the fourth region is the "pure spirit land". But even this is not in the full sense of the word. It differs from the three lower regions in that in these the archetypes of those physical and spiritual conditions are found which man finds in the physical and spiritual world before he himself intervenes in these worlds. The relationships of everyday life are linked to the things and beings that man finds in the world; the transient things of this world direct his gaze to their eternal source; and even the fellow creatures to whom his selfless spirit is devoted are not there through man. But through him are in the world the creations of the arts and sciences, of technology, of the state and so on, in short everything that he incorporates into the world as original works of his spirit. Without his intervention, there would be no physical images of all this in the world. The archetypes of these purely human creations are to be found in the fourth region of "spirit land". Whatever scientific results, artistic ideas and creations, technical thoughts man develops during his earthly life bear fruit in this fourth region. Artists, scholars and great inventors therefore draw their impulses from this region during their stay in the "spirit land" and increase their genius here in order to be able to contribute to a greater extent to the further development of human culture when they re-incarnate. - One should not imagine that this fourth region of the "spirit land" only has meaning for particularly outstanding people. It has such a meaning for all people. Everything that occupies man in physical life beyond the sphere of everyday wishes and desires has its source in this region. If man did not pass through it in the time between death and a new birth, he would have no interests in a further life which would lead beyond the narrow circle of personal life to the general human sphere. - It has been said above that even this region cannot be called the "pure spirit-land" in the full sense. This is the case because the state in which people have left the cultural development on earth plays a part in their spiritual existence. In the "spirit land" they can only enjoy the fruits of what they were able to achieve according to their talents and the degree of development of the people, state and so on into which they were born.
[ 7 ] In the even higher regions of the "spirit land", the human spirit is now freed from every earthly shackle. It ascends into the "pure spirit land", where it experiences the intentions, the goals that the spirit has set itself with earthly life. Everything that has already been realized in the world brings the highest goals and intentions into existence only in a more or less weak imitation. Every crystal, every tree, every animal and also everything that is realized in the realm of human creativity - all these only give afterimages of what the spirit intends. And during his embodiments man can only tie in with these imperfect afterimages of the perfect intentions and goals. Thus, however, within one of his embodiments he himself can only be such an afterimage of what is intended for him in the realm of the spirit. What he actually is as a spirit in the "spirit land" therefore only comes to light when he ascends into the fifth region of the "spirit land" in the intermediate state between two embodiments. What he is here is really himself. This is that which receives an external existence in the manifold embodiments. In this region the true self of man can live itself out freely in all directions. And this self is therefore that which always appears anew as the one in every embodiment. This self brings with it the abilities that have developed in the lower regions of the "spirit land". It thus carries over the fruits of previous lives into the following ones. It is the bearer of the results of earlier embodiments.
[ 8 ] The self is thus in the realm of intentions and goals when it lives in the fifth region of the "spirit land". Just as the architect learns from the imperfections that have come to him, and just as he incorporates into his new plans only that which he has been able to transform from these imperfections into perfections, so the self strips away from its results from earlier lives in the fifth region that which is connected with the imperfections of the lower worlds, and fertilizes the intentions of the "spirit land" with which it now lives together with the results of its earlier lives. It is clear that the power that can be drawn from this region will depend on how much the self has acquired during its embodiment of such results as are suitable for inclusion in the world of intentions. The self which, during its earthly existence, has sought to realize the intentions of the spirit through an active thought life or through wise, active love, will acquire a large entitlement to this region. That which has been completely absorbed in everyday circumstances, which has lived only in the transitory, has sown no seeds that can play a role in the intentions of the eternal world order. Only the little that it has worked beyond the interests of the day can unfold as fruit in these upper regions of the "spirit land". But one should not think that what comes into consideration here is primarily that which brings "earthly fame" or the like. No, precisely that comes into question which in the smallest circle of life leads to the awareness that every single thing has its significance for the eternal development of existence.
[ 9 ] You must familiarize yourself with the idea that man must judge differently in this region than he can do in physical life. If, for example, he has acquired little that is related to this fifth region, the urge arises in him to imprint an impulse for the following physical life, which allows this life to proceed in such a way that the corresponding effect of the deficiency appears in the fate (karma) of the same. What then appears in the following life on earth as a sorrowful fate from the point of view of this life - indeed perhaps is deeply lamented as such - is found by man in this region of "spirit-land" to be quite necessary for him. - Since man lives in the fifth region in his actual self, he is also lifted out of everything that envelops him from the lower worlds during the embodiments. He is what he always was and always will be during the course of his embodiments. He lives in the reign of the intentions which exist for these embodiments and which he incorporates into his own self. He looks back on his own past and he feels that everything he has experienced in it is incorporated into the intentions he has to realize in the future. A kind of memory of his earlier lives and the prophetic foresight for his later ones flash up. - You see: that which has been called the "spirit self" in this writing lives in this region, as far as it is developed, in its appropriate reality. It forms itself and prepares itself in order to enable the realization of spiritual intentions in earthly reality in a new embodiment.
[ 10 ] Once this "spirit self" has developed so far during a series of sojourns in "spirit land" that it can move completely freely in this land, it will increasingly seek its true home here. Life in the spirit will become as familiar to it as life in physical reality is to earthly man. The points of view of the spirit world will henceforth also act as the determining factors which, more or less consciously or unconsciously, become his own for the following lives on earth. The self can feel itself to be a member of the divine world order. The barriers and laws of earthly life do not touch it in its innermost being. The power for everything it accomplishes comes to it from the spiritual world. The spiritual world, however, is a unity. Those who live in it know how the eternal has created the past, and they can determine the direction for the future from the eternal. The view of the past expands into a perfect one. A person who has reached this stage gives himself goals which he is to carry out in the next embodiment. From the "spirit land" he influences his future so that it runs in the sense of the true and spiritual. During the intermediate state between two embodiments, man finds himself in the presence of all those sublime beings before whose gaze the divine wisdom lies unveiled. For he has climbed to the level where he can understand it. In the sixth region of the "spirit land", man will accomplish in all his actions that which is most appropriate to the true nature of the world. For he cannot seek what is pious for him, but only what should happen according to the right course of the world order. The seventh region of the "spirit land" leads to the border of the "three worlds". Here, man is confronted with the "life cores", which are transferred from higher worlds to the three described in order to accomplish their tasks. When man is at the boundary of the three worlds, he recognizes himself in his own life core. This means that the riddles of these three worlds must be solved for him. He thus surveys the whole life of these worlds. In physical life the faculties of the soul, through which it has the experiences described here in the spiritual world, are not conscious under the ordinary conditions of life. They work in their unconscious depths on the bodily organs which bring about the consciousness of the physical world. This is precisely the reason why they remain imperceptible to this world. Even the eye does not see itself, because the forces are at work in it which make other things visible. If we want to judge to what extent a human life between birth and death can be the result of previous lives on earth, we must take into consideration that a point of view situated within this life itself, as one must naturally take it at first, does not provide any possibility of judgment. For such a point of view, for example, an earthly life could appear as sorrowful, imperfect and so on, whereas for a point of view lying outside this earthly life itself, with its suffering and imperfection, it must appear in this very form as the result of previous lives. By entering the path of knowledge in the sense described in one of the next chapters, the soul detaches itself from the conditions of bodily life. It can thereby perceive in image the experiences it undergoes between death and a new birth. Such perception makes it possible to describe the processes of the "spirit land" in the sketchy way that has been done here. Only if one does not neglect to keep in mind that the whole constitution of the soul is different in the physical body than in the purely spiritual experience, will one see the description given here in the right light.