Self-Knowledge and God-Knowledge II

GA 90b — 6 November 1905, Berlin

XIX. Theosophy and the Concept of Freedom

At first it might seem as if the strict lawfulness in the The [...]M[...] is incompatible. You know that this problem [...]

Is man free or not free? Is he subject to ironclad necessity, or are his actions subject to his will? Initially, this question is not asked, and a lot depends on asking questions correctly. As man stands today, he is neither one nor the other, neither free nor bound, but both one and the other. In relation to certain actions, he is free; in relation to others, he is subject to ironclad necessity. Freedom is something we are always approaching; we become freer the more we develop. In the beginning, we are very constrained, dependent on everything our instinctive mat[...] has predisposed us to.

But the more we develop, the freer we become. How does this relate to the laws of karma? Theosophy deals with laws that operate in the future. If we specify laws so firmly, how can we speak of a development towards freedom? If we delve into certain investigations into the human soul in this field, we will make progress. Above all, we must ask ourselves: What is freedom? Can it be a creation out of nothing? Is it a specific nature? Is man predisposed to freedom at the stage of existence at which he now stands? - At the moment when man raises such a question, he is a being that has developed to a certain point.

The fact that my hand moves is a result of infinitely complicated laws. Now it is not a question of whether I can get rid of these laws, but whether I can make a free decision within these laws in which I have become; whether a being that is born according to certain [laws] and moves within these laws can ascribe freedom to itself or not. These laws belong to our becoming in the past and extend into the future. Imagine someone demands to be trained as an athlete. He must train himself in a very specific direction, follow laws, bring himself to a certain point of view; when he has done that, he can become an athlete. Freedom does not consist in our changing the laws by which we have become, but in acting within those laws.

You have heard that [the] human being walks either the left or right path. Yes, so it is not up to him; he must walk one or the other. If he has a guru, he must follow laws, strive for a goal – can there be any talk of freedom? In truth, there is no such goal that we should strive for. Occult development has no such purpose, but it does have the purpose and intention of developing abilities in people and using laws to bring them to a certain level. When they have reached this level, they are then able to set themselves a goal.

The animal cannot act out of freedom, only according to instincts; no act of instinct or passion is free, it is internally forced. To be free, one must above all have the ability to decide freely; not feel any compulsion within oneself to do this or that.

This is a step to be taken. And all occultism is about developing the abilities we need to make free decisions. Suppose a person acquires the ability to see into the supersensible world. At first, the person acts out of instinctive drives. What is the inner compulsion? The first task is to put the person in relation to the outside world. Instinctive drives initially guide his life, making him unfree. When a person begins to look into the supersensible world, the first step is to see the connection between the drives and the world's interconnections. He knows how an instinct works as a cause in the world. He moves on to the realization of the connection between himself and the external world. Occultism provides him with the guidance for this.

You have come to know this lawful mechanism of the world better and better and see how freedom develops from it. The fact that you bring oxygen and hydrogen together is an act of your freedom. If we know nothing of the law, we cannot foresee what will happen and must submit to a compulsion. The fact that we have recognized the lawful consequences makes us free. The more we understand the higher laws, the more we can adhere to them in order to reach our goals. What we learn to recognize are the means by which we achieve the specific goals we then set for ourselves. The master does not give the chela instructions about where to steer; he should learn to move in the direction of the goal. A goal presents itself to us when we truly look at the world without prejudice. The goal that a person sets for himself out of the abundance of world phenomena can only be a free goal. Then he is truly a liberated man.

The three most important elements of the soul's life are activity, wisdom, and will. Actions must be determined by our wisdom and our will, and are therefore not free. Wisdom is partly free and partly not.

In the idea for my house, I am free; my knowledge of the laws leads me to shape the house the way I want it. And the better I know them, the better I will be able to realize this idea.

Free is he who is able to shape out of thought in a self-creative way.

The will determined by free thought is what truly liberates man. Man thus ceases to be determined from behind by the past and is determined from in front by his goals.

Pearl in shell as an example.

A person is unfree as long as we find in him the reason for setting himself the goal; when the law lies in the goal, then he is free, then he can refrain from the action. He acts selflessly in devotion to the goal. The opposite of inner compulsion is determination by the object, love of the object.

Only a god is truly free; but man is on the path to becoming divine.

Through objectification, through transformation into knowledge, what was previously coercion is transformed into freedom.

Therefore, man is on the path to freedom because he is capable of setting aside what lives in him as a goal. Objectification is the path to freedom.