Man, Nature and the Cosmos

GA 91 — 20 June 1905, Berlin

3. The Inner Connections of the Seven Basic Principles

In the physical, the etheric, and the astral body dwells the actual I, and together with its sheaths forms the four limbs, the Pythagorean quadrilateral.

The physical body is the oldest, the etheric body the second, the astral body the youngest. The ego is formed in the present. At the beginning of our earth epoch the physical body was not a chaos, but beautifully and harmoniously built in itself, the human being could not do anything to it; from the outside in it was built by the formers, the creating entities. It was the same with the etheric body and also with the astral body. Only with the fourth stage the ego comes and works independently. It has no influence on the etheric and the physical body, but on the astral body. How? There was a time when man had no influence on the astral body, there were only urges, desires, passions. In the later stage of development he took them in hand and regulated them. As soon as the creative powers do not hold the physical body, it disappears in the general physical, likewise the etheric body [in the general world ether]. The creating gods take back these bodies. It is different with the astral body. What man works into it remains and comes back again. That is his karma. Karma or the astral worked is from man himself. What the I works into the astral body is manas. As much manas is in man as he works into his astral body. The astral body is what man has not yet worked out; manas what he has worked out. An outline, organization he works into it, which later becomes the chakrams. When man has worked through the whole astral body, he is completely filled with manas. Then he can begin to work on his etheric body as well. Likewise from within he works into what is called the budhi. Everything that he has in the astral body, he works with into the etheric body, this is his imprint. What man works into the etheric body remains. It remains with him just like his karma. When he dies, his etheric body does not dissolve in the general world ether, but as much as he has worked into it, so much remains. When he is incarnated again, he comes back into the same etheric body. Such a man is a chela.

The ordinary man goes to Devachan and then, when his time comes, he descends through the astral, where he finds his karmic attainments, into the physical. But the chela, who has made his etheric body alive, does not need to go to Devachan, but only to the next realm, the astral, and returns to the earth in his same etheric body.

In the Mysteries the development of the chela is somewhat accelerated. In the ancient Mysteries the physical body was brought into a kind of resting state, which lasted three days. So that everything that the astral body worked into it would not be disturbed by the physical body, the disciple was put into a lethargic state for three days. Today, on the contrary, the astral body is made so strong that it overcomes what works its way up from the physical body. But this is possible only since the appearance of Christ, by the fact that he appeared on the earth and poured out a lot of magnetic power. This is the mystical fact. Paul received the first initiation in this way on the way to Damascus by direct action of the astral.

Man can also get power and authority over his physical body; every blood globule he will be able to direct; then he works Atma into the physical body. In the same form, in the same physical body - not substance - then the master is reborn. He dies and is reborn in the same way in physiognomy. A point occurs, that is the significant thing, where man retains his physical body. It is only on the seventh planet that man receives the form that remains with him for future times. Mastery is therefore a tremendous responsibility and danger.