Notes from Mathilde Scholl 1904–1906

GA 91 — 16 September 1906

22. The Divine Breath

Akasha is the divine breath in which everything is contained. The master who has achieved union with Atma can read in the Akasha as a result of the perfection of breathing that comes with it; this is only possible through complete union with the Father principle, the Atma.

The yoga exercises initially serve to purify the astral body and to concentrate the mind, and in doing so they introduce the student to the higher world of thought, to the unified thought of the deity, where the truths of the world are instilled in him.

Then there is a further exercise in the rhythmic breathing - breathing leads man to spiritualization; to union with his higher self. The higher self of man is embodied in the air. Now the yogi must learn to align his breath with the rhythm of world life, the divine breath.

Just as the control of passion and the concentration of thought leads to union with the divine spirit, so the rhythmization of the etheric body through self-giving to the world leads to union with the life of the world. In the same rhythm, the person must learn to inhale, hold and exhale their breath as the life of the world unfolds. A certain rhythm prevails in the life of the world and by working with this rhythm, the student becomes a conscious part of the life of the world.

At a higher level, he must learn how to unite with the will of the world, which is the power of the Father. He can achieve this through union with the life of the world. An image of the cosmic father forces is given to us in the twelve constellations of the zodiac, through which the earth must pass in order to reach perfection in its development.

When the disciple learns to harmonize all his physical powers with the twelve powers of the constellations of the zodiac, then he also attains mastery over the physical body. This is what Christ, the Son, had achieved, and so he was able to go the way to the Father; and he leads the others on this way, namely through his powers, to the Father. Our development is the training of the spirit. The chela trains the life of the son within himself, and when he has trained this through perfect rhythmic breathing and through self-giving, then union with the cosmic power of the Father, with Atma, becomes possible. In this way he attains the level of the Masterpower. Through this Atma power, he can become one with the consciousness of the Father Power, and thereby he can read everything past and future in the Akasha. What appears physically as space is a projection of the Father consciousness.