The Nature of the Human Being

We have thus described the three members of the human physical body and the three members of the human soul. But since the physical body of the human being forms a unity with the human soul member in its third part, we first have two parts plus one plus another two, that is, five parts: physical body, etheric body, soul body, intellectual soul, consciousness soul, in which the I shines forth. This I is a very interesting point in the aura. At one point, the I becomes perceptible. Within the outer oval, you will find a strange, blue-shimmering or blue-iridescent spot, also oval in shape. It is actually like when you see a candle flame; but with the difference that the astral colors have compared to the physical colors, it is as if you saw blue in the middle of the candle flame. This is the I that is perceived within the aura. And that is a very interesting fact. No matter how far a person develops, no matter how far they train their clairvoyant gifts, at this point they first see this blue I-body, this blue light body. This is a veiled sanctuary, even for the clairvoyant. No one can see into the actual self of another person. Even for those who have developed their spiritual senses, this remains a mystery at first. Only within this blue shimmering spot does something new shine forth. There is a new flame forming, shining in the center of the blue flame. This is the third member, the spirit. This spirit again consists of three members, like the other components of the human being. Oriental philosophy calls these Manas, Buddhi, Atma. These three components are so developed in today's human beings that actually only the lowest part, the spirit self — that is the correct translation for Manas — is developed in the predisposition of today's thinking human beings. This Manas is just as firmly connected to the highest link of the soul as the sentient soul is to the soul body, so that once again the highest part of the soul and the lowest part of the spirit form a whole, because they cannot be distinguished. In the aura, one sees the highest link of the soul in the center of the blue shimmering spot where the I is located, and one sees the spirit shining within the I. Today, the spirit has developed to the level of manas in humanity. The two higher parts, buddhi and atma — the life spirit and the spirit man — are developed in their potential, and we will see how they will develop further when we talk about reincarnation and karma in the next lecture.