With the consideration of man in the light of occult science, what this
signifies in general, immediately becomes evident. It rests upon the
recognition of something hidden behind that which is revealed to the outer
senses and to the intellect acquired through perception. These senses and
this intellect can apprehend only a part of all that which occult science
unveils as the total human entity, and this part is the _physical body_.
In order to throw light upon its conception of this physical body, occult
science at first directs attention to a phenomenon which confronts all
observers of life like a great riddle,—the phenomenon of death,—and in
connection with it, points to so-called inanimate nature, the mineral
kingdom. We are thus referred to facts, which it devolves on occult
science to explain, and to which an important part of this work must be
devoted. But to begin with, only a few points will be touched upon, by way
of orientation.
Within manifested nature the physical body, according to occult science,
is that part of man which is of the same nature as the mineral kingdom. On
the other hand, that which distinguishes man from minerals is considered
as not being part of the physical body. From the occult point of view,
what is of supreme importance is the fact that death separates the human
being from that which, during life, is of like nature with the mineral
world. Occult science points to the dead body as that part of man which is
to be found existing in the same way in the mineral kingdom. It lays
strong emphasis upon the fact that in this principle of the human being,
which it looks upon as the physical body, and which death reduces to a
corpse, the same materials and forces are at work as in the mineral realm;
but no less emphasis is laid upon the fact that at death disintegration of
the physical body sets in. Occult science therefore says: “It is true that
the same materials and forces are at work in the physical body as in the
mineral, but during life their activity is placed at the disposal of
something higher. They are left to themselves only when death occurs. Then
they act, as they must in conformity with their own nature, as decomposers
of the physical body.”
Thus a sharp distinction must be drawn between the manifested and the
hidden elements in man. For during life, that which is hidden from view
has to wage perpetual war on the materials and forces of the mineral
world. This indicates the point at which occult science steps in. It has
to characterize that which wages the war alluded to, as a principle which
is hidden from sense-observation. Clairvoyant sight alone can reveal its
workings. How man arrives at awareness of this hidden element, as plainly
as his ordinary eyes see the phenomena of sense, will be described in a
later part of this book. Results of clairvoyant observation will be given
now for the reason already pointed out in the preceding pages, that is,
that communications about the way in which the higher sight is obtained
can only be of value to the student when he has first become acquainted,
in the form of a narrative, with the results of clairvoyant research. For
in this sphere it is quite possible to understand things which one is not
yet able to observe. Indeed, the right path to higher vision starts with
understanding.
Now, although the hidden something which wages war on the disintegration
of the physical body can be observed only by the higher sight, it is
plainly visible in its effects to the human faculty of judgment which is
limited to the manifested world; and these effects are expressed in the
form or shape in which mineral materials and forces are combined during
life. When death has intervened, the form disappears little by little, and
the physical body becomes part of the rest of the mineral world. But the
clairvoyant is able to observe this hidden something as an independent
member of the human organism, which during life prevents the physical
materials and forces from taking their natural course, which would lead to
the dissolution of the physical body. This independent principle is called
the etheric or vital body.
If misunderstandings are not to arise at the outset, two things must be
borne in mind in connection with this account of a second principle of
human nature. The word “etheric” is used here in a different sense from
that of modern physics, which designates as “ether” the medium by which
light is transmitted. In occult science the use of the word is limited to
the sense given above. It denotes that which is accessible to higher
sight, and can be known to physical observation only by its effects, that
is, by its power of giving a definite form or shape to the mineral
materials and forces present in the physical body. Again, the use of the
word “body” must not be misunderstood. It is necessary to use the words of
every day language in describing things on a higher plane of existence,
and these terms, when applied to sense-observation, express only what is
physical. The etheric body has, of course, nothing of a bodily nature in
the physical sense, however ethereal we might imagine such a body to be.
As soon as the occultist mentions this etheric or vital body, he reaches
the point at which he is bound to encounter the opposition of many
contemporary opinions. The development of the human mind has been such
that the mention of such a principle of human nature is necessarily looked
upon as unscientific. The materialistic way of thinking has arrived at the
conclusion that there is nothing to be seen in a living body but a
combination of physical substances and forces such as are also found in
the so-called inanimate body of the mineral, the only difference being
that they are more complicated in the living than in the lifeless body.
Yet it is not very long since other views were held, even by official
science.
It is evident to any one who studies the works of many earnest men of
science, produced during the first half of the nineteenth century, that at
that time many a genuine investigator of nature was conscious of some
factor acting within the living body other than in the lifeless mineral.
It was termed “vital force.” It is true this vital force is not
represented as being what has been above characterized as the vital body,
but underlying the conception was a dim idea of the existence of such a
body. Vital force was generally regarded as something which in a living
body was united with physical matter and forces in the same way that the
force of a magnet unites itself with iron. Then came the time when vital
force was banished from the domain of science. Mere physical and chemical
causes were accounted all sufficient.
At the present moment, however, there is a reaction in this respect in
some scientific quarters. It is sometimes conceded that the hypothesis of
something of the nature of “vital force” is not pure nonsense. Yet even
the scientist who concedes this much is not willing to make common cause
with the occultist with regard to the vital body. As a rule, it serves no
useful purpose to enter upon a discussion of such views from the
standpoint of occult science. It should be much more the concern of the
occultist to recognize that the materialistic way of thinking is a
necessary concomitant phenomenon of the great advance of natural science
in our day. This advance is due to the vast improvements in the
instruments used in sense-observation. And it is in the very nature of man
to bring some of his faculties to a certain degree of perfection at the
expense of others. Exact sense-observation, which has been evolved to such
an important extent by natural science, was bound to leave in the
background the cultivation of those human faculties which lead into the
hidden worlds. But the time has come when this cultivation is once more
necessary; and recognition of the invisible will not be won by combating
opinions which are the logical outcome of a denial of its existence, but
rather by setting the invisible in the right light. Then it will be
recognized by those for whom the “time has come.”
It was necessary to say this much, in order that it may not be imagined
that occult science is ignorant of the standpoint of natural science when
mention is made of an “etheric body,” which, in many circles must
necessarily be considered as purely imaginary.
Thus the etheric body is the second principle of the human being. For the
clairvoyant, it possesses a higher degree of reality than the physical
body. A description of how it is seen by the clairvoyant can be given only
in later parts of this book, when the sense in which such descriptions are
to be taken will become manifest. For the present it will be enough to say
that the etheric body penetrates the physical body in all its parts, and
is to be regarded as a kind of architect of the latter. All the physical
organs are maintained in their form and shape by the currents and
movements of the etheric body. The physical heart is based upon an etheric
heart, the physical brain, upon an etheric brain, and the physical, with
this difference, that in the etheric body the parts flow into one another
in active motion, whereas in the physical body they are separated from
each other.
Man has this etheric body in common with all plants, just as he has the
physical body in common with minerals. Everything living has its etheric
body.
The study of occult science proceeds upwards from the etheric body to
another principle of the human being. To aid in the formation of an idea
of this principle, it draws attention to the phenomenon of sleep, just as
in connection with the etheric body attention was drawn to death. All
human work, so far as the manifested world is concerned, is dependent upon
activity during waking life. But that activity is possible only as long as
man is able to recuperate his exhausted forces by sleep. Action and
thought disappear, pain and pleasure fade away during sleep, and on
re-awaking, man’s conscious powers ascend from the unconsciousness of
sleep as though from hidden mysterious sources of energy. It is the same
consciousness which sinks down into dim depths on falling asleep and
ascends from them again on re-awaking.
That which awakens life again out of this state of unconsciousness is,
according to occult science, the third principle of the human being. It is
called the astral body. Just as the physical body cannot keep its form by
means of the mineral substances and forces it contains, but must, in order
to be kept together, be interpenetrated by the etheric body, so is it
impossible for the forces of the etheric body to illuminate themselves
with the light of consciousness. An etheric body left to its own resources
would be in a permanent state of sleep.(1) An etheric body awake, is
illuminated by an astral body. This astral body seems to sense-observation
to disappear when man falls asleep; to clairvoyant observation it is still
present, with the difference that it appears separated from or drawn out
of the etheric body. Sense-observation has nothing to do with the astral
body itself, but only with its effects in the manifested world, and these
cease during sleep. In the same sense in which man possesses his physical
body in common with plants, he resembles animals as regards his astral
body.
Plants are in a permanent state of sleep. One who does not judge
accurately in these matters may easily make the mistake of attributing to
plants the same kind of consciousness as that of animals and human beings
in the waking state; but this assumption can only be due to an inaccurate
conception of consciousness. In that case it is said that, if an external
stimulus is applied to a plant, it responds by certain movements, as would
an animal. The _sensitiveness_ of some plants is spoken of,—for example,
of those which contract their leaves when certain external things act upon
them. But the characteristic mark of consciousness is not that a being
reacts in a certain way to an impression, but that it experiences
something in its inner nature which adds a new element to mere reaction.
Otherwise we should be able to speak of the consciousness of a piece of
iron when it expands under the influence of heat. Consciousness is present
only when, through the effect of heat, the being feels pain or pleasure
inwardly.
The fourth principle of being which occult science attributes to man is
one which he does not share in common with the rest of the manifested
world. It is that which differentiates him from his fellow creatures and
makes him the crown of creation. Occult science helps in forming a
conception of this further principle of human nature by pointing out the
existence of an essential difference between the kinds of experience in
waking life. On the one hand, man is constantly subjected to experiences
which must of necessity come and go; on the other, he has experiences with
which this is not the case. This fact comes out with special force if
human experiences are compared with those of animals. An animal
experiences the influences of the outer world with great regularity; under
the influence of heat and cold it becomes conscious of pain or pleasure,
and during certain regularly recurring bodily processes it feels hunger
and thirst. The sum total of man’s life is not exhausted by such
experiences; he is able to develop desires and wishes which go beyond
these things. In the case of an animal it would always be possible, on
going far enough into the matter, to ascertain the cause—either within or
without its body—which impelled it to any given act or feeling. This is by
no means the case with man. He may engender wishes and desires for which
no adequate cause exists either inside or outside of his body. A
particular source must be found for everything in this domain; and
according to occult science this source is to be found in the human “I” or
“ego.” Therefore the ego will be spoken of as the fourth principle of the
human being.
Were the astral body left to its own resources, feelings of pleasure and
pain, and sensations of hunger and thirst, would take place within it, but
there would be lacking the consciousness of something lasting in all these
feelings. It is not the permanent as such, which is here designated the
“ego,” but rather that which experiences this permanent element. In this
domain, conceptions must be very exactly expressed if misunderstandings
are not to arise. With the becoming aware of something permanent, lasting,
within the changing inner experiences, begins the dawn of “ego
consciousness.”
The sensation of hunger, for instance, cannot give a creature the feeling
of having an ego. Hunger sets in when the recurring causes make themselves
felt in the being concerned, which then devours its food just because
these recurring conditions are present. For the ego-consciousness to
arise, there must not only be these recurring conditions, urging the being
to take food, but there must have been pleasure derived from previous
satisfaction of hunger, and the consciousness of the pleasure must have
remained, so that not only the present experience of hunger but the past
experience of pleasure urges the being to take nourishment.
Just as the physical body falls into decay if the etheric body does not
keep it together, and as the etheric body sinks into unconsciousness if
not illuminated by the astral body, so the astral body would necessarily
allow the past to be lost in oblivion unless the ego rescued the past by
carrying it over into the present. What death is to the physical body and
sleep to the etheric, the power of forgetting is to the astral body. We
may put this in another way, and say that life is the special
characteristic of the etheric body, consciousness that of the astral body,
and memory that of the ego.
It is still easier to make the mistake of attributing memory(2) to an
animal than that of attributing consciousness to a plant. It is so natural
to think of memory when a dog recognizes its master, whom perhaps it has
not seen for some time; yet in reality the recognition is not due to
memory at all, but to something quite different. The dog feels a certain
attraction toward its master which proceeds from the personality of the
latter. This gives the dog a sense of pleasure whenever its master is
present, and every time this happens it is a cause of the repetition of
the pleasure. But memory only exists in a being when he not only feels his
present experiences, but retains those of the past. A person might admit
this, and yet fall into the error of thinking the dog has memory. For it
might be said that the dog pines when its master leaves it, and therefore
it retains a remembrance of him. This too is an inaccurate opinion. Living
with its master has made his presence a condition of well-being to the
dog, and it feels his absence much in the same way in which it feels
hunger. One who does not make these distinctions will not arrive at a
clear understanding of the true conditions of life.
Memory and forgetfulness have for the ego much the same significance that
waking and sleeping have for the astral body. Just as sleep banishes into
nothingness the cares and troubles of the day, so does forgetfulness draw
a veil over the sad experiences of life and efface part of the past. And
just as sleep is necessary for the recuperation of the exhausted vital
forces, so must a man blot out from his memory certain portions of his
past life if he is to face his new experiences freely and without
prejudice. It is out of this very forgetfulness that strength arises for
the perception of new facts. Let us take the case of learning to write.
All the details which a child has to go through in this process are
forgotten. What remains is the ability to write. How would a person ever
be able to write if each time he took up his pen all his experiences in
learning to write rose up before his mind?
Now there are many different degrees of memory. Its simplest form is
manifest when a person perceives an object and, after turning away from
it, retains its image in his mind. He formed the image while looking at
the object, A process was then carried out between his astral body and his
ego. The astral body lifted into consciousness the outward impression of
the object, but knowledge of the object would last only as long as the
thing itself was present, unless the ego absorbed the knowledge into
itself and made it its own.
It is at this point that occult science draws the dividing line between
what belongs to the body and what belongs to the soul. It speaks of the
astral body as long as it is a question of the gaining of knowledge from
an object which is present. But what gives knowledge duration is known as
soul. From this it can at once be seen how close is the connection in man
between the astral body and that part of the soul which gives a lasting
quality to knowledge. The two are, to a certain extent, united into one
principle of human nature. Consequently, this unity is often denoted the
astral body. When exact terms are desired, the astral body is called the
_soul-body_, and the soul, in so far as it is united with the latter, is
called the _sentient soul_.
The ego rises to a higher stage of its being when it centres its activity
on what it has gained for itself out of its knowledge of objective things.
It is by means of this activity that the ego detaches itself more and more
from the objects of perception, in order to work within that which is its
own possession. The part of the soul on which this work devolves is called
the rational- or intellectual-soul.(3) It is the peculiarity of the
sentient and intellectual souls that they work with that which they
receive through sense-impressions of external objects of which they retain
the memory. The soul is then wholly surrendered to something which is
really outside it. Even what it has made its own through memory, it has
actually received from without. But it is able to go beyond all this, and
occult science can most easily give an idea of this by drawing attention
to a simple fact, which, however, is of the greatest importance. It is,
that in the whole range of speech there is but one name which is
distinguished by its very nature from all other names. This is the name
“I.” Every other name can be applied by any one to the thing or being to
which it belongs. The word “I,” as the designation of a being, has a
meaning only when given to that being by himself. Never can any outside
voice call us by the name of “I.” We can apply it only to ourselves. I am
only an “I” to myself; to every one else I am a “you,” and every one else
is a “you” to me. This fact is the outward expression of a deeply
significant truth. The real essence of the ego is independent of
everything outside of it, and it is on this account that its name cannot
be applied to it by any one else. This is the reason why those religions
confessions which have consciously maintained their connections with
occult science, speak the word “I” as the “unutterable name of God.” For
the fact above mentioned is exactly what is referred to when this
expression is used. Nothing outward has access to that part of the human
soul of which we are now speaking. It is the “hidden sanctuary” of the
soul. Only a being of like nature with the soul can win entrance there.
“The divinity dwelling in man speaks when the soul recognizes itself as an
ego.” Just as the sentient and intellectual souls live in the outer world,
so a third soul-principle is immersed in the divine when the soul becomes
conscious of its own nature.
In this connection a misunderstanding may easily arise; it may seem as
though occult science interpreted the ego to be one with God. But it by no
means says that the ego is God, only that it is of the same nature and
essence as God. Does any one declare the drop of water taken from the
ocean to be the ocean, when he asserts that the drop and the ocean are the
same in essence or substance? If a comparison is needed, we may say, “The
ego is related to God as the drop of water is to the ocean.” Man is able
to find a divine element within himself, because his original essence is
derived directly from the Divine. Thus man, through the third principle of
his soul, attains an inner knowledge of himself, just as through his
astral body he gains knowledge of the outer world. For this reason occult
science calls the third soul-principle _the consciousness-soul_, and it
holds that the soul-part of man consists of three principles, the
_sentient-_, _intellectual-_, and _consciousness-souls_, just as the
bodily part has three principles, the _physical_, _etheric_, and _astral
bodies_.
The real nature of the ego is first revealed in the consciousness-soul.
Through feeling and reason the soul loses itself in other things; but as
the consciousness-soul it lays hold of its own essence. Therefore this ego
can only be perceived through the consciousness-soul by a certain inner
activity. The images of external objects are formed as those objects come
and go, and the images go on working in the intellect by virtue of their
own force. But if the ego is to perceive itself, it cannot merely
_surrender_ itself; it must first, by inner activity, draw up its own
being out of its depths, in order to become conscious of it. A new
activity of the ego begins with this self cognition,—with
self-recollection. Owing to this activity, the perception of the ego in
the consciousness-soul possesses an entirely different meaning for man
from that conveyed by the observation of all that reaches him through the
three bodily principles and the two other soul-principles. The power which
reveals the ego in the consciousness-soul is in fact the same power which
manifests everywhere else in the world; only in the body and the lower
soul-principles it does not come forth directly, but is manifested little
by little in its effects. The lowest manifestation is through the physical
body, thence a gradual ascent is made to that which fills the intellectual
soul. Indeed, we may say that with each ascending step one of the veils
falls away in which the hidden centre is wrapped. In that which fills the
consciousness-soul, this hidden centre emerges unveiled into the temple of
the soul. Yet it shows itself just here to be but a drop from the ocean of
the all-pervading Primordial Essence; and it is here that man first has to
grasp it,—this Primordial Essence. He must recognize it in himself before
he is able to find it in its manifestations.
That which penetrates into the consciousness-soul like a drop from the
ocean is called by occult science _Spirit_. In this way is the
consciousness-soul united with the spirit, which is the hidden principle
in all manifested things. If man wishes to lay hold of the spirit in all
manifestation, he must do it in the same way in which he lays hold of the
ego in the consciousness-soul. He must extend to the visible world the
activity which has led him to the perception of his ego. By this means he
evolves to yet higher planes of his being. He adds something new to the
principles of his body and soul. The first thing that happens is that he
himself conquers what lies hidden in his lower soul-principles, and this
is effected through the work which the ego carries on within the soul. How
man is engaged in this work becomes evident if we compare a high-minded
idealist with a person who is still given up to low desires and so-called
sensual pleasures. The latter becomes transmuted into the former if he
withdraws from certain lower tendencies and turns to higher ones. He thus
works through his ego upon his soul thereby ennobling and spiritualizing
it. The ego has become the master of that man’s soul-life. This may be
carried so far that no desire or wish can take root in the soul unless the
ego permits its entrance. In this way the whole soul becomes a
manifestation of the ego, which previously only the consciousness-soul had
been. All civilized life and all spiritual effort really consist in the
one work, which has for its object to make the ego the master. Every one
now living is engaged in this work whether he wishes it or not, and
whether or not he is conscious of the fact.
Again, by this work human nature is drawn upward to higher stages of
being. Man develops new principles of his being. These lie hidden from him
behind what is manifest. If man is able by working upon his soul, to make
his ego master of it, so that the latter brings into manifestation what is
hidden, the work may extend yet farther and include the astral body. In
that case the ego takes possession of the astral body by uniting itself
with the hidden wisdom of this astral principle. In occult science the
astral body which is thus conquered and transformed by the ego is called
the _Spirit-Self_. (This is the same as what is known as “_Manas_” in
theosophical literature, a term borrowed from the wisdom of the East.) In
the Spirit-Self a higher principle is added to human nature, one which is
present as though in the germ, and which in the course of the work of the
human being on itself comes forth more and more.
Man conquers his astral body by pushing through to the hidden forces lying
behind it; a similar thing happens, at a later stage of development, to
the etheric body: but the work on the latter is more arduous, for what is
hidden in the etheric body is enveloped in two veils, but what is hidden
in the astral body in only one.(4) Occult science gives an idea of the
difference in the work on the two bodies by pointing out certain changes
which may take place in man in the course of his development. Let us at
first think of the way in which certain soul-qualities of man develop when
the ego works upon the soul; how pleasures and desires, joys and sorrows,
may change. We have only to look back to our childhood. What gave us
pleasure then, what caused us pain? What have we learned in addition to
what we knew as children? All this is but an expression of the way in
which the ego has gained the mastery over the astral body, for it is this
principle which is the vehicle of pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow.
Compared with these things, how little in the course of time do certain
other human qualities change, for example, the temperament, the deeper
peculiarities of the character, and like qualities. A passionate child
will often retain certain tendencies to sudden anger during its
development in later life.
This is such a striking fact that there are thinkers who entirely deny the
possibility of changing the fundamental character. They assume that it is
something permanent throughout life, and that it is merely a question of
its being manifested in one way or another. But such an opinion is due to
defective observation. To one who is capable of seeing such things, it is
evident that even the character and temperament of a person may be
transformed under the influence of his ego. It is true that this change is
slow in comparison with the change in the qualities before mentioned. We
may compare the relation to each other of the rates of change in the two
bodies to the movements of the hour-hand and minute-hand of a clock. Now
the forces which bring about a change of character or temperament belong
to the hidden forces of the etheric body. They are of the same nature as
the forces which govern the kingdom of life,—the same, therefore, as the
forces of growth, nutrition, and generation. Further explanations in this
work will throw the right light on these things.
Thus it is not when man simply gives himself up to pleasure and pain, joy
and sorrow, that the ego is working on the astral body, but when the
peculiarities of these qualities of the soul are changed; and the work is
extended in the same way to the etheric body, when the ego applies its
energies to changing the character or temperament. This change, too, is
one in which every person living is engaged, whether consciously or not.
The most powerful incitement to this kind of change in ordinary life is
that given by religion. If the ego allows the impulses which flow from
religion to work upon it again and again, they become a power within it
which extends to the etheric body and changes it as lesser impulses in
life effect the transformation of the astral body. These lesser impulses,
which come to man through study, reflection, the ennobling of feeling, and
so on, are subject to the manifold changes of existence; but religious
feelings impress a certain stamp of uniformity upon all thinking, feeling,
and willing. They diffuse an equal and single light over the whole life of
the soul.
Man thinks and feels one thing to-day, another to-morrow, the causes of
which are of many different kinds; but one who, consistently holding to
his religious convictions, has a glimpse of something which persists
through all changes, will relate his thoughts and feelings of to-day, as
well as his experiences of to-morrow, to that fundamental feeling he
possesses. Thus religious belief has the power of permeating the whole of
the soul-life. Its influences increase in strength as time goes on because
they are constantly repeated. Hence they acquire the power of working upon
the etheric body.
In a similar way the influences of true art work upon man. If,—going
beyond the outer form, colour and tone of a work of art,—he penetrates to
its spiritual foundations with his imagination and feeling, then the
impulses thus received by the ego actually reach the etheric body. When
this thought is followed out to its logical conclusion, the immense
significance of art in all human evolution may be estimated. Only a few
instances are pointed out here of what induces the ego to work upon the
etheric body. There are many similar influences in human life which are
not so apparent at the first glance. But these instances are enough to
show that there is yet another principle of man’s nature hidden within
him, which the ego is making more and more manifest. Occult science
denotes this second principle of the spirit the _Life-Spirit_. (It is the
same which in current theosophical literature is called Budhi, a term
borrowed from Eastern wisdom.) The expression “Life-Spirit” is
appropriate, because the same forces are at work within it as are active
in the vital body, with the difference that when they are manifesting in
the latter the ego is not active. When, however, these powers express
themselves as the Life-Spirit, they are interpenetrated by the ego.
Man’s intellectual development, the purification and ennobling of his
feelings and of the manifestations of his will, are the measure of the
degree in which he has transformed the astral body into the Spirit-Self.
His religious experiences, as well as many others, are stamped upon the
etheric body, making it into the Life-Spirit. In the ordinary course of
life this happens more or less unconsciously; so-called initiation, on the
contrary, consists in man’s being directed by occult science to the means
through which he may quite consciously take in hand this work on the
Spirit-Self and Life-Spirit. These means will be dealt with in later parts
of this book. In the meantime it is important to show that, besides the
soul and the body, the spirit also is working within man. It will be seen
later how this spirit belongs to the eternal part of man, as contrasted
with the perishable body.
But the work of the ego on the astral and etheric bodies does not exhaust
its activity, which is also extended to the physical body. A slight effect
of the influence of the ego on the physical body may be seen when certain
experiences cause a person to blush or turn pale. In this case the ego is
actually the occasion of a process in the physical body. Now if through
the activity of the ego in man, changes occur influencing the physical
body, the ego is really united with the hidden forces of the physical
body, that is, with the same forces which bring about its physical
processes. Occult science says that during such activity the ego is
working on the physical body. This expression must not be misunderstood.
It must on no account be supposed that this work is of a grossly material
nature. What appears as gross material in the physical body is merely the
manifested part of it; behind this are the hidden forces of its being,
which are of a spiritual nature. When the ego puts forth its energies in
the manner described, it unites itself, not with the outer material
manifestation of the physical body, but with the invisible forces which
bring that body into being and afterwards cause it to decay. This work of
the ego on the physical body can only very partially become clear to man’s
consciousness in ordinary life. It can become fully clear only when, under
the influence of occult science, man consciously takes the work into his
own hands. Then he becomes aware that there is a third spiritual principle
within him. It is that which occult science calls the _Spirit-Man_, as
contrasted with physical man. (In theosophical literature this
“Spirit-Man” is known as Atma.)
Again, with regard to the Spirit-Man, it is easy to make a mistake. In the
physical body we see man’s lowest principle, and on this account find it
hard to realize that the work on that body should be accomplished by the
highest principle of the human entity. But just because the spirit active
within the physical body is hidden under three veils, the highest kind of
human effort is needed in order to make the ego one with that which is the
hidden spiritual energy of the body.
Occult science, therefore, represents man as a being composed of many
principles. Those of a bodily nature are:
the physical body,
the etheric or vital body,
the astral body.
The soul-principles are:
the sentient-soul,
the intellectual- or rational-soul,
the consciousness-soul.
It is in the soul that the ego diffuses its light. Of a spiritual nature
are:
the Spirit-Self,
the Life-Spirit,
the Spirit-Man.
It follows from what was said above that the sentient-soul and the astral
body are closely united and in a certain sense are one. Similarly, the
consciousness-soul and the Spirit-Self form a whole, for in the
consciousness-soul the spirit shines forth, and thence irradiates with its
light the other principles of the human being. Hence occult science also
speaks of man’s organization as follows. The intellectual-soul is simply
called the ego, because it partakes of the nature of the ego, and in a
certain sense is the ego, not yet conscious of its spiritual nature. We
thus have seven divisions of man:
(1) physical body;
(2) etheric or vital body;
(3) astral body;
(4) Ego;
(5) Spirit-Self;
(6) Life-Spirit;
(7) Spirit-Man.
Even one accustomed to materialistic habits of thought would not find in
this sevenfold organization of man the “fanciful magic” often attributed
to the number seven, if one would only keep strictly to the meaning of the
above explanations without himself injecting arbitrarily the idea of
something magical into the matter. Occult science speaks of these seven
principles of man in exactly the same way, only from the standpoint of a
higher form of observation of the world, as allusion is commonly made to
the seven colours that make up white light, or to the seven notes of the
scale (the octave being regarded as a repetition of the keynote). As light
appears in seven colours, and sound in seven tones, so is the unity of
man’s nature manifested in the seven principles described. No more
superstition attaches to the number seven in the case of occult science
than when associated with the spectrum or with the scale.
On one occasion when these facts were put forward verbally, the objection
was made that the statement about the number seven does not apply to
colours, since there are others beyond the red and violet rays, invisible
to the eye. But even in this respect the comparison with colours holds
good, for, in fact, the human being expands beyond the physical body on
the one side, and beyond the Spirit-Man on the other; only to the methods
of spiritual observation of which occult science here speaks, are these
extensions of the human being “spiritually invisible,” just as the colours
beyond red and violet are physically invisible. This explanation becomes
necessary, because the opinion so easily arises that occult science does
not seriously apply itself to scientific thinking, but treats such matters
unscientifically. However, one who carefully considers the meaning of the
statements made by occult science will find that in reality it is never at
variance with genuine science; neither when it brings forward the facts of
natural science as illustrations, nor when its statements are directly
connected with natural research.