Principle of spiritual economy

Not only the human 'I' can be reincarnated, the human etheric body and the human astral body can also be reincarnated.

The principle of spiritual economy is that what has once been gained cannot perish but is preserved and transplanted on the spiritual soil of posterity.

Valuable bodily components of important Individualities part of the spiritual guidance of mankind are not lost but can be re-used by other Individualities as part of an incarnation.

One can contemplate and imagine that highly developed and thus spiritualized bodily principles are not dispersed after death but remain; and that they thus be considered archetypes in the spirit world which can then be multiplied and re-used. Rudolf Steiner explains this in 1911-10-11-GA131 with further explanation in 1906-04-16-GA096 and 1906-07-27-GA244 (Q&A 105.1), the latter captured on Schema FMC00.430 (for all relevant links, see below).

The process of what is called on this site 'cellular multiplication process' is an important principle that helps to understand the underlying dynamics of the Christ Impulse and future spiritualization of humanity as depicted on Schema FMC00.594.

Aspects

cellular multiplication process

• details follow below, but upfront: for further explanation, see Schema FMC00.430 and further coverage on Holy Supper symbolism - apostles#Note 2 - The Apostles and the Christ - Schema FMC00.430
• the multiplication process is described for Christ-Jesus and the Christ Impulse and "the intimate history of Christian development is connected with this fact" (1909-02-15-GA109)
  • "because the avatar being of Christ lived in the body of Jesus of Nazareth, it became possible for his etheric body to be multiplied innumerable times. This was true as well of the astral body and even the I; that is, the I as an impulse," (1909-02-15-GA109)
  • "through what we may call a mystical Christological process, Man acquires a body quite other than the one he has gradually acquired in his downward evolution .. think of each of these new bodies as having an intimate connection with the pure phantom that rose from the grave, somewhat as the human cells of the physical body are connected with the original cell." (1911-10-11-GA131) see Cleansed phantom#1911-10-11-GA131
  • for carriers of see Schema FMC00.089 ..
• the multiplication process is also described for Sem-Melchizedek (1909-02-15-GA109), Christian Rosenkreutz and Elijah are case examples for study as they relate to the Christ Impulse; see more details in The being of Elijah#Note 4 - Elijah cellular multiplication into human heart
  • for Sem (1909-05-16-GA104A) - the multiplication of etheric body is described:

    When dwelling in a human being such a divine being has a very special power. He can reproduce a particular etheric body, and these reproduced etheric bodies then form a fabric that is again and again woven into the descendants.

  • for the etheric body of Christian Rosenkreutz, see Individuality of Christian Rosenkreutz#1911-09-27-GA130 (here only the relevant phrases are kept from the original longer extract)

    Great forces emanating from the etheric body of Christian Rosenkreutz can work into our soul and also into our spirit. ... the forces of the wonderful etheric body of [this Individuality] had remained intact, none of them dispersed after death into the general world ether. This was a permanent etheric body, remaining intact in the ether spheres thereafter. ... The rosicrucians sought the strength to achieve such harmony of willing and thinking in their own soul in the force radiating from this etheric body of the thirteenth, Christian Rosenkreutz.... by the grace of what radiated from the wonderful etheric body of Christian Rosenkreutz they could develop an absolutely new world conception. ... [and] .. thus the forces radiating from the etheric body of Christian Rosenkreutz continued to be active in the nineteenth century too. ... the etheric body of Christian Rosenkreutz has become very strong, and, through devotion to this, Man will be able to acquire the new clairvoyance, and lofty spiritual forces will come into being. ... Until now an esoteric rosicrucian preparation was essential, but the twentieth century has the mission of enabling this etheric body to become so powerful that it can also work exoterically.

  • for Elijah
    • "The spirit of Elijah itself shows how in multiplied form it must enter human hearts, so that in the further course of world history they may gradually take up ever more and more of the Christ Impulse. .. “I will make a place for Him; I will prepare the way for Him into the hearts of men. I will no longer merely hover over men, but will enter into human hearts, so that He also can enter in.” (1912-09-17-GA139) - see The being of Elijah#Note 4 - Elijah cellular multiplication into human heart

re-use of bodily principles

• principle of re-use: when the initiate has worked and refined his etheric body, it no longer dissolves (and similarly so for the astral body and physical body) (o.a. 1905-04-21-GA090B)
• in the future and later stages of human development, also copies (or a 'print', "Abdruck") of the spirit-self, life-spirit and spirit-man will similarly be available (1909-02-03-GA109 notes to lecture).
• transfer copy of I
  • The I of Master Jesus (Zarathustra, Jesus of Nazareth, KRI90) lived again in Lucian of Antioch (approx 240-312), the teacher of Arius (approx 260-336) later also in a personality in northern Italy. (1909-02-19-GA109 notes to lecture). Note: Regarding copies of the bodies of Jesus, in 1909-03-22-GA109 notes to lecture, Franciscus of Assisi and Elisabeth von Thüringen are mentioned as carriers of the astral body of Jesus of Nazareth. This shows that the individual scribes did not always consistently use Jesus or Christ-Jesus.
• transfer copy of etheric body
  • Michael Lomonossow is given as an example of a carrier of the etheric body of Galilei. (1909-02-19-GA109 notes to lecture (states explicitly astral body, also in 1917-01-15-GA174: "The soul of Galileo lives again in the Russian Lomonosov ,and Lomonosov is .. founder of Slav culture in the East")
  • The author of the old Saxon epic Heliand (9th century) was a carrier of (copy of) the etheric body of Jesus. (1909-02-19-GA109 notes to lecture)
• transfer copy of astral body
  • KRID 55: Copernicus received the astral body of Nikolaus von Kues (1909-02-25-GA109 notes to lecture)
  • Paracelsus (1493-1541) his advanced astral body was in the spirit world between 1541 and 1797 when it went over into KRID 34 Goethe in his 48th year (19XX-XX-XX-GA265A and 1911-12-17-GA265A)
  • Rudolf Steiner discusses Shankaracharya or Adi Shankara, a vedic scholar and teacher, as a potential carrier of the astral body of the Buddha (the wordings are confusing so it's not clear he confirms it or not) (1909-03-22-GA109 notes to lecture)
• in the lectures of the Baptism, the technique of sacrificing lower bodies is described. It is described how "in Jesus of Nazareth we have a personality that reached a high stage of development and .. already used to sacrifice [these] in previous incarnations." (1908-09-14-GA244 - Q&A 169.8). This refers to the Individuality of Master Jesus' incarnation Zarathustra and his pupils Hermes and Moses (re Individuality of Master Jesus).
• see also: Earth's inner layers#inner layer seven: Earth mirror

nirmanakaya and dharmakaya

• a human etheric body which remains preserved after death is called nirmanakaya, one that originates from multiplication is called dharmakaya (1909-02-19-GA109 extra notes to lecture). Multiplication of ether bodies is possible through avatars, highly developed beings such as Vishnu (who worked in Krishna as avatar) and many advanced Brahmans. (1909-02-03-GA109 and 1909-02-19-GA109 notes to lecture).
• lateral thinking:
  • in 1924-08-08-GA237 Rudolf Steiner states: "the soul shall really be taken hold of by the mission of spiritual science" on Q00.006 - spiritual events at various points in life#1924-08-08-GA237. This could refer to the process of attaching a copy of the etheric body
  • in that context, see also the working of the etheric body of Christian Rosenkreutz - see Individuality of Christian Rosenkreutz#1911-09-27-GA130

Inspirational quotes

1909-02-19-GA109 notes to lecture

Those who are preparing themselves today, are preparing a copy (or imprint) of the I of that entity (Christ and examples of carriers of bodily principles such as Franciscus of Assisi Elisabeth von Thüringen ), and that is the development of the future Christianity. This is now the past works into the future, and this is how Man will recognize his destination, that way becoming a contributor in this great spiritual task.

Illustrations

Schema FMC00.089 shows examples of Individualities that have received copies of Christ-Jesus as part of their make up in Man's bodily principles for the given incarnations.

Addition: Nicolas Cusanus or Nikolaus von Kues is told to be a carrier of the astral body of Christ, and Galilei a carrier of the etheric body of Christ. It is said that Franciscus of Assisi could err in his I (as it had not been fully been worked through the Christ impulse ; in DE: "noch nicht durchchristlicht") but was truly great in his astral body, and that he lived in copies of the three sheaths of Christ. (1909-02-19-GA109 notes to lecture)

Schema FMC00.430: is a drawing made by Rudolf Steiner, recorded by Mathilde Scholl in a private conversation where she asked Rudolf Steiner how the aftereffects of an important Individuality such as the apostle Paul were related to the effects of the Earth's inner layer called the 'shatterer'. She probably asked that question after what was said in the lecture of 1906-04-16-GA096 a few months before (or others) - see link to extract below.

For more information and context, see Holy Supper symbolism - apostles#Note 2 - The Apostles and the Christ - Schema FMC00.430

Furthermore see also

• for explanation on the shatterer layer, see Human physical body#1906-04-16-GA096 and Schema FMC00.004 on Earth's inner layers.
• for what is depicted, see also Holy Supper symbolism - apostles#1905-08-13-GA091 and Sig-Wotan on Spiritual guidance of mankind#Sig - Wotan

Lecture coverage and references

Overview coverage

In the period Feb to May 1909 this topic was covered in lectures mainly in GA109 (two from Rome that are in GA109 also in GA111).

Note that additional information (from various notes of lesser quality) is in GA volume GA109 in an Appendix (p 284 onwards in the German DE PDF). These are worth studying as they contain interesting nuances and hints.

Just one example, at the end of 1909-03-22-GA109 extra notes to lecture, in an allmost teasing tone: "Who has built into the St. Peter Cathedral the mechanics through Michelangelo that humanity received only later through Galilei." This is context of an explanation of re-use of etheric and astral bodies. This is picked up in 1911-01-01-GA109 notes to lecture (the actual lecture is in GA126), where is explained that the great intellectual thoughts about mechanics that Galilei had for humanity, can be seen in the spatial forms by Michelangelo in the St Peters. Further interesting hints are given, that the person who remarked this also noted that Michelangelo's death coincides with Galilei's birthday. See also '1911-12-17-GA109 notes to lecture' below.

Reference extracts

Initiates and adepts and the process of reincarnation

1905-04-21-GA090B

If a person is not yet the master of his astral body, then the physical and astral bodies dissolve in the cosmic mist.

At death, the soul is dissolved again into the universe. The etheric body also dissolves.

Why do the bodies dissolve?

Because Man has not yet power over his bodies. What a person has worked on in his astral body is eternal. What he has experienced in terms of purification during his physical existence, he takes with him, and in the new embodiment he brings these experiences with him again. The etheric body is the carrier of life; during life in the physical, the physical body is the ruler. Man cannot easily become the ruler over the life principle. Man knows nothing about the laws that take place in the body - blood, kidneys. All these processes are contingent on life. All physical processes affect the etheric body. Only when a person is liberated from the bodies does he begin the path of life.

For the chela, it is different: when one has undergone a transformation through the mysteries, one's etheric body does not disappear. The chela learns to work on his etheric body. He who begins to work on his etheric body, who has experienced initiation, will gain mastery over his etheric body.

1909-06-24-GA112

Now, when a lofty initiate is born, how do such a birth and the subsequent life differ from the birth and life of an ordinary Man?

In a general way it can be assumed that when a Man is born he bears the characteristics, at least approximately, of what derives from a previous incarnation.

But that is not the case with an initiate. The initiate could not be a leader of mankind if he bore within him only what wholly corresponds with his outer self, for that he must build up according to the conditions of his external environment.

When an initiate is born there must enter his body a lofty soul that in past times has had mighty experiences in the world. That is why legend so often tells of the strange births of initiates.

As to why and how this is so, we have already touched upon the answer to the first of these questions. It is because a comprehensive I that had already passed through significant experiences in the past now unites with a body, but this body is at first unable to receive what seeks to incarnate in it as spiritual nature. For this reason it is necessary, in the case of a lofty being incarnating as a high initiate in a perishable human being, that the reincarnating I should from the start envelop the physical form more intensely than in the case of other men.

While in the ordinary human being the physical form resembles and adapts itself soon after birth to the spiritual form, or human aura, the human aura of a reborn initiate is luminous at birth.

Spiritual economy key lectures

1909-01-21-GA109

also covered (see also 1909-02-15-GA109):

• Astral body Cusa to Copernicus
• Etheric body Galileo to Lomonosov
• re-use of Zarathustra's astral body in Hermes, and etheric body in Moses

The fact is that the astral body of Cusa was transferred to Copernicus even though the ego of the latter was different from that of Cusa. This is how Copernicus received the foundation and all the preparations for his own doctrine.

Similar cases occur often. What is especially valuable is always preserved; nothing vanishes. But this fact also enhances the possibility of error in any attempt to establish correspondences, especially when people attempt to investigate the earlier lives of a human being with the help of a medium in séance. The transfer of an etheric or astral body to a human being in more modern times usually happens now in such a way that an astral body is transferred to a member of the same language group, whereas an etheric body can be transferred to a member of another language group.

With regard to Galileo, it would have been a waste in nature's economy had his etheric body, the carrier of his memory and talent, been lost. And that is why his etheric body was transferred to another human being: Michail Lomonosov, who came from a poor Russian village and was later to become the founder of Russian grammar and classical literature. Lomonosov, however, is not the reincarnated Galileo, as might be supposed as a result of superficial investigation.

And thus we see that there are many such cases and that the process of reincarnation is not so simple as most people of our time think. If, therefore, people investigate earlier incarnations with the help of occult methods, they have to exercise much greater caution. .. the matter becomes more dangerous when advanced occultists make mistakes in this regard and imagine that they are the reincarnation of this or that man, when in fact they carry only his etheric body. ..

We have seen not only that the I's are capable of reincarnation, but that the lower members of the human constitution in a certain sense undergo a similar process. The result of this is that the whole configuration of the process of reincarnation is much more complicated than is usually supposed. And thus we see that the ego of Zarathustra was reincarnated as Zarathas — Nazarathos, who in turn became the teacher of Pythagoras. On the other hand, Zarathustra's astral body reappeared in Hermes and his etheric body in Moses. Therefore, nothing is lost in the world; everything is preserved and transmitted to posterity, provided it is valuable enough

1909-02-15-GA109

or translation V2 of that lecture: 1909-02-15-GA109

Note: this lecture held in Berlin appears in both GA107 (DE edition 5 of 1988) and GA109 (DE edition 3 of 2000). On this site we use the reference GA109 consistently to avoid confusion, and GA109 because that GA volume carries the title spiritual economy (so the lecture is definitely in the right place in that volume).

covers

• the connection of an avatar being with the etheric body of Sem, the progenitor (Stammvater) of the Semites. This caused a multiplication into uncountable copies of this etheric body in his descendants
• the storage of Sems own etheric body in the spiritual world for the mission of Melchisedek within the mission of the Hebrew people
• the impulse of Melchisedek to Abraham

and then also:

• the multiplication of the etheric body, astral body and I of Jesus of Nazareth through the entry of the Christ avatar being in Jesus
• the storage of these multiplied etheric and astral bodies in the spiritual world and the later insewing or weaving in (einweben) of these bodies in mature or ripe souls
• the intimate relation between the above and the history of Christianity

Other examples are given in that lecture:

• starting in the Atlantean epoch and Seven Rishis
• also Shem son of Noah, Melchizedek

Quote A

Now we have already said in the lecture mentioned at the beginning that there is also a spiritual economy consisting in the fact that anything of especial value is preserved and carried over into the future. We have heard that not only is the I re-embodied, but that also the astral body and the etheric body can be re-embodied.

Aside from the fact that numberless copies of Shem's etheric body were formed, his own etheric body was also preserved in the spiritual world because it could later be useful in the mission of the Hebrew people. In this etheric body all the peculiarities of the Hebrews had originally come to expression, and if at any time something of especial importance was to occur for them, if a special task or mission was to be assigned to some one of them, it could best be accomplished by one who bore the etheric body of the ancestor.

At a later time, a man who played an important role in the history of the Hebrews actually did bear the etheric body of the tribal ancestor, Shem. In fact, we have here one of those wonderful complications in human evolution that can explain a great deal to us. We have to do with an exalted individuality who was compelled to condescend, in somewhat the way a spiritually advanced person would have to speak to a lowly tribe, to speak to the Hebrew people in a manner appropriate to giving them strength for a special mission. He would, of course, be compelled to learn the language of this tribe, but it should not be maintained because of this that the language was something that would be used to advance him personally; he needed only take the trouble to learn the language.

In this same way a lofty individuality had to make the effort to use Shem's etheric body to be able to give a definite impulse to the ancient Hebrew people. This personality is the one you find in Biblical history named Melchizedek. He took upon himself the etheric body of Shem so that later he could give Abraham the impulse you find so beautifully described in the Bible. So, aside from the fact that what was contained in the individuality of Shem was multiplied because an avatar being was embodied in it, which then became woven into all the other etheric bodies of the Hebrews, Shem's own etheric body was preserved in the spiritual world so that it could be borne at a later time by Melchizedek, who was to give the Hebrews an important impulse through Abraham.

Thus delicately interwoven are the facts existing behind the physical world that alone make explicable to us what occurs in it. We come to understand history only when we are able to point to such facts of a spiritual nature lying behind the physical ones. History can never be explained by considering physical facts alone.

What we have been discussing becomes especially significant. Through the descent of an avatar being the essential soul-spiritual members of the individual who is the bearer of this avatar being are multiplied and transmitted as copies to other human beings.

This fact assumes special significance through the appearance of Christ on Earth. Because the avatar being of Christ lived in the body of Jesus of Nazareth, it became possible for his etheric body to be multiplied innumerable times. This was true as well of the astral body and even the I; that is, the I as an impulse, as it was kindled in the astral body of Jesus of Nazareth when Christ entered his threefold sheath. First, however, we will take into account the fact that through the Avatar Being the etheric and astral bodies of Jesus could be multiplied.

Now, through the appearance of the Christ principle in earthly evolution one of the most significant phenomena in humanity occurred.

What I have told you about Shem is fundamentally typical and characteristic of the pre-Christian times. When an etheric or an astral body is multiplied in this way, the copies are transmitted as a rule to those people who are related by blood to the one who had the original. Hence, the copies of Shem's etheric body were transmitted to the members of the Hebrew tribe.

This was changed when the Christ avatar being appeared. The etheric and astral bodies of Jesus of Nazareth were multiplied and the copies preserved until they could be used in the course of human development. They were not, however, limited to any one nationality nor to any particular people.

But when in the course of time a human being appeared who, irrespective of nationality, was ripe to have interwoven with his etheric or astral body an etheric or astral copy of the etheric or astral body of Jesus of Nazareth, they could be woven into his being. Thus, we see how it became possible in the course of time for all sorts of people to have woven into them copies of the astral or etheric bodies of Jesus of Nazareth.

The intimate history of Christian development is connected with this fact. ...

quote A (checked, seemingly not correct?)

After hearing about these examples of the reincarnation of etheric bodies and of an astral body, we know it is insufficient to speak only of the reincarnation of the I. The other members of the human constitution - the etheric body and the astral body — can also be reincarnated. It is a principle of spiritual economy that what has once been gained cannot perish, but is preserved and transplanted on the spiritual soil of posterity.

1909-04-19-GA264

(p 190 in EN edition 2010)

1909-05-16-GA104A

This is what happened to Sem, who actually had something to do with the entire tribe of the Semites. A special etheric body was formed for such a progenitor of a tribe. Because of this Sem was a kind of double personality. As incredible as it may sound to modern thinking, to a clairvoyant a personality such as Sem appeared, with his aura, like an ordinary man whose etheric body was filled by a higher being reaching down from higher worlds. In this way the man's aura became a mediator between his personality and higher worlds.

When dwelling in a human being such a divine being has a very special power. He can reproduce a particular etheric body, and these reproduced etheric bodies then form a fabric that is again and again woven into the descendants.

In this way the descendants of Sem were endowed with copies of his etheric body. But the etheric body of Sem himself, not only the reproduced copies, was also preserved in the mysteries. Then, any special individual who had been assigned a special mission had to use this etheric body in order to make himself understood to the Semitic people, just as highly educated Europeans would have to learn the language of the Hottentots in order to make themselves understood to them. The individuals given a special mission therefore had to carry within them the real etheric body of Sem in order to make themselves understood to the Semitic people. An example of such a personality would be Melchizedek, who could only show himself to Abraham in the etheric body of Sem.

and later

The Christ being took possession of these three bodies but he also took possession of something else, something that remained behind like an imprint of the I of Jesus. From the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries on, something like a copy of Jesus' I was woven into those men who then began to speak of an “inner Christ.” Meister Eckhart and Johannes Tauler were speaking out of their inner experience of something like an imprint of the I of Jesus of Nazareth.

Although there are still many people present today carrying something like a copy of the various bodies of Jesus of Nazareth, they no longer become leading personalities. More and more we see how in our fifth age there are people who must rely on themselves, on their own I. Such inspired people will become increasingly rare.

Therefore, steps were taken to provide for the future so that a particular spiritual stream could arise in our time, a spiritual stream with the task of insuring that spiritual knowledge will still reach humanity. Those individuals who could see into the future had to provide for human beings who are wholly dependent on their merely human I.

1910 - Harold W. Percival

in 'Adepts, Masters, and Mahatmas', see White Lodge#References and further reading

Note this is not necessarily a correct or the best view, see more on Cleansed phantom. Rudolf Steiner describes how adepts re-use the physical form body across incarnations.

A mahatma may decide to keep a body – the form body of the physical – in which he can communicate with and be seen by humanity.

Then he overcomes in his physical body time and death in the physical world by immortalizing the form of the physical body, not physical matter as such.

He puts the body through a course of training and provides it with particular foods which he gradually diminishes in quantity. The body increases in strength and gradually throws off its physical particles, but maintains its form. This continues until all the physical particles have been thrown off and the body of form stands, the conqueror of death, in the physical world where it may be seen by men, though it lives in the form-desire world and is known as an adept, an adept of a higher order.

This body is the one which has been spoken of in theosophical teachings as 'nirmanakaya'.

1911-10-11-GA131

see Cleansed phantom#1911-10-11-GA131

In a "mystical Christological process" analoguous to the multiplication of cells

Such question as this might be asked: If indeed Paul really believed that a spiritual body had risen, what has this spiritual body which had risen out of the grave to do with what every Man now bears in himself?

This is not hard to understand: we need only consider the analogy offered by the coming into existence of a human individual.

• As physical human being he begins from a single cell; a physical body consists entirely of cells which are all children of the original cell; all cells which compose a human body are traceable to the original cell.
• Now imagine that, through what we may call a mystical Christological process, Man acquires a body quite other than the one he has gradually acquired in his downward evolution.
• Then think of each of these new bodies as having an intimate connection with the pure phantom that rose from the grave, somewhat as the human cells of the physical body are connected with the original cell. That is, we must think of the Phantom as multiplying itself, as does the cell which gives rise to the physical body.

So, in the evolution which follows the Mystery of Golgotha, every Man can inwardly acquire something which is spiritually descended from the phantom which rose from the grave, just as — to echo Paul — the ordinary body which falls into dissolution is descended from Adam.

1911-12-17-GA109 notes to lecture'

When after life on Earth we pass through the gate of death, after having worked here on Earth on the progress and transformation of our bodily principles, then ..

.. we give over the part of the etheric body that we transformed to an angelic being as the contribution due to which it is entitled ("seinen Tribut, auf der er wartet und auf den er einen Anspruch hat"). This contribution or part is being radiated out by the angel and made of use for future generations, so the thoughts of experiences and progress can express and transplant themselves further. When this would not happen, and men would not work the tranformation of their etheric bodies, but only would occupy themselves with the needs of the physical plane, then the whole world would become ever more lonely and in the end die out.

The experiences that are gained by the transformation of the astral body, are being transferred after death to an archangel, that radiates it again onto other human beings. So delicate and hidden are these influences of our astral bodies working, that only through spiritual science can explain how these things work.

As an example: Paracelsus (1493-1541) died at age 48 after having worked extremely hard on his astral body through the many experiences he had. These transformed powers of his astral body were transferred through the archangelic beings to Goethe in the for him so important 48th year of his life, when a wholly new period of his life started for Goethe whereby he worked over Faust and discovered many secrets. He added to Faust the 'preface in heaven, that made Faust not just the story of a single human being, but of the whole development of humanity.

The I then still needs to be considered. Also here the developed powers, especially with strong Individualities, are transferred to a being of the hierarchy of the Archai, that then uses these in long ages of time to let new forces descend into humanity.

That is what happens in the spiritual world after death.

19XX-XX-XX-GA265A

notes by Ita Wegman, Munchen

Paracelsus (1493-1541) was murdered but his etheric and astral bodies did not get lost. His very advanced astral body was in the spirit world between 1541 and 1797 when it went over into Goethe, its influence can be seen in Faust.

Discussion

Note 1 - Melchizedek or Melchisedek

The mission of Melchizedek or Melchisedek is part of the Development of the I and the preparation for the Christ Impulse. He was a high spiritual being that planted a seed in the Hebrew people to prepare the etheric body in the line of descent leading to Jesus of Nazareth, through which Abraham and his descendants received the first impulse of seeing the link between the microcosmic human I as a drop of the divine macroscopic I.

Summary statement

Who?

Melchizedek (or Melchisedek or Melchisedech or Malekzadik) is described by Rudolf Steiner as a high spiritual being

• "a mighty Being" ... "the great Atlantean Sun-initiate"
• the teacher of the Rishis and of Zarathustra [in the ancient Indian and ancient Persian cultural ages]
• "the light-bearing purifier before Christ" in the book 'Pistis Sophia'

.

What - Why?

The meeting with Abraham described in the Old Testament is "of the greatest, the most universal importance." In this meeting Abraham underwent an initiation (though not in full consciousness) "connected with realisation of the Divine element that can flow into all human souls.".

Abraham "acquired the forces needed for the Sun sphere" (and it is from the Sun sphere that we must draw the forces necessary for the renewal of our etheric body for the next incarnation). The impulse given to Abraham was an "outpouring of power that came from him emanated from the same source as that which came from Christ. ... Thus an indirect outpouring of that which was destined to come to Earth at a later period took place through Melchisedek.

The result of Abraham's meeting with Melchisedek was that he now had some understanding that the outpouring of power he felt stirring within him and which he referred to as Jehovah ... this was the new consciousness that dawned in Abraham."

Through this, "with Abraham we see the first dawning of a knowledge that enables Man to comprehend the true essence of an I-God, a God related to Man's I nature. Abraham realized that behind the phenomena of the sense world was something that made it possible for the human I to conceive itself as a drop of the infinite, unfathomable world I."

See also: Schema FMC00.013 visualizing the Abraham period (from 1910-03-06-GA118).

How?

Melchizedek, to show himself to Abraham, used a copy of the etheric body of Sem.

• "Sem's etheric body was filled by a higher being (avatar) reaching down from higher worlds. ... When dwelling in a human being such a divine being has a very special power. He can reproduce a particular etheric body, and these reproduced etheric bodies then form a fabric that is again and again woven into the descendants." (1909-05-16-GA104A)

"Aside from the fact that numberless copies of Shem's etheric body were formed, his own etheric body was also preserved in the spiritual world because it could later be useful in the mission of the Hebrew people ... Melchizedek took upon himself the etheric body of Shem so that he could give the Hebrews an important impulse through Abraham." (1909-02-15-GA109)

Reference quotes

these complement the other quotes higher on this page which also mention Melchisedek

1906-09-04-GA095 Q&A

The “Pistis Sophia”

This book, written in the Coptic language, contains much of the discourses of Christ at the initiation of His disciples, and many inner expositions of parables.

The thirteenth chapter is especially important. The αιμαρμενη (Haimarmene) is the spirit world (devachan). The entire super-sensible world is divided into twelve aeons. These are the seven divisions of the astral plane and the five lowest divisions of devachan. Aberrated spirits can be purified from out of devachan.

The light-bearing purifier before Christ was Melchisedek. He is meant when we read of light coming from the επισχοπος (episkopos).

By αρχοντες (Archontes), the powers of evil are to be understood.

Note:

The term episkopos (ἐπίσκοπος) is a Greek word found in the New Testament and early Christian writings (Acts 20:28, Philippians 1:1, and 1 Timothy 3:1-2), literally meaning 'overseer' or 'one who watches over' .. and refers to leaders in early Christian communities.

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Generally speaking, the ages of history repeat themselves, but always in a new form. In spiritual science the beginning of Kali Yuga is seen as the closing of the portals of the spiritual world. After the first thousand years had passed there was the first compensation for it.

In the individuality of Abraham, after his initiation by Melchisedek, it became possible for a human being to recognize God in the surrounding world through true insight and a proper evaluation of the external world spread out, as it were, like a carpet before his senses.

In Abraham we see the first dawning of a knowledge that enables Man to comprehend the true essence of an I-God, a God related to Man's I nature. Abraham realized that behind the phenomena of the sense world was something that made it possible for the human I to conceive itself as a drop of the infinite, unfathomable world I.

A second stage of God revelation was experienced at the time of Moses, when God approached man through the elements. In the burning bush, in the thunder and lightning upon Sinai, He manifested himself to man's senses and appealed to his innermost being. In the third thousand years in which a knowledge of God was breaking through there followed the age of Solomon. God revealed Himself through the symbols of the Temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem.

Thus, the divine revelation proceeded in stages. God first appeared to Abraham as Ego-God, or the Jehovah God, then to Moses in the burning bush, in thunder, and then to Solomon in the symbols of the Temple.

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Thus in a certain sense the standpoint of Zarathustra was the opposite to that of the Rishis. The most significant fact of post-Indian culture was that what man gained through his spiritual and mental activities had to be impressed upon the outer world. It has already been shown how Zarathustra passed on his best possessions to Moses and Hermes. In order that the wisdom of Moses might be fruitful and bear seed in the right way, this seed had to be implanted in the race that had Abraham for its progenitor. Abraham was the first who acquired the organ through which the Jehovah consciousness could be evolved, but he had to realize that the God who spoke in him through his physical powers of comprehension, spoke with the same voice as the eternal all-pervading God of the Mysteries; only that He revealed Himself to Abraham in a more restricted manner, that is, in a way Abraham was able to understand.

For such a mighty Being as the great Atlantean Sun-initiate it is not immediately possible to speak in comprehensible words to those living in some age who have a special mission. A being so exalted—one who in his own individuality leads an eternal existence, and of whom it has been rightly said (indicating his eternal nature)—that he was without name or age, without father or mother—such a great guide of human existence could only reveal himself; to those whom he sought, by assuming a form that could bring him in contact with them. Therefore in order to give Abraham the appropriate illumination, the individual who had been the teacher of the Rishis and of Zarathustra, assumed a form in which he was clothed in the etheric body of a forefather of Abraham—this was the etheric sheath of Shem, the son of Noah—a forefather of Abraham.

In the same way as the etheric garment of Zarathustra had been preserved for Moses, this etheric body of Shem had persisted, and was used by the great Sun-initiate so that he might make himself known to Abraham. The meeting of Abraham with the great Initiate of the Sun-Mysteries is described in the Old Testament. It is the meeting of Abraham with the King, the Priest of the Most High God, Melchisedek or Malekzadik.

This meeting of Abraham with the great Sun-initiate is of the greatest, the most universal importance. Lest his presence might overwhelm Abraham this great being only showed himself in the etheric body of Shem, the ancestor of the Semitic race. Most significantly something is here hinted at in the Bible which is, unfortunately, seldom understood; it refers to whence that something came which Melchisedek was in a position to impart to Abraham.

What could Melchisedek give to Abraham?

He could impart to him the secret of the Sun-existence which sprang from the same source as the revelations prophetically foretold, in the first place, by Zarathustra. Naturally, these could only be comprehended by Abraham in his own way.

Let us picture the facts told by Zarathustra to his chosen pupils. He spoke to them of Ahura Mazdao who dwelt spiritually behind the sunlight, and said: ‘Behold, behind the sun is something not yet united with the Earth, but which will one day stream forth into earthly evolution and descend to earth.’ We must realize that Zarathustra could here only be prophesying of the Sun Spirit, the Christ, of Whom he said, ‘He will come in a human body.’ If we accept this, we must also accept the fact that still deeper revelations of the Sun Mysteries had to be given to those whose mission it was to prepare for the incarnation of Christ on earth.

This took place when Zarathustra's own instructor came in contact with Abraham, and the outpouring of power that came from him emanated from the same source as that which came from Christ. This is indicated symbolically in the Bible, where it says:

‘When Abraham met Melchisedek, the King of Salem—this priest of the most high God brought to him bread and the juice of the grape.’

Bread and the juice of the grape were dispensed on another occasion. In the same way as bread and wine were to become the expression of the Mystery of Christ in the institution of the Last Supper for those who believed in Him, this mystery was expressed here also. The similarity of the two sacrificial acts is described with such clearness that it shows that Melchisedek drew from the same source as the Christ.

Thus an indirect outpouring of that which was destined to come to Earth at a later period took place through Melchisedek. This influence was to have direct results on Abraham, the great preparer of what took place later. The result of Abraham's meeting with Melchisedek was that he now had some understanding that the outpouring of power he felt stirring within him and which he referred to as Jehovah—the highest to which his thought could rise—had the same origin as the consciousness of the Initiates—the highest wisdom attainable by man—and that it emanated from the mighty God Who fills all worlds with life and movement. This was the new consciousness that dawned in Abraham. He now knew that in the Hebrew blood, passing down from generation to generation, there actually flowed something that could only rightly be compared with what clairvoyant vision beheld when it reached forth to the mystery of existence, and understood the language of the cosmos.

[continuation]

I have already said that in the Mysteries the secrets of the cosmos were expressed in a language of the stars, that the teachers there made use of words and images derived from the constellations. In the movements of the stars, in their relative positions one to another, they saw pictures by means of which they sought to express man's spiritual experiences when he raised himself to what was divinely spiritual.

What did the Mystery wisdom read in the starry script?

It read there the secrets of the Godhead, of Him Who lives and weaves in and through the world. The disposition of the stars was a visible expression of this Godhead. Raising his eyes to the firmament man would say, ‘There God reveals Himself; and the way in which He makes Himself known is indicated in the order and harmony of the stars.’ Thus according to this conception, the God of the universe revealed Himself through the stars. If this God was to manifest in a special way in the mission of the Hebrew people, He must do so in accordance with the plan set forth in the starry courses of the heavens. This means that in the blood of the generations, which was the external instrument for the manifestation of Jehovah, a similar ordering should obtain as that expressed in the ordering of the stars. In the line of descent from Abraham, there had to be something which in the course of generations would be a reflection of the starry script. Accordingly, it was promised to Abraham, ‘Thy descendants shall be ordered as the stars in Heaven,’ this is the true rendering of the statement usually given as, ‘Thy descendants shall be as numerous as the stars in Heaven,’ which only refers to the number of the descendants. The statement is not concerned with the numbers but indicates how the same order should rule in Abraham's descendants as was found in the grouping of the stars—the language of the gods.

People looked up to the Zodiac; and in the position of the planets to the Zodiac, constellations were expressed in which they found a language expressing the deeds of the gods. The close connection existing in the Zodiac and in the relation of the planets to the twelve signs of the Zodiac, had to be expressed in the descendants of Abraham. Thus, in the twelve sons of Jacob, and in the twelve tribes of the Hebrew people, we have the reflection of the twelve signs of the Zodiac.

As the language of the gods finds expression above in the twelve starry signs, so Jehovah is manifested in the blood flowing through the generations of the twelve tribes that descended from the twelve sons of Jacob. What was ordered within the constellations of the Zodiac we designate by the names of the planets as Venus, Mercury, Moon, Sun, etc., and that which throughout the ages played a special part in different periods of the life of the Hebrew people we have compared with the course of the planets through the Zodiac. For instance, we showed how David, the kingly singer, has to be compared with Hermes or Mercury; and the period of the Babylonian captivity, that is, the form the manifestation of Jehovah assumed through the entrance of a new impulse six hundred years before our era, with the planet Venus.

It had to be indicated to Abraham, for instance, that the position in the race held by such a personality as David, was on parallel lines with that of Mercury in the Zodiac. The tribe of Judah corresponding to the constellation Leo, the entrance of David into that tribe in the course of Jewish history, corresponded in the cosmos to the occultation of Leo by Mercury.

In every detail—in the descent, in the conferring of the kingly or priestly dignities, in the struggles and victories of one or other of the tribes, in the whole history of the Hebrew people we can see what corresponds to the occultation of the several constellations in outer space. This lies in the significant words: ‘Thy descendants shall be ordered in accordance with the harmony of the stars in Heaven!’ We must not only see in documents that are founded on occultism the trivialities usually seen there, but we must recognize their profound depth.

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taken from: Passage through the planetary spheres after death#1912-11-20-GA141 2

It was not always so. In pre-Christian times the process of evolution did not require men unconditionally to acquire this understanding of every human soul. Humanity was obliged to pass through the phase of a one-sided attitude. But those who were trained for some kind of leadership in the world were obliged to acquire, either consciously or less consciously, an understanding for every human being without distinction. Even when some individual was to be the leader of a particular people he would be required to develop a measure of understanding for every human soul. This is indicated magnificently in the Old Testament in the passage describing the meeting between Abraham and Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High.

Those who understand this passage know that Abraham, who was destined to become the leader of his people, underwent an Initiation at this time — even if not in full consciousness as is the case in later Initiations. Abraham's Initiation was connected with realisation of the Divine element that can flow into all human souls.

The passage which tells of the meeting of Abraham with Melchizedek contains a deep secret connected with the evolution of humanity. But men had gradually to be prepared to become more and more qualified for a fruitful existence in the Sun sphere.

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Our life in the Sun sphere after death depends upon what relationship we have established with the Mystery of Golgotha.

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Now we shall understand and find support for what we need in the Sun sphere only if on the Earth we have acquired something that plays not only into the astral forces but into the etheric forces as well. You will know from what I have previously said that the religions influence the etheric forces and the etheric body of Man. A considerable spiritual heirloom is available for all of us inasmuch as forces from the Sun sphere are instilled into us if we have acquired understanding of the Mystery of Golgotha. For it is from the Sun sphere that we must draw the forces necessary for the renewal of our etheric body for the next incarnation; whereas the forces necessary for our astral body in the next incarnation must be drawn from the other planetary spheres.

Let nobody believe that what I have been saying is unconnected with the whole course of evolution. I have told you that already in pre-Christian times a leader of humanity such as Abraham was able at his meeting with Melchizedek (or Malkezadek) to acquire the forces needed for the Sun sphere. I am making no intolerant statement implying that Man can acquire the forces necessary for establishing a right relationship to the beings of the Sun sphere through orthodox Christianity alone.

I am stating a fact of evolution; another fact is that the time when it was still possible, as in ancient days, to behold the Akashic picture of Christ as the result of different means is drawing nearer and nearer to a close as evolution proceeds. Abraham's spiritual eyes were fully open to the Akashic picture of Christ in the Sun sphere.

You must not argue that the Mystery of Golgotha had not then taken place and that Christ was still in the Sun sphere; for during that period Christ was united with other planetary spheres. It is indeed a fact that at that time and even down to our own epoch, human beings were able to perceive what could be perceived in those spheres. And if we go still further back to those primeval ages when the Holy Rishis were the first Teachers of the people of ancient India, those Teachers certainly had knowledge of Christ who at that time was still in the Sun sphere, and they imparted this knowledge and understanding to their followers, although of course not using the later nomenclature. Although in those ancient times the Mystery of Golgotha was not yet within their ken, men were able, by drawing intimate truths from the depths of their being, to acquire from the Sun sphere what was needed for the renewal of their etheric bodies. But these possibilities ceased as evolution proceeded and this was necessary because new forces must perpetually be instilled into humanity

Related pages

• Introduction to reincarnation
• Journey between death and a new birth
• Earth's inner layers#inner layer seven: Earth mirror
• Impulses from waves of reincarnating souls
• Man's bodily principles
• Christ Module 8 - Resurrection
• Christ Module 2 - Nature of the Christ being