Principle of Spiritual Economy

The principle of spiritual economy states that the etheric and astral bodies of high initiates are not only preserved after death, but can also be multiplied to be woven into other people who have special future tasks to fulfil. Such bodies are called dharmakaya (law bodies) in the Eastern tradition.

According to this principle, the etheric bodies of the seven greatest sages of the Atlantean oracles were kept by Manu, the leader of the Atlantean solar oracle, and later transferred to the seven holy rishis who were to found the ancient Indian culture. "Only the etheric body of the great initiate of the Christ oracle was treated differently in certain respects from these others." (Lit.:GA 109, p. 13)

Multiplication of the essential members of Jesus Christ

It is particularly significant that through the descent of the Christ into the body of Jesus of Nazareth, his members - from the etheric body and astral body, through the sentient soul, intellectual soul and consciousness soul, up to the imprint of the I - could be multiplied after death and later woven into other human beings.

„The fact that the avataric being of the Christ dwelt in the body of Jesus of Nazareth made it possible for the etheric body of Jesus of Nazareth to be multiplied innumerable times, as well as the astral body and even the I, the I as an impulse, as it had been kindled in the astral body when the Christ entered the threefold shell of Jesus of Nazareth.“ (Lit.:GA 109, p. 26)

Images of the Christ etheric body

„There were a great number of people in the period from the 4th, 5th century to the 10th, 12th century to whom it would have seemed most foolish to tell them that one could also doubt the events of Palestine, for they knew better. These people were particularly widespread in European countries. They had always been able to experience in themselves something that was a kind of Pauline revelation in miniature, what Paul, who until then had been a Saul, experienced on the way to Damascus, and through which he became a Paul.

How was it possible for a number of people in these centuries to receive such revelations, in a certain sense clairvoyant, about the events in Palestine? This was possible because in these centuries the images of the multiplied etheric body of Jesus of Nazareth, which had been preserved, were woven into a large number of people, that they were allowed to put them on, so to speak. Their etheric body did not consist exclusively of this image of the etheric body of Jesus, but an image of the original Jesus of Nazareth was interwoven into their etheric body. There were people in these centuries who could have such an etheric body within them, and who could thus have direct knowledge of Jesus of Nazareth and also of the Christ. In this way, however, the image of Christ became detached from the outwardly historical, physical tradition. And it appears to us most detached in that wonderful poetry of the ninth century, known as the Heliand poetry, which comes from the time of Louis the Pious, who reigned from 814 to 840, and which was written down by an outwardly simple man of Saxony. With regard to his astral body and his I, he could not even come close to what was in his etheric body. For interwoven with his etheric body was an image of the etheric body of Jesus of Nazareth.“ (Lit.:GA 109, p. 28f)

„But many have received such an image of the etheric body of Jesus of Nazareth interwoven with it. Hence we see that in these centuries these people lived in imaginations which followed on from the events of Golgotha. All those who created the original images of the Redeemer on the cross, of Mary with the infant Jesus, which were repeated later, were such people who had come to these pictorial representations of the event of Golgotha and what is connected with it, because an image of the etheric body of Jesus of Nazareth was interwoven into their own etheric body. In these times, as is typical, these images arose because these people were clairvoyant.“ (Lit.:GA 109, p. 57)

„From the 6th and 7th century onwards, it happened that especially outstanding Christian preachers were interwoven with an image of the etheric body of Jesus of Nazareth. One such person was Augustine. He had to go through enormous struggles in his youth. Then, however, the impulse of the etheric body of Jesus of Nazareth became effective in him in a significant way, and only then did he begin to practise Christian mysticism out of himself. We can only understand his writings in this light.

Many personalities have gone around the world carrying such a copy. Columban, Gallus, Patrick, they all carried such an image of the etheric body within them, and it was precisely through this that they were able to spread Christianity. Thus a bridge could be built from the Christ event to the time that followed.“ (Lit.:GA 109, p. 121)

Literature

• Rudolf Steiner: Aus der Bilderschrift der Apokalypse des Johannes, GA 104a (1991), ISBN 3-7274-1045-0 English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
• Rudolf Steiner: Das Prinzip der spirituellen Ökonomie im Zusammenhang mit Wiederverkörperungsfragen, GA 109 (2000) English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org

References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated. Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com. Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English. Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA) Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.