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.For through experiencing such conditions and recognising that they cannot be changed we acquire the power to change them in our later karma.The technique of karma enables these conditions to be changed during another physical incarnation.There is only the remotest possibility that the dead himself can change them.Above all during the first period after death, during the time in Kamaloka, an individual sees what has been determined by his life before death, but to begin with he must leave it as it is; he is unable to bring about any change in what he experiences.Those who have remained behind on Earth have a far greater influence on the dead than the dead has on himself or others who have also died have upon him.And this is tremendously important.It is really only an individual who has remained on the physical plane, who had established some relationship with the dead, who through human will is able to bring about certain changes in the conditions of souls between death and rebirth.We will now take an example that can be instructive in many respects.Here we can also consider the life in Kamaloka, for the existing relationships do not change when the transition takes place into the period of Devachan.Let us think of two friends living on Earth, one of whom comes into contact with Anthroposophy at a certain time in his life and becomes an anthroposophist.It may happen that because of this, his friend rages against Anthroposophy.You may have known such a case.If the friend had been the first to find Anthroposophy he might himself have become a very good adherent.Such things certainly happen but we must realise that they are very often clothed in maya.Consequently it may happen that the one who rages against Anthroposophy because his friend has become an adherent is raging in his surface consciousness only, in his Ego-consciousness.In his astral consciousness, in his subconsciousness he may very likely not share in the antipathy.Without realising it he may even be longing for Anthroposophy.In many cases it happens that aversion in the upper consciousness takes the form of longing in the subconsciousness.It does not necessarily follow that an individual feels exactly what he expresses in his upper consciousness.After death we do not experience only the effects of the contents of our upper consciousness, our Ego-consciousness.To believe that would be to misunderstand entirely the conditions prevailing after death.It has often been said that although a human being casts off physical body and etheric body at death, his longings and desires remain.Nor need these longings and desires be only those of which he was actually aware.The longings and desires that were in his sub-consciousness, they too remain, including those of which he has no conscious knowledge or may even have resisted.They are often much stronger and more intense after death than they were in life.During life a certain disharmony between the astral body and the `I' expresses itself as a feeling of depression, dissatisfaction with oneself.After death, the astral consciousness is an indication of the whole character of the soul, the whole stamp of the individual concerned.So what we experience in our upper consciousness is less significant than all those hidden wishes, desires and passions which are present in the soul's depths and of which the `I' knows nothing.In the case mentioned, let us suppose that the man who denounces Anthroposophy because his friend has become an adherent passes through the gate of death.The longing for Anthroposophy, which may have developed precisely because of his violent opposition, now asserts itself and becomes an intense wish for Anthroposophy.This wish would have to remain unfulfilled, for it could hardly happen that after death he himself would have an opportunity of satisfying it.But through a particular concatenation of circumstances in such a case, the one who is on Earth may be able to help the other and change something in his conditions.This is the kind of case that may frequently be observed in our own ranks.We can, for instance, read to the one who has died.The way to do this is to picture him vividly there in front of us; we picture his features and go through with him in thought the content, for example, of an anthroposophical book.This need only be done in thought and it has a direct effect upon the one who has died.As long as he is in the stage of Kamaloka, language is no hindrance; it becomes a hindrance only when he has passed into Devachan.Hence the question as to whether the dead understands language need not be raised.During the period of Kamaloka a feeling for language is certainly present.In this practical way very active help can be given to one who has passed through the gate of death.What streams up from the physical plane is something that can be a factor in bringing about a change in the conditions of life between death and the new birth; but such help can only be given to the dead from the physical world, not directly from the spiritual world.We realise from this that when Anthroposophy actually finds its way into the hearts of men it will in very truth bridge the gap between the physical and the spiritual worlds, and that will constitute its infinite value in life.Only a very elementary stage in anthroposophical development has been reached when it is thought that what is of main importance is to acquire certain concepts and ideas about the members of man's constitution or about what can come to him from the spiritual world.The bridge between the physical world and the spiritual world cannot be built until we realise that Anthroposophy takes hold of our very life.We shall then no longer adopt a merely passive attitude towards those who have passed through the gate of death but shall establish active contact with them and be able to help them [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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