Which dimension has enduring existence in this present time?

By Heinz Grill
Article posted August 30’2021

Perishable in relation to imperishable values

If human consciousness wants to stand up against the many manipulations and suggestions of politics, economic and social life and replace false facts with correct ones, it grinds itself to pieces in its integrity. With combative words, demonstrations and rebellions against so-called evil or against the sinister, ever-growing mammon of the time, no organized uprising, however well thought, seems to have grown. The lie rules the world, like a powerful superordinate planet and already directs individual minds, like an artificial intelligence. The question of where the real value of being human lies, which has a lasting nature, must arise in this broken cultural situation.

If one carefully directs the observation to the inner soul-constitution of the German thinking mentality, one inevitably feels that it experiences, both through the past history and as a result of the current circumstances with corona measures, a kind of inner homelessness. While the Italian soul tends to compensate more in family feelings and more of a ‘wait and see’ attitude to the crisis of the time, the German mentality tries very hard to solve the problems in an obvious polarizing way. The danger of splitting into positions and opposing positions and of being exhausted, however, cannot be overlooked. It lacks the vision in a concrete consciousness to that dimension, which wants to be resurrected as a new noble culture.

If you want to stand up against a great lie, your consciousness needs an excellent and shaped-out spiritual potential. What or which dimension lives in an actually given spiritual potential that is acting through people? This question requires a concrete, vision that has been of thought right down to the last detail. A real idea, of what the future could be like with its values and value concepts, how it could shape its relationships and their beauty, on closer observation, does not yet exist.

Steps for realization in occidental and oriental philosophy

First of all, the spiritual world consists of ideas. Every idea, which the human consciousness can think and observe, is like a heavenly star and towers, therefore, in a purely unmanifest way over the head of the human being. Plato described this world of ideas as true reality, while he named the reality of earthly phenomena a shadow of it. The spirit was a reality for this great philosopher and he judged the world only as a pure reflection of it.

In Indian philosophy one labels the spiritual reality with the term brahman. It represents the archetypes of the entire creation of the worlds, and it can be perceived as the superordinate sea of ​​ideas and thoughts. In contrast to this pure world of brahman, which represents the high and untouched reality of thought, exists the so-called prakriti maya with its natural movements and visible manifest forms. Maya is the well-known word for the so-called illusion. Indian philosophy describes the world of the senses as a transitory reality and whoever seeks in this their life-fulfillment and security are subject to an illusion. This world of the senses includes all emotions, selfish intentions imperfect living habits. Even optimistic and pessimistic views of life, which correspond to the attitude of opinion and the mind, are a very transitory and relative phenomenon.

The archetypal world of thoughts, which is called brahman and which Plato called the real world of ideas, wants to express itself vividly through the human being, who is gifted with mental faculties.  If the world of ideas were only to remain a superordinate dimension without any real contact and connection with the human soul, then the whole of existence would have to fail in its meaningfulness.  For this reason, the development of ideas must lead to ideals and the practical integration of these in life. The human soul wants to manifest the highest ideals in earthly life according to its inner spiritual destiny.

Indian philosophy names three stages for this way in which an idea reaches the ideal and its complete realization. The first is named with the term manas and means that the idea with its content-related imagination is thought out broadly, sensitively and creates a beautiful, light-filled atmosphere with an attractive character on people. The one who approaches the dimension of manas  experiences content-rich thoughts, which are connected with the universal reality and which now move and fill their consciousness. The perceptive state of manas is moving, wide, rich in content, free and, in the first place, sensitively clairvoyant. A first temporary lasting dimension lives in the consciousness-form of manas. It is, however, very seldom found in today’s intellectual and informative time.

The second stage, which can now be achieved on this path, forms the so-called buddhi, which represents an increase to the previously named manas. The content-related thoughts now ignite in the human soul to sensitive and coherent sensations.  The ideas, which belong to universality and which represent the reality of brahma, now form a treasure trove ofperception in the feeling world of a person. The individual experiences themself permeated by the universality of a thought content deep within. The higher reality and wisdom takes through the buddhi, with their sensitive life of perception, an individual center. If the practitioner practices the highest ideals over a longer period of time, through meditation and concentration, and studies them into the deep world of feelings, they gain a strong center and persuasive power in their soul. They could realise a universal value right into their soul and thus, within a time that is inundated with lies and suggestions, no longer slip from their path. They represent in their soul a future dimension of beauty and the ability to love. Buddhi is an individual part of the soul, which can express itself to the world without polarity.

The third level, which is designated as atman, now forms the highest attainable realization. The thought, which was once an idea, becomes the power of clairvoyance, then the power of the soul and finally the immediate personality structure and identity. The higher wisdom of the world of ideas flows through spiritual seeing and perceiving right into human feelings. It becomes part of these feelings and in the end it becomes the most direct source of the will. When the philosopher Shankara said that atman equals brahman, he speaks of a great truth. That person who learns to think of a high idea to a real ideal, subsequently realizes it through concentration and meditation exercises to sensitive inner feelings, and this finally realizes to personal authenticity, lives a perfect part of a universal truth. They represent in their individuality a highest dimension of the spirit. They are themselves the carrier of the spirit and radiate a great power in words and actions.

Mahatma Gandhi, the so-called “Great Soul of India”, was an example of how the idea of ahimsā, non violence, became perfect personal identity and authenticity. Through this he could bring ahimsa through his work into politics.

The philosopher Hegel brought in the most outstanding way the preference of the light world of thoughts as the most central centre of the spirit into philosophy, and Joseph Beuys brought the idea of ​​social sculpture into art.  Many great people could find the idea power of the spirit and bring their idea down, into the earthly world. They express a part of the original-spiritual world brahman within the present social life.

The will, however, tends to be misunderstood, because instincts and passions live in it. It was not for nothing that Rudolf Steiner described that a pure life of will would dissolve the world in a destructive way.¹⁾ ‘By our will, we are absolutely connected to the forces of destruction on our earth planet. And if we as people of the present day had nothing but willpower, then our earth would be condemned through us, through humanity, to simply be destroyed. We would then have to face an earthly future that really wouldn’t give a very uplifting picture and that would consist in the earth gradually dissolving and being scattered into the world space. That is how we are constituted with respect to the one pole.’ RudolfSteiner in GA 191 S. 232  Indian philosophy also assigns the general will forces, without being permeated by the spirit, to the Śiva forces and the thought-forming forces, which are to become the nature of the will, to Nārāyanāya. Śiva is the god of destruction and Nārāyanāya is the god of preservation. By shaping out a universal thought, right deep down into the basis of will, the world sustains itself.

Today the individual needs competent guidance, on how they can think ideas into ideals, how they finally learn to work them out in a thorough way, right into social life. The way, to think high and best ideas that already exist in the spiritual world, then to lead them into the reality of feeling and finally to create them to one’s own personal authenticity, gives the world a new breath. Through the realization of manas, fellow human beings already gain a healing perspective and lies can no longer be held. With the strengthening of buddhi in the human being, such a high power shines on the outside world that an entire village can be transformed as well as nature and weather conditions being positively influenced.  If, however, brahman becomes atman in the human being, completely new cultural approaches arise that can transform the negative forces of lies into positive motives. A new foundation with concrete ideals can arise in the world. The realization of high and highest wisdom, right into the complete authenticity of the personal, causes the resurrection of a new culture. The lie in the world finally becomes māyā, an illusion. At best it is still a servant for the transfiguration of the risen soul potential. But where does this this soul potential live? Does it actually exist in the visions of a sufficient number of people?

Practical points of view for the realization of a spirit content in the sense of manas, buddhi and atman

The wise Sri Aurobindo named four great criteria, which are necessary so that the so-called supramental or a higher wisdom, which has not yet been created in humans, comes into a shaping out and that was:

1. Spiritually Appropriate Scriptures
2. A teacher who is authentic
3. Discipline and perseverance
4. The right time calculation

First of all, those who want to lead their soul to the universal dimension with the help of a spiritual content must decide on a sufficiently valid and appropriate spiritual content. After they have resolutely made this decision within themself, the best thing to do is to turn to a teacher who is sufficiently grounded in the capacity of spirituality and who makes appropriate corrections, suggestions, and reflections. The aspirant should enter into a sincere and solid working alliance with a teacher. For both the teacher and the learner, the same goal should be pioneering. In mutual exchange, the ideas develop into ideals and these in turn to a practical, polarity-free radiating.

With the decision to lead an idea through to social skills and practical effect, the practitioner naturally imposes self-study, as well as studying suitable, subject-related, content-related writings. They do not read, however, spiritual literature according to the information content, as unfortunately so often happens in the materialistic age, they read it rather in order to understand the contexts and words in a profound way. The wisdom-filled words must, like a professional knowledge, be vividly available in the soul of the practitioner.

Each day, regardless of vacation or material obligations, should be used to strive for polarity-free, spiritual content. The striving for the best progress is at the centre of the aspirant’s life. The seeds, which slowly flourish like the first seedlings of knowledge, have to be watered anew every day. Too much, as well as too little water would harm them. The discipline that the practitioner applies usually arises from the natural need for a soul-spiritual development, which takes its expression in concrete, content-related strengthening. If the practitioner, however, loses the joy or the natural ambition in consistently realizing the idea that is to mature into a comprehensive ideal, they must ask themself, whether they follow the illusions of attachment or whether they actually remain true to themself and their decisions. It is, as a rule, the many attachments to the world and symbiotic ideas with fellow human beings, that rob the practitioner of perseverance on the spiritual path.

To develop a polarity-free and invigorating soul content, which both stabilizes one’s own self-power as well as enriching all relationships to the outside world, the practitioner needs some time. Within a period of a few weeks, an idea can be lead to the level of manas. If the development lasts for years, it is usually not decided enough and leaves much to be desired in terms of discipline. The realization of a high idea right into sociability and deep perceptive-potential, into to the so-called buddhi, usually takes two to three months; the realization of the content into atman mostly one to three years.

Basically, turning a high idea into an ideal always leads to the strengthening of one’s own personality, to better health and to a more beautiful appearance. Furthermore, this enrichment in content and soul of those who practice themselves radiates extraordinarily uplifting and positive effects on their fellow human beings, who then refrain from some negative characteristics and compensations and also strive for a meaningful content in life. What is special and unknown about this realization is, however, that the working-sphere of activity not only remains within the visible earthly conditions and relationships, but also radiates out into the cosmos and the spiritual world. Starting from this, unexpected and new streams of power return to the world and some lies can no longer be covered up. In any case, there are sudden changes from fateful courses to astonishing, morally favorable and aesthetic manifestations.

Without the spiritual development of human beings, no transformation and no real cultural progress can arise in world existence. ²⁾ An example of a chosen content can be a representation of a cakra. The practitioner decides to fully develop the heart center. For this purpose, the author recommends studying his book The Mysterious being of the Soul, as well as the book by Rudolf Steiner: How to attain knowledge of higher worlds. They choose the properties, which are assigned to the heart centre for their soul content and works with discipline until they have realized these into independent values in the soul. ³⁾ Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2 Verse 72:

eṣā brāhmī sthitiḥ pārtha naināṁ prāpya vimuhyati
sthitvāsyām antakāle ’pi brahma nirvāṇam ṛcchati

This is the seat of Brahman, O Arjuna. Whoever achieves it is no longer deceived.
Firmly established in it, until the end of life, the soul enters into Brahman.’ ⁴⁾ The difference between a wish that remains unconcrete, to a well-conceived soul content is noticeable in the Video: The ability to engage in dialogue in the social process, Seminar with Heinz Grill and Axel Kindermann, part 1 “Content”. ⁵⁾ People often speak of having content because they play sports or pursue a hobby such as caring for animals. The outer form, however, are not to be confused with a soul content. Lasting values develop, when the practitioner reads spiritual scriptures and decides with all their might for the goal of realizing these possibilities. ⁶⁾ Content must not be confused with opinion. When the aspirant, for example, got to know the differences through studies and experience, how the laws of the etheric body work in relation to the physical body, they experience a kind of physical freedom as a lasting value, which they will then radiate both towards themself and towards their fellow human beings. ⁷⁾ It could be argued that these descriptions represent a kind of escape from the difficulties of the present reality and one could claim that one must fight against the injustice of the time with resistance. Both the resistance and the lie of time are illusions. As long as no lasting value is born in the soul of the individual, the struggles in the outer world seem pointless. ⁸⁾ The sphere of activity of the human soul always extends to fellow human beings. When this is very positive, spiritual development arises. If this is very negative, however, the tip of the triangle protrudes downwards and generates materialism.



The possibility, which this quadrilateral represents, with a point upwards and a point downwards, is the integration of the human soul within its earthly existence.