What Is Reincarnation & Karma? Rudolf Steiner's Spirit View

You've likely wondered why some people seem to be born with extraordinary talents while others struggle to develop basic skills.

You may have questioned why certain experiences feel strangely familiar, as if you've lived through them before.

And perhaps you've contemplated the profound question: does something of us continue after death?

These mysteries point to concepts that have been part of humanity's spiritual understanding for millennia—reincarnation and karma.

In this second part of our exploration of Rudolf Steiner's "Theosophy," we'll examine his compelling arguments for the continuity of the human spirit through multiple earthly lives.

This isn't abstract philosophy—it's a perspective that can transform how you understand your own life journey, talents, challenges, and relationships.

The Soul as Mediator Between the Transient and the Eternal

To understand Steiner's view of reincarnation, we must first grasp the unique position of the soul as a mediator between the physical and spiritual worlds.

"Midway between body and spirit lives the soul. The impressions which come to it through the body are transitory. They are present only as long as the body opens its organs to the things of the outer world." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

The soul stands at a crucial threshold—receiving impressions from the physical world through the body while also connecting to eternal truths through the spirit.

This dual nature gives the soul a special role in preserving experiences and transforming them into something enduring.

"The soul is placed between the present and duration, in that it holds the middle place between body and spirit. But it also mediates between the present and duration. It preserves the present for remembrance. It thereby rescues the present from impermanence, and takes it up into the duration of its own spiritual being." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

The soul doesn't just passively receive impressions—it actively works with them in two ways:

1. Memory: Preserving the Past

Through memory, the soul transforms fleeting experiences into something that can be retained and accessed later.

"By remembrance the soul preserves the yesterday; by action it prepares the to-morrow." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

But Steiner offers a crucial insight about the nature of memory that differs from common understanding.

"The image called forth through remembrance is a new one, and not the old one preserved. Recollection consists in the fact that one can make a fresh mental image to oneself, and not that a former image can revive." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

This distinction is important—memory isn't the revival of stored images but the soul's capacity to create new images based on past experiences.

2. Action: Creating Effects in the World

The soul also acts upon the world, creating effects that continue beyond the moment of action.

"But action also receives permanence when once it is stamped on the outer world. If I cut a twig from a tree, something has taken place through my being, which completely changes the course of events in the outer world. Something quite different would have happened to the branch of the tree if I had not interfered by my action." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

Through our actions, we create lasting changes in the world—changes that bear the imprint of our unique being.

The Parallel Between Memory and Karma

With this understanding of how the soul preserves experiences and creates lasting effects, Steiner draws a profound parallel that forms the basis of his concept of karma.

"For this fact of becoming permanent through action we do not, in our ordinary consciousness, form a definite conception, like that which we have for 'memory,' for the becoming permanent of an experience which has occurred as the result of a perception. But will not the 'I' of a man be just as much linked to the alteration in the world resulting from his deed as it is to a memory resulting from an impression?" (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

This is a crucial insight—just as our memories link us to our past experiences, our actions create effects in the world that remain connected to us.

Steiner is suggesting that there is a kind of "world memory" of our deeds that, like our personal memories, can return to us under certain conditions.

"Could not that which has retained the imprint of the 'I' in the external world wait also, so as to approach the human soul from without, just as memory, in response to a given inducement, approaches it from within?" (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

This is the essence of karma—the understanding that the effects of our actions in the world don't simply disappear but remain connected to us and can "return" to us in the future.

The Argument for Reincarnation

Building on his understanding of the soul's mediating role and the parallel between memory and karma, Steiner develops a logical argument for reincarnation.

His argument proceeds through several key steps:

1. The Contrast Between Physical and Spiritual Heredity

Steiner begins by acknowledging the role of physical heredity in shaping the human body:

"The physical materials and forces build up the body during life; the forces of propagation enable another body, a body which can have the same form, to proceed from it; that is to say, one which is able to be the bearer of a similar life-body." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

But he points out that while physical characteristics are clearly inherited, spiritual qualities show a different pattern:

"The forms of the spirit are the most varied imaginable in different persons. No two men have the same spiritual form." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

This difference cannot be explained solely by environment or upbringing:

"It cannot be said that the differences in human beings in a spiritual respect arise only from the differences in their environment, their upbringing, etc. This is by no means the case: for two people under similar influences as regards environment, upbringing, etc., develop in quite different ways. One must therefore admit that they have entered on their path of life with quite different qualities." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

2. The Significance of Biography

Steiner points to the uniqueness of human biography as evidence of our spiritual individuality:

"Were a human being merely a member of a species, no life-history could exist. A lion, a dove, lay claim to interest in so far as they belong to the lion or the dove species. The single being in all its essentials has been understood when one has described the species." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

But humans are different:

"What a human being signifies begins, not where he is merely a member of a species, but where he is a single individual being. I have not in the least understood the nature of Mr. Smith if I have described his son or his father. I must know his own life-history." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

This leads to a profound insight:

"Anyone who reflects on the nature of biography becomes aware that in respect of the spiritual each man is a species for himself." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

3. The Origin of Innate Capacities

Steiner then addresses the mystery of innate talents and predispositions:

"Whence spring the innate predispositions and talents described above as characteristic of the spiritual man? Surely only from capacities of one kind or another which the human being brings with him when he begins his earthly life." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

He notes the similarity between innate capacities and those acquired through learning:

"These capacities, in certain respects, exactly resemble those which we can also acquire for ourselves during our earthly life." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

Using Mozart as an example, he points out that some people are born with abilities that others must work to develop:

"Take the case of a genius. It is known that Mozart when a boy, could write out from memory a long musical work after hearing it only once. He was able to do this only because he could survey the whole at once." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

4. The Conclusion: Spiritual Reincarnation

From these observations, Steiner draws his conclusion about reincarnation:

"One has either to regard such innate capacities as a miracle or to consider them as fruits of experiences which the Spirit-self has had through a soul. They have been graven on this Spirit-self, and since they have not been implanted in this life, they must have been in a former one." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

Just as physical form is transmitted through physical heredity, spiritual qualities are transmitted through a kind of spiritual heredity—but within the same individual:

"The human spirit is its own species. And just as man, as a physical being belonging to a species, transmits his qualities within the species, so does the spirit within its species, that is, within itself. In each life the human spirit appears as a repetition of itself with the fruits of its former experiences in previous lives." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

The Sleep-Wake Cycle as a Metaphor for Reincarnation

To help us understand the relationship between successive incarnations, Steiner offers a powerful metaphor—the cycle of sleeping and waking:

"Sleep has often been called the younger brother of death. I get up in the morning. My consecutive activity has been interrupted by the night. Now under ordinary circumstances, it is not possible for me to begin my activity again just as I like. I must connect it with my doings of yesterday, if there is to be order and coherence in my life. My actions of yesterday are the conditions predetermining those actions which fall to me to-day. I have created my fate of to-day by what I did yesterday." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

Just as we must deal with the consequences of yesterday's actions when we wake up today, so must we deal with the consequences of actions from previous lives when we begin a new incarnation.

"If the effects of my yesterday were not to be my fate to-day, I should have had, not to wake this morning, but to be newly created out of nothing. It would be absurd if under ordinary circumstances I were not to occupy a house that I have had built for me." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

Applying this to reincarnation:

"The human spirit is as little newly created when it begins its earthly life, as a man is newly created every morning. A physical body, receiving its form through the laws of heredity, comes upon the scene. This body becomes the bearer of a spirit, which repeats a previous life in a new form." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

The Process of Spiritual Development Across Lives

Steiner explains how the spirit grows and develops through successive incarnations:

"This life is consequently the repetition of others, and brings with it what the Spirit-self has, by work, acquired for itself in the previous life. When the Spirit-self absorbs something that can develop into fruit, it saturates itself with the Life-spirit. Just as the life-body reproduces the form, from species to species, so does the Life-spirit reproduce the soul from personal existence to personal existence." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

The experiences of each life are not simply repeated but transformed into capacities:

"These treasures by no means remain in the spirit in an unchanged form. The impressions man acquires from his experiences fade gradually from the memory. Not so their fruits. One does not remember all the experiences one lived through during childhood while acquiring the faculties of reading and writing. But one could not read or write if one had not had the experiences, and if their fruits had not been preserved in the form of abilities." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

This is the transmutation that the spirit performs on the soul's experiences:

"That is the transmutation which the spirit effects on the treasures of memory. It consigns whatever can merely lead to pictures of the separate experiences to their fate, and extracts from them only the force necessary for enhancing its own abilities. Thus not one experience passes by unutilised; the soul preserves each one as memory, and from each the spirit draws forth all that can enrich its abilities and the whole content of its life." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

The Limitations of Intellectual Understanding

Steiner acknowledges that his arguments for reincarnation have limitations when approached only intellectually:

"The preceding considerations give validity to that conception which seeks the reason for certain life-processes of man in repeated earth-lives. That conception can really only receive its full significance by means of observations which spring from spiritual insight, such as can be acquired by following the path of knowledge described at the close of this book." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

Yet he maintains that ordinary thoughtful observation already points in this direction:

"Here the only intention was to show that ordinary observation, rightly orientated by thinking, already leads to this conception. But observation of this kind, it is true, will at first leave the conception to become something like a silhouette." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

He suggests that accepting the possibility of reincarnation prepares one for deeper spiritual insight:

"Anyone who acquires such a conception through ordinary thoughtful observation, makes himself ready for supersensible observation. To a certain extent he develops something that one needs must have prior to this supersensible observation, just as one must have eyes prior to observing through the senses." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

Karma: The Law of Spiritual Cause and Effect

Closely related to reincarnation is the concept of karma—the understanding that our actions create effects that return to us across lifetimes.

Steiner explains this through the parallel between memory and action:

"The soul does not stamp its experiences, however, only on the spirit which flashes up in it; it stamps them on the outer world also, through its action. What a man did yesterday is to-day still present in its effects." (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

Just as our memories return to us from within, the effects of our actions can return to us from without:

"Could not that which has retained the imprint of the 'I' in the external world wait also, so as to approach the human soul from without, just as memory, in response to a given inducement, approaches it from within?" (Steiner, Theosophy, GA 9)

This is the essence of karma—the understanding that the effects of our actions create conditions that we will encounter in future lives.

Practical Implications: Living with Awareness of Reincarnation and Karma

Understanding reincarnation and karma isn't just a matter of intellectual curiosity—it can transform how we approach our lives.

1. A New Perspective on Talents and Challenges

Recognizing that our innate capacities may be the fruits of efforts in previous lives can help us approach both our talents and our challenges with greater understanding.

Our talents aren't random gifts or genetic accidents but capacities we've developed through dedicated effort across lifetimes.

Similarly, our challenges and limitations may reflect areas where we've had less opportunity for development—or where we've created obstacles through past actions.

2. Taking Responsibility for Our Development

The concept of karma places responsibility for our development squarely in our own hands.

While we may not control all the circumstances we encounter (which may be the result of past actions), we always have freedom in how we respond to these circumstances.

Each choice we make now is creating conditions for our future—both within this life and beyond it.

3. A Longer View of Development

Understanding reincarnation allows us to take a longer view of our development.

We don't need to achieve everything in this one lifetime—we can work steadily on developing qualities and capacities, knowing that this work will bear fruit across multiple lives.

This can help us be more patient with ourselves and others, recognizing that we're all at different stages of a very long journey.

4. Transforming Our Relationship with Death

Perhaps most profoundly, the understanding of reincarnation transforms our relationship with death.

Death is no longer an absolute end but a transition—a period of rest and assimilation before beginning a new chapter of experience and development.

This doesn't diminish the significance of our current life but places it in a broader context of ongoing spiritual evolution.

Conclusion: The Continuity of Spiritual Development

Rudolf Steiner's understanding of reincarnation and karma offers a profound perspective on human existence—one that sees our lives not as isolated events but as chapters in an ongoing story of spiritual development.

This perspective doesn't remove the uniqueness and significance of each individual life but places it within a larger context of continuous growth and evolution.

By recognizing the connections between our past, present, and future—across multiple lifetimes—we can approach our lives with greater awareness, responsibility, and purpose.

In the next part of this series, we'll explore Steiner's description of the three worlds—the physical world, the soul world, and the spirit world—and how the human being moves through these worlds during life and after death.

Until then, I invite you to consider how the concepts of reincarnation and karma might illuminate your own life journey—your unique talents and challenges, your relationships with others, and your ongoing spiritual development.

References:

Steiner, R. (1904/1965). Theosophy: An Introduction to the Supersensible Knowledge of the World and the Destination of Man (GA 9). Rudolf Steiner Press.