Karma and Christianity (1999) (2010)
September 14, 2023
by Juan Antonio Revilla
– a renegade anthroposophist’s perspective –
I. First stream (1999)
The problem with Karma is that people take it as a concept, and think on it by deduction and logic, using it as a formula, which in reality explains nothing. From this perspective, the IDEA of Karma is pretty useless spiritually speaking.
The “karma” explanations people use are often no more than rationalization, and this is a trap that blocks our ability to make direct contact with the spirit in the world. The challenge when working with karma in thinking, and with any other of the “facts” of Anthroposophy, is to talk of them in a way that is not mere intellectuality, to transform our brain so that we can “hear” the wisdom through inspiration, not reason on it. We must learn to talk in a different way.
As long as we think of Karma as a “principle”, a “law”, etc. in the abstract, we won’t reach a Christian understanding of it. We find meaning in seeing how the spiritual past, or a past incarnation, has left its mark in the present one, or how spiritual qualities in a future life are being prepared, with the person’s spirit in the middle either “trapped” or “blessed” because of it, striving to transform or to stand up in the middle as the conscious co-creator of his life.
We can see this understanding or this clear-seeing as a part of life, as a part of the river of time in endless transformation, carrying its birth in the mountains and its ending in the ocean always with it. But it is not important. Other values like love, faith, grace, compassion, dignity, healing, peace, and above all, LIFE, LIVING! (and all their denials), are more important, more present. Because of this, without denying that MAYBE “karma” is fundamental for a spiritual understanding of life, most many do not to feel it that way.
We can take accidents as if they were dreams, and –the same as with sickness– interpret them as one interprets a dream, or a person’s facial features. Mabel Collins says in “Light On The Path”: “Listen to the song of life”. This is what we must learn to do. We can hear the music, the meaning, and we don’t have to bring speculations about karma in the equation, unless of course karma is part of the song itself.
This little book of Mabel Collins never says anything about “Christ”, but if you read it, especially the commentaries to the rules, you will see how it overflows with Christian virtue and power. One doesn’t have to know anything of Christ to be a Christian. All one needs is let oneself be struck by the spear, let one’s heart be pierced by the sword, and then, as the Gospel says (Luke 2:35) “the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed”.
Talking of karma is not compatible with “consciousness soul” or christian feelings. This does not mean that it doesn’t exist, it means that if we don’t learn to think in a very different way about it, it is useles. “Karma”, as concept, is not Christianized yet. I suggest that “karma” and “destiny” disappear, and in their place stands a very personal and intimate relationship with LIFE. This is what belongs to the “I”.
In a truly christian or consciousness-soul world, we don’t talk of abstract entities or objects of thought, as in theology or in philosophy, but of relationships with living and personal entities. We relate to Life as if it were a person, or to Death, or to Love as a visitation that comes. If there is an “I”, everything else becomes “thou”, and this “thou” with whom our soul talks and through which we discover ourselves is “my” life, and my death, and the light on my path, and my gratefulness.
Conscious living is a dialogue, and “karma” is no longer a “principle” or a law in the abstract, but part of the manifestation of Life, the presence of the past and of the future transformed and made eloquent in the present. We no longer say “my karma”, but say instead “my life”, and it is something we “receive”. We don’t try to explain things out of philosophical formulas or elaborated ideas, because even if they are very elaborate or “infalible” –which they will never be– they would be no real explanations at all, they wouldn’t add to “meaning”.
“Meaning” and “explanation” are very relative things, historically and culturally. The importance of clear thinking is not the construction of a philosophical system to explain the world out and become a dogma like marxism or theology or “science”, or “the philosophy of spiritual activity”. Thinking is a movement without end, an intense and infinite dialogue with Life, something through which we create ourselves constantly, something to which we give birth, shape, and form, in return for the “things” giving themselves to us: what we do with our thinking is “say them”, transform them in the oven of our “I” and utter them, spiritualizing and communicating them.
How grateful I am that the “things” of the world give themselves to me! And how grateful they are that I am able to utter them to the world! What a glorious reciprocity! It is a never-ending creation and transformation, always giving birth to myself and to the world in mutual and loving acknowledgement. How do I love giving voice to You! I would be nothing if it were not You…
When we become conscious of how we create our own destiny, and assume responsibility for it as something that we have chosen, or as something that we accept, then the idea of “destiny” and of “karma” begins to fade away, and instead of that appears a relationship.
What happens to us, then, is not because of destiny or of karma, and it no longer “happens” to us. It is something that we encounter, something that comes, or that we have come to, but it is not “it” or a thing, it is not an object, it is not an abstraction; it is Life, with which we relate in a certain manner, as when I meet a person, and which is also a mystery, because this other which we have encountered is also us.
“Acceptance” is a key to understand this; like faith and like love, it is not a concept, nor a sentiment, but a choice and an act of will. It is something which involves our whole being… it is a presence, it is my “I”, it is me.
Then I am ready to OBEY. I listen to the Voice, and I obey. And the more I obey, the freer I am.
So much for my little philosophy of freedom. It is not based on any doctrine and it may be lousy philosophy, but it is mine, and I live by it.
II. Second stream, 10 years later (2010)
1
Of course Karma is real, and it is an essential, indispensable part of Spiritual Science. But looking at karma from the point of view of Spiritual Science is completely dispensable for the spiritual life and for the future of Mankind for a very simple reason: there are other ways of looking at the same thing, different thoughts or images that arise from the same reality, and the difference between these thoughts or images or forms is important.
What I mean by this is that the reality or principle or law called “karma” can be experienced and considered differently in the age of the consciousness soul, without the need of that concept at all. Remember the distinction Steiner makes between moral teaching (buddhism) and moral impulse (christianity), remember also that the concept of karma is a legacy from the spiritual past, and originally in buddhism it is impersonal and abstract, while in Christianity everything is personal: we relate to “being” directly, not to concepts.
So consider for example (and hypothetically) the word “karma” in comparison to the word “responsability”. Let’s assume that the reality, the experience, is the same seen from outside, but one word refers to a concept, the other to a moral impulse. The same with “pay or balance my debts” against “fulfill my duty”. Even though they may refer to the same thing, the way of experiencing is very different. One involves the *I* directly and is of the consciousness soul, the other doesn’t, it is indirect and belongs to the rational soul.
It is the difference between talking about something from an abstract or “detached” point of view (for example Spiritual Science) and talking about it directly from the *I*, from inside the experience with a strong presence of mind or thinking. At the level of the experience the reference to the concept “karma” is obsolete and represents a hindrance, it is unnecessary.
Facing Christ as our “Lord of Karma” is a direct, face-to-face personal encounter based on moral awareness and recognition of the other: “I see”, “I know”, “I understand”, “I hear you”, “I acknoweldge”, “I accept”, “I obey”, “I do”. It is a relationship between two beings. When the *I* is involved everything is a mutual relationship and a dialogue in which the concept “karma” is irrelevant and instead there is responsibility and action, doing: –“I see what I have done, I understand, I accept, I obey, I do”.
Karma is the language of concepts and is not “christic”, it keeps you going round and round about Life. Duty, responsibility, acceptance, etc. is the language of action and obedience and the path of Christ.
Neither “knowledge” nor reason or accepting reincarnation is the issue. If that were the case, one would not see the questionable moral attitudes of so many occultists and some anthroposophical leaders and the internal controversies inside the Society. They all have “advanced knowledge”. The issue is how one “stands” in front of this knowledge, the particular way of relating to it through one’s *I*. This is not the result of this type of logical or reasonable knowledge about the Spirit. — What is it the result of?
When you really know or meet karma consciously, what you experience is no longer a concept or “a law” but “life”, living (even though that means “dying” in many cases), and you know that it is all up to you, you know that this life (or dying) is you. You then go back to talk about it, to distill the experience in your brain in such a way that it is of value to others, and realize that the concept of “karma” is a hindrance.
Suffering is alleviated through reason, but sheer elemental pain goes a lot deeper and reason cannot touch it. This pain is in a place in the human heart, the place of death, darkness and pain but also of love that comes from life and living –not only yours but of the world– that not even angels or archangels can enter: this is the place where you meet with Christ and the spiritual light is born. You don’t need the concepts of karma or reincarnation to get there, and you don’t need them afterwards. What one used to call “karma” is now something else far more powerful: living (responsibility and duty, “doing” or “acting”, obedience, freedom, etc –moral impulses).
2
Previously prescribed meanings and concepts fall into the category of “theory” (theoretical framework). True knowledge or direct experience violates the theory in many points and cannot be encased in old concepts: it always requires new ones. This is “luciferian” but it is the nature of reality. In Steiner’s own words (April 14, 1912): “… in the universe, in the cosmos, certain things work in such a way that one might explain it by means of a certain diagram; but the peculiar thing is that the diagram would everywhere be broken through”.
We all relate to Christians who have lost their connection to the spiritual life or truths behind all the dogmas and senseless repetitions of doctrine. My experience with Anthroposophy giving us the gift of seeing the light and truth behind all the meaningless doctrine has been very similar, and I can see and agree with everything you say…
… but all these powerful imaginations, inspirations and intuitions about Christ feed the hunger only of those who were raised in a Christian or Catholic religious environment like we did. The imagery means little to many of other religions or of no religion in non-european cultural contexts, and speaking to them in Steiner’s terms inspires rejection and leaves them in hunger. I am interested in a finding a framework of thoughts, images, words, etc., that are free of beliefs either in Christ or in reincarnation or karma, something that goes beyond those beliefs: and that framework is man’s basic existential experience: love, life, death, pain, dignity, etc. It is here where the real Christ is found, and not just the image we Christians have of Him.
Steiner has made it clear that for the awakening of the spiritual *I* or higher self in Man, for the encounter with Christ, all that is needed is a humble, honest, vigorous look into one-self. Here in this intimate chamber the teachings of karma and reincarnation or the imagery pertaining to Christ don’t have any importance: we stand before the truth, the path, and the life and the love that comes with them that is given to us as a gift of grace that makes our cup overflow. This is not “mysticism” but life and living.
Spiritual Science is an expression of the Cosmic Spirit, of the movement of thinking in the Universe, the beings of the Universe that make themselves known to the exploratory and endless movement of thinking, the Universe that celebrates itself in my thinking. As part of this movement and exploration I find the Christ and observe and inquire and understand because that is the nature of the Spirit in me, it never stops learning, it never stops changing, it never stops uttering, flowing, and becoming. I am full of the grace of the Spirit as I feel Eternity singing and resonating in my soul in the forms of thoughts, images, inspirations, and intuitions passed on by Steiner through which the Universe offers itself to me, and I reciprocate letting this motion flow like an endless river and letting it take me with it.
But I could not stand this cosmic movement, I could not survive it, there would be no *I* to partake of it, there would be only darkness and pain and loneliness and fear and hiding in me if it were not for Him. I owe everything to Him, I belong to Him, he is My Lord, he gives the love and the light without which I could not live, while the Cosmic Spirit of Knowledge owns itself and takes care of itself; even though it flows through me and fills my soul with World, it is not my concern.
This light has not come as a result of having assimilated the concepts of karma and reincarnation, it doesn’t come from any teachings: it comes directly from overwhelming pain. This light pours into people’s souls in the form of devotion, beyond all ideas and beliefs.
3
This usual “Christian” attitude is devoid of Christ and is the result of the attitude of the Church. Recently John Paul II wrote that Hell, Heaven and Purgatory are states of consciousness, and my mother says (correctly I think) that the concept of karma is contained in the doctrine of Purgatory. There is also the Second Vatican Council which corrected this error of interpretation and produced really revolutionary social directives for the Church, but it was too late, and I think John Paul himself contributed to cancel their effect on the Church (Ratzinger even more, like a shadow of John Paul).
The Gospel of John provides some of the simplest and most essential metaphors needed to understand Christianity as a spiritual impulse beyond dogmas and beliefs, rather than as an organized religion. If one understands what the words refer to in everyday life, one can develop the ability to talk about Christ to a non-Christian without ever having to mention Him or to refer to any doctrine of any kind. Instead of talking about Him or referring to concepts and beliefs, one talks about the common experiences where He is found.
These metaphors are the “I Ams” where Christ says that he is: (1) the door (2) the true vine (3) the good shepherd (4) the bread of life (5) the light of the world (6) the resurrection and the life (7) the truth, the path, and the life. If we are able to translate these images to basic human experience(s), we can “touch” the soul without having to stuff our language with imagery that is alien to many today and provokes rejection or indifference.
The issue seems to be the change in focus from the rational to the consciousness soul, and how much something “matters” or how much weight we give to it is perhaps a good illustration of this change.
Another issue, related to the first, is the difference between living thinking and rationality based on concepts. For example:
the consciousness soul: “It pours into people depending on the contents of their actions and thoughts, and that depends on how much these resemble the actions and thoughts of the higher being(s) of which the light is the external manifestation. This etheric
light or being is the spiritualization of the suffering and sorrow of the world today, and can be perceived by those whose work in the world is concerned with this pain: they are spiritually nurtured by it so that they can have the strength necessary to carry on their work.”
and the more orthodox Christian: “It pours into people if they are found worthy in the eyes of the Lord”
4
Depression is a private thing, but pain is of the world and it doesn’t concern humans alone, it is more like “the pain of the earth”: a whale being crushed by a harpoon and leaving a trail of blood in the sea, a city being brutally bombarded, the fear in the eyes of the innocent, an old tree being cut and falling down; the hunger and thirst of innocent humans and animals, the brutal abuse of animals, and lots more… (you can give your own examples).
Our private depression, whatever its causes, feels like luxury and procrastination in the face of this, so we don’t get depressed, rather, we embrace the pain in its totality without the shielding of comfortable concepts or doctrines, we live and become the riddle in full intensity and don’t pretend to have the answer, we surrender and die with the other in full awareness, with eyes fully open.
This pain is not a feeling but an elemental force in the world that is taken by spiritual hierarchies and transmuted into light. What we see today –I think– is a kind of etheric light in the earth’s atmosphere that is almost physical. This light is not the pain of the world but its transmutation, it is life-giving and freedom-giving, joyous and fresh like spiritualized water and light that flows and pours itself as devotion.
It is “almost physical” thanks to a collective heightened consciousness, a certain level of consciousness reached by humanity today, a type of consciousness that is related or akin to a “love of the earth”, the protection of animals, ecology, human rights, etc.. It has very little to do with karma and reincarnation and a lot to do with pre-Christian earth religions and shamanism, except that appear now full of the Christ spirit.
Our perception of this etheric life-giving light-water, the gift of “bathing” in it, is a result of working-out the raw experience of Life and the pain of the world with the awakened powers of the *I* expressed in acts of love. It has absolutely nothing to do *directly* with concepts or teachings of any kind.
Juan