From the Teachings of the Kabbalah[1]
By Franz Hartmann, M. D.[2]
Translation from German by Robert Hutwohl
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According to the commonly accepted classification, man is a trinity consisting of spirit, soul, and body.[3] The spirit is connected to the body through the soul (anima), and within this, two states or regions are again distinguished: The anima divina, or the region of the higher soul powers, the seat of direct vision and knowledge, and the anima bruta, the region of the lower soul powers, the seat of animal passions and intellectual speculation. In occult science, the visible body is not even considered in the study of the constitution of the actual human being, since it is merely the house that the real human being (the soul) inhabits during life on earth.[4] This house is the visible expression of an invisible, but nevertheless material body, called by the Indians “Linga Sharira” [Sanskrit, liṅga śarīra],[5] according to the Hebrews “Nephesh”, and in occult literature usually called “astral body”.
Now when man leaves his mortal dwelling at death, what remains of him can be regarded as a trinity consisting of the following:
- Neschamah, i.e., the heavenly soul, in which the true individuality of man is rooted (anima divina).
- Ruach, or the animal-human essence, which forms the personality of earthly man, i.e., the “mask” in which the immortal man appears on earth (anima bruta).
- Nephesh, the astral body, the shadow or specter, the lowest form of soul substance, the “double” of man. [Sanskrit, liṅga śarīra]
For the vast majority of people, consciousness is concentrated in the anima bruta (Ruach); for the few wise and holy ones, it is polarized in the anima divina (Neschamah). The former forms the personality consciousness in man with all the faculties arising from it, the latter the true self-consciousness or God-consciousness in man (the consciousness of the presence of God). For the part of the soul in which the transformation takes place, which in Kabbalah is called “Gilgal Neschamoth” and signifies rebirth in the Spirit of God, is the anima divina, i.e., the higher region of the soul which is the vessel for the direct conception of the divine spirit, while only the radiance of this heavenly light reaches the lower regions. According to the teachings of Kabbalah, nothing exists in this world outside the human soul; for everything that exists originated from the universal human being (“Adam”) through the divine word. Thus, the divine soul is present in everything, including animals; but only in humans is it capable of full awakening and consciousness. In animals and bestial humans, the conditions for this are not present, and in them it exists only as a faintly glowing spark, which is why consciousness of the soul is rudimentary and vague.
Neschamah, or the heavenly soul, is that which is ultimately freed from all worldly things and, through this redemption, enters eternal life (Nirvana). The anima bruta (Ruach), or the personal “spirit,” of man is that part of the mind which carries with it all earthly, personal memories and affections, worries, and desires of earthly life and bears its earthly family name. After death, this anima bruta remains in the “lower spiritual sphere (middle region)” and in contact with the earth’s magnetic sphere. Then comes the time of separation (the “second death”), and the anima divina (Neschamah), whose name no one knows but God [Higher Self], ascends and pursues the path of its evolution, taking with it only a small part of the personal essence (Ruach), namely, that which was purest in the spirit and soul of the earthly man and was compatible with the heavenly soul. But Ruach remains behind with all its lower soul powers as an “elemental being.”
The anima divina (Neschamah) is the true human being; in it rests the consciousness of his true individuality, which is to be distinguished from his earthly and changing personality. This heavenly soul is not subject to the attraction of the Earth’s magnetic sphere and is therefore neither attracted to spiritualistic séances nor can it be “called” by spiritualists. Only on very special, extraordinary, and solemn occasions can the rare case occur that it returns to Earth without first awaiting the period of its reincarnation.
The astral shadow (nephesh) is mute and senseless. At best, it resembles a person in a state of drunkenness or delirium and lacks reason.
Die anima bruta (Ruach) hat einen gewissen Grad von Vernunft und kann sich mitteilen.
The anima bruta (Ruach) has a certain degree of reason and can communicate.
Die anima divina (Neschamah), in welcher das himmlische Licht leuchtet, kehrt weder zurück, noch macht sie spiritistische Mitteilungen auf dem gewöhnlichen Wege.
The anima divina (Neschamah), in which the heavenly light shines, neither returns nor makes spiritistic communications through the usual channels.
What Ruach remembers is only the story of his experiences in his last incarnation; for this story relates only to the one life of the astral man, and this life is renewed each time Neschamah reincarnates. Far-advanced souls are not reincarnated on this planet of ours, but on another, closer to the sun. The anima bruta lives only once and is never reincarnated. It remains in the astral region as a personality with certain ties to the earth and retains its memories of its deeds, both good and bad. If this personality has done evil, it undoubtedly suffers, but is not condemned by anyone for it; if it has done good, it is happy about it, but is not yet transfigured. She continues her former occupations in thought, creates through her thoughts from the astral light those objects which correspond to her nature and which she needs, and remains in this state until the anima divina (Neschamah), whose temple and dwelling place she was on earth, has completed her course.
The anima bruta, or “personality,” is thus, in a sense, the garment or mask worn by the celestial human being during his incarnation on earth and removed and left behind at death. Since he must reincarnate many times until he attains freedom, self-control, and perfection, it is clear that the celestial soul can have many of its former personalities [remaining] in the astral light, comparable to a human being whose image is reflected in a multitude of crystals. When the anima divina has completed its course, the anima bruta, along with all its equals belonging to this divine soul and whom it inhabited and overshadowed in its successive incarnations, is absorbed into the essence of Neschamah and enters “Paradise.”
This is the “Day of Judgment”[6] ; for not everything that belonged to the personality returns to Neschamah. Only the good memories ascend to the divine soul; the evil ones sink to the lowest regions of the astral light, where they decompose and decay. For if the heavenly soul, in its state of perfection, were to forever bear before its eyes the memory of its errors and the evil deeds it has committed in its incarnations, and were forced to retain in its memory all the terrible earthly accidents, sufferings, and sorrows, its salvation would be in a bad state. Thus, only the noble, sublime, and holy return to Neschamah, provided that it has sufficiently penetrated the earthly soul to reach the heavenly part within and become an essential part of the real person. The lesson that each person can draw from this is self-evident.
Only that which comes from heaven ascends back to heaven.
There is a great difference between true spiritual love and that magnetic, material attraction which is called “love.” It is said that true marriages are made in heaven. This means that all those unions based on true, unselfish love have their origin in heaven. The merely external and sensual inclinations of the anima bruta belong to the lower human nature and are in no way different from those of animals.
For the anima bruta separated from Neschamah, progress after the death of the body is just as impossible as for a person who has irretrievably lost their reason. To the departed personality (ruach), however, it appears as if it is progressing; for it has a premonition—albeit a vague one—that sooner or later it will attain something higher; but how this will happen is unclear; for man can only truly perceive the heavenly when he has become one with it and thereby himself heavenly. What it can experience in this regard is attained through the reflections of soul emanations that come from the earthly realm; for highly gifted and advanced individuals on Earth assist and support the astral soul. Therefore, it is also attracted to its spheres.
When the anima bruta (Ruach) is asked something, she can only speak of her one life and its experiences, for she has lived only once. She retains the memories and affections that cling to her from that one life. If these were very strong, she lingers near the people she loved most and casts a shadow over them.
A single anima divina (Neschamah), in which the true Self of man rests, can, as already noted, have many personifications of its former self in the astral light, which can be called the “memory chamber of the world.” But when it has become perfect and is ready to enter the “sun” (eternal life), it draws into itself all these former “selves” and absorbs their memories, thereby remembering all previous forms of existence, as Gautama Buddha[7] described. But of all these, it absorbs only that part of them which is worthy of absorption and remembrance and does not disturb its celestial repose. The true Self is the “sun,” the personalities are “planets.” During its sojourn in the “planets,” i.e., during its incarnations (incarnations), the celestial Soul forgets, but in the “sun” it retains its memory. Only when a person has achieved spiritual rebirth and has come to the awareness of his higher existence in the Spirit of God can he be a “son of God” and possess the memory of the past roles he played on earth. It can certainly happen that memories of past incarnations arise in a person on the path of spiritual rebirth. However, these are, as it were, reflections, and they do not concern external events, but rather forms of will, attitudes, and habits adopted in the previous existence. If the memories in question refer to external occurrences, they are usually unclear and dreamlike; for they are reflections of images in the astral light, created by the overshadowing of previous personalities by the anima divina. These personalities, which are the abandoned temples of Neschamah, are attracted by the anima divina to which they belong and surround the celestial soul, especially under certain circumstances. From these personalities it receives the relevant reflections through the mediation of the “moon”,[8] and this “moon”, which is the “genius” of man, brings light into the dark room of the mind and reflects back on its memory tablet the memories of the past.
The anima bruta (ruach) also has a certain right to claim that it is immortal; for its better part, if any, is eventually absorbed into Neschamah. But in a person who turns away from everything spiritual, leads a bad life, or stubbornly insists on denying the existence of the spirit, regarding the material as the real and the order in the world as a game of chance, in such a person, a separation ultimately takes place between the “planet” and the “moon”; he loses his intuition and his conscience. Such a soul, separated from God [the higher Self], is lost, and what remains of it is, at best, a brooding and speculating, but ignorant idiot.
The anima bruta, once separated from the body, learns nothing more. Even if it is centuries old, if questioned, it will hardly reveal more knowledge than it acquired during its lifetime. When a new idea emerges during a spiritualistic seance, it always has a completely different origin than the knowledge of the “spirit” in question. The reason why many such communications are of an astral nature, while some are of a celestial nature, is that most people communicate with the “spirits” through their own anima bruta, while the few pure ones communicate through their anima divina; for like attracts like.
The souls of animals are rarely encountered; they are more in contact with their own kind than with humans, except in cases where the affection between human and animal was very strong. Superficial affections do not last long. If a person wants to find the object of his love in eternity (Nirvana), his love must come from Neschamah and not from Ruach. True love is stronger than a thousand deaths; for even if a person is born and dies a thousand times, a single love can still propagate through all his reincarnations, constantly increasing in strength and power.
All of the principles mentioned: Nephesh, Ruach, and Neschamah, are forms of the revelation of one and the same omnipresent Being, which is both life and substance, instinct and consciousness, even though it cannot express itself in the same way under all conditions. Everything in nature is, essentially, a revelation of the Spirit of God in the universe, and thus, there is a divine energy in all things. Evolution is the revealing of what is hidden within, the awakening of a dormant force. The first product of the action of this divine force above the material plane is Nephesh. This is the vegetative soul, which moves all life and through which the lower life forms come into being. The second is Ruach, “the wind,” which rushes and stirs the mind. The third is Neschamah; it is the highest because it is internal and resides at the center of life. Sustained by the Ruach, Neschamah is the vessel that directly absorbs the divine essence, and without which this (the inner man) cannot be individualized and become an indestructible unity, like a flame that can no longer be moved by anything. Both the “wind” and the “flame” are spirit; but the “wind” is universal, and the “flame” individualized. The “wind” fills the house, the “flame” creates individuality. The “wind” is the voice that resounds in the apostle’s ear and then moves on; the flame is the “tongue of fire” that speaks through the apostle’s word. In the non-individual soul, the breath of God is indeed perceived, but the soul that has attained true Self-consciousness is the expression of God’s word. That which Neschamah absorbs from Nephesh, as well as from the Ruach, is Neschamah itself.
Notes:
[1] Kabbalah is the name of the Jewish esoteric teaching.
[2] From the Teachings of the Kabbalah. By Franz Hartmann, M. D. Theosophischer Wegweiser 3, no. 3 (December 1900), 75-83] [Aus den Lehren der Kabbala. Von Dr. Franz Hartmann. Aus der Wiener Rundschau 4, no. 21] [Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025]
[3] From “Wiener Rundschau” (Volume IV, No. 21).
[4] [R.H.—Correct. H. P. Blavatsky did not classify the physical body a principle of man.]
[5] [R.H.—Also (the matrix body, also called prāṇamaya-kośa, body composed of the vital energy called prāṇa; the etheric double in theosophical terminology) Etheric body: Prāṇamaya-kośa or liṅga-śarīra, = Liṅga-deha because it determines the character of the physical body which is its manifestation. The physical body is nothing but the form that is cast in the mold of the subtle body. The subtle body is not visible to us (normally), and it is internal to the physical body. Liṅga means “mark.” Tibetan, རླུང་ལུས་ (rlung lus) wind body.]
[6] [R.H.—There is a higher meaning of the Day of Judgment which is millions of years into the future.]
[7] [R.H.—It is said that Gautama Buddha remembered all his former lives.]
[8] The “moon” is our own, higher, spiritual nature, the “genius” or “guardian Angel” who accompanies us through life and through whose mediation we receive the light of intuition. Every person has such a “moon” that accompanies them, much as the visible moon is a companion to the Earth. When we withdraw into our inner selves, the light of this “moon” illuminates the hidden chamber of our mind.