Cosmic Memory
GA 11
xii. On the Origin of the Earth
[ 1 ] As individual man has to pass through different stages after his birth, as he must ascend from infancy through childhood and so on to the age of the mature adult, so too must mankind as a whole go through a similar process. Humanity has developed to its present condition by passing through other stages. With the methods of the clairvoyant one can discern three principal stags of this development of mankind which were passed through before the formation of the earth took place and before this sphere became the scene of that development. Therefore at present we are concerned with the fourth stage in the great universal life of man. For now we shall relate the relevant facts here. The deeper explanation will appear in the course of the description, insofar as is possible in the words of ordinary language, that is, without having recourse to the form of expression of mystery science.
[ 2 ] Man existed before there was an earth. But one must not imagine—as has already been suggested—that perhaps he had previously lived on other planets and then at a certain time migrated to earth. Rather, the earth has developed together with man. Just as man has passed through three main stages of development, so has the earth, before becoming that which one now calls “earth.” For the time being, as has been indicated above, one must completely liberate oneself from the significance which contemporary science connects with the names “Saturn,” “Sun,” and “Moon,” if one wants to see the explanations of the scientist of the spirit in this area in their proper light. For the present one should connect with these names no other significance than that directly given to them in the following communications.
[ 3 ] Before the heavenly body on which the life of man takes place became “earth,” it had had three other forms which one designates as Saturn, Sun, and Moon. On can thus speak of four planets on which the four principal stages of the development of mankind take place Moon, before that Sun, and yet earlier, Saturn. One is justified, as will appear from the following communications, to assume three further principal stages which the earth, or better the heavenly body which developed into the present earth, still has to pass through. In mystery science these have been named Jupiter, Venus, and Vulcan. Thus the heavenly body with which human destiny is connected has passed through three stages in the past is now in its fourth, and will in the future have to pass through three more until all the talents which man has within himself are developed, until he arrives at the peak of his perfection.
[ 4 ] One must realize that the development of man and of his heavenly body does not proceed as gradually as for instance the passage of an individual human being through infancy, adolescence and so forth, where one condition goes over into another more or less imperceptibly. Rather there are certain interruptions. The Saturn condition does not go over immediately into the Sun stage. Between Saturn development and Sun development, and similarly between the subsequent forms of the heavenly body inhabited by man, there are intermediate conditions which can be compared with the night between two days or with the sleeplike condition of a plant seed before it again develops into a full plant.
In imitation of oriental descriptions of this state of affairs, contemporary theosophy calls a stage of development in which life is externally furthered, Manvantara, the intermediate condition of rest, Pralaya. In accordance with the usage of European mystery science, one can use the word “open cycle” for the former condition, and on the other hand, “hidden or closed cycle” for the latter. But other designations are also in common use. Saturn, Sun, Moon, earth, and so forth, are “open cycles,” and the periods of rest between them are “closed” ones.
[ 5 ] It would be quite erroneous to think that in the periods of rest all life is extinct, although today this idea can be encountered in many theosophical circles. Just as little as man ceases to live during his sleep, so little does his life and that of his heavenly body become extinct during a “closed cycle” (Pralaya). It is only that the conditions of life in the periods of rest cannot be perceived with the senses which have been developed during the “open cycles,” just as during his sleep man does not perceive what is taking place around him. Why one uses the expression “cycle” for the stages of development will become sufficiently clear in the course of the following discussion. Only later can we speak about the enormous periods of time which are required for these “cycles.”
[ 6 ] One can find a thread through the course of the cycles by following for a moment the development of human consciousness through them. Everything else can suitably arise out of this consideration of consciousness.
The consciousness which man develops during his life-course on earth will be called—in accordance with European mystery science—the “clear consciousness of day.” The latter consists in the fact that through his present senses, man perceives the things and beings of the world and that he forms conceptions and ideas concerning these things and beings with the help of his understanding and of his reason. He then acts in the world of the senses according to these perceptions, conceptions, and ideas. Man formed this consciousness only in the fourth principal stage of his cosmic development; on Saturn, Sun, and Moon it did not yet exist. There he lived in other conditions of consciousness. As a result, one can describe the three previous stages of development as the unfolding of lower conditions of consciousness.
[ 7 ] The lowest condition of consciousness was passed through during the Saturn development; the Sun condition is higher, then follows the Moon consciousness and finally that of earth.
[ 8 ] These former consciousnesses are primarily distinguished from the earthly one by two characteristics: by the degree of clarity, and by the area over which the perception of man extends.
The Saturn consciousness has the lowest degree of clarity. It is entirely dull. It is difficult to give an exact idea of this dullness, since even the dullness of sleep is somewhat clearer than this consciousness. In abnormal, so-called deep states of trance, modern man can still fall back into this state of consciousness. The clairvoyant in the sense of mystery science can also form a correct conception of it. But by no means does he himself live in this state of consciousness. On the contrary, he ascends to a much higher one, which however in certain respects is similar to the original one. In the ordinary man at the contemporary terrestrial stage, this condition, through which he once passed, has been effaced by the “clear consciousness of day.” The “medium” who falls into a deep trance, however, is transported back into it, so that he perceives in the same way in which all men perceived during the “Saturn period.” Either during the trance or after awaking, such a medium can then tell of experiences which are similar to those of the Saturn stage. One must be careful to say that they are “similar,” not “identical,” for the events which took place on Saturn are once and for all past; only events which have a certain affinity with them still take place in the environment of man. These can only be perceived by a “Saturn consciousness.”
Like the medium, the clairvoyant in the above sense acquires such a Saturn consciousness, but in addition to it he keeps his “clear consciousness of day,” which man did not yet have on Saturn, and which the medium loses in the state of trance. Such a clairvoyant is not in the Saturn consciousness itself, but he can form a conception of it.
While this Saturn consciousness is by some degrees inferior to the one of today with respect to clarity, it is superior to the latter with respect to the extent of what it can perceive. In its dullness it can not only perceive everything which takes place on its own heavenly body down to the last detail, but it can also observe the objects and beings on other heavenly bodies which are connected with Saturn. It can also exercise a certain influence on these objects and beings. (It hardly need be said that this observation of other heavenly bodies is quite different from that which contemporary man can undertake by means of his scientific astronomy. This astronomical observation is based on the “clear consciousness of day” and therefore perceives other heavenly bodies from the outside. The Saturn consciousness, on the other hand, is immediate sensation, an experiencing of what takes place on other heavenly bodies. One does not speak altogether accurately, but still fairly so, if one says that an inhabitant of Saturn experienced objects and events of other heavenly bodies—and of his own—as a man of today experiences his heart and his heartbeat or something similar in his own body.)
This Saturn consciousness developed slowly. As the first principal stage in the development of mankind it passed through a series of subordinate stages, which in European mystery science are called “small cycles.” In theosophical literature it has become customary to call these “small cycles,” “rounds,” and their further sub-divisions—still smaller cycles—“globes.” These subordinate cycles will be dealt with in subsequent discussions. For the sake of greater clarity, we shall first follow here the principal stages of development. For the moment we shall speak only of man, although the development of subordinate and superior entities and objects proceeds concurrently with his own. That which concerns the development of other entities will then follow the discussion of man's progress.
[ 9 ] When the development of the Saturn consciousness was completed, there occurred one of the long rest periods (a Pralaya) mentioned above. After this there developed out of the heavenly body of man what in mystery science is called the “Sun.” On the Sun, the human beings again emerged from their sleep. The previously developed Saturn consciousness was present in them as a predisposition. First they again developed it from this germ. One can say that on the Sun man repeated the condition of Saturn before ascending to a higher one. However, it is not a simple repetition which is meant here, but one in another form. These transformations of forms will be discussed later when we deal with the smaller cycles. At that time the differences between the individual “repetitions” will also become apparent. Now we shall describe only the development of consciousness.
After the repetition of the Saturn condition, the “Sun consciousness” of man appears. This is somewhat clearer than the preceding consciousness, but on the other hand it has lost something with respect to broadness of vision. In the deep, dreamless sleep of his present life, man has a condition of consciousness similar to that which he once had on the Sun. However, he who is not a clairvoyant or a medium cannot perceive the objects and beings corresponding to the Sun consciousness. With the trance of a medium reduced to this condition, and with the higher consciousness of the true clairvoyant, the case here is similar to what has been said with respect to the Saturn consciousness.
The extent of the Sun consciousness is limited to the Sun and the heavenly bodies most closely connected with it. It is only these and their events which the inhabitant of the Sun can experience as—to use once again the simile employed above—man of today experiences his heartbeat. In this way the inhabitant of Saturn could also participate in the life of those heavenly bodies which did not belong to the immediate sphere of Saturn.
[ 10 ] When the Sun stage has passed through the appropriate subordinate cycles, it also enters a period of rest. From this the heavenly body of man awakes to its “Moon existence.” Before ascending higher, again man passes through the Saturn and Sun stage in two smaller cycles. Then he enters his Moon consciousness. One can more easily form an idea of the latter, for there is a certain similarity between this stage of consciousness and a sleep filled with dreams. It must be explicitly stated that here again one can only speak of a similarity, not of an identity. It is true that the Moon consciousness is composed of images such as appear in dreams, but these images correspond to the objects and events around man in a way similar to the ideas of the present “clear consciousness of day.” But everything in this correspondence is still dull, in fact, image-like. One can represent this state of affairs to oneself in approximately the following way. Assume that a Moon-being comes near an object, let us say near salt. (Of course, at that time there was no “salt” in its present form, but after all, in order to be understood, one must remain in the area of images and similes.) This Moon-being—the precursor of present-day man—does not perceive an object with spatial extension and a definite coloring and form outside itself; instead, the approach to this object causes a certain image—similar to a dream image—to arise as it were within this being. This image has a certain coloring which depends on the characteristics of the object. If the object is agreeable to the being and useful for its existence, the coloring is light in yellow nuances, or in green; if the object is disagreeable or is one which is harmful to the being, a blood-like, reddish color nuance appears. The clairvoyant also sees in this way today, only he is fully conscious during this seeing, while the Moon inhabitant had only a dreamlike, dim consciousness. The images appearing “within” these inhabitants had an exactly defined relationship to the environment. There was nothing arbitrary in them. It was possible to direct oneself by them; one acted under the impression of these images as today one acts under the impression of sensory perceptions.
The development of this dreamlike consciousness—the third principal stage—was the task of the “Moon cycle.” When the “Moon” had passed through the appropriate “small cycles,” a period of rest (Pralaya) again occurred. After this, the “Earth” emerged from the darkness.
XI. Von der Herkunft der Erde
[ 1 ] Wie der einzelne Mensch von seiner Geburt an verschiedene Stufen durchzumachen hat, wie er aufzusteigen hat vom Säuglingsalter, durch die Kindheit und so weiter bis zum Lebensalter des reifen Mannes oder der reifen Frau, so ist es auch mit der Menschheit im Großen. Sie hat sich durch andere Stufen hindurch zu ihrem gegenwärtigen Zustande entwickelt. Mit den Mitteln des Hellsehers kann man drei Hauptstufen dieser Menschheitsentwickelung verfolgen, welche durchlaufen worden sind, bevor die Bildung der Erde erfolgt ist und dieser Weltkörper der Schauplatz jener Entwickelung geworden ist. Man hat es also gegenwärtig mit der vierten Stufe im großen Weltenleben des Menschen zu tun. Hier sollen vorläufig die in Betracht kommenden Tatsachen erzählt werden. Die innere Begründung wird sich im Laufe der Darstellung ergeben, soweit eine solche in den Worten der gewöhnlichen Sprache — ohne zu der Ausdrucksform der Geheimwissenschaft zu greifen — möglich ist.
[ 2 ] Der Mensch war vorhanden, bevor es eine Erde gegeben hat. Doch darf man sich nicht vorstellen — wie das andeutungsweise schon zum Ausdrucke gekommen ist -, daß er etwa vorher auf anderen Planeten gelebt habe und in einem gewissen Zeitpunkte auf die Erde gewandert sei. Diese Erde selbst hat sich vielmehr mit dem Menschen entwickelt. Sie hat ebenso wie er drei Hauptstufen der Entwickelung durchgemacht, bevor sie zu dem geworden ist, was man jetzt «Erde» nennt. Man muß sich vorläufig — wie ja auch bereits angedeutet worden ist — ganz freimachen von der Bedeutung, welche die gegenwärtige Wissenschaft mit den Namen «Saturn», «Sonne» und «Mond» verbindet, wenn man die Darlegungen des Geheimwissenschafters auf diesem Gebiete im rechten Lichte sehen will. Man verbinde bis auf weiteres mit diesen Namen keine andere Bedeutung als diejenige, welche ihnen in den folgenden Mitteilungen unmittelbar gegeben wird.
[ 3 ] Ehe der Weltkörper, auf dem sich des Menschen Leben abspielt, «Erde» geworden ist, hat er drei andere Formen gehabt, welche man als Saturn, Sonne und Mond bezeichnet. Man kann also von vier Planeten sprechen, auf denen sich die vier Hauptstufen der Menschenentwickelung vollziehen. Die Sache ist so, daß die Erde, bevor sie eben «Erde» geworden ist, Mond war, noch früher Sonne und noch vorher Saturn. Man ist berechtigt, wie sich aus den folgenden Mitteilungen ergeben wird, drei weitere Hauptstufen anzunehmen, welche die Erde, oder besser gesagt, der Weltkörper, welcher sich zur jetzigen Erde entwickelt hat, noch ferner durchlaufen wird. Diesen hat man in der Geheimwissenschaft die Namen: Jupiter, Venus und Vulkan gegeben. Demgemäß hat also in der Vergangenheit der Weltkörper, mit dem das Menschenschicksal zusammenhängt, drei Stufen durchgemacht, befindet sich jetzt auf seiner vierten und wird weiterhin noch drei zu durchlaufen haben, bis die Anlagen alle entwickelt sein werden, die der Mensch in sich hat, bis er an einem Gipfel seiner Vollkommenheit angelangt sein wird.
[ 4 ] Nun hat man sich vorzustellen, daß die Entwickelung des Menschen und seines Weltkörpers nicht so allmählich verläuft wie etwa der Durchgang des einzelnen Menschen durch das Säuglings-, Kindheitsalter und so weiter, wo ein Zustand in den andern mehr oder weniger unvermerkt übergeht. Es sind vielmehr gewisse Unterbrechungen vorhanden. Nicht unmittelbar geht der Saturnzustand in die Sonnenstufe über. Zwischen Saturn- und Sonnenentwickelung und ebenso zwischen den folgenden Formen des menschlichen Weltkörpers sind Zwischenzustände, die man vergleichen könnte mit der Nacht zwischen zwei Tagen, oder mit dem schlafähnlichen Zustand, in dem sich ein Pflanzenkeim befindet, ehe er sich wieder zur vollen Pflanze entwickelt. — In Anlehnung an morgenländische Darstellungen des Sachverhalts nennt die heutige Theosophie einen Entwickelungszustand, in dem das Leben äußerlich entfaltet ist, Manvantara, den dazwischenliegenden Ruhezustand Pralaya. Im Sinne der europäischen Geheimwissenschaft kann man für den ersteren Zustand das Wort «offener Kreislauf», für den zweiten dagegen «verborgener oder geschlossener Kreislauf» gebrauchen. Doch sind auch andere Bezeichnungen üblich. Saturn, Sonne, Mond, Erde und so weiter sind «offene Kreisläufe», die zwischen ihnen liegenden Ruhepausen «geschlossene».
[ 5 ] Es wäre ganz unrichtig, wenn man denken wollte, daß in den Ruhepausen alles Leben erstorben sei, obwohl diese Vorstellung in vielen theosophischen Kreisen heute angetroffen wird. So wenig der Mensch während seines Schlafes aufhört zu leben, ebensowenig erstirbt sein und seines Weltkörpers Leben während eines «geschlossenen Kreislaufes» (Pralaya). Nur sind die Lebenszustände in den Ruhepausen mit den Sinnen, die sich während der «offenen Kreisläufe» ausbilden, nicht wahrzunehmen, wie auch der Mensch während des Schlafes nicht wahrnimmt, was um ihn herum sich abspielt. Warum man den Ausdruck «Kreislauf» für die Entwickelungszustände gebraucht, wird aus den folgenden Ausführungen zur Genüge hervorgehen. Über die gewaltigen Zeiträume, die zu diesen «Kreisläufen» erforderlich sind, kann erst später gesprochen werden.
[ 6 ] Ein Faden durch den Fortgang der Kreisläufe kann gefunden werden, wenn man vorläufig die Entwickelung des menschlichen Bewußtseins durch dieselben hindurch verfolgt. Alles andere kann sich sachgemäß an diese Betrachtung des Bewußtseins anschließen. — Das Bewußtsein, welches der Mensch während seiner Laufbahn auf der Erde entfaltet, soll — im Einklange mit der europäischen Geheimwissenschaft — das «helle Tagesbewußtsein» genannt werden. Es besteht darin, daß der Mensch durch seine gegenwärtigen Sinne die Dinge und Wesen der Welt wahrnimmt und daß er sich mit Hilfe seines Verstandes und seiner Vernunft Vorstellungen und Ideen über diese Dinge und Wesen bildet. Er handelt dann in der sinnlichen Welt gemäß diesen seinen Wahrnehmungen, Vorstellungen und Ideen. Dieses Bewußtsein hat nun der Mensch erst auf der vierten Hauptstufe seiner Weltentwickelung ausgebildet; auf Saturn, Sonne und Mond war es noch nicht vorhanden. Da lebte er in anderen Bewußtseinszuständen. Man kann demgemäß die drei vorhergehenden Entwickelungsstufen als die Entfaltung niederer Bewußtseinszustände bezeichnen.
[ 7 ] Der niedrigste Bewußtseinszustand wurde während der Saturnentwickelung durchgemacht; ein höherer ist der Sonnenzustand, dann folgt das Mond- und endlich das Erdenbewußtsein.
[ 8 ] Diese früheren Bewußtseine unterscheiden sich von dem irdischen hauptsächlich durch zwei Merkmale, durch den Helligkeitsgrad und durch den Umkreis, auf welchen sich die Wahrnehmung des Menschen erstreckt. — Das Saturnbewusstsein hat den geringsten Helligkeitsgrad. Es ist ganz dumpf. Schwer ist es, deswegen eine genauere Vorstellung von dieser Dumpfheit zu geben, weil sogar die Dumpfheit des Schlafes noch um einen Grad heller ist als dieses Bewusstsein. In abnormen, sogenannten tiefen Trancezuständen kann der gegenwärtige Mensch noch in diesen Bewußtseinszustand zurückfallen. Und auch derjenige Mensch, welcher Hellseher im Sinne der Geheimwissenschaft ist, kann sich eine zutreffende Vorstellung davon bilden. Nur lebt dieser selbst nicht etwa in diesem Bewußtseinszustand. Er erhebt sich vielmehr zu einem weit höheren, der aber doch in gewissen Hinsichten diesem ursprünglichen ähnlich ist. Beim gewöhnlichen Menschen der gegenwärtigen Erdenstufe ist dieser Zustand, den er einstmals durchgemacht hat, durch das «helle Tagesbewußtsein» ausgelöscht. Das «Medium», das in tiefen Trance verfällt, wird aber in denselben zurückversetzt, so daß es so wahrnimmt, wie einstens alle Menschen während der «Saturnzeit» wahrgenommen haben. Und ein solches Medium kann dann entweder während des Trance oder nach dem Erwachen von Erlebnissen erzählen, welche denen des Saturnschauplatzes ähnlich sind. Man darf allerdings nur sagen «ähnlich», nicht etwa «gleich» sind, denn die Tatsachen, welche sich auf dem Saturn abgespielt haben, sind ein für allemal vorüber; nur solche, die mit ihnen eine gewisse Verwandtschaft haben, spielen sich auch jetzt noch in der Umgebung des Menschen ab. Und nur ein «Saturnbewußtsein» kann diese letzteren wahrnehmen. — Der Hellseher im obigen Sinne erlangt nun wie das gekennzeichnete Medium ein solches Saturnbewußtsein; aber er behält dazu auch sein «helles Tagesbewußtsein», welches der Mensch auf dem Saturn noch nicht hatte, und welches das Medium während des Trancezustandes verliert. Ein solcher Hellseher ist also zwar nicht im Saturnbewußtsein selbst; aber er kann sich eine Vorstellung davon bilden. — Während nun dieses Saturnbewußtsein an Helligkeit dem gegenwärtigen menschlichen um einige Grade nachsteht, ist es an dem Umfang dessen, was es wahrnehmen kann, demselben überlegen. Es kann nämlich in seiner Dumpfheit nicht nur alles das bis aufs kleinste wahrnehmen, was auf seinem eigenen Weltkörper vorgeht, sondern es kann auch noch die Dinge und Wesen auf anderen Weltkörpern beobachten, welche mit seinem eigenen — dem Saturn — in Verbindung stehen. Und es kann auch auf diese Dinge und Wesen eine gewisse Wirkung ausüben. (Es braucht wohl kaum gesagt zu werden, daß diese Beobachtung anderer Weltkörper ganz verschieden von derjenigen ist, welche der gegenwärtige Mensch mit seiner wissenschaftlichen Astronomie vornehmen kann. Diese astronomische Beobachtung stützt sich auf das «helle Tagesbewußtsein» und nimmt daher andere Weltkörper von außen wahr. Das Saturnbewußtsein ist dagegen unmittelbares Empfinden, ein Miterleben dessen, was auf anderen Weltkörpern vorgeht. Nicht ganz, aber doch einigermaßen zutreffend, spricht man sich aus, wenn man sagt, ein Saturnbewohner erlebt Dinge und Tatsachen anderer Weltkörper — und seines eigenen , wie der jetzige Mensch sein Herz und seinen Herzschlag oder ähnliches in seinem eigenen Leibe miterlebt.) Dieses Saturnbewußtsein entwickelt sich langsam. Es geht als erste Hauptstufe der Menschheitsentwickelung durch eine Reihe untergeordneter Stufen hindurch, welche in der europäischen Geheimwissenschaft «kleine Kreisläufe» genannt werden. In der theosophischen Literatur ist es üblich geworden, diese «kleinen Kreisläufe» «Runden» und ihre weiteren Unterabteilungen — noch kleinere Kreisläufe — «Globen» zu nennen. Von diesen untergeordneteren Kreisläufen wird in den folgenden Ausführungen gesprochen werden. Hier sollen zunächst die Hauptstufen der Entwickelung — der leichteren Übersichtlichkeit halber — verfolgt werden. Auch soll zunächst nur vom Menschen gesprochen werden, obwohl mit seiner Entwickelung diejenige unter- und übergeordneter Wesenheiten und Dinge gleichzeitig verläuft. Es soll dann an den Fortgang des Menschen sachgemäß angeschlossen werden, was sich auf die Entwickelung anderer Wesenheiten bezieht.
[ 9 ] Als die Entfaltung des Saturnbewußtseins abgeschlossen war, trat eine der oben erwähnten langen Ruhepausen (ein Pralaya) ein. Nach diesem entwickelte sich aus dem menschlichen Weltkörper das, was in der Geheimwissenschaft die «Sonne» genannt wird. Und auf der Sonne entstanden auch die Menschenwesen wieder aus ihrem Schlafe heraus. In ihnen war als Anlage das vorher entfaltete Saturnbewußtsein vorhanden. Dieses brachten sie zunächst denn auch wieder aus der Anlage hervor. Man kann sagen, der Mensch wiederholte auf der Sonne den Saturnzustand, bevor er zu einem höheren aufstieg. Nur ist hier nicht eine einfache Wiederholung, sondern eine solche in anderer Form gemeint. Doch wird von den Formenverwandlungen später bei Behandlung der kleineren Kreisläufe gesprochen werden. Da werden auch die Unterschiede in den einzelnen «Wiederholungen» zutage treten. Vor der Hand soll nur die Bewusstseinsentwickelung zur Darstellung kommen. — Nach der Wiederholung des Saturnzustandes tritt das «Sonnenbewußtsein» des Menschen zutage. Dieses ist um einen Grad heller als das vorhergehende, aber es hat dafür auch an Weite des Umblickes verloren. In seiner gegenwärtigen Lebenslage hat der Mensch während des tiefen, traumlosen Schlafes einen ähnlichen Bewußtseinszustand, wie er einstens auf der Sonne ihn hatte. Nur kann derjenige, welcher nicht Hellseher oder nicht Medium ist, die Dinge und Wesen, die dem Sonnenbewußtsein entsprachen, nicht wahrnehmen. Mit dem Trance eines bis zu diesem Zustand herabgestimmten Mediums und dem höheren Bewußtsein des wahren Hellsehers verhält es sich auch hier wieder so, wie das in bezug auf das Saturnbewußtsein besprochen worden ist. — Der Umfang des Sonnenbewußtseins erstreckt sich nur auf die Sonne und die mit ihr zu allernächst zusammenhängenden Weltkörper. Nur diese und deren Ereignisse kann der Sonnenbewohner miterleben, wie — um noch einmal das obige Gleichnis zu gebrauchen — der jetzige Mensch seinen Herzschlag erlebt. Der Saturnbewohner hat so das Leben auch solcher Weltkörper mitgemacht, die nicht unmittelbar in den nächsten Bereich des Saturn gehörten.
[ 10 ] Ist nun die Sonnenstufe durch die entsprechenden untergeordneten Kreisläufe durchgegangen, so tritt auch sie in eine Ruhepause. Aus dieser heraus erwacht der menschliche Weltkörper zu seinem «Monddasein». Wieder macht der Mensch, bevor er höher steigt, die Saturn- und Sonnenstufe durch, in zwei kleineren Kreisläufen. Dann tritt er in sein Mondbewußtsein ein. Von diesem ist es nun schon leichter eine Vorstellung zu bilden, weil eine gewisse Ähnlichkeit besteht zwischen dieser Bewußtseinsstufe und dem von Träumen durchzogenen Schlafe. Ausdrücklich muß aber gesagt werden, daß auch hier nur von einer Ähnlichkeit, nicht etwa von einer Gleichheit gesprochen werden darf. Denn zwar verläuft das Mondenbewußtsein in Bildern, wie sie der Traum darbietet; aber diese Bilder entsprechen in einer ähnlichen Art den Dingen und Vorgängen in der Umgebung des Menschen wie die Vorstellungen des gegenwärtigen «hellen Tagesbewußtseins". Nur ist eben alles in diesem Entsprechen noch dumpf, eben bildhaft. Man kann sich die Sache etwa in folgender Art veranschaulichen. Man nehme an, ein Mondwesen käme in die Nähe eines Gegenstandes, sagen wir eines Salzes. (Natürlich hat es damals noch nicht «Salz» in der heutigen Form gegeben, aber man muß ja, um sich verständlich zu machen, im Gebiete von Bildern und Vergleichen bleiben.) Dieses Mondwesen — der Vorgänger des gegenwärtigen Menschen — nimmt nicht einen räumlich ausgedehnten Gegenstand von bestimmter Färbung und Form außer sich wahr, sondern die Annäherung an diesen Gegenstand bewirkt, daß ein gewisses Bild — eben ähnlich wie ein Traumbild — gewissermaßen im Innern des Wesens aufsteigt. Dieses Bild hat einen gewissen Farbenton, welcher davon abhängt, wie der Gegenstand beschaffen ist. Wenn dieser dem Wesen sympathisch, seinem Leben förderlich ist, so ist der Farbenton hell in gelben Nuancen, oder auch grün; handelt es sich um einen unsympathischen Gegenstand oder einen solchen, der dem Wesen schädlich ist, so tritt eine blutig-rötliche Farbennuance auf. In solcher Art sieht auch heute der Hellseher, nur ist er sich bei diesem Schauen vollbewußt, während der Mondbewohner eben nur ein traumhaftes, dämmeriges Bewußtsein hatte. Die «im Innern» dieser Bewohner aufleuchtenden Bilder hatten ein genau bestimmtes Verhältnis zu der Umgebung. Es war in ihnen nichts Willkürliches. Deshalb konnte man sich nach ihnen richten, man handelte unter den Eindrücken dieser Bilder so, wie man heute unter den Eindrücken der Sinneswahrnehmungen handelt. — Die Entwickelung dieses traumartigen Bewußtseins — der dritten Hauptstufe — war die Aufgabe des «Mondkreislaufes». Als der «Mond» durch die entsprechenden «kleinen Kreisläufe» durchgegangen war, trat wieder eine Ruhepause (Pralaya) ein. Und nach derselben dämmerte die «Erde» aus der Finsternis auf.
XI. On the origin of the earth
[ 1 ] As the individual human being has to pass through various stages from his birth, as he has to ascend from infancy, through childhood and so on to the age of the mature man or woman, so it is with mankind on a large scale. It has developed through other stages to its present state. With the means of clairvoyance one can follow three main stages of this development of mankind, which have been passed through before the formation of the earth took place and this world body became the scene of that development. We are therefore currently dealing with the fourth stage in the great world life of man. For the time being, the facts under consideration will be recounted here. The inner reasoning will emerge in the course of the presentation, insofar as this is possible in the words of ordinary language - without resorting to the form of expression of secret science.
[ 2 ] Man existed before there was an earth. But we must not imagine - as has already been hinted at - that he had previously lived on other planets and migrated to Earth at a certain point in time. Rather, this earth itself has developed with man. Like him, it went through three main stages of development before it became what is now called "earth". For the time being - as has already been indicated - one must free oneself entirely from the meaning which present-day science attaches to the names "Saturn", "Sun" and "Moon", if one wishes to see the Secret Scientist's explanations in this field in the right light. For the time being, do not associate any other meaning with these names than that which is given to them directly in the following messages.
[ 3 ] Since the world body on which human life takes place became "Earth", it has had three other forms, which are called Saturn, Sun and Moon. We can therefore speak of four planets on which the four main stages of human development take place. The fact is that the earth, before it became "earth", was moon, still earlier sun and still earlier Saturn. As will become clear from the following information, we are justified in assuming three further main stages through which the earth, or rather the world body that has developed into the present earth, will continue to pass. These have been given the names in secret science: Jupiter, Venus and Vulcan. Accordingly, in the past, the world body with which man's destiny is connected has gone through three stages, is now on its fourth and will have to go through three more until the dispositions that man has within himself are all developed, until he has reached the peak of his perfection.
[ 4 ] Now one has to imagine that the development of man and his world body does not proceed as gradually as the passage of the individual human being through infancy, childhood and so on, where one state passes more or less unnoticed into the other. Rather, there are certain interruptions. The Saturnian state does not pass directly into the solar stage. Between the Saturnian and solar development and also between the following forms of the human world body are intermediate states which could be compared to the night between two days, or to the sleep-like state in which a plant germ is before it develops into a full plant again. - Based on Oriental representations of the facts, today's theosophy calls a state of development in which life is outwardly unfolded Manvantara, and the intermediate state of rest Pralaya. In the sense of European secret science, one can use the word "open cycle" for the first state and "hidden or closed cycle" for the second. However, other terms are also commonly used. Saturn, the sun, moon, earth and so on are "open cycles", the rest periods between them are "closed".
[ 5 ] It would be quite incorrect to think that all life has died during the rest periods, although this idea is found in many theosophical circles today. Just as man does not cease to live during his sleep, neither does his and his world body's life die during a "closed cycle" (Pralaya). It is only that the states of life in the pauses of rest cannot be perceived with the senses that develop during the "open cycles", just as man does not perceive what is going on around him during sleep. Why the term "cycle" is used for the states of development will become sufficiently clear from the following explanations. The enormous periods of time required for these "cycles" can only be discussed later.
[ 6 ] A thread through the progress of the cycles can be found if one follows the development of human consciousness through them for the time being. Everything else can appropriately follow this consideration of consciousness. - The consciousness which man develops during his career on earth is to be called - in agreement with European secret science - the "bright day-consciousness". It consists in the fact that man perceives the things and beings of the world through his present senses and that he forms conceptions and ideas about these things and beings with the help of his intellect and reason. He then acts in the sensory world according to these perceptions, conceptions and ideas. Man only developed this consciousness on the fourth main stage of his world evolution; it was not yet present on Saturn, the Sun and the Moon. There he lived in other states of consciousness. Accordingly, the three preceding stages of development can be described as the unfolding of lower states of consciousness.
[ 7 ] The lowest state of consciousness was passed through during the Saturnian evolution; a higher one is the solar state, then follows the lunar and finally the earthly consciousness.
[ 8 ] These earlier consciousnesses differ from the earthly consciousness mainly by two characteristics, by the degree of brightness and by the radius to which the perception of man extends. - The Saturn consciousness has the lowest degree of brightness. It is completely dull. It is difficult to give a more precise idea of this dullness because even the dullness of sleep is one degree brighter than this consciousness. In abnormal, so-called deep trance states, the present person can still fall back into this state of consciousness. And a person who is clairvoyant in the sense of secret science can also form an accurate idea of this. But he himself does not live in this state of consciousness. Rather, he rises to a far higher one, which is nevertheless similar to this original one in certain respects. In the ordinary man of the present earthly stage, this state, which he once passed through, is extinguished by the "bright consciousness of day". The "medium" who falls into a deep trance, however, is transported back into it, so that he perceives in the same way as all people once perceived during the "Saturn period". And such a medium can then, either during the trance or after awakening, tell of experiences which are similar to those of the Saturnian scene. However, one may only say "similar", not "the same", because the events that took place on Saturn are over once and for all; only those that have a certain relationship to them are still taking place in the human environment. And only a "Saturn consciousness" can perceive the latter. - The clairvoyant in the above sense now attains such a Saturn consciousness like the marked medium; but he also retains his "bright day consciousness", which the human being did not yet have on Saturn, and which the medium loses during the trance state. Such a clairvoyant is therefore not in Saturn consciousness itself, but he can form an idea of it. - While this Saturn consciousness is inferior to the present human consciousness by a few degrees in brightness, it is superior to it in the range of what it can perceive. For in its dullness it can not only perceive down to the smallest detail everything that takes place on its own world body, but it can also observe the things and beings on other world bodies which are connected with its own - Saturn. And it can also exert a certain effect on these things and beings. (It need hardly be said that this observation of other world bodies is quite different from that which the present man can make with his scientific astronomy. This astronomical observation is based on the "bright day consciousness" and therefore perceives other world bodies from the outside. Saturn consciousness, on the other hand, is a direct feeling, a co-experience of what is happening on other world bodies. It is not quite, but still somewhat accurate, to say that an inhabitant of Saturn experiences things and facts on other world bodies - and his own, just as the present human being experiences his heart and his heartbeat or the like in his own body). This Saturn consciousness develops slowly. As the first main stage in the development of mankind, it passes through a series of subordinate stages, which are called "small cycles" in European secret science. In theosophical literature it has become customary to call these "small cycles" "rounds" and their further subdivisions - even smaller cycles - "globes". These subordinate circuits will be discussed in the following. For the sake of clarity, the main stages of development will be traced here first. Also, we shall first speak only of man, although his development is accompanied by that of subordinate and superordinate beings and things. What relates to the development of other entities will then be appropriately linked to the progress of the human being.
[ 9 ] When the unfolding of Saturn consciousness was completed, one of the above-mentioned long pauses (a pralaya) occurred. After this, what is called the "sun" in secret science developed from the human world body. And it was on the sun that the human beings emerged from their sleep. The previously unfolded Saturn consciousness was present in them. At first they brought it forth again out of the constitution. One can say that man repeated the Saturnian state on the sun before he ascended to a higher one. However, what is meant here is not a simple repetition, but a repetition in a different form. However, the transformations of form will be discussed later when dealing with the smaller cycles. There the differences in the individual "repetitions" will also become apparent. Before the hand, only the development of consciousness will be presented. - After the repetition of the Saturnian state, the "solar consciousness" of the human being comes to light. This is one degree brighter than the previous one, but it has also lost its breadth of vision. In his present state of life, during deep, dreamless sleep, man has a similar state of consciousness as he once had on the sun. However, those who are not clairvoyants or mediums cannot perceive the things and beings that corresponded to solar consciousness. With the trance of a medium who has been tuned down to this state and the higher consciousness of the true clairvoyant, the situation is again the same as that discussed with regard to Saturn consciousness. - The scope of solar consciousness extends only to the sun and the world bodies most closely connected with it. Only these and their events can be experienced by the sun-dweller, just as - to use the above simile again - the present human being experiences his heartbeat. The Saturn dweller has thus also experienced the life of such world bodies that did not directly belong to Saturn's immediate vicinity.
[ 10 ] Once the solar stage has passed through the corresponding subordinate cycles, it also enters a period of rest. From this, the human world body awakens to its "lunar existence". Again, before rising higher, man passes through the Saturnian and solar stages in two smaller cycles. Then he enters his lunar consciousness. It is now easier to form an idea of this, because there is a certain similarity between this stage of consciousness and sleep, which is permeated by dreams. It must be expressly stated, however, that here too we may only speak of a similarity, not of an equality. For it is true that the moon consciousness proceeds in images such as those presented by the dream; but these images correspond in a similar way to the things and processes in man's surroundings as do the ideas of the present "bright day consciousness". Only everything in this correspondence is still dull, just pictorial. The matter can be visualized in the following way. Suppose a lunar being came close to an object, let us say a salt. (Of course, "salt" as we know it today did not exist at that time, but in order to make ourselves understood, we must remain in the realm of images and comparisons). This lunar being - the predecessor of the present human being - does not perceive a spatially extended object of a certain color and form outside itself, but the approach to this object causes a certain image - similar to a dream image - to rise up, as it were, within the being. This image has a certain color tone, which depends on the nature of the object. If it is sympathetic to the being, conducive to its life, the color tone is light in yellow nuances, or also green; if it is an unsympathetic object or one that is harmful to the being, a bloody-reddish color nuance appears. The clairvoyant also sees in this way today, only he is fully conscious in this vision, whereas the inhabitant of the moon only had a dreamlike, dim consciousness. The images that lit up "within" these inhabitants had a precisely defined relationship to their surroundings. There was nothing arbitrary in them. Therefore one could act according to them, one acted under the impressions of these images in the same way as one acts today under the impressions of sensory perceptions. - The development of this dream-like consciousness - the third main stage - was the task of the "moon cycle". When the "moon" had passed through the corresponding "small cycles", there was again a pause for rest (Pralaya). And after this, the "earth" dawned from the darkness.