Cosmic Memory
GA 11
xiii. The Earth and Its Future
[ 1 ] The fourth principal stage of human development is lived on earth. This is that condition of consciousness in which man finds himself at present. But before he attained it, he, and with him the whole earth, first had to repeat successively the Saturn, Sun, and Moon stages in three smaller cycles (the so-called “rounds” of theosophical literature). Man now lives in the fourth earth cycle. He has already advanced a little past the middle of this cycle. At this stage of consciousness man no longer perceives in a dreamlike manner the images which arise in his soul through the influence of his environment only, but objects appear to him “outside in space.” On the Moon and also during the stages of repetition on earth, there arose for example, a colored image in his soul when a particular object came near him. All of consciousness consisted of such images, tones, and so forth, which flowed and ebbed in the soul. Only with the appearance of the fourth condition of consciousness does color no longer appear merely in the soul, but on an external, spatially circumscribed object; sound is no longer merely an inner reverberating of the soul, but the resounding of an object in space. In mystery science therefore, one also calls this fourth, the earthly condition of consciousness, the “objective consciousness.” It has been formed slowly gradually in the course of development in the way that the physical organs of sense slowly arose and thus made perceptible the most diverse sensory qualities in external objects. Apart from the senses which are already developed, others exist in an as yet germinal state which will become fully developed in the subsequent earth period, and which will show the world of the senses in a diversity still greater than is the case today. The gradual growth of this earth consciousness has been described in the preceding pages, and in the discussions which are to follow this description will be amplified and supplemented in essential points.
[ 2 ] The colored world, the sounding world, and so forth, which earlier man had perceived within himself, confronts him outside in space during his life on earth. But on the other hand, a new world appears within him: the world of ideas or thoughts. One cannot speak of ideas and thoughts in relation to the Moon consciousness. The latter consists solely of the images we have described. Around the middle of the development of earth—although this state of affairs was already preparing itself at a somewhat earlier time—there developed in man the capacity to form ideas and thoughts about objects. This capacity constitutes the basis for memory and for self-consciousness. Only conceptualizing man can develop a memory of that which he has perceived; and only thinking man reaches the point where he differentiates himself from his environment as an independent, self-conscious being, where he recognizes himself as an “I.” The first three stages we have described were stages of consciousness; the fourth is not only consciousness, but self-consciousness.
[ 1 ] But within the self-consciousness, the present-day life of thoughts, there is already developing a disposition toward still higher states of consciousness. Man will live through these states of consciousness on the next planets into which the earth will change after its present form. It is not absurd to say something about these future conditions of consciousness, and therewith about life on the following planets. For in the first place, the clairvoyant—for certain reasons which are to be given elsewhere—strides ahead of his fellows in his development. Thus those states of consciousness which all of mankind must attain with the advance of planetary development are already developing in him at this time. In the consciousness of the clairvoyant one finds an image of the future stages of mankind. Moreover, the three subsequent conditions of consciousness are now already present in all men in germinal states; and clairvoyant research has means for indicating what will emerge from these germinal states.
[ 3 ] When it is said that the clairvoyant is already developing in himself the states of consciousness to which in future all of mankind will advance, this must be understood with one restriction. The clairvoyant, for example, is developing a seeing in the spiritual world today which in future will appear in man in a physical way. But this future physical condition of man will be a faithful likeness of the corresponding contemporary spiritual one in the clairvoyant. The earth itself is going to develop, and therefore quite different forms from those which exist today will appear in its future physical inhabitants; but these physical forms are being prepared in the spiritual and mental ones of today. For example, what the clairvoyant today sees in the form of a cloud of light and color around the human physical body as a so-called “aura,” will later change into a physical form; and other organs of sense than those of today will give the man of the future the capacity to perceive other forms. However, already today the clairvoyant sees the spiritual models of the later material entities with his spiritual senses (thus for example, the aura). A view into the future is possible for him, although it is very difficult to give an idea of the character of this view through the language of today and for present-day human conceptions.
[ 4 ] The conceptions of the present state of consciousness are shadowy and pale in comparison with the colorful and sounding objects of the external world. Man therefore speaks of conceptions as of something which is “not real.” A “mere thought”—is contrasted with an object or a being which is “real” because it can be perceived through the senses. But conceptions and thoughts bear within themselves the potentiality of again becoming real and image-like. If man speaks of the conception “red” today without having a red object before him, then this conception is, as it were, only a shadow image of real “redness.” Later, man will reach the point where he can not only let the shadowy conception of the “red” arise in his soul, but where, when he thinks “red,” “red” will actually be before him. He will be able to create images, not merely conceptions. Thereby something will be achieved by him similar to that which already existed for the Moon consciousness. But the images will not ebb and flow in him like dreams; instead he will evoke them in full self-consciousness, as he does today's conceptions. The thought of a color will be the color itself; the conception of a sound will be the sound itself, and so forth. In the future, a world of images will flow and ebb in the soul of man through his own power, whereas during the Moon existence such a world of images filled him without his acting. In the meantime the spatial character of the objective external world will not disappear. The color which arises together with the conception of color will not be merely an image in the soul but will appear in outside space. The consequence of this will be that man will be able to perceive beings and objects of a higher kind than those of his present environment. These are objects and beings which are of a more delicate spiritual and soul nature, hence they do not clothe themselves in the objective colors which are perceptible to the present physical sense organs; however, these are objects and beings which will reveal themselves through the more delicate spiritual and mental colors and sounds which the man of the future will be able to create from his soul.
[ 5 ] Man is approaching a condition in which he will have a self-conscious image consciousness3The combination, “self-conscious image consciousness,” may appear odd, but it probably best expresses the state of affairs. If one wished, one could also say, “image self-consciousness.” appropriate for such perceptions. On the one hand, the coming development of earth will raise the present life of conceptions and thoughts to an ever higher, more delicate, and more perfect condition; on the other hand, the self-conscious image consciousness will gradually develop itself during this time. The latter, however, will attain full life in man only on the next planet into which the earth will transform itself, and which is called “Jupiter” in mystery science. Then man will be able to enter into intercourse with beings which are completely hidden from his present sensory perception. It will be understood that not only does the life of perception thereby become totally different, but that actions, feelings, and all relations to the environment, are completely transformed. While today man can consciously influence only sensory beings, he will then be able to act consciously on very different forces and powers; he himself will receive what to him will be fully recognizable influences from very different realms than at present. At that stage there can no longer be any question of birth and death in the present sense. For “death” occurs only because the consciousness has to depend on an external world with which it enters into communication through the physical sense organs. When these physical sense organs fail, every relation to the environment ceases. That is to say, the man “has died.” However, when his soul is so far advanced that it does not receive the influences of the outside world through physical instruments, but receives them through the images which the soul creates out of itself, then it will have reached the point where it can regulate its intercourse with the environment independently, that is, its life will not be interrupted against its will. It has become lord over birth and death. All this will come to be with the developed self-conscious image consciousness on “Jupiter.” This state of the soul is also called the “psychic consciousness.”
[ 6 ] The next condition of consciousness to which man develops on a further planet, “Venus,” is distinguished from the previous one by the fact that the soul can now create not only images, but also objects and beings. This occurs in the self-conscious object consciousness or supra-psychic consciousness. Through the image consciousness man can perceive something of supersensible beings and objects, and he can influence them through the awakening of his image conceptions. But in order for that to take place which he desires of such a supersensible being, at his instigation, this being must use its own forces. Thus man is the ruler over images, and he can produce effects through these images. But he is not yet lord over the forces themselves. When his self-conscious object consciousness is developed, he will also be ruler over the creative forces of other worlds. He will not only perceive and influence beings, but he himself will create.
[ 7 ] This is the course of the development of consciousness: at first it begins dimly; one perceives nothing of other objects and beings, but only the inner experiences (images) of one's own soul; then perception is developed. At last the perceptive consciousness is transformed into a creative one. Before the condition of earth goes over into the life of Jupiter—after the fourth earthly cycle—there are three more smaller cycles to be passed through. These serve for the further perfection of the consciousness of earth in a manner to be described in the following essays, when the development of the smaller cycles and of their subdivisions will be described for all seven planets. When, after a period of rest (Pralaya), earth has changed into Jupiter, and when man has arrived on the latter planet, then the four preceding conditions—Saturn, Sun, Moon, and earth condition—must again be repeated during four smaller cycles; and only during the fifth cycle of Jupiter does man attain the stage which has been described above as the real Jupiter consciousness. In a corresponding manner does the “Venus consciousness” appear during the sixth cycle of Venus.
[ 8 ] A fact which will play a certain role in the following essays will be briefly indicated here. This concerns the speed with which the development on the different planets takes place. For this is not the same on all the planets. Life proceeds with the greatest speed on Saturn, the rapidity then decreases on the Sun, becomes still less on the Moon and reaches its slowest phase on the earth. On the latter it becomes slower and slower, to the point at which self-consciousness develops. Then the speed increases again. Therefore, today man has already passed the time of the greatest slowness of his development. Life has begun to accelerate again. On Jupiter the speed of the Moon, on Venus that of the Sun will again be attained. [ 9 ] The last planet which can still be counted among the series of earthly transformations, and hence follows Venus, is called “Vulcan” by mystery science. On this planet the provisional goal of the development of mankind is attained. The condition of consciousness into which man enters there is called “piety” or spiritual consciousness. Man will attain it in the seventh cycle of Vulcan after a repetition of the six preceding stages. Not much can be publicly communicated about the life on this planet. In mystery science one speaks of it in such a way that it is said, “No soul which, with its thinking is still tied to a physical body, should reflect about Vulcan and its life.” That is, only the mystery students of the higher order, who may leave their physical body and can acquire supersensible knowledge outside of it, can learn something about Vulcan.
[ 10 ] The seven stages of consciousness are thus expressed in the course of the development of mankind in seven planetary developments. At each stage, the consciousness must now pass through seven subordinate conditions. These are realized in the smaller cycles already mentioned. (In theosophical writings these seven cycles are called “rounds.”) These subordinate states are called “conditions of life” by the mystery science of the Occident, in contrast with the super-ordinated “conditions of consciousness.” Or, one says that each condition of consciousness moves through seven “realms.” According to this calculation, one must distinguish seven times seven in the whole development of mankind, that is, forty-nine small cycles or “realms” (according to common theosophical usage, “rounds”). And again, each small cycle has to pass through seven yet smaller ones, which are called “conditions of form” (in theosophical language, “globes”). For the full cycle of humanity this amounts to seven times forty-nine or three hundred and forty-three different “conditions of form.”
[ 11 ] The following discussions which deal with this development, will show that a survey of the whole is not as complicated as might at first appear at the mention of the number three hundred and forty-three. It will become apparent how man can only truly understand himself when he knows his own development.
XII. Die Erde und ihre Zukunft
[ 1 ] Die vierte Hauptstufe der menschlichen Entwickelung wird auf der Erde durchlebt. Es ist dies derjenige Bewußtseinszustand, in dem sich der Mensch gegenwärtig befindet. Bevor er aber zu diesem gekommen ist, mußte er und mit ihm die ganze Erde erst in drei kleineren Kreisläufen (den sogenannten «Runden» der theosophischen Literatur) nacheinander den Saturn-, Sonne- und Mondzustand wiederholen. Jetzt lebt der Mensch im vierten Erdenkreislauf. Er ist bereits ein Stück über die Mitte dieses Kreislaufes hinausgelangt. Auf dieser Bewußtseinsstufe nimmt der Mensch nicht mehr nur Bilder traumartig wahr, die als Wirkung seiner Umgebung in seiner Seele aufsteigen, sondern es treten für ihn Gegenstände «draußen im Raume» auf. Auf dem Monde und auch noch während der Wiederholungsstufen auf der Erde stieg zum Beispiel ein Farbenbild auf in seiner Seele, wenn ihm ein entsprechender Gegenstand nahekam. Das ganze Bewußtsein bestand aus solchen in der Seele auf- und abwogenden Bildern, Tönen und so weiter. Erst beim Auftreten des vierten Bewußtseinszustandes tritt die Farbe nicht mehr bloß in der Seele, sondern an einem äußeren räumlich begrenzten Gegenstande auf, der Ton ist nicht mehr bloß ein inneres Erklingen der Seele; sondern ein Gegenstand im Raume tönt. Man nennt deshalb in der Geheimwissenschaft diesen vierten, den irdischen, Bewußtseinszustand auch das «gegenständliche Bewußtsein». Langsam und allmählich hat dieser sich im Verlauf der Entwickelung herausgebildet, indem die physischen Sinnesorgane nach und nach entstanden sind, und so an äußeren Gegenständen die mannigfaltigsten sinnlichen Eigenschaften wahrnehmbar machten. Und außer den schon jetzt entwickelten Sinnen sind andere erst noch im Keime vorhanden, die in der folgenden Erdenzeit zur Entfaltung kommen und die Sinneswelt noch in einer viel größeren Mannigfaltigkeit zeigen werden, als dies schon heute der Fall ist. Im Vorhergehenden ist das allmähliche Wachsen dieses Erdenbewußtseins dargestellt worden, und in den folgenden Ausführungen wird diese Darstellung wesentliche Erweiterungen und Ergänzungen erfahren.
[ 2 ] Die farbige Welt, die tönende und so weiter, welche der frühere Mensch also in seinem Innern wahrgenommen hat, tritt ihm während des Erdenlebens draußen im Raume entgegen. Dafür aber tritt in seinem Innern eine neue Welt auf, die Vorstellungs oder Gedankenwelt. Von Vorstellungen und Gedanken kann man beim Mondbewußtsein nicht reden. Dasselbe besteht lediglich in den gekennzeichneten Bildern. Ungefähr um die Mitte der Erdentwickelung — die Sache bereitet sich eigentlich schon etwas früher vor — tritt in dem Menschen die Fähigkeit auf, sich Vorstellungen und Gedanken über die Gegenstände zu bilden. Und diese Fähigkeit bildet auch die Grundlage für das Gedächtnis und das Selbstbewußtsein. Erst der vorstellende Mensch kann die Erinnerung an das ausbilden, was er wahrgenommen hat; und erst der denkende Mensch gelangt dazu, sich als ein selbständiges, selbstbewußtes Wesen von seiner Umgebung zu unterscheiden, sich als ein «Ich» kennenzulernen. Die ersten drei geschilderten Stufen waren also Bewußtseinsstufen, die vierte ist nicht bloß Bewußtsein, sondern Selbstbewußtsein. Nun bildet sich aber schon wieder innerhalb des jetzigen Selbstbewußtseins, des Gedankenlebens, die Anlage zu noch höheren Bewußtseinszuständen heraus. Diese Bewußtseinszustände wird der Mensch auf den nächsten Planeten zu durchleben haben, in welche sich die Erde nach ihrer gegenwärtigen Gestalt verwandeln wird. Es ist nicht widersinnig, von diesen zukünftigen Bewußtseinszuständen, also auch von dem Leben auf den folgenden Planeten etwas auszusagen. Denn erstens schreitet der Hellseher in seiner Entwickelung seinen Mitbrüdern — aus gewissen an anderem Orte anzugebenden Gründen — voran. Es bilden sich bei ihm also schon jetzt diejenigen Bewußtseinszustände heraus, zu denen die ganze Menschheit mit fortschreitender Planetenentwickelung gelangen muß. Man hat also in dem Hellseherbewußtsein schon Bilder der künftigen Menschheitsstufen. Und dann sind ja drei folgende Bewußtseinszustände als Keimanlage schon jetzt in allen Menschen vorhanden; und die hellseherische Forschung hat Mittel, um anzugeben, was aus diesen Keimanlagen werden kann.
[ 3 ] Allerdings, wenn hier gesagt wird, der Hellseher entwickele in sich schon jetzt die Bewußtseinszustände, zu denen in der Zukunft die ganze Menschheit fortschreiten wird, so ist dies mit einer Einschränkung zu verstehen. Der Hellseher bildet zum Beispiel heute innerhalb der seelischen Welt ein Schauen aus, das in Zukunft beim Menschen in einer physischen Art auftreten wird. Aber dieser zukünftige physische Zustand des Menschen wird das getreue Abbild sein des entsprechenden gegenwärtigen seelischen beim Hellseher. Die Erde selbst wird sich ja entwickeln, und dadurch werden in ihren kommenden physischen Bewohnern ganz andere Formen auftreten als heute da sind; aber diese physischen Formen bereiten sich in den heutigen seelischen und geistigen vor. Was zum Beispiel heute der Hellseher als eine Licht- und Farbenwolke um den physischen Menschenkörper herum sieht als sogenannte «Aura», das wird sich später in eine physische Form verwandeln; und andere Sinnesorgane als die heutigen werden dem Zukunftsmenschen die Fähigkeit geben, die anderen Formen wahrzunehmen. Der Hellseher aber sieht eben die geistigen Vorbilder der späteren Sinneswesen (also zum Beispiel die Aura) mit seinen geistigen Sinnen schon heute. Ihm ist ein Blick in die Zukunft möglich, von dessen Eigenart allerdings nur sehr schwer eine Anschauung durch die heutige Sprache und für die gegenwärtigen menschlichen Vorstellungen gegeben werden kann.
[ 4 ] Die Vorstellungen des jetzigen Bewußtseinszustandes sind schattenhaft, blaß im Verhältnis zu den farbigen und tönenden Gegenständen der Außenwelt. Der Mensch spricht daher auch von den Vorstellungen als von etwas, das «nicht wirklich» ist. Ein «bloßer Gedanke» wird in Gegensatz gebracht zu einem Ding oder Wesen, das «wirklich» ist, weil es durch die Sinne wahrgenommen wird. Aber die Vorstellungen und Gedanken tragen die Anlage in sich, wieder wirklich, bildhaft zu werden. Wenn heute der Mensch von der Vorstellung «rot» spricht, ohne daß er einen roten Gegenstand vor sich hat, so ist diese Vorstellung gleichsam nur ein Schattenbild der wirklichen «Röte». Später wird der Mensch dazu gelangen, nicht nur die schattenhafte Vorstellung des «Roten» in seiner Seele aufsteigen zu lassen, sondern wenn er «Rot» denkt, wird wirklich auch «Rot» vor ihm sein. Er wird Bilder, nicht bloß Vorstellungen schaffen können. Etwas Ähnliches wird damit für ihn erreicht sein, was schon für das Mondbewußtsein da war. Aber die Bilder werden nicht traumhaft in ihm auf- und abwogen, sondern er wird sie wie die heutigen Vorstellungen mit vollem Selbstbewußtsein in sich hervorrufen. Ein Gedanke an eine Farbe wird die Farbe selbst sein; eine Vorstellung von einem Tone wird der Ton selbst sein und so weiter. Eine Bilderwelt wird künftig durch des Menschen eigene Macht in seiner Seele auf- und abwogen, wogegen während des Monddaseins eine solche Bilderwelt ohne sein Zutun ihm das Innere ausfüllte. Und nicht verschwinden wird der räumliche Charakter der gegenständlichen Außenwelt. Die Farbe, welche mit der Farbenvorstellung zugleich entsteht, wird nicht bloß ein Bild in der Seele sein, sondern sie wird sich draußen im Raume entfalten. Und die Folge davon wird sein, daß der Mensch Wesen und Dinge höherer Art wird wahrnehmen können, als diejenigen seiner jetzigen Umgebung sind. Das sind Dinge und Wesen, welche von feinerer geistiger und seelischer Art sind, so daß sie sich in die gegenständlichen Farben, die für die heutigen physischen Sinneswerkzeuge wahrnehmbar sind, nicht kleiden, die sich aber durch die feineren seelischen und geistigen Farben und Töne offenbaren, welche der Mensch der Zukunft aus seiner Seele heraus wird erwecken können.
[ 5 ] Der Mensch nähert sich also einem Zustande, in welchem er ein für solche Wahrnehmungen geeignetes selbstbewußtes Bilderbewußtsein haben wird.8Die Zusammenstellung selbstwusstes Bilder-Bewusstsein mag befremden , doch drückt sie wohl am besten den Sachverhalt aus. man könnte, wen man wollte, auch sagen: Bilderselbstbewusstsein. Die kommende Erdentwickelung wird einerseits das gegenwärtige Vorstellungs- und Gedankenleben zu immer höherer, feinerer, vollkommenerer Entfaltung bringen; anderseits aber wird sich während dieser Zeit allmählich auch schon das selbstbewußte Bilderbewußtsein nach und nach herausformen. Zu vollem Leben wird jedoch das letztere im Menschen erst auf dem nächsten Planeten gelangen, in den sich die Erde umformen wird, und der in der Geheimwissenschaft der «Jupiter» heißt. Dann wird der Mensch mit Wesen in Verkehr treten können, welche seiner gegenwartigen Sinneswahrnehmung vollständig verborgen bleiben. Begreiflich ist, daß nicht nur das Wahrnehmungsleben dadurch ein ganz anderes wird, sondern daß sich auch die Taten, die Gefühle, alle Beziehungen zur Umgebung vollkommen umwandeln. Der Mensch wird so, wie er heute nur Sinneswesen bewußt beeinflussen kann, dann auf ganz andere Kräfte und Gewalten bewußt wirken können; und er selbst wird aus ganz anderen Reichen als jetzt ihm vollkommen erkennbare Einflüsse empfangen. Von Geburt und Tod in dem gegenwärtigen Sinne kann auf dieser Stufe nicht mehr die Rede sein. Denn der «Tod» tritt ja doch nur dadurch ein, daß das Bewußtsein auf eine Außenwelt angewiesen ist, mit der es durch die physischen Sinnesorgane in Verkehr tritt. Versagen diese physischen Sinnesorgane ihren Dienst, dann hört jede Beziehung zur Umwelt auf. Das heißt eben, der Mensch «ist gestorben». Wenn nun seine Seele so weit ist, daß sie die Einflüsse von der Außenwelt nicht durch die physischen Werkzeuge empfängt, sondern durch die Bilder, die sie aus Eigenem schafft, dann ist sie auch auf dem Punkte angelangt, ihren Verkehr mit der Umwelt willkürlich zu regeln, das heißt, ihr Leben wird nicht ohne ihren Willen unterbrochen. Sie ist Herr über Geburt und Tod geworden. Das alles wird also mit dem errungenen selbstbewußten Bilderbewußtsein auf dem «Jupiter» eintreten. Es wird dieser Zustand der Seele auch das «psychische Bewußtsein» genannt.
[ 6 ] Der nächste Bewußtseinszustand, zu dem sich der Mensch auf einem weiteren Planeten, der «Venus», entwickelt, unterscheidet sich von dem vorigen dadurch, daß die Seele nun nicht bloß Bilder, sondern Gegenstände und Wesen selbst erschaffen kann. Es geschieht dies bei dem selbstbewußten Gegenstandsbewußtsein oder überpsychischen Bewußtsein. Durch das Bilderbewußtsein kann der Mensch von übersinnlichen Wesen und Dingen etwas wahrnehmen, und er kann diese durch die Erweckung seiner Bildvorstellungen beeinflussen. Aber damit zum Beispiel dasjenige geschehe, was er von einem solchen übersinnlichen Wesen will, muß dieses auf seine Veranlassung hin die eigenen Kräfte in Bewegung setzen. Der Mensch ist also Herr über Bilder, und er kann durch diese Bilder Wirkungen veranlassen. Aber er ist noch nicht Herr über die Kräfte selbst. Wenn sein selbstbewußtes Gegenstandsbewußtsein ausgebildet sein wird, dann wird er auch über schöpferische Kräfte anderer Welten Herr sein. Er wird Wesen nicht nur wahrnehmen und beeinflussen, sondern selbst schaffen.
[ 7 ] Dies ist der Gang der Bewußtseinsentfaltung: erst beginnt es dämmerhaft; man nimmt nichts von anderen Dingen und Wesen wahr, sondern nur die Innenerlebnisse (Bilder) der eigenen Seele; dann wird die Wahrnehmung entwickelt. Und zuletzt wandelt sich das Wahrnehmungsbewußtsein in ein schöpferisches um. Bevor sich der Erdenzustand in das Jupiterleben hinüberwendet, sind — nach dem vierten irdischen Kreislauf — noch drei kleinere Kreisläufe durchzumachen. Diese dienen der weiteren Vervollkommnung des Erdenbewußtseins in einer Art, welche in den folgenden Aufsätzen beschrieben werden wird, wenn die Entwickelung der kleineren Kreisläufe und ihrer Unterabteilungen bei allen sieben Planeten zur Darstellung kommen wird. Hat sich, nach einer Ruhepause (Pralaya), die Erde in den Jupiter verwandelt, und ist der Mensch auf diesem Planeten angekommen, dann müssen während vier kleinerer Kreisläufe wieder die vier vorhergehenden Zustände — Saturn-, Sonnen-, Mond-, Erdenzustand — wiederholt werden; und erst während des fünften Jupiterkreislaufes gelangt der Mensch auf die Stufe, die oben als das eigentliche Jupiterbewußtsein gekennzeichnet worden ist. In einer entsprechenden Art kommt das «Venusbewußtsein» während des sechsten Venuskreislaufes zum Vorschein.
[ 8 ] Eine Tatache, welche in den folgenden Aufsätzen eine gewisse Rolle spielen wird, soll hier nur kurz angedeutet werden. Sie betrifft die Schnelligkeit, mit welcher die Entwickelung auf den einzelnen Planeten verläuft. Diese ist nämlich nicht auf allen Planeten gleich. Das Leben verläuft zunächst mit der größten Schnelligkeit auf dem Saturn, dann nimmt die Geschwindigkeit auf der Sonne ab, wird auf dem Monde noch kleiner und bewegt sich am langsamsten auf der Erde. Auf dieser selbst wird es immer langsamer bis zu dem Punkte, in dem sich das Selbstbewußtsein entwickelt. Dann wächst die Geschwindigkeit wieder. Heute hat also der Mensch den Zeitpunkt der größten Langsamkeit seiner Entwickelung bereits überschritten. Das Leben hat begonnen, sich wieder zu beschleunigen. Auf dem Jupiter wird die Schnelligkeit des Mondes, auf der Venus diejenige der Sonne wieder erreicht sein.
[ 9 ] Der letzte Planet, der noch in die Reihe der irdischen Verwandlungen gezählt werden kann, der also auf die Venus folgt, wird von der Geheimwissenschaft «Vulkan» genannt. Auf diesem Planeten wird das vorläufige Ziel der Menschheitsentwickelung erreicht. Der Bewußtseinszustand, in welchen da der Mensch eintritt, wird die «Gottseligkeit» oder auch das spirituelle Bewußtsein genannt. Der Mensch wird es nach Wiederholung der sechs vorhergehenden Stufen auf dem siebenten Vulkankreislauf erlangen. Über das Leben auf diesem Planeten kann öffentlich nicht viel mitgeteilt werden. In der Geheimwissenschaft spricht man von ihm so, daß man sagt: «Über den Vulkan und sein Leben sollte von keiner Seele nachgedacht werden, die mit ihrem Denken noch an einen physischen Körper gebunden ist.» Das heißt, es können nur die Geheimschüler der höheren Ordnung über den Vulkan etwas erfahren, die ihren physischen Körper verlassen dürfen und außerhalb desselben übersinnliche Erkenntnisse sich aneignen können.
[ 10 ] So drücken sich also im Laufe der Menschheitsentwickelung die sieben Stufen des Bewußtseins in sieben Planetenentfaltungen aus. Nun hat das Bewußtsein auf jeder Stufe wieder sieben untergeordnete Zustände zu durchlaufen. Diese kommen in den bereits angedeuteten kleineren Kreisläufen zum Dasein. (Die theosophischen Schriften nennen diese sieben Kreisläufe «Runden».) Diese untergeordneten Zustände werden von der Geheimwissenschaft des Abendlandes «Lebenszustände» genannt, im Gegensatz zu den übergeordneten «Bewußtseinszuständen». Oder man sagt auch, jeder Bewußtseinszustand bewege sich durch sieben «Reiche». Nach dieser Rechnung hat man also in der ganzen Menschheitsentwickelung siebenmal sieben, das ist neunundvierzig kleine Kreisläufe oder «Reiche» (nach gebräuchlicher theosophischer Ausdrucksweise «Runden»), zu unterscheiden. Und weiter hat wieder jeder kleine Kreislauf sieben noch kleinere zu durchlaufen, die man «Formzustände» (in theosophischer Sprache «Globen») nennt. Das gibt für den vollen Menschheitskreislauf siebenmal neunundvierzig verschiedene «Formzustände» oder dreihundertdreiundvierzig.
[ 11 ] Die nächsten Ausführungen, die von dieser Entwickelung handeln werden, sollen zeigen, daß die Übersicht über das Ganze keine so komplizierte ist, wie es zuerst bei Nennung der Zahl dreihundertdreiundvierzig erscheinen könnte. Es wird sich zeigen, wie der Mensch sich erst recht verstehen kann, wenn er diese seine Entwickelung kennt.
XII. The earth and its future
[ 1 ] The fourth main stage of human development is being experienced on earth. This is the state of consciousness in which man currently finds himself. Before he reached this state, however, he and the whole earth had to repeat the Saturn, Sun and Moon states in three smaller cycles (the so-called "rounds" of theosophical literature). Now man lives in the fourth earth cycle. He has already reached a stage beyond the middle of this cycle. At this level of consciousness, man no longer only perceives images in a dreamlike way, which rise up in his soul as an effect of his surroundings, but objects appear to him "outside in space". On the moon and also during the stages of repetition on earth, for example, a color picture arose in his soul when a corresponding object came close to him. The whole consciousness consisted of such images, sounds and so on rising and falling in the soul. Only when the fourth state of consciousness occurs does the color no longer appear merely in the soul, but in an external, spatially limited object; the sound is no longer merely an inner resounding of the soul, but an object in space sounds. This is why this fourth, earthly, state of consciousness is also called "objective consciousness" in secret science. It has developed slowly and gradually in the course of evolution, as the physical sense organs have gradually emerged and thus made the most varied sensory qualities perceptible in external objects. And in addition to the senses already developed, others are still in embryo, which will unfold in the following time on earth and show the sensory world in a much greater variety than is already the case today. The gradual growth of this earthly consciousness has been described above, and in the following explanations this description will be substantially expanded and supplemented.
[ 2 ] The colored world, the sounding world and so on, which the former man thus perceived within himself, confronts him outside in space during his life on earth. Instead, a new world appears within him, the world of imagination or thought. One cannot speak of ideas and thoughts in the moon consciousness. It exists only in the labeled images. About the middle of the earth's development - the matter actually prepares itself somewhat earlier - the ability to form ideas and thoughts about objects arises in man. And this ability also forms the basis for memory and self-consciousness. Only the imagining human being can form the memory of what he has perceived; and only the thinking human being comes to distinguish himself as an independent, self-conscious being from his surroundings, to get to know himself as an "I". The first three stages described were thus stages of consciousness; the fourth is not merely consciousness, but self-consciousness. Now, however, within the present self-consciousness, the life of thought, the disposition to still higher states of consciousness is already developing. Man will have to live through these states of consciousness on the next planets, into which the earth will transform after its present form. It is not absurd to say something about these future states of consciousness, i.e. also about life on the following planets. For, in the first place, the clairvoyant advances in his development ahead of his fellows - for certain reasons to be given elsewhere. Thus those states of consciousness are already forming in him to which the whole of humanity must attain as planetary development progresses. Thus in the clairvoyant consciousness one already has images of the future stages of humanity. And then three subsequent states of consciousness are already present in all human beings as a germinal disposition; and clairvoyant research has the means to indicate what can become of these germinal dispositions.
[ 3 ] However, when it is said here that the clairvoyant is already developing within himself the states of consciousness to which the whole of humanity will progress in the future, this is to be understood with a qualification. The clairvoyant, for example, is today developing a vision within the spiritual world which will appear in the future in a physical form in man. But this future physical state of man will be the true image of the corresponding present spiritual state of the clairvoyant. The earth itself will indeed develop, and as a result quite different forms will appear in its future physical inhabitants than are there today; but these physical forms are preparing themselves in the present psychic and spiritual forms. For example, what the clairvoyant sees today as a cloud of light and color around the physical human body as a so-called "aura" will later transform into a physical form; and other sense organs than those of today will give the future human being the ability to perceive the other forms. The clairvoyant, however, already sees the spiritual models of the later sensory beings (for example, the aura) with his spiritual senses today. A glimpse into the future is possible for him, although it is very difficult to give an idea of its peculiarity through today's language and for present human concepts.
[ 4 ] The ideas of the present state of consciousness are shadowy, pale in relation to the colored and sounding objects of the outside world. Man therefore also speaks of ideas as something that is "not real". A "mere thought" is contrasted with a thing or being that is "real" because it is perceived through the senses. But ideas and thoughts have the potential to become real again, to become figurative. If today man speaks of the idea of "red" without having a red object before him, this idea is, as it were, only a shadow image of the real "redness". Later on, man will not only allow the shadowy idea of "red" to arise in his soul, but when he thinks "red", "red" will really be in front of him. He will be able to create images, not just ideas. He will have achieved something similar to what was already there for the moon consciousness. But the images will not rise and fall in him in a dreamlike way, but he will call them forth in himself with full self-consciousness like today's ideas. A thought of a color will be the color itself; an idea of a sound will be the sound itself, and so on. In future, a world of images will rise and fall in his soul through his own power, whereas during his moon existence such a world of images filled his inner being without his intervention. And the spatial character of the representational outer world will not disappear. The color, which arises simultaneously with the idea of color, will not merely be an image in the soul, but will unfold itself outside in space. And the consequence of this will be that man will be able to perceive beings and things of a higher kind than those of his present surroundings. These are things and beings which are of a finer spiritual and soul nature, so that they do not clothe themselves in the objective colors which are perceptible to the present physical sense instruments, but which reveal themselves through the finer soul and spiritual colors and tones which the man of the future will be able to awaken out of his soul.
[ 5 ] Man is thus approaching a state in which he will have a self-conscious image-consciousness suitable for such perceptions.8The combination self-conscious image-consciousness may seem strange, but it probably best expresses the facts. One could, if one wished, also say: image self-consciousness. The coming development of the earth will, on the one hand, bring the present life of imagination and thought to ever higher, finer, more perfect development; on the other hand, however, during this time the self-conscious image-consciousness will also gradually form itself. However, the latter will only come to full life in man on the next planet, into which the earth will transform itself, and which in secret science is called "Jupiter". Then man will be able to enter into contact with beings that remain completely hidden from his present sensory perception. It is understandable that not only the perceptual life will become a completely different one, but that also the actions, the feelings, all relationships to the environment will be completely transformed. Man will then be able to consciously influence quite different forces and powers, just as he can only consciously influence sensory beings today; and he himself will receive influences from quite different realms than he can now fully recognize. At this stage there can no longer be any question of birth and death in the present sense. For "death" only occurs because consciousness is dependent on an external world with which it communicates through the physical sense organs. If these physical sensory organs fail, then every relationship with the environment ceases. This means that the human being has "died". When his soul has now reached the point where it receives the influences of the outer world not through the physical instruments, but through the images which it creates of its own accord, then it has also reached the point of regulating its intercourse with the environment arbitrarily, that is, its life is not interrupted without its will. It has become master of birth and death. All this will thus occur with the self-conscious image-consciousness attained on "Jupiter". This state of the soul is also called "psychic consciousness".
[ 6 ] The next state of consciousness, to which the human being develops on another planet, "Venus", differs from the previous one in that the soul can now not only create images, but objects and beings itself. This happens with self-conscious object consciousness or super-psychic consciousness. Through the consciousness of images, man can perceive something of supersensible beings and things, and he can influence them through the awakening of his images. But in order that, for example, what he wants from such a supersensible being may happen, the being must set its own powers in motion at his instigation. Man is therefore master of images, and he can cause effects through these images. But he is not yet master of the forces themselves. When his self-conscious awareness of objects is developed, then he will also be master of the creative forces of other worlds. He will not only perceive and influence beings, but create them himself.
[ 7 ] This is the course of the unfolding of consciousness: first it begins dimly; one perceives nothing of other things and beings, but only the inner experiences (images) of one's own soul; then perception is developed. And finally the perceptual consciousness is transformed into a creative consciousness. Before the earthly state turns into the Jupiter life, three smaller cycles have to be passed through after the fourth earthly cycle. These serve the further perfection of the earth consciousness in a way that will be described in the following essays, when the development of the smaller cycles and their subdivisions will be presented for all seven planets. When, after a period of rest (Pralaya), the earth has changed into Jupiter, and the human being has arrived on this planet, then during four smaller cycles the four preceding states - Saturn, Sun, Moon, Earth - must be repeated again; and only during the fifth Jupiter cycle does the human being reach the stage which has been characterized above as the actual Jupiter consciousness. In a corresponding way, the "Venus consciousness" emerges during the sixth Venus cycle.
[ 8 ] One fact that will play a certain role in the following essays should only be briefly mentioned here. It concerns the speed with which development takes place on the individual planets. This is not the same on all planets. Life first develops with the greatest rapidity on Saturn, then its speed decreases on the sun, becomes even slower on the moon and moves most slowly on the earth. On the earth itself it becomes slower and slower until the point at which self-consciousness develops. Then the speed increases again. Today, therefore, man has already passed the point of greatest slowness in his development. Life has begun to accelerate again. On Jupiter the speed of the moon will be reached again, on Venus that of the sun.
[ 9 ] The last planet that can still be counted in the series of earthly transformations, which therefore follows Venus, is called "Vulcan" by secret science. On this planet the preliminary goal of human development is reached. The state of consciousness into which man enters there is called "godliness" or also spiritual consciousness. Man will attain it after repeating the six previous stages on the seventh volcanic cycle. Not much can be said publicly about life on this planet. In secret science it is spoken of in such a way that it is said: "The volcano and its life should not be thought about by any soul whose mind is still bound to a physical body." This means that only those secret students of the higher order can learn about the volcano who are allowed to leave their physical body and acquire supernatural knowledge outside of it.
[ 10 ] So, in the course of human evolution, the seven stages of consciousness express themselves in seven planetary unfoldings. Now consciousness has to pass through seven subordinate states at each stage. These come into being in the smaller cycles already indicated. (The theosophical writings call these seven cycles "rounds".) These subordinate states are called "states of life" by the secret science of the Occident, in contrast to the superordinate "states of consciousness". Or it is also said that each state of consciousness moves through seven "realms". According to this calculation, one has to distinguish seven times seven in the whole development of mankind, that is forty-nine small cycles or "realms" (according to common theosophical expression "rounds"). And again, each small cycle has to pass through seven even smaller ones, which are called "states of form" (in theosophical language "globes"). This gives seven times forty-nine different "states of form" or three hundred and forty-three for the full human cycle.
[ 11 ] The following explanations, which will deal with this development, are intended to show that the overview of the whole is not as complicated as it might first appear when the number three hundred and forty-three is mentioned. It will be shown how man can only really understand himself when he knows his development.