The Foundations of Esotericism
GA 93a
3 October 1905, Berlin
Lecture VIII
The different incarnations of the human individuality are a kind of swinging of the pendulum to and fro until the rhythm is brought to rest and the higher part of man has found in the physical a fitting expression, a suitable instrument. Approximately ever since human beings have reincarnated, the position of sun, moon and earth has existed as it is now. We must understand that man belongs to the great cosmic organism. In the times in which great changes take place in the life of humanity, mighty changes also occur in the cosmos. Earlier than this, before there was reincarnation, sun, moon and earth were not yet separated as now. Kant and Laplace made their observation from the physical plane only, and to this extent their theory is quite correct, but they did not know the connection with spiritual forces. When out of the primal fire-vapour sun, moon and earth came into existence as separate bodies, man also began to incarnate. When human incarnations will have come to an end, the sun also will be re-united with the earth. On the large scale as in the single details, one must bear in mind these relationships of man to the universe.
You will often have heard that man usually incarnates after a period of about two thousand years. One can investigate when people who are alive today had their earlier incarnation. The souls who are now incarnated, one finds as a rule about 300 to 400 years after the birth of Christ. In addition, however, one finds others who are incarnated at various times, some earlier, some later. But there is another way to determine incarnations, a way which leads more certainly to the goal. One can say: Were the human beings who die today to return in a short time they would meet almost the same conditions as now. But man ought to learn as much as possible on the Earth. This can only happen when in the next incarnation he finds something new which is essentially different from the earlier conditions.
Let us for instance imagine ourselves back into the time about 600 to 800 years before Christ; that is about the time of the Iliad and the Odyssey. With the advanced peoples of that time the conditions of life were quite different from what they are now. One would for instance be astonished to see with what curious implements people ate. At that time also people had not yet learnt to write. The great poems were transmitted by word of mouth. When a person of those times is reincarnated today he must as a child learn quite other things. As a child he must learn to write. The stream of culture has meanwhile progressed. One must distinguish between the stream of culture and the development of the individual soul. As a child one must catch up with the civilisation and for this reason one must be born again as a child.
Now we must ask: What causes such utterly different conditions on earth? This is connected with the progression of the spring equinox. About 800 years before Christ the sun in spring entered the constellation of Aries, of the Ram. Every year at the vernal point it shifts a little. Because of this the conditions on the earth are always slightly changing. Eight hundred years before Christ the sun stood in the constellation of Aries. Earlier it stood in the constellation of Taurus, still earlier in Gemini and still earlier in Cancer. Now already for some hundred of years it rises in the constellation of Pisces. After this comes Aquarius. The advance of civilisations is also connected with the progression of the sun from one constellation to the other.
At the time when the sun rose in the constellation of Cancer the ancient Vedic culture of the Indians, the culture of the Rishis reached its highest point. The Rishis, those still half-divine beings, were the teachers of men. The Atlantean civilisation had met its destruction; a new impulse broke in. In occultism this is called a ‘vortex’ (wirbel). This is also why, in the age in which the sun stood in the constellation of Cancer, the sign was made in this way:
Cancer signifies a breaking in of something new, a ‘vortex’ (a double spiral).
The second cultural epoch is named the constellation of the Twins. At that time the dual nature of the world was understood, the opposing forces of the world, Ormuzd and Ahriman, Good and Evil. Thus the Persians also speak of the Twins.
The third cultural epoch is that of the Sumerians in Asia Minor and of the Egyptians. The constellation of the Bull corresponds to this epoch. This is why in Asia the Bull was venerated and in Egypt, Apis. At that time in Babylon and Assyria the Sumerian language was the language of wisdom. Then the Bull fell into decadence and the Ram came into the ascendant. The first indication of this is the Saga of the Golden Fleece.
The fourth culture is that of the Ram, or Lamb; Christ stands in the sign of the Ram, or Lamb; hence he calls himself the Lamb of God.
As fifth culture the external materialistic civilisation follows, in the constellation of the Fishes. This developed principally from the 12th century onwards and reached its climax about the year 1800. This is the culture of the Fifth sub-race, the present time.
In the constellation of the Water-Man in the future, the new Christianity will be proclaimed. ‘Water-Man’ is also the one who will bring it, he who has already been here: John the Baptist. Later he will again be the forerunner of Christ, when the Sixth, the spiritual sub-race will be founded. The Theosophical Movement should be the preparation for that time.
In the New Testament the expression ‘on the mountain’ is used on various occasions. ‘On the mountain’ means: in the mystery, in the innermost, in the intimate. Even the Sermon on the Mount is not to be understood as a sermon for the people, but as an intimate teaching for the disciples. The Transfiguration on the Mountain has also to be understood in this sense. Jesus went up into the mountain with the three disciples, Peter, James and John. There, we are told, the disciples were caught up out of themselves; then Moses and Elias appeared on either side of Jesus. For a moment space and time were extinguished and the disciples found themselves with their consciousness on the mental plane. Those who were no longer physically present, Moses and Elias, appeared. In direct revelation they had before them: ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.’ The way = Elias, Moses = the truth, Christ = the life. This appeared here to the disciples in actual form. Jesus once said to them: ‘Elias has come again;29Matthew, Chapter 17. 12 – 13 John was Elias, he has only not been recognised.’ But he said further: ‘Tell it to no man until I come again.’ Christianity was not to teach reincarnation for two thousand years, not for any arbitrary reason, but on educational grounds. People were to know nothing of it for two thousand years. In the gospel of St. John there is an indication of this in the miracle of the wedding at Cana where water is turned into wine. In the old Mysteries only water was distributed, but in the Christian Mysteries wine. For in the priesthood, through the partaking of wine, knowledge of reincarnation was blotted out. Whoever partakes of wine cannot attain to any true knowledge of Manas, Buddhi and Atma. He can never comprehend reincarnation. By his coming again Christ means his reappearance in the Sixth sub-race when he will be proclaimed by the ‘Water-Man’. Theosophy actually carries out the testament of Christianity and works towards this epoch of time.
Every time the sun progresses from one sign of the Zodiac to another incisive changes take place in civilisation. In between there elapses a period of about two thousand six hundred years.30Later Rudolf Steiner indicated these epochs more precisely. According to this the point at which the sun rises on the vernal equinox moves backwards through the 12 constellations of the Zodiac in 12 x 2160 = 25,920 years—the Platonic World Year—generally speaking, re-embodiments are connected with these epochs of 2160 years (though there are exceptions). See: Theosophy of the Rosicrucian, Rhythms in the Cosmos and in the Human Being (Typescript) 20.25.28.7.1923 If we take the moment of time when the sun entered the sign of the Ram or Lamb, about 800 years before Christ and 1800 years after Christ, then we have two thousand six hundred years. About the year 1800 we entered the sign of the Fishes. This is the time when materialistic culture reached its highest point. It was prepared for in the Middle Ages and has now begun to decline. About the year 4,400 mankind enters the sign of spiritual culture, that of the Water-Man. Preparation has also to be made for this.
Thus conditions change also with the constellation. With the progression from one sign to another new conditions also arise, so that rebirth has meaning. The human being is reborn approximately every two thousand six hundred years, but the experiences he makes as man and as woman are so radically different that two such incarnations, as man and as woman, are reckoned as one. About one thousand three hundred years elapse between two incarnations as man or as woman, and about two thousand six hundred years between such double incarnations if one reckons both as one. The human being is only man or woman in regard to the physical body. When the physical body is masculine the etheric body is feminine; and vice versa, when the physical body is feminine the etheric body is masculine. Only the astral body is at the same time masculine and feminine. The human being bears within him the opposite sex as etheric body. Thus in the etheric the man is feminine and in the etheric the woman masculine. The physical woman has therefore many concealed masculine qualities; the physical incarnation is present only exoterically. The human being therefore goes through a constellation every time as man and as woman. This is why the Master said to Sinnett that the human being is incarnated about twice in a sub-race. Occultly both incarnations are reckoned together as one. There must come a time in which the woman actually approaches the culture dominated by the man. The present woman's movement is to be recognized as the preparation for another later and quite different woman's movement. In the future, sex differentiation will be totally overcome.
There was a special reason why, for about two thousand years, the teaching of reincarnation was completely suppressed. The human being was to learn to know and value the importance of the one life. Every slave in Ancient Egypt was still convinced of the fact that he would return, that one day he would be master instead of slave, but that he had to pay his karmic debts. The single life was therefore not so important to him. But the lesson people now had to learn was to gain firm ground under their feet; thus during one life, reincarnation was to remain unknown. Christ therefore expressly forbade any teaching about reincarnation. But from 800 years before Christ until about 1800 years after Christ, the time had elapsed during which nearly everyone had gone through the one life without experiencing anything of reincarnation. The great Masters31According to Rudolf Steiner these are beings of great significance for the evolution of mankind. ‘These lofty beings have already left behind them the path that the rest of mankind has yet to tread. They work now as the great Teachers of Wisdom and of the Harmony of Feeling.’ (Letter to a member 2.1.1905.) See also lecture 13.10.1904. have the task not always to impart the whole truth at any one time, but only that part needed by man. This withholding of the consciousness of reincarnation came to poetic expression in this epoch in Dante's Divine Comedy. In monastic esotericism on the other hand, reincarnation was definitely taught when the occasion arose. The Trappists32Order founded in 1140 in the Cistercian monastery of La Trappe in France. The reform in 1665 imposed strict ascetic practices and silence. had to remain silent throughout one incarnation, so that in the next they might become eloquent speakers. They were intentionally trained in this way to become eloquent speakers, for of these the Church can make good use. When St. Augustine put forward the doctrine of predestination he was entirely consistent.33The teaching of God's eternal decree which results in only a part of humanity being chosen for salvation while the other part is doomed to perdition. Compare lecture 7.10.1917 ‘The Crumbling of the Earth and the Souls and Bodies of Men’ Anthroposophical Quarterly Volume 19 No. 1. Because in the age of materialism reincarnation was not to be taught, the Augustinian doctrine of predestination had to make its appearance. Only in this way could the differences in people's circumstances be explained.
Connected with this is the deeply materialistic character of traditional Christianity, which lies in the fact that the Beyond is made dependent on one physical existence. This materialistic teaching of Christianity has, so to say, borne its fruit. Today there is no longer any consciousness of the Beyond. Social democracy is the ultimate consequence of traditional Christianity. But now a new impulse must come into the world. When one epoch comes to an end something new breaks in. Christianity worked towards the gradual dawning of the materialistic age. In order to bring about the materialistic civilisation, human beings for a period of one thousand three hundred years had to have such a teaching as was brought by Christianity; namely, that man should make the whole of eternity dependent upon one earthly life. Urban bourgeoisie then became the actual founder of the age of materialism. Already at the time of Christ the spiritual had to be betrayed by the purely material. Judas Iscariot had to betray Christ. One can however say: had there been no Judas there would also have been no Christianity. Judas is the first to attach prime importance to money, that is to say, to materialism. In Judas was incarnated the entire materialistic age. This materialistic age has obscured and darkened the spiritual. Through his death Christ becomes the Redeemer of materialism.
VIII
Die verschiedenen Reinkarnationen der menschlichen Individualität sind eine Art Hin- und Herpendeln, bis eine rhythmische Ruhe eingetreten ist, und der höhere Teil des Menschen in dem Physischen einen passenden Ausdruck, ein geeignetes Werkzeug gefunden hat. Ungefähr seitdem es Reinkarnationen des Menschen gibt, ist die Stellung von Sonne, Mond und Erde, so wie es sie jetzt gibt, vorhanden. Wir müssen begreifen, daß der Mensch zu dem großen kosmischen Organismus dazugehört. In den Zeiten, in denen im Leben der Menschheit große Veränderungen eintreten, geschehen auch im Kosmos gewaltige Veränderungen. Früher, che es die Reinkarnation gab, waren Sonne, Mond und Erde noch nicht getrennt wie jetzt. Kant und Laplace haben nur vom physischen Plan aus beobachtet, und insofern ist ihre Theorie ganz richtig. Sie kannten aber nicht den Zusammenhang mit geistigen Kräften. Als aus dem ursprünglichen Feuernebel Sonne, Mond und Erde als getrennte Körper entstanden, begann auch der Mensch sich zu inkarnieren. Wenn die Inkarnationen des Menschen wieder aufhören werden, wird auch die Sonne wieder mit der Erde verbunden sein. Im Großen wie im Einzelnen muß man diese Beziehungen des Menschen zum Universum berücksichtigen.
Sie werden oft gehört haben, daß der Mensch sich gewöhnlich nach einer Periode von etwa zweitausend Jahren reinkarniert. Man kann prüfen, wann etwa die Menschen, die gegenwärtig leben, früher inkarniert waren. In der Regel findet man die Seelen, die jetzt inkarniert sind, um 300 bis 400 nach Christi Geburt. Daneben finden sich andere, die zu verschiedenen Zeiten inkarniert waren, einige vorher, einige später. Doch gibt es einen anderen Weg, die Inkarnationen zu bestimmen, einen Weg, der sicherer zum Ziele führt. Man kann sagen: Würden die Menschen, die heute sterben, in kurzer Zeit wiederkehren, so würden sie fast dieselben Verhältnisse antreffen wie jetzt. Aber es soll der Mensch möglichst viel auf der Erde lernen. Das kann nur stattfinden, wenn er bei der nächsten Inkarnation etwas Neues vorfindet, das wesentlich anders ist als die früheren Verhältnisse.
Man versetze sich einmal zurück in die Zeit um 600 bis 800 vor Christus, das ist ungefähr die Zeit, in der die Ilias und Odyssee entstanden sind. Bei den vorgeschrittenen Völkern der damaligen Zeit gab es ganz andere Lebensverhältnisse als jetzt. Man würde zum Beispiel erstaunt sein zu sehen, mit welchen komischen Instrumenten man aß. Damals lernten die Menschen auch noch nicht schreiben. Die großen Dichtungen wurden mündlich überliefert. Wenn ein Mensch aus der damaligen Zeit heute reinkarniert wird, so muß er als Kind ganz andere Dinge lernen als damals. Er muß jetzt als Kind schreiben lernen. Der Strom der Kultur ist inzwischen weitergegangen. Man muß den Strom der Kultur von der Entwickelung der einzelnen Seele unterscheiden. Als Kind muß man die Kultur nachholen, und aus dem Grunde muß man als Kind wiedergeboren werden.
Wir müssen nun fragen: Wodurch treten auf der Erde so durchaus neue Verhältnisse auf? — Das hängt mit dem Fortschreiten des Frühlingspunktes der Sonne zusammen. Ungefähr 800 vor Christus fing die Sonne an, im Frühling im Sternbild des Widders, des Lammes aufzugehen. Jedes Jahr rückt sie ein Stückchen weiter mit dem Frühlingspunkt. Dadurch verändern sich die Verhältnisse auf der Erde immer ein klein wenig. In dem Sternbild des Widders stand die Sonne um 800 vor Christus. Noch früher stand sie im Sternbild des Stiers, noch früher in dem der Zwillinge und noch früher in dem des Krebses. Jetzt geht sie schon seit einigen Jahrhunderten im Sternbild der Fische auf. Nachher kommt der Wassermann. Mit dem Vorrücken der Sonne von einem Sternbild zum anderen hängt auch das Fortschreiten der Kulturen zusammen.
In der Zeit, als die Sonne im Sternbild des Krebses stand, erreichte die alte Vedenkultur der Inder, die Kultur der Rishis, ihren Höhepunkt. Die Rishis, diese noch halbgöttlichen Wesenheiten unterrichteten die Menschen. Die atlantische Kultur war zugrunde gegangen; ein neuer Einschlag kam. Dies nennt man im Okkultismus einen «Wirbel». Darum setzt man auch für das Tierkreisbild, in dem in der damaligen Zeit die Sonne stand, das Zeichen des Krebses:
Der Krebs bedeutet einen neuen Einschlag, einen Wirbel. Die zweite Kultur wird bezeichnet mit dem Sternbild der Zwillinge. Begriffen wurde damals die Zwillingsnatur der Welt, die Gegensätze in der Welt, Ormuzd und Ahriman, das Gute und das Böse. Daher reden die Perser auch von den Zwillingen.
Die dritte Kultur ist die der Sumerer in Vorderasien und der alten Ägypter. Das Sternbild des Stiers entspricht ihr. Daher wird in Asien der Stier verehrt und in Ägypten der Apis. Die sumerische Sprache war damals in Babylonien, Assyrien und so weiter, die Sprache der Weisheit. Dann geriet der Stier in Dekadenz und es tauchte der Widder auf. Der erste Hinweis darauf ist die Sage vom Goldenen Vlies.
Die vierte Kultur ist die des Widders oder Lammes; Christus steht in dem Zeichen des Widders oder Lammes, darum nennt er sich das Lamm Gottes.
Als fünfte Kultur folgte die äußerlich materielle Kultur im Sternbild der Fische. Diese entwickelte sich hauptsächlich vom 12. Jahrhundert an und erreichte ihre Höhe um das Jahr 1800. Dies ist die Kultur der fünften Unterrasse, der Gegenwart.
Im Sternbild des Wassermanns wird in der Zukunft das neue Christentum verkündet werden. «Wassermann» ist auch derjenige, der es bringen wird, der auch schon da war: Johannes der Täufer. Er wird auch später Christus vorangehen, wenn die sechste, die spitituelle Unterrasse gegründet werden wird. Die theosophische Bewegung soll die Vorbereitung sein für jenen Zeitpunkt.
Im Neuen Testament wird der Ausdruck «auf dem Berge» verschiedene Male gebraucht. «Auf dem Berge» heißt: Im Mysterium, im Inneren, im Intimen. - Auch die Bergpredigt ist nicht als eine Volkspredigt aufzufassen, sondern als eine Belehrung der Jünger im Intimen. Die Verklärung auf dem Berge hat man auch in diesem Sinne zu verstehen. Jesus ging mit den drei Jüngern Petrus, Jakobus und Johannes auf den Berg. Da heißt es, die Jünger waren entrückt; da erschienen Moses und Elias neben Jesus. Für einen Moment waren Raum und Zeit ausgelöscht; sie befanden sich mit ihrem Bewußtsein auf dem Mentalplan. Die physisch nicht mehr da waren, Moses und Elias, erschienen. Als wirkliche Erscheinung hatten sie vor sich das: «Ich bin der Weg, die Wahrheit und das Leben.» Der Weg = Elias, Moses = die Wahrheit, Christus = das Leben. Das erschien hier den Jüngern in wesenhafter Form. Jesus sagte auch einmal zu ihnen: «Elias ist wieder erschienen; Johannes war Elias, man hat ihn nur nicht erkannt.» — Aber er sagte weiter: «Saget es niemandem, bis ich wieder erscheine.» - Das Christentum sollte durch zwei Jahrtausende hindurch nicht die Reinkarnation lehren. Nicht aus Willkür, sondern aus einem Erziehungsgrund sollten die Menschen zwei Jahrtausende lang nichts davon wissen. Im Johannes-Evangelium wird darauf hingedeutet durch das Wunder bei der Hochzeit von Kana, wo Wasser in Wein verwandelt wird. In den alten Mysterien wird nur Wasser verabreicht, in den christlichen Mysterien aber Wein. Denn bei der Priesterschaft sollte durch den Weingenuß das Wissen von der Reinkarnation ausgelöscht werden. Wer Wein genießt, kann zu keiner wahren Erkenntnis von Manas, Buddhi, Atma kommen. Er kann niemals die Reinkarnation begreifen. Unter dem Wiederkommen meint Christus das Wiedererscheinen in der sechsten Unterrasse, wo er uns verkündet wird vom «Wassermann». Die Theosophie führt tatsächlich das Testament des Christentums aus und arbeitet diesem Zeitpunkt vor.
Jedesmal wenn die Sonne von einem Tierkreisbild in ein anderes vorrückt, gehen einschneidende Veränderungen in der Kultur vor sich. Dazwischen vergeht ein Zeitraum von ungefähr zweitausendsechshundert Jahren. Nehmen wir den Zeitpunkt, als die Sonne in das Zeichen des Widders oder Lammes trat, um 800 vor Christus und 1800 nach Christus, so sind es zweitausendsechshundert Jahre. Ungefähr um 1800 traten wir in das Zeichen der Fische ein. Damit kam die materielle Kultur auf die Höhe. Sie bereitete sich vor im Mittelalter, jetzt hat sie begonnen wieder abzufluten. Um das Jahr 4400 tritt die Menschheit in das Zeichen der spirituellen Kultur, des Wassermannes. Das bereitet sich aber auch schon früher vor.
Mit der Konstellation verändern sich also auch die Verhältnisse. Mit dem Vorrücken von einem Sternbild zum anderen treten auch neue Verhältnisse ein, so daß das Wiedergeborenwerden einen Sinn hat. Ungefähr alle zweitausendsechshundert Jahre wird der Mensch wiedergeboren. Aber die Erfahrungen, die er als Mann und als Frau macht, sind so grundverschieden, daß man zwei solcher Inkarnationen, als Mann und als Frau, als eine zählt. Es vergehen ungefähr eintausenddreihundert Jahre zwischen zwei Inkarnationen als Mann oder als Frau, und ungefähr zweitausendsechshundert Jahre zwischen solchen doppelten Inkarnationen, wenn man beide als eine rechnet. Der Mensch ist eigentlich nur dem physischen Leibe nach Mann oder Frau. Während der physische Körper männlich ist, ist der Ätherkörper weiblich und umgekehrt, während der physische Körper weiblich ist, ist der Ätherkörper männlich. Erst der Astralkörper ist männlich und weiblich zugleich. Der Mensch trägt das entgegengesetzte Geschlecht als Ätherkörper in sich. Also ist der Mann ätherisch weiblich, die Frau ist ätherisch männlich. Die physische Frau hat daher auch viele verborgene Männereigenschaften, die physische Inkarnation ist nur exoterisch vorhanden. So macht der Mensch jedesmal ein Sternbild durch als Mann und als Frau. Daher sagte der Meister auch zu Sinneit, daß der Mensch in einer Unterrasse ungefähr zweimal inkarniert wird. Okkult werden die beiden Inkarnationen als eine zusammen gerechnet. Es muß eine Zeit kommen, in der die Frau sich tatsächlich der Manneskultur annähert. In der jetzigen Frauenbewegung ist die Vorbereitung zu einer ganz anderen späteren Frauenbewegung zu erkennen. Die Zweigeschlechtlichkeit wird in Zukunft einmal ganz überwunden werden.
Daß die Reinkarnationslehre während etwa zwei Jahrtausenden ganz unterdrückt wurde, hatte einen besonderen Grund. Der Mensch sollte die Wichtigkeit des einen Lebens kennen und schätzen lernen. Jeder Sklave im alten Ägypten war noch überzeugt davon, daß er wiederkommen werde, daß er einmal Herrscher sein werde statt Sklave, daß er aber Karma abzutragen habe. Darum war ihm das eine Leben nicht so wichtig. Die Menschen sollten aber nun lernen, festen Boden unter den Füßen zu gewinnen, darum sollte während einer Inkarnation die Reinkarnation unbekannt bleiben. Christus hat deshalb geradezu verboten, daß etwas von Reinkarnation gelehrt werden solle. Aber von 800 vor Christus bis ungefähr um 1800 nach Christus war der Zeitraum vergangen, da fast alle Menschen durch die eine Inkarnation hindurchgegangen waren, ohne von Reinkarnation etwas zu erfahren. Die großen Meister haben die Aufgabe, nicht immer gleich die ganze Wahrheit zu lehren, sondern nur das, was die Menschen brauchen. Das Nichtbewußtsein von der Reinkarnation kam in diesem Zeitraum poetisch zum Ausdruck in Dantes «Göttlicher Komödie». Innerhalb der Mönchsesoterik ist die Reinkarnation dagegen wohl noch gelegentlich gelehrt worden. Die Trappisten müssen durch eine Inkarnation hindurch schweigen, damit sie in der nächsten gute Redner würden. Sie werden mit Absicht auf diese Weise zu guten Rednern erzogen, denn die Kirche kann diese brauchen. Als der heilige Augustinus die Prädestinationslehre aufstellte, war er durchaus konsequent. Weil im Zeitalter des Materialismus nicht die Reinkarnation gelehrt werden sollte, mußte die Augustinische Prädestinationslehre aufkommen. Nur auf diese Weise konnten die verschiedenen Verhältnisse unter den Menschen erklärt werden.
Hiermit hängt nun wiederum das tief Materialistische des [traditionellen] Christentums zusammen, das darin liegt, daß das Jenseits von einem physischen Dasein abhängig gemacht wurde. Diese materialistische Lehre des Christentums hat gleichsam ihre Früchte getragen. Heute hat man überhaupt kein Bewußtsein mehr vom Jenseits. Die Sozialdemokratie ist die letzte Konsequenz des traditionellen Christentums. Jetzt muß aber ein neuer Einschlag in die Welt kommen. Wenn ein Zyklus aufhört, kommt ein neuer Einschlag. Das Christentum hat dem nach und nach aufdämmernden materialistischen Zeitalter vorgearbeitet. Um die materialistische Kultur herbeizuführen, mußten die Menschen durch eintausenddreihundert Jahre hindurch eine solche Lehre haben, wie das Christentum sie brachte, daß der Mensch von dem einen Erdenleben die ganze Ewigkeit abhängig macht. Das städtische Bürgertum ist dann der eigentliche Begründer des materialistischen Zeitalters. Das Spirituelle mußte schon zur Zeit Christi von dem rein Materiellen verraten werden. Judas Ischarioth mußte Christus verraten. Aber man kann sagen: Hätte es keinen Judas gegeben, so gäbe es auch kein Christentum. Judas ist der erste, der am Gelde hängt, das heißt an der materiellen Kultur. In Judas inkarniert sich die ganze materielle Zeit. Diese materielle Zeit hat das Spirituelle verdunkelt und verdüstert. Christus wird durch seinen Tod der Erlöser der materiellen Zeit.
VIII
The various reincarnations of human individuality are a kind of pendulum swing until a rhythmic calm has been achieved and the higher part of the human being has found a suitable expression, a suitable tool, in the physical world. The position of the sun, moon, and earth as we know it today has existed for about as long as human reincarnation has existed. We must understand that human beings belong to the great cosmic organism. In times when great changes occur in the life of humanity, tremendous changes also take place in the cosmos. Before reincarnation existed, the sun, moon, and earth were not yet separated as they are now. Kant and Laplace observed only from the physical plane, and in that respect their theory is quite correct. However, they did not know the connection with spiritual forces. When the sun, moon, and earth emerged as separate bodies from the original nebula, human beings also began to incarnate. When human incarnations cease again, the sun will also be connected to the earth again. Both in the big picture and in detail, one must take into account these relationships between human beings and the universe.
You will often have heard that humans usually reincarnate after a period of about two thousand years. It is possible to check when people who are currently alive were previously incarnated. As a rule, the souls that are now incarnated can be found around 300 to 400 AD. In addition, there are others who were incarnated at different times, some earlier, some later. But there is another way to determine incarnations, a way that leads more reliably to the goal. One can say that if the people who die today were to return in a short time, they would encounter almost the same conditions as now. But human beings should learn as much as possible on earth. This can only happen if, in their next incarnation, they encounter something new that is significantly different from their previous circumstances.
Let us go back to the time around 600 to 800 BC, which is roughly when the Iliad and the Odyssey were written. The advanced peoples of that time had very different living conditions than we do now. For example, one would be astonished to see the strange instruments they used to eat with. At that time, people had not yet learned to write. The great poems were passed down orally. When a person from that time is reincarnated today, he must learn very different things as a child than he did then. He must now learn to write as a child. The stream of culture has continued in the meantime. One must distinguish the stream of culture from the development of the individual soul. As a child, one must catch up on culture, and for that reason one must be reborn as a child.
We must now ask: What causes such completely new conditions to arise on Earth? — This is related to the progression of the vernal equinox of the sun. Around 800 BC, the sun began to rise in the constellation of Aries, the lamb, in spring. Every year it moves a little further with the vernal equinox. As a result, conditions on earth are constantly changing a little. Around 800 BC, the sun was in the constellation of Aries. Even earlier, it was in the constellation of Taurus, and before that in Gemini and Cancer. Now it has been rising in the constellation of Pisces for several centuries. Next comes Aquarius. The progress of cultures is also linked to the sun's advance from one constellation to another.
At the time when the sun was in the constellation of Cancer, the ancient Vedic culture of the Indians, the culture of the Rishis, reached its peak. The Rishis, these still semi-divine beings, taught the people. The Atlantean culture had perished; a new impact came. In occultism, this is called a “vortex.” That is why the sign of Cancer is also used for the zodiac sign in which the sun stood at that time:
Cancer signifies a new impact, a vortex. The second culture is represented by the constellation of Gemini. At that time, the twin nature of the world, the opposites in the world, Ormuzd and Ahriman, good and evil, were understood. That is why the Persians also speak of the twins.
The third culture is that of the Sumerians in the Near East and the ancient Egyptians. The constellation of Taurus corresponds to it. That is why Taurus is worshipped in Asia and Apis in Egypt. The Sumerian language was then the language of wisdom in Babylonia, Assyria, and so on. Then Taurus fell into decadence and Aries appeared. The first reference to this is the legend of the Golden Fleece.
The fourth culture is that of Aries or the Lamb; Christ stands in the sign of Aries or the Lamb, which is why he calls himself the Lamb of God.
The fifth culture was the outwardly material culture in the constellation of Pisces. This developed mainly from the 12th century onwards and reached its peak around 1800. This is the culture of the fifth sub-race, the present.
In the constellation of Aquarius, the new Christianity will be proclaimed in the future. “Aquarius” is also the one who will bring it, who was already there: John the Baptist. He will also precede Christ later, when the sixth, the spiritual sub-race, will be founded. The theosophical movement is intended to be the preparation for that time.
In the New Testament, the expression “on the mountain” is used several times. “On the mountain” means: in mystery, in the inner, in the intimate. - Even the Sermon on the Mount is not to be understood as a sermon to the people, but as an intimate teaching of the disciples. The transfiguration on the mountain must also be understood in this sense. Jesus went up the mountain with the three disciples Peter, James, and John. It is said that the disciples were enraptured; Moses and Elijah appeared beside Jesus. For a moment, space and time were erased; they found themselves with their consciousness on the mental plane. Moses and Elijah, who were no longer physically present, appeared. As real apparitions, they had before them: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The way = Elijah, Moses = the truth, Christ = the life. This appeared here to the disciples in essential form. Jesus also said to them once: “Elijah has appeared again; John was Elijah, but people did not recognize him.” — But he went on to say: “Tell no one until I reappear.” - Christianity was not to teach reincarnation for two millennia. Not out of capriciousness, but for educational reasons, people were not to know anything about it for two millennia. In the Gospel of John, this is indicated by the miracle at the wedding in Cana, where water is turned into wine. In the ancient mysteries, only water is administered, but in the Christian mysteries, wine is administered. For the priesthood, the knowledge of reincarnation was to be erased through the enjoyment of wine. Those who enjoy wine cannot come to any true knowledge of Manas, Buddhi, Atma. They can never comprehend reincarnation. By “coming again,” Christ means reappearing in the sixth sub-race, where he will be proclaimed to us by the “Aquarian.” Theosophy actually carries out the testament of Christianity and works toward this time.
Every time the sun moves from one zodiac sign to another, radical changes take place in culture. A period of approximately two thousand six hundred years elapses between them. If we take the time when the sun entered the sign of Aries or the Lamb, around 800 BC and 1800 AD, that is two thousand six hundred years. Around 1800, we entered the sign of Pisces. This marked the peak of material culture. It had been preparing itself in the Middle Ages, and now it has begun to ebb away again. Around the year 4400, humanity will enter the sign of spiritual culture, Aquarius. But this is already preparing itself earlier.
So with the constellation, conditions also change. With the advance from one constellation to another, new conditions also arise, so that rebirth has a meaning. Approximately every two thousand six hundred years, a person is reborn. But the experiences they have as a man and as a woman are so fundamentally different that two such incarnations, as a man and as a woman, are counted as one. Approximately one thousand three hundred years pass between two incarnations as a man or a woman, and approximately two thousand six hundred years between such double incarnations, if both are counted as one. Humans are actually only male or female in their physical bodies. While the physical body is male, the etheric body is female, and vice versa; while the physical body is female, the etheric body is male. Only the astral body is both male and female at the same time. Humans carry the opposite sex within themselves as an etheric body. Thus, men are etherically female, and women are etherically male. The physical woman therefore also has many hidden masculine qualities; the physical incarnation is only exoterically present. Thus, human beings go through each constellation as both man and woman. That is why the Master also said to Sinneit that human beings are incarnated about twice in a subrace. Occultly, the two incarnations are counted as one. There must come a time when women actually approach male culture. In the current women's movement, the preparation for a completely different later women's movement can be seen. In the future, dual sexuality will be completely overcome.
There was a special reason why the doctrine of reincarnation was completely suppressed for about two millennia. Human beings should learn to know and appreciate the importance of the one life. Every slave in ancient Egypt was still convinced that he would return, that he would one day be a ruler instead of a slave, but that he had karma to work off. That is why the one life was not so important to him. But now human beings should learn to gain firm ground under their feet, so reincarnation should remain unknown during an incarnation. Christ therefore expressly forbade the teaching of reincarnation. But from 800 BC to around 1800 AD, the period had passed in which almost all people had gone through one incarnation without learning anything about reincarnation. The great masters have the task of not always teaching the whole truth, but only what people need. The lack of awareness of reincarnation during this period was poetically expressed in Dante's Divine Comedy. Within monastic esotericism, however, reincarnation was probably still taught occasionally. Trappists must remain silent throughout one incarnation so that they may become good speakers in the next. They are deliberately trained to be good speakers in this way, because the Church needs them. When St. Augustine established the doctrine of predestination, he was quite consistent. Because reincarnation should not be taught in the age of materialism, the Augustinian doctrine of predestination had to emerge. Only in this way could the different circumstances among people be explained.
This is connected to the deeply materialistic nature of [traditional] Christianity, which lies in the fact that the afterlife was made dependent on physical existence. This materialistic doctrine of Christianity has, as it were, borne fruit. Today, people are completely unaware of the afterlife. Social democracy is the ultimate consequence of traditional Christianity. But now a new influence must come into the world. When one cycle ends, a new influence begins. Christianity paved the way for the gradually dawning materialistic age. In order to bring about materialistic culture, people had to have a doctrine such as Christianity brought for thirteen hundred years, that man makes the whole of eternity dependent on one earthly life. The urban bourgeoisie is then the actual founder of the materialistic age. Even at the time of Christ, the spiritual had to be betrayed by the purely material. Judas Iscariot had to betray Christ. But one could say: if there had been no Judas, there would be no Christianity. Judas is the first to cling to money, that is, to material culture. The whole material age is incarnated in Judas. This material age has obscured and darkened the spiritual. Through his death, Christ becomes the redeemer of the material age.