The Inner Nature of Music and the Experience of Tone
GA 283
26 November 1906, Berlin
The Inner Nature of Music III
To characterize the theme of today's lecture, we shall begin with an observation already made in the previous lecture. We explained how, in the same way that a man's shadow appears on the wall, a shadow-image of the Devachanic life is given to us on the physical plane in music and generally in the life of tones. We mentioned that twenty-nine more-or-less gifted musicians were born into the Bach family within a period of 250 years and that the mathematical talent was handed down through the generations just as mathematical talent was handed down in the Bernoulli family. Today we shall illuminate these facts from the esoteric standpoint, and from this standpoint we will receive various answers to important questions about karma. Something that lives as a question in many souls is what the relationship of physical heredity is to what we call an ongoing karma.
In the Bach family, the great-great-grandfather of Johann Sebastian was an individuality who lived on earth some fifteen or sixteen hundred years ago, when the human being was constituted quite differently. In Bach's grandfather another individuality was incarnated. The father is yet again a different individuality, and another incarnates itself in the son. These three individualities have absolutely nothing directly to do with the inheritance of musical talent. Musical talent is transmitted purely within physical heredity. The question of physical heredity is superficially resolved when we realize that man's musical gift depends on a special configuration of the ear. All musical talent is meaningless if a person does not have a musical ear; the ear must be specially adapted for this talent. This purely bodily basis for musical talent is handed down from generation to generation. We thus have a musical son, father, and grandfather, all of whom had musical ears. Just as the physical form of the body—of the nose, for instance—is handed down from one generation to another, so are the structural proportions of the ear.
Let us assume we are dealing with a number of individualities who happen to find themselves in the spiritual world and who bring with them from the previous incarnation the predisposition for music that now wishes to come to expression on the physical plane. What significance would the predisposition have if the individuals could not incarnate in bodies possessing a musical ear? These individualities would have to go through life with this faculty remaining mute and undeveloped. Hence, these individualities naturally feel themselves drawn to a family with a musical ear, with a bodily predisposition that will enable them to realize their potential. The family below on the physical plane exerts a power of attraction on the individuality above in Devachan. Even if the individual's spiritual sojourn perhaps has not been completed and he might have remained another 200 years in Devachan, if a suitable physical body is available on the physical plane, he may incarnate now. Chances are that the individuality will make up the 200 years during his next time in Devachan by remaining there that much longer. Such laws lie at the basis of incarnation, which depends not only on the individuality ready for incarnation but also on the force of attraction being exerted from below. When Germany needed a Bismarck, a suitable individual had to incarnate, because the circumstance drew him down to the physical plane. The time in the spiritual world thus can be cut short or extended depending on the circumstances on earth that either do or do not press for reincarnation.
To comprehend how the human being is organized, we must look at the nature of man in more detail. Man has a physical, an etheric, and an astral body. He has the physical body in common with all beings one calls inanimate and the etheric body in common with all plants. Then comes the astral body, in itself quite a complicated entity, and finally the “I.”
When we examine the astral body closely, we have first the so-called sentient body. This man has in common with the entire animal kingdom, so that all higher animals, just like the human being, possess a physical body, an etheric body, and a sentient body below on the physical plane. Man has an individual soul here on earth, whereas the animal has a group soul. Thus, the animals of a particular species share a common group soul, which can be studied only by ascending to the astral plane. In man's case, however, the soul is here on the physical plane. With the human being, the sentient body is only one part of his astral body. The fourth member of man's organization is the “I,” which is active from within.
Let us imagine ourselves back in a distant age, the Lemurian age. Something extremely significant took place during that period. Man's ancestors who existed on earth millions and millions of years ago were completely different from human beings today. On the physical plane of the earth at that time, there was a kind of strangely shaped higher animal, of which nothing remains any longer on the earth today, since it became extinct long ago. The higher animals of today are descendants of those completely differently shaped beings, but they are descendants that have degenerated. Those beings of the ancient past are the ancestors of present-day physical human nature. They possessed only a physical body, an etheric body, and a sentient body. During that age, the “I” gradually united with these beings; it descended from the higher worlds. Animality developed itself upward, while the soul descended.
As a whirling cloud of dust spirals up from the earth and a rain cloud descends to meet it, so did the animal body and the human soul unite. The sentient body of this animal living below on earth—man's ancestor—had developed itself to the point where it could receive the “I.”
This “I” was also composed of various members, namely the sentient soul, the intellectual soul, and the consciousness soul. Imperceptible to the outer senses, this “I”-body [Ich-Leib] descended to meet the upwardly evolving physical body, etheric body, and sentient body.
Had beings possessing a physical body, an etheric body, and a sentient body existed a million years earlier, they would have been able to feel these “I's” hovering above. They would have been forced, however, to say, “A union with such beings is impossible, for the sentient souls hovering above are so delicately spiritual that they are unable to unite themselves with our coarse bodies.” Gradually, however, the soul above became coarser and the sentient body below more refined. A kinship came into being between the two, and now the soul descended. Like a sword fits into a scabbard, so the sentient soul fits into the sentient body. We must understand in this sense the words of the Bible: “God breathed into man the breath of life, and he became a living soul.” In order to understand these words fully, one must know the various states of matter that exist on earth. First, we have the solid state. The esoteric term for it is the “earth.” In using this term, however, the esotericist does not refer to the actual soil of the fields but to its solid condition. All solid components of the physical body—the bones, the muscles, and so forth—are termed “earth.” The second state is fluidity; the esoteric term for it is “water.” Everything fluid—blood, for instance, is called “water.” Third, we have the gaseous state, “air” in esoteric terminology.
The esotericist goes on to consider higher and subtler substances, more delicate states beyond air. In order to understand this better, we must consider, for example, a metal such as lead. In esoteric terminology, lead is “earth.” If subjected to intense heat it melts and becomes “water” in the esoteric sense. When it vaporizes it becomes in the esoteric sense, “air.” Any substance thus can become “air” in its final state. If “air” is more and more diffused, it becomes increasingly delicate and reaches a new state. The esotericist calls it “fire.” It is the first state of ether. “Fire” is related to “air” in the same way that “water” is related to solidity. A still more delicate state than “fire” is called “light ether” by the esotericist. Continuing to a still higher state, we come to what esotericists call “chemical ether,” which is the force that enables oxygen, for example, to link itself with hydrogen. A still more delicate state than “chemical ether” is “life ether.”
We thus have seven different states in esotericism. Life in any substance ultimately can be attributed to the life ether. In esoteric language, what lives in the physical body consists of earth, water and air. What lives in the etheric body consists of fire, light ether, chemical ether, and life ether. While physical body and etheric body are united, they are at the same time separated. The physical body is permeated by the etheric body; similarly the astral body permeates the etheric body. The astral element can descend as far as the state of “fire,” but it can no longer mix with “air,” “water,” and “earth.” The physical, on the other hand, can ascend only as far as “fire.” Let us make it clear that the physical as vapor or esoteric “air” ascends to “fire”; in the vapor we sense the “fire's” diffusing force. The physical ascends to “fire,” the astral descends to “fire,” and the etheric body occupies the central position between the two.
In the Lemurian age, a time long before the seven members of man had united, we find beings existing on the physical plane who had not yet brought the physical body to the state of “fire.” They were as yet incapable of developing warm blood. Only a physical body capable of developing warm blood links a soul to itself. As soon as those beings had evolved to the level of fire ether, the “I” soul [Ich-Seele] was ready to unite itself with the physical body. All the animals that remained behind as stragglers, such as the amphibians, have blood with variable temperatures.
We must keep in mind this point in time from the Lemurian age. It was a moment of the utmost importance, when the being consisting of physical body, etheric body, and sentient body could, through the warm blood, be fructified with a human soul.
Evolution continued from the Lemurian to the Atlantean age. In the Lemurian age, body and soul came in contact with each other only in the element of warmth. At the beginning of the Atlantean age, something new took place. The soul element penetrated more deeply into the physical body, mainly to the level of “air.” In the Lemurian age, it had progressed only as far as “fire”; now it penetrated to “air.” This is very important for human evolution since it marks the beginning of the ability to live in the element of air. Just as there were only cold-blooded creatures at the outset of the Lemurian age, so up to now all creatures had been mute and incapable of uttering sound. They had to master the domain of air before they could emit sounds. Now, the first, most elementary beginnings of singing and speaking took place.
The next stage will bring about the soul's descent into the fluid element. The soul will then be capable of guiding consciously the flow of blood, for example, in the arteries. We will encounter this stage of evolution in the distant future.
One could argue that the cold-blooded insect also “speaks,” but in the sense used here, where speaking is the soul resounding outward from within, this is not the case. The sounds made by the insect are of a physical nature. The chirping of the cricket, the whirring of its wings, are outer sounds; it is not the soul that resounds. We are concerned here with the soul's expression in tone.
At the point in time just described, man became capable of pouring forth his soul in sound. He could not emit from within the same element that reached him from outside. Man came to receive tone from outside through the ear and to return it as such to his surroundings. The ear is thus one of the oldest organs and the larynx one of the youngest. The relationship between ear and larynx is different from that between all other organs. The ear itself reverberates; it is like a kind of piano. There are a number of delicate fibers inside the ear, each of which is tuned to a certain tone. The ear does not alter what comes to it from outside, or at least it does so only a little. All the other sense organs, like the eye, for example, alter the impressions received from the environment. All the other senses must develop in the future to the stage of the ear, for in the ear we have a physical organ that stands at the highest level of development.
The ear is also related to a sense that is still older, the sense of spatial orientation that enables one to experience the three dimensions of space. Man is no longer aware of this sense. It is intimately connected with the ear. Deep in the ear's interior we find three remarkable loops, three semi-circular canals that stand perpendicular, one on top of the other. Science does not know what to make of them. When they are injured, however, man's sense of balance is upset. They are the remnants of the sense of space, which is much older than the sense of hearing. Formerly, man perceived space in the same way he perceives tone today. Now the sense of space has become entirely part of him, and he is no longer conscious of it. The sense of space perceives space; the ear perceives tone, which means that which passes from space into time.
Now one will understand how a certain kinship can exist between music and the mathematical sense, which is tied to these three semi-circular canals. The musical family's distinguishing feature is the musical ear. The mathematical family shows a special development of the three semi-circular canals in the ear to which is linked the talent for grasping spatial relationships. These semi-circular canals were particularly developed in the Bernoulli family and passed from one member to another, just like the musical ear in the Bach family. In order to be able to live fully in their predispositions, individualities descending to incarnation had to seek out the family in which this hereditary trait existed. Such are the intimate relationships between physical heredity on the soul, which seek one another out even after many hundreds and hundreds of years. In this way we see how man's outer nature is connected with his inner being.
Dritter Vortrag
Um das Thema unseres heutigen Vortrages zu charakterisieren, wollen wir ausgehen von einer Tatsache, die wir bereits im vorigen Vortrag erwähnt haben. Wir haben dargelegt, daß in demselben Verhältnis, wie sein Schattenbild an der Wand zum Menschen steht, ebenso ein Schattenbild des Devachanlebens sich uns gibt im Musikalischen, überhaupt im Tonleben auf dem physischen Plan. Wir haben erwähnt, daß in der Familie Bach im Laufe von zweihundertfünfzig Jahren neunundzwanzig Musiker von mehr oder weniger großer Begabung geboren worden sind, daß also das musikalische Talent sich durch Generationen vererbt hat, ebenso wie in der Familie Bernoulli das mathematische Talent. Wir wollen heute diese Tatsachen vom okkulten Standpunkt aus beleuchten, und wir werden von diesem Standpunkte aus mannigfaltige Antworten erhalten auf wichtige karmische Fragen. Etwas, das manchem als Frage auf der Seele liegt, ist dieses: Wie verhält sich die physische Vererbung zu dem, was wir durchgehendes Karma nennen?
In der Familie Bach ist der Ururgroßvater eine bestimmte Individualität, die vor tausendfünfhundert oder tausendsechshundert Jahren auf der Erde gelebt hat und einer anderen Form angehörte. Im Großvater ist eine andere Individualität verkörpert gewesen. Gegen den Großvater ist der Vater wieder eine andere Individualität; im Sohn verkörperte sich wieder eine andere Individualität. Diese drei Individualitäten haben mit der Vererbung des musikalischen Talentes unmittelbar gar nichts zu tun. Rein innerhalb der physischen Vererbung ist die Übertragung des musikalischen Talentes. Diese Frage der physischen Vererbung beantwortet sich oberflächlich, wenn wir uns klarmachen, daß des Menschen Begabung für die Musik abhängig ist von einer Einrichtung des Ohres. Alle musikalische Begabung würde nichts bedeuten, wenn der Betreffende nicht ein musikalisches Ohr hätte; das Ohr muß für diese Begabung besonders eingerichtet sein. Und diese rein körperliche Grundlage für das musikalische Talent ist es, die sich vererbt von Generation zu Generation. Wir haben so einen musikalischen Sohn und Vater und Großvater, die alle musikalische Ohren hatten. Wie sich die physischen Formen des Körpers, zum Beispiel die der Nase, von einer Generation zur anderen vererben, so auch die Strukturverhältnisse des Ohres.
Nehmen wir an, wir hätten es mit einer Reihe von Individualitäten zu tun, die sich eben in der geistigen Welt befinden und die mit sich bringen aus der vorhergehenden Inkarnation die Anlage zur Musik, die sich nun auf dem physischen Plane ausleben will. Was würde die Anlage bedeuten, wenn die Individualitäten sich nicht in Körpern inkarnieren könnten, die ein musikalisches Ohr haben? Es würden dann diese Individualitäten durch das Leben hindurchgehen, und diese Fähigkeit müßte stumm, unausgebildet bleiben. Es ist also selbstverständlich, daß diese Individualitäten sich hingezogen fühlen werden zu einer Familie mit musikalischem Ohr, mit einer körperlichen Anlage, die es der Individualität ermöglicht, sich auszuleben. Die Familie unten auf dem physischen Plane übt eine Anziehungskraft aus für die Individualität oben im Devachan. Vielleicht würde die Individualität noch zweihundert Jahre oder länger im Devachan verbleiben; vielleicht ist ihre Devachanzeit noch nicht ganz abgelaufen. Aber weil auf dem physischen Plan ein geeigneter physischer Leib ist, wird sich die Individualität jetzt verkörpern, wo sie noch hätte zweihundert Jahre im Devachan bleiben können, und sie wird vielleicht bei der nächsten Devachanzeit diese Zeit nachholen und dann um so viel länger in der geistigen Welt verweilen. Solche Regeln liegen der Verkörperung zugrunde. Sie hängt nicht allein davon ab, ob die Individualität oben zur Verkörperung drängt, sondern auch davon, was für eine Anziehungskraft von unten ausgeübt wird. Als das deutsche Land einen Bismarck nötig hatte, mußte sich eine passende Individualität verkörpern, weil die Verhältnisse sie auf den physischen Plan herabzogen.
So kann die Zeit oben in der geistigen Welt verkürzt oder verlängert werden, je nach den Verhältnissen, die unten auf der Erde sind, und die zur Wiederverkörperung drängen oder nicht.
Wir müssen uns nun klarmachen, wie dieser Mensch gegliedert ist und wollen daher intimer auf die Natur des Menschen eingehen. Einen physischen, einen Äther- und einen Astralleib hat der Mensch. Der physische Leib ist ihm gemeinsam mit allen Wesen, die man leblose nennt, der Ätherleib gemeinsam mit allen Pflanzen. Dann kommt der Astralleib, der ist schon an sich eine sehr komplizierte Wesenheit; dann das Ich.
Wenn wir uns den Astralleib genauer ansehen, haben wir zuerst den sogenannten Empfindungsleib. Diesen hat der Mensch gemeinschaftlich mit der ganzen Tierwelt, so daß alle höheren Tiere ebenso wie der Mensch einen physischen Leib, einen Ätherleib und einen Empfindungsleib hier unten auf dem physischen Plan besitzen.
Dagegen hat der Mensch hier unten eine individuelle Seele, das Tier aber eine Gruppenseele. Viele Tiere haben zusammen eine Gruppenseele, so daß wir, wenn wir die Seele der Tiere betrachten wollen, hinaufsteigen müssen auf den astralen Plan. Beim Menschen aber ist die Seele hier unten auf dem physischen Plane, Beim Menschen ist der Empfindungsleib nur ein Teil des astralischen Leibes. Der vierte Teil des Menschen, das Ich, ist dasjenige, was von innen heraus arbeitet.
Versetzen wir uns nun einen längeren Zeitraum zurück, in die lemurische Zeit. Es ist damals ein ganz Bedeutsames eingetreten. Jene Vorfahren, die vor Millionen und Millionen von Jahren auf der Erde ihr Dasein hatten, waren ganz anders als die Menschen jetzt. Es gab damals auf dem physischen Erdenplan eine Art höherer Tiere, Tiere, von denen heute nichts mehr auf der Erde vorhanden ist, die längst ausgestorben sind. Sie waren ganz eigenartig gestaltet. Das, was heute hier die höheren Tiere sind, sind Nachkommen dieser ganz anders gestalteten Wesen, aber verkommene Nachkommen. Diese Wesen sind die Vorfahren der heutigen physischen Menschennatur. Sie hatten nur einen physischen Leib, einen Ätherleib und einen Empfindungsleib. Und damals verband sich nach und nach das Ich mit diesen Wesen; es senkte sich von der höheren Welt herab. Die Tierheit also wuchs der Seele des Menschen entgegen, die Seele begab sich von oben herunter. Von unten herauf entwickelte sich die Tierheit, von oben senkte sich die Seele herab.
Wie eine Wirbelwolke von Staub unten auf der Erde aufwirbelt und von oben eine Wasserwolke ihr entgegenkommt, so verbanden sich Tierleib und Menschenseele. Der Empfindungsleib des unten auf der Erde lebenden Tieres, jenes Vorfahren des Menschen, hatte sich so weit entwickelt, daß er das Ich aufnehmen konnte.
Dieses Ich bestand nun auch aus Gliedern, und zwar aus Empfindungsseele, Verstandesseele und Bewußtseinsseele. Dieser für die äußeren Sinne unwahrnehmbare Leib, der Ich-Leib, sank herab. Hinauf entwickelte sich ihm entgegen ein physischer, ein Ätherleib und ein Empfindungsleib.
Hätte es eine Million Jahre früher auch Wesen gegeben, die den physischen Leib, den Ätherleib und den Empfindungsleib besaßen, sie hätten diese oben schwebenden Iche fühlen können. Aber sie hätten sagen müssen, eine Verbindung ist unmöglich, denn diese oben schwebenden Empfindungsseelen sind noch so fein geistig, daß sie sich mit dem groben Leibe nicht vereinigen können. Nun aber hat sich die Seele oben vergröbert, der Empfindungsleib unten verfeinert. Es ist jetzt eine Verwandtschaft dadurch zwischen beiden eingetreten, und nun senkt sich die Seele herab. Tatsächlich, wie der Säbel in einer Scheide steckt, so steckt die Empfindungsseele im Empfindungsleibe. In diesem Sinne ist das Wort der Bibel zu verstehen: «Gott blies dem Menschen den Odem ein, und er ward eine lebendige Seele.»
Wenn man aber dieses Wort ganz verstehen will, muß man sich klar sein über die verschiedenen Stoffgattungen, die es auf der Erde gibt. Wir haben da zuerst das Feste. Okkult wird das «Erde» genannt. Doch was der Okkultist damit bezeichnet, ist nicht Ackererde, sondern der Zustand des Festen überhaupt. Alle festen Bestandteile des physischen Körpers werden auch Erde genannt, zum Beispiel die Knochen, die Muskeln und so weiter. Dann kommt zweitens das Flüssige; okkult nennt man das «Wasser». Wasser wird alles genannt, was flüssig ist, zum Beispiel auch das Blut. Drittens haben wir den luftförmigen Zustand, okkult «Luft» genannt.
Dann geht der Okkultist zu höheren, feineren Körpern hinauf; über die Luft steigt er zu feineren Zuständen hinauf. Wollen wir uns das klarmachen, dann müssen wir zum Beispiel irgendein Erz, sagen wir das Blei, betrachten. Das ist okkult Erde. Wird es stark erhitzt, also geschmolzen, dann wird es okkult zu Wasser; verdunstet es jetzt, so wird es im okkulten Sinne Luft. Luft ist das, was zuletzt auf diese Art aus jedem Körper entstehen kann. Dehnt sich die Luft immer weiter aus, wird sie immer feiner, dann tritt ein neuer Zustand ein. Den nennt der Okkultist «Feuer». Das ist der erste Ätherzustand. Feuer ist, was sich zu Luft verhält wie Wasser zum Festen. Was noch feiner ist als Feuer, nennt der Okkultist «Lichtäther». Noch höher hinauf kommen wir zu demjenigen, was im Okkultismus «Chemischer Äther» genannt wird. Die Kraft, die bewirkt, daß zum Beispiel der Sauerstoff an Wasserstoff sich ketten kann, ist der Chemische Äther. Noch feiner als der Chemische Äther ist der «Lebensäther».
Wir haben so sieben verschiedene Zustände im Okkultismus. Daß in irgendeiner Substanz Leben ist, ist zurückzuführen auf den Lebensäther. Das, was im physischen Leibe lebt, besteht aus Erde, Wasser und Luft, in okkulter Sprache. Das was im Ätherleibe lebt, besteht aus Feuer, Lichtäther, Chemischem Äther und Lebensäther. Wir haben so zu gleicher Zeit den physischen und den Ätherleib geeint und getrennt. Der ganze Ätherleib durchdringt den physischen Leib; ebenso durchdringt der Astralleib den Ätherleib. Das Astrale kann gerade bis zum Feuer heruntersteigen, es kann nicht mehr durchsetzen Wasser, Erde, Luft. Das Physische dagegen kann nur bis zum Feuer hinauf. Machen wir uns klar, wie das Physische bis zum Feuer hinaufgeht im Dampf, also okkult Luft. Im Dampf spüren wir das auseinandertreibende Feuer. Das Physische geht hinauf zum Feuer, das Astrale hinunter bis zum Feuer, in der Mitte steht der Ätherleib.
In der lemurischen Zeit nun, zu einem Zeitpunkt, lange ehe sich die sieben Glieder des Menschen vereinigt hatten, haben wir Wesen, die unten waren und die noch nicht den physischen Leib bis zum Feuer hinauf gebracht hatten. Sie waren noch nicht imstande, warmes Blut zu entwickeln. Und erst ein physischer Leib, der imstande ist, warmes Blut zu entwickeln, kettet an sich die Seele. Sobald jene Wesen so weit waren, daß sie sich zum Feueräther hinanentwickelt hatten, war die Ich-Seele bereit, sich mit dem physischen Leibe zu verbinden. Alle jene Tiere, die als die Nachzügler zurückgeblieben sind, die Amphibien, haben wechselwarmes Blut.
Wir müssen diesen Zeitpunkt in der lemurischen Zeit festhalten. Es war das ein Moment von höchster Wichtigkeit, als das Wesen, welches aus physischem Leib, Ätherleib und Empfindungsleib bestand, durch das warme Blut befruchtet werden konnte mit der Menschenseele.
Nun geht die weitere Entwickelung von der lemurischen Zeit zur atlantischen über. Innerhalb der lemurischen Zeit war es nur das Element der Wärme, in dem sich Seele und Leib berührten. Zu Anfang der atlantischen Zeit trat etwas Neues ein. Das seelische Element drang nun tiefer in den physischen Leib ein, und zwar bis zur Luft hinunter. In der lemurischen Zeit war es nur bis zum Feuer gekommen; jetzt konnte es bis zur Luft vordringen. Dies ist für die Menschenentwickelung sehr wichtig, denn es ist der Beginn für die Fähigkeit, im Elemente der Luft leben zu können, Ebenso wie es in der lemurischen Zeit zuerst nur Kaltblüter gegeben hat, so gab es bis hierhin nur stumme, tonlose Geschöpfe. Sie mußten sich der Luft bemächtigen, bevor sie tönen konnten. Die ersten, elementarsten Anfänge des Singens und Sprechens finden jetzt statt.
Die nächste Stufe wird es mit sich bringen, daß die Seele hinuntersteigt ins Flüssige. Dann kann sie bewußt zum Beispiel das Blut in den Adern leiten. Diese Stufe der Entwickelung steht uns in einer noch fernen Zeit bevor.
Man könnte einwerfen, daß das kaltblütige Insekt auch tönt; doch ist dies nicht der Fall in dem Sinne, wie hier vom Tönen der Seele von innen nach außen die Rede ist. Die Töne, die das Insekt hervorbringt, sind physikalischer Natur. Das Zirpen der Grille, das Schwirren der Flügel sind äußerliche Töne, es ist nicht die Seele, die tönt. Es handelt sich für uns um den tönenden Ausdruck der Seele.
Der Mensch war zu dem eben beschriebenen Zeitpunkt imstande, die Seele tönend nach außen zu ergießen. Er konnte jetzt von innen heraus dasselbe schicken, was von außen zu ihm hineingeht. Den Ton empfängt der Mensch von außen durch das Ohr und gibt ihn als solchen der Umwelt zurück. Das Ohr ist als solches eines der ältesten Organe und der Kehlkopf eines der jüngsten. Ohr und Kehlkopf stehen ganz anders zueinander als alle anderen Organe. Das Ohr schwingt selber mit, es ist wie eine Art Klavier. In ihm sind eine Anzahl Fäserchen, von denen jedes auf einen gewissen Ton stimmt. Es verändert das, was draußen vorgeht, was zu ihm von außen hereinkommt, nicht oder doch nur sehr wenig. Alle anderen Sinnesorgane, zum Beispiel das Auge, verändern die Eindrücke der Umwelt. Und alle anderen Sinne müssen sich zu der Stufe des Ohres erst in der Zukunft entwickeln, denn wir haben im Ohr ein physisches Organ, das auf der höchsten Stufe der Entwickelung steht.
Das Ohr steht im Zusammenhang mit einem Sinn, der noch älter ist. Das ist der Sinn für die Raumorientierung, das heißt für die Fähigkeit, die drei Richtungen des Raumes zu spüren. Der Mensch hat nicht mehr das Bewußtsein, daß dieser Sinn in ihm steckt. Dieser Sinn steht in inniger Verbindung mit dem Ohr. Wir finden tief im Inneren des Ohres merkwürdige Bögen, drei halbzirkelförmige Kanäle, die senkrecht aufeinander stehen. Die Wissenschaft weiß nichts mit ihnen anzufangen. Doch wenn diese verletzt sind, hört bei den Menschen das Orientierungsvermögen auf. Dies sind Überbleibsel des Raumsinnes, der viel älter ist als der Gehörsinn. Früher nahm der Mensch den Raum so wahr, wie heute den Ton. Jetzt ist der Raumsinn ganz in ihn übergegangen und unbewußt geworden. Der Raumsinn nahm den Raum wahr, das Ohr nimmt den Ton wahr, das heißt das, was übergeht vom Raum in die Zeit.
Man wird jetzt verstehen, daß eine gewisse Verwandtschaft bestehen kann in bezug auf den musikalischen und den mathematischen Sinn. Der letztere ist gebunden an diese drei Halbbögen. Die musikalische Familie zeigt als Merkmal das musikalische Ohr, die mathematische Familie eine besondere Ausbildung der drei Halbbögen im Ohr, an die das Raumtalent gebunden ist. Und diese waren bei der Familie Bernoulli besonders ausgebildet und vererbten sich von einem Mitglied zum anderen wie das musikalische Ohr in der Familie Bach. Und die zur Verkörperung herabsteigenden Individualitäten mußten sich, um ihre Anlagen ausleben zu können, die Familie suchen, wo diese Erbschaft bestand.
Dies sind die intimen Zusammenhänge zwischen physischer Vererbung und der Seele, die nach Hunderten und aber Hunderten von Jahren sich aufsuchen, und wir sehen, wie in dieser Weise das Äußere des Menschen mit seinem Inneren zusammenhängt.
Third Lecture
To characterize the subject of today's lecture, let us start from a fact that we already mentioned in the previous lecture. We explained that, in the same way that a person's shadow image on the wall relates to the person, a shadow image of devachanic life is also presented to us in music, and indeed in all sound life on the physical plane. We mentioned that over the course of 250 years, 29 musicians of varying degrees of talent were born into the Bach family, meaning that musical talent was passed down through the generations, just as mathematical talent was passed down in the Bernoulli family. Today we want to examine these facts from an occult point of view, and from this point of view we will receive manifold answers to important karmic questions. Something that is on the minds of many is this: How does physical heredity relate to what we call continuous karma?
In the Bach family, the great-great-grandfather is a specific individuality who lived on Earth 1,500 or 1,600 years ago and belonged to a different form. The grandfather embodied a different individuality. The father is yet another individuality compared to the grandfather; the son embodied yet another individuality. These three individualities have nothing directly to do with the inheritance of musical talent. The transmission of musical talent is purely within the realm of physical inheritance. This question of physical inheritance is answered superficially when we realize that a person's talent for music depends on the structure of the ear. All musical talent would be meaningless if the person in question did not have a musical ear; the ear must be specially equipped for this talent. And it is this purely physical basis for musical talent that is inherited from generation to generation. We have a musical son, father, and grandfather, all of whom had musical ears. Just as the physical forms of the body, for example the nose, are passed down from one generation to the next, so too are the structural characteristics of the ear.
Let us assume that we are dealing with a series of individualities who are currently in the spiritual world and who bring with them from their previous incarnation a predisposition for music, which they now want to express on the physical plane. What would this predisposition mean if the individuals could not incarnate in bodies that have a musical ear? These individuals would then go through life, and this ability would have to remain silent, untrained. It is therefore natural that these individuals will be drawn to a family with a musical ear, with a physical predisposition that enables the individual to live out their potential. The family down on the physical plane exerts an attraction on the individuality up in Devachan. Perhaps the individuality would remain in Devachan for another two hundred years or more; perhaps its Devachan time has not yet completely expired. But because there is a suitable physical body on the physical plane, the individuality will now incarnate, when it could have remained in Devachan for another two hundred years, and it will perhaps make up for this time during the next Devachan period and then remain in the spiritual world for that much longer. Such rules underlie incarnation. It depends not only on whether the individuality above urges incarnation, but also on what kind of attraction is exerted from below. When the German nation needed a Bismarck, a suitable individuality had to incarnate because circumstances drew it down to the physical plane.
Thus, time above in the spiritual world can be shortened or lengthened, depending on the conditions below on earth, which may or may not urge reincarnation.
We must now clarify how this human being is structured and therefore want to go into more detail about the nature of the human being. Human beings have a physical body, an etheric body, and an astral body. The physical body is shared with all beings that are called inanimate, and the etheric body is shared with all plants. Then comes the astral body, which is in itself a very complicated entity; then the ego.
If we take a closer look at the astral body, we first have what is called the sentient body. Humans share this with the entire animal world, so that all higher animals, like humans, have a physical body, an etheric body, and a sentient body here on the physical plane.
In contrast, humans have an individual soul here below, while animals have a group soul. Many animals share a group soul, so that if we want to observe the soul of animals, we must ascend to the astral plane. In humans, however, the soul is here below on the physical plane. In humans, the feeling body is only part of the astral body. The fourth part of the human being, the I, is that which works from within.
Let us now go back a long way in time, to the Lemurian epoch. Something very significant happened then. Those ancestors who lived on Earth millions and millions of years ago were very different from human beings today. At that time, there was a kind of higher animal on the physical earth plane, animals that no longer exist on earth today, that have long since become extinct. They were very strangely shaped. What we now call higher animals are descendants of these very differently shaped beings, but degenerate descendants. These beings are the ancestors of today's physical human nature. They had only a physical body, an etheric body, and a sentient body. And at that time, the I gradually connected with these beings; it descended from the higher world. Thus, animal nature grew toward the soul of man, and the soul descended from above. Animal nature developed from below, and the soul descended from above.
Just as a whirlwind of dust swirls up from the earth and a cloud of water comes down from above, so the animal body and the human soul became connected. The sentient body of the animal living on the earth, that ancestor of man, had developed to such an extent that it could receive the I.
This I now also consisted of members, namely the feeling soul, the intellectual soul, and the consciousness soul. This body, imperceptible to the outer senses, the I-body, descended. A physical body, an etheric body, and a feeling body developed upward to meet it.
If there had been beings a million years earlier who also possessed the physical body, the etheric body, and the sentient body, they would have been able to feel these Egos floating above. But they would have had to say that a connection was impossible, because these sentient souls floating above are still so finely spiritual that they cannot unite with the coarse body. But now the soul above has become coarser, and the sentient body below has become more refined. A kinship has now arisen between the two, and now the soul descends. Indeed, just as a sword is sheathed in a scabbard, so the sentient soul is sheathed in the sentient body. This is how we should understand the words of the Bible: “God breathed into man the breath of life, and he became a living soul.”
But if we want to understand these words completely, we must be clear about the different types of matter that exist on earth. First, we have the solid. In occult terms, this is called “earth.” But what the occultist means by this is not soil, but the state of solidity in general. All solid components of the physical body are also called earth, for example, the bones, the muscles, and so on. Then, secondly, there is the liquid; in occult terms, this is called “water.” Water is the name given to everything that is liquid, for example, blood. Thirdly, we have the gaseous state, called “air” in occultism.
Then the occultist ascends to higher, finer bodies; above the air, he ascends to finer states. To understand this, we must consider, for example, any ore, let's say lead. This is occult earth. If it is heated strongly, i.e., melted, then it becomes occult water; if it now evaporates, it becomes air in the occult sense. Air is what can ultimately arise in this way from any body. If the air expands further and further, it becomes finer and finer, then a new state occurs. The occultist calls this “fire.” This is the first etheric state. Fire is to air as water is to solids. Occultists call that which is even finer than fire “light ether.” Even higher up, we come to what is called “chemical ether” in occultism. The force that causes oxygen to bond with hydrogen, for example, is chemical ether. Even finer than the chemical ether is the “life ether.”
We thus have seven different states in occultism. The fact that there is life in any substance can be attributed to the life ether. That which lives in the physical body consists of earth, water, and air, in occult language. That which lives in the etheric body consists of fire, light ether, chemical ether, and life ether. Thus, we have both the physical and etheric bodies united and separated at the same time. The entire etheric body permeates the physical body; likewise, the astral body permeates the etheric body. The astral can descend straight down to the fire; it can no longer penetrate water, earth, or air. The physical, on the other hand, can only ascend to the fire. Let us be clear about how the physical ascends to the fire in steam, i.e., occult air. In steam, we feel the dispersing fire. The physical ascends to fire, the astral descends to fire, and in the middle stands the etheric body.
Now, in the Lemurian epoch, at a time long before the seven members of the human being had united, we have beings who were below and who had not yet brought the physical body up to fire. They were not yet able to develop warm blood. And only a physical body capable of developing warm blood binds the soul to itself. As soon as those beings had developed to the point where they had ascended to the fire ether, the I-soul was ready to connect with the physical body. All those animals that remained behind as stragglers, the amphibians, have cold-blooded bodies.
We must note this moment in the Lemurian epoch. It was a moment of utmost importance when the being, consisting of a physical body, etheric body, and sentient body, could be fertilized by the warm blood with the human soul.
Now the further development passes from the Lemurian epoch to the Atlantean epoch. During the Lemurian epoch, it was only the element of warmth in which soul and body came into contact. At the beginning of the Atlantean epoch, something new occurred. The soul element now penetrated deeper into the physical body, down to the air. In the Lemurian epoch, it had only reached the fire; now it could penetrate down to the air. This is very important for human development, because it is the beginning of the ability to live in the element of air. Just as in the Lemurian epoch there were initially only cold-blooded creatures, so until this point there were only mute, voiceless creatures. They had to master the air before they could make sounds. The first, most elementary beginnings of singing and speaking now take place.
The next stage will involve the soul descending into the liquid. Then it can consciously direct the blood in the veins, for example. This stage of development still lies ahead of us in the distant future.
One might object that cold-blooded insects also make sounds; but this is not the case in the sense that we are talking here about the soul sounding from within to without. The sounds produced by insects are of a physical nature. The chirping of the cricket, the buzzing of the wings are external sounds; it is not the soul that sounds. For us, it is the sounding expression of the soul.
At the time just described, humans were able to pour out the soul in sound. They could now send out from within the same thing that entered them from outside. Humans receive sound from outside through the ear and return it as such to the environment. The ear is one of the oldest organs and the larynx one of the youngest. The ear and larynx relate to each other in a completely different way than all other organs. The ear vibrates itself; it is like a kind of piano. It contains a number of tiny fibers, each of which is tuned to a certain tone. It does not change what is happening outside, what comes in from outside, or only very little. All other sense organs, for example the eye, change the impressions of the environment. And all other senses must first develop to the level of the ear in the future, because we have a physical organ in the ear that is at the highest level of development.
The ear is connected to a sense that is even older. This is the sense of spatial orientation, that is, the ability to sense the three directions of space. Human beings are no longer aware that they possess this sense. This sense is closely connected to the ear. Deep inside the ear, we find strange arches, three semicircular canals that are perpendicular to each other. Science does not know what to make of them. But when they are damaged, people lose their sense of orientation. These are remnants of the sense of space, which is much older than the sense of hearing. In the past, humans perceived space in the same way as they perceive sound today. Now the sense of space has completely merged into them and become unconscious. The sense of space perceived space, the ear perceives sound, that is, what passes from space into time.
It will now be understood that there may be a certain relationship between the musical and mathematical senses. The latter is linked to these three half-arches. The musical family is characterized by the musical ear, the mathematical family by a special development of the three half-arches in the ear, to which spatial talent is linked. These were particularly well developed in the Bernoulli family and were passed down from one member to another, just like the musical ear in the Bach family. And the individualities descending to incarnate had to seek out the family where this inheritance existed in order to live out their talents.
These are the intimate connections between physical inheritance and the soul, which seek each other out after hundreds and hundreds of years, and we see how in this way the outer aspect of the human being is connected with its inner aspect.