Awareness - Life - Form
GA 89
2 June 1904, Berlin
Theosophical Cosmology II
Following last Thursday’s introduction, I would now like to begin by giving you an outline of world evolution such as we are able to give on the basis of theosophical insights. Please take note that time being short, I can only give a brief outline, with many things only mentioned in passing. Perhaps we will have opportunity to go more fully into them at a later date.
Before going through the evolution of the universe and above all the development of our planet Earth in theosophical terms, we need to establish some concepts which Western people no longer have since they have been devoting themselves exclusively to physical phenomena for such a long time. It says in every book on cosmology that we only need to look out into cosmic space to see thousands upon thousands of worlds spread before us that are like our own solar system, and that our Earth, the planet on which our life has been going on for millennia, is like a tiny grain of dust among those many worlds, with the human being just a tiny life form on this grain of dust in the universe. All this, it is said, scientists have discovered since the time of Copernicus. We are told by scientists how wrong people were in earlier times when they saw the Earth as the centre of the world, believing that cosmic evolution had only been a preparation for their own human existence. It has been made very clear to us how small the human being is compared to the universe. The authors write that it is sheer presumption to think that the world was created to be the way it is just for the sake of man. Schiller spoke out against this way of looking at things most beautifully:
Don’t chatter so much about nebulas and suns! Is nature great just for giving you things to count? Your object is, of course, the most sublime in space; But, my dear friends, the sublime does not dwell in space.31Friedrich von Schiller (1759–1805), An die Astronomen.
And Goethe, whose knowledge of occult things is known to you from other lectures, said more or less the following on the subject: ‘What, after all, would be the purpose of the whole world with its solar systems and stars if it did not exist for the human being, so he may delight in it all and grow through it?’32Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832). The actual words in Goethe’s work entitled Winckehmann und sein Jahrhundert, Kapitel ‘Antikes’ are: ‘For why all the suns and planets and moons, stars and milky ways, comets and nebulae, worlds in existence and others evolving, unless ultimately there is a happy human being who innocent of all this takes delight in his existence?’ You see, people like these two, who took a truly spiritual view of the world, did not find the idea of the smallness of the human being and the dust-grain size of the world adequate.
Let us now consider cosmology and the human being in relation to the whole of evolution as we know it through theosophy. I need to say a few things first. Let us consider the position which present-day man holds in the world from the cosmological point of view. Everything we are able to perceive through the senses—be it the macroscopic senses we use every day or the more refined sensory perceptions available in science with its microscopes and dissection methods—everything we come across there in human beings is after all only the external physical human being. Those of you who have heard quite a few theosophical lectures before will know that this external human being is only the shell, an outer revelation of the actual, inner human being. What is the physical human being? If you study the anatomy you’ll find that he consists of a number of systems—the skeletal and muscular system, the nervous system, which has shaped itself into a brain, and so on. You also know that the brain is the organ of thought. As theosophists you also know that it is not the brain which does the thinking but that the brain is only a tool, so that the true essential human being only uses the brain as a tool for thinking. The spirit which thinks in the human being cannot be perceived with the tools provided by our physical senses; even someone whose astral senses have developed cannot see it. It therefore needs a well-developed sense of clairvoyance to really perceive what is truly doing the thinking in the human being. In theosophical terms we call this the true self. This inner core of essential human nature, the true self, is spiritual by nature. It does not occupy space, nor does it progress in time. It is beyond time and space, eternal. A description of this self was given in my lectures on the devachan,33 In German in Über die astrale Welt und das Devachan, GA 88. and you will also be able to find an exact description in my book Theosophy, due to appear in a few days’ time?34Chapter 9, on body, soul and spirit.
The spiritual self needs a physical brain in order to live and think in the present period of human evolution. We would be able to perceive things without a physical brain through our spiritual self in the astral world and in the devachanic or mental world, but in this external, physical world we can only perceive things with a physical brain. If we truly want to understand the human being of today, we have to say that today’s human being is a Spirit Self embodied in a physical brain. This physical brain first had to develop, however, it is not eternal like the spiritual self. The Spirit Self can be traced back to infinitely distant times in the past and we can also follow it to infinitely far distant times in the future. From a certain point in time onwards, this Spirit Self enveloped itself in the brain, creating the brain for itself in accord with its own inherent nature. Such an organ is not so easily created. It would be quite impossible for someone to create a viable brain in physical space by means of some process in the world. It would be an artificial object, but not a viable brain which a spirit might use for its instrument. Other organs had to be developed before such a brain could arise. A brain can only develop in the kind of physical body we have in the human physical body. It was therefore necessary for the development of our brain tool to be preceded by the development of the rest of the human body. Looking back on the developmental stages which preceded our present one, we see how the tool which human beings have today, the means for communication with the world around us, only evolved slowly and gradually. It is the aim and purpose of our present evolution on Earth that the human being with his spiritual self should have organs that would make it possible for him to understand the world in this particular way. Everything which has happened on this Earth through millennia has happened for the purpose that evolution might reach the point where a Spirit Self would have a brain it could use.
Just go back with me to the beginning of our development on Earth for a moment. Someone who has developed mental vision will perceive the following. At the beginning of our planetary evolution, our Spirit Self had reached a particular level in its existence. At that time, when the Earth was in its seed stage, each of us was at a particular level of development. Imagine all the spiritual selves which were, are and will be incarnated on Earth taken back to the time when our evolution on Earth began. All of you did already exist at the time, though not the way you are today but in a completely different state. We have a specific mission in our Earth evolution; human beings are intended to be something as the result of this evolution.
Let me tell you in a few words, in narrative style, what the Spirit Self was when it entered into evolution on Earth. Standing at the gates of our earthly existence, the Spirit Self had quite a different kind of consciousness from today. We can get an idea of it by entering into the position of someone in a dim dream state who is unable to reflect on the images that flit past his conscious mind and use concepts; he merely sees them put before him and proceeding before his mind’s eye in a panorama. Each individual Spirit Self had this dream level of consciousness, and this had to go through earthly evolution and evolve from the dim awareness of perceiving images to the bright, clear conceptual conscious awareness we have in the daytime. The dreamy state of consciousness which the spiritual self had at the beginning of earthly evolution may be compared to that of the animals, though the level of conscious awareness is not the same. The mission our spiritual self has to accomplish in the course of this planetary period is to let conscious awareness grow clearer and clearer; when we are going to leave this earthly evolution in the far distant future, we will have taken this bright, clear conscious awareness to its highest point.
We call the spirits that entered into earthly evolution at that time the pitris, which means ‘fathers’. We were such pitris at the time; this was the nature we had made our own at that earlier state of evolution. We had gone through preliminary stages before we entered into earthly evolution and worked our way up to the dream-like pitri state. So now we know where we ourselves had got to when earthly evolution began. The pitris had to vest themselves step by step with all the organs they needed so that they might use a physical brain within the physical bodily constitution we know today to communicate with an environment which is also physical. The final thing the human being had to achieve—this is evident from what has gone before—was that he had to become a thinking physical entity, so that his self might be able to think in the physical realm. I now come to the second idea we have to consider in advance. If you examine the brain scientifically in all its aspects, using only the senses, you will find that it consists of the same kind of matter and is controlled by the same kind of forces as all other physical entities on earth. If you look at a rock crystal, a piece of calcite or rock salt, a plant or an animal and investigate it chemically and physically, you will find that the whole of our physical nature, in so far as it can be seen by eyes and taken hold of by hands, consists in a similar way of the same chemical and physical forces which are active in the mineral, plant and animal worlds. We therefore say in theosophy that to reach his present level of development, the human being had to vest his spiritual self in a mineral body. The spiritual self created a mineral body for itself. This took a long time, and the process has not yet come to an end. In future human beings will continue to evolve in this mineral vestment. Some organs are still in the seed stage in our bodies,35 See Foundations of Esotericism (note 13). and they still need to develop. These are new senses, of which only vestiges exist at present. You see, the human being—his spiritual self—needed a long time to vest himself in the physical body which he has today.
Go back to the time when the spiritual self of man started the work of creating this mineral body for itself, a body able to walk and to stand, with all the mechanisms for growth and reproduction which are a necessity for man, with a nervous system and with the kind of brain the human being needs. Go back in your mind to the time when all this was in the early seed stage, and then move on to the time when the human being will have reached the highest point in his evolution, when an organ will have developed in the middle of his head that will enable him to have different perceptions from those we are able to have today. The whole mineral evolution of the present human being is taking place between these two points. In theosophical terminology we call such a period a ‘round’. The round I have just been describing for you, this period of evolution, is called the 'mineral round’. Yet before the human being developed this body in a way that allowed him to create the brain as a tool, he had to prepare other parts of his nature. The spiritual self, being a purely spiritual entity, could not have controlled such a mineral body just like that. Think of the spiritual self as a dot, if you like, and imagine this dot inside a mechanism such as our body; this dot would never have been able to move the mechanism, it would never be in a position to think by means of a physical brain.
We thus have two things. We know that our spiritual self had a dream-like state of consciousness in the beginning, when it would never have been able to control the mineral body. It needed to create a mediator if it was to control the body. What makes me move my hand? First of all I have the thought: I want to move my hand. If I had only the thought, this would be alive in me, but it would never be able to move a physical hand upwards, just as mere thought could not lift a bottle, for instance. If you want to move the bottle, a power would have to be added to the thought which mediates between the thought and my physical body. Such a power exists in the astral world. I would not be able to move my arm if there were not an astral power between my thought and my physical body, of which the arm is a part. This astral power acts as mediator between thought and physical body, physical arm. There has to be a mediator between my spiritual self and my physical body, and this mediator is astral by nature. If I move my leg or my hand, if I set my brain in motion to hatch ideas—my physical body must be connected with my thought by the astral body.
You know from previous lectures that the human being has such an astral body. A clairvoyant sees it in an astral cloud which we call the aura of a person, with his wishes, will impulses and desires living in it. When I have a thought, the thought is unable to do anything by itself. If wish or will impulse is added, this is a power, something shining out, which the clairvoyant is able to perceive. Before the human being developed the physical and mineral body he has today, he had to create an astral body for himself, a wish body, which can mediate between his thoughts and his physical and mineral nature. Another period of development had to precede the one which I have called the ‘mineral round’, and the astral body had to be developed in this. So you need to go back to a period when the human astral body was in preparation. It was only after this that the physical and mineral body could be embedded in the astral body. This period, which also had its beginning and end and which preceded the mineral round, is called the ‘astral round’.
So you see there are two ‘times’. We are living in one of them now, in the mineral round. It was preceded by another, the astral round. But the human astral body also needed to be prepared for. It could only be made part of human nature in a quite specific way. The astral body did not exist before we were born, and it will be gone some time after our death. It arises and disappears again, being subject to specific laws. Look at a child. The astral body of a child is correspondingly small; it grows as the child grows physically. Growth and reproduction are the basis of the mineral and physical and also the etheric nature of the human being. We have to develop according to the laws of growth and reproduction in our life on Earth. The basis for such origin and growth does not lie in the astral body. This only holds wishes, will impulses and desires. We are astral entities just as animals are, and we share a quality with plants and animals which is capable of reproducing itself out of the organism and let it grow from small to large size. If you want to put it in words, you may say that what I have been describing is the configuring principle, which configures the form. Our physical body and our ether body must have a specific configuration as they arise, and this must be able to grow and enlarge. You can get an idea of this if you consider a seed ... [gap in the notes].
The power of configuration does not belong to the astral sphere. The astral is able to live to the full within something that has been configured, but it first needs to be configured itself. The human astral body could not have arisen if it had not been preceded by a period of evolution during which the human form was prepared. Let me call this the configuring period, in theosophical terms the ‘rupa round’. This is the period during which the configuration of the human form was prepared for, so that his present form could then evolve.
Everything we are able to follow up in these three ‘rounds’ are the vestments enveloping the spiritual self of man. In the mineral round the human being put on the mineral vestment. In the astral round which went before this, the human being prepared the astral vestment, and in the rupa round, which came even earlier, the human being gained the ability to give himself the configuration which he needed if he was to perceive, think and act as a human being.
As theosophers we can say: When we were pitris, living in that dream-like state of consciousness at the beginning of our evolution on Earth, we were outcome, fruit, if I may put it like this. We did not come from nothing at the time, but had already gone through stages of development; we were the result of earlier periods which we will describe later. Very much as a plant sprouts from a seed when this is put into new soil in spring, so we, too, have to prepare for the arena which is the Earth, so that we might be able to evolve on it. We were the outcome of another world, and now had to be the beginning of a completely new world. Yet we first had to get our bearings in this new world. You may keep a seed obtained in autumn through the winter and then put it in new soil in the spring, and that is also how pitri nature does it, in a way. It must first be put into a new environment, into a form of matter in the earthly world which had not existed in earlier planetary periods. If you wanted to get an idea of the forces and forms of matter existing at the earlier planetary stage in which we evolved into pitris, you would find them very different. This means that yet another period of evolution must have preceded that one, a period when the human Spirit Self, having come across from an earlier period, first of all had to get used to the new environment. This, then, takes us to a period of evolution that goes very far back.
The further we go away from the present, the harder is it to form ideas. A theosopher does not think he can go back to the beginning of the world with his questions. When people hear something about theosophy for the first time they’ll often ask: ‘How did the world come into existence?’36See part 2 of this volume. As theosophers we are no longer able to ask quite a number of those questions, for we do not get back to a beginning. You saw the time when we came across from pitri nature. A clairvoyant is able to study this time by using specific methods. But the human being did not come into existence then, for he had already reached a particular level of development by that time. A theosopher does not speculate or think about these things in abstract terms. He pursues the things to be learned, his experiences, intuitions in the supersensible sphere, and he will tell of anything learned and experienced. Just as an explorer would only describe the regions he has visited, let us say in Africa, and not anything which he has not seen, so a theosopher would not say anything about the beginning of the world which is far, far away. A theosopher can only follow our evolution for some distance, and we do this through what we learn and not through speculation.
A seed entered into our evolution from an earlier time. The human being was a formless seed on Earth. We call this time the ‘arupa round’ or ‘formless round’. Thus we have four periods of time up to the point where we are now. We call them ‘rounds’. The first, second and third rounds have passed. We are now in the fourth round, and three more will follow. We will speak of these later. We call the human being of the fourth round the human being of the mineral world, because he has configured himself in the mineral forces. We call someone of the preceding round, the astral round, when he was able to shape his astral body, a human being of the third elemental world. We distinguish human beings of the third, second and first elementals worlds. During the first elemental world, or the first round, human thoughts moved in formless thought matter. During the second elemental world, or the second round, human thoughts moved in configured thought matter. And in the third elemental world, human thoughts could be configured to wish level; they were able to assume the configuration we are able to perceive as astral rays in the astral world. It was only in the fourth round that the human being reached the point where he could control the mineral world. Just as a human astral brain developed from astral matter in the third round, so the human being was able to create a physical brain for himself in the fourth round that allows him to think.
We thus have three elemental worlds and the mineral world. The three elemental worlds are where the human being of the past lived. What follows can only be touched on lightly. But you’ll be able to grasp it if we use analogy. Our present round will be followed by another, when the human being will reach an even higher level of evolution. He will then be able to think not only in his physical brain, but in the power which we call the astral power. He will be able to control not only physical matter but also the astral power. To make this clearer, let me give you an example. If I want to move this glass from here to here, I need physical mediation—my hand. The human being of the fourth round has reached the point where he can act with conscious deliberation in the physical, the mineral world. He is not yet, however, capable of conscious control of the astral power and has not yet developed an astral organ for the will. He will be able to do this in the fifth round. The human being of the fifth round will be able to control the astral world just as he is today able to control the physical world. In the sixth round the human being will have progressed even further. He will then be able to control the configuring world, just as today he controls the physical world and in the fifth round will be able to control the astral world. In the fifth round the human being will be able to fulfil a wish not just in the place where he has it. He will be able to send his wishes to distant places. In the sixth round the human being will have the power to configure. He will then be able to control rupa power himself. After the sixth round our earthly evolution will have been completed. The human being will then have taken in everything he is able to learn on Earth. Only then will he have gained a real, clear self-awareness. He will then no longer need mediation, having reaching his goal. In the seventh round the human being, having reached his goal, will again be formless. He will, however, have taken in all the things which he had to learn.
The human being has to go through seven rounds. I have only been able to give an approximate description of these. One thing we must remember is that the human being and the Earth have not been physical for the whole of our mineral round. They had to reach this state first, assuming it in order to become physically perceptible. We look back from our mineral round to the other stages of development. We are able to perceive that we are looking at a seven-stage evolution of our Earth, and that the Spirit Self had to go through seven levels or rounds. During each of these rounds the Spirit Self was in one of the natural worlds. Let us look at the human being. He has gone through the first, second and third elemental worlds and is now in the fourth round, which is our present world.
The next time we meet I will show that only the human being reaches the mineral stage during this fourth round. Today’s mineral matter, unenlivened natural matter such as rock crystal, calcite and so on, reached the peak of its evolution in the first round. The plants of today reached their peak in the second round, and today’s animals did so in the third round. The human being achieved physical and mineral evolution in the fourth round.
We thus see that millennia ago another Earth preceded our own. The mineral world then arose. The human being was then only in his first elemental world. In the second round, plant nature evolved; both mineral and plant nature then existed, with the human being in his second elemental world. Then came the third round, when animal nature became part of earthly evolution. The human being as such was still astral then and not yet able to descend into mineral embodiment. In the fourth round, finally, with mineral, plant and animal already extant, the human being was able to achieve embodiment in the mineral principle. We thus have four worlds side by side in the four rounds: the mineral world in the first, the plant world in the second, the animal world in the third and the human world in the fourth round. The human world sent the other three worlds ahead as preparatory stages. Goethe was right, therefore, to ask: ‘What would the whole of nature be if it did not have the human being for its goal?’ This great cosmic process had to be instituted; the human being had to evolve through three rounds so that he might assume mineral form in the fourth. The human being has been the creator, the co-creator, though his form was not visible. As pitri, he came across from another period of evolution. We worked on those first rounds in a dream-like state of consciousness. We worked to prepare for the creation of our Earth, so that a world would arise that could be the basis for our evolution.
This is the process of Earth evolution from a beginning (which I have been able to show you today) to the point in time where we are now. We will add to this the next time we meet.
Zweiter Vortrag
Nach den einleitenden Bemerkungen vom letzten Donnerstag möchte ich nun damit beginnen, Ihnen eine Skizze der Weltentwicklung zu geben, so wie wir sie nach unseren theosophischen Erkenntnissen geben können. Ich bitte Sie zu berücksichtigen, daß ich, weil wir nur ein paar Stunden zur Verfügung haben, nur eine kurze Skizze geben kann, in der manches nur angedeutet werden kann. Es wird sich vielleicht eine Gelegenheit ergeben, dies später weiter auszuführen.
Bevor wir im theosophischen Sinne die Entwicklungsgeschichte des Weltalls und vor allen Dingen die Bildung unseres irdischen Planeten verfolgen, müssen wir uns einige Begriffe aneignen, welche der abendländische Mensch dadurch, daß er so lange Zeit hindurch sich ausschließlich mit physischen Erscheinungen befaßt hat, gar nicht mehr hat. In jedem Buche, das von Kosmologie handelt, wird ja immer wieder darauf hingewiesen, daß wir nur einen Blick in den Weltenraum zu senden brauchen, um zu sehen, wie Tausende und Abertausende von Welten vor unseren Blicken sich ausbreiten, die so wie unser eigenes Sonnensystem sind, und daß unsere Erde, der Planet, auf dem unser Leben seit Millionen von Jahren sich abspielte, sich wie ein kleines Staubkörnchen innerhalb dieser vielen Welten ausnehme; und wie ein winziges Lebewesen auf diesem Staubkörnchen im Weltenall nehme sich der Mensch dabei aus. Das alles hätte die Naturwissenschaft seit dem Heraufkommen der kopernikanischen Theorie erkannt. Es wird uns gesagt von der Wissenschaft, wie falsch es gewesen sei, daß der Mensch in alten Zeiten die Erde als Mittelpunkt der Welt angesehen und geglaubt habe, das, was kosmisch geschehen sei, sei nur eine Vorbereitung für das eigene menschliche Dasein. Es wurde uns eingeschärft von der Wissenschaft, wie klein der Mensch ist gegenüber dem Weltenall. Es sei eine Überheblichkeit des Menschen zu glauben, daß die Welt um seinetwillen so gestaltet sei, wie sie gestaltet ist. Schon Schiller hat ja gegen diese Anschauung und Empfindungsweise die schönen Worte «An die Astronomen» gerichtet:
Schwatzet mir nicht so viel von Nebelflecken und Sonnen!
Ist die Natur nur groß, weil sie zu zählen euch gibt?
Euer Gegenstand ist der erhabenste freilich im Raume;
Aber, Freunde, im Raum wohnt das Erhabene nicht.
Und Goethe, von dem Sie ja aus anderen Vorträgen wissen, daß er okkultes Wissen hatte, drückt seine Gedanken über diesen Punkt etwa so aus: Wozu wäre doch endlich die ganze Welt mit ihren Sonnensystemen und Sternen, wenn sie nicht auf den Menschen hinzielt, daß er sich an alldem erbauen und erfreuen könnte? — Sie sehen, Menschen mit einer wahren geistigen Weltanschauung wie diese beiden, konnten sich nicht begnügen mit der Idee von der Winzigkeit des Menschen und der Staubkörnchenhaftigkeit der Welt.
Lassen Sie uns jetzt im Sinne der Theosophie die Kosmologie und den Menschen in seinem Verhältnis zur ganzen Entwicklungsgeschichte betrachten. Einige Vorstellungen muß ich da vorausschicken. Sehen wir uns einmal an, welche Stellung der gegenwärtige Mensch vom kosmologischen Standpunkt aus in der Welt einnimmt. Alles das, was der Mensch mit den Sinnen erfassen kann — seien es die groben Sinne des Alltags oder die feineren, die die Naturwissenschaft mit ihren Mikroskopen und Zergliederungsmethoden uns bieten kann -, alles das, was uns da am Menschen entgegentritt, ist schließlich nur der äußere, physische Mensch. Diejenigen, die schon häufiger theosophische Vorträge gehört haben, wissen, daß dieser äußere Mensch nur die Hülle, die äußere Offenbarung des eigentlichen, inneren Menschen ist. Was ist nun der physische Mensch? Wenn Sie anatomisch den physischen Menschen studieren, dann werden Sie finden, daß er aus verschiedenen Systemen besteht: aus dem Knochen- und dem Muskelsystem, aus dem Nervensystem, das sich zu einem Gehirn geformt hat, und so weiter. Sie wissen auch, daß das Gehirn das Organ des Denkens ist. Als Theosophen wissen Sie auch, daß nicht das Gehirn es ist, das denkt, sondern daß das Gehirn nur Werkzeug ist, also daß das eigentliche Wesen des Menschen sich des Gehirns nur als eines Denkwerkzeuges bedient. Dieses Wesen, das im Menschen denkt, kann man nicht mit physischen Sinneswerkzeugen wahrnehmen; das kann sogar derjenige noch nicht sehen, dessen astrale Sinne erschlossen sind. Es gehört schon ein sehr ausgebildeter Hellsehersinn dazu, um wirklich wahrnehmen zu können, was da eigentlich im Menschen denkt. Im theosophischen Sinne bezeichnen wir das, was im Menschen denkt, als das wahre Selbst des Menschen. Dieser innere Wesenskern, dieses wahre Selbst des Menschen, ist geistiger Natur. Es ist nicht etwas, das sich im Raume ausdehnt und nicht etwas, das in der Zeit dahinfließt. Es ist zeitlos und raumlos, es besteht über Zeit und Raum hinaus, es ist ewig. Sie haben von diesem Selbst eine Beschreibung in meinen Vorträgen über das Devachan erhalten, und Sie werden eine genaue Beschreibung finden können in meinem in den nächsten Tagen herauskommenden Buche über «Theosophie».
Um in dieser gegenwärtigen Entwicklungsepoche der Menschheit leben und denken zu können, braucht das geistige Selbst ein physisches Gehirn. Wir könnten mit diesem geistigen Selbst in der astralen Welt und in der devachanischen oder mentalen Welt wahrnehmen ohne physisches Gehirn, aber in dieser äußeren, physischen Welt können wir nur mit dem physischen Gehirn wahrnehmen. Wenn wir den gegenwärtigen Menschen richtig verstehen wollen, so müssen wir sagen: Der gegenwärtige Mensch ist ein Geistesselbst, verkörpert in einem physischen Gehirn. Dieses physische Gehirn mußte aber erst entstehen, es mußte sich erst entwikkeln, es ist nicht ewig wie das geistige Selbst. Das Geistesselbst können wir zurückverfolgen bis in unendlich ferne Zeiten der Vergangenheit und auch verfolgen bis in unendlich ferne Zeiten der Zukunft. Ab einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt hat sich dieses Geistesselbst umkleidet mit dem Gehirn, es hat sich das Gehirn anerschaffen, es hat, seiner eigenen Wesenheit entsprechend, dieses Gehirn gebildet. Man kann ein solches Organ in der physischen Natur nicht so ohne weiteres bilden. Das wäre ganz unmöglich, daß durch irgendeinen Prozeß der Welt jetzt jemand ein lebensfähiges Gehirn in den Raum hinein erschaffen würde. Es würde ein künstliches Ding sein, aber kein lebensfähiges Gehirn, dessen sich ein Geist als Werkzeug bedienen könnte. Dazu, daß ein solches Gehirn entstehen konnte, mußten sich zuvor andere Organe entwickeln. Ein Gehirn kann nur in einem solchen physischen Leib, wie der Menschenleib es ist, sich entwickeln. Deshalb war es notwendig, daß der Entwicklung unseres Gehirnwerkzeuges die Entwicklung des übrigen Menschenleibes vorausging. Wenn wir zurückblicken auf die Entwicklungsstadien, die unseren jetzigen vorangegangen sind, so sehen wir, wie langsam und allmählich sich das erst herausgebildet hat, was heute der Mensch als sein Werkzeug besitzt, durch das er sich mit seiner Umwelt verständigt. Das, verehrte Anwesende, daß der Mensch mit seinem geistigen Selbst solche Organe bekam, die ihn in dieser Art zum Verständnis der Welt führen konnten, das ist Ziel und Zweck unserer gegenwärtigen irdischen Entwicklung. Alles, was auf dieser Erde seit Jahrmillionen geschehen ist, ist zu dem Ziele geschehen, daß die Entwicklung den Punkt erreichen kann, in dem ein Geistesselbst sich eines Gehirns bedienen kann.
Versetzen Sie sich einmal einen Augenblick mit mir zurück an den Anfangspunkt unserer irdischen Entwicklung. Derjenige, dessen mentales Schauen ausgebildet ist, wird folgende Wahrnehmung vor sich haben: Am Beginn unserer planetarischen Entwicklung hatte unser Geistesselbst eine bestimmte Stufe seines Daseins erreicht. Jeder von uns war damals, als die Erde in ihrem Keimzustand war, auf einer bestimmten Stufe der Entwicklung. Sie können sich alle die geistigen Selbste, die auf unserer Erde heute verkörpert sind, waren oder sein werden, zurückversetzt denken in den Zeitpunkt, wo unsere irdische Entwicklung begonnen hat. Sie alle waren damals schon vorhanden, allerdings nicht so, wie Sie heute sind, sondern in einem ganz anderen Zustande. In der irdischen Entwicklung haben wir eine ganz bestimmte Aufgabe; der Mensch muß durch diese irdische Entwicklung etwas werden. Lassen Sie mich in erzählender Form mit wenigen Worten andeuten, was das Geistesselbst war, als es eintrat in die irdische Entwicklung. Als es vor den Toren unseres irdischen Daseins stand, da hatte unser Geistesselbst ein ganz anderes Bewußtsein, als wir es heute haben. Wir können uns das begreiflich machen, wenn wir uns in die Lage eines dumpf Träumenden versetzen, der nicht imstande ist, über die Bilder, welche vor seinem Bewußtsein vorbeihuschen, in Begriffen nachzudenken, sondern sie einfach vor sich hingestellt hat und sie wie ein Panorama vor sich abspielen sieht. Jedes einzelne Geistesselbst hatte dieses Traumbewußtsein, und das mußte durch die irdische Entwicklung hindurchgehen und muß auch durch fernere Entwicklungen hindurchgehen, um sich aus dem dumpfen Bewußtsein des bildhaften Anschauens zu entwickeln zum hellen, klaren, begrifflichen Tagesbewußtsein. Der traumartige. Bewußtseinszustand, in dem das geistige Selbst am Anfang der irdischen Entwicklung war, ist vergleichbar dem des Tieres, aber die Bewußtseinshöhe ist nicht dieselbe. Das ist die Aufgabe, die unser geistiges Selbst während des Ganges dieser planetarischen Periode zu leisten hat, daß das Bewußtsein immer heller und heller wird; und wenn wir in ferner Zukunft herausgehen werden aus dieser irdischen Entwicklung, werden wir dieses helle, klare Bewußtsein bis zum höchsten Gipfel gebracht haben.
Die Wesenheiten, die damals in die irdische Entwicklung eingetreten sind, nennen wir «Pitris», das heißt «Väter». Solche Pitris waren wir damals; diese Natur haben wir uns angeeignet gehabt in dem früheren Zustande der Entwicklung. Bevor wir in die irdische Entwicklung eingetreten sind, haben wir schon Vorstufen durchgemacht, und wir haben uns heraufgearbeitet bis zum traumhaften Zustande des Pitri. Nun wissen wir also, wo wir selbst gestanden haben, als die irdische Entwicklung begann. Die Pitris mußten sich stufenweise mit all denjenigen Organen umgeben, die sie brauchten, um mittels eines physischen Gehirns innerhalb derjenigen physischen Körperlichkeit, die wir heute kennen, sich mit der Umwelt, die auch eine physische ist, verständigen zu können. Das letzte, was der Mensch erreichen mußte — das geht aus den vorhergehenden Betrachtungen hervor -, war: er mußte, damit sein Selbst im Physischen denken kann, selbst ein physisches Denkwesen werden.
Und nun komme ich zu der zweiten Vorstellung, die ich vorausschicken muß. Wenn Sie das Gehirn prüfen, wenn Sie es in wissenschaftlicher Weise nach allen Seiten untersuchen, dann werden Sie finden, daß dieses menschliche Gehirn, wenn es bloß mit den Sinnen untersucht wird, aus denselben Stoffen besteht und durch dieselben Kräfte gelenkt wird wie die übrigen physischen Wesen auf der Erde. Wenn Sie einen Bergkristall, ein Stück Kalkspat, ein Stück Steinsalz, eine Pflanze, ein Tier ansehen und sie chemisch und physikalisch untersuchen, so werden Sie finden, daß die ganze physische Natur, insofern sie mit Augen gesehen, mit Händen gegriffen werden kann, in gleichartiger Weise aus denselben chemischen und physikalischen Kräften besteht, die eben im Mineralreich, im Pflanzen- und im Tierreich wirken. Deshalb sagen wir in der Theosophie: Damit der Mensch seine gegenwärtige Stufe der Entwicklung erreichen konnte, mußte er sein spirituelles Selbst umkleiden mit einem mineralischen Körper. Das geistige Selbst hat sich einen mineralischen Körper anerschaffen. Das brauchte eine lange Zeit, und dieser Prozeß ist auch heute noch nicht abgeschlossen. Der Mensch wird in der Zukunft noch weiter in dieser mineralischen Hülle sich entwickeln. Es gibt noch keimhafte Organe in unserem Körper, die sich erst ausbilden müssen, neue Sinne, die heute erst andeutungsweise vorhanden sind. Sie sehen, eine lange Zeit brauchte der Mensch - sein geistiges Selbst -, um sich zu umkleiden mit dem physischen Körper, den er heute hat.
Versetzen Sie sich nun in den Zeitpunkt, wo das geistige Selbst des Menschen begonnen hat mit der Arbeit, sich diesen mineralischen Körper zu bilden, der gehen und stehen kann, der alle Wachstums- und Fortpflanzungsverrichtungen hat, wie sie für den Menschen eine Notwendigkeit sind, der ein Nervensystem hat und ein Gehirn, wie der Mensch es braucht. Versetzen Sie sich zurück in die Zeit, wo das alles in einem ersten Keimzustand war, und dann versetzen Sie sich in eine Zeit, wo der Mensch den höchsten Punkt seiner Entwicklung erreicht haben wird, wo in der Mitte seines Kopfes ein Organ sich entwickelt haben wird, durch das er andere Wahrnehmungen wird machen können, als wir es heute können. In dem Zeitabschnitt zwischen diesen beiden Punkten verläuft die ganze mineralische Entwicklung des gegenwärtigen Menschen. Einen solchen Zeitabschnitt nennen wir in der theosophischen Ausdrucksweise eine «Runde». Die Runde, die ich Ihnen jetzt beschrieben habe, diesen Entwicklungsabschnitt, nennen wir die «mineralische Runde». Bevor der Mensch aber diesen Körper so ausbildete, um sich das Werkzeug des Gehirns zu schaffen, mußte er erst andere Teile seines Wesens vorbereiten. Das geistige Selbst, dieses rein spirituelle Wesen, hätte nicht einfach einen solchen mineralischen Körper dirigieren können. Denken Sie sich das geistige Selbst meinetwillen als einen Punkt, und denken Sie sich den Punkt im Innern eines Mechanismus, wie es unser Körper ist; dieser Punkt würde nimmermehr den Mechanismus bewegen können, er würde nimmermehr imstande sein, durch ein physisches Gehirn zu denken.
Somit haben wir zweierlei: Wir wissen, daß unser geistiges Selbst im Anfang ein traumhaftes Bewußtsein hatte, niemals aber hätte es den mineralischen Körper dirigieren können. Es mußte sich einen Vermittler schaffen, um den Körper bewegen zu können. Wodurch bewege ich meine Hand? Ich fasse zuerst den Gedanken: Ich will die Hand bewegen. - Hätte ich bloß den Gedanken, so würde der Gedanke zwar in mir leben, aber er würde nie eine physische Hand in die Höhe bewegen können, geradesowenig, wie der bloße Gedanke zum Beispiel eine Flasche in die Höhe heben könnte. Wollen Sie die Flasche bewegen, so müßte zu dem Gedanken noch eine Kraft hinzukommen, die der Vermittler ist zwischen dem Gedanken und meinem physischen Körper. Und diese Kraft nennen wir eine astralische Kraft. Das ist eine Kraft, wie es sie in der astralen Welt gibt. Ich würde meinen Arm nicht bewegen können, wenn nicht zwischen meinem Gedanken und meinem physischen Körper, zu dem mein Arm gehört, in mir eine astrale Kraft wäre, die den Vermittler bildet zwischen meinem Gedanken und meinem physischen Körper, meinem physischen Arm. Es muß zwischen meinem geistigen Selbst und meinem physischen Körper ein Vermittler da sein, und dieser Vermittler ist von astralischer Wesenheit. Ob ich mein Bein, meine Hand bewege, ob ich mein Gehirn in Bewegung bringe, um Gedanken auszuhecken — mein physischer Körper muß durch den astralischen Organismus verbunden sein mit meinem Gedanken.
Sie wissen aus früheren Vorträgen, daß der Mensch einen solchen Astralkörper hat, den der Hellseher in einer astralen Wolke sieht, die wir seine Aura nennen, in der seine Wünsche, sein Wollen und seine Begierden leben. Fasse ich einen Gedanken, so ist der Gedanke allein ohnmächtig, etwas zu tun. Tritt dazu der Wunsch, der Wille, so ist dies eine Kraft, eine Strahlung, die für den Hellseher erkennbar ist. Der Mensch mußte, bevor er einen physischmineralischen Körper aufbaute, wie er ihn heute hat, erst einen Astralkörper sich schaffen, einen Wunschkörper, welcher der Vermittler sein kann zwischen seinem Gedanken und seinem physischmineralischen Wesen. Es mußte der Entwicklungsepoche, welche ich die «mineralische Runde» genannt habe, eine andere Entwicklungsepoche vorangegangen sein, die den Astralkörper zur Entwicklung gebracht hat. Sie müssen sich also zurückversetzen in eine Epoche, die den menschlichen Astralleib vorbereitet hat. Dann erst konnte dem Astralleib der mineralisch-physische Leib eingebettet werden. Diese Epoche, die wiederum einen Anfangs- und einen Endpunkt hat und die der mineralischen Runde vorausging, nennen wir die «astralische Runde».
Sie sehen, wir haben zwei «Zeiten». Die eine ist diejenige, in welcher wir jetzt leben: die mineralische Runde. Dieser ist eine andere vorangegangen, das ist die astralische Runde. Aber der menschliche Astralkörper brauchte selbst wieder eine Vorbereitung. Es ist nur in einer ganz bestimmten Art und Weise möglich, diesen innerhalb der menschlichen Natur einzubauen. Der Astralkörper war ja nicht da, bevor wir geboren wurden, und er wird nicht mehr da sein einige Zeit nach unserem Tode. Er entsteht und vergeht, er ist bestimmten Gesetzen des Entstehens und Vergehens unterworfen. Sehen Sie sich ein Kind an. Beim Kind ist der Astralkörper entsprechend klein; er wächst mit dem körperlichen Wachstum des Kindes. Der mineralisch-physischen und der ätherischen Wesenheit des Menschen liegen Wachstum und Fortpflanzung zugrunde. Es sind die Gesetze des Wachstums und der Fortpflanzung, nach denen der Mensch sich innerhalb des irdischen Lebens entwickeln muß. Daß wir entstehen und wachsen, daß wir überhaupt lebendige Wesen sind, das liegt nicht in unserem Astralkörper begründet. Im Astralkörper liegen nur Wünsche und Wollen und Begierden. Wir sind astrale Wesenheiten, wie auch die Tiere astrale Wesenheiten sind, und wir haben mit den Pflanzen und den Tieren diejenige Wesenheit gemeinsam, die imstande ist, aus dem Organismus heraus ihresgleichen hervorzubringen, diese vom Kleinen zum Großen wachsen zu machen. Wenn Sie dafür einen Ausdruck haben wollen, so können Sie sagen: Das, was ich beschrieben habe, ist das Gestaltgebende, das die Gestalt Formende. Unser physischer und unser ätherischer Körper müssen eine ganz bestimmte Gestalt bei ihrer Entstehung haben, und diese muß wachsen und sich vergrößern können. Sie können sich davon einen Begriff machen, wenn Sie ein Samenkorn nehmen ... [Lücke in der Nachschrift].
Die Gestaltungskraft gehört nicht zum Astralen. Das Astrale kann sich innerhalb des Gestalteten ausleben, aber es muß erst selbst gestaltet werden. Der Astralkörper des Menschen hätte nicht entstehen können, wenn ihm nicht vorangegangen wäre eine andere Entwicklungsepoche, diejenige Epoche, wo die Gestalt des Menschen vorbereitet worden ist. Diese Epoche lassen Sie mich die gestaltende Epoche nennen, theosophisch die «Rupa-Runde». Es ist diejenige Epoche, in der die Gestalt des Menschen vorbereitet worden ist, so daß seine jetzige Form sich hat bilden können.
Alles, was wir in diesen drei «Runden» verfolgen können, sind die Umkleidungen, die Hüllen für das geistige Selbst des Menschen. In der mineralischen Runde hat sich das Menschenwesen mit der mineralischen Hülle umkleidet. In der vorangehenden Epoche, der astralischen Runde, hat sich das Menschenwesen seine astrale Hülle zubereitet, und in der noch weiter vorhergegangenen Epoche, der Rupa-Runde, hat das Menschenwesen die Fähigkeit erlangt, sich die Gestalt zu geben, die es braucht, um als Mensch wahrnehmen, denken und handeln zu können.
Als Theosophen können wir sagen: Als wir noch Pitris waren, als wir noch in diesem traumhaften Bewußtsein lebten, am Anfang unserer irdischen Entwicklung, damals waren wir, wenn ich so sagen darf Ergebnis, Frucht. Wir sind damals nicht aus dem Nichts heraus entstanden, sondern wir hatten uns bis zu diesem Zustande auch schon entwickelt; wir waren ein Resultat früherer Epochen, die wir noch beschreiben werden. In ähnlicher Weise wie aus dem Samenkorn, wenn es im Frühling in neues Erdreich kommt, eine Pflanze emporschießt, so mußten auch wir uns für den Schauplatz der Erde erst vorbereitet haben, um uns dort entwickeln zu können. Wir waren das Ergebnis einer anderen Welt, und nun mußten wir der Anfang werden für eine ganz neue Welt, aber in diese mußten wir uns selbst erst hineinfinden. Ebenso, wie Sie ein Samenkorn, das sie im Herbst bekommen, überwintern lassen und im Frühling in neuen Boden hineinversenken, so verhält sich gleichsam die Pitri-Natur. Sie muß erst hineingesenkt werden in eine neue Umgebung, in die Stoffe der irdischen Welt, die in der früheren planetarischen Epoche nicht vorhanden waren. Wollten Sie sich eine Vorstellung davon machen, was für Kräfte und Stoffe auf der früheren planetarischen Stufe vorhanden waren, auf der wir uns zum Pitri entwickelt haben, dann würden Sie dort ganz andere Kräfte und Stoffe finden. Daher mußte dieser Entwicklungepoche wiederum eine andere vorangegangen sein, in der zunächst sich einmal das Geistesselbst des Menschen, das sich herübergebracht hat aus einer früheren Epoche, an das neue Milieu, an die neue Umgebung gewöhnen mußte. Wir kommen hier schon. zu einer weit zurückliegenden Entwicklungsepoche.
Je mehr wir uns von der Gegenwart entfernen, desto schwieriger wird es, sich Vorstellungen zu bilden. Der Theosoph hat nicht den Glauben, daß er bis an den Anfang der Welt mit seinen Fragen zurückgehen kann. Wenn Menschen zum ersten Male etwas von Theosophie hören, so wird oft gefragt: Wie ist eigentlich die Welt entstanden? — Ein gut Teil solcher Fragen können wir als Theosophen nicht mehr stellen, denn wir kommen nicht an einen Anfang. Sie haben den Zeitpunkt gesehen, an dem wir herübergekommen sind von der Pitri-Natur. Der Hellseher kann diesen Zeitpunkt verfolgen durch bestimmte Methoden. Aber der Mensch ist nicht erst damals entstanden, er war damals schon auf einer gewissen Höhe der Entwicklung. Der Theosoph gibt sich nicht Spekulationen hin, er denkt nicht in abstrakten Begriffen über diese Dinge nach. Er verfolgt seine Erfahrungen, seine Intuitionen, seine Erlebnisse auf dem übersinnlichen Gebiete, und soweit er Erfahrungen und Erlebnisse hat, soweit erzählt er diese. Ebensowenig, wie ein Forschungsreisender auf irdischem Gebiete etwas anderes tun würde, als die Gegenden zu beschreiben, die er gesehen hat, sagen wir von Afrika, und nicht etwas anderes beschreibt, was er nicht gesehen hat, ebensowenig wird der Theosoph etwas über den Weltenanfang sagen, der weit, weit zurückliegt. Der Theosoph kann nur ein Stück unserer Entwicklung verfolgen, und dieses Stück verfolgen wir durch Erfahrungen und nicht durch Spekulation.
Ein Keim war es, der aus früherer Zeit herüberkam in unsere Entwicklung hinein. Ein gestaltloser Erdenkeim ist der Mensch gewesen. Diesen Zeitpunkt nennen wir die «Arupa-Runde», die formlose Runde. So haben wir vier Zeitabschnitte bis zu dem, in dem wir heute stehen. Wir nennen diese Zeitabschnitte «Runden». Die erste, zweite, dritte Runde sind verflossen; in der vierten Runde stehen wir jetzt darin, und drei weitere Runden werden folgen, von denen wir noch zu sprechen haben werden. Wir nennen den Menschen der vierten Runde den Menschen des Mineralreiches, weil er sich in den mineralischen Kräften gestaltet hat; und wir nennen einen Menschen der vorhergehenden Runde, der astralen Runde, in der er seinen Astralkörper formen konnte, einen Menschen des dritten Elementarreiches. Wir unterscheiden den Menschen des dritten, zweiten und ersten Elementarreiches. Während des ersten Elementarreiches oder der ersten Runde bewegten sich die Gedanken des Menschen in einer formlosen Gedankenmaterie. Während des zweiten Elementarreiches oder der zweiten Runde bewegten sich die menschlichen Gedanken in gestalteter Gedankenmaterie. Und im dritten Elementarreiche konnten sich die menschlichen Gedanken schon gestalten bis zum Wunsche; sie konnten jene Gestalt annehmen, die wir als astrale Strahlen verfolgen können in der astralen Welt. Erst in der vierten Runde ist der Mensch soweit, daß er das Mineralreich beherrscht. So wie in der dritten Runde aus der Astralmaterie sich gebildet hat ein menschliches Astralgehirn, so konnte der Mensch in der vierten Runde sich ein physisches Gehirn bilden, in dem er denken kann.
Wir haben also drei Elementarreiche und das Mineralreich. In den drei Elementarreichen lebte der Mensch der Vergangenheit. Das folgende kann ich nur andeuten, Sie werden es aber aufgrund der Analogie begreifen können. Auf unsere jetzige Runde wird eine andere folgen, wo der Mensch eine noch höhere Entwicklungsstufe erreichen wird. Er wird dann nicht nur in seinem physischen Gehirn denken können, sondern in derjenigen Kraft, die wir die astralische Kraft nennen. Da wird der Mensch imstande sein, nicht nur die physische Materie zu beherrschen, sondern er wird auch imstande sein, die astralische Kraft zu beherrschen. Ich will Ihnen zur Verdeutlichung dafür ein Beispiel geben: Will ich heute das Glas von hier nach da stellen, so brauche ich eine physische Vermittlung - meine Hand. So weit hat es der Mensch der vierten Runde gebracht, daß er in der physischen, in der mineralischen Welt.bewußt handeln kann. Er kann aber noch nicht die astralische Kraft bewußt handhaben, er hat noch nicht ein astrales Willensorgan entwickelt. Das wird er aber in der fünften Runde können. Der Mensch der fünften Runde wird die astralische Welt ebenso beherrschen können, wie er heute die physische Welt beherrscht. In der sechsten Runde wird der Mensch noch weiter sein. Er wird dann die gestaltende Welt beherrschen können, wie er heute die physische Welt beherrscht und in der fünften Runde die astralische Welt beherrschen wird. In der fünften Runde wird der Mensch einen Wunsch nicht nur an dem Orte vollziehen können, an dem gewünscht wird. Er wird seine Wünsche nach fernen Orten senden können. In der sechsten Runde wird der Mensch selbst gestalten können. Er wird dann die Rupa-Kraft selbst beherrschen können. Nach der sechsten Runde wird unsere irdische Entwicklung ihre Vollendung erreicht haben, und erst dann wird der Mensch in sich selber alles aufgenommen haben, was er auf der Erde hat lernen können. Erst dann wird er im wahren Sinne des Wortes zu seinem wirklichen, klaren Selbstbewußtsein gekommen sein. Er braucht dann keine Vermittlung mehr; er ist unmittelbar an seinem Ziele angelangt. In der siebenten Runde hat der Mensch sein Ziel erreicht. Formlos wird er wieder sein. Aber alles, was er zu lernen hatte, wird er aufgenommen haben.
Sieben Runden hat der Mensch durchzumachen. Nur ungefähr konnte ich diese sieben Runden beschreiben. Nun müssen wir noch eines festhalten: Während unserer mineralischen Runde waren der Mensch und die Erde nicht immer physisch, sondern sie mußten sich erst zu diesem Zustand hinentwickeln, sie mußten diesen Zustand erst annehmen, um physisch wahrnehmbar zu werden. Von unserer mineralischen Runde blicken wir zurück auf die anderen Entwicklungsstufen. Wir können dabei verfolgen, daß wir es mit einer siebenstufigen Entwicklung unserer Erde zu tun haben und daß das Geistesselbst sieben Stufen oder Runden durchzumachen hatte. Während jeder dieser sieben Runden war das Geistesselbst in einem der Naturreiche. - Sehen wir den Menschen an. Er ist durch das erste, zweite, dritte Elementarreich hindurchgegangen und befindet sich jetzt in der vierten Runde, welche unsere gegenwärtige Welt ist.
Nun werde ich das nächste Mal zeigen, daß nur der Mensch während dieser vierten Runde die mineralische Stufe erreicht. Das aber, was heute Mineral ist, was unbelebter Naturstoff ist, was Bergkristall, Kalkspat und so weiter ist, hat die Höhe seiner Entwicklung bereits während der ersten Runde erreicht. Das, was heute Pflanze ist, hat während der zweiten Runde die Höhe seiner Entwicklung erreicht, und das, was das heutige Tier ist, hat während der dritten Runde seine Entwicklungshöhe erreicht. Der Mensch hat seine physisch-mineralische Entwicklung während der vierten Runde erreicht.
Wir sehen also, unserer Erde ging vor Jahrmillionen eine andere voraus. Damals entstand das mineralische Reich. Der Mensch war aber erst im ersten Elementarreiche. In der zweiten Runde trat die Pflanzennatur auf; nun waren schon vorhanden Mineralisches und Pflanzennatur; der Mensch war damals im zweiten Elementarreich. Es kommt die dritte Runde, das Tierische wird aufgenommen in die irdische Entwickelung. Der Mensch als solcher ist aber erst ein astralisches Wesen, er kann noch nicht bis zur mineralischen Verkörperung heruntersteigen. Erst in der vierten Runde, wo Mineral, Pflanze und Tier schon vorhanden sind, kann es der Mensch zur mineralischen Verkörperung bringen. Daher haben wir in den vier Runden vier nebeneinanderstehende Reiche: Das Mineralreich in der ersten Runde, das Pflanzenreich in der zweiten Runde, das Tierreich in der dritten Runde und das Menschenreich in der vierten Runde. Das Menschenreich hat die drei anderen Reiche als vorbereitende Stadien vorangeschickt. Daher hat Goethe recht, wenn er sagt: Was wäre eigentlich die ganze Natur, wenn sie nicht auf den Menschen hinzielte? Diese große kosmische Veranstaltung mußte geschehen; durch drei Runden hindurch mußte der Mensch sich entwickeln, damit er in der vierten Runde eine mineralische Form annehmen konnte. Der Mensch ist in unsichtbarer Gestalt der Schöpfer, der Mitschöpfer gewesen. Als Pitri kam er herüber von einer anderen Entwicklungsepoche. Mit unserem träumerischen Bewußtsein haben wir an den ersten Runden gearbeitet. Wir haben an der Bildung unserer Erde vorbereitend gearbeitet, damit sich ein Reich bilden konnte, das zur Grundlage für unsere Entwicklung werden konnte.
Das ist der Gang der Erdenentwicklung von einem Anfange an, den ich heute vor Sie hinstellen konnte bis zu dem Zeitpunkte, in dem wir jetzt stehen. Wir werden das nächste Mal zu dem weiteres hinzufügen.
Second Lecture
Following on from last Thursday's introductory remarks, I would now like to begin by giving you an outline of world development as we understand it according to our theosophical knowledge. Please bear in mind that, as we only have a few hours at our disposal, I can only give a brief outline in which some things can only be touched upon. Perhaps there will be an opportunity to elaborate on this later.
Before we follow the history of the development of the universe in the theosophical sense, and above all the formation of our earthly planet, we must acquire some concepts that Western man no longer has because he has been concerned exclusively with physical phenomena for so long. Every book on cosmology repeatedly points out that we need only cast our gaze into outer space to see thousands upon thousands of worlds spread out before our eyes, worlds that are like our own solar system, and that our Earth, the planet on which our life has been taking place for millions of years, looks like a tiny speck of dust within these many worlds; and that human beings look like tiny creatures on this speck of dust in the universe. Science has recognized all this since the advent of the Copernican theory. Science tells us how wrong it was for humans in ancient times to view the Earth as the center of the world and to believe that cosmic events were merely a preparation for their own human existence. Science has impressed upon us how small humans are in comparison to the universe. It is arrogant of humans to believe that the world is shaped the way it is for their sake. Schiller already addressed this view and way of thinking with the beautiful words “To the Astronomers”:
Don't talk to me so much about nebulae and suns!
Is nature only great because it gives you something to count?
Your subject is certainly the most sublime in space;
But, friends, the sublime does not dwell in space.
And Goethe, whom you know from other lectures to have had occult knowledge, expresses his thoughts on this point as follows: What purpose would the whole world with its solar systems and stars serve if it did not aim at man, so that he could be edified and delighted by it all? — You see, people with a true spiritual worldview like these two could not be satisfied with the idea of the tiny nature of man and the dust-like nature of the world.
Let us now consider cosmology and human beings in relation to the entire history of development from a theosophical perspective. I must preface this with a few mental images. Let us take a look at the position of modern human beings in the world from a cosmological point of view. Everything that humans can perceive with their senses — be it the coarse senses of everyday life or the finer ones that natural science can offer us with its microscopes and methods of dissection — everything that we encounter in humans is ultimately only the outer, physical human being. Those who have heard theosophical lectures frequently know that this outer human being is only the shell, the outer manifestation of the actual, inner human being. What, then, is the physical human being? If you study the physical human being anatomically, you will find that it consists of various systems: the skeletal and muscular systems, the nervous system, which has formed into a brain, and so on. You also know that the brain is the organ of thought. As theosophists, you also know that it is not the brain that thinks, but that the brain is only a tool, that is, that the actual essence of the human being only uses the brain as a thinking tool. This essence, which thinks in the human being, cannot be perceived with physical sense organs; even those whose astral senses are open cannot see it. It takes a highly trained clairvoyant sense to truly perceive what is actually thinking within human beings. In theosophical terms, we refer to that which thinks within human beings as the true self of the human being. This inner core of being, this true self of the human being, is of a spiritual nature. It is not something that expands in space, nor is it something that flows through time. It is timeless and spaceless, it exists beyond time and space, it is eternal. You have received a description of this self in my lectures on devachan, and you will find a detailed description in my book on “Theosophy,” which will be published in the next few days.
In order to live and think in this present epoch of human development, the spiritual Self needs a physical brain. We could perceive with this spiritual Self in the astral world and in the devachanic or mental world without a physical brain, but in this outer, physical world we can only perceive with the physical brain. If we want to understand the present human being correctly, we must say: The present human being is a spiritual self, embodied in a physical brain. But this physical brain first had to come into being, it first had to develop; it is not eternal like the spiritual self. We can trace the spiritual self back to infinitely distant times in the past and also follow it into infinitely distant times in the future. At a certain point in time, this spiritual self clothed itself in the brain; it created the brain for itself; it formed this brain in accordance with its own nature. Such an organ cannot be formed so easily in physical nature. It would be completely impossible for anyone to create a viable brain in space through any process in the world. It would be an artificial thing, but not a viable brain that a spirit could use as a tool. In order for such a brain to develop, other organs had to develop first. A brain can only develop in a physical body such as the human body. Therefore, it was necessary for the development of the rest of the human body to precede the development of our brain tool. When we look back on the stages of development that preceded our present one, we see how slowly and gradually what humans now possess as their tool for communicating with their environment first developed. The fact, dear attendees, that human beings, with their spiritual selves, were given organs that could lead them to understand the world in this way is the goal and purpose of our present earthly development. Everything that has happened on this earth for millions of years has happened with the goal of enabling development to reach the point where a spiritual self can make use of a brain.
Let us go back for a moment to the beginning of our earthly development. Those whose mental vision is trained will have the following perception: At the beginning of our planetary development, our spiritual self had reached a certain stage of existence. Each of us was at a certain stage of development when the Earth was in its embryonic state. You can imagine all the spiritual selves that are, were, or will be incarnated on our Earth today being transported back to the time when our earthly development began. They all already existed at that time, but not as they are today, rather in a completely different state. We have a very specific task in earthly development; human beings must become something through this earthly development. Let me briefly describe in narrative form what the spiritual self was when it entered earthly development. When it stood at the gates of our earthly existence, our spiritual self had a completely different consciousness than we have today. We can understand this if we put ourselves in the position of someone in a deep dream, who is unable to think in concepts about the images that flit past their consciousness, but simply has them placed before them and sees them playing out like a panorama. Every single spiritual self had this dream consciousness, and it had to go through earthly development and must also go through further developments in order to evolve from the dull consciousness of pictorial perception to bright, clear, conceptual daytime consciousness. The dreamlike state of consciousness in which the spiritual self was at the beginning of earthly development is comparable to that of the animal, but the level of consciousness is not the same. This is the task that our spiritual self has to accomplish during the course of this planetary period, that consciousness becomes brighter and brighter; and when we emerge from this earthly development in the distant future, we will have brought this bright, clear consciousness to its highest peak.
We call the beings who entered earthly development at that time “Pitris,” which means “fathers.” We were such Pitris at that time; we had acquired this nature in the earlier state of development. Before we entered earthly development, we had already gone through preliminary stages, and we had worked our way up to the dreamlike state of the Pitri. So now we know where we ourselves stood when earthly development began. The Pitris had to gradually surround themselves with all the organs they needed in order to be able to communicate with their environment, which is also physical, by means of a physical brain within the physical body that we know today. The last thing that human beings had to achieve — as is clear from the preceding considerations — was this: in order for their selves to be able to think in the physical realm, they themselves had to become physical thinking beings.
And now I come to the second mental image that I must put forward. If you examine the brain, if you investigate it scientifically from all sides, you will find that this human brain, when examined merely with the senses, consists of the same substances and is governed by the same forces as the other physical beings on earth. If you look at a rock crystal, a piece of calcite, a piece of rock salt, a plant, or an animal, and examine them chemically and physically, you will find that the whole of physical nature, insofar as it can be seen with the eyes and touched with the hands, consists in the same way of the same chemical and physical forces that are at work in the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms. That is why we say in theosophy: in order for human beings to reach their present stage of development, they had to clothe their spiritual self in a mineral body. The spiritual self has created a mineral body for itself. This took a long time, and the process is still not complete today. Human beings will continue to develop within this mineral shell in the future. There are still embryonic organs in our bodies that have yet to develop, new senses that are only hinted at today. You see, it took a long time for humans — their spiritual selves — to clothe themselves in the physical bodies they have today.
Now put yourself back in the time when the spiritual self of human beings began the work of forming this mineral body that can walk and stand, that has all the growth and reproductive functions necessary for human beings, that has a nervous system and a brain as human beings need. Transport yourself back to the time when all this was in its earliest embryonic state, and then transport yourself to a time when human beings will have reached the highest point of their development, when an organ will have developed in the middle of their heads through which they will be able to perceive things in ways that we cannot today. The entire mineral development of present-day human beings takes place in the period between these two points. In theosophical terminology, we call such a period of time a “round.” The round I have just described to you, this stage of development, we call the “mineral round.” But before humans developed this body in order to create the tool of the brain, they first had to prepare other parts of their being. The spiritual self, this purely spiritual being, could not simply have directed such a mineral body. For my sake, imagine the spiritual self as a point, and imagine that point inside a mechanism such as our body; that point would never be able to move the mechanism, it would never be able to think through a physical brain.
So we have two things: we know that our spiritual self had a dreamlike consciousness in the beginning, but it could never have directed the mineral body. It had to create a mediator in order to be able to move the body. How do I move my hand? First I form the thought: I want to move my hand. If I only had the thought, the thought would live within me, but it would never be able to move a physical hand upward, just as the mere thought could not lift a bottle, for example. If you want to move the bottle, a force must be added to the thought, which is the mediator between the thought and my physical body. And we call this force an astral force. It is a force that exists in the astral world. I would not be able to move my arm if there were not an astral force within me, between my thought and my physical body, to which my arm belongs, acting as a mediator between my thought and my physical body, my physical arm. There must be a mediator between my spiritual self and my physical body, and this mediator is of astral nature. Whether I move my leg or my hand, whether I set my brain in motion to formulate thoughts — my physical body must be connected to my thoughts through the astral organism.
You know from previous lectures that human beings have such an astral body, which clairvoyants see as an astral cloud, which we call the aura, in which their wishes, their will, and their desires live. When I form a thought, the thought alone is powerless to do anything. When desire and will are added, this becomes a force, a radiation that is recognizable to the clairvoyant. Before building the physical-mineral body that we have today, human beings first had to create an astral body, a body of desire that could act as a mediator between their thoughts and their physical-mineral being. The epoch of development that I have called the “mineral round” had to be preceded by another epoch of development that brought about the development of the astral body. You must therefore transport yourselves back to an epoch that prepared the human astral body. Only then could the mineral-physical body be embedded in the astral body. We call this epoch, which again has a beginning and an end and which preceded the mineral round, the “astral round.”
You see, we have two “times.” One is the one in which we now live: the mineral round. This was preceded by another, the astral round. But the human astral body itself needed further preparation. It is only possible to integrate it into human nature in a very specific way. The astral body was not there before we were born, and it will no longer be there some time after our death. It arises and passes away; it is subject to certain laws of arising and passing away. Look at a child. In a child, the astral body is correspondingly small; it grows with the physical growth of the child. Growth and reproduction are fundamental to the mineral-physical and etheric beings of human beings. It is the laws of growth and reproduction according to which human beings must develop within earthly life. The fact that we come into being and grow, that we are living beings at all, is not based on our astral body. The astral body contains only desires, will, and cravings. We are astral beings, just as animals are astral beings, and we share with plants and animals the essence that is capable of producing its own kind from the organism, of making it grow from small to large. If you want an expression for this, you can say: what I have described is the form-giving, the form-shaping. Our physical and etheric bodies must have a very specific form when they are created, and this form must be able to grow and enlarge. You can get an idea of this if you take a seed... [gap in the transcript].
The formative power does not belong to the astral. The astral can live out within the formed, but it must first be formed itself. The astral body of the human being could not have come into being if it had not been preceded by another epoch of development, the epoch in which the form of the human being was prepared. Let me call this epoch the formative epoch, theosophically the “Rupa round.” It is the epoch in which the form of the human being was prepared so that its present form could be formed.
All we can follow in these three “rounds” are the coverings, the sheaths for the spiritual self of the human being. In the mineral round, the human being clothed itself in the mineral sheath. In the preceding epoch, the astral round, the human being prepared its astral shell, and in the epoch before that, the Rupa round, the human being acquired the ability to give itself the form it needs in order to perceive, think, and act as a human being.
As theosophists, we can say: when we were still Pitris, when we still lived in this dreamlike consciousness at the beginning of our earthly development, we were, if I may say so, the result, the fruit. We did not arise out of nothing at that time, but had already developed to this state; we were the result of earlier epochs, which we will describe later. In a similar way to how a seed sprouts into a plant when it is planted in new soil in spring, we too had to prepare ourselves for the stage of Earth in order to be able to develop there. We were the result of another world, and now we had to become the beginning of a whole new world, but we first had to find our way into it. Just as you let a seed that you receive in autumn overwinter and sink it into new soil in spring, so does the Pitri nature behave, as it were. It must first be planted in a new environment, in the substances of the earthly world that were not present in the earlier planetary epoch. If you wanted to get a mental image of what forces and substances were present on the earlier planetary stage, on which we developed into Pitri, you would find completely different forces and substances there. Therefore, this epoch of development had to be preceded by another in which the spirit itself of the human being, which had been carried over from an earlier epoch, first had to become accustomed to the new milieu, to the new environment. Here we are already approaching a development epoch that lies far back in time.
The further we move away from the present, the more difficult it becomes to form mental images. Theosophists do not believe that they can go back to the beginning of the world with their questions. When people hear about theosophy for the first time, they often ask: How did the world actually come into being? As theosophists, we can no longer ask many of these questions, because we cannot go back to the beginning. You have seen the moment when we came over from the Pitri nature. The clairvoyant can trace this moment using certain methods. But human beings did not come into being at that time; they were already at a certain level of development. Theosophists do not indulge in speculation; they do not think about these things in abstract terms. They follow their experiences, their intuitions, their adventures in the supersensible realm, and they recount these experiences and adventures to the extent that they have them. Just as an explorer on earth would do nothing other than describe the areas he has seen, say in Africa, and would not describe anything else he has not seen, so the theosophist will say nothing about the beginning of the world, which lies far, far back in time. The theosophist can only follow a part of our development, and we follow this part through experience and not through speculation.It was a seed that came over from earlier times into our development. Man was a formless earth seed. We call this period the “Arupa round,” the formless round. Thus we have four periods of time up to the one in which we stand today. We call these periods of time “rounds.” The first, second, and third rounds have passed; we are now in the fourth round, and three more rounds will follow, which we will discuss later. We call the human being of the fourth round the human being of the mineral kingdom, because he has formed himself in the mineral forces; and we call a human being of the previous round, the astral round, in which he was able to form his astral body, a human being of the third elemental kingdom. We distinguish between the human beings of the third, second, and first elemental kingdoms. During the first elemental kingdom or the first round, human thoughts moved in formless thought matter. During the second elemental kingdom or the second round, human thoughts moved in formed thought matter. And in the third elemental kingdom, human thoughts could already form themselves into desires; they could take on the form that we can follow as astral rays in the astral world. Only in the fourth round is man ready to master the mineral kingdom. Just as in the third round a human astral brain was formed from astral matter, so in the fourth round man was able to form a physical brain in which he can think.
So we have three elemental kingdoms and the mineral kingdom. Human beings of the past lived in the three elemental kingdoms. I can only hint at what follows, but you will be able to understand it by analogy. Our present round will be followed by another in which human beings will reach an even higher stage of development. They will then be able to think not only in their physical brain, but also in the power we call the astral power. Human beings will then be able to control not only physical matter, but also the astral power. Let me give you an example to illustrate this: if I want to move this glass from here to there today, I need a physical medium—my hand. Human beings in the fourth round have progressed so far that they can act consciously in the physical, mineral world. However, they cannot yet consciously wield astral power; they have not yet developed an astral organ of will. But they will be able to do so in the fifth round. Humans in the fifth round will be able to control the astral world just as they control the physical world today. In the sixth round, humans will be even further along. They will then be able to control the creative world, just as they control the physical world today and will control the astral world in the fifth round. In the fifth round, humans will be able to fulfill a wish not only in the place where it is desired. They will be able to send their wishes to distant places. In the sixth round, humans will be able to shape things themselves. They will then be able to master the rupa power themselves. After the sixth round, our earthly development will have reached its completion, and only then will human beings have absorbed within themselves everything they could learn on earth. Only then will they have attained true, clear self-awareness in the true sense of the word. They will then no longer need mediation; they will have reached their goal directly. In the seventh round, the human being has reached his goal. He will be formless again. But he will have absorbed everything he had to learn.
Human beings have to go through seven rounds. I have only been able to describe these seven rounds in approximate terms. Now we must note one more thing: during our mineral round, human beings and the earth were not always physical, but had to develop towards this state first; they had to accept this state first in order to become physically perceptible. From our mineral round, we look back on the other stages of development. We can see that we are dealing with a seven-stage development of our Earth and that the spirit itself had to go through seven stages or rounds. During each of these seven rounds, the spirit itself was in one of the natural kingdoms. Let us look at the human being. He has passed through the first, second, and third elemental kingdoms and is now in the fourth round, which is our present world.
Next time, I will show that only human beings reach the mineral stage during this fourth round. But what is mineral today, what is inanimate natural material, what is rock crystal, calcite, and so on, already reached the height of its development during the first round. What is plant today reached the height of its development during the second round, and what is animal today reached the height of its development during the third round. Human beings reached their physical-mineral development during the fourth round.
So we see that millions of years ago, our Earth was preceded by another. At that time, the mineral kingdom came into being. But human beings were only in the first elemental kingdom. In the second round, plant nature appeared; now mineral and plant nature were already present; humans were then in the second elemental kingdom. The third round comes, and animal nature is incorporated into earthly development. Humans as such, however, are only astral beings; they cannot yet descend to mineral embodiment. Only in the fourth round, when minerals, plants, and animals already exist, can humans achieve mineral embodiment. Therefore, in the four rounds, we have four coexisting kingdoms: the mineral kingdom in the first round, the plant kingdom in the second round, the animal kingdom in the third round, and the human kingdom in the fourth round. The human kingdom has the three other kingdoms as preparatory stages. Therefore, Goethe is right when he says: What would nature be if it did not aim at the human being? This great cosmic event had to happen; through three rounds, the human being had to develop so that it could take on a mineral form in the fourth round. Humanity has been the creator, the co-creator, in invisible form. As Pitri, it came over from another epoch of development. With our dreamlike consciousness, we worked on the first rounds. We worked preparatory on the formation of our Earth so that a realm could be formed that could become the basis for our development.
This is the course of Earth's development from its beginning, which I have been able to present to you today, up to the point in time where we now stand. We will add to this next time.