Awareness - Life - Form
GA 89
Enclosure with a letter to Marie von Sivers dated 6/7 January 1906
Earth Evolution
The Earth is the fourth of the seven planets on which the human being develops his seven states of conscious awareness, one after the other. The Moon has been shown to be the arena for the unfolding of image awareness.12Refers to the description of Moon evolution with a letter dated 19 November 1905 mentioned under Sources, Part I, at the beginning of this Notes and references section.An ‘image’ is merely similar to and not the same as the object. The level of conscious awareness which is being developed on Earth produces ideas, however, which in some respect are ‘the same’ as the object to which they relate. This is why the Earth level of conscious awareness is also called ‘awareness of objects’. This only develops during the fourth lesser cycle (round) on Earth. The conditions previously gone through on Saturn, Sun and Moon are briefly recapitulated in the first three cycles. Once again it has to be said, however, that this is not a matter of mere recapitulation, for in the course of it the physical body, ether and astral body are transformed so that they may be vehicles for the ‘I’, since awareness of objects in the fourth round depends on the development of the I.
When a kind of sleeping state has followed the third recapitulation found on Earth—between the ‘archetypal’ and ‘arupa’ globes—and the fourth round begins, everything—initially arupic—emerges which may be considered to be the outcome of Saturn, Sun and Moon evolution. In this case, therefore, we have the descendants of the three Moon worlds—a mineral world which in a sense was still plant-like, a plant world which had something by way of animal life, and an animal world which was at a higher level than our present animal world. These three realms together made up the planet which followed re-emerged from the twilight state—the Earth. It has to be remembered, however, that this Earth still held the former Sun and the former Moon in it. When the Moon manvantara was coming to an end, Sun and Moon united again, entering into pralaya as one body. They then also emerged again as one body, though the tendency to separate had already been clearly apparent in the third Earth round. Now—in the fourth round—Earth went through the rupa and astral state, after which it entered into the process of becoming physical again.
The development of this physical condition for the three above-mentioned worlds was the responsibility of the Spirits of Form. Especially in the highest of them, the animal-human world, they transformed the earlier ‘seeds of senses’ into truly formed-out sense organs. In all earlier physical states which humanity had gone through, the sense organs did not yet have a firmly established form.
Having gained a definite form, these organs ceased to be active; they lost their productivity, becoming purely passive, suitable only for perceiving anything by way of objects presented from the outside. Productive power thus withdrew from the sense organs; it went more to the inside; it created the organ for the mind. - This organ could not be created, however, unless part of human nature was cast down to a lower level. Man himself cast part of his essential nature down into an inferior region. He separated off part of himself, making it his lower nature. This lower nature retained the productive power which the sense organs had to yield up. This productive power cast down into a lower sphere became the power of sexual reproduction as we have it on Earth. The Spirits of Form would have frozen all productive power and therefore all life, letting it harden into mere form, if they had not concentrated this power on a part of the essential human being. They therefore brought about gender division. Without this there would have been statues rather than living human beings.13See lecture given in Berlin on 28 October (GA 93a) in Foundations of Esotericism; tr. V. & J. Compton-Burnett; London: Rudolf Steiner Press 1982.
The whole of this process went hand in hand with a complete transformation of the Earth. Conditions arose in which the life forms which have been described were able to live. This became possible by the Earth—still united with the Moon at that point—separated off from what remained behind as sun. As a result, the sun became an independent body in relation to earth. This was the external physical condition for sensory perception to arise, conscious awareness of objects, and for the potential for sexual organs to develop. At the time, however, bisexuality still pertained. This was because the moon powers were still within the earth. The organ for the mind did exist by this time, but it was still quite inactive. It would only unfold activity once the sexually productive power had decreased by half, so that every individual would only have half the earlier productive power. This meant two sexes. Externally this was brought about by the powers departing from the earth which would then orbit it as our present moon. If the separation had not happened, the whole earth would have to turn into a rigid mass, into mere form. As it was, the principle which absolutely had to grow rigid had departed, becoming moon, where human life was not able to unfold. Earth thus saved for itself from the common planetary matter the principle which could be productive, even if only in the lower sphere of sexual life. Jehovah was the representative of the ‘spirits of form’. He therefore brought about the development of the sense organs; if he had been active on his own, he would also have made everything be completely frozen in rigid form.
Two events were significant in what followed. One was the development of two sexes, for the above reason. The form of the sexual principle came from the form spirits. But this does not include the feeling which one sex has for the other. This arose because specific spirits descended from a distant arena, from Venus, to be embodied in the two sexes. Through them, love in its lowest form, the attraction between the sexes, came to be embodied on earth. This love is meant to rise to higher and higher levels, later to assume the most sublime forms.
Just as the Venus spirits provided the element [of feelings for] the separate sexes, so they also made it possible for the mind to be fruitful. It received the half of the productive powers which had not gone into sexual powers. The monads which, as I have shown arose in Saturn, Sun and Moon cycle were able to descend down into the mind organ—initially their manas part. Their activities would have been cold and dry, however, if the astral body had not been influenced to the effect that human beings felt a certain passion, of a higher kind, in using their minds. This influence came to them from Mars. Luciferic spirits conveyed it; they had gone beyond the level of what would later be human existence on Earth, but had not yet got so far that they could have completed their Moon evolution with the Moon manvantara, as the lunar pitris did. As initiates they brought the astral powers of Mars to the human astral body, igniting in it a passion for using the intellect. They thus brought life into the way humans gained insight; they fired them with independence. This is the help which the luciferic principle gives to human evolution. They did, however, add self-interest to the gaining of insight. For they ignite thinking through passion, and this means self-interest. Yet it was only because of this that human beings made the earth serve their purposes, put it to their use. Jehovah would only have given the form of the organ for the mind, and the Venus spirits would only have awakened a mind without passion in this; for anything they might have given in this direction had been given over to the power of reproduction.
Die Entwicklung der Erde
Die Erde ist der vierte der sieben Planeten, auf denen der Mensch aufeinanderfolgend seine sieben Bewußtseinszustände entwickelt. Es ist gezeigt worden, daß der Mond der Schauplatz zur Entfaltung des Bilderbewußtseins ist. Ein «Bild» ist nur ähnlich, nicht gleich seinem Gegenstande. Das Bewußtsein aber, das auf der Erde ausgebildet wird, erzeugt Vorstellungen, die in einer gewissen Beziehung «gleich» sind dem Gegenstande, zu dem sie gehören. Deshalb wird das Erdenbewußtsein auch das «Gegenstandsbewußtsein» genannt. Doch entwickelt sich dieses Gegenstandsbewußtsein erst während des vierten kleineren Erdenkreislaufes (Runde). Während der drei ersten werden die früher auf Saturn, Sonne und Mond durchgemachten Zustände kurz wiederholt. Doch muß auch hier wieder gesagt werden, daß man es nicht mit einer bloßen Wiederholung zu tun hat, sondern es gestalten sich während dieser Wiederholung der physische Körper, der Äther- und der Astralleib so um, daß sie Träger des «Ich» werden können, von dessen Entwickelung in der vierten Runde ja das Gegenstandsbewußtsein abhängt. Wenn also nach der dritten Wiederholungsrunde der Erde wieder eine Art Schlafzustand durchgemacht ist - zwischen dem sogenannten archetypischen und dem arupischen Globus - dann tritt, beim Beginn der vierten Runde alles das —- zunächst arupisch — hervor, was als Ergebnis der Saturn-, Sonnen- und Mondentwikkelung zu betrachten ist. Man hat es also da zu tun mit den Nachkömmlingen der drei Mondenreiche: dem Mineralreich, das noch in gewissem Sinne pflanzlich ist, mit dem Pflanzenreiche, das etwas wie tierisches Leben hat, und mit einem Tierreiche, das höher steht als das gegenwärtige Tierreich. Diese drei Reiche bilden zusammen den von Neuem aus dem Dämmerzustand hervortretenden Planeten: die Erde. Doch ist festzuhalten, daß in dieser Erde noch die ehemalige Sonne und der ehemalige Mond mitenthalten sind. Während die Mondmanvantara zu Ende ging, haben sich ja Sonne und Mond wieder vereinigt und sind als ein Körper ins Pralaya hinübergegangen. Sie treten dann auch hier wieder als ein Körper heraus, obwohl sich schon in der dritten Erdenrunde die Tendenz zur Spaltung deutlich gezeigt hat. Nun macht die Erde -— während der vierten Runde — den Rupa- und Astral-Zustand durch, und schickt sich dann an, wieder physisch zu werden.
Die Herausbildung dieses physischen Zustandes bei den drei genannten Reichen obliegt den «Geistern der Form». Sie bilden namentlich bei dem höchsten Reiche, dem Tier-Menschenreiche die früheren «Sinneskeime» zu wirklich geformten Sinnesorganen um. In allen früheren physischen Zuständen, welche der Mensch durchgemacht hat, hatten die Sinnesorgane noch nicht die festgefügte Form.
Nun hören diese Organe dadurch, daß sie eine feste Form erhalten, auf, aktiv zu sein; sie verlieren ihre Produktivität, sie werden rein passiv, geeignet zum bloßen Wahrnehmen des von außen als Gegenstände Dargebotenen. Die Produktionskraft zieht sich also von den Sinnesorganen zurück; sie geht mehr nach innen; sie bildet das Verstandesorgan. - Dieses Organ kann aber nicht gebildet werden, ohne daß wieder ein Hinabstoßen eines gewissen Teiles der menschlichen Genossen auf eine tiefere Stufe stattfindet. Jetzt aber stößt der Mensch einen Teil seines Wesens selbst in eine untergeordnete Region hinab. Er sondert einen Teil seines Wesens als die eigene niedere Natur ab. Und diese niedere Natur behält die Produktionskraft, welche die Sinnesorgane haben abgeben müssen. Diese in eine niedrigere Sphäre hinabgestoßene Produktionskraft wird zur geschlechtlichen Hervorbringungskraft, wie sie auf der Erde auftritt. Die «Geister der Form» würden alle Hervorbringungskraft und damit alles Leben erstarren machen, zur bloßen Form erhärten, wenn sie nicht diese Kraft auf einen Teil des Menschenwesens konzentrierten. Daher bewirken die Geister der Form die Geschlechtsbildung. Ohne diese müßten statt lebender Menschen Statuen entstehen.
Nun ist der ganze Vorgang mit einer völligen Umbildung der Erde verknüpft. Es entstehen solche Verhältnisse, daß die geschilderten Wesen leben können. Das wird möglich dadurch, daß die Erde - jetzt noch mit dem Monde vereint — aus dem sich abspaltet, was als Sonne zurückbleibt. Dadurch tritt die Sonne eben als selbständiger Körper der Erde entgegen. Das ist die äußere physische Bedingung für das Entstehen der äußeren Wahrnehmung, des Gegenstandsbewußtseins, und für die Herausbildung der geschlechtlichen Anlagen. Doch hat man es zu dieser Zeit noch durchaus mit einer Doppelgeschlechtigkeit zu tun. Das rührt davon her, daß die Mondenkräfte noch alle in der Erde darinnen stecken. Nur ist während dieser Zeit das Verstandesorgan, obwohl vorhanden, noch ganz untätig. Es wird erst seine Aktivität entfalten können, wenn die Geschlechts-Produktionskraft sich um die Hälfte vermindert hat, so daß ein jedes Wesen nur die Hälfte der früheren Produktionskraft sein eigen nennt. Damit ist dann die Zweigeschlechtigkeit gegeben. Äußerlich wird das bewirkt durch das Heraustreten derjenigen Kräfte aus der Erde, welche diese dann als der gegenwärtige Mond umkreisen. Wäre nun diese Abtrennung nicht erfolgt, dann hätte die ganze Erde zu einer starren Masse, zur bloßen Form werden müssen. So aber hat sich nur das aus ihr entfernt, was unbedingt fest werden mußte, und dies ist eben Mond geworden, auf dem eben das menschliche Leben nicht sich entfalten konnte. So hat sich, aus der gemeinsamen planetarischen Materie heraus, die Erde das gerettet, was produktiv sein konnte, wenn auch nur auf dem niederen Gebiete des geschlechtlichen Lebens. Der Repräsentant der «Geister der Form» ist Jehova. Er bewirkt somit die Formung der Sinnesorgane; aber er bewirkte auch, wenn er nun mehr allein wirksam wäre, die vollständige Erstarrung in der bloßen Form.
Nun werden für den weiteren Fortgang zwei Ereignisse bedeutsam. Das Eine ist die Entstehung der beiden Geschlechter aus dem oben angegebenen Grunde. Die Form des Geschlechtlichen rührt von den Formgeistern her. Aber damit ist nicht auch schon der Zug der beiden Geschlechter füreinander, die Neigung derselben zueinander gegeben. Diese kommt davon, daß sich in dem Leben der beiden Geschlechter besondere Wesen verkörpern, welche von einem fremden Schauplatze herabsteigen: von der Venus. Durch sie wird jetzt die Liebe in ihrer untergeordnetsten Form, als Neigung der Geschlechter [zueinander], der Erde einverleibt. Diese Liebe ist dazu berufen, sich immer mehr zu veredeln, und später die höchsten Formen anzunehmen.
So wie nun die Venuswesen das Element [der Neigung] der getrennten Geschlechter [zueinander] abgeben, so bewirken sie andrerseits auch, daß der Verstand fruchtbar werden kann. Er erhält die Hälfte der an der Geschlechtskraft ersparten Produktionsfähigkeit. Aus diesem Grunde können sich jetzt die Monaden - zunächst ihr Manasteil -, die sich, wie gezeigt, während Saturn-, Sonne- und Mond-Zyklus gebildet haben, in das Verstandesorgan herabsenken. Doch wäre das Wirken der Monaden kalt und trocken geblieben, wenn nicht der Astralleib einen solchen Einschlag erhalten hätte, daß der Mensch die Tätigkeit seines Verstandes mit einer gewissen höheren Leidenschaftlichkeit betriebe. Dieser Einschlag kam dem Menschen vom Mars her. Und diejenigen, welche ihn vermittelten, sind die luziferischen Wesenheiten, welche auf dem Monde zwar über die Stufe des späteren Erd-Menschendaseins hinausgekommen sind, es aber doch nicht so weit gebracht haben, daß sie wie die Lunar-Pitris ihre Mondentwickelung mit dem Mondmanvantara hätten abschließen können. Sie bringen, als Eingeweihte, jetzt die Mars-Astralkräfte in den Astralleib des Menschen und fachen damit in diesem die Leidenschaft für die Betätigung des Intellektes an. Damit beleben sie die Erkenntnis des Menschen; sie fachen ihn zur Selbständigkeit an. Das ist die Hilfe in der Fortentwickelung des Menschen, welche durch das luziferische Prinzip geleistet wird. Allerdings verbanden sie mit der Erkenntnis auch den Eigennutz. Denn sie entfachen ja das Denken durch die Leidenschaft, und diese bewirkt den Eigennutz. Aber nur dadurch ist es möglich geworden, daß der Mensch die Erde seinen Zwecken dienstbar gemacht hat, sie in seinen Nutzen genommen hat. Jehova hätte bloß die Form des Verstandesorgans gegeben, und die Geister. von der Venus hätten bloß in diesem einen leidenschaftslosen Sinn erweckt; denn was von ihnen nach dieser Richtung gegeben werden konnte, ist ja an die Fortpflanzungskraft abgeliefert worden.
The Development of the Earth
The Earth is the fourth of the seven planets on which human beings successively develop their seven states of consciousness. It has been shown that the moon is the scene for the development of image consciousness. An “image” is only similar to its object, not identical to it. But the consciousness that is developed on Earth produces mental images that are, in a certain sense, “identical” to the object to which they belong. That is why Earth consciousness is also called “object consciousness.” However, this object consciousness only develops during the fourth minor Earth cycle (round). During the first three, the states previously experienced on Saturn, the Sun, and the Moon are briefly repeated. But here, too, it must be said that this is not a mere repetition, but that during this repetition the physical body, the etheric body, and the astral body are transformed in such a way that they can become carriers of the “I,” on whose development in the fourth round the object consciousness depends. So when, after the third round of repetition, the Earth has again undergone a kind of sleep state — between the so-called archetypal and the arupic globe — then, at the beginning of the fourth round, everything that can be regarded as the result of Saturn, Sun, and Moon development emerges, initially in arupic form. We are thus dealing with the descendants of the three lunar kingdoms: the mineral kingdom, which is still plant-like in a certain sense, the plant kingdom, which has something of animal life, and an animal kingdom that is higher than the present animal kingdom. Together, these three kingdoms form the planet emerging anew from the twilight state: the Earth. However, it should be noted that this Earth still contains the former Sun and the former Moon. As the lunar manvantara came to an end, the Sun and Moon reunited and passed into pralaya as one body. They then reappear here as one body, although the tendency toward division was already clearly evident in the third Earth cycle. Now, during the fourth round, the Earth is going through the rupa and astral states, and is then preparing to become physical again.
The development of this physical state in the three realms mentioned is the responsibility of the “spirits of form.” In the highest realm, the animal-human realm, they transform the earlier “sensory germs” into truly formed sensory organs. In all earlier physical states that humans have gone through, the sensory organs did not yet have a fixed form.
Now, by acquiring a fixed form, these organs cease to be active; they lose their productivity and become purely passive, suited only to perceiving what is presented to them from outside as objects. The productive power thus withdraws from the sense organs; it turns more inward and forms the organ of understanding. - However, this organ cannot be formed without a certain part of human beings being pushed down to a lower level again. Now, however, human beings push down a part of their own being into a subordinate region. They separate off a part of their being as their own lower nature. And this lower nature retains the productive power that the sense organs have had to relinquish. This productive power, pushed down into a lower sphere, becomes the sexual reproductive power as it appears on earth. The “spirits of form” would cause all reproductive power and thus all life to solidify, to harden into mere form, if they did not concentrate this power on a part of the human being. Therefore, the spirits of form bring about sexual formation. Without this, statues would arise instead of living human beings.
Now the whole process is linked to a complete transformation of the earth. Conditions arise in which the beings described can live. This becomes possible because the earth — still united with the moon — splits off from what remains as the sun. As a result, the sun appears as an independent body opposite the earth. This is the external physical condition for the emergence of external perception, of object consciousness, and for the development of sexual faculties. However, at this time, we are still dealing with dual sexuality. This is because the forces of the moon are still entirely contained within the earth. Only during this time, the organ of understanding, although present, is still completely inactive. It will only be able to develop its activity when the sexual productive power has been reduced by half, so that each being possesses only half of its former productive power. This then gives rise to dual sexuality. Outwardly, this is brought about by the emergence of those forces from the earth which then orbit it as the present moon. If this separation had not taken place, the whole earth would have had to become a rigid mass, a mere form. But as it is, only that which absolutely had to become solid has separated from it, and this has become the moon, on which human life could not develop. Thus, from the common planetary matter, the earth has saved that which could be productive, even if only in the lower realm of sexual life. The representative of the “spirits of form” is Jehovah. He thus brings about the formation of the sense organs; but if he were now to act alone, he would also bring about complete solidification in mere form.
Now two events become significant for the further course of events. One is the emergence of the two sexes for the reason stated above. The form of sexuality originates from the spirits of form. But this does not yet explain the attraction of the two sexes to each other, their inclination toward each other. This comes from the fact that special beings incarnate in the lives of the two sexes, descending from a foreign scene: from Venus. Through them, love in its most subordinate form, as the inclination of the sexes [toward each other], is now incorporated into the earth. This love is destined to become increasingly refined and later to take on the highest forms.
Just as the Venus beings now impart the element [of inclination] of the separate sexes [towards each other], they also cause the intellect to become fertile. It receives half of the productive capacity saved from the sexual power. For this reason, the monads — initially their manas part — which, as shown, were formed during the Saturn, Sun, and Moon cycles, can now descend into the organ of the intellect. However, the activity of the monads would have remained cold and dry if the astral body had not received such an impact that human beings would carry out the activity of their intellect with a certain higher passion. This impact came to man from Mars. And those who mediated it are the Luciferic beings who, although they had advanced beyond the stage of later earthly human existence on the moon, had not yet progressed so far that they could have completed their lunar development with the lunar manvantara, as the Lunar Pitris did. As initiates, they now bring the astral forces of Mars into the astral body of human beings, thereby kindling in them a passion for intellectual activity. In this way they enliven human knowledge; they inspire human beings to independence. This is the help in the further development of human beings that is provided by the Luciferic principle. However, they also linked knowledge with self-interest. For they kindle thinking through passion, and this leads to self-interest. But only in this way has it become possible for human beings to make the earth serve their purposes, to use it for their own benefit. Jehovah would have merely given the form of the organ of understanding, and the spirits of Venus would have merely awakened it in this one dispassionate sense; for what could be given by them in this direction has been delivered to the power of procreation.