The Foundations of Esotericism
GA 93a
31 October 1905, Berlin
Lecture XXVIII
We will give you yet another special example of how one can immerse oneself in the profundity of religious documents and gain an ever greater understanding of what they contain.
If we study our sense organs as they are usually studied, we see that we have the possibility through the sense of smell of perceiving matter itself. Unless this fine substance were given off, man would be unable to smell. What takes place here is a connection with matter itself. The organ of taste is not connected with matter itself, but acts through a process of dissolving and perceiving its effect. Thus we can call taste a chemical sense, because it penetrates into the constitution of matter. The third sense that of sight, has nothing more to do with matter, for it only perceives pictures that are produced by matter. The fourth, the sense of touch, has still less to do with matter as such, for it only perceives attributes of the surroundings in connection with objects, such as warmth and cold; this is a state of matter which is no longer dependent on matter itself, but on what conditions surround it. Hearing is in no way dependent on the air, for we perceive only the oscillations, the vibrations of the air, something which stands in a quite external relationship to what is material. Matter, the air, is only the vehicle for the sound waves.
The lowest perception of matter is smell, then comes taste, then sight, then touch and hearing. We can now ask: What is warmth and cold? It is what is contained in the warmth ether. So the sense of touch perceives the warmth ether, sight perceives the light ether, taste perceives the chemical ether, smell perceives the atomistic or life ether, hearing perceives the air. A sixth and a seventh sense74Compare with lecture 9 and the development of the pineal and pituitary glands. which will only develop in the future, would perceive water and earth.
We have therefore in our senses a sequence of stages in connection with what we call matter. We will first follow the development of our three lower senses.
The sense of sight perceives by means of the light ether the objects around us. There was however a time when everything was dark. Let us go back to the moment of time when sight came into existence and the outer world as such became perceptible to us. Previously the eye was not yet opened to the outer world. We must imagine the same force which the eye receives from outside in the light ether, pouring outwards from within, streaming out through the eye in the opposite direction. If this were the case the being would illuminate the others around him. This was so at a certain time when human beings possessed eyes like the Cyclops. Illumination was brought about through the out streaming light; this light streamed from within outwards. Then man illuminated, as many sea creatures still do today, the objects around him and his own body. At that time he had no consciousness of his own, but he was solely an instrument for the corresponding divine being, in order to illuminate the world for him. The divine being had no means of seeing the surrounding objects other than human eyes.
When as yet man had no intellect it was possible for the active light of the Godhead to pass through him and illuminate objects. The human being was the mediator for the Godhead. The latter wished by means of light to make the solid objects visible. Because the light passed through him, man himself was formed. Before the light had passed through the human being the Godhead had no need of light, because the objects were not yet solid, but fluid, so that no use could be made of light. That is the condition described in the Bible: ‘And darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the spirit of God brooded on the face of the waters.’ At that time the world was simply water, even gold and silver and the other metals ran, were fluid. When within the water, like blocks of ice, solid objects arose, man separated his membered form and light became necessary. God said: ‘Let there be light and there was light.’ Then it was that man too first received his form. That is the moment when the Light Ether was introduced and the solid element separated off. God said: ‘Let the dry land appear.’ Before that everything was of a watery nature. In the same way as the Light Ether was incorporated into the solid element, so was the Chemical Ether incorporated into the water. Chemical relationships were worked into man when he was still fluid. The chemical relationships according to which today the different substances are combined, were imprinted into the individual. Then we come back into a condition when man and also the whole Earth was still aeriform; the life, or the atomistic ether flowed into him. The life ether was at that time introduced into the world through man.
Now let us once more turn our attention to the condition which existed when God said: ‘Let there be Light.’ The Earth began to densify. Light shone upon it. This was also the time when man began to densify. The earlier forces however had to be retained. Now we have reached the condition when man let the light pass through himself. Then a complete reversal took place. Man began to perceive the light as something outside.
Originally through him there had been introduced into this world:
- The atomistic or life ether.
- The chemical ether.
- The light ether.
Reversal:
- Perception of the life ether.
- Perception of the chemical ether.
- Perception of the light ether.
Now man receives back the light from the world. (Reversal of the spiral.) Formerly he was a source of light, now the light streamed into him. He had become self-enclosed; thereby he acquired consciousness. The light shone into him; man began to let the surrounding world reflect itself in him. The next stage is that he learns to recognise objects with regard to their chemical constitution. He developed sympathy or antipathy for substances, a relationship to the world outside him. Then finally he also gained an inner perception of the atomistic or life-ether.
Through the introduction of light into the world man acquired his solid form. Through the introduction of the chemical ether he acquired a relationship to the world. Through the introduction of the atomistic ether he acquired life. Thus through the eyes he acquired form; through the sense of taste, relationship to the world; through the sense of smell, the nose, life. Jehovah breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.
When we approach religious writings with such ideas we find that the most profound truths have been placed into them. We shall see whether originally these truths were placed into the religious writings as we now have them.
Let us take for example the builder of the Gotthard Tunnel and then a man who describes it. The builder, who actually constructed the Gotthard Tunnel did not need perhaps to possess such a high degree of engineering science in his conscious self, but he actually brought a thought into reality. Such is the relationship between the wise men of ancient times and those of today. At that time they possessed a creative wisdom. Now we have a wisdom based on observation. The creative wisdom is that wisdom which once made man, building up one after another those parts which today the anatomist takes out and describes. The creative wisdom is exactly the same as the wisdom which can be discovered today; it has been placed into the world. In the primeval wisdom man was concerned with the plan of the world. Now you can understand why the mystic has to withdraw into himself. The true mystic must be an investigator of the inner. He attempts to seek out those stages of evolution through which he has been created.
If we were able completely to shut off all light from the eyes and then to create light within us, until the world appeared illumined from within outwards, then we should be able to immerse ourselves inwardly in the creative wisdom and penetrate into everything with inner vision. This has a practical value, for one can remember how in actual fact man has been built up by having passed through the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms: all this is also within him. What is outside in the world is the remains of what man himself once was.
The human heart as it came into being was akin to what had taken place outside. The moment one sinks oneself into the heart, one creates for oneself the surroundings as they were when in the Lemurian Age the heart came into existence. If one concentrates on the activity of the heart, one can conjure up the entire environment of the Lemurian Age when the heart was formed. The Lemurian landscape rises up within us. Whoever concentrates on the heart sees the genesis of the human species.
Through concentration on the interior of the brain, which developed gradually during the Atlantean Age, one sees the Atlantean landscape appear. If one concentrates on the solar plexus one is led to the Hyperboreans. So one travels back into the worlds as they once were. This is no brooding in oneself, but an actual perception of the various organs in their relationships with the world. This is the way in which Paracelsus found his remedies and achieved his cures. He knew that digitalis purpurea came into being at the same time as the human heart. Through concentration on a particular organ, corresponding remedies reveal themselves. Thus do the members of the macrocosm and the microcosmic nature of man stand in relationship to each other.
Now the following is easy to understand. The human being receives warm red blood as do also the higher animals. That is to say, from then on man can separate himself from his surroundings, becoming independent, a whole enclosed within itself. This the fish is not. The fish has the same temperature as what surrounds it. With the warm red blood it became possible for man to develop warmth within himself. Then he was able to separate himself from his environment. Previously he was of the same temperature as his surroundings. What is it that actually occurred?
Let us consider the undifferentiated human organism before the Lemurian Age. There was a uniform temperature over the whole Earth. The state of warmth within man was the same as the state of warmth outside.
Then the inner warmth condition was heightened. This warmth condition signified individual warmth, warmth which was made use of in individualisation; and in the world outside the opposite came about: warmth, fire was distributed. Previously there was as yet no outer fire. To kindle fire in Nature first became possible when fire appeared within man. Since that time there was the beneficent fire distributed outside, and within man the egoistic fire.
And now we have the point of time when fire was withdrawn from spiritual beings for the benefit of man. Human beings drew their warmth from a particular kind of spiritual being—the Agni. Because of this, what was previously there as Fire-Spirit in the world had to withdraw and from then on could only appear from time to time in the form of fire. The Promethean-Saga is based on this fact. The god had lost his previous body and created for himself a new one in the external fire. Here we have an outstanding example of how in a certain way man works destructively on the elemental forces of Nature. Man himself had called forth the element of fire in that he had become an individualised being. This underlies the occult saying that, fundamentally speaking, man works destructively where elemental beings are concerned. This is very far-reaching and makes clear to us how man still today continually creates new conditions, new forces of Nature in his world around him, while he himself progresses in his development. He shapes the structure of the Earth. Fire arose in the Lemurian Age; because of this Lemuria could meet its destruction through fire which man himself had created.
The Atlantean Continent perished through water. The downfall of the Fifth Continent will be brought about through evil. We can observe a kind of retrogression in the following way:
The next stage—during the Atlantean Age—was the creative work of the human being on his own etheric body. There he had drawn air from his environment into himself. In this way he had so changed his ether body that the conditions of Atlantis had become quite different. During Atlantis the surface of the Earth was at one time only mist, an atmosphere of such a kind that a rainbow would have been impossible. At that time man worked upon the water. In the Lemurian Age he worked upon solid earth, this brought forth fire; in the Atlantean Age he worked upon the water; this brought about light. (it corresponded to the light of our intellect.) Then he worked upon the air.
The Fifth Root-Race will bring man to his downfall through what must be called evil. Then comes the Sixth Root-Race. The Fifth Root-Race is that in which Manas develops on the physical plane.
In the Old Indian civilisation man lived in a condition corresponding to Manas in a kind of deep trance-like state. There the primeval wisdom was revealed to the ancient Indians by the Rishis. The second revelation took place with the Persians in a condition similar to our deep sleep. In this condition man heard the Word. It was the condition of the Ancient Persian Sleep-trance. ‘Honover’ was the word used by the Persians.
Third revelation: The peoples of the near East, Babylonians and Egyptians, perceived through Manas in picture-consciousness; they had visions or dream-sight.
Fourth revelation: Clear waking-day consciousness was developed by the Semites, the Greeks and Romans. At that time Manas was perceived in clear day-consciousness, as incarnated man, Christ Jesus.
So with the ancient Indians we find the trance of the physical body. With the ancient Persians we find the deep sleep of the etheric body. With the peoples of the Near East we find the picture consciousness of the astral body, with the Semites, Greek and Roman peoples the waking consciousness of the ego.
Now in the Fifth Sub-Race man does not perceive the changing stages of Manas, but this Race sees as the highest stage the psychic experience of concepts as such. Our Sub-Race has developed the psychic Manas, the usual scientific knowledge.
The Sixth Sub-Race will develop a Super-psychic Manas. What with human beings today is merely a kind of knowledge will become actual reality, a social force. The Sixth Sub-Race has the task of permeating society in a social way with everything which has been produced by the preceding stages of evolution. Then for the first time Christianity will come forth as shaper of the social order. The Sixth Sub-Race will be the one which is the germinal foundation for the Sixth Root-Race. The Fifth Root-Race is descended from the original Semites, from the Fifth Sub-Race of the Fourth Root-Race. This people developed the individual ego which produces egoism. Man owes his independence to the original Semites. Man must first find himself, but then again must also surrender himself He must surrender himself to what makes thought a reality. The Sixth Sub-Race is destined to replace blood relationship with Manas relationship, relationship in the spirit. Thinking which is altruistic will develop the predisposition to the overcoming of egoism.
The Seventh Sub-Race will be a premature birth. It will make outwardly real too soon and too strongly what has come forth from Manas.
In the Sixth Sub-Race the predisposition will be given for the overcoming of egoism, but in such a way that the balance is held between selfhood and selflessness. The man of the Sixth Sub-Race, will neither lose himself in what is outside, nor shut himself up in what is within. With the Seventh Sub-Race a kind of hypertrophy will come about. Man will then pour out what he now has within him: his egoism. On the other hand the members of the Sixth Sub-Race will hold the balance. The Seventh Sub-Race will harden egoism. Later the English-American people will be projected as something rigidified into the Sixth Root-Race, just as today the Chinese are a rigidified residue of the Atlantean Age, the Fourth Root-Race.
World-egoism proceeds from the Anglo-American Race. From that direction the whole Earth will be overlaid with egoism. It is from England and America that all the discoveries come that will cover the Earth like a network of egoism. So it is from there that the whole Earth will be covered by a network of egotistic evil. But from a small colony in the East [The Slavonic peoples.] there will be developed, as though from a seed, new life for the future.
The English-American civilisation consumes European culture. The sects in England and America represent nothing other than the most incredible conservation of what is old. But such Societies as the Salvation Army, the Theosophical Society and so on, come into existence just there, in order to rescue souls from decadence, for race evolution does not run parallel with soul evolution. But the race itself is going towards its destruction. Within it is the seed of the evil race.
In the Fourth Sub-Race work was performed as tribute (Slave Labour).
In the Fifth Sub-Race work is performed as a commodity (sold).
In the Sixth Sub-Race work will be performed as an offering (free work).75See Anthroposophy and the Social Question which appeared at about the same time in the periodical Luzifer-Gnosis.
The economic needs of existence will then be separated from work: there will be no more personal possession, everything will be owned in common. One will no longer work for one's personal existence, but will do everything as absolute offering for humanity.
XXVII
Noch ein besonderes Beispiel wollen wir geben dafür, wie man sich in die Tiefen der religiösen Schriften versenken und immer mehr verstehen kann, was darinnen steht.
Wenn wir unsere Sinnesorgane betrachten, so wie man sie gewöhnlich betrachtet, so haben wir durch das Geruchsorgan die Möglichkeit, den Stoff selbst wahrzunehmen. Ohne daß Stoff ausströmt, ist es unmöglich, daß der Mensch riecht. Es ist eine Verbindung mit dem Stoffe selbst, die da vor sich geht. Das Geschmacksorgan verbindet sich nicht mit dem Stoffe selbst, sondern löst die Dinge auf und nimmt die Wirkung wahr. Den Geschmack können wir also einen chemischen Sinn nennen, weil er in die Beschaffenheit des Stoffes eindringt. Der dritte Sinn, das Gesicht, hat gar nichts mehr mit Stoff zu tun, denn er nimmt nur Bilder wahr, die vom Stoffe entworfen sind. Der vierte, der Tastsinn, hat noch viel weniger mit dem, was Stoff ist, zu tun, da er nur Eigenschaften der Umgebung an den Gegenständen, wie Wärme und Kälte, wahrnimmt; das ist ein Zustand des Stoffes, der hängt nicht mehr vom Stoffe selbst ab, sondern davon, welcher Zustand ringsherum ist. Das Gehör hängt gar nicht von der Luft ab, denn wir nehmen nur die Schwingungen der Luft, die Vibrationen wahr, dasjenige, was durchaus in einer zum Materiellen ganz äußerlichen Beziehung steht. Es ist der Stoff, die Luft, nur das Durchgangsmittel für die Schallwellen.
Die unterste Stoffwahrnehmung ist der Geruch, dann kommt der Geschmack, dann das Gesicht, dann der Tastsinn und dann der Gehörsinn. Wir können uns nun fragen - nehmen wir den Tastsinn: Was ist Wärme und Kälte? - Was im Wärmeäther enthalten ist. Also der Tastsinn nimmt wahr den Wärmeäther, das Gesicht nimmt wahr den Lichtäther, der Geschmack nimmt wahr den chemischen Äther, der Geruch nimmt wahr den atomistischen oder Lebensäther, das Gehör nimmt wahr die Luft. Ein sechster und ein siebenter Sinn, die sich erst künftig entwickeln werden, würden wahrnehmen das Wasser und die Erde.
So haben wir in unseren Sinnen eine aufeinanderfolgende Stufenreihe für das, was wir unsere Stoffe nennen. Verfolgen wir zunächst unsere drei unteren Sinne.
Der Gesichtssinn nimmt durch den Lichtäther die Gegenstände um uns herum wahr. Es gab aber eine Zeit, wo es ringsherum finster und dunkel war. Versetzen wir uns zurück an den Zeitpunkt, als dem Menschen eben das Gesicht aufgegangen ist und die Außenwelt als solche uns wahrnehmbar wurde. Vorher war das Auge noch nicht nach außen aufgeschlossen. Man denke sich dieselbe Kraft, die das Auge von außen empfängt im Lichtäther, von innen nach außen ergossen, in der entgegengesetzten Richtung nach außen strömend durch die Augen. Wenn das der Fall wäre, so würde das Wesen die anderen um es herum beleuchten. Solches war vorhanden in einer gewissen Zeit, als die Menschen das Zyklopenauge besaßen. Das Leuchten war durch das ausströmende Licht bewirkt; das strömte von innen nach außen. Der Mensch beleuchtete damals - wie manche Meerestiere noch heute — die Gegenstände ringsherum und seinen eigenen Körper. Dazumal hatte der Mensch noch kein Bewußtsein für sich, sondern er war damals lediglich ein Mittel für die entsprechende Gottheit, um für die Gottheit die Welt zu beleuchten. Die Gottheit hatte kein anderes Mittel, die Gegenstände ringsherum zu sehen, als die Augen der Menschen.
Als der Mensch noch keinen Verstand hatte, da war es möglich, daß das aktive Licht der Gottheit durch ihn hindurchging und die Gegenstände beleuchtete. Der Mensch war Mittler für die Gottheit. Diese wollte durch das Licht die festbegrenzten Gegenstände sichtbar machen. Dadurch, daß das Licht durch den Menschen hindurchging, wurde der Mensch selbst gestaltet. Bevor das Licht durch den Menschen hindurchging, brauchte die Gottheit noch nicht das Licht, weil die Gegenstände noch nicht fest waren, sondern flüssig, so daß man das Licht noch nicht brauchen konnte. Das ist der Zustand, den die Bibel schildert: «Es war finster auf der Tiefe und der Geist Gottes brütete über den Gewässern». Die Welt war damals richtiges Wasser, auch Gold und Silber und die anderen Metalle rannen damals, waren flüssig. Als innerhalb des Wassers wie Eisbrocken die festen Gegenstände entstanden, da gliederte sich der Mensch ab, und das Licht wurde notwendig. Gott sprach: «Es werde Licht, und es ward Licht», und da bekam der Mensch auch erst seine Gestalt. Das ist der Moment, als der Lichtäther hineingeleitet wird und sich die festen Bestandteile absondern: «Gott machte eine Feste.» Früher war alles eine wässerige Substanz. So wie der Lichtäther in das Feste geleitet wurde, so wurde der chemische Äther in das Wasser geleitet. In den Menschen wurde die chemische Verwandtschaft hineingearbeitet, als er noch flüssig war. Die chemischen Verwandtschaftsverhältnisse, nach denen sich heute die verschiedenen Substanzen verbinden, wurden dem einzelnen eingeprägt. Dann kommen wir in einen Zustand zurück, da der Mensch und auch die ganze Erde noch luftförmig war; da wurde ihm der Lebensäther oder der atomistische Äther eingeflößt. Der Lebensäther wurde damals durch den Menschen in die Welt hineingeleitet.
Nun fassen wir noch einmal den Zustand ins Auge, der war, als Gott sprach: «Es werde Licht!» Die Erde fängt an, sich zu verdichten. Die Erde wird beleuchtet. Das war also so, daß der Mensch damals eigentlich erst anfing, fest zu werden. Nun mußten ihm die früheren Kräfte erhalten bleiben. Wir haben jetzt den Zustand erreicht, da der Mensch das Licht durch sich selbst hindurchgehen läßt. Dann fand eine vollständige Umkehrung statt. Der Mensch fing nun an, das Licht von außen wahrzunehmen.
Ursprünglich wurde durch ihn in diese Welt hineingeleitet:
1. der atomistische oder Lebensäther
2. der chemische Äther
3. der Lichtäther
Umkehr:
3. Wahrnehmung des Lebensäthers
2. Wahrnehmung des chemischen Äthers
1. Wahrnehmung des Lichtäthers.
Dann bekommt der Mensch das Licht aus der Welt zurück (Umkehzung des Wirbels). Er hat früher selbst geleuchtet, jetzt strömt das Licht in ihn ein. Er hat sich zugeschlossen; dadurch ist er bewußt geworden. Das Licht leuchtet in ihm auf; der Mensch fängt an, die Welt ringsherum in sich abspiegeln zu lassen. Das nächste ist, daß der Mensch anfängt, die Gegenstände hinsichtlich ihrer chemischen Beschaffenheit kennenzulernen. Er bekommt Sympathie oder Antipathie für die Stoffe, eine Verwandtschaft mit der übrigen Welt. Dann nimmt er zuletzt auch den atomistischen oder Lebensäther in sich selbst wahr.
Durch das Hineinleiten des Lichtes in die Welt hat der Mensch seine feste Gestalt bekommen. Durch das Hineinleiten des chemischen Äthers hat er Verwandtschaft mit der Welt bekommen. Durch das Hineinleiten des atomistischen Äthers hat er das Leben bekommen.
Also bekam er durch die Augen: die Gestalt; durch den Geschmackssinn: die Verwandtschaft mit der Welt; durch seinen Geruchssinn, die Nase: das Leben. Jehova blies den lebendigen Odem in seine Nase ein.
Wenn wir uns mit solchen Vorstellungen den religiösen Schriften nähern, dann finden wir, daß die tiefsten Wahrheiten in sie hineingelegt sind. Wir wollen sehen, ob sie ursprünglich in der Weise hineingelegt worden sind, wie wir sie jetzt haben.
Man stelle sich beispielsweise vor den Baumeister des Gotthardtunnels und dann den Beschreiber. Der Mann, der den Gotthardtunnel gebaut hat, braucht vielleicht gar nicht so viel Ingenieurkunst im bewußten Zustande gehabt zu haben, aber er hat einen Gedanken in die Wirklichkeit umgesetzt. So verhalten sich die uralten Weisen zu den jetzigen. Damals besaßen sie eine schaffende Weisheit. Jetzt haben wir die wahrgenommene Weisheit. Die schaffende Weisheit ist diejenige Weisheit, die den Menschen einstmals gemacht hat, Stück für Stück aufgebaut hat, die heute der Anatom herausholt und beschreibt. Die schaffende Weisheit ist genau dieselbe, wie die heute herausgeholte Weisheit; sie ist in die Welt hineingelegt worden. In der uralten Weisheit hat man es mit dem Plane der Welt zu tun. Nun können Sie verstehen, warum der Mystiker sich in sich selbst zurückziehen muß. Der eigentliche Mystiker muß ein Erforscher des Inneren sein. Er versucht, diejenigen Stadien der Entwickelung wieder aufzusuchen, durch die er geschaffen worden ist.
Könnten wir die Augen vollständig vor allem Licht verschließen und dann in uns Licht schaffen, bis die Welt von innen heraus beleuchtet erscheint, dann könnten wir uns in uns selbst versenken in die schaffende Weisheit und im Inneren alles durchschauen. Das hat einen praktischen Wert, denn man erinnert sich daran, daß im Grunde genommen der Mensch sich dadurch aufgebaut hat, daß er durch das Mineral-, Pflanzen- und Tierreich hindurchgegangen ist; das ist auch alles in ihm. Was draußen in der Welt ist, sind die zurückgebliebenen Reste dessen, was der Mensch einmal auch war.
Das menschliche Herz war in seiner Entstehung in Verwandtschaft mit dem, was draußen vor sich gegangen ist. In dem Augenblicke, wo man sich in das Herz vertieft, schafft man sich die Umwelt, wie sie damals war, als in der lemurischen Zeit das Herz entstand. Wenn man sich auf die Tätigkeit des Herzens konzentriert, kann man hervorzaubern die ganze Umgebung der damaligen lemurischen Zeit, als das Herz sich bildete. Es tauchen dann die lemurischen Landschaften in uns auf. Wer aufs Herz sich konzentriert, sieht die Entstehung des Menschengeschlechtes.
Durch Konzentration auf das Innere des Gehirns, das erst nach und nach während der atlantischen Zeit entstanden ist, sieht man die atlantischen Landschaften auftauchen. Konzentriert man sich auf das Sonnengeflecht, so wird man zu den Hyperboräern geführt. So steigt man rückwärts auf in die verflossenen Welten. Das ist kein In-sich-Brüten, sondern ein wirkliches Wahrnehmen der einzelnen Organe in ihrer Verwandtschaft mit der Welt. Auf diese Weise hat Paracelsus seine Mittel gefunden und kuriert. Er wußte, daß Digitalis purpurea entstanden ist, als das menschliche Herz entstand. Durch Konzentration auf ein Organ erscheinen entsprechende Heilmittel. So stehen die Glieder des Makrokosmos mit der mikrokosmischen Natur des Menschen in Zusammenhang.
Jetzt kann man leicht verstehen, was es heißt: der Mensch bekommt rotes, warmes Blut und die höheren Tiere auch. Das heißt, der Mensch wird von da an befähigt, sich von der ganzen Umgebung abzusondern, selbständig, eine in sich geschlossene Ganzheit zu werden. Der Fisch ist das nicht. Der Fisch ist so warm wie seine Umgebung. Mit dem roten, warmen Blute kam die Fähigkeit für den Menschen, in sich Wärme zu entwickeln. Da konnte der Mensch sich von seiner Umgebung absondern. Vorher war er so warm wie seine Umgebung. Was ist da eigentlich geschehen?
Man betrachte den undifferenzierten menschlichen Organismus vor der lemurischen Zeit. Wir haben ein gleichmäßiges Wärmeverhältnis auf der ganzen Erde. Der Wärmezustand im Menschen ist ebenso wie der Wärmezustand außen. Nun wird der Wärmezustand im Inneren ein höherer. Dieser Wärmezustand im Menschen bedeutet nun Eigenwärme, Wärme, die in Anspruch genommen wird in der Besonderheit; und draußen in der Welt entsteht das Entgegengesetzte: Wärme, Feuer, das hergegeben wird. Vorher gab es draußen auch noch kein Feuer. Es wurde erst möglich, in der Natur Funken zu erzeugen, als drinnen im Menschen Feuer auftrat. Draußen war seit der Zeit das wohltätige Feuer, das hergegeben wird, und im Menschen das egoistische Feuer.
Und nun haben wir den Zeitpunkt, in welchem das Feuer für den Menschen geistigen Wesen entzogen wurde. Dem Körper eines bestimmten geistigen Wesens haben die Menschen ihre Wärme entzogen - Agni! Dadurch mußte sich das, was früher da war als Feuergeist in der Welt, zurückziehen und konnte dann nur noch zeitweise erscheinen in Gestalt von Feuer. Die Prometheus-Sage beruht auf dieser Tatsache. Der Gott hat seinen früheren Körper verloren und schafft sich in dem äußeren Feuer einen neuen Körper. Da haben Sie ein ganz besonderes Beispiel, wie der Mensch in gewisser Weise zerstörend wirkt auf die Elementarkräfte der Natur. Der Mensch hat das Element Feuer selbst hervorgerufen, indem er selbst ein Sonderwesen geworden ist. Darum ist es ein okkulter Satz, daß der Mensch im Grunde genommen den Elementarwesen gegenüber ein Zerstörer ist. Das geht sehr weit und läßt uns klar erscheinen, daß der Mensch heute noch in seiner Umwelt fortwährend neue Verhältnisse, neue Naturkräfte schafft, indem er sich selbst weiterentwickelt. Er gestaltet die Erde aus. Das Feuer ist entstanden in der lemurischen Zeit, daher konnte Lemurien durch das Feuer untergehen, welches der Mensch selbst geschaffen hatte.
Der atlantische Kontinent ist durch das Wasser untergegangen. Der fünfte Kontinent wird untergehen durch das Böse. Es läßt sich dabei eine Art Rückgang beobachten in folgender Weise:
Das nächste war — während der atlantischen Zeit - das Schaffen des Menschen an seinem eigenen Ätherkörper. Er hat da die Luft aus seiner Umgebung angezogen. Er hat seinen Ätherkörper in der Weise verändert, daß die Verhältnisse auf Atlantis ganz andere geworden sind. Die Oberfläche der Erde während der Atlantis war einst nur Nebel, eine solche Atmosphäre, daß ein Regenbogen dort nicht möglich war. Der Mensch wirkte damals auf das Wasser. Zur lemurischen Zeit wirkte er auf die feste Erde, das brachte das Feuer heraus; in der atlantischen Zeit wirkte er auf das Wasser, das bewirkte das Licht. (Es entspricht dem Licht unseres Verstandes im Inneren.) Dann wirkte er auf die Luft.
Die fünfte Wurzelrasse wird der Mensch durch das, was man das Böse nennt, zugrunde richten. Dann kommt die sechste Wurzelrasse. Die fünfte Wurzelrasse ist diejenige, die Manas auf dem physischen Plane entwickelt.
In der urindischen Kultur lebte man in einem Zustande, der dem Manas in einer Art tiefem Trancezustande entspricht. Da wird den alten Indern von den Rishis die uralte Weisheit geoffenbart. Die zweite Offenbarung geschah bei den Persern in einem Zustande, ähnlich dem unseres tiefen Schlafes. In diesem Zustande hörte der Mensch das Wort. Es war der Zustand des alten persischen Schlaftrance. «Honover» heißt das Wort bei den Persern.
Dritte Offenbarung: Die vorderasiatischen Völker, Babylonier, Ägypter nehmen durch Manas im Bilderbewußtsein wahr; sie haben Visionen oder Traumgesichte.
Vierte Offenbarung: Helles, waches Tagesbewußtsein wurde ausgebildet bei den Semiten, den Griechen und Römern. Da wird Manas wahrgenommen im hellen Tagesbewußtsein, als verkörperter Mensch, Christus Jesus.
Bei den Indern finden wir also den Trance des physischen Körpers. Bei den Persern finden wir den Tiefschlaf des Ätherkörpers. Bei den vorderasiatischen Völkern finden wir das Bilderbewußtsein des Astralkörpers. Bei den semitischen, griechischen, römischen Völkern das Wachbewußtsein des Ich.
Jetzt, in der fünften Unterrasse, hat man nicht die Wahrnehmung eines wandelnden Manas, sondern das Höchste sieht diese Rasse in dem psychischen Erleben der einfachen Begriffe. Unsere Unterrasse hat das psychische Manas entwickelt, die gewöhnliche Wissenschaft.
Die sechste Unterrasse wird ein überpsychisches Manas entwickeln. Was beim Menschen jetzt bloß eine Art Wissen ist, das wird in der sechsten Unterrasse unmittelbare Wirklichkeit, soziale Kraft. Die sechste Unterrasse hat den Gesellschaftsorganismus sozial zu durchdringen mit demjenigen, was alle vorhergehende Entwickelung hervorgebracht hat. Da wird erst das Christentum sozial gestaltend hervortreten. Die sechste Unterrasse wird die grundlegende Keimrasse für die sechste Wurzelrasse. Die fünfte Wurzelrasse stammt ab von den Ursemiten, der fünften Unterrasse der vierten Wurzelrasse. Die haben das eigene Ich entwickelt, das den Egoismus hervorbringt. Das Selbständigwerden verdankt die Menschheit den Ursemiten. Der Mensch muß sich erst selbst finden, dann aber auch sich selbst wieder hingeben. Er muß sich dem hingeben, was den Gedanken wirklich macht. Die sechste Unterrasse ist dazu bestimmt, anstelle der Verwandtschaft des Blutes die Verwandtschaft des Manas zu setzen, die Verwandtschaft im Geiste. Der Gedanke, der altruistisch ist, wird die Anlage zur Überwindung des Egoismus entwickeln.
Die siebente Unterrasse wird eine Frühgeburt sein. Sie wird zu früh in eine noch viel stärkere Wirklichkeit umsetzen, was aus dem Manas herauskommt.
In der sechsten Unterrasse wird die Anlage gegeben werden zur Überwindung des Egoismus, aber so, daß Gleichgewicht gehalten wird zwischen Selbstheit und Selbstlosigkeit. Der Mensch der sechsten Unterrasse wird sich weder verlieren nach außen, noch sich abschließen nach innen. Bei der siebenten Unterrasse tritt eine Art Hypertrophie ein. Der Mensch strömt dann nach außen aus, was er jetzt in sich hat: seinen Egoismus. Die Mitglieder der sechsten Unterrasse dagegen halten das Gleichgewicht. Die siebente Untertasse verhärtet den Egoismus. Da wird später das englisch-amerikanische Volk als etwas Starres hineinragen in die sechste Wurzelrasse, wie heute die Chinesen ein starrer Rest sind der atlantischen Zeit, der vierten Wurzelrasse.
Von der anglo-amerikanischen Rasse geht der Weltegoismus aus. Von jener Seite her wird die ganze Erde überzogen werden von Egoismus. Aus England und Amerika kommen alle die Erfindungen, die die Erde überziehen wie ein Netz des Egoistischen. So wird von dorther die ganze Erde überzogen werden von einem Netz des Egoistisch-Bösen. Aber von einer kleinen Kolonie im Osten wird wie von einem Samen das neue Leben für die Zukunft ausgebildet.
Die englisch-amerikanische Kultur zehrt die Kultur Europas auf. Die Sekten in England und Amerika stellen nichts anderes dar als die unglaublichste Konservierung von alten Dingen. Aber solche Gesellschaften wie die Heilsarmee, die Theosophische Gesellschaft und so weiter entstehen gerade dort, um die Seelen herauszuretten aus der Dekadenz, denn Rassenentwickelung geht nicht parallel mit Seelenentwickelung. Aber die Rasse selbst geht ins Verderben. Es ist darin die Anlage der bösen Rasse.
In der vierten Unterrasse wurde die Arbeit
als Tribut geleistet (Sklavenarbeit).
In der fünften Unterrasse wird die Arbeit
als Ware geleistet (verkauft).
In der sechsten Unterrasse wird die Arbeit
als Opfer geleistet (freie Arbeit).
Die wirtschaftliche Existenz wird dann getrennt sein von der Arbeit; es wird kein Eigentum mehr geben, alles ist Gemeingut. Man arbeitet dann nicht mehr für seine eigene Existenz, sondern leistet alles als absolutes Opfer für die Menschheit.
XXVII
Let us give another special example of how one can immerse oneself in the depths of religious scriptures and understand more and more of what is written therein.
If we consider our sensory organs as they are usually considered, we have the ability to perceive matter itself through the organ of smell. Without matter emanating, it is impossible for humans to smell. What takes place is a connection with the matter itself. The organ of taste does not connect with the matter itself, but dissolves things and perceives the effect. We can therefore call taste a chemical sense, because it penetrates the nature of the substance. The third sense, sight, has nothing to do with substance at all, because it only perceives images that are projected by the substance. The fourth, the sense of touch, has even less to do with what substance is, since it only perceives properties of the environment on objects, such as heat and cold; this is a state of matter that no longer depends on the matter itself, but on the state of the surroundings. Hearing does not depend on air at all, because we only perceive the vibrations of the air, which is something that is completely external to the material world. It is matter, air, that is merely the medium through which sound waves travel.
The lowest level of material perception is smell, then comes taste, then sight, then touch, and then hearing. We can now ask ourselves—taking the sense of touch as an example—what is heat and cold? It is what is contained in the heat ether. So the sense of touch perceives the ether of warmth, sight perceives the ether of light, taste perceives the ether of chemistry, smell perceives the ether of atoms or life, and hearing perceives the ether of air. A sixth and seventh sense, which will only develop in the future, would perceive water and earth.
Thus, in our senses, we have a successive series of stages for what we call our substances. Let us first follow our three lower senses.
The sense of sight perceives the objects around us through the light ether. But there was a time when it was dark and gloomy all around. Let us go back to the time when human beings first opened their eyes and the outside world became perceptible to us as such. Before that, the eye was not yet open to the outside world. Imagine the same power that the eye receives from outside in the light ether, poured out from the inside to the outside, flowing in the opposite direction through the eyes. If that were the case, the being would illuminate those around it. Such a thing existed at a certain time when humans possessed the cyclops eye. The glow was caused by the light flowing out; it flowed from the inside to the outside. At that time, humans illuminated the objects around them and their own bodies, as some sea creatures still do today. At that time, humans had no consciousness of themselves, but were merely a means for the corresponding deity to illuminate the world for the deity. The deity had no other means of seeing the objects around them than through the eyes of humans.
When humans did not yet have a mind, it was possible for the active light of the deity to pass through them and illuminate objects. Humans were mediators for the deity. The deity wanted to make the fixed objects visible through the light. As the light passed through humans, humans themselves were formed. Before the light passed through humans, the deity did not yet need the light, because objects were not yet solid, but fluid, so that light was not yet necessary. This is the state described in the Bible: “There was darkness on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” At that time, the world was pure water; even gold, silver, and other metals flowed and were fluid. When solid objects emerged from within the water like chunks of ice, human beings separated themselves, and light became necessary. God said, “Let there be light, and there was light,” and only then did human beings take shape. This is the moment when the light ether is introduced and the solid components separate: “God made a firmament.” Previously, everything was a watery substance. Just as the light ether was introduced into the solid, so the chemical ether was introduced into the water. Chemical affinity was worked into human beings when they were still liquid. The chemical relationships according to which the various substances combine today were imprinted on the individual. Then we return to a state when human beings and the whole earth were still airy; then the life ether or atomistic ether was instilled into them. At that time, the life ether was introduced into the world through human beings.
Now let us once again consider the state that existed when God said, “Let there be light!” The earth begins to condense. The earth is illuminated. So it was that human beings actually only began to become solid at that time. Now the earlier forces had to remain with them. We have now reached the state in which human beings allow light to pass through themselves. Then a complete reversal took place. Human beings now began to perceive light from outside.
Originally, the following were introduced into this world through them:
1. the atomistic or life ether
2. the chemical ether
3. the light ether
Reversal:
3. Perception of the life ether
2. Perception of the chemical ether
1. Perception of the light ether.
Then human beings receive the light back from the world (reversal of the vortex). They used to shine themselves, but now the light flows into them. They have closed themselves off; this has made them conscious. The light shines within him; the human being begins to reflect the world around him within himself. The next step is that the human being begins to get to know objects in terms of their chemical composition. He develops sympathy or antipathy for substances, a kinship with the rest of the world. Finally, he also perceives the atomistic or life ether within himself.
By introducing light into the world, man has acquired his fixed form. By introducing the chemical ether, he has acquired a kinship with the world. By introducing the atomistic ether, he has acquired life.
So through the eyes he acquired form; through the sense of taste, kinship with the world; through his sense of smell, his nose: life. Jehovah breathed the breath of life into his nose.
When we approach religious writings with such ideas, we find that the deepest truths are contained within them. Let us see whether they were originally placed there in the way we now have them.
Imagine, for example, the builder of the Gotthard Tunnel and then the writer who describes it. The man who built the Gotthard Tunnel may not have needed to have had so much engineering skill in his conscious state, but he turned a thought into reality. This is how the ancient sages relate to the present ones. At that time, they possessed a creative wisdom. Now we have perceived wisdom. Creative wisdom is the wisdom that once made human beings, built them up piece by piece, and which anatomists now extract and describe. Creative wisdom is exactly the same as the wisdom extracted today; it has been placed into the world. Ancient wisdom deals with the plan of the world. Now you can understand why the mystic must withdraw into himself. The true mystic must be an explorer of the inner world. He tries to rediscover the stages of development through which he was created.
If we could completely close our eyes to all light and then create light within ourselves until the world appears illuminated from within, then we could immerse ourselves in the creative wisdom within ourselves and see through everything inwardly. This has practical value, for we remember that, basically, human beings have built themselves up by passing through the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms; all of which is also within him. What is outside in the world are the remnants of what human beings once were.
In its formation, the human heart was related to what was happening outside. The moment one immerses oneself in the heart, one creates the environment as it was when the heart was formed in the Lemurian period. When you concentrate on the activity of the heart, you can conjure up the entire environment of the Lemurian era when the heart was formed. The Lemurian landscapes then appear within us. Those who concentrate on the heart see the emergence of the human race.
By concentrating on the interior of the brain, which only gradually came into being during the Atlantean epoch, one sees the Atlantean landscapes emerge. If one concentrates on the solar plexus, one is led to the Hyperboreans. In this way, one ascends backwards into the worlds of the past. This is not brooding within oneself, but a real perception of the individual organs in their relationship to the world. In this way, Paracelsus found his remedies and cured. He knew that Digitalis purpurea came into being when the human heart came into being. By concentrating on an organ, the corresponding remedies appear. Thus, the members of the macrocosm are related to the microcosmic nature of man.
Now it is easy to understand what it means: humans have red, warm blood, and so do higher animals. This means that from then on, humans are able to separate themselves from their entire environment and become independent, self-contained wholes. Fish are not like this. Fish are as warm as their environment. With red, warm blood came the ability for humans to develop warmth within themselves. This enabled humans to separate themselves from their environment. Before that, they were as warm as their environment. What actually happened there?
Consider the undifferentiated human organism before the Lemurian epoch. We have a uniform temperature ratio across the entire Earth. The state of warmth in humans is the same as the state of warmth outside. Now the state of warmth inside becomes higher. This state of warmth in humans now means intrinsic warmth, warmth that is used in a special way; and outside in the world, the opposite arises: warmth, fire that is given away. Before, there was no fire outside either. It only became possible to create sparks in nature when fire appeared inside human beings. Since that time, there has been beneficial fire outside, which is given away, and selfish fire inside human beings.
And now we have reached the point in time when fire was taken away from human beings as spiritual beings. Human beings took their warmth away from the body of a certain spiritual being – Agni! As a result, what used to be present in the world as the spirit of fire had to retreat and could then only appear temporarily in the form of fire. The Prometheus legend is based on this fact. The god has lost his former body and creates a new body for himself in the outer fire. Here you have a very special example of how humans have a destructive effect on the elemental forces of nature in a certain way. Human beings have brought forth the element of fire themselves by becoming special beings themselves. That is why it is an occult statement that human beings are basically destroyers of elemental beings. This goes very far and makes it clear to us that human beings today are still constantly creating new conditions and new forces of nature in their environment by continuing to develop themselves. They are shaping the earth. Fire came into being in the Lemurian epoch, which is why Lemuria was destroyed by the fire that humans themselves had created.
The Atlantic continent was destroyed by water. The fifth continent will be destroyed by evil. A kind of decline can be observed in the following way:
The next thing was — during the Atlantean period — the creation of the human being's own etheric body. He drew in the air from his surroundings. He changed his etheric body in such a way that conditions on Atlantis became completely different. The surface of the earth during the Atlantean era was once only fog, an atmosphere in which rainbows were not possible. At that time, man acted on water. During the Lemurian era, he acted on solid earth, which brought forth fire; during the Atlantean era, he acted on water, which brought forth light. (This corresponds to the light of our inner understanding.) Then they acted upon the air.
The fifth root race will destroy humanity through what is called evil. Then the sixth root race will come. The fifth root race is the one that develops manas on the physical plane.
In ancient Indian culture, people lived in a state corresponding to manas in a kind of deep trance. There, the ancient Indians were revealed the ancient wisdom by the rishis. The second revelation occurred among the Persians in a state similar to our deep sleep. In this state, man heard the word. It was the state of the ancient Persian sleep trance. “Honover” is the word used by the Persians.
Third revelation: The peoples of the Near East, Babylonians, Egyptians perceive through Manas in image consciousness; they have visions or dream visions.
Fourth revelation: Bright, alert daytime consciousness was developed among the Semites, Greeks, and Romans. There, Manas is perceived in bright daytime consciousness as an embodied human being, Christ Jesus.
Among the Indians, we find the trance of the physical body. Among the Persians, we find the deep sleep of the etheric body. Among the peoples of the Near East, we find the image consciousness of the astral body. Among the Semitic, Greek, and Roman peoples, we find the waking consciousness of the ego.
Now, in the fifth subrace, one does not have the perception of a changing Manas, but this race sees the highest in the psychic experience of simple concepts. Our subrace has developed the psychic Manas, ordinary science.
The sixth subrace will develop a super-psychic Manas. What is now merely a kind of knowledge in humans will become immediate reality, social power, in the sixth subrace. The sixth subrace will have to permeate the social organism with what all previous development has produced. Only then will Christianity emerge as a social force. The sixth sub-race will be the fundamental germ race for the sixth root race. The fifth root race descends from the Ur-Semites, the fifth sub-race of the fourth root race. They developed their own ego, which gives rise to selfishness. Humanity owes its independence to the Ur-Semites. Human beings must first find themselves, but then also surrender themselves again. They must surrender to that which makes thoughts real. The sixth sub-race is destined to replace blood kinship with manas kinship, kinship in spirit. Altruistic thinking will develop the capacity to overcome egoism.
The seventh sub-race will be premature. It will translate what comes out of the manas too early into an even stronger reality.
In the sixth sub-race, the predisposition to overcome egoism will be given, but in such a way that a balance is maintained between selfhood and selflessness. The human being of the sixth sub-race will neither lose himself outwardly nor shut himself off inwardly. In the seventh sub-race, a kind of hypertrophy occurs. The human being then pours out what he now has within himself: his egoism. The members of the sixth sub-race, on the other hand, maintain balance. The seventh sub-race hardens egoism. Later, the Anglo-American people will protrude into the sixth root race as something rigid, just as the Chinese today are a rigid remnant of the Atlantean era, the fourth root race.
World egoism emanates from the Anglo-American race. From that side, the whole earth will be covered with egoism. All the inventions that cover the earth like a net of egoism come from England and America. Thus, the whole earth will be covered from there by a net of egoistic evil. But from a small colony in the East, new life for the future will be formed, like from a seed.
English-American culture is consuming the culture of Europe. The sects in England and America represent nothing more than the most incredible preservation of old things. But societies such as the Salvation Army, the Theosophical Society, and so on are emerging precisely there to rescue souls from decadence, for racial development does not go hand in hand with soul development. But the race itself is going to ruin. It is the predisposition of the evil race.
In the fourth sub-race, work was
performed as tribute (slave labor).
In the fifth sub-race, work is
performed as a commodity (sold).
In the sixth sub-race, work is
performed as a sacrifice (free labor).
Economic existence will then be separated from work; there will be no more property, everything will be common property. People will no longer work for their own existence, but will perform everything as an absolute sacrifice for humanity.