The Human Soul in Relation to World Evolution
GA 212
17 June 1922, Dornach
9. The Contrasting World-Conceptions of East and West
Today I would like to speak about an aspect of Anthroposophy which closely concerns the being of man.
It is obvious that our contact with the world between waking and sleeping is, to begin with, through our senses. We perceive different aspects of the world around us through our various senses. By means of a certain inner soul activity we build up a picture of the world on the basis of our impressions. With this I merely want to indicate how anyone may observe the course and content of his waking state. However, our existence within the world embraces not only the waking state but also that of sleep. While we sleep we are, with our soul being and our `I', outside of our body in a realm which is unknown to ordinary consciousness.
What I have just said is applicable to present-day man in the way his soul life has developed since the 15th Century. I have often indicated the extraordinary importance of this particular period in mankind's evolution.
The question arises: What is our relationship, in our sleeping state, to that realm which is closed at least to our ordinary consciousness? There are difficulties in describing this relationship, especially at this point in mankind's evolution, unless we bear in mind that man has evolved and has gone through a great many different stages. At present, in our so-called civilized age we find, when we consider man's soul life, that he must exert himself considerably when forming concepts and mental pictures. We are often thoughtless when we regard earlier periods of human life which did not have such systems of education as we now find necessary. We are superficial in the way we look at that culture which arose, in ancient times, over in the East, although the human beings were not undergoing education from childhood as is the case nowadays.
In present-day Europe it is practically impossible to imagine how differently education was regarded in the ancient Orient. Yet things were created of an exalted nature, uplifting to heart and mind. One need only think of the Oriental writings such as the Vedas and all that is contained in the wisdom of the Orient. Today everything originating in mental activity is evaluated on the basis of the circumstances of a person's upbringing and education and on what, as a result, he further accomplishes in life. The necessity to be educated and well informed is, in the first place, because each individual today must be able to form his own thoughts about life. Without this ability he would be lost in the modern world. Man has actually not yet come very far in the art of formulating thoughts. It is essential, particularly in the system of education, that progress is made in furthering the art of formulating concepts about the external world.
The necessity for this began already in ancient Greece. In Greece, though strongly influenced by the Orient, arose the first cultural life within Europe. A system of education developed which included a rudimentary cultivation of mental activity. In the Orient no appeal was made to mental effort and this still influenced Greek cultural life; in general, no exertion was made to form one's own mental pictures of external objects. Socrates1Socrates, 469-399 B.C. Athenian philosopher. is rightly admired within Western culture as one of the first to induce people to form their own concepts.
However, it would be quite wrong to conclude that man was obliged to produce his thoughts by his own effort within the cultural life of the West, while there was no life of thought in the Orient. Indeed, a powerful thought life existed and the further we go back in Oriental culture the stronger and the more powerful it was. We find already before the existence of the Vedas and the Vedanta philosophy a powerful thought life. As I have often pointed out, the Vedas, the Vedanta philosophy, do not represent the very first stages—which were not written down—of Oriental spiritual life. It had all fallen into decadence two or three millennia ago. People of the Orient today live in the afterglow of a once quite remarkable thought life, but a thought life utterly different from ours. We must exert ourselves—indeed, we have to sweat inwardly—forgive the crude expression, which is meant only figuratively—in order to produce our thoughts, whereas Oriental thought life was inspired. Thoughts and thought combinations arose in the ancient Oriental of their own accord. His picture of the world was inspired in him; he felt that what he thought was bestowed upon him. Inner exertion in combining thoughts was unknown to him. Between waking and sleeping he felt that thoughts were granted him. This colored his whole soul life; he felt grateful to the Gods that they bestowed thoughts upon him. The Oriental felt that when, as a human being, thoughts lived within him, it was because divine spiritual power streamed into him. It was a completely different attitude to thought life from ours.
In ancient times in the Orient the life of thoughts and feelings were not so separate as they now are for ordinary consciousness. Because man felt his thoughts bestowed upon him he also felt uplifted by them and a religious feeling united itself with every thought. He felt he must approach, with religious devotion, the powers that bestowed the readymade thoughts and thought combinations upon him.
If one seeks the external objective reason why Oriental man experienced the world in this way, one finds that it is because his sleep life was different from that of modern man. During sleep our soul and our `I' abandon the body mainly in the region of the head; the organs of metabolism and limbs are not separated from man to the same degree. These parts are still penetrated by man's `I' and soul being during sleep. I have often spoken of this but should like to place it before you once more schematically. Let this be man when awake (see drawing, left). The `I' and soul being, which I have drawn in red, penetrate the physical and etheric bodies. It would be wrong if I drew sleeping man in such a way that I had the physical and etheric bodies lying on the bed and simply drew the `I' and astral body (or soul) alongside. I must draw it so that—when the physical organs and limbs are here (drawing, right, white lines)—I draw the `I' and soul being outside man only in relation to the head. For, strictly speaking, it is only in regard to this region that man in sleep is separated from his physical and etheric bodies (red).

When we go back to those ancient times of which we spoke, the situation was different. During man's sleep the organs of his head—mainly the system of nerves and that part of the breathing system that penetrates the head—were the scene of activity for those divine spiritual beings who were concerned with the earth.
It is simply describing the reality to say that in the very earliest days of mankind's evolution on earth, divine spiritual beings withdrew from man when he woke up. When he slept they took up their abode in the human head, which was then bereft of man's `I' and soul being. During his sleep, divine spiritual beings carried out their activity in the head. When man woke in the morning—i.e., when he again sank into his head—he found the result of this activity. The divine spiritual beings regulated his nerve processes and worked right into the blood circulation. Through the ether body they exerted their influence even in the organic processes in the physical body. In general, the human beings were not clearly aware of this. Only those schooled in the Mysteries realized it; the great masses of humanity experienced it but without full awareness. Thus, when he woke man found the result of the Gods' activity in his head. And when he perceived the configuration of his thoughts, during waking life, it was because during sleep Gods had been active in his head. Thus, ancient Oriental man found every morning a heritage left by the Gods during his sleep, with the consequence that he felt his thoughts to be inspired within him. He felt the Gods' deeds as inspiration. In other words, the divine spiritual beings did not inspire man directly during his waking life; they did it during his sleep by pursuing their own activity in his head.
In those ancient times man's social behavior was induced by inspiration. Divine spiritual beings could completely regulate earthly affairs. Through their activity during man's sleep they brought about a mutual trust among human beings and also the obedience felt by the great masses towards their leaders, and so on. There was interaction throughout between the divine spiritual world and the earthly world in the ancient Orient. It was possible because man's whole organization was different.
I have often mentioned the fact that people nowadays imagine that throughout history man has always been as he is now. They assume that the physical nature of his body was the same and so, too, his soul being and the spirituality of his `I'. When a modern historian writes about ancient Egypt and deciphers its documents, then he thinks that though the people were not as clever as he is, they nevertheless thought, felt and acted more or less as he does. The view is that if one goes back far enough then man appears as a kind of higher ape, a state from which he then progresses to—well, to whatever the historian imagines. Nevertheless, it is assumed that from the time historical records began, man has been the same as he is now. This is assumed both in regard to his thinking, feeling and willing, and in regard to his etheric-physical organization.
However, that is not the case; man has altered quite considerably, also during historical times. Just consider the instance I mentioned earlier of how the physical sight of the ancient Greeks differed from ours. They did not see the color blue as we see it; they saw in fact only the reddish color shades. Modern man is mistaken when he thinks that the Greeks, because they were surrounded by beauty, particularly appreciated the beautiful blue of the sky. The Greek did not really differentiate between blue and green; he saw plainly the warm reddish-yellow colors. The sky to him therefore looked quite different from the way it is seen with normal consciousness today. The eyes have changed in the course of mankind's evolution, though in inner subtle ways. In fact, the whole sense system has become different in the course of historical times; and in the Orient, in those ancient times we are considering, the senses were so organized that man could not be deluded by them, nor did they prevent his devoting himself to the result of the divine deeds that remained in his organism when he woke from sleep.
Gradually, man's senses changed and caused him to become so intensely connected with the external world that the moment he woke his attention was drawn away from that which as a heritage was left in his organism. Because man was now differently organized the Gods no longer carried out their activity in his head during sleep. This activity no longer furthered mankind's evolution; had it continued it would not have benefited man. On the contrary, as man has now, through his senses, become so strongly absorbed in the external world he would no longer be able to pay attention to what the Gods bequeathed to him during the night. Their activity would no longer be felt as inspiration, and as a consequence of not being taken into man's consciousness it would flow back into the body, causing the organism to become old prematurely.
Man could live united with the world of the Gods because in ancient times, unlike today, his senses were not particularly orientated towards the external world. In his waking state he could absorb what he had experienced in sleep. This was a real living with the Gods, for though he could not behold them with his senses, man, in ancient times, was at least adapted to experience their deeds.
Later, in the millennium before the Mystery of Golgotha, man's senses, particularly the eyes, began to develop—also in the Orient—the sensitivity to external impressions which they have now. The system of senses gradually developed to what it later became. At first man retained, in addition, in his system of nerves, what still enabled him to experience the divine spiritual deeds. His experience of them had formerly been in their purity—i.e., not mingled with sense perceptions. But now they were taken up by the senses. This had the strange result that for a large part of mankind the Gods, the spiritual beings, were drawn, as it were, into the physical organization. In consequence, what had formerly been a pure spiritual experience of divine spiritual beings, became a belief in ghosts.
The belief in ghosts is not so very ancient; what is ancient is the pure spiritual beholding of divine spiritual beings. Belief in ghosts arose first through the mingling of sense perception with beholding the divine. When the culture of the Oriental Mysteries penetrated into Europe, for example, into the magnificent spiritual life of Greece, into Greek art and philosophy, there followed in its wake, also, the seeing of ghosts by the general masses of people.
Thus, in the last millennium before the Mystery of Golgotha, the former pure spiritual perception which the Oriental people possessed, had fallen into decline. It had become, particularly by large sections of the masses, a kind of perception of ghosts. This belief in ghosts wandered over into Europe; in the Orient it had been pure spiritual perception but had now become transformed into something physical. Thus, it can be said that the belief in ghosts is the last offshoot, the end product of a lofty, albeit dreamlike, spiritual seeing, which had once signified a cultural flowering in mankind's evolution.
I have described how in ancient times Oriental people felt that during sleep the head was the earthly scene of activity for divine spiritual beings. This was something of which people in general were dimly aware; those who had undergone initiation in the Mysteries were fully conscious of the fact. What I have described has a counterpart in the cultural life that has since developed.
The cultural life of more recent times is still in its early stages. The further West we go the stronger it comes to expression. To the ancient Oriental it would have made no sense had he been told that thoughts do not pulsate through the will. He knew from experience that what lived in his will, and even in his blood, was something bestowed upon him by the Gods. They formed his thoughts and during sleep they developed a powerful force in him which he experienced as inspiration.
Even today, when we look towards the East, we find, for example in the philosophy of Soloviev,2Wladimir Soloviev, 1853-1900. Russian philosopher. the last remnants of how things were experienced in the past. And, clearly, Soloviev would have found it incomprehensible if told that thought is not a force that impels and carries the will. However, it is the opinion today, especially in America, that thought is not the ruling factor in man. Physiology and biology as developed in America are clear demonstrations of this view. When one goes into the finer details one finds that science in America is, in this respect, something quite different from that of Europe, let alone the Orient. Modern man in the Western world is all too aware that he produces his thoughts himself. Thoughts, however, must relate to something, so it is maintained that far more important for man than the thoughts he absorbs, is the kind of family into which he is born, the way he is brought up, the political environment in which he grows up, the religious denomination he might join. All these things act on his emotions and determine his will. Thus, the will is supposed not to be directly influenced by thoughts, but is determined by such environmental factors as family, politics, country and so on. Thus, in America, in fact, Western man in general, is of the opinion that thought is not the ruler in man; at most its position is that of prime minister. The ruler is the human organism with its instincts and will impulses. Quoting Carlyle2Thomas Carlyle, 1795-1881. English philosopher and historian. it is said that thought may be a devoted minister, but its function is only that of an executive. And it must be emphasized that today's broad mass of humanity thinks likewise, shown by its eagerness to confirm that ancient traditions should be superseded. This is why there is today such an interest in the study of primitive man. It is thought that he lived through instincts and desires of which his thoughts were only a kind of mirror image.
Thus, today Western man looks into his inner being and asks why it is that he is driven by instincts and cravings. To him they appear devoid of spirit because he is not yet organized to perceive the spiritual in them. Yet every instinct or craving, whether good or bad, is spiritual. It may be a very evil instinct that comes to expression in one or another person, but even the most brutal urge is spiritual. The human race is always in the process of development; it must advance to such spirituality that when man looks into himself and perceives his instincts, urges and cravings he sees everywhere in them the spiritual. This will come about in the future.
It makes no difference in this respect whether a person has good or bad instincts; if they are bad it is because either Luciferic or Ahrimanic spirits hold sway in him. But they are spirits.
The assumption that the driving force in man is his instincts is, as far as being aware of the spiritual reality is concerned, similar to the earlier assumption in regard to ghosts. In ancient times spirituality was perceptible to man in the Orient. As it evolved further it became, as I have described, in the first millennium before the Mystery of Golgotha, a belief in ghosts, a perception of ghosts (see drawing, blue).

From where we are at present within world evolution we look back to a time when a belief in ghosts emerged from a former spirituality; at the same time, we look towards the future and foresee a time when once again pure spiritual perception will emerge. But at present we also have a belief in ghosts, in inner ghosts. Those who believe in outer ghosts fail to see the spiritual reality in them and regard them as something that can be seen with physical eyes. Western man today, when he looks into himself, also fails to see the spiritual reality. The way he regards instincts, urges and cravings makes them into ghosts which today precede a future spirituality (red), while the ghosts of old followed an earlier spirituality (blue).
One could also say that from East to West an ancient pure spirituality developed which was followed, in the course of time, by a belief in ghosts, of which remnants are still with us. From West to East, approaching us, a later spirituality is developing which will become reality in a far distant future. The way modern man visualizes urges, instincts and cravings, in which the beginning of the new spirituality reveals itself, makes them as ghost-like as the former ghosts. This outlook makes the educated person regard with disdain the common belief in ghosts. At the same time, he attributes to man ghost-like instincts, urges and cravings. What he does not realize is that the belief in ghosts held by the masses, has as much scientific validity as his belief in desires, urges and instincts. His belief is in ghosts announcing a new beginning just as the masses have a belief in ghosts that marks an ending. Our European civilization has become so chaotic because it is the scene of collision between the old and the new ghosts.
In a West-East aphorism I have briefly characterized how, on the one hand, modern man has been for some time influenced by the ancient heritage of Oriental spirituality which has become a belief in ghosts, and how, on the other hand, he is influenced by the beginning of a spirituality that is now germinating which, through a materialistic interpretation, has turned man's instincts, urges and desires into ghosts. Those which are usually called ghosts are spirits which appear materialized through man's organization. The modern ghosts, pointing to the future, consisting of man's urges, instincts, desires and passions, have not yet become dematerialized; they have not yet become spiritual.
Man's inner soul life, particularly in Europe, takes its course within this peculiar chaotic condition created by the interaction of old and new ghosts. It is essential that man attain spiritual insight in order to arrive at a clear understanding of both. Not only man's view of the world is dependent upon such insight; but also, human life on earth as a whole is dependent upon it. That this must be so follows from the fact that it is not only man's spiritual or cultural life that is derived from his particular nature; but also, his life of rights or political life and his economic life.
But what is the origin of this particular development? I said that the earthly concern of the Gods, of the divine spiritual beings, was within the human head. We differentiate threefold man into the nerve-sense man, whose abode is mainly in the head, the rhythmic man, who lives in the middle, and the metabolic-limb man consisting of the limbs and their continuation inward in the organs of metabolism (see drawing). We differentiate this threefold man and we know that during the sleeping state of humanity in ancient times the Gods, when carrying out their earthly task, made the human head their scene of action. What is the situation at present?
The Gods also carry out their activity in present-day humanity during sleep, but no longer in the head; now it takes place in the metabolic-limb organism. The significance, the all-important point about this is, that for man, the metabolic-limb system remains unconscious also during his waking state. You will remember how I have often spoken about the fact that man is awake in his conceptual life, but completely unaware of what happens deep down in the organism to cause a muscle to carry out a movement. When present-day man has a mental picture of lifting his arm or moving his hand he has, in his ordinary consciousness, no awareness of how his mental life affects his organism. This remains unconscious even during the waking state. In other words, the scene of action of the Gods on earth nowadays is such that—unlike the situation in ancient times—man's natural evolution prevents him, to begin with, from taking possession of the divine heritage when he wakes.

Divine spiritual processes take place in man, today, between falling asleep and waking, but his present nature prevents him from having any impression while awake of the Gods' activity during sleep. In ancient times, man was so constituted that his very organization enabled him to feel his thoughts to be inspired. Present-day man produces his own thoughts, and divine spiritual deeds do not yet enter into this activity; mankind must first reach the appropriate stage of development. This is precisely the task—I would say cosmic task—which Spiritual Science must set itself. And a system of education must be part of such a plan, to enable human beings to recognize, out of their own effort and in full consciousness, the divine spiritual deeds within them. When this stage is reached man will also cease to see his urges and instincts as inner ghosts. The way they are imagined at present they are as much ghosts as the external ones. The external ghosts are not mere delusions; they are divine spiritual forces which appear materialized by being incorrectly seen through man's senses. The divine spiritual forces active in man today are seen incorrectly when they are visualized as urges and instincts.
The external ghosts are scorned today, but what is looked upon as a science deals with nothing but inner ghosts. Man must participate to bring about the transformation intended for him within cosmic evolution. Impulses in this direction ought to permeate every aspect of our culture. This would provide the possibility for man to overcome the forces of decline in their chaotic interaction with forces of ascent against which man still fights, and then strive towards the future stages in mankind's evolution by being inspired and motivated from the spirit. On this everything depends.
What I have tried to convey to you today can be seen as a kind of contemplation of the East in relation to the West, though from an esoteric point of view. Contemplation of East and West is at present altogether timely—I do not use the expression in a trivial sense. It is only through such considerations that mankind can arrive at the relevant level of consciousness.
Thus, in earlier times of earth evolution during sleep (the human being is “man” also during sleep when he does not have his physical body about him) man was in such a relationship to the Gods that he could behold, with eyes of soul and spirit, how they took up their abode in his head. In his waking state all that remained of this experience was a kind of afterglow in his life of feelings. Man became ever more distant from the divine spiritual world which he nevertheless perceived as in a dream when he looked back after having plunged into the body. That was the earlier situation; later, he only felt after waking that he was inspired.
Since then the Gods have drawn deeper down, as it were, into his physical body and man has now entered into such a connection with the Gods that they make his metabolic-limb system the scene of their activity within his earthly nature. However, as man does not completely forsake his earthly nature during sleep, he will, as a consequence, be able to experience again—coming from the divine world—impulses of will and also impulses for his life as a social being—i.e., for his relationship to other human beings—not, however, during sleep—he must experience these spiritual impulses as a complete human being while awake. It can only be attained through increasing conscious knowledge of the spiritual world. To attain this must become man's strongest aim.
This was what I wanted to convey to you as a contribution to an East-West contemplation.


Neunter Vortrag
[ 1 ] Es wird mir heute obliegen, einiges auseinanderzusetzen aus einem dem Menschen naheliegenden Gebiete der Anthroposophie. Morgen werde ich Ihnen dann einiges mitteilen in Anknüpfung an den eben abgelaufenen Wiener West-Ost-Kongreß. Heute jedoch möchte ich einiges Anthroposophische besprechen.
[ 2 ] Nicht wahr, wir stehen in Verbindung mit der Welt als Menschen zunächst durch unsere Sinne, und zwar, wie für jeden ganz offensichtlich ist, vom Aufwachen bis zum Einschlafen. Wir nehmen durch die verschiedenen Sinne die verschiedenen Gebiete des Daseins wahr und setzen durch eine gewisse seelische Tätigkeit uns dadurch ein Weltbild zusammen. Ich will das nur andeuten. Jeder wird durch eine solche Andeutung aufmerksam darauf gemacht, wie er den wachenden Verlauf des Lebens selber betrachten kann und was in ihm enthalten ist.
[ 3 ] Nun aber sind wir als Menschen nicht bloß wachend in die Welt hineingestellt, sondern auch schlafend. Und schlafend sind wir mit unserem Ich und unserem seelischen Wesen außerhalb unseres Leibes in eine Weltumgebung hineingestellt, die für das gewöhnliche Bewußtsein dem Menschen zunächst unbekannt ist.
[ 4 ] Alles, was ich Jetzt sage, ist zunächst für den Menschen der Gegenwart gesagt, das heißt für den Menschen, wie er sich in seinem seelischen Leben herausgebildet hat seit jenem Zeitpunkte, den wir oftmals als einen so außerordentlich wichtigen für die neuere Menschheitsentwickelung bezeichnet haben, seit dem 15. Jahrhundert.
[ 5 ] Nun müssen wir uns aber doch fragen: Wie stehen wir zu einer Welt, die allerdings dem gewöhnlichen Bewußtsein verschlossen ist, als schlafender Mensch in Beziehung? Da allerdings kommen wir gerade in diesem Zeitraum der Menschheitsentwickelung, in dem wir heute leben, gleich in eine Schwierigkeit der Beschreibung hinein, wenn wir nicht Rücksicht darauf nehmen, daß die Menschheit eben sich entwickelt hat und in ihrem Seelenleben die verschiedensten Zustände durchgemacht hat.
[ 6 ] Wenn wir das Seelenleben des Menschen betrachten, dann finden wir, daß der Mensch unserer heutigen, wie wir es nennen, zivilisierten Welt sich die mannigfaltigste Mühe geben muß, seine Vorstellungen, seine Begriffe zu bilden. Wir schauen oftmals recht gedankenlos in frühere Menschheitsperioden zurück, in denen ein solches Erziehungswesen, wie es heute für den Menschen notwendig ist, nicht vorhanden war. Wir schauen gewissermaßen gedankenlos auf jene menschliche ältere Kultur, die sich im Oriente drüben entwickelt hat, und die ihren Bestand hatte, ohne daß der Mensch von Kindheit auf in einer solchen Weise durch die Erziehung hindurchgeführt wurde, wie es heute der Fall ist. In Europa selber ist es heute fast unmöglich, sich auch nur eine Vorstellung davon zu machen, wie anders über die Erziehung gedacht worden ist in früheren orientalischen Zeiten, in denen aber doch so Gewaltiges, Herz und Geist des Menschen so Erhebendes geschaffen worden ist, wie das orientalische Schrifttum, wie die Veden, wie alles das, was in der orientalischen Weisheit enthalten ist. Man beurteilt eben heute alles, was im Geiste zustande kommt, darnach, wie der heutige Mensch von Kindheit auf aufwachsen, wie er erzogen und unterrichtet werden muß, und was er dann aus dieser Erziehung, aus diesem Unterricht heraus weiter durch das Leben unserer heutigen Außenwelt wird. Und da stellt sich zunächst für das Vorstellungsleben dieses heraus, daß wir erzogen und unterrichtet werden müssen, weil wir uns unsere Gedanken über das Leben selber machen müssen. Wir wären heute hilflos in der Welt, wenn wir nicht in der Lage wären, uns selber Gedanken über das Leben zu machen. Der Mensch ist eigentlich heute noch nicht sehr weit in der Kunst, möchte ich sagen, sich Gedanken zu machen. Und gerade im Unterrichts- und Erziehungswesen muß darauf gesehen werden, daß wir immer weiter und weiter kommen in der Kunst, aus unserer eigenen Anstrengung heraus uns Gedanken zu machen über die Dinge der Welt.
[ 7 ] In der Griechenzeit wurde das schon vorbereitet. Das griechische Leben war das erste kulturelle Leben innerhalb Europas, war aber in einer gewissen Beziehung durchaus noch vom Oriente beeinflußt und entwickelte daher ein solches Erziehungswesen, das auf die Ausbildung der Kräfte des Vorstellens hinging erst in den allerersten Stadien. Es strömte noch hinein in dieses griechische Kulturleben die orientalische Art, die den Menschen nicht dazu brachte, sich gedankenhaft anzustrengen, um, wenn ich es trivial ausdrücken darf, nun selber Vorstellungen über die Dinge zu machen.
[ 8 ] Man bewundert heute innerhalb des abendländischen Geisteslebens — mit einem gewissen Recht - Sokrates als einen der ersten, der die Menschen dazu angehalten hat, sich selber Vorstellungen über die Dinge zu machen. Aber es wäre durchaus falsch, wenn man daraus nun etwa den Schluß ziehen wollte: weil Europa gezwungen worden ist, aus der menschlichen Anstrengung heraus sich selber Vorstellungen zu machen über die Dinge, daß der Orient kein Gedankenleben gehabt hätte. Der Orient hat ein ganz mächtiges Gedankenleben gehabt, und wir finden dieses Gedankenleben um so mächtiger ausgebildet, je weiter wir zurückgehen in dem orientalischen Kulturleben. Und gehen wir zurück in die Zeiten, in denen die Veden und die Vedantaphilosophie noch nicht da waren - denn die Veden und die Vedantaphilosophie zeigen, wie ich oftmals erwähnt habe, nicht die allerersten Stufen des orientalischen Geisteslebens; die sind nie aufgeschrieben worden -, da war ein mächtiges Gedankenleben im Oriente der alten Zeit schon da. Alles das ist durchaus schon seit zwei bis drei Jahrtausenden im Orient selbst in die Dekadenz gekommen, ist durchaus schon im Niedergang begriffen. Der Orientale bewundert heute die letzten Reste, möchte ich sagen, eines einstmals ganz wunderbaren Gedankenlebens. Aber dieses Gedankenleben, das war nicht so wie das unsrige, bei dem wir - verzeihen Sie den materialistischen Ausdruck, er ist nur als Bild gemeint -, bei dem wir innerlich schwitzen müssen, um es zustande zu bringen, bei dem wir uns anstrengen müssen, damit es wird. Das orientalische Gedankenleben war ein inspiriertes. Dem ÖOrientalen gaben sich die Gedanken in ihrer Zusammenfügung wie von selbst. Er bekam sein Weltbild so, daß dieses Weltbild durchaus einer Eingebung entsprach. Er hatte auch immer das Gefühl: Das, was ich denke, ist mir gegeben. — Und die Anstrengung, die innerliche Seelenanstrengung, Gedanken zusammenzusetzen, kannte er nicht. Vom Aufwachen bis zum Einschlafen fühlte er, daß ihm Gedanken geschenkt wurden. Es hatte auch sein ganzes Seelenleben eine entsprechende Färbung. Wenn er Gedanken hegen durfte, war er den Göttern dankbar, weil sie ihm Gedanken schenkten. Er fühlte es wie ein Einströmen der göttlich-geistigen Mächte, wenn er sich sagen konnte: In mir als Mensch leben Gedanken. - Es war eine ganz andere Stellung zum Gedankenleben.
[ 9 ] Daher war auch das orientalische Gedankenleben der älteren Zeit nicht so abgetrennt vom Fühlen und Empfinden, von den Herzensangelegenheiten der Menschheit, wie es heute für das normale Bewußtsein ist. Gerade weil der Mensch sich so fühlte, daß ihm die Gedanken geschenkt waren, fühlte er sich auch bei jedem Gedanken als Mensch gehoben, und mit jedem Gedanken war zugleich ein religiöses Empfinden verknüpft. Der Mensch fühlte, daß er mit einer Art religiöser Frömmigkeit den Mächten entgegenkommen müsse, welche ihm fertige Gedanken schenkten, nicht so sehr einzelne Gedanken als vielmehr die Zusammenfügung von Gedanken.
[ 10 ] Was war denn aber die objektive, die äußerliche Ursache, daß das für den orientalischen Menschen so war? Die äußerliche objektive Ursache war, daß der Mensch in diesen älteren Zeiten anders schlief, als wir heute schlafen. Wir verlassen ja als Ich und als seelischer Mensch im Schlafe vorzugsweise das Haupt, den Kopf. Nicht in demselben Maße stark getrennt vom Menschen sind die vorzüglichsten Stoffwechselorgane und die Gliedmaßen. In den GliedmaßenStoffwechselleib ragt noch, wenn der Mensch schläft, das Seelische und das Ich hinein. Man sollte nicht eigentlich die Vorstellung haben, daß das Ganze des Menschen verlassen ist im Schlafe vom Ich und von dem Seelischen, sondern man sollte sich vorstellen, daß vorzugsweise das Haupt es ist, das da verlassen ist. Ich habe das öfter auseinandergesetzt, und ich möchte es schematisch noch einmal vor Sie hinstellen, so daß etwa das der wachende Mensch sei (Zeichnung S$. 172, links), daß Ich und Seelenwesen, die ich rot zeichne, den physischen Leib und den Ätherleib durchsetzen. Es wäre falsch, wenn ich jetzt den schlafenden Menschen so zeichnen würde, daß ich hier den physischen Leib und den Ätherleib habe, die im Bette liegen bleiben, und nun einfach daneben zeichnen würde das Ich und den astralischenLeib oder das Seelische. Ich möchte es so zeichnen, daß wenn hier (hell) die physischen Organe sind, die Gliedmaßen sind aber die Arme gehören eigentlich dazu -, daß ich eigentlich nur beim Haupte zeichne, wie sich das Ich und das Seelische des Menschen außerhalb des Menschen befinden, denn ganz streng genommen ist nur in bezug auf das Haupt der Mensch im Schlafe von seinem physischen Leibe und von seinem Ätherleib getrennt (rot).

[ 11 ] Wenn wir nun in jene älteren Zeiten zurückgehen, von denen ich eben gesprochen habe, so ist es so, daß damals während des menschlichen Schlafzustandes die menschlichen Hauptesorgane, also im wesentlichen das Nerven-Sinnessystem und ein Teil des Atmungssystemes, das das Haupt durchsetzt, der Schauplatz waren, auf dem die göttlich-geistigen Wesenheiten, die mit der Erde etwas zu tun hatten, ihre Angelegenheiten abwickelten.
[ 12 ] Man kann durchaus, ohne bildlich zu sprechen, wenn man ganz ernsthaft auf Wirklichkeiten hindeutet, sagen: In den ältesten Zeiten der Menschheitsentwickelung wirkten die göttlich-geistigen Wesen auf der Erde so, daß sie sich von den Menschen zurückzogen, wenn diese wachten. Wenn aber die Menschen schliefen, so nahmen sie Wohnung in den Häuptern der Menschen. Das menschliche Ich und das menschliche Seelenwesen hatten das Haupt verlassen; die göttlich-geistigen Wesenheiten ordneten dort ihre Angelegenheiten. Und wenn der Mensch dann am Morgen wieder aufwachte, wenn er also wieder untertauchte in sein Haupt, dann fand er dort die Ergebnisse dessen vor, was zurückgeblieben war unter dem Einflusse der Taten der göttlich-geistigen Wesen, die vom Einschlafen bis zum Aufwachen in seinem Haupte so tätig waren, daß sie seine Nervenvorgänge nach ihren Gesetzen ordneten und bis in die Blutzirkulation hinein auf das Geschehen, auf das organische Geschehen im Ätherleib und im physischen Leib Wirkungen ausübten. Aber der Mensch sah nicht etwa deutlich jenen Tatbestand ein, den ich jetzt eben beschrieben habe - den sahen diejenigen ein, die in den Mysterien geschult wurden -, die große Masse der Menschheit sah diesen Tatbestand nicht ein, aber sie erlebte ihn. Der Mensch fand also beim Aufwachen die Taten der Götter in seinem Haupte vor. Und wenn er dann wachend lebte und die Gedanken in ihrer Zusammenfügung wahrnahm, so kam das dadurch, daß die Götter während des Schlafes in seinem Haupte tätig gewesen waren. Es fand gewissermaßen jeden Morgen der altorientalische Mensch das Erbe desjenigen vor, was die Götter als ihre Angelegenheiten während seines Schlafes abgemacht hatten. Und das nahm er dann wahr als Inspiration mit Gedanken. Es war also nicht so, daß ihn während des Wachens die göttlich-geistigen Wesenheiten unmittelbar inspiriert hätten, sondern sie inspirierten ihn während der Zeit seines Schlafens, indem sie ihre eigenen Angelegenheiten da abwickelten. Und alles, was dazu führte, daß sich in jenen älteren Zeiten der Mensch sozial so oder so benahm, das war im Grunde genommen Inspiration. Man möchte sagen: die göttlich-geistigen Wesen hatten damals durchaus die Möglichkeit, die irdischen Angelegenheiten so zu ordnen, daß sie von dem Schlafzustande aus das gegenseitige Vertrauen der Menschen zueinander, daß sie den Gehorsam, den die große Masse ihren Führern entgegenbrachte, ordneten und so weiter. Es war also durchaus gerade auf die Weise ein Zusammenwirken der göttlich-geistigen Welt mit der irdischen Welt in jener alten orientalischen Zeit vorhanden. Das war aber nur dadurch möglich, daß die ganze menschliche Organisation damals noch anders war.
[ 13 ] Ich habe es öfter erwähnt, wie sich der Mensch heute vorstellt, daß eigentlich alles bei ihm, das heißt, solange der Mensch auf Erden geschichtlich lebt, immer so war, wie es heute ist, das Physische des physischen Organismus, das Seelische der Seele, das Geistige des Ich. Wenn heute der Geschichtsschreiber daran geht, über das alte Ägypten zu schreiben und seine Urkunden enträtselt, dann denkt er sich, daß die Menschen zwar noch nicht so gescheit waren wie er, aber daß sie im wesentlichen doch so gedacht, gefühlt und gewollt haben, wie er es selber tut. Man hat die Anschauung: Wenn man ganz weit zurückgeht, dann werden die Menschen zu einer Art von höheren Affen, und von diesem Stadium gingen sie dann über zu dem - nun Ja, was man Ja nicht weiß, wie der Geschichtsschreiber es sich denkt. Aber als die Zeit begann, die einen geschichtlich interessieren kann, so ist die Ansicht: Da muß man die Menschen schon so hinnehmen, wie sie auch heute sind in ihrem Denken, Fühlen und Wollen, in der Art und Weise ihrer heutigen ätherisch-physischen Organisation.
[ 14 ] So ist es eben nicht. Die Menschen haben sich auch in geschichtlichen Zeiten ganz wesentlich geändert. Sie brauchen sich nur an dasjenige zu erinnern, was ich zum Beispiel als Einzelheit schon früher angeführt habe, wie der Grieche die Weltumgebung rein physisch ansah. Der Grieche sah noch nicht so das Blau, wie wir es heute sehen; er sah eigentlich nur die rötliche Farbnuance. Und wenn sich heute ein Mensch vorstellt, daß der blaue Himmel ja so schön ist, und daß daher der Grieche, weil er in Schönheit lebte, vorzugsweise diesen blauen Himmel gesehen haben müsse, so irrt sich der Mensch. Der Grieche hat gerade die warmen, die rötlichen, die gelben Farben geschaut, und Grün und Blau hat er schon nicht wesentlich voneinander unterschieden. Er hat daher den Himmel ganz anders geschen, als ihn heute ein normales Bewußtsein sieht. Auch die Augen selber sind im Laufe der Menschheitsentwickelung durchaus anders geworden, wenn das auch nur in intimeren und feineren Zügen der Fall ist. Die ganze Sinnesorganisation ist überhaupt im Laufe der geschichtlichen Zeit eine andere geworden. Und in jenen alten orientalischen Zeiten, von denen ich jetzt eben gesprochen habe, war in der Tat die Sinnesorganisation so, daß der Mensch nicht durch sie beirrt, gehindert wurde, sich dem hinzugeben, was da, wenn er wachte, aus seinem Organismus herauskam an Göttertaten, und was ihm geblieben war aus seinem Schlafzustande.
[ 15 ] Allmählich wurde die Sinnesorganisation der Menschheit so, daß der Mensch so lebendig durch seine Sinne mit der Außenwelt verbunden wurde, daß diese lebendige Verbindung ihn gleich, wenn er aufwacht, daran hinderte, auch nur aufmerksam zu sein auf dasjenige, was etwa dasein könnte als Erbschaft aus dem Schlafe heraus. Selbst wenn die Götter noch ihre Angelegenheiten während des Schlafes in seinem Kopfe ordnen würden - sie tun es nicht mehr, weil der Mensch eben umorganisiert ist und es keine weitere Bedeutung mehr für die Entwickelung der Menschheit hat -, so würde der Mensch gar nichts mehr davon haben für seinen Fortschritt und seine Fortentwikkelung. Im Gegenteil, er würde, weil, wenn er aufwacht und er sogleich der Außenwelt durch seine jetzt entwickelten Sinne mächtig hingegeben ist, gar nicht aufmerksam sein können auf dasjenige, was er etwa an Erbschaft aus dem Schlafe übernehmen könnte. Und dadurch würde es zurückgehen in den Körper, statt daß es aufgenommen würde vom Bewußtsein. Der Mensch würde heute in sich nicht fühlen können durch das Inspirierte, was im Schlaf die Götter auf dem Schauplatze seiner Hauptesorganisation taten. Es würde in ihn zurückgehen und seinen Organismus früh altern machen.
[ 16 ] In älteren Zeiten wurde das eben aufgenommen von dem Menschen im wachenden Zustande, was er schlafend erlebt hatte, weil seine Sinne nicht so hinorientiert waren auf die Außenwelt, wie das heute der Fall ist; und so konnte damals der Mensch im Vereine mit der Götterwelt leben. Dieses Leben war aber ein wirkliches Leben mit der Götterwelt. Die Götter kann man mit den Sinnen ohnedies nicht anschauen, und der alte Mensch war dazu veranlagt, nun wenigstens die Göttertaten zu erleben, dadurch, daß seine Sinne noch nicht so hinorientiert waren auf die Außenwelt, wie die heutigen es sind.
[ 17 ] Nun kam aber später eine Zeit - es war im wesentlichen das Jahrtausend vor dem Mysterium von Golgatha -, da begannen auch in der orientalischen Welt die Sinne, namentlich die Augen der Menschen empfänglich zu werden für die Eindrücke der Außenwelt, so wie das eben später der Fall war. Der Mensch kam dazu, die spätere Sinnesorganisation immer mehr und mehr anzunehmen und sie dem hinzuzufügen, was ihm innerlich noch geblieben war von älteren Zeiten, von seiner Nervenorganisation, die es ihm noch möglich machte, die göttlich-geistigen Taten zu erleben. In den älteren Zeiten hatte er die göttlich-geistigen Taten rein erlebt, ohne das Sinnliche hineinzumischen. Jetzt erlebten die Menschen zwar auch noch etwas, weil die Götter noch nicht ganz von ihnen fortgegangen waren, aber das nahm die Sinnesorganisation gleich in sich herein, und die Folge davon war, daß über einen großen Teil der Menschheit dieses Eigentümliche kam, daß die Götter, die geistigen Wesenheiten, gewissermaßen hereingeholt wurden in die sinnliche Organisation. Ich kann das so ausdrücken, daß ich sage: Aus der ehemaligen rein geistigen Anschauung der göttlich-geistigen Wesenheiten wurde der Glaube an Gespenster.
[ 18 ] Der Glaube an Gespenster ist nicht etwa etwas, was uralt ist in der Menschheit. Uralt ist das Anschauen der göttlich-geistigen Wesenheiten. Der Gespensterglaube entstand erst durch das Einmischen der Sinneswahrnehmung in die Anschauung des Göttlichen. Und als die Mysterienkultur des Orientes nach Europa herüberkam und zum Beispiel auch angenommen wurde von dem wunderbaren griechischen Geistesleben in der Kunst, in der Philosophie, da kam in großem Maße eben auch das Gespensterschauen herüber.
[ 19 ] Man kann sagen: In diesem letzten Jahrtausend vor dem Mysterium von Golgatha war die rein orientalische Anschauung schon in den Niedergang hineingekommen, und es war eine Art von Gespensterschauen gerade bei vielen Gliedern der großen breiten Masse vorhanden. Es wanderte herüber nach Europa der Gespensterglaube, die in das Sinnesgemäße verwandelte echte geistige Anschauung des Orients. So daß man sagen kann: der Gespensterglaube ist der letzte Ausläufer, das Ende einer hohen, wenn auch träumerischen geistigen Anschauung, die einmal eine hohe Kulturblüte in der Entwickelung der Menschheit bedeutet hat.
[ 20 ] Sehen Sie, dasjenige, was ich da geschildert habe, wie der alte orientalische Mensch im Schlafzustande sein Haupt als den irdischen Schauplatz der Götterwelt empfinden mußte, das erlebte man eben nur als Mensch; der Mysterieneingeweihte wußte es aber. Das hat seinen Gegensatz nun schon heute in dem Aufkommen einer neuen Kultur.
[ 21 ] Diese neue Kultur ist noch im Anfange, und sie drückt sich um so stärker aus, je weiter wir nach Westen hinüberkommen. Es hätte für den alten orientalischen Menschen keinen Sinn gehabt, etwa zu sagen: Die menschlichen Gedanken durchpulsen den menschlichen Willen nicht. - Denn er wußte: was in seinem Willen, selbst in seinem Blute lebte, das kam ihm von den Göttern. Die Götter machten seine Gedanken, und die Götter entwickelten eine mächtige Kraft in seinem Schlafzustande. Er empfand das als Inspiration.
[ 22 ] Heute noch, wenn wir hinüberschauen nach dem Osten, nach den letzten Resten dessen, was zum Beispiel in Solowjow vorhanden ist als Philosophie, so gibt es etwas gerade bei diesem Solowjow, das zeigt, wie er gar nicht versteht, gar nicht verstehen würde, wenn man etwa sagen würde: Die Gedanken sind nicht impulsierend im Menschen, sie tragen nicht den Willen.
[ 23 ] Das aber ist durchaus die heutige Meinung des westlichen, namentlich des amerikanischen Menschen. Der amerikanische Mensch schildert dasjenige, was sich ihm in diesem Sinne ergibt, bis in die Züge seiner Physiologie, seiner Biologie hinein. Die Wissenschaft Amerikas ist in dieser Beziehung, wenn man auf ihre intimeren Grundzüge eingeht, etwas ganz anderes als die europäische oder gar als die Wissenschaft des Ostens.
[ 24 ] Der Westmensch schildert, wie wenig Bedeutung eigentlich die Gedanken für den Willen des Menschen haben. Er weiß eben zu stark, daß es der Mensch ist, der die Gedanken macht. Der kann aber doch nicht die Gedanken aus dem Blauen heraus machen. Deshalb sagt sich zum Beispiel der Amerikaner von heute: Viel wichtiger, als was der Mensch an Gedanken aufnimmt, ist die Art und Weise, wie er in eine gewisse Familie, in eine Parteirichtung hineingewachsen ist durch seine sozialen Lebensverhältnisse, wie er in eine Sekte hineingewachsen ist. Das alles übt Emotionen auf ihn aus, das alles bestimmt seinen Willen. Und man kann eigentlich gar nicht von dem Gedanken aus den Willen bestimmen. Aus solchen Untergründen des Lebens heraus wie Familie, Parteirichtung, Land, Sekte und so weiter wird der Wille bestimmt. — Und der Amerikaner, der Westmensch überhaupt, sagt: Die Gedanken sind eigentlich nicht der Herrscher im Menschen; sie sind eigentlich nur der oberste Minister des Herrschers, der menschlichen Organisation, die Wille, Trieb, Instinkt ist, wenn sie auch — was dann Carlyle nachgesprochen wird - ein teurer Minister sind, diese Gedanken, aber sie sind nur das ausführende Organ.
[ 25 ] Und wir müssen eigentlich sagen, daß heute jene breiten Menschenmassen, die heranstürmen, um ihre eigenen Ansichten gegenüber dem Altüberkommenen in der Welt zur Geltung zu bringen, eigentlich auch so denken. Daher kommt es, daß man heute so gern studiert, wie der primitive Mensch gelebt hat, weil man meint, er habe in Instinkten, in Trieben gelebt, und seine Gedanken wären nur wie eine Art Spiegelbild der Instinkte, der Triebe gewesen.
[ 26 ] So sieht man heute als Westmensch in den Menschen hinein und sagt, ihn treiben die Instinkte, die Triebe. Warum das? Weil er noch nicht organisiert ist, in diesen Trieben, Instinkten, das Geistige wahrzunehmen. Es gibt für ihn nichts als einen Trieb, als einen Instinkt, hinter dem nicht Geistiges steckt. Aber wenn im Menschen sich ein Instinkt, ein Trieb geltend macht, es mag meinetwillen etwas sehr bösartig Geistiges sein, was sich da geltend macht bei dem einen und bei dem anderen Menschen, aber selbst wenn es der brutalste Trieb ist, Geist ist es, der dahintersteckt. Nur kann der Mensch diesen Geist heute noch nicht fassen. Das Menschengeschlecht ist eben durchaus in Entwickelung begriffen. Es muß sich erst hinbewegen zu einer solchen Geistigkeit, daß, wenn der Mensch in sich hineinschaut, und er seine Triebe, Instinkte, Begierden wahrnimmt, er in ihnen überall Geistiges wahrnimmt. Das wird er einmal in Zukunft tun. Dabei macht es gar keinen Unterschied, ob der Mensch etwa böse oder gute Instinkte hat; es sind dann halt ahrimanische oder luziferische Geistigkeiten, die in ihm stecken, wenn es böse Instinkte sind, aber es sind Geistigkeiten.
[ 27 ] Mit diesem Vorgeben, daß wir Triebe, Instinkte haben als die treibenden Motoren im Menschen, ist es nämlich gar nicht anders, als es mit den Gespenstern in bezug auf die Geistigkeit von früher war. Sehen Sie, da war einmal in der Anschauung von dem Orientalen eine alte Geistigkeit vorhanden (siehe Zeichnung). Das hat sich weiterentwickelt und ist als Endprodukt, also wie gesagt, in dem letzten Jahrtausend vor dem Mysterium von Golgatha, zum Gespensterglauben, zum Gespensteranschauen geworden (siehe Zeichnung, blau).

[ 28 ] Jetzt stehen wir in der Weltentwickelung so drinnen, daß wir auf der einen Seite hinschauen, wie der Gespensterglaube aus einer alten Geistigkeit herausgekommen ist; aber wir schauen zu gleicher Zeit in der Perspektive nach einer Zukunft hinein; da wird einstmals wiederum eine reine Anschauung kommen. Aber jetzt ist noch ein Gespensterglaube da, ein innerer Gespensterglaube. So wie der Gespenstergläubige meint, die Gespenster seien sinnlich, schauen so aus, wie man mit dem Auge sieht, so sieht der heutige Mensch, der Westmensch, noch nicht die Geistigkeit, wenn er in sich selber hineinschaut, sondern nimmt das Gespenstische wahr. Alle Triebe, Instinkte, Begierden, das sind Gespenster, die heute vorangehen einer Geistigkeit (rot); während die alten Gespenster nachgefolgt sind einer früheren Geistigkeit (blau). Man kann also sagen: Vom Osten nach dem Westen entwickelte sich eine alte reine Geistigkeit; es folgt der Gespensterglaube im Laufe der Zeiten, und die Reste sind noch immer unter uns. Vom Westen herein gegen den Osten zu entwickelt sich, an uns herankommend und in einer fernen Zukunft sich realisierend, eine spätere Geistigkeit, die sich in ihren Anfängen zeigt durch etwas, was genauso gespenstig ist wie die alten Gespenster, nämlich Triebe, Instinkte, Begierden und so weiter, so wie sie der heutige Mensch ansieht. Der heutige Gelehrte muß aus der Anschauung heraus, die er hat, den Menschen Triebe, Instinkte, Begierden beilegen und sieht mit Verachtung auf den Gespensterglauben der großen Masse herab. Er weiß nicht, daß dieser Gespensterglaube der großen Masse genau ebensoviel Erkenntniswert und Erkenntniswesenheit hat wie sein Glaube an Begierden, Triebe und Instinkte. Er ist gespenstergläubig für die Gespenster des Anfangs, wie die große Masse gespenstergläubig ist für die Gespenster des Endes. Und unsere europäische Zivilisation ist deshalb so chaotisch geworden, weil in ihr zusammenstießen die alten Gespenster mit den neuen Gespenstern.
[ 29 ] Ich habe das in einem Aphorismus der «West-Ost-Aphorismen», die Sie in der dieswöchigen Nummer des «Goetheanum» vorliegen haben, kurz charakterisiert, wie in der Tat die neuere Menschheit schon seit längerer Zeit auf der einen Seite berührt wurde von einer altvererbten orientalischen Geistigkeit, die zum Gespensterglauben sich verinnerlicht hatte, und auf der anderen Seite berührt wird von etwas jetzt Anfangendem, Keimendem, das aus dem Gespensterglauben an die Triebe, Instinkte und Begierden noch nicht entsinnlicht ist. Die Gespenster, die man gewöhnlich so nennt, sind durch die menschliche Organisation versinnlichte Geister, und die Triebe, Instinkte, Begierden und Leidenschaften sind noch nicht bis zur Geistigkeit gebrachte, noch nicht entsinnlichte, auf die Zukunft hinweisende moderne Gespenster.
[ 30 ] Das innere Seelenleben gerade des europäischen Menschen lebt in dieser besonderen chaotischen Form des Zusammenwirkens der alten und der neuen Gespenster, und es muß eine geistige Anschauung gefunden werden, welche über beides zur vollen Klarheit kommt. Nicht nur etwa das menschliche Weltanschauungsleben hängt mit diesen Dingen zusammen, sondern es hängt damit zusammen das universelle menschliche Leben auf der Erde. Und wie sollte es auch anders sein, als daß nicht nur das geistige Leben, sondern auch das rechtliche, das juristische Leben, das staatliche Leben und das ökonomische, das wirtschaftliche Leben damit zusammenhängen, da ja alle diese aus der besonderen Beschaffenheit des Menschen hervorgehen. Aber woher kommt denn diese ganze Entwickelung? - Das müssen wir uns fragen. Die Götter, sagte ich, die göttlich-geistigen Wesenheiten, hatten ihre irdischen Angelegenheiten im menschlichen Haupte. Wir unterscheiden ja den dreifachen Menschen, den Nerven-Sinnesmenschen vorzugsweise im Haupte, den rhythmischen Menschen, der in der Mitte lebt, und den Stoffwechsel-Gliedmaßenmenschen, der in den Gliedmaßen und in den Fortsetzungen nach innen, in den eigentlichen Stoffwechselorganen enthalten ist (siehe Zeichnung). Wir unterscheiden diesen dreigliedrigen Menschen, und wir wissen also jetzt, daß die Götter ihre irdischen Angelegenheiten während des Schlafzustandes auf der Erde durch die ältere Menschheit so geordnet haben, daß sie gewissermaßen ihre Werkstätte im Kopfe des Menschen aufschlugen, während der Mensch im Schlafzustand war. Was ist beim heutigen Menschen der Fall?

[ 31 ] Auch beim heutigen Menschen schlagen die Götter ihre Werkstätte während des Schlafzustandes im Menschen auf, aber nicht mehr im Kopfe, sondern im Gliedmaßen-Stoffwechselorganismus. Aber der Gliedmaßen-Stoffwechselorganismus - das ist jetzt das Wesentliche, das Bedeutungsvolle - bleibt auch während des Wachens dem Menschen unbewußt. Denken Sie doch, wie oft ich es gesagt habe: Die Vorstellungen, in denen wacht der Mensch. Aber was da vorgeht, wenn ich die Vorstellung habe: ich werde meinen Arm heben, ich werde meine Hand bewegen, was dann da unten vorgeht, damit der Muskel wirklich diese Bewegungen ausführt, das weiß der heutige Mensch und das normale Bewußtsein nicht. Es bleibt ihm dunkel dieses ganze Hineinwirken seines Vorstellungslebens in seinen Organismus. Das führt zum unbewußten Leben auch während des Wachzustandes. Die Götter haben also heute den Schauplatz ihres Wirkens auf der Erde so, daß der Mensch im Wachzustande zunächst durch seine eigene natürliche Entwickelung nicht die Erbschaft beim Aufwachen übernehmen kann.
[ 32 ] Es ist auch heute so, daß ein göttlich-geistiges Geschehen im Menschen vor sich geht vom Einschlafen bis zum Aufwachen, aber durch seinen natürlichen Zustand ist der Mensch nicht in der Lage, beim Aufwachen Eindrücke zu haben von dem, was die Götter getan haben. Der alte Mensch war einfach durch seine Organisation so beschaffen, daß er sich mit seinen Gedanken inspiriert fühlte. Der heutige Mensch macht seine Gedanken. Aber in diese Tätigkeit wirken noch nicht die göttlich-geistigen Taten hinein. Das muß erst entwickelt werden in der Menschheit. Und das ist die Aufgabe, die sich, ich möchte sagen, als eine kosmische Aufgabe eben die Geisteswissenschaft stellen muß. Sie muß den Menschen zu einer solchen Entwickelung bringen. Und auch das Erziehungswesen muß eingeschlossen werden in eine solche Entwickelung, so daß der Mensch mit vollem Bewußtsein die göttlich-geistigen Taten aus sich heraus erkennen kann. Gleichzeitig damit wird es geschehen, daß er nicht mehr etwas sieht wie diese inneren Gespenster, denn wie man sich heute Triebe, Instinkte vorstellt, so sind das gegenüber dem wirklichen menschlichen Inneren eben geradeso Gespenster, wie man äußerlich Gespenster sieht. Die sind ja auch nicht bloße Einbildungen, sondern sind göttlich-geistige Kräfte, die nur von den Sinnen versinnlicht werden und unrichtig, unwahr vorgestellt werden.
[ 33 ] Ebenso werden aber auch die göttlich-geistigen Kräfte, die im Menschen wirken, unwahr vorgestellt, wenn sie im Sinne der heutigen Triebe, Instinkte vorgestellt werden. Das, was man heute verachtet, sind die äußerlichen Gespenster. Das, was man heute als eine Wissenschaft ansieht, ist eben auch nichts anderes als Gespenster, nur innerliche Gespenster, und der Mensch muß eben durchaus, ich möchte sagen, diese Umwandelung, die ihm durch die kosmische Entwickelung vorgezeichnet ist, mitmachen. Unsere ganze Kultur muß durchdrungen werden von Impulsen, die nach dieser Richtung gehen. Darin liegt eine Möglichkeit, aus Niedergangskräften - oder aus einem chaotischen Zusammenwirken von Niedergangskräften mit Aufgangskräften, gegen die sich die Menschheit heute noch wehrt - herauszukommen und, vom Geistigen inspiriert und impulsiert, den möglichen Zukunftsentwickelungsstadien der Menschheit entgegenzugehen und in der Richtung nach diesen möglichen Zukunftsstadien der Menschheitsentwickelung vorwärtszukommen. Das ist es, worauf es ankommt.
[ 34 ] Was ich Ihnen heute geben wollte, ist auch eine Art Ost-WestBetrachtung, nur mehr für das Esoterische, möchte ich sagen, geprägt. Diese Ost-West-Betrachtungen sind heute schon durchaus «zeitgemäß», wobei ich das Wort nicht so trivial gebrauche, wie es vielfach gebraucht wird, denn nur dadurch, daß solche Betrachtungen angestellt werden, kommt die Menschheit zu einem gewissen Bewußtsein.
[ 35 ] Man muß also sagen: Einstmals, in älteren Zeiten der Erdenentwikkelung, war der Mensch auch im Schlafe - denn er ist ja Mensch, auch während er schläft, wenn er seinen Leib äußerlich nicht mit sich herumträgt - in einem solchen Verhältnisse zu den Göttern, daß er sogar hinblicken konnte mit Seelenaugen, mit Geistesaugen, wie die Götter in seinem Haupte Wohnung nahmen. Dann blieb mehr oder weniger nur das Nachgefühl beim Aufwachen zurück. Der Mensch kam immer mehr und mehr heraus aus der göttlich-geistigen Welt, die er allerdings traumhaft wahrnahm, indem er nach dem Heraustauchen aus dem Leibe zurückschaute. Das war früher; später nahm er sie dann bei dem Hineintauchen in den Leib nur als eine Inspiration wahr.
[ 36 ] Aber indem die Götter gewissermaßen weiter heruntergezogen sind in seine physische Gestalt, ist der Mensch jetzt in einen solchen Zusammenhang mit den Göttern einbezogen, daß diese sich in seinem Gliedmaßen-Stoffwechselorganismus ihre Werkstätte für das Erdenwesen ausgesucht haben. Dieses Erdenwesen aber verläßt der Mensch nicht vollständig im Schlafe. Und weil er es im Schlafe nicht vollständig verläßt, wird der Mensch wieder aus der Götterwelt heraus einen Impuls für seinen Willen, für sein soziales Wesen erleben können, aber nicht im Schlafe, sondern er muß ihn so als ganzer Mensch erleben auch während des Wachens. Das heißt, immer mehr und mehr muß der Mensch sich bewußt Erkenntisse der geistigen Welt aneignen. Das ist dasjenige, dem wir zusteuern müssen. Das wollte ich Ihnen als den Beitrag einer West-Ost-Betrachtung heute geben. Morgen will ich Ihnen dann von diesem West-Ost-Kongreß berichten, so wie er sich mir dargestellt hat.


Ninth Lecture
[ 1 ] Today it will be my task to discuss some aspects of an area of anthroposophy that is close to human beings. Tomorrow I will tell you something about the recent West-East Congress in Vienna. Today, however, I would like to discuss some aspects of anthroposophy.
[ 2 ] It is true that we humans are connected to the world primarily through our senses, and this is obvious to everyone from the moment we wake up until we fall asleep. We perceive the various realms of existence through our different senses and, through a certain soul activity, we construct a world picture for ourselves. I will only hint at this. Such a hint makes everyone aware of how they can observe the waking course of life themselves and what it contains.
[ 3 ] Now, however, we as human beings are not only placed in the world while awake, but also while asleep. And while asleep, we are placed with our ego and our soul with our body outside of our physical body in a world environment that is initially unknown to the ordinary consciousness of human beings.
[ 4 ] Everything I am about to say is intended primarily for people of the present, that is, for people as they have developed in their soul life since that point in time which we have often described as so extraordinarily important for the more recent development of humanity, since the 15th century.
[ 5 ] Now, however, we must ask ourselves: How do we relate to a world that is closed to ordinary consciousness, as sleeping human beings? However, in the period of human development in which we live today, we immediately encounter a difficulty of description if we do not take into account that humanity has developed and has gone through the most diverse states in its soul life.
[ 6 ] When we consider the soul life of human beings, we find that people in our present-day, so-called civilized world have to make the most varied efforts to form their ideas and concepts. We often look back quite thoughtlessly on earlier periods of human history, when the kind of education that is necessary for people today did not exist. We look, as it were, thoughtlessly at the older human culture that developed in the East and existed without people being guided through education from childhood in the way that is the case today. In Europe today, it is almost impossible to imagine how differently education was thought of in earlier Oriental times, when such tremendous things were created that uplifted the heart and spirit of human beings, such as Oriental literature, the Vedas, and everything contained in Oriental wisdom. Today, we judge everything that comes about in the spirit according to how modern man must grow up from childhood, how he must be educated and taught, and what he then becomes through this education, through this teaching, in the life of our modern external world. And here it becomes apparent, first of all, for the life of imagination, that we must be educated and taught because we must form our own thoughts about life. We would be helpless in the world today if we were not able to form our own thoughts about life. I would say that human beings today are not yet very far advanced in the art of thinking. And it is precisely in education and teaching that we must ensure that we continue to advance in the art of thinking about the things of the world through our own efforts.
[ 7 ] This was already being prepared in Greek times. Greek life was the first cultural life in Europe, but in a certain sense it was still influenced by the Orient and therefore developed a system of education that was aimed at training the powers of imagination only in its earliest stages. The Oriental way of life still flowed into Greek cultural life, which did not encourage people to make a mental effort to, if I may put it trivially, form their own ideas about things.
[ 8 ] Today, within Western intellectual life, Socrates is admired — with a certain degree of justification — as one of the first to urge people to form their own ideas about things. But it would be completely wrong to conclude from this that because Europe was forced by human effort to form its own ideas about things, that the Orient had no intellectual life. The Orient had a very powerful intellectual life, and we find this intellectual life all the more powerful the further back we go in Oriental cultural life. And if we go back to the times when the Vedas and Vedanta philosophy did not yet exist — for the Vedas and Vedanta philosophy, as I have often mentioned, do not represent the very first stages of Oriental intellectual life; these were never written down — there was already a powerful intellectual life in the Orient of ancient times. All of this has been in decline in the East for two or three millennia and is now in a state of complete decay. Today, Easterners admire what I would call the last remnants of what was once a wonderful intellectual life. But this intellectual life was not like ours, in which we — forgive the materialistic expression, it is only meant as an image — in which we have to sweat inwardly to bring it about, in which we have to make an effort to make it happen. The Oriental intellectual life was an inspired one. To the Oriental, thoughts came together as if by themselves. He acquired his worldview in such a way that it corresponded entirely to an inspiration. He always had the feeling that what he thought was given to him. He did not know the effort, the inner soul effort, of putting thoughts together. From the moment he woke up to the moment he fell asleep, he felt that thoughts were given to him. His entire soul life had a corresponding coloring. When he was allowed to entertain thoughts, he was grateful to the gods for giving him thoughts. He felt it as an influx of divine spiritual powers when he could say to himself: Thoughts live in me as a human being. It was a completely different attitude toward the life of thought.
[ 9 ] Therefore, the Oriental thought life of earlier times was not so separated from feeling and sensation, from the heart's concerns of humanity, as it is today for normal consciousness. Precisely because human beings felt that thoughts were a gift, they felt elevated as human beings with every thought, and every thought was linked to a religious feeling. Human beings felt that they had to approach the powers that gave them ready-made thoughts with a kind of religious piety, not so much individual thoughts as the combination of thoughts.
[ 10 ] But what was the objective, external cause for this to be so for Oriental people? The external objective cause was that people in those earlier times slept differently than we do today. When we sleep, we leave the head, the most important part of the soul, behind. The most important metabolic organs and limbs are not as strongly separated from the human being. When a person sleeps, the soul and the ego still protrude into the metabolic body of the limbs. One should not actually imagine that the whole human being is abandoned by the ego and the soul during sleep, but rather that it is primarily the head that is abandoned. I have explained this many times, and I would like to present it schematically once again, so that the waking human being is represented as follows (drawing S$. 172, left), with the I and the soul being drawn in red, permeating the physical body and the etheric body. It would be wrong if I were to draw the sleeping human being in such a way that I had the physical body and the etheric body lying in bed and then simply drew the I and the astral body or the soul next to it. I would like to draw it so that if here (light) are the physical organs, the limbs, but the arms actually belong to them—that I actually only draw at the head how the I and the soul of the human being are outside the human being, because strictly speaking, it is only in relation to the head that the human being is separated from his physical body and his etheric body (red) when asleep.

[ 11 ] If we now go back to those earlier times I have just spoken of, we find that during human sleep, the organs of the human head, essentially the nerve and sense system and part of the respiratory system that permeates the head, were the scene on which the divine-spiritual beings who had something to do with the earth carried out their affairs.
[ 12 ] One can say quite seriously, without speaking figuratively, when pointing to realities: In the earliest times of human development, the divine-spiritual beings worked on Earth in such a way that they withdrew from human beings when they were awake. But when human beings slept, they took up residence in their heads. The human ego and the human soul had left the head; the divine-spiritual beings organized their affairs there. And when humans woke up again in the morning, when they submerged themselves back into their heads, they found there the results of what had remained under the influence of the actions of the divine-spiritual beings, who had been so active in their heads from the moment they fell asleep until they woke up that they organized their nervous processes according to their laws and exerted their influence on the events in the blood circulation, on the organic processes in the etheric body and in the physical body. But human beings did not clearly perceive the facts I have just described—those who were trained in the mysteries did perceive them—the great mass of humanity did not perceive these facts, but they experienced them. So when human beings awoke, they found the deeds of the gods in their heads. And when they then lived awake and perceived their thoughts in their connection, this came about because the gods had been active in their heads during sleep. Every morning, so to speak, the ancient Oriental human being found the legacy of what the gods had done as their business during his sleep. And he then perceived this as inspiration with thoughts. So it was not that the divine-spiritual beings directly inspired him while he was awake, but rather that they inspired him during his sleep by carrying out their own affairs there. And everything that led to people behaving in a certain way in those ancient times was basically inspiration. One might say that the divine-spiritual beings at that time had the ability to arrange earthly affairs in such a way that, from the state of sleep, they could organize the mutual trust between people, the obedience that the masses showed to their leaders, and so on. So it was precisely in this way that there was interaction between the divine-spiritual world and the earthly world in those ancient Oriental times. But this was only possible because the entire human organization was different back then.
[ 13 ] I have often mentioned how people today imagine that everything about them, that is, as long as they live historically on earth, has always been as it is today: the physical aspect of the physical organism, the soul aspect of the soul, the spiritual aspect of the soul. When today's historian sets out to write about ancient Egypt and deciphers its documents, he thinks that although people were not as intelligent as he is, they essentially thought, felt, and wanted the same things he does. One has the view: if one goes back far enough, people become a kind of higher ape, and from this stage they then progressed to—well, what one does not know, as the historian imagines. But when the period began that is of historical interest, the view is that one must accept people as they are today in their thinking, feeling, and willing, in the manner of their present etheric-physical organization.
[ 14 ] That is not the case. Humans have changed significantly throughout history. You need only remember what I mentioned earlier as a detail, for example, how the Greeks viewed the world around them in purely physical terms. The Greeks did not see blue as we see it today; they actually saw only a reddish hue. And if a person today imagines that the blue sky is so beautiful and that the Greeks, because they lived in beauty, must have preferred to see this blue sky, that person is mistaken. The Greeks saw the warm, reddish, yellow colors, and they did not distinguish green and blue from each other very much. They therefore saw the sky quite differently from how a normal consciousness sees it today. The eyes themselves have also changed completely in the course of human evolution, even if this is only the case in more intimate and subtle features. The entire sensory organization has changed completely in the course of historical time. And in those ancient Oriental times of which I have just spoken, the sensory organization was indeed such that human beings were not distracted or hindered by it from giving themselves over to what emerged from their organism when they were awake, namely the deeds of the gods, and what remained to them from their state of sleep.
[ 15 ] Gradually, the sensory organization of humanity became such that human beings were so vividly connected to the outside world through their senses that this vivid connection prevented them, as soon as they awoke, from even being attentive to what might exist as a legacy from sleep. Even if the gods still arranged their affairs in his mind during sleep—which they no longer do, because man has been reorganized and it no longer has any further significance for the development of humanity—man would no longer have any benefit from this for his progress and further development. On the contrary, because when he wakes up and is immediately powerfully devoted to the outside world through his now developed senses, he would not be able to pay attention to what he might inherit from sleep. And thus it would go back into the body instead of being taken up by consciousness. Human beings today would not be able to feel within themselves through inspiration what the gods did in their sleep on the stage of their head organization. It would return to them and cause their organism to age prematurely.
[ 16 ] In earlier times, what a person experienced while asleep was taken up by them in the waking state, because their senses were not oriented toward the external world as they are today; and so, at that time, people could live in union with the world of the gods. But this life was a real life with the world of the gods. The gods cannot be seen with the senses anyway, and ancient people were predisposed to at least experience the deeds of the gods because their senses were not yet as oriented toward the outside world as they are today.
[ 17 ] But then a time came—it was essentially the millennium before the Mystery of Golgotha—when the senses, especially the eyes, began to become receptive to impressions from the outer world, just as this was later the case. Human beings began to accept the later sensory organization more and more and to add it to what had remained within them from earlier times, from their nervous organization, which still enabled them to experience divine-spiritual deeds. In earlier times, they had experienced divine-spiritual deeds purely, without mixing in the sensory. Now, humans still experienced something because the gods had not yet completely departed from them, but the sensory organization immediately absorbed this, and the result was that a large part of humanity was affected by this peculiarity, namely that the gods, the spiritual beings, were, in a sense, brought into the sensory organization. I can express this by saying that The former purely spiritual perception of divine-spiritual beings gave rise to belief in ghosts.
Belief in ghosts only arose through the interference of sensory perception in the perception of the divine. And when the mystery culture of the Orient came to Europe and was accepted, for example, by the wonderful Greek spiritual life in art and philosophy, then the belief in ghosts also came over in a big way.[ 19 ] One can say that in the last millennium before the Mystery of Golgotha, the purely Oriental view had already begun to decline, and a kind of ghost-seeing was prevalent among many members of the broad masses. The belief in ghosts migrated to Europe, the genuine spiritual view of the Orient transformed into something sensory. So one can say that the belief in ghosts is the last offshoot, the end of a lofty, albeit dreamy, spiritual view that once represented a high cultural flowering in the development of humanity.
[ 20 ] You see, what I have described, how ancient Oriental people must have perceived their head as the earthly theater of the world of the gods while they were asleep, was something that could only be experienced as a human being; but those initiated into the mysteries knew this. This has its opposite today in the emergence of a new culture.
[ 21 ] This new culture is still in its infancy, and the further west we go, the more strongly it expresses itself. It would have made no sense to the ancient Oriental to say, for example, that human thoughts do not pulsate through the human will. For they knew that what lived in their will, even in their blood, came from the gods. The gods formed their thoughts, and the gods developed a powerful force in their sleep. They experienced this as inspiration.
[ 22 ] Even today, when we look over to the East, to the last remnants of what exists, for example, in Soloviev as philosophy, there is something precisely in Soloviev that shows how he does not understand, would not understand at all, if one were to say, for example: Thoughts are not impulsive in human beings, they do not carry the will.
[ 23 ] But this is precisely the opinion of Western people today, especially Americans. Americans describe what they perceive in this sense down to the details of their physiology and biology. In this respect, American science, when you get down to its innermost principles, is something quite different from European science or even Eastern science.
[ 24 ] Westerners describe how little significance thoughts actually have for human will. They are too aware that it is humans who create thoughts. But they cannot create thoughts out of thin air. That is why, for example, Americans today say: Much more important than the thoughts a person absorbs is the way in which they have grown up in a certain family, in a certain political party, through their social circumstances, or in a sect. All of this exerts an emotional influence on them and determines their will. And you can't really determine the will from thoughts. The will is determined by such underlying factors of life as family, political affiliation, country, sect, and so on. — And the American, the Westerner in general, says: Thoughts are not actually the ruler in man; they are actually only the chief minister of the ruler, which is the human organization, which is will, drive, instinct, even if — as Carlyle says — these thoughts are an expensive minister, but they are only the executive organ.
[ 25 ] And we must actually say that today, the broad masses of people who are rushing forward to assert their own views against the old traditions in the world actually think the same way. That is why people today are so keen to study how primitive man lived, because they believe that he lived by his instincts and drives, and that his thoughts were merely a kind of reflection of his instincts and drives.
[ 26 ] This is how Westerners today look at people and say that they are driven by instincts and drives. Why is that? Because they are not yet organized in these drives and instincts to perceive the spiritual. For them, there is nothing but a drive, an instinct, behind which there is no spiritual element. But when an instinct, a drive asserts itself in a human being, it may, for all I care, be something very evil that asserts itself in one person or another, but even if it is the most brutal drive, it is spirit that lies behind it. Only, human beings cannot yet grasp this spirit today. The human race is still in the process of development. It must first move toward such a spirituality that when human beings look within themselves and perceive their drives, instincts, and desires, they perceive the spiritual in them everywhere. He will do this in the future. It makes no difference whether humans have evil or good instincts; if they are evil instincts, then they are simply Ahrimanic or Luciferic spiritualities that lie within them, but they are still spiritualities.
[ 27 ] With this assumption that we have drives and instincts as the driving forces in human beings, it is no different than it was with ghosts in relation to spirituality in the past. You see, there was once an ancient spirituality in the view of the Oriental (see drawing). This developed further and, as the final product, that is, as I said, in the last millennium before the Mystery of Golgotha, became belief in ghosts, in seeing ghosts (see drawing, blue).

[ 28 ] Now we are so deeply involved in world evolution that, on the one hand, we see how belief in ghosts has emerged from an ancient spirituality; but at the same time, we look ahead to the future, where pure perception will once again prevail. But now there is still a belief in ghosts, an inner belief in ghosts. Just as those who believe in ghosts think that ghosts are sensual, look as they are seen with the eye, so today's human being, the Western human being, does not yet see spirituality when he looks within himself, but perceives the ghostly. All drives, instincts, desires are ghosts that today precede a spirituality (red), while the old ghosts followed an earlier spirituality (blue). One can therefore say that an old, pure spirituality developed from the East to the West; this was followed by belief in ghosts in the course of time, and the remnants are still among us. From the West towards the East, approaching us and realising itself in the distant future, a later spirituality is developing, which in its beginnings shows itself through something that is just as ghostly as the old ghosts, namely drives, instincts, desires and so on, as modern man sees them. Today's scholar must, based on his view, attribute drives, instincts, and desires to human beings and looks down with contempt on the belief in ghosts of the masses. He does not know that this belief in ghosts of the masses has exactly the same value and reality of knowledge as his belief in desires, drives, and instincts. He believes in the ghosts of the beginning, just as the masses believe in the ghosts of the end. And our European civilization has become so chaotic because the old ghosts have collided with the new ghosts.
[ 29 ] I briefly characterized this in an aphorism from the “West-East Aphorisms,” which you have in this week's issue of “Goetheanum,” how, in fact, modern humanity has for some time now been touched on the one hand by an ancient, inherited Eastern spirituality that has become internalized as a belief in ghosts, and on the other hand by something now beginning, germinating, which has not yet been disenchanted from the belief in ghosts, in the instincts, instincts, and desires. The ghosts that are usually called ghosts are spirits that have been sensorialized by the human organization, and the instincts, desires, and passions are modern ghosts that have not yet been brought to spirituality, have not yet been desensitized, and point to the future.
[ 30 ] The inner soul life of European man in particular lives in this special chaotic form of interaction between old and new ghosts, and a spiritual view must be found that brings both to complete clarity. It is not only human worldview that is connected with these things, but universal human life on earth. And how could it be otherwise than that not only spiritual life, but also legal, judicial, governmental, and economic life are connected with it, since all these arise from the special nature of the human being. But where does all this development come from? We must ask ourselves this question. The gods, I said, the divine-spiritual beings, had their earthly affairs in the human head. We distinguish between the threefold human being, the nerve-sense human being, primarily in the head, the rhythmic human being, who lives in the middle, and the metabolic-limb human being, who is contained in the limbs and in the continuations inward, in the actual metabolic organs (see drawing). We distinguish this threefold human being, and we now know that the gods arranged their earthly affairs on earth during the sleep state through the older humanity in such a way that they set up their workshop, so to speak, in the human head while the human being was in the sleep state. What is the case with human beings today?
[ 31 ] Even in modern humans, the gods set up their workshops in humans during sleep, but no longer in the head, but in the limb-metabolism organism. But the limb-metabolism organism—and this is now the essential, the significant point—remains unconscious to humans even during waking life. Think about how often I have said this: the ideas in which humans wake up. But what happens when I have the idea that I am going to lift my arm, that I am going to move my hand—what happens down there so that the muscle actually carries out these movements—this is something that modern humans and normal consciousness do not know. This whole inner workings of his imaginative life in his organism remains obscure to him. This leads to unconscious life even during the waking state. The gods have therefore arranged the scene of their activity on earth in such a way that human beings in the waking state cannot, through their own natural development, take over their inheritance when they wake up.
[ 32 ] It is also true today that a divine-spiritual event takes place in human beings from the moment they fall asleep until they wake up, but due to their natural state, human beings are not able to have impressions of what the gods have done when they wake up. The ancient human being was simply constituted by his organization in such a way that he felt inspired by his thoughts. The human being of today creates his thoughts. But the divine-spiritual deeds do not yet influence this activity. This must first be developed in humanity. And that is the task which, I would say, spiritual science must set itself as a cosmic task. It must bring human beings to such a development. And education must also be included in such a development, so that human beings can recognize the divine-spiritual deeds coming out of themselves with full consciousness. At the same time, they will no longer see things like these inner ghosts, for the way we imagine drives and instincts today are just as much ghosts in relation to the real human inner life as we see ghosts in the external world. They are not mere imaginations, but divine-spiritual forces that are only sensorially perceived and incorrectly, untruthfully imagined.
[ 33 ] But in the same way, the divine-spiritual forces that work in human beings are also imagined to be untrue when they are imagined in the sense of today's instincts and drives. What is despised today are external ghosts. What is regarded as science today is nothing more than ghosts, only internal ghosts, and human beings must, I would say, undergo this transformation that is predestined for them by cosmic evolution. Our entire culture must be permeated by impulses that move in this direction. Therein lies a possibility of emerging from forces of decline—or from a chaotic interaction of forces of decline with forces of ascent, against which humanity is still resisting today—and, inspired and impelled by the spiritual, of moving toward the possible future stages of human development and advancing in the direction of these possible future stages of human evolution. That is what matters.
[ 34 ] What I wanted to give you today is also a kind of East-West perspective, but more for the esoteric, I would say. These East-West considerations are already quite “contemporary” today, whereby I do not use the word in the trivial sense in which it is often used, for it is only by engaging in such considerations that humanity can attain a certain level of consciousness.
[ 35 ] One must therefore say: Once upon a time, in the earlier stages of Earth's development, human beings were also asleep — for they are human beings even when they sleep, when they are not carrying their bodies around with them — and they were in such a relationship with the gods that they could even look with the eyes of their souls, with the eyes of their spirits, and see how the gods dwelt in their heads. Then, when they awoke, more or less only the after-feeling remained. Human beings emerged more and more from the divine-spiritual world, which they nevertheless perceived in dreams when they looked back after emerging from their bodies. That was in earlier times; later, when they entered their bodies, they perceived it only as inspiration.
[ 36 ] But as the gods have, so to speak, drawn themselves further down into his physical form, man is now involved in such a relationship with the gods that they have chosen his limb-metabolism organism as their workshop for the earthly being. However, man does not completely leave this earthly being during sleep. And because he does not leave it completely during sleep, man will again be able to experience an impulse for his will, for his social being, from the world of the gods, but not in sleep; rather, he must experience it as a whole human being, even while awake. This means that man must increasingly acquire conscious knowledge of the spiritual world. That is what we must strive for. That is what I wanted to give you today as a contribution from a West-East perspective. Tomorrow I will report to you on this West-East Congress as it presented itself to me.

