The Spiritual Hierarchies
GA 110
Düsseldorf, April 18, 1909, Morning
Lecture IX
[ 1 ] It is only natural that after such an exposition as that of yesterday, numerous questions should arise, and that with regard to representation of such universal all-embracing truths about the Cosmos, heard for the first time, some things should remain incomprehensible. I beg you always to remember that — I have already said that here things explained are not the result of any speculation, or of any sort of artificial scheme, but are derived from real facts, which are called the facts of the Akashic Record; and it is only later that these facts can be gathered together into a sort of system. But one question which may arise in many minds must be answered to-day: the question as to the planets which have accomplished their task. In a certain way we traced yesterday the origin of the life of a planet up to its end, up to the time when it became a separate, visible, planet. Now someone might affirm that some of these planets we see in the heavens did not originate from the time described yesterday, or are not now coming into being. [ 2 ] We must clearly realise that a new epoch begins for a planet when it has reached that point which we described yesterday. Let us suppose we wished to follow the origin of a planet, not as it was with ancient Saturn when it alone was there, but as it was when the formation of our Earth took place. Ancient Saturn was then formed again, as a repetition; so that after the evolution of ancient Saturn, when ancient Sun and ancient Moon were all three finished, the evolution of the earth first began in the form of a huge warmth or fire-body, on which was repeated all that had happened during the ancient Saturn evolution. Then came a time when, under the influence of the Zodiacal region called the Lion, the single planet Saturn (that which we call Saturn to-day) detached itself from that mighty self-revolving globe of fire, thus reaching its highest point. It was in this manner that the single planet Saturn originated.
[ 3 ] Now, you must not picture to yourselves that the pacifying influence of the Lion brought the forward motion of Saturn to an end when that point of time was reached. No, only the inner movements which existed formerly were then stopped. Saturn had grown into a being which drew into it all that was formerly distributed in the circumference, and united it all within itself. All this happened though the influence of the Lion; but the large globe, from which this Saturn was detached, contracted, and became a smaller globe. Whilst this whole globe contracted inwardly and after the influence (from the Lion) had been able to work and the inward motions been brought to rest, Saturn retained to a certain degree the movement which it had originally received. Formerly Saturn used its own impulse for its movements; for it was necessary for it to continue the movement; to move on further as by a swimming motion. When that globe had withdrawn, it continued to move by itself, although the inward motion was stopped. And that self-movement, after it had received the first impulse, is the movement according to which Saturn is revolving to-day.
[ 4 ] It happened in a similar way with Jupiter. For what had just been described happened when the earth began its formation. Then differentiation in the globe took place when it began to contract, inwardly. Then also occurred the killing of the single globes under the constellation of the Scorpion. They crowded on top of one another. Through this began for each their own inner life. After Jupiter, as a mighty living being, had been, so to speak, killed; there began within him the life of the single being belonging to him, and the whole globe having contracted, now moved on, after having found by this means the impulse for movement within itself.
That which we have been considering to-day as the movements of Saturn, of Jupiter, etc. was a result, a consequence, which arose after the formative process. — which I described yesterday — had come to an end.
[ 5 ] Another difficulty seems to have arisen because I said that the second planet which detached itself from our earth in the course of its evolution was Jupiter, the third Mars, whereas the sequence in time which I described was that the Saturn development came first, then the Sun development, and then the Moon's. But, this is completely justified; for, with the planets of the present day, we have to do with what took place as a repetition, during the fourth evolution of the earth. When the first Saturn was formed, Saturn was there alone; during the Sun development (the second globe), the conditions were such that we have to speak of a Sun. But when after the Saturn development, the Sun developments continued, the whole process of Saturn came to an end with the Sun, so that when we look backwards at those first planetary developments of our earth, the ancient Saturn, Sun and Moon, we must realise that they were finished with once and for all. [ 6 ] But when we speak of the Earth's development it is not so. Saturn first arises, then, by way of repetition — the Sun; but everything progresses further inwardly, it is not yet finished. Jupiter is left behind as a relic of the repetition of the Sun-development. Then the earth is a repetition of the Moon development, which — if we regard the whole of evolution — was then at an end. But as regards earthly evolution the Moon is not finished. Mars remains behind after this repetition.
[ 7 ] Thus we see, that the planets of the present day which are visible to us in the heavens must be thought of as having originated during the time which we call the fourth period of the evolution of the earth. These are the things over which we must ponder. It is impossible to touch on everything, when one speaks of the whole world.
[ 8 ] In speaking of Saturn, I spoke of a globe of fire or of a large fiery egg, and then of a revolving motion. And it was in fact originally a sort of ball or egg. Whilst that globe, which corresponds to the very first Saturn condition, is revolving, the following is gradually formed; it acquires a sort of girdle, which does not surround the whole egg, but which is there as a sort of broad band. And within that belt these single forms collect which are being formed all around. (see Diagram) This belt formation is a general Cosmic law. This law — which rests on an accumulation in the form of an equator or belt — you can see exemplified in the Cosmos, as far as your sight can reach, in the Milky Way, which owes its existence to that law. When you look at the Milky Way, stretching like an external belt around the heavens, with the stars shining sparsely in between, you must think of its being the result of that law which causes things to draw together into a belt as soon as a rotatory process begins. Our world system, as we have it, has really the form of a bean; it is not round, as is usually accepted, and the belt is drawn around as a distant equator.
You must also think of such a belt when a planet originates.
If — trivially speaking — one took an egg desiring to make a diagram on it of these various conditions, one would have first to paint such a belt around it, with red if you like. One would not paint the whole egg red, but only just a belt. Along this belt assemble those bodies which were selected to form later a heavenly body. One would have to draw on it a point where all these were gathered together.
Thus you see that the configuration and the distribution of the stars as we see them in space, is a result of the action of the spiritual Beings or Hierarchies. For when we speak of the contraction of large masses, we must realise that this does not happen of itself, but that it is brought about by the action of those Beings of the higher Hierarchies which we have described. And when we take a general view of all that has been described, we may say: When ancient Saturn was in formation, when all that mighty mass of fire out of which all our solar system has arisen organised itself into ancient Saturn, the Spirits of Personality were passing through their human stage of existence; during the Sun formation the Archangels or Spirits of Fire were passing through their human stage; during the Moon evolution the Angels, and on the earth Man, is passing through his human existence. But it must be realised that this Man had also taken part in all that happened before. What is called the physical body to-day had its first foundations during the very earliest Saturn formation. That physical body was not as yet interpenetrated by an etheric body, or by an astral body; but it was already so organised that after passing through all the transformations it experienced later, it could become the bearer of the spiritual earth-man of to-day. Very slowly and gradually was this physical body organised during the ancient Saturn evolution, and, whilst ancient Saturn itself was being formed, the different signs of the Zodiac slowly revolved, and the human body member by member, took on its earliest form. When Saturn stood under the sign of the Lion the beginning of the heart was formed; the ribs or the thoracic cage were started while Saturn was under the sign of the Crab; the foundation of the symmetrical shape of man, that is the reason for his being symmetrically built on two sides, arose while Saturn was under the constellation of Gemini. Thus we follow piece by piece the formation of the human body, and when we look up to that part of the Zodiac, where Aries the Ram is, we can say: The upper part of our head originated when ancient Saturn stood under the sign of Aries; the foundation of our organ of speech, when Saturn stood under the sign of the Bull. And when you think of man distributed thus, you can see in the Zodiacal circle the creative forces for each of the human organs.
[ 9 ] This was represented pictorially in the old Mysteries, and the Zodiac was drawn as you see it here on the ceiling of this hall. By chance — but there is no such thing as chance — we have met in a hall which is adorned above by the signs of the Zodiac. Formerly the Zodiac was not designed by depicting the animal form corresponding to each sign, but the different human members were drawn in the corresponding region of the heavens: for instance, for Aries a head; further on, for the Bull, the region of the throat; that which most of all expresses symmetry — the arms, for Gemini; the thoracic cage, for the Crab; the heart, for the Lion; and thus they came to the lower parts of the legs, for the Waterman; and to the feet, for Pisces. Think of such a Zodiacal circle as a man designed out there in the Cosmos, then you have that which corresponds to the powers of the Thrones, Cherubim and Seraphim who created the first beginnings of the physical human body. This is the great Cosmic Man, the Man who is found in all the World Myths, and all the national legends or sagas, out of whom single individuals of the earth are composed in the most varied forms. Think of the giant YMIR who is spread out in the great Cosmos; microcosmic man is formed out of this giant. Up above is the macrocosmic man who is a Creator, who, out there, comprises all that man has within him. Profound truth lies in the depths of such representations, truth which comes to light more or less imperfectly, according to the degrees of the clairvoyant power of the nations. It also shines through that wisdom which finds its outward expression in the old Testament. It shines in that wisdom which, as the old Hebrew mystery-teaching, leads back to that Mystery teaching which was the foundation of the Old Testament — to Adam Cadmon of the Kabbala. The macrocosmic Man is none other than the one we have now designed in the Cosmos; only we must form our conceptions of him in the right way.
[ 10 ] What I have now explained to you, and which culminated in the teaching of the macrocosmic man, is a teaching which in fact includes the deepest cosmic mysteries, and which in the future will gradually flow into the general education of humanity at large.
To-day we are still far from understanding this teaching; and if anyone who is merely a scientist had listened to these lectures, he would have surely held this audience for something other than an intelligent company of people. We are very far from understanding these things to-day. But we are now at the beginning of an epoch, when the facts which are discovered in accordance with the fantastic theories of modern science, will compel men to seek these truths of the great primeval wisdom. The mystery for instance, of the process of conception, about which people speculate so erroneously to-day, will never be known until the teaching of the macrocosmic man regarding that same process is understood. Precisely that into which true Mystery enters, and as a real Mystery eludes the instruments of modern research, will receive illumination to the minutest detail. For how small, in relation to the Cosmos, is the cell wherein fructification takes place! The mysteries of the great Cosmos will alone solve that which takes place in the smallest cells; nothing else can solve the problems they contain. The investigations of external science in relation to this problem are not without use, they have a certain merit, but they are childish in comparison with the great mystery which is contained there, and which will only be solved when people realise that the answer to the happenings in a centre is to be found in the great circumference. Hence, all teachers of the Mysteries said: If you want to understand the centre, investigate the circumference, for it contains the key.
[ 11 ] When you remember that each world globe retains its movement, after it has, so to speak, come to a conclusion, when it is complete; you will also understand what must be called the Karma of each of these globes.
From the moment when each of these planets has come of itself to an end, the beings which belong to it have to take part in its dissolution, in its disappearance from all connection with the world. Thus if we follow up the ancient Saturn evolution, we have an advancing process up to the fusion of the whole globe of warmth; or you might consider it a descending one for it is a process of condensation. In the moment when Saturn begins to revolve — we are speaking of the first Saturn development — the Saturn globe is completed, all the conditions are accomplished with which it is concerned. The spirits who are assigned to it have to consider at this moment of its dissolution, what has been built up during its formation, and that is Karma. This cannot be escaped; things have to be dissolved again in the same way in which they were put together. The Karma of the first half of evolution, fulfills itself in the second half. The formation of worlds is the preparation of Karma; the passing away of worlds, in the broadest sense of the word, is nothing else than pain under the action of Karma, and again the wiping out of that same Karma. As in big things, so it is also in small things, with every planet. For each planet mirrors faithfully the conditions of the great world. You can see the same process in a nation. Think of a nation rising in its youth, full of strength, of activity, of energy; think of this nation as producing epoch after epoch the most varied elements of civilisation and of culture. This has all to reach its highest point; but whilst all this is accumulating, the Karma of the nation is also accumulating. Just as Karma accrued during the Saturn development, and we have to take into consideration what had been brought about, so Karma accrues to a nation during the time its civilisation is being built up. This Karma is at its highest point, at its strongest, when the nation has given birth to all the primeval, elemental forces.
[ 12 ] Now we have seen that guiding Beings are everywhere. We have seen with the earth, how the higher spiritual Beings — Angels, Archangels, Archai — descended, and at a time when humanity could not as yet help itself, they guided it until it reached a certain height. These are the spiritual beings of the Hierarchies who had reached their maturity in earlier times; but when this height is reached, when those Beings who had descended from the heights reach their goal, then other Beings have to become the leaders and guides of the said nations. When nations have to rise in a certain way still higher than their highest point, leading personalities have to give themselves up of their own free will to become the bearers of higher spiritual Beings; only then does it become possible to lead the nation a few stages beyond that which was originally planned for it. But in such cases one thing must happen; those who descend into the beings who have to lead the nation to a still higher point of civilisation, must take upon themselves all the Karma which the nation has been accumulating. This is the important law as regards taking upon oneself the Karma of nations and of races. From a definite point of time the guiding personalities have themselves to bear all the Karma of those nations and races. That was the essential reason that such individualities as Hermes, for instance, had to take upon them — their nations Karma, which had accumulated up to then. On each planet, such things are the reflected images of great Cosmic processes.
[ 13 ] But we have reflected images which go further still. We have seen that the Thrones became Thrones, only because from created beings they themselves became Creators, that they were enabled to pass from a condition of taking to one of giving. The Thrones had once upon a time passed through their development in other world systems, and had progressed so far that they were able to let their own Substance stream out from them.
It is a higher grade of development to be able to give, to bring sacrifices, than merely to store up for oneself all that the Cosmos gives. This is again mirrored in human life. What is this human development? Look backwards in spirit to the Atlantean and Lemurian times, and then look forwards! Man receives the physical body, the etheric and astral bodies and the Ego, and then again the Ego works back on the other members, transforming the astral body, the etheric and physical bodies, into Manas, Budhi, and Atma, into Spirit self, spirit-Life and Spirit-man. Primeval wisdom has always taught that man transforms his astral body in such a way that this astral body consists at first partly of Manas and partly of the old astrality, but that later it becomes completely transformed, completely penetrated by the work and action of the Ego. Let us take a man who has not yet reached that grade of development when the astral body is completely penetrated by the work of the Ego; almost all men, with very few exceptions, are in that condition. That which man has already transformed goes with him through all eternity; that which he has not yet changed in which his Ego has had no part, must leave him, as a sort of astral shell, after he has passed through Kama-Loka; that shell dissolves in the astral world, not without its having brought about considerable mischief if as an astral body, it had bad desires and evil passions. Thus we can say that the development of man consists in. his leaving always less and less behind him in the astral world. [ 14 ] Let us follow the process; the man dies. Soon after death the etheric body is dissolved; and the extract of it remains. The man passes through. Kama-Loka, and the untransformed shell detaches itself; that which has been re-worked goes with man through all eternity, it is brought back into each new incarnation. The more perfect the man is, the less there will be of those remnants left in the astral world; till at last he will have progressed so far that he leaves nothing of his astral body in Kama-Loka, so far — that he can injure no living being on earth through the remnants he leaves in Kama-Loka. Such. a man has then the possibility of seeing into spiritual worlds. For it is not possible to reach this condition without having reached a certain degree of clairvoyance in the Astral. The whole astral body has then been spiritualised, it has become Spirit-Self, and the whole of it is taken with him by the man to the spiritual world. Formerly that which was bad was left behind, now the whole astral body can be taken with him into all futurity. And in the moment when the astral body is so far advanced that it is completely transformed, in that moment the whole of this new astral shape is impressed upon the etheric body, so that the etheric body becomes a counterpart of the astral body. The etheric body does not need to be as yet quite transformed, but that is impressed upon it which has been refashioned in the astral body. You see, that we have here described a particularly exalted being, one who is eminently far advanced, because he has developed the whole of the Spirit-self. This Being is called Nirmana-Kaya in Eastern Science; for his astral body, his astral Kaya, has reached the stage when it leaves no remnants in the astral world.
[ 15 ] Let us now go further. Man can always develop further and further; at last he influences or transforms his etheric body, then his physical body. What happens when the etheric and the physical body are transformed so that they are ruled by the man? When the etheric body is thus changed, when man has not only ‘Spirit Self’ in the astral body, but Budhi or ‘Life Spirit’ has also been gradually developed in his etheric body, and when this Life-Spirit or Budhi impresses itself upon the physical body — then yet a further stage of development is reached.
Man then reaches the point when his etheric body also leaves nothing behind it, so that he retains this etheric body in the same shape through all time, the etheric body in which he has formed the Life-Spirit or Budhi.
[ 16 ] Through such transmutations man becomes more and more ruler over his astral and his etheric bodies. Such control enables him also to direct in a certain way his astral and etheric bodies. One who has not yet brought his astral body under the rule of his Ego must certainly wait until he has come thus far; but the man who already is lord of his astral and etheric bodies, has them at his free disposal. He can say: ‘Because with my “I,” I have passed through so many incarnations which have taught me to transform my astral and etheric bodies, I am now enabled, when I have to return to earth again, to form for myself out of astral and etheric substances, an astral and an etheric body which will be equally perfect.’ He is also enabled to sacrifice his own astral and etheric bodies, to pass them on to others. You now see, that there are individualities who, because they have become rulers of their astral and etheric bodies, are able to sacrifice these bodies, because they have learnt how to build them. If they wish to return to earth again, they will themselves form them anew out of the existing material. The perfection to which they have attained, they pass on to other personalities who have to perform certain tasks in the world. Thus personalities of later days have woven into them, organised into them, the astral and etheric bodies of these who lived in times of yore. You see that when this happens the personality of olden times did not only influence the time in which he lived, but that his influence works on also into the future.
Thus, for instance, Zarathustra who was capable of governing his astral body, and who later passed it over to Hermes, could say to himself: ‘I live, but in the future I will not only work as I do now, as a person in the outer world, but, I will penetrate the astral body of the Egyptian Hermes, he in whom the Egyptian epoch of civilisation has its beginning.’ Such a personality has a body, a Kaya, which does not only operate in the place and time when it lives, but which acts into the future, and gives law unto the future. Law for the future is called Dharma. Such a body is called Dharmakaya. These are names, expressions which one often meets with in Eastern science. You have here the true explanation as it is always given in primeval wisdom.
Now if we look back at the many things which have passed before our minds during these days, our souls might well put the question: What is that, which, up to now, we have really called man? Man is a name given to a certain stage of development. We have found that the Spirits of Personality were men on Saturn; that even the Thrones must have been men once upon a time; we have learnt that man progresses further, and rises to higher Beings; we have learnt to know the first stages of the ascent in the Angels, Archangels, etc.; we have learnt to know in them Beings, who are sacrificing something; we have seen the beginning of the sacrifice which is found at its highest point in the Thrones. The first gleam of creative activity we have seen in those who are the leaders of nations and races, who know how to influence their own bodies in such a way that they can let some of their influence stream out. As the Thrones let their essence flow out, so in another way the Nirmana-Kayas let their own bodies flow out into the future, for the sake of future individualities, who could not have reached such a far point in their evolution, if they had not received embodied into them, what the former Beings gave out for them.
[ 17 ] Thus we build up our idea of evolution from the point when it begins, up to the time when one can give out, can create. The idea of the creator rises before our spiritual sight, and we say to ourselves, each separate being develops from the creature to the creator. The Archangels developed to the human stage on ancient Sun, the Spirits of Personality on ancient Saturn, the Angels on the ancient Moon, we men, upon the earth; and so it will continue always, in all times, Beings will be developing into men. Does all that continue endlessly? Is it really only a succession of circles, in which is repeated on the Sun that which previously took place on Saturn, only that a number of beings are added to the former ones with each circle? Is it really all, that out of originally helpless creatures beings should ever be developing into those who can sacrifice themselves? This is not at all the case! But the great question arises: Is the humanity which was experienced on Saturn by the Spirits of Personality, the humanity experienced on the Sun by the Archangels, and that experienced by the Angels on Mars, are these all the same kind of humanity as that which we are now experiencing upon earth? When we consider the nature of the Angels, for instance, do we see in them the image of what we shall be in our next Jupiter epoch? Do we see in the spirits of fire only the image of those beings we shall ourselves be in Venus? Can it really be said with reason that, in reaching to higher stages in the evolution of the world, and rising even into the Hierarchies, we shall develop only into Beings which exist already? Has our path of evolution been trod already by others? These are the great questions which each of you may ask who has let these lectures act impartially upon his soul. [ 18 ] Have we only to do with a humanity which is externally repeated in the same way, so that we are now as the Spirits of Personality were on the Saturn, the Fire Spirits or Archangels on the Sun, the Angels on the Moon? For us this might be important, but for the higher Gods it would only be a multiplication of their own creations, and they would not have achieved any special progress. But there is another question: Will men, just because they have become men upon the earth, be enabled some day, perhaps, to develop into beings capable of something of which the Angels are incapable, something of which also the Archangels and the Spirits of Personality are incapable? Has the whole of Creation learnt something through having produced men after the Archangels, and after the Angels? Has Creation made progress through that? Is it possible that man, because he was fitted to descend deeper, will, therefore, have gained the possibility, the right, to rise still higher? We ask ourselves this as a sort of consequential question. The remainder of our considerations must be dedicated to this question: What is the whole significance and importance of man in the Cosmos and his relation to the Hierarchies? What will Man become in the succeeding stages of the Hierarchies?
Neunter Vortrag
[ 1 ] Es ist nur natürlich, daß gegenüber einer solchen Auseinandersetzung, wie die gestrige war, sich die Fragen geradezu auftürmen und daß gegenüber einer solchen zum erstenmal gehörten Darstellung solcher umfassenden Wahrheiten, die sich auf den Kosmos beziehen, manches unverständlich bleiben kann. Nun habe ich schon gestern betont — das bitte ich immer zu berücksichtigen —, daß hier nicht aus irgendeiner Spekulation, aus einem Schema heraus charakterisiert wird, sondern aus den wirklichen Tatsachen heraus, die man die Tatsachen der Akasha-Chronik nennt; und daher können sich diese Tatsachen erst nachträglich zu einer Art von Systematik zusammenschließen. Eine der Fragen aber, die sich ergeben könnten für manchen, soll doch heute hier vorweggenommen werden, die Frage: Wie verhält es sich denn nun mit dem fertigen Planeten? Wir haben ja gestern in einer gewissen Beziehung das Werden des Planeten bis zu seinem Abschluß verfolgt, bis zu dem Zeitpunkt, wo er sozusagen da ist als einzelner sichtbarer Planet. Und nun könnte jemand sagen: Ja, aber die Planeten, die wir jetzt am Himmel sehen, sind doch alle nicht etwa vor diesem Zeitpunkt, der gestern geschildert worden ist, entstanden, sie sind doch nicht etwa im Entstehen?
[ 2 ] Das ist auch nicht der Fall. Wir müssen uns klar sein darüber, daß für den Planeten dann eigentlich eine neue Zeitepoche eintritt, wenn jener Punkt erreicht ist, von dem ich gestern gesprochen habe. Nehmen Sie einmal an, wir wollten die Planetenentstehung verfolgen, nicht wie sie vor sich ging beim alten Saturn, wo ja nur dieser alte Saturn da war, sondern wie sie vor sich ging bei der Erdenbildung. Da hat sich ja auch zuerst der alte Saturn als Wiederholung wieder gebildet, so daß nach dem Ablauf von Saturnentwickelung, Sonnenentwickelung, Mondenentwickelung, beim Beginn der Erdenentwikkelung sich wiederum zunächst herausbildete ein mächtiger Wärmeoder Feuerkörper und daß da entstand alles dasjenige, was ich Ihnen gegenüber der Saturnentwickelung gesagt habe. Da trat dann auch der Zeitpunkt ein, wo in einem Punkte dieser sich um sich selbst bewegenden mächtigen Feuerkugel durch die Einflüsse der Tierkreisregion des Löwen sich dieser einzelne Saturn, was wir heute Saturn nennen, abgliederte, wo er sozusagen in dieser Abgliederung seinen Höhepunkt erreichte. Nun war der einzelne Planet entstanden.
[ 3 ] Nur dürfen Sie sich nicht vorstellen, daß in diesem Zeitpunkt etwa das Beruhigen durch den Löwen so zu denken ist, als ob der Saturn jetzt aufgehalten würde, sondern die Sache ist so: Der Saturn ist also entstanden, die Bewegungen, die früher da waren, sind zur Ruhe gekommen. In sich ist der Saturn ein Wesen geworden, welches alles dasjenige, was früher verteilt war im Umfange, aufgesogen hat, in sich vereinigt hat. Das alles ist geschehen durch diesen - wie wir es nennen könnten — Löweneinfluß. Aber die große Kugel, aus der dieser Saturn sich abgegliedert hat, die zieht sich nun zusammen, die ist jetzt im Innern als ein kleinerer Ball vorhanden. Weil sich dieses ganze Gebilde nach innen zurückzieht, so behält der Saturn auch, nachdem dieser Einfluß stattgefunden hat und seine Bewegungen im Innern zur Ruhe gekommen sind, in gewisser Weise die Bewegung bei, die er ursprünglich bekommen hat. Vorher brauchte er seinen eigenen Bewegungsimpuls, denn er hatte sozusagen notwendig, sich in dieser Kugel weiterzubewegen, wie schwimmend weiterzubewegen. Als sich diese Kugel von ihm zurückgezogen hatte, da ging es dann, trotzdem die Innenbewegung gebrochen war, von selbst. Und dieses Von-selbst-Gehen, nachdem der erste Anstoß geschehen war, das ist die jetzige Bewegung, die jetzige Umdrehung des Saturn.
[ 4 ] So ist es beim Jupiter in ähnlicher Weise. Denn als die Erde sich zu bilden begann, geschah das, was jetzt geschildert worden ist; dann trat die Differenzierung ein in die Kugel, die sich zurückgezogen hatte nach innen. Es trat unter dem Sternbild des Skorpion die Tötung der einzelnen Kugeln ein; die lagerten sich ineinander, dafür aber begann jetzt das eigene innere Leben. Nachdem sozusagen der Jupiter als ein großes Lebewesen getötet war, begann das Leben der einzelnen auf ihm lebenden Wesenheiten, und er bewegte sich, als sich nun wiederum die ganze Kugel zusammenzog, weiter, nachdem er auf diese Weise den Anstoß in sich selber gefunden hatte. Das, was wir heute als Saturnbewegung, als Jupiter- und so weiter Bewegung beobachten, das ist eine Folge, eine Konsequenz, die erst entstanden ist, als der Bildungsprozeß, den ich gestern geschildert habe, abgeschlossen war.
[ 5 ] Eine andere Schwierigkeit scheint dadurch entstanden zu sein, daß ich davon gesprochen habe, daß der zweite Planet, der sich da abgliederte, unser jetziger Jupiter sei, der dritte unser jetziger Mars, während doch in der zeitlichen Aufeinanderfolge davon gesprochen wird, daß zuerst die Saturnentwickelung da war, dann die Sonnenentwikkelung, dann die Mondenentwickelung. Das ist durchaus gerechtfertigt, denn wir haben es, wie gesagt, bei den jetzigen Planeten zu tun mit dem, was als Wiederholung beim vierten Zustand, bei der Erdenentwickelung, geschehen ist. Damals, als zuerst der Saturn sich bildete, war wirklich nur der Saturn da. Als die Sonnenentwickelung geschah, da waren in diesem zweiten Körper, der sich gebildet hatte, die Verhältnisse so, daß wir von einer Sonne sprechen müssen. Aber als nach der Saturnentwickelung die Sonnenentwickelung vor sich ging, da war ja der ganze Prozeß mit der Sonnenentwickelung abgeschlossen. So daß, wenn wir zurückblicken auf diese ersten planetarischen Entwickelungen unserer Erde, wir uns bewußt sein müssen, daß sie nun auch abgeschlossen waren.
[ 6 ] Wenn wir von der Erdenentwickelung sprechen, so ist das nicht so. Da entsteht zuerst Saturn, dann allerdings als Wiederholung die Sonne; aber das rückt weiter nach innen vor, es ist nicht abgeschlossen, es wird zurückgelassen der Jupiter als der Rest der Sonnenentwickelungs-Wiederholung. Das ist, was wir berücksichtigen müssen. Dann wird die Mondenentwickelung wiederholt von der Erde. Diese ist, wenn wir wiederum auf die ganze Entwickelung zurückblicken, damals ja abgeschlossen gewesen. Bei der Erdenentwickelung ist die Mondperiode kein Abschluß; es geht weiter hinein; was da zurückbleibt bei der Wiederholung, das ist der Mars.
[ 7 ] So also sehen wir, daß die jetzigen Planeten, die am Himmel für uns sichtbar sind, durchaus gedacht werden müssen als entstanden während derjenigen Zeit, die wir als die vierte, als die Zeit der Erdenentwickelung, in unserem Akasha-Chronik-System bezeichnen. Das sind die Dinge, die wir zu berücksichtigen haben - es ist nicht möglich, über die ganze Welt zu sprechen und alles zu erwähnen. Nur das eine wird Ihnen noch aufgefallen sein: daß ja zuerst eine Art von Kugel vorhanden ist. Ich sprach zum Beispiel beim Saturn von einer Feuerkugel oder einer Art großem feurigem Ei, und dann sprachen wir eigentlich von Umdrehung.
[ 8 ] So ist es auch in der Tat, wir können uns ursprünglich eine Art von Ei oder Kugel denken. Indem nun jene Kugel, die dem allerursprünglichsten Saturnzustand entspricht, sich dreht, bildet sich immer mehr und mehr das Folgende heraus. Es gliedert sich eine Art von Gürtel ab, der nicht um das ganze Ei ringsherum geht, sondern der wie eine Art breiten Bandes nur ist. Und innerhalb dieses Gürtels sammeln sich sozusagen die einzelnen Formen, die ringsherum gebildet sind. Diese Gürtelbildung ist ein ganz allgemeines kosmisches Gesetz. Unter anderem sehen Sie das Gesetz, daß alles eigentlich auf einer Ansammlung längs einer Art von Äquator oder Gürtel beruht, in dem Kosmos ausgebildet, so weit Sie ihn überschauen können, denn diesem Gesetz verdankt die Milchstraße ihr Dasein. Wenn Sie diese Milchstraße wie einen äußersten Gürtel ringsherum im Himmelsraum sehen und dazwischen spärlich die Sterne, so rührt das von dem Gesetz her, daß, sobald Umdrehung beginnt, sich die Dinge in einem Gürtel sammeln. Unser Weltensystem, wie wir es haben, hat eigentlich schon dadurch eine Art von Linsenform. Es ist nicht direkt kugelförmig gebildet, wie es angenommen wird, sondern linsenförmig, und am weiten Äquator ist der Gürtel angesammelt. Solch einen Gürtel müssen Sie sich auch bei der Entstehung eines Planeten denken. Wenn man also, trivial gesprochen, ein Ei nehmen würde und man wollte darauf die verschiedenen Zustände schematisch zeichnen, so müßte man zuerst das ganze Ei nehmen, dann müßte man auf dem Ei, mit einer roten Farbe etwa, einen solchen Gürtel malen. Nicht das ganze Ei dürfte man rot färben, sondern nur einen Gürtel. Längs dieses Gürtels sammeln sich die Körper, die ausersehen sind, den einen Weltenkörper zu bilden. An einer Stelle müßte man den Punkt hinzeichnen, wo sich alles sammelt (Zeichnung wie auf Seite 129). So sehen wir, daß die Konfiguration, die Verteilung der Sterne, wie sie im Raume um uns herum ist, ein Ergebnis der geistigen Wesenheiten oder Hierarchien ist. Denn wenn wir sprechen vom Zusammenziehen der großen Masse, so müssen wir uns bewußt werden, daß dieses Zusammenziehen nicht von selbst geschieht, sondern durch die Wirkung derjenigen Wesenheiten, die als die Wesen der höheren Hierarchien von uns geschildert worden sind. Und wenn wir zusammenfassen, was wir geschildert haben, so müssen wir sagen: Während der alte Saturn sich bildete, während also zuerst jene gewaltige Feuermasse, aus der im Grunde genommen unser ganzes Sonnensystem entsprungen ist, sich gliederte zum alten Saturn, da machten die Geister der Persönlichkeit ihr Menschendasein durch; während der Sonnenbildung machten die Erzengel oder Feuergeister ihr Menschendasein durch; dann während der Mondenentwickelung die Engel, und auf der Erde macht der Mensch sein Menschendasein durch. Dabei ist es aber doch so, daß dieser Mensch mit allem, was vorher geschehen ist, zu tun gehabt hat. Das, was wir heute physischen Leib nennen, hat seine erste Anlage während der allerersten Saturnbildung erhalten. Damals war dieser physische Leib noch nicht durchzogen von einem Ätherleib, noch nicht durchzogen von einem Astralleibe, aber er wurde damals schon so veranlagt, daß er nach den Umbildungen, die er später erfahren hat, der Träger unseres jetzigen geistigen Erdenmenschen hat werden können. Ganz langsam und allmählich ist dieser menschliche physische Leib veranlagt worden während der alten Saturnentwickelung, und indem sich der alte Saturn selber gebildet, herumgedreht hat längs der einzelnen Zeichen des Tierkreises, ist in der Anlage Glied für Glied des Menschenleibes entstanden. Wie in der Zeit, als der Saturn unter dem Zeichen des Löwen stand, wie da die Anlage zum Herzen entstanden ist, so ist die Anlage zum Brustpanzer entstanden, während der Saturn geweilt hat unter dem Zeichen des Krebses. Die Anlage zur symmetrischen Bildung des Menschen, das heißt, daß er nach zwei Seiten gleichgestaltet ist, diese Anlage ist entstanden, während der Saturn unter dem Sternbild der Zwillinge weilte. Und so könnten wir Stück für Stück des Menschenleibes verfolgen. Wenn wir aufblicken zum Tierkreis, da wo der Widder steht, so können wir sagen: Die Anlage zu unserem Oberkopfteil ist entstanden, zum erstenmal uns eingegliedert worden, als der alte Saturn unter dem Zeichen des Widders stand. Die Anlage zu unserem Sprachorgan ist uns eingegliedert worden, als der Saturn unter dem Zeichen des Stieres stand. Und wenn Sie sich jetzt den Menschen so aufgeteilt denken, so können Sie in dem Tierkreis draußen die schaffenden Kräfte für alle Menschenglieder erblicken.
[ 9 ] Das hat man bildlich in den alten Mysterien so vorgestellt, daß man den Tierkreis auch so ähnlich hingezeichnet hat, wie er hier an der Decke des Saales ist. Wir sind ja zufällig, wie man sagt - es gibt aber keinen Zufall -, in einem Saale, der oben mit dem Tierkreis geschmückt ist. Man hat den Tierkreis früher nicht so aufgezeichnet, daß er in seine entsprechenden Tierformen auseinandergelegt war, sondern so, daß man die einzelnen Menschenglieder hinzugezeichnet hat zu den betreffenden Regionen: zum Widder den Kopf; weiter dasjenige, was die Gegend des Kehlkopfes ist, zum Stier; was am bedeutsamsten ausdrückt die Symmetrie, die beiden Arme, zu den Zwillingen; den Brustpanzer zum Krebs; das Herz zum Löwen; und so ist man weiter gegangen, bis man die unteren Teile der Beine zum Wassermann, die Füße zu den Fischen gezeichnet hat. Also denken Sie sich einen solchen Tierkreis als Mensch in den Kosmos hineingezeichnet, dann haben Sie dasjenige, was aus dem Kosmos, das heißt aus den entsprechenden Kräften der Hierarchien der Throne, Seraphim, Cherubim heraus die ursprünglichen Anlagen schuf zum menschlichen physischen Leib. Das ist der große kosmische Mensch, der Mensch, der durch alle Weltensagen und Weltenmythen geht, aus dem der einzelne Mensch auf der Erde herausgebildet ist in den mannigfaltigsten Gestalten. Denken Sie an den Riesen Ymir, der ausgebreitetistindem großen Kosmos, denn der mikrokosmische Mensch wird aus dem Riesen gebildet. Sie haben ihn überall, den großen makrokosmischen Menschen, der da Schöpfer ist, der außen dasjenige enthält, was der Mensch in seinem Innern enthält. Denn es liegt einetiefe Wahrheit solchen Darstellungen zugrunde, eine Wahrheit, die je nach dem hellseherischen Vermögen der Völker mehr oder weniger gebrochen zutage tritt. Und sie leuchtet Ihnen herein auch durch jene Weisheit, welche ihren äußeren Ausdruck gefunden hat im Alten Testament. Sie leuchtet herein in der Weisheit, die als althebräische Geheimlehre zurückgeht auf jene Geheimlehre, die dem Alten Testamente zugrunde liegt: im Adam Kadmon der Kabbala. Der makrokosmische Mensch ist kein anderer als der Mensch, den wir jetzt in den Kosmos hineingezeichnet haben. Nur müssen wir uns in der richtigen Weise die Vorstellung davon bilden.
[ 10 ] Was ich Ihnen jetzt entwickelt habe und was da gipfelt in der Lehre von dem makrokosmischen Menschen, das ist eine Lehre, welche in der Tat die tiefsten Weltgeheimnisse enthält, eine Lehre, die nach und nach einfließen wird in die allgemeine Menschheitsbildung. Man ist heute noch weit davon entfernt, diese Lehre zu verstehen, denn wenn irgend jemand, der ein bloßer Gelehrter ist, diesen Vorträgen zugehört hätte, so hätte er dies Auditorium wahrscheinlich für etwas anderes als für eine gescheite Versammlung gehalten. Man ist heute sehr weit davon entfernt, diese Dinge zu verstehen. Aber wir stehen am Ausgangspunkt der Zeit, wo die Tatsachen, die gegen die phantastischen Theorien der heutigen Wissenschaft gefunden werden, die Menschen dahin drängen, den Weg zu suchen zu diesen großen Wahrheiten der Urweltweisheit. Und niemals wird man früher in das Geheimnis zum Beispiel des sogenannten Befruchtungsvorganges, über den die Leute heute so kindisch spekulieren, eindringen, bevor man nicht wird fruchtbar machen können die Lehre vom makrokosmischen Menschen für den Befruchtungsvorgang. Gerade dasjenige, was sich als ein reales Mysterium abspielt und sich als ein reales Mysterium den Instrumenten und Werkzeugen am allermeisten entzieht, gerade das wird seine Beleuchtung erfahren als sozusagen der kleinste Punkt der Forschung. Denn wie klein ist die Zelle, innerhalb welcher sich die Befruchtung vollzieht, im Verhältnis zum Kosmos! Einzig und allein aber die Geheimnisse des großen Kosmos werden auflösen, was in der kleinsten Zelle vor sich geht. Nichts anderes kann die Geheimnisse der Vorgänge in der Zellelösen. Gegenüber dem Problem der Befruchtung sind ja die Forschungen der äußeren Wissenschaft nicht nutzlos, sie haben ihr gewisses Verdienst, sie sind aber alle ein Kinderspiel gegenüber dem großen Mysterium, das da vorliegt und das nur dann gelöst werden kann, wenn man einsehen wird, wie die Antwort auf die Geschehnisse im Punkt, wie diese Antwort im Kreis, im Umkreis liegt. Daher sagte der alte Mysterienlehrer: Willst du den Punkt begreifen, dann erforsche den Umkreis, denn der enthält die Lösung. — Das ist es, worauf es ankommt: daß man erst den Punkt begreifen kann, wenn man den Umkreis begriffen hat.
[ 11 ] Wenn Sie nun sich erinnern, daß die einzelnen Weltenkörper ihre Bewegung beibehalten, nachdem sie sozusagen für sich selber den Abschluß gefunden haben, für sich selber fertig sind, dann werden Sie auch verstehen, was man nennen muß das Karma dieser Weltenkörper. Von dem Augenblicke an, wo der Planet für sich selber an seinen Abschluß gekommen ist, müssen diejenigen Wesenheiten, die zu ihm gehören, wieder mit seiner Auflösung, mit seinem Verschwinden aus dem Weltzusammenhange rechnen. Wir haben also, wenn wir zum Beispiel die alte Saturnentwickelung verfolgen, uns zu sagen: Bis zum Zusammenfügen der ganzen Wärmekugel ist der Vorgang der Saturnentwickelung ein aufsteigender, oder auch, wenn Sie wollen, ein absteigender, denn es ist ein Verdichtungsprozeß. In dem Augenblicke nun, wo sich der Saturn weiterdreht — aber jetzt bei der ersten Saturnentwickelung -, da ist die Saturnkugel gegeben, da sind die Dinge vorhanden, um die es sich handelt. Wenn die Geister daran beteiligt sind, so müssen sie bei der Auflösung mitdem rechnen, was bis zur Entstehung zusammengebaut worden ist, und das ist Karma. Man kann dem nicht entkommen, die Dinge müssen so aufgelöst werden, wie sie zusammengebaut worden sind. So erfüllt sich das Karma der ersten Hälfte der Evolution in der zweiten Hälfte. Es wird abgebaut nach und nach in der zweiten Hälfte der Evolution, was in der ersten Hälfte zusammengebaut worden ist. Weltentstehung ist Erzeugung von Karma; Weltvergehen im umfassendsten Sinne des Wortes ist nichts anderes als Leid unter dem Karma und auch wiederum Auslöschen des betreffenden Karmas. So ist es im großen, so aber auch im kleinen bei jedem Planeten. Denn ein jeder Planet spiegelt die Verhältnisse im großen getreulich wider. Auch bei einem Volke können Sie denselben Vorgang sehen. Denken Sie sich ein Volk, aufstrebend in der Jugendentwickelung, voller Tatkraft, voller Energie; denken Sie sich dieses Volk aus sich herausgebärend Zeitepoche nach Zeitepoche, die mannigfaltigsten Bildungs- und Kulturelemente: Das alles muß zu einem Höhepunkt kommen, aber indem sich das alles ansammelt, sammelt sich auch Karma des Volkes an. Geradeso wie sich bei der Saturnentwickelung Karma ansammelt, indem man zu rechnen hat mit demjenigen, was entstanden ist, so sammelt sich auch bei einem Volke Karma an, während die Kultur aufgebaut wird. Dieses Karma ist gerade in seinem höchsten Punkt, in seinem stärksten Maße vorhanden da, wo sozusagen das Volk die ursprünglichen, elementaren Kräfte aus sich herausgeboren hat.
[ 12 ] Nun haben wir gesehen, daß überall leitende Wesenheiten sind. Wir haben bei der Erde gesehen, wie höhere geistige Wesenheiten, Engel, Erzengel, Urkräfte, herabsteigen und wie sie da, wo sich die Menschheit noch nicht selber vorwärts helfen kann, die Menschheit leiten und sie zu einer gewissen Höhe führen. Es sind das die geistigen Wesenheiten der Hierarchien, die in früheren Zeiten ihre Vollendung und Reife erhalten haben. Wenn aber diese Höhe erreicht ist, wenn sozusagen die Geister, die aus himmlischen Höhen heruntersteigen, um die Völker zu leiten, wenn die Geister ihr Ziel erreicht haben, dann müssen andere geistige Wesenheiten sich zu Führern, sich zu Lenkern der entsprechenden Völker machen. Wenn die Völker über ihren Höhepunkt hinaus in einer gewissen Weise noch steigen sollen, dann müssen führende Persönlichkeiten freiwillig sich dazu hergeben, Träger zu sein höherer geistiger Wesenheiten; dann nur ist es möglich, dasjenige, was im ursprünglichen Plan lag, sozusagen um gewisse Stufen zu überschreiten, weiterzuführen. Aber eines muß in diesem Falle geschehen: Diejenigen, die da heruntersteigen in Wesenheiten, welche die Führer der Völker sein sollen, die nach einem bestimmten Punkte die Kultur weiterführen sollen, die müssen, weil sich Karma aufgesammelt hat, dieses Karma auf sich nehmen. Das ist das bedeutsame Gesetz von dem Aufsichnehmen des Karmas der Völker und Rassen. Von einem gewissen Zeitpunkte an müssen die führenden Persönlichkeiten das Völker- oder Rassenkarma in sich tragen, es übernehmen in einer gewissen Beziehung. Das ist das Wesentliche, daß solche Individualitäten, wie zum Beispiel Hermes eine war, übernehmen mußten, was im Karma ihres Volkes lag, was sich bis dahin in einem gewissen Grade aufgesammelt hatte. Diese Dinge sind auf dem einzelnen Planeten Spiegelbilder der großen kosmischen Vorgänge.
[ 13 ] Aber noch weiter haben wir solche Spiegelbilder. Wir haben ja gesehen, daß die Throne nur dadurch Throne geworden sind, daß sie in den Stand kamen, aus Geschöpfen zu Schöpfern zu werden, aus einem Zustand des Nehmens in einen Zustand des Gebens zu kommen. Wir haben gesagt: Die Throne haben auch einstmals in anderen Weltensystemen ihre Entwickelung durchgemacht, sie haben es so weit gebracht, daß sie ausströmen lassen konnten ihre Substantialität. Das ist ein höherer Entwickelungsgrad, daß man hingeben kann, Opfer bringen kann, statt selber einzuheimsen, was es im Kosmos gibt. Dies tritt wiederum im Spiegelbild beim Menschen ein. Wie ist denn diese Menschenentwickelung? Blicken Sie zurück im Geiste durch die atlantische Zeit, durch die lemurische Zeit, und blicken Sie vorwärts. Physischen Leib, Ätherleib, astralischen Leib und Ich erhält der Mensch, und dann wiederum haben Sie das Zurückarbeiten vom Ich in die übrigen Glieder, die Umgestaltung des Astralleibes, die Umgestaltung des Ätherleibes, die des physischen Leibes, zu Manas, Budhi, Atma, zu Geistselbst, Lebensgeist, Geistesmensch. So hat die Urweltweisheit in allen Zeitaltern gelehrt, daß der Mensch seinen Astralleib so umgestaltet, daß dieser Astralleib zuerst teilweise noch besteht aus der alten Astralität und teilweise aus Manas, daß er aber nach und nach ganz und gar umgestaltet, ganz und gar vom Ich und seiner Arbeit durchdrungen wird. Nehmen Sie einen Menschen, der es noch nicht bis zu jenem Grade der Entwickelung gebracht hat, daß sein Astralleib schon ganz durchdrungen ist von der Arbeit des Ich. In diesem Falle sind ja im Grunde genommen noch alle Menschen mit ganz wenigen Ausnahmen. Dasjenige, was der Mensch schon umgearbeitet hat, das geht mit ihm durch alle Ewigkeiten, was er noch nicht umgearbeitet hat, so daß das Ich noch keinen Anteil daran genommen hat, das muß, wenn der Mensch durch Kamaloka durchgegangen ist, wie eine Art astralische Schale sich entfernen, das löst sich in der astralischen Welt auf, nicht ohne daß es beträchtlichen Unfug stiften kann, wenn es als Astralleib aus schlechten Begierden und Leidenschaften bestand. So können wir sagen, daß die Entwickelung des Menschen darin besteht, immer weniger und weniger von sich zurückzulassen in der astralischen Welt.
[ 14 ] Verfolgen wir den Vorgang. Der Mensch stirbt, bald nach dem Tode löst sich der Ätherleib los, ein Extrakt bleibt zurück. Der Mensch geht durch Kamaloka, da löst sich die unverarbeitete Schale los; das, was verarbeitet ist, geht im Ich durch alle Ewigkeit, es wird zurückgebracht zur neuen Inkarnation. Je vollkommener der Mensch ist, desto weniger werden diese Reste sein, die er in der astralischen Welt zurückläßt, bis er zuletzt so weit ist, daß nichts mehr von seinem Astralleib in Kamaloka zurückbleibt, bis er so weit ist, daß er sozusagen niemandem auf der Erde durch die Reste, die er in Kamaloka zurückläßt, schädlich werden kann. Ein solcher Mensch, der hat dann auch die Möglichkeit, in die geistigen Welten hineinzuschauen. Denn es ist ja nicht möglich, diesen Zustand zu erreichen, ohne eben bis zu einem gewissen Grade der Hellsichtigkeit im Astralen gekommen zu sein. Der ganze Astralleib ist dann vergeistigt, ist eben Geistselbst geworden, der ganze Astralleib wird mitgenommen. Früher mußte das zurückgelassen werden, was schlecht war, jetzt kann der ganze Astralleib mitgenommen werden in die ganze Folgezeit. Und in dem Augenblick, in dem der Astralleib so weit ist, daß er ganz durchgearbeitet ist, da drückt sich die ganze neue Form des Astralleibes, des Geistselbstes, in den Ätherleib hinein, so daß dann der Ätherleib ein Abdruck ist dieses also umgearbeiteten Astralleibes. Er braucht noch nicht selber ganz umgearbeitet zu sein, aber was in den Astralleib hineingearbeitet werden konnte, das ist in den Ätherleib hinein abgedruckt. Kurz, Sie sehen, wir haben damit geschildert eine besonders hohe Wesenheit, die im eminentesten Sinn weit gekommen ist dadurch, daß sie das ganze Geistselbst entwickelt hat. Diese Wesenheit wird nun in der östlichen Wissenschaft Nirmanakaya genannt, denn es hat sein Astralleib, sein astralischer Kaya die Stufe erreicht, wo er keine Überreste hinterläßt. Das ist ein Nirmanakaya.
[ 15 ] Gehen wir nun weiter. Der Mensch kann immer weiter und weiter arbeiten, er arbeitet endlich seinen Ätherleib um, arbeitet seinen physischen Leib um. Was tritt dann ein, wenn Ätherleib und physischer Leib umgearbeitet werden, so daß sie unter die Herrschaft des Menschen kommen? Wenn der Ätherleib umgearbeitet wird, wenn also der Mensch nicht nur im Astralleib sein Geistselbst hat, sondern in seinem Ätherleib die Budhi oder den Lebensgeist nach und nach entwickelt, und wenn dann sich dieser Lebensgeist oder die Budhi im physischen Leib abdrückt, dann ist eine nächsthöhere Stufe der Entwickelung erreicht, eine Art von Zwischenstufe. Durch diese Zwischenstufe gelangt der Mensch dahin, daß er auch von seinem Ätherleib nichts zurückzulassen braucht, daß er diesen Ätherleib in derselben Form für alle Zeiten behält, in der er sich ihn als Lebensgeist oder Budhi herausgebildet hat.
[ 16 ] Es wird also der Mensch durch solche Einflüsse immer mehr und mehr in den Stand kommen, Herr zu werden über seinen astralischen Leib und über seinen Ätherleib. Solches Herrwerden macht es dann dem Menschen möglich, in einer gewissen Beziehung diesen Astralund diesen Ätherleib auch zu dirigieren. Derjenige, der den Astralleib noch nicht unter die Herrschaft des Ich gebracht hat, der muß natürlich warten, bis er so weit gekommen ist. Wer aber die Herrschaft schon hat über den Astral- und Ätherleib, der kann nun frei verfügen darüber. Er kann sich sagen: Dadurch, daß ich mit meinem Ich durchgemacht habe all die Verkörperungen, die mich gelehrt haben, meinen Astralleib und meinen Ätherleib so weit umzubilden, dadurch bin ich fähig geworden, mir, wenn ich wieder auf die Erde gehen soll, aus Äthersubstanz und Astralsubstanz einen neuen Astralleib und Ätherleib zu bilden, die ebenso vollkommen sind. - Und dadurch ist er imstande, den eigenen Astral- und Ätherleib, wie man sagt, hinzuopfern, ihn auf andere zu übertragen. Sie sehen also daraus, daß es Individualitäten gibt, welche dadurch, daß sie Herr in ihrem Astralleib und Ätherleib geworden sind, auch fähig werden, diesen Astralleib und Ätherleib hinzuopfern, weil sie gelernt haben, sich diese Dinge aufzubauen. Wollen sie wiederum auf die Erde, so werden sie sich neu aufbauen aus dem vorhandenen Material einen Astralleib und einen Ätherleib. Was sie aber in Vollkommenheit erreicht haben, übergeben sie anderen Persönlichkeiten, welche gewisse Aufgaben in der Welt zu bewirken haben. So werden späteren Persönlichkeiten solche Astral- und Ätherleiber von Persönlichkeiten der Vorzeit einverwoben, einverleibt. Wenn das geschieht, so sehen Sie, daß die Persönlichkeit der Vorzeit nicht bloß da wirkt, wo sie steht, sondern daß sie mit dem, was in ihr ist, noch in die Zukunft hineinwirkt. So konnte zum Beispiel der Zarathustra, der fähig war, seinen Astralleib zu behandeln, und der ihn später hinübergeleitet hat in den Hermes, sich sagen: Ich lebe, aber ich werde nicht nur wirken, wie ich selber jetzt wirke als äußere Persönlichkeit, sondern ich durchwebe auch noch den Astralleib des ägyptischen Hermes, desjenigen, mit dem die ägyptische Kulturepoche beginnt. — Eine solche Persönlichkeit hat einen Körper, einen Kaya, welcher nicht nur an dem Orte wirkt, wo er ist, sondern welcher in die Zukunft hineinwirkt, welcher das Gesetz für die zukünftige Entwickelung abgibt. Gesetz in die Zukunft hinein heißt Dharma. Einen solchen Leib nennt man Dharmakaya. Das sind gewisse Ausdrücke, die häufig wiederkehren in der östlichen Wissenschaft. Hier haben Sie die wahre Erklärung, wie sie in der Urweltweisheit immer gegeben worden ist. Und nun blicken wir auf die ganze Mannigfaltigkeit dessen, was in diesen Tagen an uns vorübergezogen ist. Da kann sich uns eine Frage so recht auf die Seele legen, die Frage: Was haben wir denn eigentlich im Grunde genommen bisher Mensch genannt? — Mensch haben wir genannt eine gewisse Entwickelungsstufe. Wir haben gefunden, daß die Geister der Persönlichkeit Menschen auf dem alten Saturn waren; wir haben gefunden, daß sogar die Throne einmal Menschen gewesen sein müssen; haben gefunden, daß der Mensch sich weiterentwickelt, daß er aufsteigt in höhere Wesenheiten; wir haben sogar die ersten Etappen des Aufstiegs kennengelernt in den Engeln, Erzengeln; haben in diesen Wesenheiten kennengelernt Wesen, die etwas hinopfern. Wir haben den Anfang des Opfers gesehen, der im höchsten Sinne vorhanden ist bei den Thronen. Das erste Aufglänzen der schöpferischen Tätigkeit sehen wir bei denen, die die Führer der Völker und Rassen sind, die ihre eigenen Leiber so zu bearbeiten wußten, daß diese etwas ausströmen können. Wie die Throne ausströmten ihre Wesenheit, so strömten in anderem Maße die Nirmanakayas in die Zukunft hinein ihre eigenen Leiber für spätere Individualitäten, die nicht so weit kommen würden an dem betreffenden Punkte ihrer Entwickelung, wenn sie nicht einverleibt erhielten, was die vorhergehenden Wesenheiten ausströmten.
[ 17 ] So gliedert sich uns zusammen der Begriff der Entwickelung von dem Punkte aus, wo man nimmt, bis zu demjenigen, wo ausgeströmt, geschaffen wird. Wir sehen den Begriff des Schöpfers vor unserem geistigen Auge erstehen, und da sagen wir uns: Also von dem Geschöpf zum Schöpfer entwickelt sich ein jegliches Wesen. Nun aber, Erzengel, sie haben sich auf der alten Sonne zum Menschen entwikkelt, Geister der Persönlichkeit auf dem alten Saturn, Engel auf dem alten Monde, wir Menschen auf der Erde, und so wird es fortgehen; es werden sich immer, immer Wesen zu Menschen entwickeln. Geht denn das alles so endlos fort? Ist das wirklich nur ein ewiges Ablaufen von Kreisläufen, durch die sich zum Beispiel auf der Sonne wiederholt, was auf dem Saturn schon da war, nur daß eine Anzahl von Wesenheiten später darankommt? Denn die Feuergeister kommen eine Stufe später als die Geister der Persönlichkeit. Ist das wirklich alles so, daß immer Wesen aus hilflosen Geschöpfen des Anfangs sich hinaufentwickeln zu solchen, die sich opfern können? Das ist nicht der Fall, das ist durchaus nicht der Fall! Es entsteht eben die große Frage: Ist das Menschentum auf dem Saturn, das die Geister der Persönlichkeit geführt haben, das Menschentum der Erzengel auf der Sonne, das der Engel auf dem Mars, ist das dasselbe Menschentum wie dasjenige, das wir hier auf der Erde führen? Sehen wir, wenn wir die Natur der Engel zum Beispiel ins Auge fassen, nur in ihnen das Bild unserer eigenen nächsten Epoche, der Jupiterepoche? Sehen wir in den Feuergeistern nur das Bild derjenigen Wesenheiten, die wir auf der Venus sein werden? Ist wirklich Anlaß vorhanden, sich zu sagen: Da stehen wir auf unserer Erde, wir werden höhere Stufen erreichen in der Weltentwickelung, wir werden selbst heraufsteigen in der Hierarchie, aber die Wesen, zu denen wir werden können, sie sind schon alle da, und unsere eigene Stufe ist ja früher von anderen Wesenheiten beschritten worden! Ist das so? Das ist die große Konsequenzfrage, die eigentlich jedem, der unbefangen die Vorträge hat auf sich wirken lassen, vor die Seele treten muß.
[ 18 ] Haben wir es bloß mit einem Menschenwerden zu tun, das sich ewig wiederholt, dann sind wir wie die Geister der Persönlichkeit auf dem alten Saturn, wie die Erzengel auf der alten Sonne, wie die Engel auf dem Mars. Für uns mag das wichtig sein, für die höheren Götter wäre es nur eine Vermehrung ihrer Geschöpfe, und sie hätten nichts Sonderliches als Fortschritt erreicht. Eine andere Frage ist es aber: Werden sich die Menschen vielleicht einmal gerade dadurch, daß sie auf der Erde Mensch werden, zu Wesenheiten entwickeln, die etwas können, was die Engel nicht können, was auch die Erzengel und die Geister der Persönlichkeit nicht können? Hat die ganze Schöpfung erwas dazugelernt dadurch, daß sie nach den Erzengeln und Engeln Menschen erzeugt hat? Hat die Schöpfung einen Fortschritt gemacht? Hat der Mensch dadurch, daß er sich dazu bequemt hat, tiefer herunterzusteigen, hat er vielleicht dadurch Anwartschaft darauf, noch höher hinaufzusteigen? Diese Frage stellen wir uns einmal als eine Art Konsequenzfrage hin. Der Rest unserer Betrachtungen muß ihr gewidmet sein: der ganzen Bedeutung des Menschen im Kosmos und der Beziehung des Menschen zu den höheren Hierarchien — was wird der Mensch innerhalb der Stufenfolge der Hierarchien?
Ninth Lecture
[ 1 ] It is only natural that after such a discussion as yesterday's, questions pile up and some things may remain incomprehensible after hearing such a presentation of such comprehensive truths related to the cosmos for the first time. Now, I emphasized yesterday – and I always ask you to bear this in mind – that the characterization here is not based on some kind of speculation, on a scheme, but on the real facts, which are called the facts of the Akasha Chronicle; and therefore these facts can only be combined into a kind of system retrospectively. But one of the questions that might arise for some should be anticipated here today: What about the finished planet? Yesterday, we followed the formation of the planet to its completion, to the point where it is, so to speak, a single visible planet. And now someone might say: Yes, but the planets that we see in the sky now did not all come into being before the point in time described yesterday, did they? They are not in the process of being formed, are they?
[ 2 ] That is not the case either. We must realize that a new epoch actually begins for the planet when the point I mentioned yesterday is reached. Suppose we wanted to follow the formation of the planet, not as it happened with old Saturn, where only this old Saturn was there, but as it happened with the formation of the earth. In this case, too, old Saturn was formed again as a repetition, so that after the development of Saturn, the sun, and the moon, when the development of the earth began, a mighty body of warmth or fire was formed again, and that everything that I told you about the development of Saturn came into being there. Then there came a time when, through the influence of the zodiacal region of Leo, this single planet, which we call Saturn today, was separated out from this point in the moving fiery sphere, and reached its zenith in this separation. Now the single planet had come into being.
[ 3 ] But you must not imagine that at this point the calming by Leo is to be thought of as if Saturn were now stopped, but rather the matter is this: Saturn has come into being, and the movements that were there earlier have come to rest. Saturn has become a being in itself, which has absorbed everything that was previously distributed throughout its circumference, uniting it within itself. All this has happened through this — as we might call it — Leo influence. But the great sphere out of which Saturn had separated is now contracting and is present within as a smaller ball. Because this entire structure is contracting inwards, Saturn, after this influence has taken place and its movements have come to rest within, retains to some extent the movement that it originally received. Before, he needed his own impulse of movement, because he had, so to speak, a need to continue moving in this sphere, to continue moving as if floating. When this sphere had retreated from him, then, despite the internal movement having been broken, it went on by itself. And this going-on-by-itself after the first impetus had occurred, that is the present movement, the present revolution of Saturn.
[ 4 ] It is similar with Jupiter. When the earth began to form, what has now been described happened; then differentiation occurred in the sphere, which had retracted inwards. Under the constellation of Scorpio, the killing of the individual spheres occurred; they embedded themselves in one another, but in return their own inner life began. After Jupiter, so to speak, was killed as a great living being, the life of the individual entities living on it began, and it moved on when the whole sphere contracted again, having found the impulse within itself in this way. What we observe today as the movement of Saturn, of Jupiter and so on, is a consequence that only arose when the formation process I described yesterday was complete.
[ 5 ] Another difficulty seems to have arisen from my statement that the second planet to separate was our present Jupiter, and the third our present Mars, whereas in the temporal sequence it is said that first the Saturn development was there, then the sun development, then the moon development. This is entirely justified, because, as I said, we are dealing with the present planets in terms of what happened again in the fourth stage, in the evolution of the earth. At the time when Saturn first formed, only Saturn was present. When the sun developed, the conditions in this second body that had formed were such that we must speak of a sun. But when, after the evolution of Saturn, the evolution of the Sun took place, the whole process of the evolution of the Sun was complete. So when we look back at these first planetary evolutions of our Earth, we have to be aware that they were now also complete.
[ 6 ] When we speak of the evolution of the earth, it is not so. First Saturn arises, then, indeed, the Sun as a repetition; but this advances further inward; it is not complete; Jupiter is left behind as the remainder of the repetition of the evolution of the Sun. This is what we must take into account. Then the evolution of the Moon is repeated by the earth. This is when we look back on the whole development, which was completed at that time. In the development of the Earth, the lunar period is not a conclusion; it goes further in; what is left behind in the repetition is Mars.
[ 7 ] So we see that the present planets visible to us in the sky must be thought of as having originated during the time we call the fourth, the time of Earth's evolution, in our Akasha Chronicle system. These are the things we have to consider – it is not possible to talk about the whole world and mention everything. You will have noticed only one thing: that there is a kind of sphere present at first. For example, I spoke of Saturn as a ball of fire or a kind of large fiery egg, and then we actually spoke of revolution.
[ 8 ] And that is indeed the case; originally we can think of a kind of egg or sphere. Now, as that sphere, which corresponds to the most original state of Saturn, rotates, more and more of the following is formed. A kind of belt is formed that does not go around the whole egg, but is just like a kind of wide band. And within this belt, so to speak, the individual forms that are formed all around gather. This belt formation is a very general cosmic law. Among other things, you can see the law that everything is actually based on an accumulation along a kind of equator or belt, formed in the cosmos, as far as you can see it, because the Milky Way owes its existence to this law. If you see this Milky Way like an outermost belt around the sky, with the stars sparsely scattered in between, it is because of the law that as soon as rotation begins, things gather in a belt. Our solar system, as we have it, actually already has a kind of lens shape because of this. It is not directly spherical, as is assumed, but lens-shaped, and the belt is concentrated at the far equator. You also have to imagine such a belt when a planet is formed. If, to put it in trivial terms, you were to take an egg and wanted to draw the various states schematically on it, you would first have to take the whole egg, then, using a red color, you would have to paint a belt like this on the egg. You would not color the whole egg red, but only a belt. The bodies that are destined to form the one world body collect along this belt. At one point one would have to draw the point where everything gathers (drawing as on page 129). Thus we see that the configuration, the distribution of the stars, as it is in the space around us, is a result of the spiritual beings or hierarchies. For when we speak of the contraction of the great mass, we must realize that this contraction does not happen by itself, but through the action of those entities that have been described by us as the beings of the higher hierarchies. And if we summarize what we have described, we must say: While old Saturn was forming, while that mighty fire mass, from which basically our whole solar system originated, was first forming into old Saturn, the spirits of personality were undergoing their human existence; during the formation of the sun, the archangels or fire spirits were undergoing their human existence; then, during the development of the moons, the angels were undergoing their human existence; and on the earth, human beings are undergoing their human existence. But it is the case that this human being has had to do with everything that has happened before. What we call the physical body today received its first formation during the very first formation of Saturn. At that time, this physical body was not yet permeated by an etheric body, nor by an astral body, but it was already predisposed in such a way that, after the transformations it underwent later, it could become the bearer of our present spiritual earthman. Very slowly and gradually, this human physical body was formed during the ancient Saturn development, and as ancient Saturn formed itself and revolved around the individual signs of the zodiac, the human body was created, limb by limb. Just as the heart developed when Saturn was in Leo, so the chest plate developed when Saturn was in Cancer. The human being's symmetrical form, that is, the fact that he is equally formed on two sides, developed when Saturn was in Gemini. And so we could follow piece by piece of the human body. When we look up at the zodiac, where Aries is, we can say: the predisposition for the top of our head was created, was incorporated into us for the first time, when old Saturn was under the sign of Aries. The predisposition for our speech organs was incorporated into us when Saturn was under the sign of Taurus. And if you now imagine that human beings are distributed throughout the zodiac, you can see the formative forces for all human limbs in the zodiac outside.
[ 9 ] This was figuratively presented in the ancient mysteries in such a way that the zodiac was drawn in a similar way to the one on the ceiling of the hall. As chance would have it, we are in a room that is decorated with the zodiac. In the past, the zodiac was not drawn in such a way that it was divided into its corresponding animal forms, but rather in such a way that the individual human limbs were added to the corresponding regions: the head to Aries; what is the area of the larynx to to the bull; what most significantly expresses the symmetry, the two arms, to the twins; the breastplate to the crab; the heart to the lion; and so on, until the lower parts of the legs were drawn to Aquarius and the feet to Pisces. So, if you imagine a human being drawing such a zodiac into the cosmos, you have that which created the original human physical body out of the cosmos, that is, out of the corresponding forces of the hierarchies of thrones, seraphim, and cherubim. This is the great cosmic human being, the human being that runs through all world legends and myths, from which the individual human being on Earth is formed in the most diverse forms. Think of the giant Ymir, who is spread out in the great cosmos, for the microcosmic human being is formed from the giant. You have him everywhere, the great macrocosmic man, who is the creator, who contains on the outside what man contains within him. For there is a deep truth underlying such representations, a truth that comes to light more or less refracted depending on the clairvoyant capacity of the peoples. And it also shines through that wisdom which has found its outer expression in the Old Testament. It shines forth in the wisdom that goes back to the ancient Hebrew secret teaching, to that secret teaching on which the Old Testament is based: in the Adam Kadmon of the Kabbalah. The macrocosmic man is none other than the man we have now drawn into the cosmos. Only we must form the idea of him in the right way.
[ 10 ] What I have now developed and which culminates in the teaching of the macrocosmic man, is a teaching that contains the deepest secrets of the world, a teaching that will gradually flow into the general education of humanity. Today, we are still far from understanding this teaching, because if someone who is a mere scholar had listened to these lectures, he would probably have thought this auditorium was something other than an intelligent assembly. Today, we are still very far from understanding these things. But we are at the starting point in time where the facts that are being found against the fantastic theories of today's science are pushing people to seek the path to these great truths of primeval world wisdom. And we will never penetrate the secret of the so-called fertilization process, for example, about which people today speculate so childishly, until we can apply the doctrine of the macrocosmic human being to the fertilization process. Precisely that which takes place as a real mystery and, as a real mystery, eludes the instruments and tools most of all, will be illuminated as the smallest point of research, so to speak. For how small the cell is within which fertilization takes place in relation to the cosmos! But only the secrets of the great cosmos will solve what goes on in the smallest cell. Nothing else can solve the secrets of the processes in the cell. In the face of the problem of fertilization, the research of external science is not useless; it has certain merit, but it is all child's play in the face of the great mystery that lies before us and that can only be solved if one understands how the answer to the events in the point lies in the circle, in the circumference. That is why the old mystery teacher said: If you want to grasp the point, then explore the perimeter, because that contains the solution. — That is what matters: that you can only grasp the point if you have grasped the perimeter.
[ 11 ] If you now remember that the individual world bodies maintain their motion after they have, so to speak, found their conclusion for themselves, are finished for themselves, then you will also understand what must be called the karma of these world bodies. From the moment when the planet has come to its conclusion for itself, those entities that belong to it must again reckon with its dissolution, with its disappearance from the cosmic context. So, for example, if we follow the evolution of Saturn, we have to say to ourselves: until the whole heat sphere is joined together, the process of Saturn's evolution is an ascending one, or, if you like, a descending one, because it is a process of condensation. At the moment when Saturn continues to turn – but now in the first evolution of Saturn – the sphere of Saturn is given, the things are present that are involved. When the spirits are involved in this, they must reckon with the dissolution of what has been assembled up to the point of origin, and that is karma. One cannot escape this, things must be dissolved as they were assembled. Thus the karma of the first half of evolution is fulfilled in the second half. What was assembled in the first half is gradually dissolved in the second half of evolution. The origin of the world is the creation of karma; the destruction of the world in the broadest sense of the word is nothing other than suffering under karma and also, in turn, the extinguishing of the karma in question. This is the case for every planet, on both a large and a small scale. This is because each planet faithfully reflects the conditions on a large scale. You can also see the same process at work in a nation. Imagine a nation, rising in its youthful development, full of energy and drive; imagine this nation giving birth to itself, epoch after epoch, the most diverse elements of education and culture: all this must come to a climax, but as all this accumulates, the karma of the nation also accumulates. Just as karma accumulates during the evolution of Saturn, in that one has to reckon with what has come into being, so too does karma accumulate for a people as their culture develops. This karma is present at its highest point, in its strongest form, where, so to speak, the people have given birth to the original, elementary forces from within themselves.
[ 12 ] Now we have seen that there are guiding beings everywhere. We have seen with the earth how higher spiritual beings, angels, archangels, elemental forces, descend and how they guide humanity where humanity cannot yet help itself and lead it to a certain height. These are the spiritual entities of the hierarchies that have attained their perfection and maturity in earlier times. But when this level has been reached, when the spirits that descend from heavenly heights to guide the nations, when the spirits have reached their goal, then other spiritual entities must make themselves into leaders, into guides of the corresponding nations. If the nations are to rise above their peak in a certain way, then leading personalities must voluntarily offer themselves to be the bearers of higher spiritual entities; only then is it possible to continue what was in the original plan, so to speak, to exceed certain levels. But in this case one thing must happen: those who descend into entities, who are supposed to be the leaders of the nations, who are supposed to carry on the culture after a certain point, must, because karma has been accumulated, take this karma upon themselves. This is the significant law of taking upon oneself the karma of nations and races. From a certain point in time, the leading personalities must carry the karma of the people or race within themselves, taking it over in a certain sense. This is the essence: that such individuals, such as Hermes was, had to take over what lay in the karma of their people, what had been accumulated to a certain degree by that time. These things are mirror images on the individual planet of the great cosmic processes.
[ 13 ] But we have further such mirror images. We have seen that the Thrones have become Thrones only by coming to be able to change from creatures into creators, from a state of taking to a state of giving. We have said: The Thrones also once underwent their development in other world systems, they have come so far that they could let their substantiality flow out. That is a higher degree of development, that one can give, make sacrifices, instead of reaping for oneself what is available in the cosmos. This in turn occurs in the mirror image in man. What is this human development like? Look back in spirit through the Atlantean time, through the Lemurian time, and look forward. Man receives a physical body, an etheric body, an astral body and I, and then again you have the working back from the I into the other members, the transformation of the astral body, the transformation of the etheric body, the physical body, into Manas, Budhi, Atma, into spirit self, life spirit, spirit man. Thus the wisdom of the primeval world has taught in all ages that man transforms his astral body in such a way that at first this astral body still consists partly of the old astrality and partly of manas, but that little by little it is completely transformed and completely permeated by the I and its work. Take a person who has not yet reached the stage of development where his astral body is completely permeated by the work of the I. In this case, basically, all people are still with very few exceptions. That which the human being has already reworked will go with him through all eternities; that which he has not yet reworked, so that the ego has not yet taken any part in it, that must, when the human being has passed through Kamaloka, like an astral shell, which dissolves in the astral world, not without causing considerable mischief if it consists of bad desires and passions as an astral body. Thus we can say that the development of man consists in leaving less and less of himself in the astral world.
[ 14 ] Let us follow the process. Man dies, soon after death the etheric body detaches itself, an extract remains behind. Man goes through Kamaloka, there the unprocessed shell detaches itself; that which is processed goes in the ego through all eternity, it is brought back for the new incarnation. The more perfect a person is, the fewer remnants they leave behind in the astral world, until finally they leave nothing of their astral body behind in Kamaloka, until they are so far advanced that they can no longer harm anyone on earth with the remnants they leave behind in Kamaloka. Such a person then also has the possibility of looking into the spiritual worlds. For it is indeed impossible to reach this state without having attained a certain degree of clairvoyance in the astral. The entire astral body is then spiritualized, has become a spirit self, the entire astral body is taken along. In the past, what was bad had to be left behind, but now the entire astral body can be taken along into the entire subsequent period. And at the moment when the astral body is so far that it has been completely worked through, the whole new form of the astral body, the spirit self, is imprinted in the etheric body, so that the etheric body is an imprint of this astral body, which has thus been reworked. It need not itself be completely transformed, but what could be worked into the astral body is imprinted in the ether body. In short, you see, we have thus described an especially high entity, which in the most eminent sense has come far by developing the entire spirit-self. This entity is now called a Nirmanakaya in Eastern science, because its astral body, its astral kaya, has reached the stage where it leaves no remnants. That is a Nirmanakaya.
[ 15 ] Let us now move on. Man can always work further and further, he finally transforms his etheric body, transforms his physical body. What happens when the etheric body and the physical body are transformed so that they come under the control of man? When the etheric body is reworked, when man has not only his spiritual self in the astral body, but gradually develops the Budhi or the spirit of life in his etheric body, and when this spirit of life or Budhi is expressed in the physical body, then a next higher stage of development has been reached, a kind of intermediate stage. Through this intermediate stage, the human being comes to the point where he no longer needs to leave anything behind of his etheric body either, and retains this etheric body for all time in the same form in which he has developed it as the life spirit or Budhi.
[ 16 ] Thus, through such influences, man will increasingly be able to gain control over his astral body and his etheric body. Such control then makes it possible for man, in a certain respect, to direct these astral and etheric bodies. He who has not yet brought the astral body under the control of the ego must naturally wait until he has progressed so far. But he who has control over the astral and etheric bodies can now use them freely. He can say to himself: “Because I have gone through all these embodiments with my ego, which have taught me to reshape my astral and etheric bodies to such an extent, I have become able, when I am to go to earth again, to form a new astral and etheric body out of etheric and astral substance, which are just as perfect. And thus he is able to sacrifice his own astral and ether body, as it were, to transfer it to others. So you see that there are individuals who, by becoming masters of their astral and etheric bodies, are also able to sacrifice these astral and etheric bodies because they have learned to build these things. When they want to return to Earth, they will build a new astral and etheric body from the available material. But what they have achieved in perfection, they hand over to other personalities who have certain tasks to accomplish in the world. Thus, such astral and ether bodies of personalities of the past are interwoven and incorporated into later personalities. When this happens, you see that the personality of the past does not merely work where it stands, but that it continues to work into the future with what is within it. Thus, for example, Zarathustra, who was able to treat his astral body and who later guided it into Hermes, could say to himself: “I live, but I will not only work as I myself now work as an outer personality, but I also interweave the astral body of Egyptian Hermes, the one with whom the Egyptian cultural epoch begins. Such a personality has a body, a kaya, which not only works in the place where it is, but which also works into the future, which provides the law for future development. Law into the future is called dharma. Such a body is called dharmakaya. These are certain expressions that often recur in Eastern science. Here you have the true explanation, as it has always been given in the wisdom of the ancient world. And now let us look at the whole diversity of what has passed before us in these days. Then a question may truly weigh upon our soul: What have we actually called man? We have called a certain stage of development man. We have found that the Spirits of Personality were men on the old Saturn; we have found that even the Thrones must once have been men; we have found that man develops further, that he ascends into higher entities; we have even come to know the first stages of ascent in the Angels and Archangels; in these entities we have come to know beings who make sacrifices. We have seen the beginning of sacrifice, which in the highest sense is present at the Thrones. We see the first glimmering of creative activity in those who are the leaders of nations and races, who knew how to work their own bodies so that they could radiate something. As the thrones emanated their essences, so the Nirmanakayas, to a different extent, poured out their own bodies into the future for later individualities, who would not get so far at the particular point of their development if they did not receive what the preceding entities emanated.
[ 17 ] Thus we arrive at the concept of evolution from the point of taking to the point of giving forth, of creating. We see the concept of the creator arising before our spiritual eye, and we say to ourselves: Thus from the creature to the creator, each being develops. Now, however, archangels, they developed into humans on the old sun, spirits of personality on the old Saturn, angels on the old moon, we humans on the earth, and so it will continue; beings will always, always develop into humans. Does it all go on endlessly? Is it really just an eternal cycle of cycles, through which, for example, what was already present on Saturn is repeated on the Sun, only that a number of entities arrive later? For the fire spirits come one step later than the spirits of personality. Is it really always the case that beings develop from helpless creatures of the beginning to those that can sacrifice themselves? That is not the case, it is absolutely not the case! The big question arises: Is the humanity on Saturn, which the spirits of personality have developed, the humanity of the archangels on the sun, that of the angels on Mars, is it the same humanity as the one we develop here on Earth? Do we see, when we consider the nature of the Angels, for instance, only the image of our own next epoch, the Jupiter epoch, in them? Do we see in the Fire Spirits only the image of those beings that we will become on Venus? Is there really any reason to say to ourselves: We are standing on our Earth, we will reach higher levels in the evolution of the world, we ourselves will ascend in the Hierarchy, but the beings we can become are already all there, and our own level was trodden by other beings before us! Is that so? That is the big question of consequence, which must arise in the soul of anyone who has listened to the lectures without prejudice.
[ 18 ] If we are merely dealing with a process of becoming human that repeats itself forever, then we are like the spirits of personality on ancient Saturn, like the archangels on the ancient Sun, like the angels on Mars. This may be important for us, but for the higher gods it would only be an increase in their creatures, and they would have achieved nothing special except for progress. But there is another question: Will human beings perhaps develop into entities that can do something that angels cannot, that even archangels and spirits of personality cannot, precisely because they become human on earth? Has the whole of creation learned something by producing human beings after the archangels and angels? Has creation progressed? Has man, by voluntarily descending to a lower level, perhaps acquired the right to ascend to a still higher level? Let us pose this question as a kind of follow-up question. The rest of our considerations must be devoted to it: the full significance of man in the cosmos and man's relationship to the higher hierarchies – what does man become within the hierarchy of the hierarchies?