The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Life on Earth

[ 1 ] The preceding discussion has shown how the components that make up what is known as “lower human nature”—the physical body, the etheric body, and the astral body—form in succession. It has also been described how, with the addition of a new body, the old ones must constantly transform themselves so that they can become the bearers and instruments of the one formed later. This progress is also accompanied by a corresponding development of human consciousness. As long as the lower human being has only a physical body, he possesses only a very dull consciousness that does not even equal that of the dreamless sleep of the present day, although for modern humans even this latter state of consciousness is, in fact, an “unconscious” one. In the era when the etheric body emerges, human beings then attain the consciousness they now experience during dreamless sleep. With the formation of the astral body, a twilight-like pictorial consciousness arises, similar to—but not identical with—the one that human beings currently attribute to themselves while they dream. The fourth, present state of consciousness shall now be described as that of the Earth human. — It develops during the fourth great world age, that of the Earth, which follows the preceding ones: the Saturn, Sun, and Moon ages.

[ 2 ] On Saturn, the physical human body developed in various stages. At that time, it could not yet have served as a vehicle for an etheric body. The etheric body was not added until the course of the Sun. At the same time, during the successive solar cycles, the physical body was transformed so that it could serve as a vehicle for this etheric body—or, rather, so that the etheric body could work within the physical body. During the Moon phase, the astral body was added; and once again, the physical body and the etheric body were restructured so that they could serve as suitable vessels and instruments for the emerging astral body. Human beings on the Moon are thus beings composed of a physical body, an etheric body, and an astral body. Through the etheric body, they are capable of experiencing pleasure and pain; through the astral body, they are beings with emotions, anger, hatred, love, and so on.

[ 3 ] As has been shown, higher spirits are at work in the various aspects of his being. Thus, on the Moon, the etheric body received the capacity for pleasure and suffering through the spirits of twilight; the astral body was imbued with emotions by the fire spirits.

[ 4 ] At the same time, something else was taking place on Saturn, the Sun, and the Moon during the three great cycles. During the last Saturn cycle, the spiritual human being (Atma) was formed with the help of the Spirits of Will (Thrones). During the second-to-last solar cycle, the spirit of life (Buddhi) was added to this, with the assistance of the Cherubim. And during the third-to-last lunar cycle, the spiritual self (Manas) united with the other two through the help of the Seraphim. Thus, during these three great cycles, two distinct forms of human origin actually arose: a lower human, consisting of the physical body, the etheric body, and the astral body; and a higher human, consisting of the spiritual human (Atma), the life spirit (Buddhi), and the spiritual self (Manas). The lower and higher human natures initially followed separate paths.

[ 5 ] The evolution of the Earth serves to bring together the two separate origins of humankind.

[ 6 ] First, however, after the seventh minor cycle, all lunar existence transitions into a kind of dormant state (Pralaya). As a result, everything is, so to speak, mixed together into an undifferentiated mass. Even the Sun and the Moon, which were separate during the last major cycle, merge again during the final lunar cycles.

[ 7 ] When everything re-emerges from the state of sleep, the Saturn state must essentially be repeated during a first, brief cycle, the Sun state during a second, and the Moon cycle during a third. During this third cycle, on the Moon—which has once again split off from the Sun—the beings assume roughly the same forms of existence as they had previously on the Moon. The lower human being is an intermediate being between today’s human and the animal; plants stand right in the middle between today’s animal and plant nature; and minerals possess only half of today’s lifeless character—the other half is still plant-like.

[ 8 ] During the second half of this third cycle, something else is already taking shape. The minerals harden, the plants gradually lose the animal-like quality of sensitivity; and from the unified animal-human species, two classes develop. One remains at the level of animality, while the other undergoes a division of the astral body. This body splits into a lower part, which continues to serve as the vehicle for emotions, and a higher part, which attains a certain degree of independence, enabling it to exercise a kind of dominion over the lower members—the physical body, the etheric body, and the lower astral body. Now the spirits of the personality take control of this higher astral body, instilling in it independence and, with it, selfishness. The fire spirits now carry out their work only in the lower human astral body, while the spirits of twilight are active in the etheric body, and in the physical body that force-entity begins its work which can be described as the actual ancestor of humankind. This same force-entity had, after all, formed the spiritual human (Atma) on Saturn with the help of the Thrones, the life spirit (Buddhi) on the Sun with the assistance of the Cherubim, and the spiritual self (Manas) on the Moon together with the Seraphim. — But now this changes. The Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim ascend to higher spheres; and in return, the spiritual human being receives the assistance of the spirits of wisdom, movement, and form. These are now united with the spiritual self, the life spirit, and the spiritual human being (with Manas—Buddhi—Atma). With the assistance of these beings, during the second half of the third Earth cycle, the characterized human being shapes its physical body. The spirits of form play the most significant role in this process. They shape the human physical body in such a way that it becomes a kind of precursor to the later human body of the fourth cycle (the present or fourth round).

[ 9 ] In the astral body of the lower animal kingdoms, only the fire spirits remain active; in the etheric body of plants, the spirits of twilight. In contrast, the spirits of form contribute to the transformation of the mineral kingdom. It is they who harden it, thus imbuing it with rigid, solid forms.

[ 10 ] However, one must not imagine that the sphere of activity of the spirits mentioned is limited solely to what has been described. Only the main areas of activity are referred to here. All spirit beings participate everywhere in a subordinate capacity. For example, even during the specified time, the spirits of form perform certain tasks on the physical bodies of plants and animals, and so on.

[ 11 ] After all this has taken place, all entities—including the Sun and Moon themselves—merge once more toward the end of the third Earth cycle and then pass through a shorter state of slumber (the lesser Pralaya). Everything is once again an undifferentiated mass (chaos); and at the end of this period, the fourth Earth cycle begins—the one in which we currently find ourselves.

[ 12 ] First, everything that previously existed as an essential form in the mineral, plant, animal, and human kingdoms begins to emerge in embryonic states from the undifferentiated mass. Initially, the only beings that can reappear as independent embryos are the human ancestors whose higher astral bodies were worked upon by the spirits of personality during the previous minor cycle. All other beings of the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms do not yet lead an independent existence here. (For at this stage, everything is still in that highly spiritual state known as the “formless” or arupa state. At the present stage of development, only the highest human thoughts—for example, mathematical and moral ideals—are woven from the substance that belongs to all beings at the stage described.) Whatever is lower than these human ancestors can only appear as an activity within a higher being. Thus, animals exist first and foremost as states of consciousness of the spirits of fire, and plants as states of consciousness of the spirits of twilight. Minerals, however, have a dual existence as thoughts. First, they exist as seeds of thought within the aforementioned human ancestors, and then as thoughts within the consciousness of the spirits of form. The “higher human” (spiritual human, life spirit, spiritual self) also exists within the consciousness of the spirits of form.

[ 13 ] Now a kind of condensation gradually takes place with everything. At the next stage, however, this density is still one that does not exceed the density of thoughts. However, it is already at this level that the animal beings arising from the preceding cycle can emerge. They separate themselves from the consciousness of the fire spirits and become independent thought beings. This stage is called the “formed” or rupa state. Human beings advance beyond this stage in that their previously formless, independent thought-body is clothed by the spirits of form with a body made of coarser, formed thought-matter. Here, animals, as independent beings, consist entirely of this matter.

[ 14 ] Now another process of condensation is taking place. The state that is now being reached can be compared to the one from which the images of dreamlike visual consciousness are woven. This stage is called the “astral” stage. — The human ancestor moves forward once more. In addition to the other two components, his being acquires a body composed of the substance described above. He thus now possesses the inner, formless core of his being, a thought body, and an astral body. Animals acquire an astral body of the same kind; and plants emerge from the consciousness of the spirits of twilight as independent astral beings.

[ 15 ] The next stage in this development consists in the process of densification continuing until it reaches the state known as the physical state. Initially, we are dealing with the finest physical state of all—that of the finest ether. Through the spirits of form, the human ancestor receives, in addition to its earlier components, the finest etheric body. It thus consists of a formless thought core, a formed thought body, an astral body, and an etheric body. Animals have a formed thought body, an astral body, and an etheric body; plants have an astral body and an etheric body; minerals first emerge here as independent etheric forms. At this stage of development, therefore, we are dealing with four kingdoms: the mineral, plant, animal, and human kingdoms. In addition, however, three other kingdoms have emerged in the course of development thus far. “At the time when the animals detached themselves from the fire spirits on the thought level (Rupa level), the spirits of personality also separated certain entities from within themselves.” These consist of indeterminate thought substance that coalesces like a cloud, then dissolves again and flows away. One cannot speak of them as independent entities, but only as a formless, general mass. This is the first elemental kingdom. On the astral level, something similar detaches itself from the fire spirits. These are shadowy images or spectres similar to the visions of dreamlike pictorial consciousness. They form the second elemental kingdom. At the beginning of the physical stage, indeterminate, image-like entities finally detach themselves from the spirits of twilight. They, too, lack autonomy, but they are capable of expressing forces similar to human and animal passions and emotions. These non-autonomous, swirling emotions constitute the third elemental kingdom. For beings endowed with a dreamlike visual consciousness, or for those with conscious visual perception, these creations of the third elemental realm can be perceived as flowing light, flecks of color, as scent, taste, and as all manner of tones and sounds. Yet all such perceptions must be regarded as ghostly.

[ 16 ] One must therefore imagine the Earth—where it condenses from its astral predecessor into a fine etheric body—as a conglomerate consisting of an etheric mineral matrix and of etheric plant, animal, and human beings. Filling the spaces, as it were, and also permeating the other beings, are the creatures of the three elemental kingdoms.

[ 17 ] “This earthly body is inhabited by higher spiritual beings who are active in the most diverse ways within the aforementioned realms.” They form, so to speak, a spiritual community, a spiritual state, and their dwelling place and workshop is the Earth’s body, which they carry with them, just as a snail carries its shell. It should be noted, however, that what is now separated from the Earth as the Sun and the Moon is still completely united with it. Both celestial bodies separate from the Earth only later.

[ 18 ] The “higher human being” (spiritual human being — life spirit — spiritual self, Atma — Buddhi — Manas) does not yet possess independence at this stage. Here, it is still a member of the spiritual realm, and is initially bound to the spirits of form, just as a human hand is bound to a human organism as a dependent member.

[ 19 ] This traces the Earth’s evolutionary path up to the beginning of its physical state. In the following, we will show how everything continues to progress within this state. The course of development thus far will then lead into what has already been stated in the preceding chapters of the Akashic Records regarding the Earth’s progress.”

[ 20 ] Such states of development, as listed here—namely, the formless, formed, astral, and physical states—which thus constitute differences within a smaller cycle (a round), are referred to as “globes” in theosophical handbooks. In this context, one speaks of an Arupa, a Rupa, an astral, and a physical globe. Some have found such designations inaccurate. However, we shall not dwell further here on the naming. It truly does not matter; what matters is the substance. “If one endeavors to describe these as best as possible, that is better than worrying too much about names.” After all, these must always be inaccurate in a certain sense. “For one must assign names to facts of the spiritual world that have come from the sensory world; thus, one can only speak in parables.

[ 21 ] The account of the evolution of the human world has been presented up to the point where the Earth reached the beginning of its physical condensation. Let us consider the state of development of this human world at this stage. What later appears as the Sun, Moon, and Earth is still united there into a single body. This body consists solely of a fine, ethereal matter.” Only within this matter do the beings that later appear as humans, animals, plants, and minerals exist. For further progress in development, this single world body must first split into two, one of which becomes the future Sun, while the other becomes a body that still holds the future Earth and Moon together. Only later does the splitting occur for this latter world body as well; that which becomes the Moon breaks away, and the Earth remains on its own as the dwelling place of humankind and its fellow creatures.

[ 22 ] Anyone familiar with standard theosophical literature must realize that the division of a single world body into two took place during the period in which this literature places the evolution of the so-called second major human race. The human ancestors of this race are described as beings with subtle etheric bodies. However, one must not imagine that such beings could have developed on our present Earth after it had already separated from the Sun and cast off the Moon. After this separation, such etheric bodies were no longer possible.” — If one traces the development of humanity through the cycle to which our consideration has now arrived and which leads us up to the present, one becomes aware of a series of main states, of which our present one is the fifth. — The preceding explanations from the Akashic Records have already spoken of these states. Here we shall merely reiterate what is necessary for a further deepening of the discussion. — “The first principal state presents the human ancestors as thoroughly subtle etheric beings.” The standard theosophical literature somewhat imprecisely refers to these beings as the “first principal race.” Essentially, this state persists even during the second epoch, which that literature designates as the “second principal race.” Up to this stage of development, the Sun, Moon, and Earth are still a single celestial body. Now the Sun separates as an independent body.” In doing so, it deprives the Earth—which is still united with the Moon—of all the forces through which the human ancestors could have been sustained in their etheric state.” “With the separation of the Sun, a densification of human forms—and also of the forms of other human fellow-creatures—takes place.” These creatures must now, so to speak, settle into their new dwelling place.

[ 23 ] However, it is not merely the material forces that leave this dwelling place. Spiritual beings as well—of whom it has been said that they formed a spiritual community within the described one celestial body—depart along with them. Their existence remains more intimately connected with the Sun than with the celestial body that the Sun has cast off from itself. If these beings had remained united with the forces that later developed on Earth and the Moon, they themselves would not have been able to evolve further to the stages corresponding to them.” They needed a new dwelling place for this further development. The Sun offers them this after it has—so to speak—purified itself of the forces of the Earth and the Moon. At the stage these beings now occupy, they can only influence the forces of the Earth and the Moon from the outside, from the Sun.

[ 24 ] “One can see what the purpose of the described separation is.” Certain beings, who are higher than humans, had up to this point undergone their evolution on the one specific world body; now they claim a portion of it for themselves and leave the rest to humankind and its fellow creatures.” The consequence of the solar separation was a radical revolution in the evolution of humankind and its fellow creatures. They fell, so to speak, from a higher stage of existence to a lower one. They had to do so because they lost their direct connection with those higher beings. “They would have reached a complete dead end in their own development had it not been for other cosmic events that reignited progress and set development on an entirely different course.” — With the forces that are currently united in the separate Moon—and which were still within the Earth at that time—further progress would have been impossible.” With these forces, not the present-day human race but only a species could have emerged in which the emotions—anger, hatred, and so on—developed during the third great cycle, the lunar existence, would have escalated to an excessive, animalistic degree. For a certain period of time, this was indeed the case. The immediate effect of the separation of the Sun was the emergence of the third main stage of human ancestors, which is referred to in theosophical literature as that of the third main race, the Lemurian race. Again, the term “race” is not particularly apt for this stage of development. For the human ancestors of that time can be compared to what is currently termed “race” only in a figurative sense. One must be perfectly clear that the forms of development—both in distant prehistory and in the future—are so utterly different from those of the present that our current terms can serve only as stopgaps and, for these remote epochs, actually lose all meaning. — Essentially, one can only begin to speak of “races” once evolution has reached roughly its second third in the third main stage (the Lemurian). It is only then that what we now call “races” begins to take shape. It then retains this “racial character” during the Atlantean period of development, in the fourth main state, and continues into our present time, the fifth main state.” Yet by the end of our fifth age, the word “race” will once again lose all meaning. In the future, humanity will be divided into groups that can no longer be designated as “races.” Much confusion has been caused in this regard by common theosophical literature. This has happened in particular through the book—which, on the other hand, has the great merit of having first popularized the theosophical worldview in modern times—namely, Sinnett’s Esoteric Buddhism. In it, the evolution of the world is portrayed as if the “races” were repeating themselves in exactly the same way throughout the cycles of the worlds. But that is by no means the case. Even that which deserves to be called a “race” arises and passes away. And the term “race” should only be applied to a certain phase of human evolution. Before and after this phase lie forms of evolution that are quite different from “races.”—This remark has been ventured here precisely because the true deciphering of the Akashic Records fully justifies such an observation. The decipherer knows that he is in full harmony with “true occult spiritual research.” Otherwise, it would never occur to him to raise such an objection against the meritorious books of theosophical literature. He may also make the—actually quite superfluous—remark that the inspirations of the great teacher mentioned in Esoteric Buddhism do not contradict what has been set forth here, but that the misunderstanding arose only because the author of the aforementioned book rendered the hard-to-express wisdom of those inspirations into the now-common human language in his own way.

[ 25 ] The third major stage of human development is precisely the one in which the “races” first came into being. And this event was brought about by the separation of the Moon from the Earth. This separation was accompanied by the emergence of the two sexes. This stage of human development has been repeatedly referred to in the accounts from the “Akashic Records.” When the Earth, still united with the Moon, split away from the Sun, there were not yet male and female sexes within humanity.” “Each human being united both sexes within a body that was still very subtle.” — It must be noted, however, that these hermaphroditic human ancestors were at a much lower stage of development compared to modern humans. The lower instincts operated with boundless energy, and there was as yet no sign of spiritual development. The fact that the latter was kindled—and that the lower instincts were thereby confined within certain limits—is connected with the fact that, at the very time the Earth and Moon separated, the former entered the sphere of influence of other celestial bodies.” This extraordinarily significant interaction of the Earth with other celestial bodies—its encounter with foreign planets during the period that theosophical literature refers to as the Lemurian era—will be recounted in a subsequent chapter of the Akasha Chronicle.”

[ 26 ] The same course of development is to be presented once more from a different perspective. This is done for a very specific reason. For one can never go too far in examining the truths pertaining to the higher worlds from the most diverse angles. One should be aware that, no matter which angle one takes, one can only provide a very meager sketch. And only gradually, as one views the same subject from a wide variety of angles, do the impressions one gains in this way complement one another to form an ever more vivid image. But it is only such images—not dry, schematic concepts—that help the person who wishes to penetrate the higher worlds. The more vivid the images, the more colorful they are, the more one can hope to draw closer to the higher reality.” — It is clear, after all, that it is precisely the images from the higher worlds that currently arouse suspicion in many of our contemporaries. People are happy to accept conceptual frameworks and classifications—with as many names as possible—regarding Devachan, planetary evolution, and so on; but they become skeptical when someone dares to describe the supersensible worlds in the same way a traveler describes the landscapes of South America. And yet one should realize that it is only through vivid, life-affirming images that one truly gains something useful, not through lifeless concepts and names.