Awareness - Life - Form
GA 89
9 November 1904
Translated by Steiner Online Library
Planetary Development XI
[ 1 ] People often speak of principles as if they were all the same and differed only in degree. But if we are to understand the connections, we must come to know the principles themselves according to their nature.
[ 2 ] We must distinguish between three things in the world: three kinds of effects. Because, for a perceiving being, only that which produces an effect can be taken into account, we focus our attention on the effects. There are thus three ways in which something can exert an effect: first, the purely spiritual; second, the psychological; and third, the physical. The mental effect—everything that can act in any way as spirit—is called Budhi; everything that can act on the soul is called Kama; everything that can act physically is called Prana. These are the three forms of effect: Budhi, Kama, Prana. As forms of effect, they are of the same nature, only at different levels.
[ 3 ] Now one must imagine that effects would remain constantly fluid and indeterminate if they were not limited. If, for example, Kama is to manifest in a certain way, it must set a limit for itself. Thus, in order to become limited effects, Budhi, Kama, and Prana must set limits for themselves. In Theosophical literature, these limits are called “Shariras,” meaning shells, sheaths, or envelopes. Specifically, when Budhi sets a boundary for itself, this boundary is called Karana Sharira; when Kama sets a boundary for itself, it is called Linga Sharira; and when Prana sets a boundary for itself, it is called Sthula Sharira. These Shariras are thus the boundaries, the sheaths, that the three modes of action impose upon themselves.
[ 4 ] The following may now occur [Scheme I is now drawn on the board, starting from the bottom and working upward]
[ 5 ] First, Prana is active; then Prana sets a boundary outward: Sthula Sharira. Prana thus limits itself on one side and remains undulating and open on the other. Kama now joins Prana and sets a boundary here: Linga Sharira. As a result, Prana no longer remains open and undulating on this side either, because Kama pushes its way in with its boundary; but Kama, in turn, remains open on the other side. Now Budhi joins in and sets a boundary against Kama, and Karana Sharira comes into being. The three principles thus have intermediate layers. If this is a being, then a sense of self-consciousness must still dwell within these three principles and their intermediate layers: this is referred to as Atma.
[ 6 ] Human beings consist of the three principles, the intermediate layers, and the sense of self, or Atma. Each of these may have subdivisions. If we understand it this way, we have defined the composition of the human being as such.
[ 7 ] Here, in human beings [Scheme I], the physical body forms the outer shell, and Atma rests within. However, the arrangement can also be quite different. [In the case of the planetary spirit], it is the case that Prana first manifests inwardly and sets a boundary for itself. Then the following would arise [diagram on the next page]:
[ 8 ] Prana is then bounded inwardly by Sthula Sharira, Kama by Linga Sharira, Budhi by Karana Sharira, and we would now have a being in which Atma lies on the outside, followed by Budhi, then Kama, and finally Prana. Then [according to the following diagram], Atma would appear to span the entire circumference [like a sphere], and Sthula Sharira would be a point at the center.
[ 9 ] Such a being is a Dhyan-Chohan, a planetary spirit, and must function in the opposite way to a human being. In humans, the Sthula Sharira is on the outside; in the Dhyan-Chohans, it is the Atma, followed by Budhi, and so on.
[ 10 ] The following example helps illustrate this clearly. When we close our eyes, it is dark at first, and when we open them again, we see the light. But we see the light only because we have a perception of it and can therefore receive it. However, it must first be there before we can receive it. And just as we must be there to perceive light, so there must be a being outside that reveals the light. We are receivers of light; there must be light-givers, light-revealers, out there. And just as we can perceive light only because we have Kama, the astral body, within us, so must a planetary being have a Kama that radiates light. Thus, Kama acts here toward the center and there within the radius of the circle.
[ 11 ] The circle that is convex upward represents us, our perception, and the receiving aspect that strives toward the giver. The circle, which is convex toward the bottom, is the kama of the dhyanic entity. Thus the kama of revelation acts downward: Karana Sharira. Just as human beings have a kama that strives toward its center, so the planetary spirit has a kama that strives outward, toward the circumference, which reveals light, whereas the kama of human beings receives light. Two kinds of entities of complementary natures always belong together. One entity must possess the desire: the receiving entity; another must be able to give: the giving entity. Human desiring Kama presupposes the presence of giving Kama—the Kama of love.
[ 12 ] Human budhi mediates cognition. That which is revealed to us about things through cognition is received by our budhi. The planetary spirit must therefore be the source of thought, while human budhi must be receptive. The planetary spirit thus behaves in a manner that is entirely opposite to and complementary of the human spirit.
[ 13 ] Every single thing in the world exists only within the context of the world; it is a link in the whole. As a link, it belongs to the entire planetary spirit of the Earth. For example, the table first has a material substance through which it is an entity that confronts us in space; second, it possesses force by offering resistance, for otherwise it would not be there for us; and third, this force does not manifest arbitrarily, but according to specific laws (laws of nature).
[ 14 ] What is this force? What is it that makes life possible within us? It is a force that is all-encompassing and sustains life. A person’s life force manifests itself by holding together the matter within them. Therefore, matter and the force associated with it in human beings are directed inward; they build up the human being from within; otherwise, he could not be perceived as a living being. The table, on the other hand, has matter directed outward, and this manifests itself through the law. Matter in and of itself cannot be perceived; only its properties, such as colors, sounds, and so on. Matter itself is completely beyond perception. There is a prana within matter that is entirely beyond perception, yet it gives itself up in order to reveal itself. In addition, we recognize the law within matter—the thought that expresses itself through it.
[ 15 ] Budhi manifests itself outwardly in nature. Every body, which is the outward expression of the planetary spirit, radiates continuously outward; that is, it has turned Budhi outward. It becomes the light that is perceived. Budhi is found in the qualities of things, in that which lies on the outside. The law must reveal itself through Karana Sharira. The Manas that reveals itself is the law. As a body shines, it sends Budhi to us. The thought, the expression of the spirit through which it sends it, is Karana Sharira. Kama, on the other hand, the planetary spirit keeps to itself; it withholds it from perception. Its matter ... [a gap is marked here in Marie Steiner-von Sivers’ notes]. — In contrast, it reveals the cosmic thoughts that human beings must first fathom deep within themselves. And what the planetary spirit expresses and bestows entirely on the surface—that is its Budhi.
[ 16 ] This is expressed in the Bible. It is said that the planetary spirit, in its first manifestation, was a manifestation of light. These are qualities of Budhi (light) that the spirit reveals at the first stage. This ancient sacred teaching about the contrast between the human spirit and the planetary spirit is beautifully expressed in Christian esotericism. In Kabbalistic terminology, the manifesting qualities of Budhi are called “powers.” Thus, the powers of light and darkness are the first to manifest. In this way, one can take Genesis literally once again.
[ 17 ] It is thus the qualities of Budhi that the mind reveals at the first stage. At the second stage, it reveals its Karana Sharira; it orders things according to laws. What is arranged convexly in the macrocosm is concave in the microcosm. What the human being perceives last comes first in the macrocosm; the microcosm comes last in recognizing the sensation in the macrocosm.
[ 18 ] The question now arises as to whether there is a transition between the two entities, between the human being and the planetary spirit. Consider an entity with a single consciousness: that is the human being; he has various parts, but they share a common consciousness. (The Conflict Between the Patricians and the Plebeians). This could be illustrated something like this:
[ 19 ] These are individual members, all of which radiate toward the collective consciousness. If we regard the collective consciousness as a force—and the members as well—we can say that the collective consciousness is the predominant one; it influences all the others. Now imagine many such entities acting in this way:
[ 20 ] Each of these entities has its own existence. Through [the shared ideal], it can connect other existences to its own. These various consciousnesses establish a common focal point for themselves; they strive toward a specific, shared ideal. This ideal then lives on as a communal spiritual ideal within the various consciousnesses. When they reach the point where their spiritual ideal is more valuable to them than themselves, they are drawn to this ideal just as they themselves had previously drawn the members of their consciousness toward themselves. Just as they once formed the center for these various spheres, the common ideal then forms the center for the great sphere. The individual existences then themselves become members of the collective existence, relinquish their separate identities, and live within the collective ideal. They cease to be centers in their own right and establish a collective center. Thus, a brotherhood emerges from individual human beings. When there is a communal ideal so powerful that it attracts all the individual centers of consciousness, these people form a body that possesses a soul of a higher order. This gives rise to a brotherhood with a fully communal spirit. And so we are dealing with a new being. A soul could never have descended into a human being if he were not a vessel made up of limbs. A Higher Being can never descend unless the individual consciousnesses become limbs of life—the form for a higher vessel—so that the collective consciousness may find expression within it.
[ 21 ] This marks the transition; a new center is being created. Human evolution is an inversion, a reversal of all principles. Since human beings manifest in seven forms, not one center but seven centers emerge. These will be the seven Elohim, the Pitris, for the next planet.
[ 22 ] Thus, human beings transition from beings that absorb their environment into themselves to beings that reveal themselves. These two completely opposite entities—human beings and the Elohim or Dhyani—are merely forms of a single entity. Thus, what a human being is here, he will no longer be in the future, but rather a Dhyan-Chohanic entity. In esotericism, this is called the “mystery of man’s deification.”
[ 23 ] When all individual consciousnesses turn toward a single center and everything outside becomes Atma, there will be only a single core of Sthula Sharira within—that is, unity at the highest degree.
[ 24 ] This unity cannot be achieved on Earth; it can only be formed by seven exalted spirits. This is then the Logos, which encompasses the Atma. In Kabbalah, the crown of all things is the “Kingdom,” the union. This principle also underlies the Church, namely that all people become members of a single consciousness.
[ 25 ] The law of form is birth and death. The law of life is rebirth. The law of the spirit is karma. Life passes through birth and death and appears in ever-new forms. Form is impermanent; life repeats itself; the spirit is imperishable, eternal.