The Rudolf Steiner Archive

53. Being, Perception, and Actions

[ 1 ] We must distinguish between the being as such and the being’s perceptions and actions. These depend not only on the being, but also on the world into which it is placed. Human beings find themselves in different worlds at different times; they pass through planets and globes. We have come to know four—three worlds. If a human being is to perceive and act, he must form organs from the materials of the world in question. In order to act on physical Earth, he must form organs of perception from the substances of Earth. Thus, we must distinguish between the being, which belongs to the world of the Eternal, and the organs that it has formed from the substances of the worlds through which it passes.

[ 2 ] If we did not have a physical hand, we would not be able to move an object, but would pass right through matter. The hand must be impenetrable [gap in the transcript]. The same applies to the sense organs [gap in the transcript]—the eyes. These organs are called indriyas, and a distinction is made between the indriyas of the senses or perception and the indriyas of action. Every being forms its organs of action and sense organs from the substances of the world through which it travels. With his essence, man belongs to the eternal world; with his organs, he belongs to the world through which he passes. Once he has passed through these worlds, he takes with him—precisely through his organs—something from the worlds that remains his possession. You have eyes—when you emerged from the bosom of the Eternal, you had none [gap in the transcript]

[ 3 ] What you have perceived remains. The eyes, as organs of the physical world, pass away.

[ 4 ] We can see from this that people are mistaken in what they actually call it. It is precisely what appears as the effect of these processes that is truly real and enduring. Thus, through the organs it receives from time to time, the being extracts the fruits from the various worlds, which it then takes with it. That is why the Greeks had beautiful symbols in the Mysteries: they called the souls “bees,” because the soul gathers the honey from the worlds and lays it down at the altar of the Eternal.

[ 5 ] Why do the initiates use such images for the people—do they have any value? Myths are nothing more than outer garments for deeply inner truths.

[ 6 ] How will we carve statues more easily? Will we first rough-carve the image from the block of stone, or will we begin with the finest details? I mean the former. Priests of various eras acted according to this principle. They said to themselves /gap in the transcript]

[ 7 ] I implant a figurative image into this soul—one that people do not understand at all. But it prepares his mind so that he may later perceive the pure truth. This was valuable as long as the priests were so imbued with the belief in reincarnation [gap in the transcript]

[ 8 ] Returning to the main idea: Beings draw from the worlds what they need to form their organs. For us, these are the physical, soul, and spiritual worlds, of which we are composed. Human beings live in these three worlds—the physical, astral, and mental—and are therefore threefold beings.

[ 9 ] Above the spiritual world and below the physical world, there are other worlds in which human beings do not initially live, but other beings do. Let us imagine beings that are, for us, solely soulful and spiritual—twofold in nature. Such beings are called devas; they are not incarnated in the physical world, and their lowest physical form is the astral body. Myths have symbolically depicted the knowledge of such beings, either by having them appear in fiery clouds or, as we shall see in the myths, in the form of animals—Zeus.

[ 10 ] Animals are often regarded as astral beings because they express passion more clearly than humans do. This corresponds to an astral reality, but it should not be conceived of in the ordinary physical sense; rather, the people to whom it appeared were in a trance at that moment.

[ 11 ] In addition to these, there are other beings that are purely physical and soul-based, lacking a spiritual aspect. Animals are not among them, for with their species character they belong to the spiritual realm; their species soul belongs to Devachan. There are such beings who have no spiritual expression whatsoever. It is only possible to reach them if one is not dependent on spiritual expression. I would have to be astral clairvoyant to perceive their astral nature. The Earth is much more populated than one might think; in every rock, every tree, there lives a being that remains unnoticed [gap in the transcript] simply because it lacks the capacity for spiritual expression. They are called elemental beings.

[ 12 ] People perceive only their effects when they—as it seems—manifest themselves by chance.

[ 13 ] There are devas whose natures are above the spiritual realm, and elemental beings whose natures are below the physical realm. But they are of no concern to us. These have organs that belong to the same worlds as ours. The devas do not perform actions that belong directly to the sensory world; therefore, we do not perceive them. The elemental beings have no organs capable of spiritual expression; therefore, they are not present to human beings.