The Rudolf Steiner Archive

74. Human Development

[ 1 ] How does evolution take place? We are faced with a sum of spheres of existence that later become internalized. This is true throughout the entire universe.

[ 2 ] Let us consider human development. The human physical body is fully formed in the present race. But the human astral body is currently in an undeveloped state. It must reach a stage where it possesses sense organs similar to those of the physical body. These sense organs, which will enable human beings to live consciously on the astral plane, are called chakras. Today, they are in a nascent state. One is located above the larynx; because of its shape, it is called the sixteen-petaled lotus flower. It is formed through the act of speech. An activity on the lower plane gives rise to an organ on the higher plane. The third verse in Light on the Path refers to this, among other things. This is a guide. For all words that contain criticism, judgment, rejection, or barbs directed outward contribute nothing to setting the wheel in motion. Thus, only selfless speech here makes this organ effective on the higher plane. Thus, it is not asceticism or withdrawal from the physical plane that makes one a theosophist, but rather working toward that end. When our service becomes a service of sacrifice, the two-petaled lotus flower on the forehead is set in motion.

[ 3 ] Everything that exists is the result of activity or karma. — How did eyes come into being? Human beings had to perform activities that led to the formation of eyes. The pineal gland, which is now rudimentary, was a kind of heat organ, like a movable eye, back when bodies did not yet glow and human beings moved through the fiery mist. Humans used it to probe their surroundings and could perceive temperature differences over a wide area. The result of this perception is the ability to perceive bodies that glow when heated. Then this organ receded, and as a result, the two eyes formed. The myth of the Cyclops is a remnant of this.

[ 4 ] It becomes clear to us just how magnificent the metamorphoses are that human beings have undergone: they must take place in such a way that the formation of the outer form becomes inner strength.

[ 5 ] We are in the fourth round. When humans came from the Moon, they were generally “Moon-pitri.” They had brought dream consciousness to its highest level of development. This was incapable of perceiving an object that was external. Such an object did not even exist. For that to happen, one object would have had to be opposite another. The first three rounds were such that everything was internal; humankind was absorbed within itself. The Pitris carried all available matter within themselves; there were only human beings. Had human beings retained the mineral kingdom within themselves, they would never have achieved their development. Therefore, they had to expel it from themselves. In the first round, they separate from themselves everything they cannot use; by leaving behind a lower being, they elevate themselves. This is a profound law of occultism.

[ 6 ] During the second round, he populates his Earth with the plant kingdom; during the third round, he leaves behind all cold-blooded animals. Now this passes into the fourth round as a seed. It passes through the arupa, rupa, and astral states and enters the finest physical form. However, as it is, it could not become intelligent; it must shed one more thing, and these are the warm-blooded animals—they are, so to speak, decadent, stunted humans.

[ 7 ] By the middle of the Lemurian period, evolution had progressed to the point where the following could occur. Until then, one being could emerge from another; sexual reproduction did not exist. Back then, when all beings reproduced asexually, the Earth was in a completely different state. Everything that is solid matter was then in a dissolved state, a liquid element. This change gave rise to what is called sexual reproduction. Sexuality is linked to this solidification; one being could no longer produce another on its own, so even the mollusks had to adapt to the new conditions.

[ 8 ] How did sexuality arise? A certain amount of energy—<1> let’s call it that—was necessary to bring forth a new being. This is not possible in the state of hardening. 1 is split into 2; one half of the force is directed toward reproduction, while the other is separated off. One half condenses into the brain, becomes spiritual—that is, refined reproductive force—while the other force thereby becomes more brutal. These are the two poles.

[ 9 ] The separated force, the spiritual, could be fertilized by Manas and became the vehicle of Manas. Therefore, symbols from the sexual realm were used to represent the Supreme. When later races emerged, these pure symbols were misunderstood and even led to excesses. Material science, which proceeds solely from the physical plane, has seen only this.

[ 10 ] This mental power, before reaching the stage we are at today, has gone through many phases. At first, the imagination was much more imbued with rich, sensual images; it had not yet been refined enough to exist as memory, and it possessed magical power, capable of reproducing images with appropriate training. The purely sensual aspect of human nature was toughened in a crude way, and then the power of production came into play. Humans had to relinquish this power as they developed further. Memory was what developed during the Atlantean era, while the power of reason developed during the Aryan race. Thus, power waned at the expense of refinement.

[ 11 ] The purpose of evolution is for the higher to develop while the lower is left behind. Thus, we have left behind the primitive peoples from whom cultural history erroneously traces our origins.

[ 12 ] Now that the higher animal kingdom has been cast off, we are in the middle of the fourth round. Humanity must gradually reabsorb everything it has previously cast off; it must redeem it all. In the astral state, it will be capable of doing so. The entire expanded higher animal kingdom consists of the passions that humanity has cast out. With the more powerful organs of the developed, purified astral body, human beings can reabsorb the expelled force and use it to elevate themselves. This is the development of the three future globes. Thus, when our development is complete, the higher animal kingdom—which has a mineral framework—will no longer exist; the entire mineral kingdom will be absorbed.

[ 13 ] So during the fifth round, only the following exist: the plant kingdom, the lower animal kingdom, and humankind itself. Humankind now absorbs the plant kingdom and the higher aspects of the lower animal kingdom. It is a different physical state; the mineral kingdom will not exist, but the plant will have an even denser physical state. There is no volatilization into the ether, but rather a physicalization of the plant substance. It will be a growing bony skeleton, with secretions of a plant nature. Certain substances that are still air today will become water in which germs can swell.

[ 14 ] When the sixth cycle begins, only the animal kingdom remains—specifically, the advanced forms that are now considered lower—along with humankind. Humankind absorbs the animal kingdom. And in the seventh cycle, humankind attains godlikeness. - God rests on the seventh day. Man himself is the creator and develops to the level of maturity necessary to begin a new phase of evolution.