The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Lecture XXXI

[ 1 ] Our fifth root race—the present post-Atlantean humanity—was preceded by the Atlanteans, who lived on the now-submerged continent between Europe and America. The Atlanteans cannot in any way be compared to the people who inhabit the globe today. For even the remnants of that ancient race learned various things from the later inhabitants of the fifth continent, and we could therefore not reconstruct the state of that culture from them. In the early days of Atlantean culture, there were no tools. Through their clairvoyant powers, the Atlanteans were able to make the earth serve their purposes. The smelting of metals, however, did not appear until toward the end of the Atlantean era.

[ 2 ] A small group was set apart from the Atlantic population, just as it is now to be set apart again within the Theosophical Society. Their task was to carry a new culture over into the fifth root race. The place where those who were chosen to establish a small colony, separate from the rest of the culture, lived can be found in present-day England and Ireland. That is where the Proto-Semites lived at that time. They were the first people capable of rational thought. All the Atlanteans’ imagination was still pictorial. The forward curve of the forehead—the development of the thinking brain—first appeared among the Proto-Semitic population, who bore no resemblance to the present-day Semites. This Proto-Semitic population, which, so to speak, invented thinking, migrated through Europe to Asia and initially established a culture there. The Proto-Semites constituted the fifth subrace of the Atlanteans. The seven subraces of the Atlantean root race were as follows: first, the Rmoahals; second, the Tlavatlis; third, the Proto-Toltecs; fourth, the Proto-Turanians; fifth, the Proto-Semites; sixth, the Proto-Akkadians; and seventh, the Proto-Mongols.

[ 3 ] The fifth root race thus descends from the fifth subrace of the Atlanteans. If we turn our gaze toward Asia, we find there, as the first subrace of the fifth root race—the ancient Indian race—that people who later migrated further south and became the forefathers of the later Indians. The most essential characteristic of this ancestral people, who lived in northern India, was that they did not develop a true sense of material culture. They possessed spiritual insights of the highest order, coupled with a completely undeveloped sense of material culture. The ancient Indians were detached from the world; their soul was still entirely similar to that of the Atlanteans in that it was capable of developing an infinitely magnificent world of imagery within itself. Through the practice of yoga, arising from within, they later developed a highly refined view of the world that seems scholarly to us today. Only fragments of this remain in the external tradition. The Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita no longer provide an accurate picture of the Indians’ profound worldviews, but only echoes of them. Even in Vedanta philosophy, only a very abstract echo of the Indians’ originally literally taught worldview has been handed down.

[ 4 ] Imagine the meaning that later emerged in Kabbalah—in a form that extended to other things, particularly to intricate details—and imagine that same meaning applied to lofty, universal ideas. If Jews were later able to reflect on this within Kabbalah, it stemmed from the fact that the later Jewish esoteric teaching is merely a degenerate reflection, an echo, of that finely ramified system of thought of the ancient Indians. And what became the Brahmanic teaching is by no means merely religion in the sense of the later systems, but rather science, poetry, and religion in a single great whole. All of this was like the finest selection, like the distilled essence of what had developed in the ancient Atlantean culture.

[ 5 ] The European peoples, too, had come from Atlantis to the West and to Central Europe. There, a completely different doctrine developed. There remained peoples who had not yet been chosen to found new cultures, but who also possessed within them the potential that found such magnificent expression in India—a potential that here had remained at a much, much earlier stage of development. What had originated in Europe advanced farther and farther toward Asia. A shared teaching formed the foundation and has remained here in Europe in a somewhat crude form.

[ 6 ] The Indian teaching emerged in the Vedas. “Veda” means the same thing as “Edda.” However, what is contained in the Vedas is a more refined development of what has been preserved here in Europe in a cruder form as the Edda, and was not recorded until the end of the Middle Ages. We must imagine that this original, great spiritual teaching underwent a certain transformation through the successive peoples. Its original greatness lay in the grasp of the immense, divine unity perceived by the Indian sages. This was no longer the case with the next race, the Persian race. Another feature of this ancient Indian worldview is that the concept of time is almost entirely absent from it. In the second subrace, the Proto-Persian, the concept of time immediately comes to the fore. Although the Indian does recognize time, he perceives it in a more uniform manner; the concept of history—of progress from the imperfect to the perfect—is absent. Thought was dominated by the view that everything emanates from divine perfection.

[ 7 ] Persian thought is dominated by the concept of time. Zervan Akarana is a major deity among the Persians, and this is, in fact, time itself. How did the concept of time come about? Anyone who, like the ancient Indians, seeks above all the primordial, unified deity must conceive of it as the absolute Good. Evil and imperfection in the world were nothing but illusions to the ancient Indians; “illusion” was a very important concept. These ancients said: There is absolutely nothing imperfect or evil in the world. If you believe that there is such a thing as evil, then you have not viewed the world with sufficient freedom from illusion. Rust, for example, which corrodes iron, is a great good elsewhere; you need only seek where. If you view a criminal through the veil of illusion, he will appear to you as such; but if you look beyond the illusion, you will realize that evil does not exist at all. — This teaching is intimately connected with a detachment from the world.

[ 8 ] The situation was different in the second subrace. There, among the ancient Persian peoples, goodness was placed within the world process and set as the goal. It was said: Goodness must be fought for. The world is both good and evil—Ormuzd and Ahriman—and that which overcomes evil is Zervan Akarana, time. —Thus, good and evil enter the early Persian worldview as principles of development. The teachings of Zarathustra are based on this conception of evil in the world and on the concept of time: Human beings are placed in life to overcome evil. — This view is connected to the fact that the second subrace was not one that turned away from the world, but rather a working one. Active and effective in various branches of human endeavor, with its gaze directed toward the external world, and concerned with how to create goodness from within the world itself—such was the second subrace. Hence, a multitude of deities appears among the Persians; not attributes of a single God, but a multitude of deities, because the world—when viewed not as an illusion but as reality—offers a wealth and a diversity. The deities worshiped there were more or less personal and spiritual in nature.

[ 9 ] The original initiators, who also founded the ancient Indian teachings, were also the teachers of the second subrace, the ancient Persian race. Here, they adapted the entire teaching to a working race. They created the religion that took shape through the various Zarathustras.

[ 10 ] Another wave of influence spread even further into the Near East: as far as Egypt, to the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans—the tribal forefathers of the Arabs. It was there that the third subrace took shape. This third subrace was one that sought above all to bring the two aspects—the inner and the outer—of the human being into harmony with one another. Whether you look for the fundamental outlook of this third subrace in Chaldea or Egypt, everywhere you will find a strong awareness of the connection between human work and the forces of nature. This is a fundamental difference compared to the Persian race. In Persia, you have the two forces—good and evil—engaged in a struggle with one another. Now, however, human beings seek to bring the various forces of nature or entities into their service. What emerged as the Persian religion was built primarily on human competence. Now, within the third subrace, the awareness arose that one could master nature not only through physical strength and moral conduct, but best of all through knowledge. In countries where agriculture was practiced with great artistry, such as in Egypt and Chaldea, this integration of the heavenly-spiritual powers with human labor developed. Knowledge of the meteorological environment and the stars developed there. Human beings sought strength for their work in the understanding of nature. Thus it came to pass that they turned their gaze to the stars and that astronomy was brought into connection with human beings on Earth. The origin of humankind was sought in the stars. Thus it came to pass that, in this sense, we are dealing with science for the first time. Now, in the third sub-race, we have practical knowledge instead of inner insight. That is why we hear of great initiates who taught geometry, the art of surveying, and technical skills. The infusion of human activity with the worldview brought down from the heavens occurs in the third sub-race. This provided something that shifted the entire conception of human life into a kind of celestial science. This found different expressions among the various peoples. Among the Egyptians, Osiris, Isis, and Horus were regarded as the representatives of astronomical phenomena.

[ 11 ] Three different subraces emerged in Asia. From their starting point in the Atlantic, a colony crossed over to Asia under the guidance of initiates. One notable result is the ancient Indian culture; a second is the ancient Persian culture; the third is the Chaldean-Egyptian culture; all of them share a common source of initiation. In Europe, however, remnants always remain of what emerged so magnificently in Asia within these three great cultures. These individual cultures are thoroughly interwoven in Europe in the most diverse ways. In Europe, too, there were initiates who, toward the end of the period under discussion, established mystery schools: they were called Druids; “Drys” means oak. The mighty oak was the symbol of the ancient European priest-scholars. For what dominated the peoples of the North was the belief that their ancient culture would indeed come to an end. The twilight of the gods was taught, and the future of Christianity found magnificent expression among the Nordic prophets in what later became the Siegfried saga. Compare this with the Achilles saga.

[ 12 ] Achilles is invulnerable all over his body except for his heel; Siegfried is invulnerable except for the spot between his shoulders. Invulnerability of this kind signifies initiation. In Achilles, you have the initiate of the fourth subrace, which lies within the ascending arc of human cultural development; therefore, all the highest parts of Achilles are invulnerable—only the heel, which represents the lower nature, is vulnerable, just as Hephaestus is lame. The German Siegfried was also a hero of the fourth sub-race, but he was vulnerable between the shoulder blades. This is his vulnerable spot—the place where only one who bears the cross can make himself invulnerable. In Siegfried, the divine perishes there; the Norse gods were heading toward their downfall (Götterdämmerung). This gives the Norse saga its tragic character, in that it points not only to the past but also to the twilight of the gods, to the time that is yet to come. The Druids taught the people about the declining Norse gods. Hence, the battle of Boniface against the oak tree is still symbolically portrayed as the struggle against the old priesthood, the Druids.

[ 13 ] Traces of what found expression over in Asia can also be found throughout the North. For example, Muspelheim and Niflheim are counterparts to Ormuzd and Ahriman. The giant Ymir, from whom the entire world was created, corresponds to the dismemberment of Osiris in Egypt. One can trace this connection down to the finest detail among the European peoples of the North and other cultures. When the fourth subrace developed in southern Europe, the Nordic tribes had also reached the fourth stage, so that Tacitus found many similarities there among the Germanic peoples. Irmin, for example, is the same figure as Hercules down in the south. Tacitus also tells us of a kind of Isis cult there in the north. Thus, earlier stages of culture foreshadow what would later emerge as Christianity.

[ 14 ] Imagine Europe, Central Asia, and Egypt strewn with what had developed under the influence of the schools of initiation. These schools of initiation now sent forth from their midst the founder of the fourth subrace, which had long been preparing within their bosom. This is the figure whom the Bible calls Abraham; he hails from Ur of the Chaldeans and is shaped like an essence distilled from the three ancient cultures. The task represented by Abraham is to bring into the human realm everything that was worshiped outside of it; to create initiates who place great value on the human aspect in order to establish personality cults. Hence, personal traits emerge among the Jewish patriarchs. The proceedings are actually marked by cunning and craftiness. Jacob attains superiority by using cunning and craftiness to take what he wants from his brother. This is the reality from which our present-day culture has developed; it is founded on intellect and greed. This emerges in a magnificent way, like a kind of dawn, in the narratives of the Old Testament. There could be no more powerful depiction of the origin. Esau is still hairy; that is, he represents the type of humanity that is still more bound up in the physical; Jacob represents the one who relies on his intellect and cunning and thereby achieves what is in fact now developing within human nature. Here, the triumph of the intellect over physical strength is inaugurated. The initiators do not always bring something great into the world, but rather that which must necessarily come. “Israel” means: he who leads people to the invisible God who lives within. Isra-el: El = the goal; Isra = the invisible God. Until now, He was a visible being—whether the One who appears in the great visions of the Indians, whether the One who urges toward good and evil as with the Persians, or whether the One whose body resided in the stars and the universe—He was perceived as something visible.

[ 15 ] And now you have depicted the Jewish initiation in the story of Joseph and the twelve brothers. It is a beautiful, powerful allegory. The allegorical element now comes to the fore; the intellect, when it seeks to exert its influence, becomes allegorical.

[ 16 ] First, the story describes how Joseph is initiated: He is taken out of ordinary life, sold for twenty pieces of silver, and thrown into the cistern, where he remains for three days. This is the expression of initiation. Then he goes to Egypt and has a revitalizing effect there. And now you have subtly hinted at the shift that took place at that time from the study of the star gods to the study of humanity. Joseph was cast out because he had dreams. He had a dream in which the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down before him. The eleven stars are the eleven signs of the zodiac. He perceives himself as the twelfth. The symbol of the star-based religion is now being transferred into the human realm. In the twelve brothers—the origin of the twelve tribes—the study of the star gods is brought down into the personal realm. “Well,” says the father, “you surely don’t mean to claim that your brothers will bow down before you.” “There we have made the shift: the celestial astrology is translated into a teaching that is rooted in the personal and human. This finds its development in Mosaic law.”

[ 17 ] From these three ancient cultures, through the initiation of the Jewish patriarchs, this fourth culture—the primordial Jewish culture—is derived, from which in fact everything originates that we have as the fourth subrace, for the ancient Hellenic and ancient Roman cultures also belong to it. Greek and Roman (Roman law) cultures, too, rose to prominence precisely through the personal element, until this idea was incarnated and elevated in Christianity. Thus, it is precisely in this smaller offshoot that the true current of the fourth subrace comes to the fore. The Greco-Latin current is a higher development of the Jewish one; the personal element is heightened here. There is no contradiction between this descent to the lowest point and the subsequent ascent.

[ 18 ] We can observe this everywhere [within the fourth subrace]. The personal aspect indeed had to find expression as depicted in the legend of Esau and Jacob, only to then find its purification in the beautiful humanity of the Greeks and in the grandeur of Roman civilization. In Odysseus, cunning still overcomes the old priestly culture. It is only from this culture that Christianity can develop—a Christianity that truly encompasses all ancient cultures and is therefore able to absorb them. Jesus Christ’s origins are traced back to Galilee. “Galilean” means “the outsider” who does not really belong; Galilee was a small enclave where someone could be raised who, within his own ethnic milieu, had to absorb not only Jewish culture but all the ancient cultures.

[ 19 ] The clash between Roman culture and the Nordic peoples gave rise to the fifth subrace, to which we ourselves belong. It has retained an influence from the ancient schools of initiation in the form of Moorish and Arab traditions, which originated in Asia. It is always the same influence from the same school of initiates. We can see how the monks of Ireland, as well as those engaged in scholarly work, are entirely inspired by Moorish-Arabic scholarship. This imparts the same fundamental character in a new form, as it could be assimilated here. Christianity finds its true expression only here. It merely passed through ancient Greece while the fifth culture was still in its preparatory phase, and then took firm root here, integrating itself into a series of nations. Everything at that time was permeated and inspired by Christianity. Our present age, with its materialistic culture, is the final, radical manifestation of what was inaugurated back then. The emergence of this new culture is symbolically depicted in the legend of Lohengrin. Lohengrin is the initiator of urban life, and that urban life, which is working its way up to a new cultural stage, is symbolized by Elsa of Brabant.

[ 20 ] Other groups also intermingled with all these movements, such as the Mongol tribes. What had originally come from the west was related to what came from the east with the Huns. Thus, related groups from the east and west converged here: Mongol and Germanic tribes. Those who originally came from the West were also descendants of the Atlanteans who had remained behind, just like the Mongols coming from the East. Essentially, both currents were related. It is always one current that intersects with the other. However, both share a common foundation, since they both originate from Atlantis.

[ 21 ] Here in the North, everything that has survived from earlier times takes on a more solid form. At the same time that Jewish prophecy existed—in the centuries before Christ—we find here a reference to a great, ancient Atlantean initiate: Wod-Wodha-Odin. This is a modernized form of Atlantean culture in a new guise, an atavism, a regression to Atlantean culture. And this is happening everywhere, including over in Asia. In Asia, the W is a B: Wodha = Bodha = Buddha. Buddhism over in Asia is the same phenomenon, appearing as a regression to the Atlantean era. That is why we find Buddhism most widespread among the remnants of the Atlanteans, among the Mongolian peoples. And where it appears most magnificently, like a pillar—in Tibet—there we have a modern, monumental expression of ancient Atlantean culture.

[ 22 ] One must be familiar with such ethnic connections in order to understand history. When Attila, the champion of monotheism, appeared in Europe, he stopped short of Christianity because he encountered something greater than what the Huns had known. The Huns’ monotheism, as an outgrowth of an Atlantean culture, possessed a grandeur unlike anything the Huns had encountered among any of the other peoples along their paths. Only Christianity made an impression on the Huns. Certain details in historical development can be understood in light of these broader perspectives.

[ 23 ] The well-known traveler Peters senses that the old Bodhatum and the Wotantum can converge, but he does not know that in Europe we represent not only the ancient, but also something new—a new vortex. The very newest—wisdom pointing toward the future—is breaking into the old part of the vortex. This relates to the old wisdom as bright daytime consciousness relates to a trance state. With perfectly clear daytime consciousness, future peoples will develop a spiritual culture that will be different from the old one. Therefore, theosophy must not be a mere transmission of the old—of Buddhism and Hinduism; this would inevitably collapse. Something new must emerge from the seeds slumbering in the East of Europe, a synthesis with all that has been developed here.

[ 24 ] The true [future culture] lies in the burgeoning national elements of Eastern Europe. We ourselves in Central Europe are the outposts. It is in Eastern Europe that the material substance—the human resources—must be found for what is being established here as an outpost.

[ 25 ] The Rosicrucian schools have always taught that Central and Western Europe are merely outposts of what will develop in Eastern Europe—what will emerge from the fusion of folk traditions and European knowledge. In Tolstoy, everything is enriched by Western European culture, but in a different way than in others before him. He expresses in a powerful, simple way what neither Kant nor Spencer could have expressed. What seems overripe here appears, in his work, to be still imperfect. But that is always the case with what is a seed. It is not from the fully developed plant, but from the seed, that the new, future plant grows.

[ 26 ] No matter what one experiences, one can look to the future with deep satisfaction. For just as a crystal only forms from the solution after the solution has been stirred vigorously, so too can something only emerge there as a result of major upheavals.