The Rudolf Steiner Archive

6. The Pentecost Festival of Spiritual Striving and Working for the Spiritualization of the World (continued)

[ 1 ] In the last lecture, we considered some spiritual beings that are lower than human beings, some of whom possess abilities comparable to those of humans; but they lack a sense of responsibility. We have seen how they are to be regarded as the dregs of evolution, which would be a hindrance if left to their own devices, but how they are utilized by a higher wisdom and transformed from harmful beings into good ones.

[ 2 ] Today we wish to add a few more of these beings to the group we are considering, in order to show how human beings interact with them. First, let us assume that every time night falls, a human being undergoes a transition from the waking state to the sleeping state. We know that when a human being is in the waking state during the day, his four members are connected to one another and interpenetrate each other. Furthermore, we recall that every night the astral body and the “I” detach themselves from the physical and etheric bodies. Thus, we have seen that from this human union—from the fourfold human being—two distinct entities emerge at night. The physical body and the etheric body remain in bed; the astral body and the “I” remain outside.

[ 3 ] For modern humans, the states of consciousness that occur at night are quite different from those during the day. We can compare the state of consciousness of modern humans at night to that of plants. A plant is in a state of dreamless sleep. When asleep, humans are also imbued with a kind of plant consciousness. At night, even in a state of dreamless sleep, humans are present in the spiritual worlds.

[ 4 ] To these mental images we add the notion that every component of the human being finds its expression in the physical body. The physical body is, so to speak, the result of the fundamental components of the human being. The “I” finds its expression in the blood; the astral body finds its expression in the nervous system; the etheric body finds its expression in the glandular system; and the sensory system serves as the expression of the physical body. When we see in the human physical body the manifestation of the various components, we must realize that the circulatory system exists through the individual “I.” No nervous system can exist without the astral body structuring and creating it. At night, we withdraw the astral body and the “I” from the physical body, but not the nervous system and the blood. Yet blood and the “I” belong together, and the astral body and the nervous system belong together.

[ 5 ] At night, human beings treat their physical bodies with extraordinary contempt. In order for human beings to have instruments for the “I” and for the astral body, the blood and the nervous system had to come into being. Now, at night, they abandon the blood and the nervous system. It would be impossible for a physical body with blood and a nervous system to survive even a single second without an astral body and an “I.” Plants can survive without these because they have neither a nervous system nor a circulatory system. We would find the physical body dead in the morning if we were left to our own devices at night. We deprive it of the higher forces—the astral body and the “I”—that are necessary to sustain the physical body. What we do not do, other beings must do at night. At night, they enter the physical body and the etheric body; they descend into the physical body and the etheric body. Every night, higher spiritual beings enter the human physical body and etheric body and perform the work that is carried out during the day by the person’s own “I” and astral body. These are high, exalted beings who once created the human physical body and etheric body and who take care of them again at night. Above, in the higher world, the astral body is with the “I” at night; below, the physical body and the etheric body remain. They are left by the astral body and the “I” during the night. To the same extent that they are left by the astral body and the “I,” the forces of higher beings enter into them.

[ 6 ] The human etheric body is not the same as the etheric body of plants. At night, higher forces from a higher world flow into the human physical and etheric bodies. The following can happen: During the day, while the person is conscious, they continuously influence the physical body and the etheric body. When a human being thinks and feels, this takes place in the astral body, but it extends into the etheric body and the physical body. It leaves its mark there. In the past, the physical body and the etheric body arose purely from the will of higher beings. But when a human being becomes self-conscious, the influences of these higher beings withdraw from the physical body and the etheric body. What lives in the soul is not without effect on the physical body and the etheric body. The anatomist, of course, cannot determine what changes are taking place in a person’s physical body and etheric body, but they do occur. A profound effect takes place in the physical body and the etheric body when a person lies. Lying and hypocrisy are processes that take place in the soul and in the “I.” From a materialistic standpoint, one might believe that lying occurs only within. But the occult observer knows that this causes changes to occur right down into the physical body, right down to its very structure. Such changes also occur as a result of the numerous conventional lies that exist in the world.

[ 7 ] Let’s take a look at material reality: we know how our lives are peppered with all kinds of untruths. When people say things to each other that they don’t really mean, it’s like the imprint of a seal in sealing wax. That imprint remains. All hypocrisy, untruth, and slander remain imprinted in the physical body. When a person leaves their physical and etheric bodies at night, such imprints can be seen. Then beings from the higher worlds come and find them there. This is incompatible with the higher worlds. As a result, something new emerges; something entirely new is created. Now, beings are severed from the higher entities by the physical body; these beings then lead an independent existence between our worlds. In esoteric science, they are called phantoms. They are called phantoms because they are closest to physical perception. They are, furthermore, entities governed by physical laws. They flit through our space. They hinder human development. They make life in the world worse than it would be if they were not there. These phantoms are beings created by humans through lies, hypocrisy, and so on, which hold back development.

[ 8 ] Learning about the effects of spiritual beings is far more helpful than moralizing. A future humanity will know what it brings about through lies, hypocrisy, and slander. By learning the facts, one creates the most effective morality—not through moral principles. The foundation of Spiritual Science for existence gives rise to the strongest moral drives and impulses. Phantoms are also a kind of natural being that exist as a result of human activity. In the evening, a person leaves the physical body, leaving behind the imprints of lies, hypocrisy, and so on. When the person re-enters the body in the morning, these phantoms are the first to stream out of the physical body.

[ 9 ] The etheric body, too, can be influenced in such a way that it produces entities that have become cut off. Again, there are certain processes in the human world that cause such cut-offs to arise through the etheric body. All things—such as unjust, bad laws that punish in an unjust manner, and flawed institutions within a social community—have a retroactive effect on the etheric body, causing those entities to become severed within it, entities that are merely ridiculed in today’s superstitious age. These entities are spectres, ghosts. True ghosts are those to whose class or order such entities belong. People should strive to organize their institutions as well as possible so as not to create such entities.

[ 10 ] Now let us turn our attention to the “I” and the astral body during the night. Let us bear in mind that the astral body and the “I” are also in a special situation in human beings. They have adapted to the life of the blood and the nerves. Higher forces from a higher world also flow down upon the astral body and the “I” during the night. When a person carries certain things over from their daily life, a process of constriction takes place once again. Once again, it is aspects of the soul life that bring about this process of constriction. Let us imagine two people who hold two different opinions. One tries to persuade the other and has a longing to convince them. This longing is very widespread among people today. People should present their opinion to the other and wait to see whether forces stir within the other that lead them to accept the opinion. There are so many fanatics of their own opinions who are not at all satisfied unless they are able to force their opinion upon the other. When something like this happens, it harms both astral bodies. They take with them persuasions and false advice. Whatever is imprinted upon the astral bodies causes entities—known as demons—to detach themselves from the astral body at night.

[ 11 ] These demonic entities have a particularly detrimental influence on our human development. They swarm through the spiritual realm and prevent people from developing their own personal views. Just think how much sin is committed in this regard in many a coffeehouse or at a beer table! There, forces are constantly being drawn away to fuel the formation of demons. These forces creep into the human soul. Just ask yourself how often, in this or that court proceeding, people testify in this way! They are convinced—and, in essence, are not committing perjury—because they are convinced. Once, an event was staged that unfolded exactly as planned. Thirty people were asked to describe it. Two had described the incident correctly; all the other twenty-eight, however, had written things that had not happened. Thus all manner of influences come from demonic beings, which are formed in this way. There is no other means for human beings than the recognition of these facts—to know what they are doing—in order to free themselves from the influences of these harmful spiritual beings. Wherever there is an opportunity for these beings to exert their devastating influences, they are present. In the courtroom, the occult observer can see this. The beings always act in accordance with the way they came into being. Such beings, which arose through bad laws, act in such a way that they lead people to enact bad laws.

[ 12 ] Human beings should look into the spiritual world so that they may become practical and not constantly create obstacles. When we let our gaze wander over what has just been occupying our thoughts, we must tell ourselves that, during waking life, human beings give rise to all manner of spiritual beings and elemental beings. We must ask what significance these beings have for the future development of humanity. We look back to earlier times, when our ancestors lived in the Atlantean world. If we were to go far enough back into the ancient Atlantean development, we would find that, gradually, human beings took on a completely different form. Let us imagine ourselves going back to roughly the middle of the Atlantean era. We must create a mental image of human beings at that time in such a way that the part of the etheric body that is now in our head protruded far beyond the physical head, just as it is still perceptible to the clairvoyant in the case of the horse. This is particularly noticeable in the elephant. It has a large protrusion in front of and above its present physical head. This was the case with humans in ancient Atlantis. The progress of evolution consisted in these parts moving closer together, so that today, in humans, the etheric head and the physical head almost coincide.

[ 13 ] In the past, human beings possessed a dim form of clairvoyance. When a person became immersed in the physical body during the day, they did not see distinct boundaries but rather perceived objects surrounded by an aura. At night, they did not see these boundaries at all, but only the spiritual aspect of things. In the post-Atlantean era, we can distinguish five cultural epochs to date. In ancient India, during the first post-Atlantean epoch, the connection between the etheric head and the physical head was very loose. The fusion of the etheric head with the physical head grew ever stronger. This fusion has become strongest in our time, the fifth post-Atlantean cultural epoch, in which human beings have descended into the physical, material world and penetrated deepest into matter. Through these many incarnations during the various epochs, human beings have learned many things up to the day of their present incarnation. Everything that happens in the world follows a descending and an ascending line. Just as the etheric head has become increasingly united with the physical head, so it is true that a gradual loosening is taking place. We have already reached the point where the etheric head is beginning to loosen again. Here we must distinguish between racial evolution and soul evolution. In the future, there will be souls who have not done enough while the etheric head was united with the physical head. Today, many resist accepting spiritual truths as a result of the fusion of the etheric head with the physical head. Those who accept spiritual truths now will, when they return later, have absorbed enough in this incarnation to then find their place. But those who now fail to do what must be done will find no bodies in the future that suit them. For racial evolution will create normal bodies suited to the souls who have not failed to do what is required. Others will be such that their loosened etheric body will be unable to absorb anything. These people will be a distinct type of human being who will fall out of step with the progressive development of humanity.

[ 14 ] It takes something special to find one’s way into a future body. Imagine a soul that will live in a body with a loosened etheric body. That soul would no longer understand if one spoke to it of demons and the like. Today is the time when one can speak of these things. Once the etheric body has been loosened again, this will no longer be possible. Now the etheric body is called upon for entirely different perceptions. The etheric body will later live in the spiritual world. That world is populated by demons and the like. Then this world of spiritual beings will surround the human being, and if he is not prepared for it now through the teachings on the subject, he will later be at a loss as to how to behave toward these beings. But those who take with them from this incarnation the knowledge of these beings will understand how to conduct themselves toward them. These knowledgeable people are called upon to transform these beings in the future into servants of progressive development. Thus we see how people can fail to fulfill their task in the further development of humanity and other beings.

[ 15 ] All these demons, ghosts, and phantoms—today they are harmful. But in the future, we will transform them into servants of human progress. To achieve this, however, humanity must prepare itself. The development of the soul and that of the race do not proceed in parallel.

[ 16 ] In the future, people will be divided into the good and the evil. As one group evolves in the right way to transform the demons, ghosts, and phantoms of the future, they will push down another group. These will be the evil ones. Whatever the human spirit creates has real significance. This has always been the case in human development.

[ 17 ] Let us consider another example of how human beings today help shape the world. Let us turn our attention to the fourth cultural epoch, to the Greek temple. The idea of the temple sprang initially from the human soul. The idea of the temple rests on what we call the column and on what the column supports. Never since has humanity achieved such an ability to immerse itself in the supported space as it did then. Let us compare a Greek temple with a modern building. When the column becomes decorative, it is no longer the true column that it is when it stands freely and truly bears the weight. People must sense that the column must be made of the right material. If we paint an iron column that is thin and bears the same load as a thicker stone column, it is deceiving us.

[ 18 ] A Greek temple embodies a Greek conception of space. People would understand this if they could create a mental image of forces moving from top to bottom, from right to left. We can picture three angels painted, floating in the air, so that we know they are supporting one another. We find this sense of space in the works of the old masters. We no longer find it today, not even in Böcklin’s work. In his Pietà, there is an angel who gives us the feeling that he is about to fall at any moment.

[ 19 ] This is something even the greatest genius can lack if spiritual culture is absent: a sense of space. Every time a person creates a true concept of space, it gives beings the opportunity to fill that space. We then draw higher beings down into that space. We summon entirely different beings with the Greek column and the horizontal entablature resting upon it, and entirely different beings with the Gothic cathedral and its pointed arches. The Gothic cathedral differs from the Greek temple in a spiritual sense in the following way. In the Greek temple, humanity has imbued the concept of space so deeply that the temple is a crystallized concept of space. Because the temple is as it is, it is the dwelling of a higher being, a god, even when abandoned by humans. But the Gothic cathedral belongs to the people. It must be complemented by the devotion of the people and the folded hands they raise. The Greek temple is the dwelling of the god. The Gothic cathedral is a place of worship and the dwelling of the god when people are present. The Greek temple, even when deserted, is the dwelling place of a spiritual being. Thus we see that by being in harmony with the spiritual world, people interact with it. Thus we see in spirit how, through human actions, more and more can be done to bring higher beings down to earth.

[ 20 ] Once again, the idea of Pentecost comes to mind. The idea of Pentecost expresses in a symbol what we can recognize through such contemplation: that through their work, human beings create places for spiritual beings to descend, that they work toward the spiritualization of the world.

[ 21 ] We must understand the Spiritual Science idea in such a way that it permeates every single aspect of life. In our materialistic age, external life is only a faint expression of the inner life. In the past, every door lock, every key, was an expression of something spiritual. Now, by comparison, everything is so meaningless. Humanity will learn once again to create in such a way that the external is a reflection of the internal. Then even a train station will arise as a concept, just as the Greek temple and the Gothic cathedral arose. Our era, too, has an architectural style that corresponds to our times. That is the department store. It is the imprint of the idea of utility, the imprint of human egoism. The age of utility has produced the department store as its sole original creation.

[ 22 ] In the past, people incorporated their spiritual feelings into architectural styles. The department store is an expression of the sensibilities of the 19th century. But a spiritual movement is already at work, paving the way for a future spiritualization. Those who understand the anthroposophical movement in this way are bringing the idea of Pentecost to life. In the future, we will see anthroposophical ideas crystallized in what will cover the earth.