The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Seventh Lecture

[ 1 ] As you have already seen in these lectures, we are approaching our goal step by step, while also striving to delve deeper into the subject with each step we take. We last spoke about the nature of pain associated with the course of a disease; however, we also pointed out how, in other cases, the course of a disease—at least in a certain respect—can unfold without being accompanied by experiences of pain.

[ 2 ] Now we must examine the nature of pain in a little more detail. We must once again bear in mind that pain can occur as a phenomenon accompanying the illness. For we have already seen from our previous discussion that we must not regard illness and pain as belonging together. We must keep in mind that when pain is associated with an illness, there must be something else at play besides the mere fact of being ill. Now we have already pointed out that in that process which takes place during the transition from one incarnation to another—where experiences from previous incarnations are transformed into causes of illness—the Luciferic principle on the one hand and the Ahrimanic principle on the other are both at work.

[ 3 ] How, then, does a person actually lay the groundwork for disease processes? Why does he develop within himself the tendency to be sick? What leads them, between death and a new birth—we have, after all, described how this is the time that brings together the forces that cause illness—to prepare such forces that will manifest as illness in the next life? —What leads human beings to do this is that, on the one hand, they can succumb to the temptation of the Luciferic power, and on the other hand, to the temptation of the Ahrimanic power. We already know, of course, what it means to succumb to the Luciferic power. — Everything within us that manifests as desire, as a trait of selfishness, ambition, pride, vanity—all traits connected with a kind of expansion of our “I” that seeks to assert itself—all of this is linked to the temptation of the Luciferic powers within us. In other words, if we succumb to the forces that work within our astral body—forces that express themselves in our selfish desires and passions—then in the corresponding incarnation we commit acts that stem from Lucifer’s temptation. And we then see the result of such actions influenced by Lucifer in the period between death and the new birth, and there we absorb within ourselves the tendency to incarnate in such a way that we undergo a process of illness which, if we overcome it, can help us free ourselves once again from the clutches of these Luciferic forces. If, then, the Luciferic forces were not present at all, we would not be able to succumb to the temptations that lead us to absorb such forces within ourselves.

[ 4 ] If there were nothing else in life but solely what Lucifer brings about within us—causing us to develop this or that selfish impulse and passion—then we would never actually be able to free ourselves from Luciferic temptations in life. Nor would we be able to rid ourselves of them through successive incarnations, for we would fall prey to them again and again. If, for example, we had simply been left to our own devices in the course of Earth’s evolution, and the Luciferic influence had nevertheless been present, then in one incarnation we would face the temptations of the Luciferic powers; after death, we would realize what they had led us to, and this would bring about a process of illness; but if nothing else were to come into play, this process of illness in the life in which it plays out would not lead to any particular improvement. It leads us to improvement only because the forces whose adversary is Lucifer now contribute something to the entire process. So when, on the one hand, we fall prey to the Luciferic forces, the forces whose adversaries the Luciferic forces are immediately step in as a counteraction, and these forces now attempt to develop a counterforce through which the Luciferic influence can truly be driven out of us. And these forces—whose adversaries are the Luciferic forces—add pain to the process brought about under the influence of Lucifer. Thus we must regard pain as something that—if we call the Luciferic forces the evil forces—is inflicted upon us by the good forces, so that through pain we may tear ourselves free from the clutches of the evil forces and no longer fall prey to them. If pain did not occur during the disease process that arises as a consequence of our fall into the clutches of the Luciferic forces, we would come to the conclusion: “It isn’t really that bad to fall prey to the Luciferic forces!” — And we would have nothing within us that would lead us to use our powers to free ourselves from the Luciferic forces. The pain that arises from becoming aware of the astral body’s improper vigilance is at the same time what can prevent us from falling ever further into the clutches of the Luciferic forces in this realm, where we have already succumbed to them. Thus, with regard to the temptations of the Luciferic forces, pain becomes our teacher.

[ 5 ] Now do not say: How can pain be our teacher if we merely feel the pain within ourselves and are completely unaware of its beneficial power? The fact that we are unaware of its beneficial power is merely a consequence of our ego-consciousness. In the consciousness that I have described as lying beneath the ego-consciousness, the process is already taking place, even though the person with ordinary consciousness knows nothing of it: “Now I am experiencing pain, and this is the consequence of the compensation given to me by the good powers for my transgressions!” — In the subconscious, this is a force that acts quite rightly as a karmic fulfillment, as an impulse to no longer succumb to the actions, drives, and desires that have just caused this illness.

[ 6 ] Thus we see how karma works, how we fall prey to the Luciferic forces, and how the Luciferic forces bring upon us a disease that manifests in a subsequent incarnation; and we see how benevolent forces add pain to the mere damage to our organs, so that we may have in the pain a means of education lying beneath the surface of our consciousness. Therefore, we can say: Whenever pain occurs in connection with an illness, it is a Luciferic force that has caused that illness. Pain is, in fact, a hallmark of the underlying influence of a Luciferic power. — People who like to categorize things will feel the need to distinguish between illnesses that are based purely on Luciferic influence and those that are attributable purely to Ahrimanic influence; for in all theoretical pursuits, categorization and schematization are, after all, the most convenient approaches, and one believes that through them one has understood a great deal. But in reality, things do not behave in such a way that they can be grasped by these convenient means. Instead, they constantly intersect and merge into one another. And we will also be able to easily understand that, when a real disease process is present, one part can be attributed to Luciferic influence—that is, to factors to be found more in the qualities of our astral body—while another part can simultaneously be attributed to factors to be found in Ahrimanic influence. Thus, no one should believe, when something hurts, that it is attributable solely to Luciferic influence. The fact that one experiences pain points to that part of the illness that is attributable to Luciferic influence. But we will understand this even more easily if we ask ourselves: Where does the Ahrimanic influence come from?

[ 7 ] Human beings would not have fallen prey to the Ahrimanic influence at all if they had not first fallen prey to the Luciferic influence. Because human beings took in the Luciferic influence, a certain connection arose between the four human members—the physical body, the etheric body, the astral body, and the “I”—that would not have come about if Lucifer had not been at work and if only the forces opposed by Lucifer had been at work. Then human beings would have developed differently. Thus, with regard to the human inner life, the Luciferic principle has caused a disturbance. But it depends on the human inner life how a person allows the outer world to approach them. And just as you cannot see the outer world correctly with an eye in which something is damaged—due to an internal defect—so, through the Luciferic influence, human beings are unable to perceive the outer world at all as it truly is. And because there was a reason for human beings not to see the external world as it is, the Ahrimanic influence was able to intrude into this distorted image of the external world, so that Ahriman’s approach to human beings could only have taken place because the Luciferic influence had first been at work. The Ahrimanic influence caused human beings not only to succumb to selfish passions, drives, desires, vanity, pride, and so on, but also to develop, within a human organism where selfishness was active in this way, organs that were bound to perceive the external world in a distorted and incorrect manner. As a result, Ahriman was able to intermingle with these distorted images of the external world. Ahriman drew near, and as a result, human beings were exposed to this other influence, so that they can not only succumb to inner temptations but also fall into error and—in their judgment of the external world and in their statements about it—into falsehood. Thus, although Ahriman acts from the outside, it was we who first gave him the opportunity to approach us.

[ 8 ] Thus, Ahrimanic and Luciferic influences never actually stand alone. They always interact with one another, maintaining a certain balance. Lucifer pushes outward from within, while Ahriman acts inward from without, and in between, the worldview takes shape. If, in any given incarnation, a person’s inner life becomes stronger—if they are more exposed to inner influences—then in those areas where the inner life acts in such a way that the person is more overcome by pride, vanity, and so on, they will be more inclined to succumb to the Luciferic influence. In an incarnation where a person’s overall karma makes them less inclined to yield to inner influences, they will be more easily led astray by the errors and temptations of Ahriman. This is indeed how it is in our lives. As we go through life day by day, we fall victim sometimes more to the temptations of Lucifer, sometimes more to the temptations of Ahriman. And we oscillate back and forth between these two forces, which, on the one hand, lead us to become inflated within ourselves, and on the other, to delude ourselves about the outer world.

[ 9 ] It should be mentioned here—because it is of extraordinary importance—that the temptations from both sides must be resisted especially by those who strive for higher development and seek to penetrate the spiritual world, whether by seeking to penetrate beyond the phenomena of the outer world into the spiritual realm or by seeking to descend mystically into their own inner being. When penetrating the spiritual external world that lies beyond the physical world, one always encounters the deceptive images conjured up by Ahriman; when a person seeks to descend mystically into their own soul, the temptations of Lucifer are particularly likely to arise. If a person becomes a mystic and, by good fortune, strives inward without having first taken care—through the development of character—to acquire antidotes against pride, vanity, and the like; if they succeed in living as a mystic but without particular moral cultivation, then they are all the more likely to succumb to the temptations of Lucifer, who works his way up into the soul from within. Therefore, if the mystic has not paid close attention to his moral development, then—if he succeeds in penetrating a little into his inner self—he may run the great risk of invoking the counterproductive force of Luciferic influence even more strongly than before, and of becoming even more vain and arrogant than he was previously. That is why it is so necessary to ensure, through the development of character, that we have an antidote against the temptations of vanity, delusions of grandeur, and arrogance that approach us in all situations. And we cannot do enough to cultivate precisely those qualities that lead to modesty and humility. This is of the utmost importance for that aspect of our higher development which we call the mystical. On the other hand, it is necessary for a person to protect themselves against the delusions of Ahriman when they attempt, through a process of development that leads beyond the phenomena of the external world, to reach the spiritual foundations of things. If they do not strive to develop a character that makes them strong and resilient within, one that allows them to stand firmly grounded in their inner self, then it can very easily happen that the person in question—especially if they are fortunate enough to venture into the spiritual world—will fall prey to Ahriman, who will lead them to believe one illusion after another, hallucination upon hallucination.

[ 10 ] It often happens that people, in a certain sense, “take you at your word.” Because it is so often emphasized that higher development—which seeks to go beyond the phenomena of the external world—must be linked to full consciousness, people repeatedly bring you individuals in a semi-somnambulistic state who assure you: “Yes, I perceive the spiritual world—and I do so with full consciousness!” — All one can say in such cases is: If only you weren’t conscious; that would be much wiser! — For people are mistaken about this “consciousness.” It is merely a visual consciousness, an astral consciousness; for if these individuals were not conscious to some subconscious degree, they would not perceive it at all. But the point is that when one enters the spiritual world, one must maintain one’s sense of self. But the power of judgment and a clear faculty of discernment are bound up with the “I”-consciousness! People lack these qualities when it comes to the beings they see in the spiritual world. The fact that they have some form of consciousness is not particularly remarkable; but we must possess that consciousness which is linked to the development of our “I.” Therefore, in the development of the ability to perceive the higher worlds, the emphasis is not on people entering a higher world as quickly as possible to see all sorts of beings or perhaps even hear all sorts of voices; rather, the emphasis is on the fact that entering the spiritual world can only be a blessing and a benefit if one sharpens one’s consciousness, discernment, and power of judgment. And there is no better way to do this than through the study of truths of Spiritual Science. That is why it is emphasized that engaging with truths of Spiritual Science serves as a safeguard against the supposed sighting of all manner of figures, over which no discernment can be exercised. Anyone who is truly trained in this way will not mistake just any phenomenon for this or that, but will, above all, be able to distinguish between reality and an illusory image, and above all, they will also be fully aware that one must be particularly cautious, especially with regard to things that appear as auditory perceptions, because no auditory perception can ever be accurate unless the person in question has passed through the sphere of absolute stillness. And anyone who has not first experienced the absolute stillness and silence of the spiritual world can be absolutely certain that what they perceive are illusions—no matter how sensible they may seem. Only those who have made an effort to sharpen their powers of judgment precisely by trying to comprehend the truths of the higher worlds—only they can protect themselves against illusions. The methods of external science are not sufficient for this. External science does not provide the kind of keen, strengthening power of judgment that is necessary to truly discern in a spiritual world. Therefore, one can truly say: When people communicate something from higher worlds without having first taken great care to sharpen their powers of judgment—which is possible especially through the study of Spiritual Science—such communications are always highly questionable, and they should at the very least always first be verified by methods acquired through genuine training.

[ 11 ] There is only one power before which Lucifer retreats: morality. This is something that burns Lucifer like the most terrible fire. And there is no other means of counteracting Ahriman than the power of judgment and discernment cultivated through Spiritual Science. For what we acquire on Earth as sound judgment is something that Ahriman flees from terribly. In essence, he has no greater aversion to anything than to what we attain through the healthy training of our sense of self. For we shall see that Ahriman belongs to an entirely different realm, one that is far removed from what we develop as our healthy power of judgment. The moment Ahriman encounters what we have attained in our earthly existence as sound judgment, he is seized by a terrible dread, for this is something entirely unknown to him, and he has a great fear of it. The more we therefore strive to develop what can be given as healthy power of judgment in the life between birth and death, the more we work against Ahriman. This is particularly evident in all sorts of individuals who come to us and then tell us “the moon and the stars” about all the spiritual worlds they have seen there. And if one then makes even the slightest attempt to make something clear to these individuals, to teach them understanding and discernment, Ahriman usually has such a strong hold on them that they can hardly respond; and this becomes all the stronger the more Ahriman’s temptations manifest themselves on the auditory level. There are even more remedies for what manifests in visionary images than for what manifests aurally, such as voices heard and so on. Such people have a great aversion to learning what must be attained by the ego-consciousness between birth and death. They do not like it. But it is not they themselves who dislike it; it is the Ahrimanic forces that drag them away from it. However, if one can then bring such a person to the point of developing sound judgment, and they are open to accepting instruction, the following becomes apparent very soon. Then the voices and hallucinations cease, because they were previously nothing more than Ahrimanic illusions, and because Ahriman is seized by a terrible fear as soon as he senses: “There, from within the human being, comes sound judgment!”

[ 12 ] Indeed, the best remedy for these particularly harmful conditions—caused by Ahriman—of visual and auditory hallucinations is this: to use every means at our disposal to help people develop a healthy and sound capacity for judgment. This is extraordinarily difficult for some individuals. For when the other power makes things very easy for them, that other power guides them. But anyone who wishes to drive out this power cannot make things so easy for themselves. It is quite difficult to reach such individuals, for they claim that one has taken away from them what once led them up into the spiritual world, whereas in truth one has made them healthy and protected them from these powers gaining more and more control over them!

[ 13 ] So we see what the Luciferic and Ahrimanic forces have a strong aversion to. Humility, modesty in human beings—not considering oneself to be more than what sound judgment warrants—is something that Lucifer does not like at all. On the other hand, he is drawn to it like flies to a dirty room whenever the qualities of ambition and vanity begin to surface. All of this—and especially those things based on false mental images of oneself—in turn lead us to prepare ourselves for Ahriman as well. But nothing protects us from Ahriman more than truly striving in life to think soundly, as life between birth and death teaches us. And it is precisely those who stand on the ground of Spiritual Science who have every reason to emphasize again and again, as intensely as possible, that it does not befit us as earthly human beings to overlook what is meant to be given to us precisely through earthly life. Those who spurn the effort to develop sound judgment and reasonable discernment, and who wish to ascend to a spiritual world without these qualities, are, in essence, seeking to withdraw from earthly life. They wish to float above earthly life; they feel that it is actually far too trivial a pursuit for them to concern themselves with all manner of things that might lead to an understanding of earthly life. They consider themselves superior. Yet precisely such a feeling is a new cause for arrogance. That is why we see time and again that individuals who are prone to idealism—who wish to remain untouched by earthly matters and earthly life—refuse to learn “because they are already fully immersed in everything” and do not wish to associate with a movement such as ours. Such people say: “Humanity must, after all, enter the spiritual world!”

[ 14 ] Certainly, but there is only one healthy path into it, and that is morality in the higher sense, attained here on earth, which does not allow us to overestimate ourselves, which does not lead us to a false judgment of ourselves, nor does it allow us to be dependent on our instincts, desires, and passions; and on the other hand, it is a diligent, healthy engagement with the conditions of earthly life, not a desire to float above the conditions of earthly life.

[ 15 ] In this way, we have drawn from the depths of karma something that is connected to the depths of spiritual life. This can be of great value. But nothing that is drawn from the spiritual world without sound reason is of value for the development of the human being and his individuality; nor is anything of value that is drawn from it without morality. This can be seen from the facts that were presented last time and today. And once we recognize this, we can ask ourselves: Why should the Luciferic influence—precisely because it has been at work since ancient times, has transformed itself into illness, and is counterbalanced by pain—why should it not, as it were, draw the Ahrimanic influence after it in human beings? And why shouldn’t the Ahrimanic influence be at work in what causes us pain and reveals to us the Luciferic course of an illness, precisely as a consequence of the Luciferic influence? But how does the Ahrimanic influence work? And how do Ahriman’s temptations transform into causes of illness? How does this manifest in a later incarnation?

[ 16 ] What can be attributed to Ahrimanic influence can ultimately be traced back to Lucifer; but if the Luciferic influence was so strong that it provoked the Ahrimanic influence, then the Ahrimanic influence is the more insidious one. It lies deeper, not only in the transgressions of the astral body, but in those of the etheric body. In a state of consciousness that lies below the level of pain consciousness, the Ahrimanic influence manifests as a form of damage that need not be accompanied by pain—a damage that, in the organ where it manifests, leads to the organ becoming useless. — Let us suppose that in one incarnation an Ahrimanic influence had been at work and had brought about what an Ahrimanic influence can indeed bring about. The human being now passes through the time between death and a new birth—and reappears in a new incarnation. It then becomes apparent that some organ has been affected by the Ahrimanic influence; in other words: In this organ, the etheric body is situated much deeper than it should be; the organ is much more deeply permeated by the etheric body than it ought to be. In such a case, because of the defective organ, the human being is led to become even more entangled in error—that which Ahriman brings about in the world. With the organ that has been damaged by the Ahrimanic influence—into which the etheric body has penetrated so deeply—the human being, if he were to live out this entire process, would become more deeply entangled in what Ahriman can bring about: in maya. But since everything that the outer world produces as maya cannot be taken into the spiritual world, the spiritual world eludes us more and more. For there is only truth there, not illusion! The more we become entangled in the illusion brought about by Ahriman, the more we are driven precisely to immerse ourselves even more deeply in the external sensory world—in the illusion of the physical-sensory realm—than we would without such a defective organ.

[ 17 ] But then the opposite effect occurs, just as the opposite effect occurs in pain under the influence of Lucifer. This opposite effect now manifests itself in such a way that, at the very moment when there is a danger that we might become too attached to the physical-sensory world—and thereby deprive ourselves of too much of what could lead us upward into the spiritual world—at that very moment the organ is destroyed, rendered either paralyzed or too weak to function. A process of destruction thus sets in. So when we see that an organ is being destroyed, we must realize that we actually have benevolent forces to thank for this: the organ is taken from us so that we may find our way back into the spiritual world. It is indeed the case that—when there is no other option—certain forces destroy our organs or endow us with diseased organs so that we are not thrust too deeply into illusion.

[ 18 ] So, for example, if someone has a liver disease that is not in itself accompanied by painful experiences, then we are dealing with the effect of a prior Ahrimanic influence that led to the liver sustaining the damage in question, because otherwise, through the forces associated with the deeper penetration of the etheric body, we would be led too far into maya if this organ were not taken from us.

[ 19 ] Legends and myths have always embodied the deepest wisdom and expressed it within themselves. The liver, in particular, is a good example of this. For it is the organ most capable of facilitating a person’s descent into the physical-illusory world. And the liver is also the organ that actually chains us to the earth. Connected to this truth is the fact that in the being who, according to legend, brought humans the power intended to guide them into earthly life and make them truly effective there—namely, Prometheus—a vulture gnaws specifically at the liver. A vulture gnaws at the liver, not because this is meant to cause Prometheus particularly deep pain; for in that case, the legend would not correspond to the actual facts. But legends always correspond to physiological facts! The vulture gnaws at the liver because it does not hurt! For it should be pointed out that Prometheus brought humanity something that could entangle it more deeply in the Ahrimanic, were it not for the opposing, balancing effect. Occult documents are always in harmony with the truths we proclaim in Spiritual Science.

[ 20 ] Today, purely on the merits of the case, I have shown you that it is the forces of good that inflict suffering upon humankind in opposition to the influence of Lucifer. Consider this in the context of the Old Testament. When the influence of Lucifer took hold—as symbolized by the serpent that tempted Eve—Lucifer’s adversaries had to inflict suffering precisely in the very area where Lucifer sought to lead humanity. The power opposed to Lucifer had to step in at this point and declare that, from then on, suffering would be brought upon humanity. Yahweh or Jehovah does this by saying: “In pain you shall bring forth children!”

[ 21 ] People generally do not know how to interpret these things in the occult documents as long as they do not yet have the explanations of Spiritual Science as such. Only later does one come to realize how profound these texts are. Therefore, you cannot expect me to explain these things to you out of thin air—without the necessary background—as if they were simple matters. In order to even begin to discuss the passage, “In pain you shall bring forth children,” one must first consider the concept of karma; for it is only at that specific point that the explanation can be provided. Therefore, it is of little use to demand explanations of this or that from the occult texts before one has reached the relevant stage in one’s occult development. And it is always a difficult matter to ask: “What does this mean? What does that mean?”—One must always wait and be patient until the relevant stage has been reached; explanations alone would achieve nothing.

[ 22 ] Thus we see, on the one hand, the Luciferic forces at work in our lives, and on the other hand, those forces whose adversary is Lucifer. Then the Ahrimanic forces act upon our lives, and we must realize that the forces which render our organs unusable when we fall prey to Ahrimanic influence are to be counted among the good forces whose adversary is precisely Ahriman.

[ 23 ] If you take as your starting point everything that has just been said, you will be able to look deeply into the complex workings of human nature, and you will come to say to yourself: The Luciferic forces are those that remained behind during the ancient Lunar Age; today, in the course of Earth’s evolution, they influence human life through those forces that are actually lunar forces—forces that, within the world plan corresponding, for example, solely to those powers whose adversary is Lucifer, cannot at all play out within our Earth’s evolution. Thus, Lucifer intervenes in the plan of another being.

[ 24 ] But we can now go back to even earlier periods of development.

[ 25 ] If, on the one hand, we see that certain beings remained behind in their evolution on the Moon in order to intervene in human life on Earth, then it may seem reasonable to us that beings also remained behind on the ancient Sun, who then played a similar role on the Moon as the Luciferic beings do now on Earth. Today, within the human being, we have something that we can actually describe as a struggle: the struggle taking place between the Luciferic forces, which take up residence in our astral body, and those forces that act upon us through our “I” and through our earthly achievements. For the forces whose adversary is Lucifer can, after all, only act upon us through our “I.” If we are to gain clarity and a proper understanding of ourselves, we can do so only with the help of those forces that act upon our “I.” To achieve this, we must indeed engage our “I.” Therefore, we can say: As our “I” rebels against the Luciferic forces, Yahweh or Jehovah fights within us against Lucifer; here, that which upholds the good world plan battles against that which rebels against this world plan in its sole authority, and we stand at the very heart of this struggle between Lucifer and other beings with our innermost being. We ourselves are the theater of this battle. And the fact that we are the theater of this battle draws us into karma—but only indirectly, through the fact that this battle with Lucifer is taking place. When, on the other hand, we turn our gaze outward, we are drawn into the Ahrimanic forces. There, something is taking place that comes from outside, and this is where Ahriman enters into us.

[ 26 ] We now know that beings lived on the ancient Moon who, at that time, went through their human stage in a manner similar to the way we are going through it in the course of Earth’s evolution. In the Akasha Chronicle and in Esoteric Science, you will find these beings referred to as angels, angeloi, or dhyanis; the names are not important. Within these beings, however, a struggle took place at that time similar to the Luciferic struggle within our own being. These beings were, on the ancient Moon, the scene of a struggle waged by those entities that had remained behind on the Sun. This struggle on the Moon has nothing to do with our inner “I,” for we did not yet possess our “I” on the Moon. It lies outside the realm in which our “I” can be involved; it took place on the ancient Moon “in the bosom of the angels.” As a result, these beings became at that time what they could only become under the influence of other beings who had lagged behind in relation to normal solar evolution and who, at that time, played the same role for the Angeloi as the Luciferic beings play for us today. And these were the Ahrimanic beings, who had lagged behind during the solar evolution just as the Luciferic beings had during the lunar evolution. Therefore, we can approach these beings only indirectly. It was Ahriman, however, who was, so to speak, the tempter within the hearts of the Angeloi, and he worked within them. Through him, the Angeloi became what they subsequently became, and they brought over with them what they had become through Ahriman just as much as what they had achieved in goodness.

[ 27 ] What we have received from Lucifer as a gift is the ability to distinguish between good and evil, to develop the capacity for free decision-making, and to attain free will. For us, this can only be achieved through Lucifer. These beings, however, have attained something and brought it with them into earthly existence, about which we can say: Just as the angels now surround us as spiritual beings, so they prepared themselves for their present existence through the Ahrimanic struggle within their souls during the time of the ancient lunar evolution. What these beings have gone through and what effects these experiences have had within them—that is none of our business in our innermost self; we are not involved in that with our self. — We shall see how we come to this indirectly, for the Ahrimanic influence does, after all, work its way back into us. — What these beings have attained under the influence of Ahriman are certain effects for which they absorbed the causes during their lunar existence. During their lunar existence, these beings absorbed something through the Ahrimanic influence, which they carried into our earthly existence. Let us try to discover within our earthly existence what may appear to us as such an effect of the Ahrimanic struggle of that time.

[ 28 ] If this Ahrimanic struggle had not taken place on the ancient Moon, these beings would not be able to carry into our earthly existence what belonged to the ancient lunar existence. For that would have ceased after the ancient Moon had perished. By taking on the Ahrimanic influence, the Angeloi became entangled in lunar existence, just as we become entangled in earthly existence through the Luciferic influence. They have taken the lunar element into their innermost being and carried it over into our earthly existence. As a result, they have become capable of bringing about precisely what must be brought about in our earthly existence so that our Earth does not fall entirely under the influence of Lucifer. Our Earth would have to fall entirely under the influence of Lucifer if this fact—which corresponds to the angels’ struggle with Ahriman on the Moon—had not been brought into our earthly existence.

[ 29 ] What, then, are the processes in earthly existence that we describe as “normal”? When our present solar system organized itself in accordance with the Earth’s purpose, what we see as the regular movements of the Sun, the Earth, and the other planets came into being—movements that bring about day and night, the regular succession of the seasons, sunshine and rain, the ripening of our crops in the fields, and so on. These are patterns that repeat themselves time and again according to the rhythm of the cosmos, which has taken shape for the present earthly existence after the lunar existence had descended into twilight. But within Earth existence, Lucifer is at work. And we shall see that he is active in far more ways than just in the realm where we have already been able to trace him—in human beings themselves, where he has indeed chosen his most important arena of activity. But even if Lucifer were present only within earthly existence—and even through all the orders that arise from the regular movement of the planets around the sun, from the alternation of summer and winter, rain and sunshine, and so on—human beings would still fall into what we might call “Luciferic temptation.” If human beings were to receive everything that can come to them from the ordered cosmos—everything brought about by the regular, rhythmic movements of the solar system—if only the laws appropriate to our present cosmos were to prevail, then human beings would fall prey to the Luciferic influence, would prefer a life of ease to what they ought to attain for their cosmic well-being, and would prefer a regular course of life to what they ought to strive for.

[ 30 ] Therefore, counterforces had to be created. Counterforces had to come into play; these arose when processes—which were highly beneficial and normal for the ancient Moon—interfered with the regular cosmic processes of our earthly life; yet today, when they affect earthly existence, they are abnormal and endanger the regular course of earthly life. These influences manifest in such a way that they, so to speak, correct what—if only the rhythm were present—would arise as a tendency toward a life of ease, as comfort and opulence; and such forces reveal themselves to us, for example, in what storms forth as violent hail. And when that which would otherwise be created under the Earth’s regular forces is destroyed, a correction is brought about in such a case that has an overall beneficial effect, even if human beings do not immediately recognize it, because there is a higher rationality than that which human beings comprehend. When hail storms into the fields, we can say: On the ancient Moon, these forces that storm in as hail were life-giving forces, just as today those forces that work life-givingly in rain and sunshine are. Today they storm in so that a correction may be brought about for what the Luciferic influence would otherwise cause. And as the regular course continues, they storm in with ever greater intensity to bring about even more correction. Everything that leads to regular further development belongs to the forces of the Earth itself. When a volcano spews out its lava, forces are at work within it that were carried over from the old Moon as delayed forces, so that they might bring about correction in earthly life. So it is with earthquakes and with elemental events in general. And we can see that much of what comes from outside finds its reasonable justification in the overall course of evolution. How this relates to human ego-consciousness, we shall yet see; whatever may seem unsatisfactory in today’s lecture will be balanced out by this tomorrow.

[ 31 ] But we must make it clear to ourselves that all these things represent only one side of human existence, of earthly existence, and of cosmic existence in general. And if, on the one hand, we say that when an organ is destroyed, it is the result of the benevolent effects of spiritual forces, and if we have now discovered that even the entire course of Earth’s evolution must be corrected once again by forces from the old lunar existence, then we must now ask: What, then, of the fact that we, as earthly human beings, must strive to bring about a correction on the other side for the harmful influences of the old lunar forces? — We can already surmise that, as earthly human beings, we must not exactly long for volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, nor must we destroy our own organs in order to support the beneficial effects of the spiritual forces. But we can also say to ourselves—and this is certainly justified—that when an epidemic breaks out somewhere, it brings about something that human beings are actually seeking, so that a balance may be restored within them. And we can assume that human beings are driven into certain circumstances to experience harm, through the overcoming of which they draw nearer to perfection.

[ 32 ] But what about hygiene and sanitation measures? Couldn’t someone say: So epidemics can actually have a very positive effect? Isn’t it wrong, then, to reduce the likelihood of such influences occurring through all kinds of health-promoting facilities and disease-prevention measures? Someone might conclude that we should do nothing to mitigate natural events, and might justify this by saying that it is entirely in line with the arguments presented today and yesterday.

[ 33 ] We will see that this is not the case—but again, only under certain conditions. For it is only now that we will be properly prepared to understand, in our next examination of the circumstances, on the one hand, how beneficial influences can actually cause damage to an organ—so that we do not fall prey to the effect of maya— and, on the other hand, to become aware of the effect we ourselves bring about when we shield ourselves from the effects of such beneficial influences by taking sanitary and hygienic measures against disease. — We shall see that we are at a point here where human beings so often find themselves: when an apparent contradiction arises and the full force of that contradiction drives them, they are close to reaching a point where the Ahrimanic forces can exert a great influence upon them. Nowhere is the temptation to succumb to delusions so great as it is now, when we have reached such a bottleneck. And it is good that we have reached this point; for now we can say: It is benevolent forces that render one of our organs unusable, for this is a counteraction against Ahriman; thus, it must now be the pests of humanity that do not demand what one might call “benevolent counteractions against the Ahrimanic forces.” For hygienic measures and the like would limit this benevolent counteraction.

[ 34 ] We are at an impasse. And it is good that we have been led into this contradiction, so that we may reflect on the fact that such contradictions are possible and can even serve as a valuable training for our minds. For once we have seen how we can extricate ourselves from this contradiction, we will have accomplished something of our own accord that can give us the strength to escape the deceptions of Ahriman.