The Rudolf Steiner Archive

First Lecture

[ 1 ] I would like to begin today’s series of lectures for members by explaining to you how anthroposophy, simply by bringing its insights to people, lifts the entire human consciousness out of the heaviness of the earth. After all, it is hardly possible today for anyone living within mainstream civilization to think otherwise than that, through their earthly life between birth and death, they too belong to the Earth. Everything else—belonging to a spiritual world—is, after all, for the most part merely a belief, a hunch, and the like. An insight into the human being’s connection to something other than what is on Earth is, in fact, hardly possible for people today, who must draw their upbringing and their entire education from modern civilization. And yet this very belief—that when speaking of human beings, one has to deal only with earthly conditions—is the great error of our civilization, of our entire contemporary spiritual life; I would say, indeed, of the entire Western and Central world. Only the East has preserved—albeit in a decadent form—an awareness of humanity’s interconnectedness with the supersensible world powers and forces surrounding the Earth. In ancient times, human beings felt that their very being depended on the stars, just as they felt dependent on the plants and animals that grow and roam upon the Earth. In ancient times, people knew that the Moon was not merely a physical celestial body floating through space. Today, we concern ourselves with little more than that; at most, we investigate whether there are elevations there or not, or water, and formulate hypotheses about it. But we don’t concern ourselves with anything else regarding the Moon—which is closest to us—let alone the other celestial bodies, which we examine solely in terms of their physical properties. In ancient times, things were quite different. Back then, people knew themselves to be entirely dependent on the celestial bodies, just as they know themselves to be dependent on the Earth today.

[ 2 ] I want to start with something that has a certain scientific significance, something that may not appeal to everyone, but it will be a simple matter. I have often emphasized in anthroposophical lectures that even when examined purely from a scientific perspective, human beings, through their earthly lives, provide proof that something extraterrestrial enters into their formation. Natural science believes that the single cell is the most complex organism that can exist on Earth. People reflect on the complex structure that a single cell can possess. People say that the atom has recently become a truly marvelous entity, and just imagine the molecule! And then something like a cell—that is something terribly complex! —But that is simply not the case with the germ; in reality, the germ does not present itself as a complex body at all, but rather as a state of chaos. All chemical and physical structure breaks down, and before a living being can come into being, the germ must have disintegrated into chaotic dust. That is precisely the purpose of fertilization—to drive the germ into chaos, so that within the mother’s organism there exists a completely fragmented substance. That is the purpose of the processes in the mother’s womb—to create complete chaos. If you have a crystal: the cosmos cannot act upon a crystal with its fixed edges; if you have a plant: it, too, has a fixed form, so the cosmos cannot act there either; it is the same with animals. This is the purpose of fertilization—that the germ becomes chaos. Only then does the entire cosmos, through its surroundings, act upon this germ, and only then is the human being truly formed from the cosmos, so that the true spiritual-soul aspect, which comes from past earthly lives, can enter into him.”

[ 3 ] This is something that seems like nonsense compared to today’s views, but this nonsense is the truth. That is what is so terrible about our times: that one must speak nonsense in the face of conventional wisdom if one is to speak the truth. Now one might say: What you’re claiming here follows from occult insight; but can it also be verified? — It can indeed be verified; more people are capable of doing so than is generally believed. But there is also external evidence for this fact. A remarkable piece of external evidence has come to light at our biological research institute in Stuttgart. Research has been conducted there on the function of the spleen. As you may know, the spleen has always been regarded as a highly problematic organ. There’s a story about a doctoral defense in which the professor asks the candidate, “Can you tell me something about the spleen?” The candidate pauses to think and stammers pitifully, “I’ve forgotten.” The professor then says, “That’s a shame! No one has ever known that—you were the only one, and you’ve forgotten it.”

[ 4 ] I have now outlined a certain method derived from spiritual science, based on which Dr. Kolisko investigated the function of the spleen. Although it is still being contested, it will eventually gain acceptance, since it is truly precise. But now something else has come to light. Sometimes you have to do things not as your heart would lead you to do them, but because others use these methods. So we decided to remove the spleens of some rabbits. This isn’t vivisection, but a simple operation, and we did everything possible to ensure the animals weren’t tormented. But one of these rabbits died because it caught a cold; it wasn’t brought into the heated room after the operation.

[ 5 ] What was to be expected? We had removed the spleen, and as a result, something that had been present in the rabbit’s body at the site of the spleen was now exposed to the cosmos. As long as the spleen was in its place, the cosmos could do nothing; once the spleen is removed, only the etheric spleen remains. As a result, the etheric spleen organizes itself in a way that corresponds to the influence of the cosmos. What was to be expected? That something in a cosmic form would arise in the place of the spleen, that an imitation of the cosmic would emerge: as such, a spherical shape takes form. And indeed! When we dissected the rabbit, we found a very small spherical organic body that had subsequently formed under the influence of the cosmos—entirely in accordance with the view that the embryo presents itself as a chaotic body—after the condition that only the Earth exerts its influence had been removed. Thus, karma decreed that we arrived at external proof of what must be asserted in a completely separate field.

[ 6 ] The fact is that today, when people develop their feelings within the context of modern civilization, they often have no choice but to limit themselves to what lies within that civilization and do not turn their gaze out into the vastness of the world.

[ 7 ] In order to lay the groundwork for my further remarks, I must now remind you—as explained in my book Occult Science—that the Moon as we know it today once broke away from the Earth, having previously been a single body with it. This is something that becomes apparent through observation, but it is also already recognized by modern science. In recent years in particular, a literary movement has emerged that takes this relationship between the Moon and the Earth into account, albeit in an erroneous way. We must realize that the Moon, as it appears in the sky today, once formed a unity with the Earth, that it was, so to speak, hurled out from the Earth, and has been orbiting the Earth for some time now.

[ 8 ] I must now point out a second fact. This concerns the soul-spiritual development of human beings during their earthly existence. Even a purely external observation of what human beings have accomplished on Earth shows that something like a kind of primordial wisdom once existed. Certainly, it was not presented in the intellectual forms required today; it was not presented in such abstract thought or so bound to the senses as is required today. It was presented in a more pictorial and poetic form. Nothing remains of the true primordial wisdom that once existed on Earth at a time when writing had not yet been invented. What has been preserved, however, are legends, myths, the wondrous Vedic literature, the literature of the Vedanta, and the Eastern scriptures. Anyone who delves deeply into them—and not, as Deussen does, who sees only the most superficial aspects and is regarded as a famous translator—but anyone who can truly immerse themselves in what is there will develop a deep sense of awe for the infinite wisdom contained within, which appears only in a poetic, imagery-rich form. And they get the feeling that behind it all, something unspoken and unwritten once lived, something that was perhaps greater and more significant: a primordial wisdom.

[ 9 ] How was this primordial wisdom lived? Studying the way we study today—by sitting down, memorizing books, and the like, and thereby gradually working our way up to knowing something—that is certainly not how it happened in the realm of primordial wisdom. Anyone who had arrived at a certain insight during that era knew what inspiration was; they understood how to read the world—not books—when they put themselves in the necessary state of mind. They knew that it would then come over them, and they would be inwardly enlightened. This inner enlightenment was taken as seriously as we take reading books today. Human beings attained a relationship to the spiritual in the world through the fact that, in the ancient mysteries, the initiating priest led them to experience this enlightenment within themselves. The instruction in the mysteries consisted, after all, in leading people to learn to experience this inner enlightenment. He did not believe that something from a fantasy world was enlightening him. It would be roughly as if we were listening to someone today from behind a folding screen and did not believe that a: human being speaking, but rather that something indefinable behind the folding screen was whispering to us. Just as we would not believe today, if we heard this, that something indefinable were speaking—but rather would suspect a being lying beyond our perception—so too did the one who attained enlightenment know: There are beings on Earth who do not take on a physical form, but who, through enlightenment, are the great teachers of humanity. — Human beings were aware: they exist in flesh and blood; they move among human beings who are not in flesh and blood, but who possess an etheric body—ethereal beings who are here to impart the enlightenment that was the essence of primordial wisdom. Thus it was known: The Earth is populated not only by human beings of flesh and blood, but also by other beings who possess an etheric body.

[ 10 ] Now, of course, when considering such a matter, one must free oneself from the prejudice that humanity, as it is today, has lived on Earth since the time when written records first appeared; before that lies the unknown, and then, after passing through this unknown, one arrives at the great apes or ape-men. That is actually a most amusing view! What the historian can say applies to a few centuries: people back then were similar to how they are today—not as intelligent, of course, but still similar to how they are today. It is only in the last few centuries that people have become as intelligent as we are; but apart from our greater intelligence, they were just as we are today. — The Egyptians were superstitious and had mummies; — but otherwise, one generally imagines them to be much like people today, apart from their intelligence! Before that lies a period about which nothing is known. But after that period—about which nothing is known—had lasted a long time, the apes were there.

[ 11 ] You see, this is a view from which one must free oneself. Human beings populated the Earth before the animals, only in a different form; they are the older beings. You can read about this in my Occult Science. And so the people who lived alongside the ancient primordial teachers—who had not yet taken on human bodies but lived in spiritual bodies—experienced that with the moon’s departure, which they had witnessed firsthand—we ourselves witnessed it— these beings, who had lived among them as primordial teachers, had moved out into the cosmos and have since inhabited not the Earth but the Moon. So that, in fact, not only the physical substance of the Moon but also the beings who had hitherto inhabited the Moon spiritually are to be regarded as separated from the Earth. Indeed, even from a scientific standpoint, one can speak of these beings as having once departed—they are not subject to birth and death in the same way as human beings—and dwelling on the Moon, while the Moon itself has long since lost and transformed its physical substance.

[ 12 ] Something similar happens here as with human beings. Yes, just think: human beings completely renew their physical substance every seven to eight years! If someone believes that the same body is sitting there that was sitting there a few years ago, that is not the case. The physical substance has been renewed, but the spiritual and soul aspects have remained the same. In this regard, the fact is already known in natural science, but people do not pay attention to it. I was once asked during a lecture: It is said that the bees in a hive have a certain relationship with the queen bee, and that upon her death—if she was very devoted to her bees—the hive sometimes senses this and often dies as well. How can that be? After all, individual bees do not possess the ability to recognize humans, and the hive is merely a collection of individual bees! — But that is not true; the hive is not at all the sum of its individual bees. I used the following analogy: Two people were there two decades ago. One went to America; the other stayed behind. Fifteen years later, the first returns from America and recognizes his friend. — It doesn’t depend on the individual parts at all; after all, nothing remains of the original substance. So it doesn’t depend on the individual bees, but on the intelligence of the hive, and that isn’t even all that different from that of humans. We as human beings are also something other than our cells, other than our individual organs. And just as nothing of a physical nature remains of those friends who attended my lectures here ten years ago—only the soul-spiritual aspect remains—so, too, nothing of the substance that once emanated from the Earth remains in the Moon; it has long since been repeatedly exchanged within the cosmos. The beings, however, are still there. But how these beings have nevertheless remained active for humanity on Earth becomes very clear in a true initiatory contemplation. This becomes evident when we examine more closely what we call karma. I would like to begin with this today; we will then continue these reflections in the next lectures.

[ 13 ] When we meet another person, we usually do not give sufficient thought to how our entire earthly life has actually been directed toward this encounter. And as we get to know another person, we encounter a duality. Just pay attention to this, and you will find that what I am about to describe is present in some form or another, to a greater or lesser degree. We get to know another person. It is often the case that we form a deep connection with this other person—regardless of whether they are beautiful or ugly, intelligent or foolish; they can be whatever they are. This connection arises from within us. We don’t pay any attention to their outward appearance at all: we feel a bond with them. That is one extreme. The other extreme is this: we get to know a person, but we don’t feel this inner bond; instead, we take the opportunity to form an intellectual or moral impression of them. We can describe them well. Talking about the first person, when we later go into a social setting where others also know him, feels somewhat uncomfortable to us; we have the feeling that it’s awkward—there’s something deeply personal in our relationship with him. We can describe the other person quite well; we can say he’s smart or a fool, and we know how to describe him down to the details of his nose; but we live without any inner connection to him. There are acquaintances we make; no sooner have we made this acquaintance than we find ourselves dreaming about this person, and the dreams simply won’t leave us. We may get to know someone else just as well, spending every day together—yet not even the slightest dream occurs to us. Our inner being is not so deeply moved that we dream of them. The case of someone who lives like Garibaldi—who feels that inner bond even when there is no immediate personal relationship—is rare, but such cases do occur. For it is very interesting how Garibaldi found his first wife. In the outer world, he was so detached that he had no interest in women at all. On a sea voyage along the Brazilian coast, he pointed his telescope toward the shore and saw a young girl: at that very moment, he knew clearly that she was meant to be his wife. He rushed ashore from his ship; a man was there who welcomed him warmly and asked if he would like to have lunch with him. Garibaldi agreed. It was the father of the girl he had seen on shore! Before lunch had even been served, he told her—he spoke only Italian and she only Portuguese—that she must be his for life. Yet she understood him, and one of the most beautiful romantic relationships was established. This extreme case demonstrates that something akin to a karmic relationship was at play. There was something heroic in the woman’s demeanor, in the way she conducted herself. She accompanied him in his battles in South America, and when news came that he had fallen on the battlefield, she searched for him there. It was in this situation that she gave birth to her child. To keep it warm, she had to tie it around her neck.

[ 14 ] Through experiences like these, Garibaldi became more settled in life. His wife passed away, and he married another woman. He approached this marriage in a very conventional manner; but it lasted only one day!

[ 15 ] These are situations where one is confronted with karma head-on—situations that, when faced directly, show that a person can relate to others in two distinct ways with regard to karma. Karmic relationships are quite different when a person feels an inner sense of belonging than when they can only describe the other person in external terms.

[ 16 ] Now, it is precisely when one looks at such karmic experiences—such as becoming acquainted with another human being, where beauty or ugliness matters not, but where the impulse of togetherness springs from within—that one is made aware of the influence of those beings whom I have described as “primordial teachers,” who remain active to this day, though from the outside, from the cosmos, Such relationships are of particular interest to these lunar beings, and it is through such relationships—and beyond them—that they take the most intimate part in the evolution of humanity on Earth.

[ 17 ] Just as there are lunar beings, there are also solar beings associated with the sun. The same is true in those situations where we can describe other people more in external terms. In such cases, the solar beings are interested in what is woven from one human soul to another.

[ 18 ] When we consider purely human conditions, we are led from the Earth first to the Sun and the Moon. And there one can say: there are human conditions in which we see the influence of the Moon, and others in which we see the influence of the Sun. And so we are led outward from stage to stage: from the Earth to the cosmos.

[ 19 ] We were only able to begin this discussion today; we will continue it tomorrow and in the upcoming lectures.