Bondarev_Gennady_-_The_crisis_of_civilization.pdf

8/18/2019 Bondarev_Gennady_-_The_crisis_of_civilization.pdf

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The Crisis of Civilization

By Gennady Bondarev

Translation from the Germanby Graham Rickett


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Crisis of Civilisation

38

clare: no, I had not. When I wrote of my concern for the soul-development of

those whose behaviour contradicts divine as well as human law, it was indeed

not hypocrisy. When a Russian expresses himself emotionally it does not neces-

sarily mean that he bears a grudge in his heart. At times it is just this concern

for people close to us that causes us to treat them somewhat more sternly.

Now, should we approach evil with force? – This is one of the questions in the

ethical cosmos of the Russian person. Rudolf Steiner says that I can satisfy thedemand of someone begging for my last shirt only under certain social condi-

tions. Under the present conditions it is advisable to think about what the

ingenious, famous Russian philosopher and dissident Alexander Zinoviev

writes in his essay The Ivan-Gospel7: it is a sin not to confront violence … but it

is an even greater sin to remain indifferent in the face of violence. Do not forget

that silent thought is already a deed. It is just out of the invisible thought of

protest that the mighty field of force of protest arises without which a visible

deed is unthinkable. Already by your thinking you contribute a quantum of

force to the common cause of the defence of man.8

Anyone who wishes to ‘fight against the enemy’ should turn to politics. A

Christian occultist cannot allow himself to have personal enemies. But if some-one considers him an enemy, he will send him his blessings. Humanity is One.

Whoever understands this and fights for the interests of humanity will think of

the friends as well as the enemies of humanity’s true interests. This is the prin-

ciple of Christian ethics.

7 Cf. the magazine Voprosy filosofii (Questions of Philosophy), No. 11.8 This Russian ‘Max Stirner’ also says much that is contradictory. Sometimes he

speaks utter nonsense in interviews; but these shortcomings should not obscure what

is fruitful in his world of ideas – we have to be able to separate the essential from thenon-essential in his statements.


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120

one takes notice of such things today (Aug. 15, 1920, GA 199; remark by the R.

Steiner Nachlassverwaltung).

Not so some present day ‘anthroposophists’. For them there is no more ‘wind’ –

only the silence of the graveyard. But the more the dusk settles over our waking

consciousness, the more distinctly the shadows – of what has been condemned

to death and is practically dead – appear from behind the gravestones. And

these shadows begin to guide the destinies of the living.


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VIII. Freemasonry, Britannicism and Jesuitism

131

to mention the masses living in the territory governed by the warring Lodges.

But at the same time we can observe in the first place a certain unity of goals in

the superiors of bitterly antagonistic Orders.6 And secondly, against all those

who are knowingly or unknowingly caught up in this battle one uses the tactic

of ‘two daggers’. Whoever draws back in fear from the one must himself dash

into the other.

Anthroposophists have the task to do neither of these. But first of all it is nec-essary to stop hoodwinking us and throwing dust into our eyes. Everyone is led

by the nose, who, even if only passively, swims in the current of public opin-

ions spread abroad just as much by the anthroposophical press as by many of

our power-wielding educators. We need to understand that we then serve at

least one, if not both adversaries, whatever we may proclaim in flattering tones.

If the Lord God has not robbed us of our senses as a punishment for our ego-

ism, then let at least the tragic experience of others be a lesson so that it will not

be repeated in our circle. Let us investigate the history of the destruction of

Freemasonry and learn from it, for healthy spirituality in the world is always

fought against with the same methods.

6 Actions of this kind proceed from both sides. It could be rumours suggesting that the present Pope may be a figure of Western Lodges are not without foundation. Today’s

struggle behind the scenes has been driven to such a devilish absurdity that it as-sumes no longer an occult-political, but rather an occult-mafioso character.


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146

many – he writes – is inevitable for France in the near future and it is hard to

believe in her glorious victory. And even if what the French dream of came true,

even if they were to fight in an alliance with Russia, it seems to me that the

same would happen to them as happened to the Italians in 1860. The Germans

would defeat them, but they would possibly come out victorious after all thanks

to the fact that the Germans would possibly be defeated by the Russians. And,

I hasten to add, I do not believe in our victory because I understand much

about our preparations for war, nor because I count on a numerical superiority

of the united Franco-Russian force over the military forces of the ‘Middle-

European League’. But because Russia will in this case be serving the princi-

ple of tribes, national-cosmopolitan politics, the deceitful Proteus of universal

mixing. For us, the war will nevertheless be about the Slavs, about our rights

to Bulgaria and Serbia. Let us suppose that there is a war with Austria; if it

does not occur to Germany at the right moment to deceive her allies, but she

really comes to their assistance, she will suffer terribly, just as all others have

suffered, who set themselves against the tribal stream.

This is how a Russian philosopher perceived world events 35 years before the

beginning of the irrevocable, total destruction of Europe, the world-wide dramawhose final act is imminent.


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XII. Middle Europe

197

make the cultural mission of other nations appear less significant, for the phe-

nomenon of self-consciousness can only develop in the threefold soul, when

its members are in harmony with each other. Mankind is a unity.


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302

earth are guilty before you. Seek for self-affirmation. Seek for self-affirmation

at any price! The right to this is granted you by the old God Jehovah.’

All the elements of this formula are repeated millions of times, in every imag-

inable manner, in the form of the most varied supplements, and seasoned with

the most varied ‘sauces’, over and over again in the mass-media of the world.

And if there is someone who does not grasp that this formula is worse than its

bloody prototype – Workers of the world, unite! – then we can only gatherenough patience and courage, and wait until life itself will make it quite obvi-

ous.

But this formula can also be challenged. As a response to it something different

can be heard, something that is in accord with the real life of our times. It is the

statement that speaks of social and historical understanding and of the will to

solve, not to aggravate, the social problems:

‘Jews of the world, isolate yourselves no longer, no longer be cocooned up in

your racial unity. Through living among other peoples, through speaking their

languages, assimilating with their culture, you have received the inestimable

gift of the autonomous personality, to which it is given to ascend to unbounded

spiritual freedom. Treasure this gift. Treasure the cultures in which you were

nurtured, make your contribution to their healthy development, because their

destiny is also yours. Outside these cultures you will find no happiness, no

higher purpose of existence. Use the conditions of today that have never been

so favourable for assimilation with the peoples in whose midst you were born

and educated, and with whom in truth you already form a unity. Lend all your

forces so that all peoples of the world may live in dignity. Be happy in the

measure possible in the place where karma has placed you. Do not carry the

arbitrary will of dark politicians into the realm where the cosmic laws of the

eternal human spirit hold sway.’


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Good and Evil The „Inexpressible" Mystery of Evil

Chapter XIX of The Crisis of Civilization

By Gennady BondarevTranslation from the German

by Graham Rickett

[NOTE: This is Chapter Nineteen of the book Anthroposophie auf der Kreuzung der okkult-politischenBewegungen der Gegenwart (The Crisis of Civilization in the English edition) ritten by the R!ssian mining"

engineer# sociologist# philosopher# and $nthroposophist Gennadi% &ondare (Gennady Bondarev in anEnglish transliteration)' &ondare as born in *+ and as the leader of the R!ssian $nthroposophical

,ociety in -osco in late ,o.iet times# hen he as repeatedly interrogated by the /G&' 0e escaped theseinterrogations essentially !nharmed# and he is inclined to attrib!te his escape to 1i.ine protection' 0oe.er#he as e2pelled from the 1ornach $nthroposophical ,ociety in 3# allegedly d!e to the p!blication of this

book' "" 4n this book he analy5es the c!lt!ral# political and economic planetary sit!ation from an $nthroposophical point of .ie' The hole English translation (by Graham Rickett) is a.ailable (in a

proofreader6s spiral"bo!nd edition# itho!t ill!strations) from Nelson 7illby at the 7ellspring &ookshop in8ondon' The German edition is a.ailable from the 8ochmann 9erlag in &asel see this page for &ondare6s

orks a.ailable there' "" E2cerpts from this book first appeared on the 777 in R!dolf ,aacke6s formerebsite' 0is present ebsites are $nthroposophie Online and anthroposophie'pl' "" Robert -ason)

Manichaeism, Catholicism, Freemasonry

Within the complex of qestions !ealt ith in this boo#, this is the last one e ill consi!er$ Itcompletes the %strctre% of or research thro&h the layin& of a final stone$ It is one of the &reatest

mysteries of hman existence, for the soltion of hich the philosophical an! reli&ios

consciosness of man#in! has restle! for centries' the mystery of evil$ In its archetypal an!

essential natre it is a Mystery in the tre sense, an! for this reason artistic intition ()l&a#ov%s

Voland *+ on the one han!, an! confessional fanaticism estran&e! from the orl! (%mch is ron& in

the orl!%+ on the other, ill in the ftre only ea#en the creative forces of the hman %I%$

*Character from the novel The Master and Margarita by M$ )l&a#ov$- Moreover, if someone

!oes not ish to attain #nole!&e of the mystery of evil in its concrete sense.spersensible form,

even hen he has the best incentives to !o so (qite apart from the people ho see# comfort in the

illsion that they ish to have nothin& to !o ith evil . even thro&h co&nition+, he ill

nevertheless prove to be an instrment of evil to some !e&ree$ For evil has become so flexible inor centry that it can a!/st to any circmstance, provi!e! a man reacts only !o&matically or

remains passive ot of la0iness an! !oes not examine an! revie these circmstances in a re&lar

an! thoro&h manner$ Whoever ishes to hol! fast to the trth has to ma#e &reat efforts in or!er to

maintain his balance in his str&&le ith the orl!.opposites of &oo! an! evil$

In Eropean occlt tra!ition #nole!&e is still preserve!, of hat are calle! the seven mysteries of

life$ )t only in or centry has it become possible to spea# of them openly, exoterically$ These

mysteries are so profon!, their content is so !ifficlt to &rasp by means of the intellect, that they

are calle! the seven %inexpressible%, the %nameless% mysteries$ These are' the mystery of the abyss, of

nmber, of alchemy, of !eath, the mystery of evil, of the or! (1o&oi+ an! of bliss in 2o! (3ne 45,

4678, 29 6:+$

;f corse by abstract thin#in& alone none of these mysteries can be solve!, bt e can come mch

closer to an n!erstan!in& by approachin& them ith spirital #nole!&e$ We may even say that

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.wellspringbookshop.co.uk/http://www.lochmann-verlag.com/http://www.lochmann-verlag.com/bondarew%20info%20a.htmhttp://www.lochmann-verlag.com/bondarew%20info%20a.htmhttp://www.anthroposophie-online.de/http://www.anthroposophie-online.de/http://www.anthroposophie-online.de/http://www.anthroposophie.pl/http://www.anthroposophie.pl/http://www.wellspringbookshop.co.uk/http://www.lochmann-verlag.com/http://www.lochmann-verlag.com/bondarew%20info%20a.htmhttp://www.anthroposophie-online.de/http://www.anthroposophie.pl/mailto:[email protected]


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this #nole!&e is one of the most important tas#s of !evelopin& %I%.consciosness in the epoch of

the consciosness.sol< that is, in the present Eropean cltral epoch$

=e&ar!in& the mystery of evil e can !efinitely assert that the hman bein& of to!ay is nable to

create hat is trly &oo! if he !oes not penetrate this mystery$ 9ll &oo! intentions, often &oo! !ee!s

carrie! ot ithot #nole!&e of the natre of evil, its techniqe an! mo!e of action, remain

ncertain, nstable an! are easily transforme! into evil$ 2oo! an! evil are the to components of

one orl!$ 9s the phenomenon of ma&netism !oes not occr ithot the positive an! ne&ative pole,so, in a certain phase of evoltion (to hich or time belon&s+, the phenomenon of man cannot exist

ithot the polarity of &oo! an! evil$

In or previos consi!erations e have create! the necessary basis to enable s to loo# behin! the

oter veil of evil an! to try to reco&ni0e the archetypal phenomenon !eterminin& the many.facette!

social.political phenomenolo&y of to!ay hich, as e have alrea!y shon, is entirely perva!e! by

!ar# occltism$ >ere e have to reach bac# still frther . an! be&in ith the creation of man$ For in

the moment man as !riven from ?ara!ise, evil became an inte&ral part of his !evelopment$ )t in

this qestion the paths of reli&ion an! science !iver&e fn!amentally an!, in or!er to nite them

a&ain, i$e$ to interpret the content of reli&ios tra!ition scientifically, e mst a&ain trn to spirital

science, hich loo#s pon this separation as !eeply tra&ic$ The sa!ly ina!eqate reslts to hichscience an! reli&ion have come in the qestion of &oo! an! evil are a conseqence of it$

9nthroposophy is a !irect sccessor of the !octrine of &oo! an! evil hich as &iven to the orl!

by one of the &reatest lea!ers of hmanity . Manes$ In the thir! centry he fon!e! a small

commnity in the @ear East, an! this &re &ra!ally into a mi&hty spirital stream #non as

Manichaeism$ It seems that everythin& possible as n!erta#en by the reli&ios faiths to slan!er

Manichaeism . an! ith &reat sccess$ Contribtin& to this as the fact that the or!inary !isciples

of Manes often n!erstoo! his teachin& only sperficially, becase its !eep esotericism is expresse!

in the form of pictres$

ManichAism is base! on a !eeply si&nificant le&en!$ We ill tell it in the version &iven by =!olf

Bteiner$ The le&en! says that once the spirits of darkness wanted to storm the realm of light. They succeeded in reaching the boundary of the realm of light and wanted to conquer it. But they could

accomplish nothing. ow they were to be punished ... by the realm of light. But nothing evil e!isted

in the realm of light" only good. The demons of darkness could only have been punished with good.

#o what happened$ ... The spirits of the realm of light took a portion of their realm and mi!ed it

into the material kingdom of darkness ... Thus there arose within this realm of darkness a

sourdough as it were" a ferment" which set the kingdom of darkness into a chaotic whirling dance"

whereby it received a new element" namely death. #o that it continuously devours itself and thus

bears the seed of its own destruction within itself (@ov$ 44, 467:, 29 65+$ The le&en! tells frther

that than#s to this event man appeare!$ 9s the first man (9!am+ it as ... he who had been sent

from the realm of light to mi! with the realm of darkness and to overcome through death all that

should not be in the realm of darkness% to overcome it within himself (ibi!$+$

Ths thro&h the very fact of his existence man is place! before the tas#, not to !eny evil bt to

transform it into &oo!$

9ccor!in& to the ManichAan vie, evil is &oo! that as pt at the ron& time into the ron& place$

ialectically spea#in& e have here to !o ith the qestion of the relationship beteen content an!

form, hich comes into movement by virte of the polarity$ Bpirital li&ht or self.consciosness,

the %I%.consciosness as bein&, &ives rise, in its enconter ith the realm of !ar#ness, to a series of

!ifferent forms, comes to expression in a variety of manifestations, ithot %committin&% itself to

them finally, an! overcomes them a&ain an! a&ain, ntil it has become i!entical ith the form, has

attaine! %a&reement% ith itself, has arrive! at its on i!entity an! transforme! the form (matter,

!ar#ness+ into pre spirit (li&ht+, so that the form of spirital selfhoo!, the hi&her %I%, is born$

This is the !irection folloe! by the inner life of Christen!om$ It comes into movement thro&h the


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overcomin& of its oter forms (the reli&ios faiths+$ The point is not . says =!olf Bteiner . to seek

equality everywhere in the outer forms of e!pression" but to sense the inner (Christian+ stream of

life that is there everywhere beneath the surface (Ibi!$+ 9n! hat can be fon! beneath the srface

of the ecclesiastical forms is the pre content of Christianity$ ;cclt Christianity, the Christianity of

@e Testament times as a Mystery . that is esoteric Christianity$ For its ftre a orthy vessel is

bein& prepare! to!ay, hich the members of the Christian con&re&ation can form if they sccee! in

prifyin& their on sol thro&h or# on themselves, raise it to the con!ition of Manas or Bpirit.Belf an!, as a reslt of an inner catharsis, create fn!amentally ne forms of social life$ This is the

ManichAan vie of Christian life$

The Cathars of the 4Dth centry, hose name !erives from the or! %catharsis%, or#e! in the

ManichAan spirit$ 9s !i! also, from the 4 th centry onar!s, the esoteric stream of Christianity

fon!e! by Christian =osen#ret0$

From the point of vie of the official Chrch everythin& e are !escribin& here is an %arch.heresy%$

This is clearly the reason hy it is so easy for neo.)olshevism in to!ay%s =ssia to raise all that

comes from the Chrch on to the banner of its i!eolo&y$ Catholicism, for its part, has for centries

respon!e! to that heresy ith mr!ers an! tortres$ et it is interestin& that 9&stine almost

became a ManichAan$ >e as prevente! only thro&h his total commitment to the form of faith prevailin& at that time, hich also ma!e him into an opponent of a ftre form$ 9&stine became

the opponent of %Fast%, a fi&re in hom, in his opinion, the ManichAan orl!.vie as

expresse!$

>oever, this as merely an episo!e, becase as a &eneral ten!ency the polarity of Catholicism an!

esoteric Christianity as !evelopin& from almost as early as the 5 r! or :th centry$ 1ater it came to

expression in the str&&le of the =oman Chrch a&ainst the Templars, the 9lbi&ensians, the

=osicrcians etc$* *The inhmanity of =ome in this str&&le #ne no bon!s$ =!olf Bteiner

relates that the Inqisitors sccee!e! thro&h prolon&e!, refine! tortres (;%)rian also se! them in

;rell%s novel+ to darken the consciosness of the Templars, so that from their sbconscios there

arose visionary experiences of lciferic forces hich they consciosly resiste! inar!ly$ It as inthis con!ition that they confesse! to the !esecration of sacre! ob/ects hich, in clear consciosness,

they hel! in the hi&hest veneration$ GH There ere Templars ho experience! !rin& their initiation

hat the hman sol is capable of even hen it remains nconscios$ The initiate becomes aware

of this and tries to overcome what otherwise remains in the subconscious... he saw those human

forces which strive to lead back to the old heathendom" to worship what the pagans worshipped and

to scorn Christian progress. These people knew how the human soul can succumb to such

temptations" because they had to overcome them consciously. ?hilip IJ$ ha! #nole!&e of these

experiences than#s to his ahrimanic initiation thro&h &ol! (Beptember D, 4648, 29 4K4+$ GH To

this !ay the rmor is circlate! that the Templars orshippe! )aphomet$ )t =!olf Bteiner

explains that )aphomet &is' a being of the ahrimanic world who appeared to people when they

were being tortured. (Thro&h the tortrin& of the Templars+ this was cunningly made to happen.

They brought back with them many visionary e!periences when they returned to consciousness (29

577a, p$ 457+$- They are all obliterated from the physical plane . says =!olf Bteiner . but their

inner life works on. (ater the antithesis is e!pressed in a weakened" yet still powerful form in two

streams" both born of an occidental culture as )esuitism ... and *reemasonry ... These are the

offspring of the old spiritual streams. That is why you have in )esuitism and *reemasonry a

continuation of the same initiation ceremonies as in the old streams ... They run parallel to one

another but follow quite different directions (Ibi!$+$

In previos chapters e spo#e a &reat !eal abot the present relationships beteen the streams

mentione! here, so that no the qestion that remains to be consi!ere! is that concernin& the prely

esoteric fon!ations of the battle beteen the orl! poers an! beteen those ho accompanythem$ 9 ManichAan le&en! provi!es the #ey, bt it nee!s a spirital.scientific interpretation$


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The Worl!s of 2oo! an! Evil

;ne of the most important reqirements of the spirital.scientific metho! of co&nition is that all

phenomena shol! be observe! in their !evelopment$ The teachin& of the evoltion of the orl!

an! of man forms the basis of the anthroposophical metho! of co&nition$ 9s this is or startin&.

point, e o&ht to act accor!in&ly$ )t as e are restricte! to one chapter e ill express a nmber

of postlates only a!!itively, as information (i$e$ not or&anically+, an! occasionally ma#e se of

!ia&rams$ The latter are in any case commonly se! an! they can be very !ifferent$ Bome even

serve as me!itative formlae$

9nthroposophy spea#s of the evoltion of orl! an! man as a process of &lobal transformations, in

the corse of hich the manifeste! con!itions (Manvantaras+ are folloe! by a &eneral

spiritali0ation of all existence (in ?ralaya+$ >ere one is !rain& on tra!itional esoteric !octrine,

hich has been #non in East an! West for more than a millenim$ Within the frameor# of or

cycle of evoltion (e can vie it as a nity if e ta#e accont of the ancient ?ytha&orean school+

in hich the hman bein& appears an! rises to hi&h levels of perfection, orl! evoltion passes

thro&h seven Manvantaras or planetary aeons, as they are also calle!$ In chapter 4: they ere

referre! to ithot frther explanation n!er their tra!itional names of ;l! Batrn, Earth, Ftre

3piter etc$* *=!olf Bteiner !escribes orl! evoltion in !etail in his boo# +ccult #cience" an+utline- In the corse of each aeon man attains a certain level of consciosness$ Ths on ;l!

Batrn, for instance, he ha! an %nconscios all.consciosness%< on Earth e acqire the ob/ective,

a#in&, thin#in& consciosness< in the ftre aeons man ill ascen! to three levels of in!ivi!al

sper.consciosness$

There nfol! in the orl! a mltiplicity of !ifferent levels of bein& an! of consciosness$ )eteen

man an! 2o! are fon! . prely spirital bein&s . the >ierarchies$ They stan! hi&h above man in

evoltion, an! therefore ta#e part in it as creators$ Their self.consciosness is cosmic, sbstantial

an! !isposes of imme!iate creative poer$ There are nine hierarchies, be&innin& ith the an&els an!

ascen!in& to the Beraphim$ Their names ere alrea!y #non to Christian 2nosis$

The !ivine act of creation thro&h hich the evoltion of or cycle be&an mst be ima&ine! as procee!in& from absolte nity, hich has fon! expression in all monotheistic an! monistic vies

ri&ht p to the present !ay$ In Christian 2nosis (e shol! not at all consi!er it to be a heretical

teachin& if e ish to be factal+ 2o! is simltaneosly one an! three in one, hich e shol!

n!erstan! to mean that >e is one in >is hi!!en natre< an! in revelation, hen >e trns to the act

of creation of the ne cycle (of the orl!+, he is trine$

;r cycle !iffers principally from all others in that here absolte bein& confronts itself (in nity+ for

the first time$ 9n! man appears as a ne creation ori&inally at the bon!ary of the mtal

confrontation of bein& an! non.bein&, of Worl!.%I% an! Worl!.non.%I%$ This is the actal natre of the

principal la of the emer&ence of or %I%.consciosness$ In or!er that it shol! acqire its main

characteristics . self.!etermination, free!om of choice, free!om of ill ., 2o! ha! to confront>imself$ 3$ 2$ Fichte expresse! this philosophically as the i!entity of %I% L not.%I%$

;n an esoteric, occlt level e shol! n!erstan! this to mean that the !ivine hierarchies, hen

they enter the evoltionary cycle, form relationships hich, to the !e&ree that they immerse

themselves in the create! orl!, assme the character of polarities$ Bo that finally the orl! of

%secon!ary% &o!s, the &o!s of the non.%I%.orl!, comes into bein&, in hich everythin& is only a

mirror image of the tre ivine Worl!$

In the &eneral orl!.pictre, here everythin& has an anthropocentric character (correspon!in& to

the plan of or evoltionary cycle+, there stan!s over a&ainst the ivine Trinity . the realm of li&ht .

the tri.nity of the orl! of bein& %other%$ This is spo#en of as the %fallen%, the evil orl! an! it is . as

material cosmos . also a nity$

9nthroposophy provi!es a !eep an! many.si!e! !escription of the personifie! strctre of the

orl! of not.%I%$ In its on ay it too consists of %three hypostases%$ In the !ivine all.nity the three


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tre hypostases are oppose!, not by a onefol!, bt by a threefol! evil' three #in!s, as it ere, of

%anti.!ivine% bein&s' the lciferic, ahrimanic, an! asric$

Fi&re 47' The rea!er may fill in the missin& elements

To fi&res (fi&$ 47 an! 44+ can clarify this frther$ The first shos the &eneral evoltionary

principle, the secon! the temporal corse of evoltion, here this forms a #in! of %vessel% of the

sevenfol! chain of metamorphoses$* *There arises from this a frther !evelopment of hat as

shon in fi&$ 6 in Chapter 4K (p$ D7+$- The !ia&rams sho that the orl!, !espite its infinit!e, is

precisely strctre! ithin itself$ This comes to expression in the lafl character of all that is

containe! ithin it$ Its anthropocentrism is shon in the fact that it is only man ho is

simltaneosly present in all three orl!s of revelation, an! ho represents the bone of contention

beteen the realm of li&ht an! that of !ar#ness$ In the orl! of primary revelation man is present as

a !ivine intention, in the secon! as ob/ect of creation, an! in the thir! he stan!s ithin the process

of self.creation$

The activity of self.formation, an! the !escent of 2o! an! the hierarchies in the creative process,

interpenetrate each other (fi&$ 47+ an! brin& abot in the Earth aeon a &lobal trn in evoltion$ In the

li#eness of a 2rail.vessel the evoltionary cycle (seven aeons+ stan!s at first ithin eternity, forme!

by the timeless bein& of the hierarchies an! permeate! by the three hypostases of !ivine revelation$

9ll this can be n!erstoo! as the totality of las !eterminin& everythin& that comes into bein&

thro&h evoltion in time an! space as a mirror.ima&e of the %vessel%$

Ths the material niverse, the for #in&!oms of natre, are a %reflection%$ They have been in a

!escen!in& movement since ;l! Batrn< they have been fallin& aay from 2o!$ rin& the Earth

aeon this !escent reaches its loest point, its limit, an! the process of ascent be&ins$


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We may concl!e from this that the evoltion of man an! the orl! ta#es place in to aspects

simltaneosly$ In the extra.temporal realm it has alrea!y come to completion, hereas in time it

has only reache! the mi!.point$ This raises many qestions concernin& the natre of time, of

pre!estination, free!om etc$ The athor a!!resses these in his or# Triune Man of Body" #oul and

#pirit in the (ight of ,nthroposophy, accor!in& to the metho! !evelope! by him$ In the present

chapter e can only refer to this$

What is !escribe! in the )ible as the explsion from ?ara!ise is the transition of man from the

orl! of the Dn! revelation to that of the 5r!, here he can !evelop free!om of the spirit$ Whoever is

nillin& to ventre into the realm of trials an! of error cannot attain spirital free!om$ 9n! in

or!er that hman !ee!s mi&ht not or# too !estrctively for the hi&her orl! of bein&, for the

hi&her harmony, or !ense, lifeless sha!o.orl! as create!, in hich everythin& hi&her exists

only in its reflection, as a li#eness$

)t e shol! not ima&ine that the polarity of to orl!s . that of bein& an! that of non.bein& . has

only con!itional si&nificance$ The orl! of bein&.other has the potential ithin it to cancel ot the

orl! of bein&, an! become itself the sole reality$ Bomethin& of this #in! col! ta#e place if the

prposes of the realm of !ar#ness are reali0e! in the time necessary to this realm, an! not in the

time necessary to the niverse$ If this ere to come abot, then &oo! ol! transform into evil$ 9n!in or!er that this shol! not happen, the Bon of 2o! !escen!e! into the orl! of self.confrontation

that ha! been ille! by >im, an! chan&e! ithin it the la of !escent, of materiali0ation, of the

Fall an! of enmity, thro&h transformin& it into a la of ascent, of spiritali0ation, of all.nity an!

love$

9fter the Mystery of 2ol&atha the lafl an! (for the sa#e of evoltion+ necessary !escent of man

into matter, the Fall into sin, mst be arreste! at the ish of the hman bein& ho has attaine! %I%.

consciosness$ The Fall mst be replace! by repentance$ Every person can !ra the necessary

stren&th for this from the !ee! of the incarnatin& 2o!, ho ent thro&h !eath an! &ave the poer

of resrrection even to the physical bo!y of man$


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Fi&re 44

The cosmic constellation of the hman bein&, particlarly in mo!ern times, is extremely complex$

;n the one han! he remains ithin eternity, in the lap of the ivine Trinity, only nconscios$ ;n

the other han!, if he is to become conscios of his sitation . hich is the main tas# of the spirital

onto&enesis of man, if one may so express it (becase e can !evelop orselves only in the totalityof bo!y, sol an! spirit+ ., he mst for a perio! of time or# pon himself ithin a frther trinity'

that of Christ, 1cifer an! 9hriman$ 9n! if he errs (!evelopment alays entails ris#s+, he may

qic#ly fin! himself ithin yet another trinity' that of 1cifer, 9hriman an! 9sra (a retar!e! spirit

of personality, archai+$ >e ill then fall ot of the evoltion inten!e! for him by the !ivine orl!s,

an! ta#e a !ifferent path of hich the 2ospel says that there rei&ns outer darkness% there will be

weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthe DD< 45+$ 9t some point this orl! too ill be transforme!

into &oo!, bt to!ay no.one can say hether the hman bein& ho ta#es this path ill then still

exist$

To the spoile! bt also intimi!ate! hman bein& of to!ay, it is hi&hly ncomfortable to learn of

trths li#e these$ 9n! yet he mst either !evelop ithin himself the stren&th an! the ish to face pto the trth, in or!er to reco&ni0e the tre las of !evelopment an! or# pon himself (then 2o!

>imself ill be his helper+, or sooner or later he ill fin! himself on the path of %continos Fall%$ In


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some blac#.ma&ical occlt circles this path is even consi!ere! the best, bt sch opinions belon& to

%blac#% romanticism, hich is a special #in! of e&oism$

Ths everythin& in man is pre!estine! to &oo!< bt ithot ris#, ithot an act of !arin&, ithot

the possibility of choosin& beteen &oo! an! evil, he cannot become a free spirit$ The ris# is

permitte! by 2o!, an! it !oes not lie ithin man%s poer to eliminate it$ 9n! the &arantee of

secrity s&&este! by the Chrch is &iven at the price of the rennciation of %I%.consciosness (the

sin that cannot be for&iven+, at the price of fallin& bac# into &rop.consciosness, for theovercomin& of hich so mch effort has been expen!e!$ The fallin& bac# into &rop.consciosness

lea!s man bac# into the &rey !istant past hen he as still at the sta&e of animal.man$ ;n this path

nothin& bt the &ravest perils aait him$

The Fall

Bince the hman bein& is force! to live in a so catastrophic time as the present, he ten!s to as#

himself hy 2o! allos this all$ oes >e not have the poer to excl!e 9hriman or 1cifer 9n!

strai&ht aay the !obt arises' Maybe 2o! is not perfect an! all.poerfl after all

)t 2o! is perfect an! everythin& lies ithin >is poer$ >e !oes not excl!e 1cifer an! 9hriman,

becase to&ether ith them >e ol! also have to excl!e a nmber of philosophers ho !eal ith

sch qestions, as =!olf Bteiner once remar#e!$

We col! also as# the more comprehensive qestion' Why !i! 2o! allo the Fall of man Been

from the theolo&ical point of vie e ill not fin! an anser to this$ 9n! then all e can !o is

ran&le ith 2o! or !eny >is existence$ Even in occlt societies, here %action% is preferre! above

spirital co&nition, here people #no what they ant bt not what for, one !oes not &et any

frther$

In 9nthroposophy the process of the %Fall% is sai! to be a part of evoltion$ 9n! this is fn!amentally

tre$ 9ctally it alrea!y be&an hen man%s physical bo!y as create! in the aeon of ;l! Batrn$Bince then the connection of man to material existence has &ron ever closer (cf$ fi&$ 44+$ @ext to

the, let s say, i!eal corse of evoltion (the pper %vessel%+, there arises the realm of !evelopment in

hich the spirital an! the material intereave in a complicate! ay, in hich the for natral

#in&!oms are forme!$ )t all this remains ithin the sphere of !ivine creative !ee!, hich, as three

cosmic creative rays of force, provi!es the main la of or evoltionary cycle (they become

ener&ies only in the material orl!+ (fi&$ 47, p$ *+$ For this reason the >oly Trinity is the personifie!

expression of the basic la of all bein&, an! also of non.bein&$

In the Earth aeon the realm ithin hich hman evoltion nfol!s &ros especially lar&e$ It reaches

its bon!ary in the meetin& ith a prely spirital existence, its !ivine ori&inal sorce$ This comes

to expression in the emer&ence of inor&anic natre, hich, in its for (alchemical+ elements earth,

ater, air an! armth, reflects in an i!eal manner (ithin the realm of %bein&.other%+ the !ivineorl! or!er$ >ere %bein&.other% attains perfection an! at the same time its smmit, its cron' the

hi&her nerve.activity of man< e oe or reflective thin#in& to the minerali0in& processes in or

nerves$

In each aeon !evelopment be&ins ith a repetition of the earlier con!itions, after hich the ne

arises$ Man%s sin#in& !on into the soli! realm of the earth as !etermine! by his previos

!evelopment$ The )ible !escribes only in pictorial form ho this too# place, bt !oes not explain

hy$ It ol! be naNve to sppose that the first man, 9!am, col! have erre! as an in!ivi!ality$

For this reason the %ori&inal sin%, hich lives in s all, shol! be loo#e! pon as an evoltionary

rather than as a moral qestion$ We atone for it thro&h overcomin& bloo!.ties an! exten!in& the

evoltion of species, hich &ave s the bo!y so that it mi&ht become a vessel for the spirit, bymeans of or spirit an! sol.evoltion, hereby in!ivi!al man becomes a species$

It is a real sin, if the hman bein& !oes not ish to participate in the &reat transformation hich

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too# place in the mi!!le of the Earth aeon, an! after hich any frther !escent into matter ha! no

meanin&$ Man becomes &ilty of somethin& trly evil, a %mortal sin%, if he tries, ith his %I%.

consciosness hose !evelopment entaile! so many sacrifices from the spirital orl!, to penetrate

into the realm of sb.natre, thereby forfeitin& the possibility of continin& on the hman path of

evoltion$ Especially effective in !rain& man into this sphere is the no apparent %reconciliation%

beteen materialistic science an! reli&ion hich has lost every trace of spiritality$ In a tone of the

hi&hest positivity an! tolerance, of the &reatest benevolence, the lea!ers of the ne niversalecmenism teach man to live ith concepts li#e %spirital or rarefie! material orl!%, %!ivine or

ener&etic.informative orl!%, etc$

Ths hman !evelopment can ta#e three !irections ithin the context of the seven aeons$ In fi&re

44 these are represente! by spheres I, II an! III$ 9fter man has attaine! in!ivi!al consciosness he

may choose any one of these, bt he shol! first #no hat they mean an! here each of them

lea!s$

The pper path (sphere I+ is for man the i!eal an! hi&hest &oal$ >ere he alrea!y stoo! as 2o!%s

creation an! as en!oe! by the spirits of form or Elohim ith a spar# of their fire$ The %I% lit p in

him an! man experience! his in!epen!ence otsi!e the material bo!y$ )t this consciosness of the

hi&her %I% as an i!eal mirrorin& of the orl!.all, an! col! not serve for co&nition of the orl!$ Ifman ha! remaine! in this con!ition, the Elohim ol! have en!oe! him ith a prely

spersensible form of consciosness.bein& correspon!in& to his natre$ Instea! of the s#eletal

system, says =!olf Bteiner, man ol! have ha! Ima&ination$ The spirits of movement (ynamis .

the hierarchy above the Elohim+ ol! have &iven him Inspiration instea! of mscles, an! the

spirits of is!om (Oyriotetes+ Intition instea! of the nervos system (ec$ 57, 464D, 29 45:+$

Man ol! have remaine! a threefol! cosmic bein& existin& in the three con!itions of cosmic

sper.consciosness (hich he is only no be&innin& to !evelop an! mst brin& to completion in

the comin& aeons+$ )t in this con!ition he ol! never ha! attaine! in!ivi!al free!om, an! his

hi&h level of consciosness ol! have ha! sper.in!ivi!al bt &rop.li#e traits$ In other or!s,

that lofty nity ol! never have !ifferentiate! into the mltiplicity of in!ivi!al %I%s% hich

!etermines the ori&inal bein& of earth%s hmanity$ The ori&inal bein& an! the self.consciosnesshich man possesses to!ay have arisen ot of the fact that 2o! >imself %expelle!% him from that

hi&h sphere of bein&, from ?ara!ise, an! &ave him the tas# of retrnin& to it as a free spirit$

For this %explsion% to sccee! even the bein&s of the !ivine hierarchies ha! to oppose each other$

)t those amon& them ho oppose! the prely spirital corse of hman evoltion, says =!olf

Bteiner, need not be considered evil forces. -e can even say that they sacrificed themselves through

obstructing the path of development. These powers can thus be called the gods of hindrance in the

broadest sense of the word ... &they' were not yet evil as such" on the contrary" they were great

furtherers of development in that they were up in arms against normal development. But they were

the originators of evil (9pril 4P, 4676, 29 447+$

The !ivin& !on of man into material bein& as connecte! ith the birth of time$ When this

process be&an, some of the bein&s of the hi&hest hierarchies, the Beraphim, refse! to accompany

him on this path$ They remaine! faithfl to eternity, so that the !onar! !evelopment col! in

time retrn to them a&ain$ )t sch bein&s of the first hierarchy can also be calle! lciferic in a

qite !efinite an! very special sense$

9 !ivision also too# place in the loest hierarchy, that of the an&els$ Bome of them helpe! man,

hen the spirits of form en!oe! him ith the %I%.spar# to experience himself ithin it spiritally

(in eternity+$ )t the an&els e call lciferic le! into the hman astral bo!y, the bearer of feelin&

an! consciosness, the principle of !ivision that ha! occrre! in the orl! of the hierarchies' the

possibility of choosin& beteen &oo! an! evil$ Thereby man became a bein& of space an! time$ The

!ivision of the hierarchies reveals itself in so manifol! a ay$

espite their &ran!er an! sblimity the bein&s of the hi&her hierarchies !o not #no free!om of

choice$ 9ll that is ntre or evil is for them non.bein&$ The evoltion of their %I%.consciosness too#


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place in accor!ance ith !ifferent las than those prevailin& in or cycle$ ;nly in the thir!

hierarchy, amon&st the an&els, archan&els an! archai !oes the possibility exist of free!om, an!,

connecte! ith this, of error, i$e$ of remainin& behin! in one%s !evelopment$ In this somethin&

alays remains behin!$ In some cases the remainin& behin! occrs as a sacrifice for the benefit of a

loer sta&e of !evelopment, in others not$

The bein&s of the thir! hierarchy !evelope! their %I%.consciosness ithin or evoltionary cycle,

bt alrea!y in past aeons$ Bome of them staye! behin!, bt this time not in the conventional ay$To these belon& the lciferic an! ahrimanic bein&s . the retar!e! an&els an! archan&els$ The one

ho tempte! man in ?ara!ise is #non to s as Berpent or 1cifer$

The possibility of free!om acqire! by the bein&s of the thir! hierarchy cannot be lafl, since they

cannot incarnate in physical bo!ies in or!er to trea! the path of earthly man$ In the spirital orl!

free!om an! imperfection are irreconcilable$ Their path ol! actally nee! to remain in the pper

sphere (fi&$ 44, sphere I, p$ *+$ )t they have come into contra!iction ith the las of hi&her bein&

an! at some time in the past misse! the opportnity to !evelop their %I%.consciosness, so that they

no se man to ma#e p for hat they misse!$ Thro&h their battle a&ainst the tre &o!s a

consoli!ation of spirit to the state of materiality is bro&ht abot< an! an actal sb.physical realm

is create! in hich the ether. an! astral forces of the niverse !isinte&rate$ These bein&s #no no bon!s in their intentions$ They hope to %!ra% the entire niverse across into their sphere an!, as it

ere, trn it insi!e.ot$

Initially it as only &iven to man to !evelop the principle of free!om in the ri&ht ay, an! it is the

foremost tas# of or entire evoltionary macro.cycle to create a hierarchy of free!om an! love$ It

as for this reason that the 2o!s !eci!e! to !rive man ot into the material cosmos, hereby they

also bro&ht sfferin& pon themselves$ In this ay a tra&e!y entere! orl!.!evelopment$ ou were

bought at a price says the 9postle ?al (4$ Cor$ K< D5+$ 9n! =!olf Bteiner says *ree will on the one

hand" the possibility to choose between good and evil" between the beautiful and the ugly" between

true and false" this free will on the one hand" and an apprehension of the divine so that it penetrates

into our soul and we know ourselves to be inwardly filled" freely filled with the divine on the otherhand" these are the two goals of human soul/development on earth (3ly 4D, 464:, 29 4+$ In

or!er to attain these, man receive! to reli&ios &ifts$ ;ne of them is intended to place into the

human soul the forces that lead to freedom" to the distinguishing between true and false" beautiful

and ugly" good and evil (Ibi!$+$ This &ift as the Fall$ Thro&h a frther &ift a see! as lai! in or

sol, ot of hich ill rise the capacity to feel the !ivine ithin$ The second religious gift is that

which we meet in all that is e!pressed in the word0 Mystery of 1olgatha ... in these two religious

gifts is contained all that is essential in world evolution (Ibi!$+$

The rea!er col! raise at least to ob/ections to hat has been sai! above, if his qest for

#nole!&e stops at the trivialities offere! by mo!ern science an! theolo&y ith re&ar! to the

profon! mysteries of existence$ 9bove all he ill ob/ect that free!om an! pre!etermination are

irreconcilable$ )t in this case he shol! consi!er that , as =!olf Bteiner says, man2s free action

will in future depend as little on what predetermined factors will be" as this freedom is dependent on

his intention to live ne!t year in a house whose plan he is now deciding upon. 3e will be free to the

degree that he can be according to his inner nature" in the house he has built for himself. ,nd on

)upiter and Venus he will be as free as his inner being allows" i.e. within the conditions that will

arise there. *reedom will not depend upon what past conditions have predetermined" but upon what

the soul has made of itself (29 45, p$ :45.:4:< emphasis by the present athor+$

To be free means to find oneself as spirit within oneself says =!olf Bteiner (May 4, 4647, 29

44P+$

9 frther ob/ection ill relate to the vie of the Fall as a &ift of 2o!, an! it ill probably be raise!

ith particlarly stron& emotion$ Man can overcome this ob/ection only ithin himself, thro&h

trnin& to spirit #nole!&e$ ;therise he ol! have to a!mit that 2o! ma!e a mista#e etc$

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The !evelopment of the hman bein& is far more complicate! than science claims, an! the )iblical

myth of creation nee!s to be !eciphere!, interprete!$

Man )eteen 1cifer an! 9hriman

@ine #in!s of spirital bein&s, ho ran# above man in evoltion, have achieve! the !evelopment of

%I%.consciosness$ For six of them this too# place in cosmic con!itions that have har!ly anythin& in

common ith the present$ The three loer hierarchies . an&els, archan&els an! archai . entthro&h their %hman sta&e% in past aeons, i$e$ they then possesse! ob/ect.consciosness$ )t not all

of them sccee!e! in flfillin& the tas#s in their sphere, for it is one of the evoltionary las of or

cycle that some remain behin! an! are overta#en by others in !evelopment' Ths, for instance, the

an&els ho !i! not flfil their tas# in the ;l! Moon aeon, cannot in the Earth aeon ascen! to the

level of consciosness that the archan&els possesse! on the ;l! Moon etc$ They no have to catch

p in their !evelopment, an! this can only ta#e place ith the help of man, i$e$ the hman astral

bo!y, hen this separates from the &eneral astral bo!y of hmanity . or, fi&ratively expresse!,

from 9!am$

This process as extremely complex$ 9s a reslt of it, hman consciosness col! no lon&er be a

mirror of the cosmos as the spirits of form ha! ma!e it hen they en!oe! it ith the %I%$ In man theability arose to control the pictres in his consciosness$ >oever, this control !i! not procee! from

the hi&her %I%, bt from the astral bo!y in hich retar!e! an&els . lciferic bein&s . ere active$ In

this ay the %I%, hich ran#e! hi&her than the astral bo!y, became !epen!ent pon it$ Man was from

then on, says =!olf Bteiner, e!posed to the continuous influences of the lower element in his

nature (29 45, p$ D:P+< the possibility of error an! of evil arose$ The sbstances be&an to !ensify$

The armth ether case! physical armth an! the (loer+ %I% aa#ene! by the lciferic !esires of

the astral bo!y to arise in its first r!iments$ If felt itself attracte! &ra!ally by the fiery materiality

of earth, an! man as !ran into this to an excessive !e&ree$ Qntre ima&inations (at first

spersensible bt alrea!y becomin& in!ivi!ali0e! . the serpent se!ce! man thro&h #nole!&e+

hich col! not be harmoni0e! ith hi&her spirital inflences, case! sic#ness an! !eath$ These

come from or astral bo!y$The ether.bo!y (hich !irects the life processes+ as protecte! from the lciferic inflence at the

sta&e of the temptation$ In part it as &i!e!, as hitherto, by hierarchical bein&s (man as forbi!!en

to eat of the frits of the %tree of life%+, not by the %I%, hich, after havin& become sbstantial, ol!

have fallen as sbstance from the spirit, i$e$ irrevocably$ The physical expression of all the processes

!escribe! became the gradual regulation of the mutual relations of (the planets+ sun" moon and

earth (29 45, p$ D7.DD+ an! also of other heavenly bo!ies$

eath be&an to re&late the extent to hich man came into contact ith evil$ Bimltaneosly ith

free!om an! the possibility of error, fear arose$ )ehin! the phenomena of !eath an! fear there stan!

ahrimanic bein&s$ They remaine! behin! at a still earlier sta&e that !i! the lciferic bein&s$ They

o&ht to have attaine! the level of archan&els alrea!y in the aeon of the ;l! Bn, bt faile! to !o so$

Ths e see that complex transformations in evoltion, hich ere relate! to the emer&ence of a

ne #in! of self.consciosness that as also bein& elaborate! by man, !etermine! the polarity of

&oo! an! evil in the cosmos$ >ere one shol! bear in min! that the (actively+ illin& %I%.1o&os

represents the most essential element in cosmic evoltion$ There exist in the cosmos only bein&s

en!oe! ith the %I%$ This %I% can be an in!ivi!al or . for a time . a &rop.%I%$ In the latter case bein&

has a semi.illsory character$ This is the most important trth of bein&, in!epen!ent of any

confessional pre/!ice$ We shol! a!mit that the con!itions in the orl! ori&inate ith the creator

an! not ith man, an! that it is therefore better to reco&ni0e than to !eny an! falsify them$

Everythin& in the orl! is !etermine! by the las of !evelopment$ The las themselves are bein&s,

hierarchies in their rank an! in their relation to each other (here lies the ori&in of the !octrine ofthe cate&ories+, hereby their !ee!s an! their mtal interaction are !etermine!$ They are solely

creative force of %I%.consciosness$ >man free!om also !evelops in harmony ith the hi&her las,


219/258

since it is not arbitrary bt the self.!etermine! con!ition of the in!ivi!al spirit$ In or!er to attain

this, the relation beteen sb/ect an! ob/ect has to arise ithin the ori&inal nifie! hole< the

sb/ect mst, in or!er to become a sb/ect, mirror itself in the ob/ect$ 9t a &iven point in

!evelopment this mirrorin& relationship assmes the character of polarity an! ne&ation$ 9 orl!

arises in hich the hi&her con!ition of consciosness an! bein& prevails thro&h the ne&ation of a

loer$ )t the antithesis remains basically ethical, becase everythin& is oriente! toar!s the ftre

synthesis, to all.nity . the nity of the entire mltiplicity of %I%.consciosnesses$ In a!!ition to thisthe ne&ation is enclose! ithin the innermost bein& of man< here it has a perfectly le&itimate

fnction, for thro&h it thin#in& arises$

The earthly hman %I% arises thro&h the combinin& of these in&re!ients' thin#in&, feelin& an!

illin&$ They all oe their &enesis to the earthly existence of man' the hi&her nerve activity, the

sensations an! perceptions an! a certain nconscios, instinctive force . the ill$ 9ll three

in&re!ients have a positive an! a ne&ative pole' affirmation is oppose! by ne&ation, a positive

feelin& by a ne&ative one, constrctive ill is oppose! by !estrctive ill or absence of ill$ 9ll

this has lon& been #non to the tra!itional sciences$ Bpirital science completes the pictre by

a!!in& the #nole!&e of the personified natre of all psychic an! spirital manifestations of man .

his qalities$When physiolo&y spea#s of the !ecay of nerve sbstance !rin& the tho&ht process,

9nthroposophy provi!es in a!!ition the teachin& of ahrimanic bein&s, of their &oals an! orl!.

mission$ When psychoanalysis !escribes the %sl!&e% in the sol an! the varios confsions arisin&

in the hman %libi!o%, 9nthroposophy places over a&ainst this the teachin&s of the %oppel&Rn&er%.

bein& !ellin& in the sb.natre of man, an! of reincarnation an! #arma$

The con!itions prevailin& in the cosmos reqire of man that he shol! attain #nole!&e of the

orl!.battle a&e! by the 2o!s a&ainst the lciferic an! ahrimanic hor!es$ In this battle the hi&hest

2o!, ho passe! thro&h !eath on earth an! pointe! the ay to the final overcomin& of the orl!.

!alism of spirit an! matter, is on the si!e of man$ )t man can follo Christ only in the %I%, for >e

is the 2o! of the hman %I%$ This means that, in his %I%, hich he lives ot in the combine! facltiesthin#in&, feelin& an! illin&, the hman bein& shol! strive for the i!eal of the hi&her life, hich

brin&s not impoverishment an! loss bt enhancement of self.consciosness an! the ealth of

in!ivi!al bein&$

;n the path to hi&her sta&es of life hin!rances are create! by the lciferic an! ahrimanic bein&s$ 9s

e have alrea!y mentione!, they nee! the hman bein&, in or!er to catch p in their !evelopment$

Ths they initially frthere! man%s in!ivi!ali0ation, his separation from the niversal.hman$ )t

no man%s tas# is not to follo them any lon&er, bt to lea! a stron&, in!epen!ent life in his %I%

thro&h overcomin& them$

When 1cifer an! 9hriman inflence hman thin#in&, their aim is to arose the false conviction

that man in his inner bein& is only contra!ictory, an! that the contra!ictions cannot be resolve!$Ths they invent, says =!olf Bteiner, tho&ht.combinations in the hman sol sch as' in tune" in

harmony with the infinite, etc$ Bch conceptions arise because in their souls human beings are too

cowardly to face up to contradiction" and want to let (ucifer/,hriman invent for them a harmony

with the infinite ... To seek satisfaction in such a world/view is equivalent to tying a blindfold over

one2s eyes. Today the human being shies away from looking at the multiplicity of battles that are

fought in spiritual realms (9&$ 4:, 464K, 29 4K8+$

When attac#in& man, 1cifer approaches him from the si!e of the ill (from belo+ an! 9hriman

from thin#in& (from above+$ ,hriman continuously strives to make man only into a head. (ucifer

seeks continuously to cut off man2s head so that he cannot think at all" so that everything is diverted

through the heart and streams out as warmth" that he overflows with world/love and pours out into

the world as world/love" pours forth as a cosmic fantasist (3ly 5, 46D4, 29 D7+$ 1cifer is fon! of

pios sols ho strive for the spirit, for the &oo!, bt only ot of e&oism$ owhere does (ucifer

intrude more in our feelings . =!olf Bteiner says . than where people are striving for the divine out


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of their passions and desires (often cnnin&ly refine!+ without illuminating the divine with the light

of knowledge (May 4P, 4647, 29 4D7+$

Thin#in& has actally, if the hman bein& trly masters it an! !oes not merely se stereotype!

phrases, the qality of ill$ >ere instinctive ill becomes conscios for the first time thro&h the

motive of an action, an! then a !ee! becomes or on$ The 1ciferic bein&s, hoever, fetter the

ill that be&ins to free itself in man$ They try to cast unclarity over the human being regarding the

e!ercise of free will through making him into a good being. (ucifer wants actually to bring about /says =!olf Bteiner ., from the point of view 4 am alluding to here" the good in man" the spiritual.

But he wants to make it automatic" without free will. The human being is" so to speak" to be

automatically raised to clairvoyance according to good principles" but the luciferic beings want to

rob man of his free will (an! thereby+ of the possibility for evil ... &They' have a strong interest in

taking hold of man so that he cannot come to free (i$e$ reasone!+ will" because they did not achieve

it themselves. *ree will can only be attained on earth. But they want to have nothing to do with the

earth ... They act in a highly spiritual manner" but they act automatically / this is of immense

significance /" and they want to raise the human being up to their own ... spiritual height (;ct$ 6,

464P, 29 4PD+$

If e ta#e note of these or!s an! thin# of all the moral sermons ith hich all the confessionsthro&hot the orl! ish to e!ify s, e reali0e at once that the topia of O$ B$ Meresh#ovs#y ill

srely become social reality if people are nillin& to reco&ni0e in hat times they are livin&$

Where the lciferic bein&s once &ave man the implse to free!om, they no !o the exact opposite$

The reason for this is profon!, for they remaine! behin! in the aeon of the ;l! Moon, hen man

!i! not yet have an %I%$ The hi&hest member of his reveale! existence as the astral bo!y$ 9t that

time they ere not yet permitte! to or# pon it< bt in the earth aeon they may$ >ere, hoever,

man is !evelopin& the in!ivi!al %I%, hich is or#e! pon above all by the hi&her spirits< an!

thro&h the %I% they then or# frther on to the astral bo!y an! effect ithin it a catharsis$ For this

reason the %I% is the enemy of the lciferic spirits, ho try to extin&ish it by or#in& pon it from

the astral bo!y$ They ere alloe! to inhabit this in or!er to fra&ment the nity of the astrality of

man#in! into a mltiplicity of mona!s$ Than#s to the lciferic spirits man can experienceenthsiasm an! elation . the sorce of his artistic activity$ Ths hman free!om as ma!e possible,

bt at the same time the fall from 2o!, an! evil$

In a certain sense the hman bein& strives for the i!eal of ascen!in& hi&her than his tho&hts,

feelin&s an! expressions of ill, to loo# pon them as somethin& external in relation to himself as

%I%$ )t it is not easy to &o thro&h life in sch a frame of min!$ 9n! at the same time, so lon& as it is

not ob/ectifie! in s, e can have no conception of the ay %I% an! thin#in&, feelin& an! illin& can

stan! over a&ainst one another, as this as ori&inally inten!e! by the !ivine bein&s$

The human being was intended to be an observer of himself" not to e!perience within himself . says

=!olf Bteiner$ )t, he contines, 1cifer trne! to man an! spo#e the folloin& or!s' 2)ust look"

+ man" how boring it is always to walk around in the world with this one central point 24 am2" and

merely look at everything else. 4t is far more interesting to dive down into your astral body. 4 give

you the power to dive down into your astral body" and then you will not remain one/sidedly in your

242 always staring only at your 2double2" but you will dive down into it. -hatever may come over you

as you dive into your astral body" which would feel like a drowning" 4 will compensate for by giving

you something of my strength ...2 ,nd what man received by way of luciferic strength is the surplus

of the 242 over the astral body" it is the greater 24/hood2" which is actually luciferic (ec$ D6, 4644,

29 45:+$ This is ho e nite! thro&h the hi&her %I% ith or thin#in&, feelin& an! illin& an!

starte! to bil! or every!ay %I%, so to spea#, from belo par!s$

The excess of the %I%.force over the astral bo!y &ave rise to the excess of the astral bo!y over the

ether.bo!y an! this, in 1emrian times, le! to the birth of individual life-processes$

The !ee!s of 1cifer ha! #armic conseqences' 9hriman, hose main tas# in evoltion is the

consoli!ation of matter, intervene! in the in!ivi!al !evelopment of the hman bein&$ In proportion


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as the physical bo!y !ensifie!, it acqire! !omination over the ether.bo!y, ths &ivin& rise to the

phenomenon of !eath$ )t this intervention of 9hriman also ma!e possible the !evelopment of the

sense organs$ 9s a frther step the ether.bo!y, n!er the inflence of 9hriman in his active

response to the !ee!s of 1cifer, be&ins to prevail over the astral bo!y, an! man senses himself

thro&hot his hole bo!y . &lan!lar processes be&in (Ibi!$+$

Ths to the !e&ree that the harmony an! balance of the threefol! hman bo!y an! %I% create! by the

hierarchies is !estroye!, the process of explsion of man from ?ara!ise ta#es place$ Man as pre!estine! to mirror orl!.consciosness perfectly thro&h the members of his bein&, to be a #in!

of an&el, bt a withered an&el, an ob/ect of orl! life . as =!olf Bteiner remar#s$ >e as banishe!

to the earth #in&!om, hich lies beteen the an&el an! animal.#in&!oms$ For this reason in the first

perio! of life on earth the oter hman form resemble! that of animals$ )t this as only the form

of archetypal man, ithin hich he as ensole! by sper.hman !ivine is!om$ 2ra!ally,

hoever, this is!om as extin&ishe! in him, an! in its place hat e to!ay call rationality

sloly !evelope!$ In this 9hrimanic bein&s ma!e their !ellin&$ In or!er to catch p on hat they

have misse! they en!eavor to trea! the path of men to create his form in hich he overcame the

half.animal sta&e (e$&$ achieve! the pri&ht postre+$ )t it is not possible for them, an! they

experience terrible sfferin&$ =!olf Bteiner !escribes this con!ition' 4t is as if an animal were to feel dimly within0 ou ought to be erect" you ought to be human / as though it wanted to tear apart

everything inside itself. This is the terrible pain that is actually felt by the ahrimanic beings. 4t can

only be assuaged if they approach man and take hold of his understanding. Then the understanding

cools down the pain. This is why they cling as it were with their entire being to the human

understanding" they dig their nails into it" harden their bones inside it (;ct$ D5, 46D4, 29 D7P+$ It is

a terrible pictre$ )t there is no sense in shyin& aay from it< ithot reason there ol! be no

consciosness$ 9n! reason nee!s a certain %soli!ity% for spport$ 9n!, since this alrea!y exists, man

shol! spiritali0e thin#in&, a!vance to an in!ivi!ali0e! perception of the intelli&ible orl! an!

enter the orl! of the hierarchies as a sb/ect$

Man has the tas# of penetratin& thin#in& ith the ill, of !evelopin& reason, of enlivenin& his

tho&hts, &ivin& them sbstance an! then carryin& in!ivi!ally.ille! thin#in& as the sbstance ofhis %I% across the threshol! of the spersensible orl! (on the path of initiation or after !eath+$ )t

9hriman ishes to prevent this$ 3e would like the will to remain separate" and thoughts to be

especially formed only in us (in the ay he ishes< 3ly 5, 46D4, 29 D7+$ In this case e ol!

lose or in!ivi!ality$ -e would arrive at the moment of death with an altogether e!aggerated"

instinctively/formed thought. But we humans would not be able to retain this thought" and ,hriman

would be able to take hold of it and integrate it into the rest of the world ... (Ibi!$+$ >manity faces

this !an&er if it continues in present/day materialism (hoever broa!ly its concepts may be

interprete!+ with the result that the ahrimanic powers so gain in strength that ,hriman can steal

thoughts from the human being and incorporate them in their effective working into the earth (i$e$

the abstractions become reality+ so that the earth" which is actually (in time+ supposed to pass away

(spiritali0e+ will be consolidated ... ,hriman works counter to the word0 23eaven and earth will

pass away" but my word will not pass away2. 3e wants the words to be thrown away and that

heaven and earth should remain (materially+. This can only be accomplished when human beings

are robbed of their thoughts" when human beings are de/individualized (Ibi!$+$

In the lectre qote! above =!olf Bteiner &oes on to spea# abot the hman brain, an! says that it

ill &ro ever har!er if the ahrimanic inflence persists, an! that hman bein&s ol! have to live

ith materialistic, obsessive i!eas$ The hole approach to pe!a&o&y an! e!cation ol! be

strctre! in sch a ay that the hman bein& ol! no lon&er be able to have flexible tho&hts,

that even chil!ren from a certain a&e on ol! only have very ri&i! tho&hts$ 9n! all this has

virtally been accomplishe! t

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