“But the whole thing is: how?” he said. “It is necessary to know a great deal in order to understand that. What is war? It is the result of planetary influences. Somewhere up there two or three planets have approached too near to each other; tension results. Have you noticed how, if a man passes quite close to you on a narrow pavement, you become all tense? The same tension takes place between planets. For them it lasts, perhaps, a second or two. But here, on the earth, people begin to slaughter one another, and they go on slaughtering maybe for several years. It seems to them at the time that they hate one another; or perhaps that they have to slaughter each other for some exalted purpose; or that they must defend somebody or something and that it is a very noble thing to do; or something else of the same kind. They fail to realize to what an extent they are mere pawns in the game. They think they signify something; they think they can move about as they like; they think they can decide to do this or that. But in reality all their movements, all their actions, are the result of planetary influences. And they themselves signify literally nothing. Then the MOON plays a big part in this. But we will speak about the MOON separately. Only it must be understood that neither Emperor Wilhelm, nor generals, nor ministers, nor parliaments, signify anything or can do anything. Everything that happens on a big scale is governed from outside, and governed either by accidental combinations of influences or by general cosmic laws.” Fragments: One

Somewhere about this time I was very much struck by a talk about the sun, the planets, and the MOON. I do not remember how this talk began. But I remember that G. drew a small diagram and tried to explain what he called the “correlation of forces in different worlds.” This was in connection with the previous talk, that is, in connection with the influences acting on humanity. The idea was roughly this: humanity, or more correctly, organic life on earth, is acted upon simultaneously by influences proceeding from various sources and different worlds: influences from the planets, influences from the MOON, influences from the sun, influences from the stars. All these influences act simultaneously; one influence predominates at one moment and another influence at another moment. And for man there is a certain possibility of making a choice of influences; in other words, of passing from one influence to another. Fragments: One

What interested me in this talk was that G. spoke of the planets and the MOON as living beings, having definite ages, a definite period of life and possibilities of development and transition to other planes of being. From what he said it appeared that the MOON was not a “dead planet,” as is usually accepted, but, on the contrary, a “planet in birth”; a planet at the very initial stages of its development which had not yet reached “the degree of intelligence possessed by the earth,” as he expressed it. Fragments: One

“But the MOON is growing and developing,” said G., “and some time, it will, possibly, attain the same level as the earth. Then, near it, a new MOON will appear and the earth will become their sun. At one time the sun was like the earth and the earth like the MOON. And earlier still the sun was like the MOON.” Fragments: One

“For instance, the evolution of humanity beyond a certain point, or, to speak more correctly, above a certain percentage, would be fatal for the MOON. The MOON at present feeds on organic life, on humanity. Humanity is a part of organic life; this means that humanity is food for the MOON. If all men were to become too intelligent they would not want to be eaten by the MOON. Fragments: Three

“If we take one of the many worlds created in the Absolute, that is, world 3, it will be the world representing the total number of starry worlds similar to our Milky Way. If we take world 6, it will be one of the worlds created within this world, namely the accumulation of stars which we call the Milky Way. World 12 will be one of the suns that compose the Milky Way, our sun. World 24 will be the planetary world, that is to say, all the planets of the solar system. World 48 will be the earth. World 96 will be the MOON. If the MOON had a satellite it would be world 192, and so on. Fragments: Four

“The chain of worlds, the links of which are the Absolute, all worlds, all suns, our sun, the planets, the earth, and the MOON, forms the ‘ray of creation’ in which we find ourselves. The ray of creation is for us the ‘world’ in the widest sense of the term. Of course, the ray of creation does not include the ‘world’ in the full sense of the term, since the Absolute gives birth to a number, perhaps to an infinite number, of different worlds, each of which begins a new and separate ray of creation. Furthermore, each of these worlds contains a number of worlds representing a further breaking up of the ray and again of these worlds we select only one — our Milky Way; the Milky Way consists of a number of suns, but of this number we select one sun which is nearest to us, upon which we immediately depend, and in which we live and move and have our being. Each of the other suns means a new breaking up of the ray, but we cannot study these rays in the same way as our ray, that is, the ray in which we are situated. Further, within the solar system the planetary world is nearer to us than the sun itself, and within the planetary world the nearest of all to us is the earth, the planet on which we live. We have no need to study other planets in the same way as we study the earth, it is sufficient for us to take them all together, that is to say, on a considerably smaller scale than we take the earth. Fragments: Four

WE TAKE the three-dimensional universe and consider the world as a world of matter and force in the simplest and most elementary meaning of these terms. Higher dimensions and new theories of matter, space, and time, as well as other categories of knowledge of the world which are unknown to science, we will discuss later. At present it is necessary to represent the universe in the diagrammatic form of the ‘ray of creation,’ from the Absolute to the MOON. Fragments: Five

“It must be observed that the idea of the ray of creation and its growth from the Absolute contradicts some of the modem views, although not really scientific views. Take, for instance, the stage — sun, earth, MOON. According to the usual understanding the MOON is a cold, dead celestial body which was once like the earth, that is to say, it possessed internal heat and at a still earlier period was a molten mass like the sun. The earth, according to the usual views, was once like the sun, and is also gradually cooling down and, sooner or later, will become a frozen mass like the MOON. It is usually supposed that the sun is also cooling down and that it will become, in time, similar to the earth and later on, to the MOON. Fragments: Five

“According to this idea the MOON is still an unborn planet, one that is, so to speak, being born. It is becoming warm gradually and in time (given a favorable development of the ray of creation) it will become like the earth and have a satellite of its own, a new MOON. A new link will have been added to the ray of creation. The earth, too, is not getting colder, it is getting warmer, and may in time become like the sun. We observe such a process for instance in the system of Jupiter, which is a sun for its satellites. Fragments: Five

“Summing up all that has been said before about the ray of creation, from world 1 down to world 96, it must be added that the figures by which worlds are designated indicate the number of forces, or orders of laws, which govern the worlds in question. In the Absolute there is only one force and only one law — the single and independent will of the Absolute. In the next world there are three forces or three orders of laws. In the next there are six orders of laws; in the following one, twelve; and so on. In our world, that is, the earth, forty-eight orders of laws are operating to which we are subject and by which our whole life is governed. If we lived on the MOON we should be subject to ninety-six orders of laws, that is, our life and activity would be still more mechanical and we should not have the possibilities of escape from mechanicalness that we now have. “As has been said already, the will of the Absolute is only manifested in the immediate world created by it within itself, that is, in world 3; the immediate will of the Absolute does not reach world 6 and is mani-fested in it only in the form of mechanical laws. Further on, in worlds 12, 24, 48, and 96, the will of the Absolute has less and less possibility of manifesting itself. This means that in world 3 the Absolute creates, as it were, a general plan of all the rest of the universe, which is then further developed mechanically. The will of the Absolute cannot manifest itself in subsequent worlds apart from this plan, and, in manifesting itself in accordance with this plan, it takes the form of mechanical laws. This means that if the Absolute wanted to manifest its will, say, in our world, in opposition to the mechanical laws in operation there, it would then have to destroy all the worlds intermediate between itself and our world. Fragments: Five

“In our system the end of the ray of creation, the growing end, so to speak, of the branch, is the MOON. The energy for the growth, that is, for the development of the MOON and for the formation of new shoots, goes to the MOON from the earth, where it is created by the joint action of the sun, of all the other planets of the solar system, and of the earth itself. This energy is collected and preserved in a huge accumulator situated on the earth’s surface. This accumulator is organic life on earth. Organic life on earth feeds the MOON. Everything living on the earth, people, animals, plants, is food for the MOON. The MOON is a huge living being feeding upon all that lives and grows on the earth. The MOON could not exist without organic life on earth, any more than organic life on earth could exist without the MOON. Moreover, in relation to organic life the MOON is a huge electromagnet. If the action of the electromagnet were suddenly to stop, organic life would crumble to nothing. Fragments: Five

“The process of the growth and the warming of the MOON is connected with life and death on the earth. Everything living sets free at its death a certain amount of the energy that has ‘animated’ it; this energy, or the ‘souls’ of everything living — plants, animals, people — is attracted to the MOON as though by a huge electromagnet, and brings to it the warmth and the life upon which its growth depends, that is, the growth of the ray of creation. In the economy of the universe nothing is lost, and a certain energy having finished its work on one plane goes to another. Fragments: Five

“The souls that go to the MOON, possessing perhaps even a certain amount of consciousness and memory, find themselves there under ninety-six laws, in the conditions of mineral life, or to put it differently, in conditions from which there is no escape apart from a general evolution in immeasurably long planetary cycles. The MOON is ‘at the extremity,’ at the end of the world; it is the ‘outer darkness’ of the Christian doctrine ‘where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Fragments: Five

“The influence of the MOON upon everything living manifests itself in all that happens on the earth. The MOON is the chief, or rather, the nearest, the immediate, motive force of all that takes place in organic life on the earth. All movements, actions, and manifestations of people, animals, and plants depend upon the MOON and are controlled by the MOON. The sensitive film of organic life which covers the earthly globe is entirely dependent upon the influence of the huge electromagnet that is sucking out its vitality. Man, like every other living being, cannot, in the ordinary conditions of life, tear himself free from the MOON. All his movements and consequently all his actions are controlled by the MOON. If he kills another man, the MOON does it; if he sacrifices himself for others, the MOON does that also. All evil deeds, all crimes, all self-sacrificing actions, all heroic exploits, as well as all the actions of ordinary everyday life, are controlled by the MOON. Fragments: Five

“The liberation which comes with the growth of mental powers and faculties is liberation from the MOON. The mechanical part of our life depends upon the MOON, is subject to the MOON. If we develop in ourselves consciousness and will, and subject our mechanical life and all our mechanical manifestations to them, we shall escape from the power of the MOON. Fragments: Five

“The next idea which it is necessary to master is the materiality of the universe which is taken in the form of the ray of creation. Everything in this universe can be weighed and measured. The Absolute is as material, as weighable and measurable, as the MOON, or as man. If the Absolute is Cod it means that God can be weighed and measured, resolved into component elements, ‘calculated,’ and expressed in the form of a definite formula. Fragments: Five

“But the concept ‘materiality’ is as relative as everything else. It we recall how the concept ‘man’ and all that refers to him — good, evil, truth, falsehood, and so on — is divided into different categories (‘man number one,’ ‘man number two,’ and so on, it will be easy for us to understand that the concept ‘world,’ and everything that refers to the world, is also divided into different categories. The ray of creation establishes seven planes in the world, seven worlds one within another. Everything that refers to the world is also divided into seven categories, one category within another. The materiality of the Absolute is a materiality of an order different from that of ‘all worlds.’ The materiality of ‘all worlds’ is of an order different from the materiality of ‘all suns.’ The materiality of ‘all suns’ is of an order different from the materiality of our sun. The materiality of our sun is of an order different from the materiality of ‘all planets.’ The materiality of ‘all planets’ is of an order different from the materiality of the earth, and the materiality of the earth is of an order different from the materiality of the MOON. This idea is at first difficult to grasp. People are accustomed to think that matter is everywhere the same. The whole of physics, of astrophysics, of chemistry, such methods as spectroanalysis, and so on, are based upon this assumption. And it is true that matter is the same, but materiality is different. And different degrees of materiality depend directly upon the qualities and properties of the energy manifested at a given point. Fragments: Five

“The seven worlds of the ray of creation represent seven orders of materiality. The materiality of the MOON is different from the materiality of the earth; the materiality of the earth is different from the materiality of the planetary world; the materiality of the planetary world is different from the materiality of the sun, and so on. Fragments: Five

Another talk was about the MOON and its relation to organic life on earth. And again one of our group found a very good example showing the relation of the MOON to organic life. Fragments: Five

The MOON is the weight on a clock. Organic life is the mechanism of the clock brought into motion by the weight. The gravity of the weight, the pull of the chain on the cogwheel, set in motion the wheels and the hands of the clock. If the weight is removed all movements in the mechanism of the clock will at once stop. The MOON is a colossal weight hanging on to organic life and thus setting it in motion. Whatever we may be doing, whether it is good or bad, clever or stupid, all the movements of the wheels and the hands of our organism depend upon this weight, which is continually exerting its pressure upon us. Fragments: Five

“In the big cosmic octave, which reaches us in the form of the ray of creation, we can see the first complete example of the law of octaves. The ray of creation begins with the Absolute. The Absolute is the All. The All, possessing full unity, full will, and full consciousness, creates worlds within itself, in this way beginning the descending world octave. The Absolute is the do of this octave. The worlds which the Absolute creates in itself are si. The ‘interval’ between do and si in this case is filled by the will of the Absolute. The process of creation is developed further by the force of the original impulse and an ‘additional shock.’ Si passes into la which for us is our star world, the Milky Way. La passes into sol — our sun, the solar system. Sol passes into fa — the planetary world. And here between the planetary world as a whole and our earth occurs an ‘interval.’ This means that the planetary radiations carrying various influences to the earth are not able to reach it, or, to speak more correctly, they are not received, the earth reflects them. In order to fill the ‘interval’ at this point of the ray of creation a special apparatus is created for receiving and transmitting the influences coming from the planets. This apparatus is organic life on earth. Organic life transmits to the earth all the influences intended for it and makes possible the further development and growth of the earth, mi of the cosmic octave, and then of the MOON or re, after which follows another do — Nothing. Between All and Nothing passes the ray of creation. Fragments: Seven

“The Absolute or All (world 1) will be do; all worlds (world 3) — si; all suns (world 6) — la; our sun (world 12) — sol; all planets (world 24) — fa; the earth (world 48) — mi; the MOON (world 96) — re. The ray of creation begins with the Absolute. The Absolute is All. It is — do. Fragments: Seven

“The ray of creation ends in the MOON. Beyond the MOON there is nothing. This also is the Absolute — do. Fragments: Seven

“Organic life is the organ of perception of the earth and it is at the same time an organ of radiation. With the help of organic life each portion of the earth’s surface occupying a given area sends every moment certain kinds of rays in the direction of the sun, the planets, and the MOON. In connection with this the sun needs one kind of radiations, the planets another kind, and the MOON another. Everything that happens on earth creates radiations of this kind. And many things often happen just because certain kinds of radiation are required from a certain place on the earth’s surface.” Fragments: Seven

At the same time he constantly emphasized the fact that no matter what took place in the thin film of organic life it always served the interests of the earth, the sun, the planets, and the MOON; nothing unnecessary and nothing independent could happen in it because it was created for a definite purpose and was merely subordinate. Fragments: Seven

“In the present instance sol begins to sound as do. Descending to the level of the planets this new octave passes into si; descending still lower it produces three notes, la, sol, fa, which create and constitute organic life on earth in the form that we know it; mi of this octave blends with mi of the cosmic octave, that is, with the earth, and re with the re of the cosmic octave, that is, with the MOON.” Fragments: Seven

Then much talk arose about the notes mi, re, of the lateral octave. We could not, of course, define what re was. But it was clearly connected with the idea of food for the MOON. Some product of the disintegration of organic life went to the MOON; this must be re. In regard to mi it was possible to speak quite definitely. Organic life undoubtedly disappeared in the earth. The role of organic life in the structure of the earth’s surface was indisputable. There was the growth of coral islands and limestone mountains, the formation of coal seams and accumulations of petroleum; the alteration of the soil under the influence of vegetation, the growth of vegetation in lakes, the “formation of rich arable lands by worms,” change of climate due to the draining of swamps and the destruction of forests, and many other things that we know of and do not know of. Fragments: Seven

“The action of the Absolute upon the world, or upon the worlds created by it or within it, continues. The action of each of these worlds upon subsequent worlds continues in exactly the same way. ‘All suns’ of the Milky Way influence our sun. The sun influences the planets. ‘All planets’ influence our earth and the earth influences the MOON. These influences are transmitted by means of radiations passing through starry and interplanetary space. Fragments: Nine

“In order to study these radiations let us take the ‘ray of creation’ in an abridged form: Absolute-sun-earth-MOON, or in other words let us imagine the ‘ray of creation’ in the form of three octaves of radiations: the first octave between the Absolute and the sun, the second octave between the sun and the earth, and the third octave between the earth and the MOON; and let us examine the passage of radiations between these four fundamental points of the universe. Fragments: Nine

“Then an ‘interval’ and the ‘shock’ of organic life which fills it, then mi and re. The earth: do, an ‘interval,’ si, and then la, sol, fa — radiations going towards the MOON; then again an ‘interval,’ a ‘shock’ unknown to us, then mi, re, and the MOON, do. Fragments: Nine

“These twelve ‘hydrogens’ represent twelve categories of matter contained in the universe from the Absolute to the MOON, and if it were possible to establish exactly which of these matters constitute man’s organism and act in it, this alone would determine what place man occupies in the world. Fragments: Nine

“In order to understand the analogy between man, the human organism, and the universe, let us take the world as we did before in the form of three octaves from the Absolute to the sun, from the sun to the earth, and from the earth to the MOON. Each of these three octaves lacks a semitone between fa and mi and in each octave the place of this missing semitone is taken by a certain kind of ‘shock’ which is created artificially at the given point. If we now begin to look for an analogy between the three-story factory and the three octaves of the universe, we ought to realize that the three ‘additional shocks’ in the three octaves of the universe correspond to the three kinds of food entering the human organism. The ‘shock’ in the lower octave corresponds to physical food; this ‘shock’ is do 768 of the cosmic three-story factory. The ‘shock’ in the middle octave corresponds to air. It is do 192 of the cosmic factory. The ‘shock’ in the upper octave corresponds to impressions; it is do 48 of the cosmic factory. In the inner work of this cosmic three-story factory all three kinds of food undergo the same transformation as in the human factory, on the same plan and in accordance with the same laws. A further study of the analogy between man and the universe is possible only after an exact study of the human machine and after the respective ‘places’ of each of the ‘hydrogens’ in our organism has been established exactly. This means that to proceed with any further study we must find the exact purpose of each ‘hydrogen,’ that is to say, each ‘hydrogen’ must be defined chemically, psychologically, physiologically, and anatomically, in other words, its functions, its place in the human organism, and, if possible, the peculiar sensations connected with it must be defined. Fragments: Nine

“The relation of one cosmos to another is different from the relation of one world to another in the astronomical ray of creation. In the ray of creation worlds are taken in the actual relation in which they exist in the universe for us, from our point of view: the MOON, the earth, the planets, the sun, the Milky Way, and so on. Therefore the quantitative interrelation of the worlds one to another in the ray of creation is not permanent. In one case or on one level it is greater, for instance, the relation of ‘all suns’ to our sun; in another case, on another level, it is less, for instance, the relation of the earth to the MOON. But the interrelation of the cosmoses is permanent and always the same. That is to say, one cosmos is related to another as zero to infinity. This means that the relation of the Microcosmos to the Tritocosmos is the same as that of zero to infinity; the relation of the Tritocosmos to the Mesocosmos is that of zero to infinity; the relation of the Mesocosmos to the Deuterocosmos is that of zero to infinity; and so on. Fragments: Ten

I began to draw the diagram on the board. It was the diagram of radiations in three octaves: Absolute-sun-earth-MOON. We were already accustomed to this terminology and to G.’s form of exposition. But I did not know at all what I would say beyond what they knew already. Fragments: Thirteen

“The cosmic octave ‘Absolute-MOON’ has, according to the law of three, been broken into three subordinate octaves. In these three octaves the cosmos is like man; the same ‘three stories,’ the same three shocks. Fragments: Fourteen

“To ordinary knowledge,” he said, “organic life is a kind of accidental appendage violating the integrity of a mechanical system. Ordinary knowledge does not connect it with anything and draws no conclusions from the fact of its existence. But you should already understand that there is nothing accidental or unnecessary in nature and that there can be nothing; everything has a definite function; everything serves a definite purpose. Thus organic life is an indispensable link in the chain of the worlds which cannot exist without it just as it cannot exist without them. It has been said before that organic life transmits planetary influences of various kinds to the earth and that it serves to feed the MOON and to enable it to grow and strengthen. But the earth also is growing; not in the sense of size but in the sense of greater consciousness, greater receptivity. The planetary influences which were sufficient for her at one period of her existence become insufficient, she needs the reception of finer influences. To receive finer influences a finer, more sensitive receptive apparatus is necessary. Organic life, therefore, has to evolve, to adapt itself to the needs of the planets and the earth. Likewise also the MOON can be satisfied at one period with the food which is given her by organic life of a certain quality, but afterwards the time comes when she ceases to be satisfied with this food, cannot grow on it, and begins to get hungry. Organic life must be able to satisfy this hunger, otherwise it does not fulfill its function, does not answer its purpose. This means that in order to answer its purpose organic life must evolve and stand on the level of the needs of the planets, the earth, and the MOON. Fragments: Fifteen

“We must remember that the ray of creation, as we have taken it, from the Absolute to the MOON, is like a branch of a tree — a growing branch. The end of this branch, the end out of which come new shoots, is the MOON. If the MOON does not grow, if it neither gives nor promises to give new shoots, it means that either the growth of the whole ray of creation will stop or that it must find another path for its growth, give out some kind of lateral branch. At the same time from what has been said before we see that the growth of the MOON depends on organic life on earth. It follows that the growth of the ray of creation depends on organic life on earth. If this organic life disappears or dies the whole branch will immediately wither, in any case all that part of the branch which lies beyond organic life. The same thing must happen, only more slowly, if organic life is arrested in its development, in its evolution, and fails to respond to the demands made upon it. The branch may wither. This must be remembered. To the ray of creation, or let us say to its part earth-MOON, exactly the same possibility of development and growth has been given as is given to each separate branch of a big tree. But the accomplishment of this growth is not at all guaranteed, it depends upon the harmonious and right action of its own tissues. The development of one tissue stops and all the others stop. Everything that can be said of the ray of creation or of its part earth-MOON equally refers to organic life on earth. Organic life on earth is a complex phenomenon in which the separate parts depend upon one another. General growth is possible only on the condition that the ‘end of the branch’ grows. Or, speaking more precisely, there are in organic life tissues which are evolving, and there are tissues which serve as food and medium for those which are evolving. Then there are evolving cells within the evolving tissues, and cells which serve as food and medium for those which are evolving. In each separate evolving cell there are evolving parts and there are parts which serve as food for those which are evolving. But always and in everything it must be remembered that evolution is never guaranteed, it is possible only and it can stop at any moment and in any place. Fragments: Fifteen

“We have no clues from which we are able to tell in what period of planetary evolution we exist and whether the MOON and the earth have time to await the corresponding evolution of organic life or not. But people who know may, of course, have exact information about it, that is, they may know at what stage in their possible evolution are the earth, the MOON, and humanity. We cannot know this but we should bear in mind that the number of possibilities is never infinite. Fragments: Fifteen

“Of course there are very many people who consider that the life of humanity is not proceeding in the way in which according to their views it ought to go. And they invent various theories which in their opinion ought to change the whole life of humanity. One invents one theory. Another immediately invents a contradictory theory. And both expect everyone to believe them. And many people indeed do believe either one or the other. Life naturally takes its own course but people do not stop believing in their own or other people’s theories and they believe that it is possible to do something. All these theories are certainly quite fantastic, chiefly because they do not take into account the most important thing, namely, the subordinate part which humanity and organic life play in the world process. Intellectual theories put man in the center of everything; everything exists for him, the sun, the stars, the MOON, the earth. They even forget man’s relative size, his nothingness, his transient existence, and other tilings. They assert that a man if he wishes is able to change his whole life, that is, to organize his life on rational principles. And all the time new theories appear evoking in their turn opposing theories; and all these theories and the struggle between them undoubtedly constitute one of the forces which keep humanity in the state in which it is at present. Besides, all these theories for general welfare and general equality are not only unrealizable, but they would be fatal if they were realized. Everything in nature has its aim and its purpose, both the inequality of man and his suffering. To destroy inequality would mean destroying the possibility of evolution. To destroy suffering would mean, first, destroying a whole series of perceptions for which man exists, and second, the destruction of the ‘shock,’ that is to say, the force which alone can change the situation. And thus it is with all intellectual theories. Fragments: Fifteen

But certainly the idea of the difficulty and the exclusiveness of the way was right. And at different times questions arose out of it which were put to G.: “Can it be possible that there is any difference between us and those people who have no conception of this system?” — “Must we understand that people who are not passing along any of the ways are doomed to turn eternally in one and the same circle, that they are merely ‘food for the MOON,’ that they have no escape and no possibilities?” — “Is it correct to think that there are no ways outside the ways; and how is it arranged that some people, much better people perhaps, do not come across a way, while others, weak and insignificant, come into contact with the possibilities of a way?” Fragments: Seventeen