Part One
When we speak of the history of mankind, we usually think of ancient civilisations, kingdoms and empires, wars and conquests, great discoveries, and the rise and fall of nations.
We study what human beings have built, achieved and destroyed. We examine archaeological remains, written records and the evidence left behind by generations before us.
But is this really the history of mankind? Or is it merely the history of mankind's outward activities?
If we accept that the human being is, in essence, spiritual, then surely the true history of mankind must also be spiritual. It must concern the origin, awakening, development and destiny of the human spirit.
This does not mean that the history we learn in schools is unimportant. Rather, it means that what we commonly call history tells us only part of the story. It records the outward activities of human beings without necessarily revealing the deeper spiritual development taking place within them.
It is this deeper history that I wish to consider.
The spiritual history of mankind begins with a remarkable distinction: the human body and the human spirit did not originate in the same way.
According to the explanation given in the Grail Message, the physical body underwent a long process of development within the World of Matter through the activity of the Substantiate. At a particular stage, the highest developed animal body became sufficiently mature to receive something entirely new: a spirit-germ.
This was a decisive turning point.
The body had developed to a stage where it could serve as a vessel for the spirit. With the entrance of the spirit-germ, a new possibility arose. What had previously been an animal existence could now develop into human existence through the awakening and activity of the Spiritual.
The essential distinction between man and animal, therefore, was not merely the outward form of the body. It was the presence of the human spirit.
And with that presence began the true spiritual history of mankind.
But the spirit did not enter earthly existence already possessing full consciousness and maturity. It had to awaken.
Through its experiences in the World of Matter, it was intended gradually to become conscious of itself, develop its abilities and rise towards an ever clearer recognition of the order of Creation.
Here we encounter something fundamental about human existence. We are not on earth merely to live, accumulate possessions, enjoy earthly pleasures and eventually die. Earthly life provides the human spirit with opportunities for development.
Our experiences, our decisions and the manner in which we respond to life all have significance for our spiritual growth.
Seen from this perspective, the history of mankind is also the history of how human spirits have used, or failed to use, these opportunities.
As the human spirit developed, its perception of existence beyond the physical world also changed.
In the earliest stages, human beings possessed only a limited awareness of what lay beyond their immediate material surroundings. Their perceptions were often dominated by fear, giving rise to beliefs and practices centred upon threatening unseen influences.
But spiritual development was intended to bring an ever-widening perception.
As human beings advanced inwardly, they gradually became aware of other forms of life and activity beyond the gross material world. Within the spiritual explanation presented in the Grail Message, this helps us understand the emergence of beliefs concerning beings associated with Nature and the elements.
Consider, for example, the gods of ancient Greece and Rome, and those of the Germanic peoples.
According to this explanation, the beings whom these peoples regarded as gods were powerful Lords of the Elements and of the Substantiate. They belonged to an order of Creation beyond ordinary physical perception, but they were not Divine.
Different peoples described them in different ways, according to their understanding, language and cultural surroundings. Yet behind these varied descriptions lay perceptions of the same order of beings.
What is particularly significant is that mankind's understanding of the unseen was not intended to remain fixed. As the spirit matured, its perception could extend beyond what it had previously recognised as the highest.
Thus, even the worship of the ancient gods represented neither the beginning nor the completion of mankind's spiritual journey.
There was still something higher to be recognised.
And it is at this point that the history of mankind takes a particularly profound turn, for the next stage would bring a growing awareness of the One God and, with it, a challenge that mankind was not yet prepared to meet.
To be continued.
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