Ahriman and Lucifer in the Teachings of Rudolf Steiner

Fall 2013 Ahriman and Lucifer in the Teachings of Rudolf Steiner John F. Nash Summary Although Ahriman and Lucifer are generally depicted as evil, their influence was sometimes his article discusses Ahriman and Lucifer, favorable to human development. Steiner went T as depicted in the esoteric Teachings of so far as to regard them and Christ as compris- Rudolf Steiner. Steiner claimed that Lucifer ing a trinity, in which Christ balances the po- incarnated some five thousand years ago, and lar-opposite influences and builds upon what- Ahriman will incarnate sometime in the future. ever good they had to offer. Their polar-opposite influences, mostly evil According to Steiner both Ahriman and Luci- but occasionally favorable to human develop- fer have influenced humanity’s development ment, have been felt throughout history. Stei- throughout history. Lucifer’s influence in- ner’s thesis was that the dualism of Lucifer and creased during the post-Atlantean epoch, be- Ahriman is mediated and balanced by Christ. came dominant when he incarnated in physical The article recalls the long history of Ahriman form, some three millennia before Christ, and and Lucifer in scriptural and other writings and slowly declined through the early centuries of the links between them and the personages in the Common Era. Ahrimanic influence re- Steiner’s work. It also discusses the various mained low for several millennia but has be- types of dualism, often depicted in human or come dominant in modern times and is ex- animal forms, and the moral choices they pre- pected to peak when he incarnates sometime in sent. The biblical Behemoth and Leviathan, the next several centuries. The precise timing which may be considered early models for of Ahriman’s incarnation and the damage it Steiner’s personages, are selected for special will cause are said to depend on human action. comment. This article places Lucifer and Ahriman in the Steiner’s teachings on Lucifer and Ahriman context of earlier religious and philosophical raise many questions, including their relation- writings. Ahriman was an evil Zoroastrian god, ship to the trans-Himalayan teachings and the while Lucifer was the product of a medieval very nature of evil. The two entities personify legend that interpreted—or misinterpreted— dualistic evil, or at best moral ambiguity; but passages in scripture to create a fallen angel mediated by Christ, they seem to become and arch-demon. “Lucifer” became another agents of Divine Purpose. _____________________________________ Introduction About the Author udolf Steiner (1861–1925), alone among John F. Nash, Ph.D., is a long-time esoteric student, R modern esoteric teachers, except for his author, and teacher. Two of his books, Quest for the own followers, spoke of Ahriman and Lucifer Soul and The Soul and Its Destiny, were reviewed as beings with polar-opposite qualities and in- in the Winter 2005 issue of the Esoteric Quarterly. fluences. Dualism of that kind is unknown in Christianity: The One, the Many, was reviewed in Christianity but appears in other religious and the Fall 2008 issue. His latest book: The Sacramen- tal Church was published in 2011. For further in- philosophical writings. Important examples formation see the advertisements in this issue and can be found in Buddhism and the Kabbalah. the website http://www.uriel.com. Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly 37 The Esoteric Quarterly name for Satan. But the two characters did not choice between good and evil surfaced many step unmodified into Steiner’s esoteric teach- times in Christian history: in the era of the ings. In fact Ahriman did not even feature in martyrs, in the Inquisitions, in the Great Steiner’s early work but substituted for another Awakenings in America, and in their offshoot, character whom Steiner explored and discard- evangelical fundamentalism. ed. The way Lucifer and Ahriman evolved Goodevil dualism is easy to understand and immediately prior to and during Steiner’s presents a straightforward moral choice; the teachings makes an interesting story in itself. right course of action is to embrace good and The article identifies, but does not seek to an- resist evil—no matter what wily schemes an swer, important questions raised by the discus- evil intelligence might devise to entrap unwary sion of Steiner’s Lucifer and Ahriman. One victims. question concerns the worrisomely small over- More complex situations exist where a single lap with trans-Himalayan teachings. None of god exhibits ambiguous characteristics— the trans-Himalayan teachers discusses Lucifer perhaps even complementary or necessary to and Ahriman as dualistic entities. And the an- each other. The flooding of the Nile, the re- ticipated incarnation of Ahriman is hard to sponsibility of the god Hapi, was beneficial, so reconcile with the Master Djwhal Khul’s long as it was not too severe; moderate drought prophecies of the reappearance of the Christ would allow crops to ripen instead of rotting. and externalization of the Hierarchy. The Roman god Janus had two faces, which, Other questions concern the very nature of among much else, symbolized war and peace, evil: whether it is monistic or dualistic, wheth- neither of which was considered attainable in er it is necessarily personified in “beings,” and isolation. We might even envision dualistic whether evil—despite its usual connotation— gods that are themselves ambiguous or dualis- may play an essential role in the unfoldment of tic. In such religious or philosophical systems human consciousness: whether in fact it can be the necessary level of cognitive understanding considered an instrument of Divine Purpose. is greater, and moral choice becomes more difficult. Dualism and Moral Choice The Bhagavad Gita illustrates a difficult moral ualism was a conspicuous feature of choice. Arjuna stood between opposing armies D many ancient religions and philosophies. on the field of Kurukshetra, reluctant to fight In Hinduism Indra was locked in eternal com- because of the horrors of war and because he bat with the evil serpent Vrtra. Zoroastrianism would be attacking some of his own kinfolk. taught that the good god Ohrmazd would battle Krishna persuaded him that conflict was inevi- his evil brother Angra Mainyu, or Ahriman, table and necessary, and Arjuna eventually until the end of the age. Christianity and Islam went into battle. Great symbolism has been declare that God will finally defeat Satan on read into Arjuna’s dilemma and the ensuing the Last Day. battle, and an example will be cited later. Eastern religions, Platonism, Gnosticism, and The right course of action may be to balance even mainstream Christianity taught that the opposing forces or ideals. A classic example is spiritual world was good and the physical the Noble Middle Path of Buddhism. In the world either worthless or evil. The Apostle Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, the first ser- Paul wrote: “[T]he flesh lusteth against the mon preached after his enlightenment, the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and Buddha warned his followers to avoid ex- these are contrary the one to the other.”1 The tremes of lifestyle: desert ascetics, the stylites of Syria, the Monks, these two extremes should not be Culdees of Ireland, and the sadhus of India followed by one who has gone forth believed that the physical body was the root of as a wanderer. What two? Devotion to evil and sought holiness through self- 2 the pleasures of sense . [and] devotion mortification. Meanwhile, notions of a stark of self-mortification, which is painful, un- 38 Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly, 2013. Fall 2013 worthy and unprofitable . By avoiding Behemoth and Leviathan these two extremes the [Buddha] has gained knowledge of the middle path which giveth he Hebrew Bible presents twin monsters, vision, which giveth knowledge, enlight- T Behemoth and Leviathan, that embody enment [nirvana].3 evilevil dualism and may be regarded as early models for Steiner’s Ahriman and Lucifer. Later the Middle Path was applied to many God introduced the land monster Behemoth to other pairs of opposites and became a corner- the hapless Job in chapter 40 of the Book of stone of Buddhist teachings. Job: The Chinese concept of yin and yang describes Behold now Behemoth, which I made with how seemingly opposite forces may be inter- thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his connected and interdependent. Many natural strength is in his loins, and his force is in dualities, such as male and female, light and the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail dark, life and death, are regarded as manifesta- like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are tions of yin and yang.4 Neither is inherently wrapped together. His bones are as strong evil, but when one dominates the other the re- pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of sult is war, bad government, sickness, or spir- iron.7 itual decline. The opposites must be brought into balance to restore harmony. The concept “[W]hich I made with thee” is usually inter- found applications in many branches of Chi- preted to mean that Behemoth was created at nese philosophy, medicine, martial arts, and the same time as man. God endowed Behe- exercise. moth with many qualities and powers: “Be- hold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he The Kabbalah illustrates the resolution of op- trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his posites in a higher synthesis. Pairs of opposing mouth. He taketh it with his eyes: his nose sephiroth on the Tree of Life: Chokmah and pierceth through snares.”8 Binah, Chesed and Geburah, and Netzach and Hod, represent, from different perspectives, Leviathan, a sea monster, is mentioned six contrasting manifestations of Deity, cosmic times in the Hebrew Bible. The most extensive forces, or challenges on the spiritual path.5 The account appears in Job, immediately following opposites are neither good nor bad, but they Behemoth’s debut.

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