So far we have looked at the first two rounds of the 4th, the Earth chain. We have seen that life was first established on the new globes of the 4th Chain in round one on the causal plane and then went on to drop a level of density after this round was completed. Globe A in round two went from causal to mental in vibration. In the second round, vegetable archetypes were introduced and the first of the moon-animals entered into forms of the 4th Kingdom of Nature, what we call Humanity. We now get to the 3rd round of the Earth Chain, where conditions have become more comprehensible to an external viewer. In the earlier globes of the 3rd Round, humanity became more human in shape than they had been before. Even then, humanity was still cloudy, gigantic and far from beautiful.
On Globe C, some animals began to develop, this being a new stream that had existed on the Moon Chain. These were monads from the vegetable kingdom that had moved up a grade. They looked rather like clumsy logs of wood at present. As time went on, human monads obtained, for the first time, what may be called a recognisable human body. This body was still etheric and more like some kind of reptilian monkey than our present humanity. Ever wondered where we get some of our fanciful representations of life from other worlds? I wonder if this is a deep-seated memory we all carry.
Humanity was still somewhat jelly-like, though now rudimentary bones began to appear, perhaps more gristle than bone. They were not stiff enough to stand and so lay grovelling and wallowing in the soft warm mud at the sides of the rivers. Some people still do that today and pay good money for it! The physical configuration of Globe C was very different from that now known to us. There was no water scarcity as we see on some parts of our planet today. Three-fourths of the surface was water and only one-fourth dry land. The general physical condition resembled that of the Earth today. Much of the globe would be attractive to our eyes, though the vegetation would not be familiar to us. The atmosphere was unbreathable, full of chlorine and would be suffocating.
The same pattern was followed, as in the previous two rounds, this time with all the animal archetypes being introduced. Again, many of them were not worked out until the middle of the present, fourth, round.
The Moon Animal-Men, with line causal bodies, had by this time developed basket-work envelopes of a coarser kind than what had been developed on the Moon. When this stage was reached, Moon Men of the Second Order, who already had basket-work causal bodies, came streaming into the round. These batches were introduced by the Seed Manu to the 4th Globe, passing them onto the root Manu of the fourth chain. A Manu was observed, by Leadbeater, bringing to Globe C, a batch of basketworks, reminding him of the legends of Noah with his ark, and also of stories in the Hindu Purânas of the Manu crossing the ocean in a ship, bearing with Him seeds for a new world. Arriving on Globe C, He founded a colony of His basket-works. It is fascinating to speculate that what was a myth in Sumerian and Hindu culture could be referring to an event that is currently beyond most people’s comprehension.
This set of basket-work monads had come from Globe G of the Moon Chain. They therefore were the least developed of the basket-work class, having been the last to reach that stage in the previous chain. The Manu guided them to take birth in the most promising third-race families on Globe C, and, as they grew, He led them off to His colony, where they would more quickly develop into fourth-race people. If you accept a narrative like this, you can see that evolution is far from random. There is a guiding hand in practically everything around us. In the colony, the people moved by a central will, like bees in a hive. The central will was that of the Manu. He sent out streams of force and directed all. All we have today is social media to guide us! Another set of basket-works came from Globe F of the Moon Chain and a third set from Globe E. Those from Globe F arrived first and formed the fourth Race on Globe C, and those from Globe E formed the fifth Race.
Under the fostering care of the Manu, they developed some affection and some intelligence. They first lived in caves, later beginning to build and even teaching the younger monads, whom Leadbeater describes as aborigines, to build under them. Thus, at this stage of evolution, even basket-work monads became leaders.
They were hermaphrodites, but one sex was usually developed more than the other, and two individuals were necessary for reproduction. This gives a new twist to the currently fashionable term of non-binary. Among the less-evolved human monads, other forms of reproduction existed. Some primitive humans reproduced like hydra, budding off parts of themselves. Others did it by exudation, while some were oviparous, which means producing eggs like women do today. However, these patterns were not found among the basket-works. I am glad we have settled into a defined reproduction pattern today or life would be very confusing.
In the fifth race on Globe C, the social arrangements changed as more intelligence was developed. The beehive system disappeared, but they still had little individuality and moved in flocks and herds, shepherded by their Manu.
The basket-work casual bodies became more closely woven, representing what could be done by the unfolding life in those who were emphatically self-made humanity, unaided by the great stimulus given in the fourth round by the Lords of the Flame. This type of humanity is still largely represented among us today by the people who hold conventional ideas because others hold them. Leadbeater describes these monads as being “quite good people, being very sheepy and ”flocky,” and are appallingly monotonous.”
There was one fierce type of basket-work monad, which lived, not in communities, but wandering about the forests in pairs. Their heads ran up to a point behind, matching the chin in front, so that the head, ending in two points, looked odd and unattractive. They fought by butting against each other like goats, the top of the head being of very hard bone. There were some yet lower types, curious reptilian creatures, living in trees. They were larger than the monads known as the ”lines” and far less intelligent and ate the latter when they had the chance. There were also on Globe C some carnivorous brutes, huge crocodile-like animals who fiercely attacked men. This information got me thinking again about the inclusion of so many animal deities in early religions. I am thinking of the Egyptians and Hindus. Crocodile gods feature in both cultures. Why confound a lower order of monads and call them gods. Maybe it is because we see them as our progenitors.
On Globe D in the third round, life resembled that on Globe C, the people being smaller and denser, but, from our present standpoint, still huge and gorilla-like. Even from the beginning they were more compact than what had gone before and began to stand upright, though they were still shaky and uncertain, and always fell back to all-fours when pursued or frightened. They began to have hair and bristles upon their bodies, but they were still loose and flabby in appearance. Their skins were dark and their faces scarcely human, strangely flattened, with small eyes set curiously far apart so that they could see sideways as well as in front. They had heavily developed lower jaws and practically no forehead, just a roll of flesh like a sausage where the forehead should have been. The whole head sloped backwards. The arms were much longer in proportion than ours and could not be perfectly straightened at the elbows. This restriction also existed with the knees. The hands and feet were enormous and misshapen, and the heels projected backwards almost as much as the toes did forwards so that the humans of the day were able to walk backwards as rapidly as they could walk forwards. This curious form of progress was facilitated by the possession at the back of the head of the third eye, which remains to us in a rudimentary form as the pineal gland.
At this time, humanity scarcely had any reason, but only passions and instincts. They knew nothing about fire and were unable to count. They mainly ate certain slimy creatures of a reptilian nature, but they also dug up and ate some kind of primitive truffle, and tore off the tops of gigantic tree ferns in order to eat the seeds. So they collecting pine nuts to make pesto even then! Towards the middle of the occupation of Globe D, the separation of the sexes took place. Soon after that, the Second Order of Moon Men, who were also basket-works from Globe D of the Moon, came into incarnation. After them came the basket-works from Globe C. They resembled fairly intelligent gorillas. Initially, they were born of the existing humanity, but they soon established a new type for themselves, becoming smaller, more compact, and lighter in colour. They would look much more human to us.
There was constant war between these latest arrivals and the earlier and more gigantic inhabitants, who caught and ate them whenever opportunity offered itself. But the later arrivals, having much more intellect, were able to dominate their gigantic compatriots, and were able to keep them in some sort of order. Over time, practically the whole world passed into their control and the earlier races had either to adapt themselves to the more civilised life or to be driven off into the less desirable parts of the country. I guess a similar situation occurred between Homosapiens and Neanderthals.
The animals were very scaly, and even the creatures we could describe as birds were covered with scales rather than feathers. They all seemed to be made of a job-lot of fragments stuck together, half-bird, half-reptile, and wholly unattractive. I think of this as the devas working on their modelling skill and getting better, round after round, globe after globe. In the 3rd Round, the second-class lunar animals reached the human level, just as the first-class animals did in the 2nd Round.
In the 3rd Round, Globe D, what we think of our Earth today, was still far from being as quiescent as it is for us now. Earthquakes and volcanic outbursts were still painfully common, and life was distinctly precarious. The configuration of the land was entirely different and mountains seem to have attained stupendous heights, unknown to us now. There were enormous waterfalls and great whirlpools were also common. This would make for a great adventure holiday destination. By Globe D, the scene that Leadbeater viewed was a little more like our present world than the preceding globes’ rounds of the 4th chain. The last time such a similar scene could have been viewed would have been on the Moon chain. Later, on Globe D, even cities were built.
The work of the Barhishads, the Lords of the Moon, who in this round were Arhats (46) from Globe E of the Moon Chain, were guiding the human monad in a form of training that resembled more what you would do with an animal than the evolution of humanity. They were, as in previous rounds, working on sections of the different bodies, physical and subtle. The third sub-planes of the physical, emotional and mental planes were being worked through, but extending no further than the third sub-divisions of those sub-planes.
The methods of reproduction on Globe D were those which are now confined to the lower kingdoms of nature today. In the first and second Races, which were not completely densified, fission still occurred. From the Third Race onwards, the methods were various. In the less organised bodies, budding off like we see in hydræ today, occurred. This is the exuding of cells from different organs of the body, which reproduced similar organs and grew into a miniature duplication of the parent. There was also present the laying of eggs, within which the young human being developed. These were hermaphrodites, and gradually one sex predominated, but never sufficiently to represent a definite male and female.
When the race passed on to Globe E, there was on the whole a decided improvement in the forms that were developed. Much more affection could be witnessed and humanity showed distinct traces of unselfishness, sharing their food instead of snarling over it as they had frequently done at the earlier stages.
The presence of the Moon-Men, who had fully formed causal bodies, had given a great impetus to progress and though the bulk of humanity was still very animal-like and undeveloped, traces of cooperation and rudimentary civilisation already began to appear. Nothing is known of the conditions on Globe F, on the emotional plane or Globe G on the mental plane.
This now brings us to the 4th Round and much closer to home. See you in the next presentation.