The Root Races
Introduction
Note to Reader: This is a very long paper, one that you might want to read in sections and certainly not on a cellphone. It was written well over a decade ago, 15 years to be exact, when I was still in the process of opening up to a sense of self-awareness. This paper was written long before I began to remember my true nature as a multi-dimensional being, with access to higher knowledge, light and love, through an open mind and heart center. The sources, all human, are primarily from Theosophical sources, which coming from a past perspective and viewpoint, no matter what the alleged source, are somewhat limited in their understanding of the origins of Man. This project was an investigation on my part in response to the inner urging of my intuition and guidance. And recently, upon discovery of the original typed manuscript, I was prompted by my guides and intuition to re-type this information, with additional input from a latter-day perspective gained through my own studies and investigations and to publish it on my blog. I understand that to do so is unusual, given the sheer length of the material, but for some reason, I felt it important to do so.
The older Theosophical sources do not say anything of off-world influences, the manipulation of our DNA, or nefarious Satanic plots to destroy most of humanity and to keep the remainder ignorant of their divine origins and under strict control, stripped of all free will. I have to wonder about some of the present day alternative versions of our collective history as being still more disinformation on what is the real origin and destiny of Humanity. We know what we know when it is time to know it, when our minds and hearts are up to the task of taking responsibility for that knowledge and putting it to good use for ourselves and the good of future generations, as well as all of life and the planet, our home and Mother, at least through the passage of this planetary globe, as you will see…
Now on to the paper:
I wrote the following paper on the Root Races of Humanity because as a child I was fascinated by stories of giants, talking animals, witches, wizards, moving trees, beautiful elves and strange, wonderful and scary worlds. As a teenager I was introduced to the teachings of Edgar Cayce, a 20th century seer, who told stories of his and other people’s past lives.
I began to wonder if many of the things we were taught in school about history and evolution were not quite what they seemed. Perhaps there was another point of view (I now KNOW that this is true). I continued to read fantasy stories and science fiction, as both genera began to expand and become accepted among literary circles with every year. Something was happening to the collective consciousness of humanity.
Eventually I came across the ancient wisdom teachings. Recently (in 2003) I read a book by a teacher of Carol Parrish, an author and spiritual leader, which had a short introductory section on the Root Races. I was excited to realize that some of the things I had read in fictional accounts actually had a basis in very ancient texts and teachings. These were the same teachings that were ignored or questioned by scientists or accused of being false teachings by religious fundamentalists, who still rigidly follow the outdated teachings and perceptions of earlier generations.
I had sensed the presence of other lifetimes touch me briefly in the words of an author or when I stood in the center of a stone circle on a windy hill in the north of England. I knew that I had lived other lifetimes and I wanted to discover more about my ancestors, more about where I had come from and where I was going.
In the process I discovered a story of our evolution based on the teachings given in the Halls of the Initiates from as long as there have been self-conscious individuals on this planet willing to listen and to be taught. I began the process of discovering how man (at least one theory) came to be and to begin to comprehend his, my destiny.
In the process of doing my research for this paper, I began to explore the works of Alice Bailey, H. J. Blavatsky, Rudolph Steiner, and other authors versed in theosophical themes. This was a world to which I had not been exposed previously in any of my readings. I discovered a vast amount of information available on the Internet, which I will attempt to summarize into a short paper. I have also added some of my own commentary or perspective, based on readings and experience gained through later years after the writing of this paper.
The topic of root races is a subject which has not yet been researched to any great extent by physical scientists and archaeologists. Current accepted scientific theory often stands in opposition to the ancient wisdom teachings, although some advanced physicists (see Quantum Physics and String Theory) and even psychologists are approaching an understanding of what ancient wisdom has held forth for thousands of years. Eventually, there will be a meeting of the ancient wisdom and modern science as scientists expand their knowledge beyond the limitations of Newtonian principles and expand their understanding of the unseen worlds that influence humanity.
Scientists are trained to be naturally skeptical of unproven “facts” although an argument can be put forth on the unfounded basis of many scientific theories. To become “truth”, a theory needs to be able to be replicated. However, this premise is based on an unsound understanding of consciousness, as thought determines the outcome of any experiment and thus no experimental results will be the same as the preceding experiment.
Many of my sources are from theosophical teachings which claim to have been given to the authors by shadowy “masters” from ancient texts and through clairvoyant communications, all claims that are discredited by scientists. Thus, I can only put forward information that has yet to be “proven” by science or understood by the general population. Yet, within this information, there is a compelling sense of drama, scope and majesty to the theosophical approach to evolution that is lacking in Darwin’s theory or other theories that have been put forward by various scientists within the last 100 years or so.
And as an avid reader of fantasy, science fiction, mythology and fairy tales, I discovered correlations between many of the pieces of “fiction” that I have read and the position of the theosophical teachings on evolution. It was as if these authors of fiction were accessing the collective unconscious and deep racial memories of our race and planet to create their works of art. The works of J. R. R. Tolkien stand out in that respect as invoking memories of the rise and fall of Atlantis and the feeling of loss resulting from the experiences of the survivors of those great cataclysms.
The works of H.J. Blavatsky and Master Dwal Khul frequently use Sanskrit terms (one of the oldest living languages) such as “shishtas” to convey their story. I will use a few, but find to be distracting to the flow of the commentary. However, when I do put one of these terms into the text, there will be a definition included to aid in the reader’s understanding in case they are not familiar with the terms. Since I am in no way a scholar of Indian culture or language, I do not feel I need to slavishly use these terms.
A Theory of Evolution
According to ancient wisdom, evolution is a slow, grand process. Various life waves pass through seven cycles of development on twelve globes, each of which exists at a different level of consciousness. The twelve globes make up a planetary chain. Each succeeding Life wave sent out as virgin spirits by God, the Ruler of our Solar System, is subject to the experience of evolution in this manner. The life waves pass through an arc of descent, moving from the most spiritual planet or realm to the most material or dense planet, at the bottom of the arc and then return, ascending back towards the spiritual planes. The entire arc of experience is necessary for the complete evolution during that cycle. This process is then repeated seven times to give the life waves the opportunity to experience and develop on all seven planes of existence. A completed cycle, including its rest periods between the globes, is what is called a planetary round or in the ancient Sanskrit, a manavantara.
Humanity, which is us as a collective, is currently located on the densest, most materialistic planet of the round, Earth. Our planet also goes through the evolutionary cycle. We don’t go to “another” planet.
The life wave we know as Humanity only becomes that in the fourth round of the planetary chain and shares its evolutionary process with six other kingdoms (some sources add three elemental kingdoms before that of the mineral kingdom) including mineral, plant and animal and the elemental kingdoms. The last three kingdoms beyond the human are increasingly ethereal or “spiritual” and are called by theosophy, dhyani-chohans, beings (we know these beings as “Ascended Masters”) that have mastered the physical realms and have moved into higher planes of consciousness. Once a life-wave succeeds in attaining the highest initiations at the dhyani-chohanic level, it proceeds onto further cosmic initiations in this and other universes.
In other words, each Life Wave spends the first round of a cycle as mineral-like, the second, as plant-like and the third, as animal-like. It is only with the fourth round that the Life wave embarks on the process of becoming self-aware. The beginning of each successive round is spent in recapitulation of the work accomplished in the previous round.
Paleontologists have noticed an interesting phenomenon in the geologic and fossil records of our planet. Millions of years ago, when the planet was still “young” the globe endured long cycles of intense geologic disruption. Today, although there are volcanic eruptions and earthquakes throughout the planet, these events are more localized; there is not the massive violence that formerly wracked our planet. Then, millions of years ago, various stages of plant life began to suddenly appear in glorious abundance and then moved into an era of steady decline. Once gigantic tree ferns are now more sedate specimens and are limited primarily to subtropical and tropical climes.
These relatively primitive plants were then followed by extraordinary forest of evergreen conifer and evergreen broad-leaf trees, a theme still echoed in the remaining old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest and the ancient groves of redwoods and Sequoias in California. Then arrived the flowering plants, both hardwoods, and “soft” woods, shrubs, grasses, perennials and eventually, annuals developed in great profusion. Many plant species have since devolved in size, scope, and range through the past millions of years from the height of their evolutionary cycle.
Then, there came an astonishing epoch for the animal kingdom, the height being the extraordinary Age of Reptiles. These animals appeared almost out of nowhere and over a vast period of time, grew into huge monsters of land, air and sea, completely dominating the surface of the then mostly tropical planet. And as suddenly as they appeared, they were gone. Scientists have many theories about the disappearing act, but have yet to successfully prove any of them. What few reptiles remain, snakes, lizards, crocodiles, and alligators, as impressive as they still are, are but shadows of their mighty cousins, the dinosaurs.
The Age of Mammals was the next epoch to arrive on the geologic scene, with both huge outsized predators, such as the famed Sabretooth Tiger and herbivores, such as the Giant Sloth and the Wooly Mammoth. And then there is man. The origin of man is still a puzzle that keeps scientists up at night debating theories and digging and sifting through the remains of long dead man-like creatures.
Scientists are trying to understand why trilobites, dinosaurs, and the giant mammals became extinct and why no remains of the common ancestor of the ape and man have been found, the mysterious and elusive missing link. There are so many mysteries. The scientists might start by looking into the ancient wisdom teachings, into fairy tales, and into the myths and legends that exist within every indigenous culture planet-wide, legends, I might add, that have been largely ignored until recent days, due to a largely unconscious but systemic belief in the supposed superiority of the “white” race over other so-called races, our brothers and sisters, members of Humanity. Present day scientists, archaeologists and historians are just beginning to emerge from this imperfect understanding of the collective evolutionary process of ALL humanity.
A pattern of evolution seems to be developing if one would only pause to consider that there is a natural swell as a kingdom reaches the planet, rising as all its members participate in a wild frenzy of the creation of a new species and then diminishes as the major portion of its members move onto the next globe to continue the process at a different level of being. Some individuals are left behind, which can be evidenced by the much diminished examples we currently have of both plants and animals and even minerals, on our own planet.
Apparently, the majority of these life-waves have already left this globe as evidenced by the continuing cycle of mass extinctions even now occurring among whole species of animals, including the whales, large mammals like the bears and cats, birds and the remaining reptiles. As the excess life wave passes out of one form to another, the older form is abandoned without purpose. Nature, imbued with Spirit, leaves no portion of itself without purpose. Dinosaurs and giant mammals could no longer exist on this planet because conditions had changed and their physical forms could no longer adapt. As a result, the species “died” out and the monads, the spirit within the form, moved to other more adaptable forms to continue the process of evolution.
Even with this, there comes a time when a life wave can no longer develop on the planetary globe and leaves. This is now happening to animals, and is the secret reason why so many species are becoming extinct. As our planet is raised in vibration, during the remainder of this round, the life waves that have advanced to the level of animals can go no further, at least at the physical level. And although some animals and plants have left their physical forms, they exist on etheric sub planes, awaiting the return of their life-waves and another cycle of evolution. Only the apes, who are indeed our brothers, will be allowed to evolve into the human kingdom during this round. The rest will go into a rest period, called a pralaya by the Hindus.
The much diminished lizards, snakes and crocodiles / alligators, as descendants to the great dinosaurs, former rulers of air, sea and earth, are what is expressed in ancient wisdom as shishtas, or seeds of life.
These shishtas are the seeds of life for each life-wave, made up of the most advanced individuals, who become the astral/etheric root-stock for the life-wave on its return to the globe during the next cycle. As the forerunners of the life-wave begin to return, these shishtas are reactivated and become the vehicles in which the life-wave will take form, to pursue another round of evolutionary development. Between each cycle, as the shishtas wait, there is a period of “obscuration”, called pralaya by the Hindus, when the evolutionary process slows down but does not completely halt.
Ancient wisdom also advises us that when the bulk of a life-wave moves through a particular cycle of evolution, it leaves behind the physical forms that have been developed. These forms are then taken up by lower life-waves. Many of the physical remains being discovered by scientists today are actually the much degenerated forms of animal-man. Higher humans practiced cremation widely until at least 60,000 years ago, when other methods of handling remains came into being and ancestor worship began to take effect in various early tribes. Few remains of the earlier “higher” humans can therefore be found.
And so it came to pass, as our ancient ancestors began to arrive to begin the fourth round on the fourth planet, our life-wave encountered the shishtas who had remained behind, living in an astral state. During the third round on this planet, our race reached the animal stage, becoming monkey-like creatures. Upon the return in the fourth round, the shishtas had evolved into large, ovoid etheric beings. And so the fourth round of evolution began for humanity.
The Cycle of Evolution
On Earth, the most materialistic globe of the fourth round of the fourth planetary chain, each life wave’s passage is further subdivided into seven stages, each of which is a recapitulation of the same evolutionary stage that has taken place during an earlier round. For example, during the first root-race of the fourth globe of the fourth planetary round, the race re-lived its experience as mineral like, although the life-wave had evolved beyond the mineral stage. Within each of these seven stages, also known as ages or epochs, each species has its preliminary developmental steps, its youth, the height of its development, e.g., the Age of the Reptiles, when the giant lizards dominated the earth, and a cycle when the physical vehicles of the species slowly begin to diminish, to change or disappear altogether. Ancient wisdom assures that this will happen to our life wave as well. There is a flow of life from the ethereal planes, into the astral, towards the grossly physical, and then to the increasingly refined forms until the species dies out or retreats to the astral and then ethereal planes. Each kind of elemental life, mineral, plant, animal, human being or dhyani-chohan goes through the same process, whether on a collective group soul or individual soul level.
As the life wave descends into physicality, the ages are very long. As the various species mature, there comes a tidal wave of development in variety, size and location. After the height of the life waves passes, the ages shorten, as does the size and variety of the beings. So it is with man during this fourth globe of the fourth planetary round. The first two root races have completely disappeared, having no physical bodies, and the widely scattered remnants of the third root race are all but vanished.
As Above, So Below; As Below, So Above
To further understand the cycles of evolution, we must keep in mind that what passes on the face of the planet, even in the life of a butterfly, is a reflection of the greater life of the universe. Any man, planet, star or universe has its time when it is born, grows, becomes mature, declines and dies. These four time periods were called yugas by the ancient Hindus: the satya Yuga (golden age); the treta Yuga (silver age), the dwapara Yuga (Bronze Age) and the kali Yuga (the dark or iron age). The last tenth of this period is the Kali Yuga, the so-called Dark Age.
The next root race starts as the previous root race passes into its kali Yuga and begins a slow decline. The older root race then takes almost as long a time to die out as it did to come into being. The bodies of the slowly dying root race act as vehicles for the lower class of human stock. This statement is not meant as a judgment. These are not lesser or “lost” souls; they are simply less evolved, stragglers after the bulk of the life wave has passed. Each root race, in its turn, contains the same egos that were evolving in the previous root race. Also, within the greater evolutionary cycle of the root race, each sub-race, nation, tribe, family and individual will experience their own rotating cycles of the four yugas to further enrich the evolutionary process of the life wave. This seems a very complicated process, but it follows the universal Law of Cause and Effect, Karma, for the furthering of the experience of each monad (or soul).
What is a Manu?
When considering evolution according to the ancient wisdom, it is important to keep in mind that spiritual forces are always (always!) behind the scenes working towards the development of each life wave. Our higher Soul, as collective Humanity, is regarded as a manu, although there also exists a spiritual being known as The Manu. The Manu is a super being responsible for the race and its evolution during a particular epoch. According to the Sacred Doctrine, there are two manus for each planetary globe, a root manu and a seed manu. The same designation that has also been given to one of the minor manus who preside over the seven root races of our planet. One such manu was the great spiritual leader who saved a portion of the ancient Atlanteans from the submergence of that great land and is known to us today as Noah, whose allegorical story can be read in the first chapter of the Old Testament of the Bible, Genesis. Each Manu is supported by seven minor manus and other spiritual beings in his mission to forward the evolutionary development of his charges.
At least one source that I read regarded Master Morya as the Manu of the Fifth root race and Master Hilarion as the Manu of the upcoming Sixth Root Race. In some esoteric sources, the Masters Morya and Hilarion are also called chohans, Morya being the chohan of the First Ray (Blue Ray, the Ray of Will and Power) and Hilarion, being the chohan of the Fifth Ray (Green Ray, the Ray of Science and Healing).
What is a Root Race?
A root race is a serial division of the human life wave on any planetary chain. For example, the third root race or the Lemurian, the fourth root race or Atlantean and our current root race, the Aryan-Hindu. Each root race is further divided into seven sub races as well as national, tribal and family races. Just about every person on the planet today is a member of the fifth root race or an admixture of the third, fourth or fifth. Very few “pure” blooded individuals of the third root race still exist and they are rapidly dying out as their physical forms continue to degenerate. The current root race, the Aryans, is made up of people from every continent, nation, religion, and color.
The fifth root race has just passed through its lowest and most materialistic point and is now, slowly, moving up the arc of ascent. As a consequence, there is a great deal of change and upheaval in cultures as the inner pressure from Spirit is felt more and more by individuals and groups.
Seven Continents, Seven Root Races
The prevalent pattern of “seven” also flows through the primary continents upon which each root race lives. The term “continent” means the bodies of land above water during the particular epoch of any root race. Some of the root races, including ours, have lived on many continents and large islands.
The first root race, the Adamic, “lived” in the Polar Regions, the so-called Sacred and Indestructible Land, according to Ancient Wisdom. The second root race existed on a horseshoe shaped “continent” that extended from one end of present day Siberia to Greenland. The third root race lived primarily upon the giant continent we now call Lemuria. The fourth root race lived primarily on the large island continents of Ruta and Poseidonis, located in now what is the central Atlantic Ocean region, extending east towards the Mediterranean Sea, Spain, North Africa and west towards the Caribbean Sea. The Americas were being raised up towards the middle of the fourth epoch, but it is Central Asia, Asia Minor, North Africa and Europe that are regarded as the primary landmasses of the development of the fifth root race. The sixth root race will be primarily stationed in the Americas. The seventh root race will complete the evolutionary cycle of this fourth round in the Polar Regions, with the re-emergence of the ancient sacred continent. With the completion of each epoch, there is a change in the percentage of land versus water mass covering the planet, which alternates. Then, during the fourth or Atlantean period, there was more land mass than the previous epoch. In our time, there is more water covering the face of the planet than land.
Cyclic Parlayas or Racial Cataclysm
As noted in the above section, our globe is subject to periodic changes on a vast scale. According to ancient wisdom, these changes follow a pattern, a law, which acts at its appointed time and not blindly, “but in strict accordance and harmony with The Law of Cause and Effect or Karmic Law.” Our globe is subject to seven periodical entire changes or alterations which are related to the root races. There must be seven terrestrial pralayas, three occasioned by the change in the inclination of the earth’s axis. Twice already has the face of the globe been changed by fire, and twice by water, since man appeared on this globe. The land needs rest and renovation as does the water. While this process affects a great many people, animals and plants, the survival of the fittest nations and races are secured through timely help. The “unfit” (those unable to response adequately to the inner pressures of evolution) are disposed of by being swept off the earth.
Some would think this cruel, but it is a neutral cosmic law. The spirits, who have been released through the physical dissolution of their body vessels, will be given opportunity to be reborn in more highly developed bodies as the population restablizes. This process is already beginning to occur in various places around the earth in our times as reflected in the great loss of life in tsunami, storm, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, landslides, wars and famines. The souls who exit in this manner and through other disasters have an opportunity to reincarnate in upgraded vessels, at a more refined level of evolution. We can see this concept as presented by some New Age teachings as the reincarnation of individual souls into the new Crystal children and those higher vibrational frequency beings who are coming in as the leading edge of the Sixth Root Race.
The Polarian Root Race (or Adamic Race)
Plant and animal life predated man’s arrival on this globe by 300 million years. Physical man did not appear on the planet until some 18 million years ago.
According to the Secret Doctrine, the first of the seven Root Races or humanities was a race of astral entities and appeared in the mid-Paleozoic times, some 150 million years ago. As the seven classes of human monads from globe “C” (the Moon) started to arrive on globe “D” (the Earth), they awakened the corresponding classes of shishtas, which began to multiply. This was a non-physical race.
The first root race, subdivided into seven sub-races living in seven different regions, made its home on a continent near what is now the North Pole, also known as the “Imperishable Sacred Land” in some sacred texts. These beings were spiritual, ethereal and had huge ovoid bodies that would appear translucent to our sight. At this time, there was more water than land and the destruction of this race was by fire.
When the first life wave of souls of what was to become humanity arrived to begin the fourth round, the planet was not yet completely solidified. The astral shishtas who had remained in a state of pralaya after the third round had slowly evolved from monkey-like creatures into large, gaseous and loosely defined bodies, with no self-awareness. These bodies became the vehicles of expression for the incoming life wave that was to become Humanity.
Propagation for the first root race was primitive and consisted of the “mother” dividing into two, similar to simple cell division or fission. There was as yet no etheric body and so growth was impossible. There was no death since the individuals became their own descendants, melting into the next generation. There was a sense organ capable of sensing relative heart and cold, but experience was primitive and limited. The entire body registered the effects of vibration, the primitive beginnings of an organ for hearing. Consciousness during this epoch was similar to a trance state and was a recapitulation of the mineral stage that the life wave had previously passed through during round one. Much of the work of the root race was done unconsciously in the physical and emotional realms. Meanwhile, the planet was slowly becoming more dense and material.
During the Polarian epoch, there was no individualization between souls. Indeed, humanity experienced its inner life as one soul, sharing a passive, mostly unconscious, dream-like existence. The epoch was a recapitulation by man of the mineral stage of evolution.
Hyperborean Root Race
The second root race originated in the late Carboniferous or in the Permian Age and ended in the late Triassic or early Jurassic Age (the early portion of the Age of Reptiles) of the Mesozoic era, some 25 to 30 million years ago. This race was astral, although somewhat more concrete or materialized than the first root race. As the earth gradually crystallized, outer conditions dictated changes in the human body, which slowly became more stable and well-defined, although still soft and without bones. At this evolutionary stage, reproduction was by “budding” and then became modified to a process similar to exuding drops of vital sweat. Hence came the term, “the Sweat Born” sometimes referred to in ancient texts.
The body began to divide into two organs, one the outer physical envelope or physical body and the inner envelope. Vital soul energy was now directed inward toward the development of organs.
During this epoch, experience was limited to the etheric level. There was as yet no astral or emotional body. Humanity’s development and experience were guided from the outside, by the Manu and other superhuman beings, which played their roles in directly stimulating the development of the human form. There was no self-consciousness, but only a dream-like existence.
The epochs or time periods for each of the first two root races was extremely long since the process of evolution was very slow. Since there was no self-awareness on the part of the evolving beings, all the work was directed by outside influences, more evolved intelligent beings who served as the leaders and guardians of the unintelligent multitudes of these races. Not all race members were at the same level of evolution. Some were forerunners, advanced beyond the norm, followed then by the general mass of humanity, and then by the stragglers.
The Lemurian Root Race
The third root race began sometime during the Triassic period of the Mesozoic era (some 44 million years ago) or the Age of the Reptiles. The astral races of the first two races had materialized into early man-animals. It is from Lemuria that the ancient legends of Cyclops and giants emerged. The earlier races, too, had been huge (200 feet) by present day standards but hardly recognizable as human life. The Lemurians were the first physical race, although at first more animal-like than human, as the epoch was a recapitulation of the animal state from the third planetary round. The form had developed skeletal, nervous, muscular and other systems, as well as well-defined inner organs. Initially, Lemurians were 60 feet tall, but by the end of the epoch, had degenerated to 20 to 25 feet tall. Tales of steamy forest being shared by crude animal-like humans and cavorting dinosaurs, like that of the tale, “The Lost World”, probably stem from ancient memories of this world.
The vast continent of Lemuria covered an area extending from the western portion of the Pacific Ocean (including parts of present-day North America) to Central Asia, to present day Sweden and across the Indian Ocean to present-day Madagascar. It was a continent wracked by the fires of huge volcanoes and earthquakes, filled with gigantic mountain ranges, vast valleys, rivers, lush jungles of huge tree ferns and expansive plains. The atmosphere was thick and heavy, like a kind of fire-fog; the inhabitants were unable to see. Early Lemurians had gill-like breathing mechanisms like that of amphibians, but later developed lungs.
The Lemurian race developed the first physical organ of sight. This consisted of a single “eye” or focus located in the middle of the forehead, the remnant today which is known as the “third eye”, which gave access to the astral realms. By the time of the third sub-race of the Atlanteans, the next root race, this “eye” had retreated into the interior of the skull and atrophied into the pineal gland. Early Lemurians were not aware of themselves as being separate from their environment or other humans. They did not “see” like we do, but used their astral and spiritual senses to navigate in their environment. They were not aware of having bodies and did not feel pain when giving birth or dying.
By the opening of the Lemurian epoch, humans had perfected two senses, the sense of hearing and of touch. Later, man became capable of regulating the heat of his internal organs. If he had not done so, human life would not have survived the changes occurring in the outside environment as the earth continued to cool. Man became a warm-blooded creature and more independent within his outer environment.
Another important development during this epoch was the separation of the sexes. Previously, reproduction had been through the process known as budding, but as human bodies became more hardened, the production of the reproductive cells was taken over by specialized organs. Soon eggs were no longer extruded like chicken eggs, but shrank in size and were developed and fertilized inside the androgynous body. There was a long period when androgynous reproduction occurred but gradually, over the course of millions of years, single sexed individuals began to predominate. Gradually androgyny disappeared altogether and the human race was made up of dominantly female or male individuals. This process took hundreds of thousands of years, if not millions to be accomplished.
One result of the advent of true sex was that the Lemurians were the first race to suffer the “death” of the body. When the vital energy of the body ran out it died and the soul re-embodied in a new one. Life or the retention of the body meant nothing to the Lemurian; he was still developing the capacity for memory.
Most of the Lemurian epoch was a recapitulation of the third round, or animal-like. Our Lemurian ancestors did not have the necessary mental abilities or corresponding physical structure needed to possess the capacity to remember. These beings could communicate through a kind of thought-reading, a primitive form of instinctual telepathy, a talent which some of their descendants still possess to a lesser degree. At the beginning of the epoch, the Lemurians had no speech as we know it, but had developed ways to express themselves through natural sounds. These men instinctively understood nature in the way that animals do. They “felt” the life force of animals, the energy of plant life, and the structure of minerals. The most advanced of these men could command the forces of nature. They were born magicians and felt very connected to their environment.
The goal of Lemurian evolution was the development of the will. Boy children were trained to endure great physical pain and dangers to enliven their power of will. Female children were guided into the development of imagination. Dreaming and the faculty for fantasy were highly valued.
Early in the epoch, men sought caves as shelter, at first doing little to alter them. Later they began to work and shape their physical environment in order to provide shelter. They began to create hills and forms which were used in the earliest beginnings of ceremony. Toward the end of the epoch, large sacred areas were built of huge rough volcanic rocks and earth berms formed into shapes.
While much of Lemurian humanity existed at a fairly basic level, there were always those who outstripped their fellows in their evolutionary development, emotionally, psychically, physically, and certainly, mentally. Toward the end of the Lemurian epoch, the first communities dedicated to high learning and initiation were instituted by the super beings then in charge of man’s evolution. Especially talented males were chosen to attend these first schools. They were subjected to difficult physical and mental disciplines in order to develop their bodies and native abilities to the utmost.
Women attended these first mystery schools, as well, but for them the emphasis was placed on the development of their imagination and inner life. With this development of imagination, memory began to take place. With memory came the capacity to form simple moral concepts, the beginning of understanding duality, or “good and evil”. This only occurred within women and so these women took on a special place within their communities. From memory came custom and from custom came the early foundation of laws.
Many of these developments occurred towards the end of the Lemurian epoch. The evolution of Lemurian humanity was entirely guided by highly evolved beings “that were familiar with the laws of the formation of races and capable of guiding the existing forces of human nature into such paths that a new race could come into being,” (Rudolph Steiner). During the beginning of the Lemurian kali yuga, a small group of the most advanced Lemurians was isolated by these beings so that they might become the seed stock, the ancestors, of the coming Atlantean root race. The place chosen was a tropical zone of the continent relatively free of the volcanic activity that plagued much of Lemuria.
The Lemurian men of the seed group were trained to a high degree of control over natural forces. Their wills were strong and they were trained in many things including the growing of crops, raising of animals, and controlling their environment.
The women of the seed group were trained to develop heart and soul. They were assigned as leaders in charge of establishing new groups. The flow of communal life emanated from these female leaders. All came to them in order for the interpretation of certain signs in nature. They came to “hear” the inner voices of stones, plants, animals, of the winds and clouds and so on. These women expressed themselves through sounds which became simple language. All things around these people became sanctified, sacred and meaningful. The first roots of religion began to form.
The huge continent of Lemuria was wracked constantly by earthquakes, tectonic movement, and the destructive explosions of mighty volcanoes. The outer skin of the earth, the mantle, was still thin and pliable. Throughout the third age of mankind, the great continent of Lemuria underwent tremendous changes. Entire regions were submerged, raised up or broken up. At the end of the epoch, the great majority of the third root race was destroyed as a consequence of this violent geologic activity. At the same time, other lands were being raised up above the oceans, including portions of the Americas and Europe.
The most important evolutionary development to occur during the Lemurian epoch was the awakening of the mind, which took place concurrently with the division of the sexes (see the Law of Gender). According to some ancient sources, it was this epoch, some 18 million years ago, that saw the descent of the Lords of Mind, the manasaputras. This was an evolution that was advanced well beyond ours, our own “Higher Selves, who projected sparks of their own full self-consciousness into the innocent and unthinking humanity of that early time. It was these “serpents” who finally stimulated the appearance of mind that became common in different degrees within the entire human stock. The development of a formative mental body had begun. This is the period of time that correlates with the Garden of Eden story from Genesis, the first chapter of the Old Testament portion of the Bible. The Bible story is a greatly abbreviated version of a period of evolution that occurred over millions of years.
Theosophy teaches us that many of the oldest nations in the world, including Egypt, the Phoenicians, India and the Old Greeks (Pelusgians) claimed direct descent from the Kingdom of Cronos, of Lemuria. The dynasties of divine beings began in Lemuria. They brought light (information) to the world and endowed humanity with intellect and reason. These beings took on the appearance of man’s physical appearance as it was then, but were Beings from spheres higher and more celestial than ours. These Watchers (also mentioned briefly in The Bible…) guided and protected the early races up until the beginning of the third root race. After that, there were Patriarchs, Heroes and Manes, the incarnated Dhyanis of a lower order. The Lords of Wisdom created the Arhats or Mahatmas (great souls) in a truly immaculate way. They were the “holy seed grain” of the future Saviors of Humanity, the sons of God. They would serve the Earth as teachers for future human adepts during this and future rounds. The stories of virgin births are a reminder, a racial memory of these “mind-born” bodhisattvas.
The Fall of Man
The story of the Garden of Eden, the serpent and the apple, Adam and Eve, belongs to this epoch. It is an allegory alluding to the awakening of mind among those of humanity who were ready, during the third sub-race of the third root race, about 18.5 million years ago. According to the philosopher and writer, Max Heindel, the Luciferian spirits were stragglers of the life waves of the Angels, part of humanity of the Moon Period, which preceded the current round. They were too advanced to take physical form, but were able to use the developing brain of man. They spoke to woman, who had developed her imagination, through her mind and “opened” her eyes, her physical eyes. These Serpent Lords revealed to woman her own body and that of man and how they, man and woman, might come together to create new bodies. With the advent of sex, humanity might step free of divine intervention in the creation of new bodies. The woman, in turn, opened the eyes of man. They became aware of each other and of the physical world. They became conscious of death and pain. They ceased to be automatons and became free-thinking beings, capable of free-will. This process was necessary in order to build the mental body of man, and the physical organ, the brain. This physical feature, however, will be superseded by the development of intuition, innate knowledge, beyond the natural, animal-like instincts and involuntary psychicism of early man.
Note: The following section was added from the notes I made for a speech given at Sancta Sophia Seminary after my paper was received. I was attempting to elucidate my fellow students on what happened to early man and why it is important to know this information now as the forerunners of our world begin to accelerate the process of coming into Unity Consciousness, an upward spiral of evolution compared to the original unconscious experience of early Humanity.
Max Heindel has this to say about the Lucifers, the Angelic beings who guided the Lemurians to freedom:
“This the Lucifers did that they might profit by it themselves – to gain knowledge as man acquired it. They brought to him pain and suffering where there was none before (because man was unaware of having a body); but they also brought him the inestimable blessing of emancipation from outside influences and guidance, thereby starting him on the road to the evolution of his OWN spiritual powers (my emphasis) – an evolution which will eventually enable him to up build himself with wisdom such as that of the Angels and other Beings, who guided him BEFORE he first exercised free will.”
In the works of Torkum Saraydarian, a philosopher, metaphysical author and teacher from Europe, he relates that what he calls the Lords of Mind or Sons of Mind (being Divine Mind) who were great Beings from the Venus chain (the life wave preceding that of humanity) and came to Earth about 18 million years ago. They were the Kumaras, great Beings from Venus, also known as the Serpents of Wisdom, who established the Spiritual Hierarchy upon this planet. These Angelic Beings came in three waves, observing the state of development of Humanity. The third wave came and they anchored themselves in the newly developed mental body of man, The Chalice (the Holy Grail?).
This occurrence was the beginning of individualization, as each man was “cut off” from the mass consciousness and became self-conscious for the first time in the evolution of Humanity. Previously, man was a member of the human race, the Soul of which was a Great Being. With individualization came a new sense of responsibility. It was the bridge that will eventually carry individual consciousness to Group Consciousness (Unity Consciousness) at a higher spiral of evolution.
Seed Stock
Only a minor portion of the Lemurians became “enlightened.” These were the survivors of the implanting done by the Solar Angels. Millions of people did not survive this process and went beserk. Those individuals who could not handle the energy died. Those who adjusted themselves began to advance and became leaders, teachers and rulers. This epoch saw the beginning of the individualized person. Just past the mid-point of the epoch, most Lemurians perished as a result of volcanic activity, land subsidence and earthquake. The “seed stock” of the next root race was isolated in an area of relative geologic calm, under the supervision of its super being teachers. Those who followed the instructions of their divine guides became the progenitors of the fourth root race, the Atlanteans.
The Atlantean Root Race
The fourth root race originated in the later Cretaceous period, during the Kali Yuga or Dark Age of the Lemurian epoch. This race attained its peak in the Eocene of the Tertiary and was largely destroyed in the Miocene period. As the great Lemurian race began to fall into decline, their bodies became the physical vehicles of lower, less-evolved egos, sometimes animal-men. The race has continued on a steady decline ever since. Only a small part of Lemurian humanity was capable of further development. Most of the rest were destroyed by the great cataclysms that periodically disturbed the ancient continent. The Fourth root race emerged from the survivors. Meanwhile, the Atlantean root race grew strong as the greater portion of humanity reincarnated into slowly improving bodies and moved forward. The midpoint of the fourth globe of fourth round of the planetary chain was reached in the middle of the fourth sub-race of the fourth root race, some 4.5 million years ago.
Man had undergone great changes to his physical appearance, but so had nature. The plants and animals were different. Vast tracts of land had disappeared beneath the sea and others had come into existence. Very little of the great continent of Lemuria still existed, only Australia, Madagascar, Ceylon and numerous other islands scattered across the vast Pacific Ocean.
The ancient wisdom teachings give many names to the great race that sprung from the seeds of the Lemurians. What we now call Atlantis was also known as the Kingdom of Saturn, Talan, or the Kingdom of Poseidon, and consisted primarily of the large island continents of Ruta and Poseidonis. The latter, Poseidonis, is rumored to have been joined to the great Atlas Range which extends from North Africa into Europe. The central portion of the same range collapsed and submerged long ago under the waves of the Atlantic Ocean and led to the filling up of the fertile Mediterranean basin by salt waters. The larger island continent, Ruta, was situated further to the west. An archipelago of other smaller islands extended towards the Caribbean Sea and the slowly rising lands of the Americas.
Like its predecessor the continent of Lemuria, the island continents of the fourth root race periodically suffered from submergence, earthquakes and volcanic activity. At least three major cataclysms took place, the first 250,000 year ago; the second, about 80,000 years ago; with the final catastrophe occurring about 9,500 to 9,000 years ago. This final collapse of the Atlantean culture was witnessed, by the survivors and former Atlantean colonists, namely the early Greeks and Egyptians, the story of which was passed down to educated Greeks like Solon and Plato.
According to ancient wisdom, the destruction of the island continent of Poseidonis had been foretold, but the people ignored the prophets and seers and refused to leave. When the end came, it came suddenly. The huge island continent sank beneath the dark sea during one night and one day, with millions of Atlanteans losing their lives in a blink of an eye.
As with their ancestors the Lemurians, the stature of the early Atlanteans was quite large and would be known as giants today (perhaps the origin of some of the giant skeletons being dug up today, especially in the lands of the Americas and elsewhere?). In the beginning of the epoch, the Atlanteans had a fairly simple language consisting of single syllables, which eventually developed into the agglutinative type, inflected speech of the fifth root race. Sanskrit is an example of the ancient language types. Found in Sanskrit texts are some of the oldest stories and memories of our race.
Many are the stories of Atlantis that have come down to us through myth and legend. Its many kingdoms held sway over the entire planet during the height of the race. It was a race of great duality, dark and light, war-like, aggressive, creative, crafty, selfish and intelligent. It was an era when man first started to experience a life separate from his interior experience.
During this epoch, the most grossly physical and materialistic of the evolution of humanity, there was an unfortunate misuse of the life force. Certain unevolved men knowingly committed miscegenation, cross-breeding with the most evolved of the then living simians or monkeys. This also occurred during the Lemurian epoch, but the men involved were unconscious of the consequences of their actions. The Atlanteans were more aware. Eventually the Atlanteans made war upon the most advanced of these apes (sound like “Planet of the Apes”?) leaving only the less evolved specimens, the ancestors of present day apes (gorillas, orangutans, etc.).
With the advent of the Atlantean epoch, mankind had developed the faculty of memory. When an Atlantean was trained, he learned to memorize everything taught to him so that he might use it throughout his daily life. When life confronted him with something new, he experimented. He did not have the mental capacity to formulate rules or to exercise forethought. Rather, when life presented him with a particular situation, he remembered what to do or worked out a new solution. One’s experience became important; thence there grew a certain reverence for the wisdom of the elders and ancestors. This kind of education led to a great uniformity in culture. Innovation came slowly.
While the power to think rationally was beyond the Atlanteans, they possessed a native power over what is expressed as life force. Atlanteans were able to develop technologies which utilized the physical forces of nature, harnessing the elements, and utilizing crystals as power sources. According to Plato, the Atlanteans developed flying vehicles which flew above the surface of the land. At this time, the atmosphere of the earth was much thicker, but the water was thinner in texture. The Atlantean was also able to increase his physical power when needed by utilizing the life force of the natural world. Nature was completely part of man’s life. The Eleven kingdoms of present day fantasy novels (see the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and many others) are but a faint echo of the beauty of some of the high Atlantean cities built during the first third of the epoch. Artfully woven branches created dwelling places among the giant hardwood forests. Art, beauty and the harmony of man’s creations echoed the indwelling sacred geometry of form, as displayed in the graceful creations of the natural world.
The Rmoahals
The Rmoahals were one of the first sub-races of the Atlantean root race. These men had a strong memory and had developed feelings related to the effects of their memories upon their souls. With this development of memory came the development of language as a way to communicate what was remembered. Words began to be formed to convey a feeling or image. They began to name things and their words had power over things and their fellow men. The Rmoahals used these new words to heal, to grow plants, to calm the rage of animals and other functions. They felt a deep connection and reverence for nature; as a result, language became very sacred to them. To misuse the power of words was inconceivable. In their innocence, they ascribed their power as divine nature acting through them.
The Tlavatli
The second sub-race, the so-called Tlavatli people, developed in a very different manner. The men of this race began to feel their own personal value. They began to feel ambition. The most powerful of them demanded recognition from his fellows. The remembrance of the deeds of their leaders became a memory that was to be preserved and treasured. The beginnings of ancestor worship or religious veneration for the deceased emerged within some of these tribes. Forms of ancestor worship cults persisted throughout the remainder of the Atlantean period. The Tlavatli were also very warlike and aggressive towards other tribes, including nearby tribes of Lemurians.
The Toltecs
The third sub-race of the Atlantean period, the Toltecs, developed more fully communal life. They were the first race to create a state. The concept of inherited governance in a line of descent, where the governance of the community was passed down from father to son was initiated inaugurating Monarchy and hereditary succession. In these times, fathers had the power to transmit their gifts to their off-spring. Personal experience became more and more important. Powerful leaders began to be initiated by their super being teachers so their personal abilities might have full support. Thus began the sacred kings and leaders of the Atlantean culture. They commanded enormous power and were greatly venerated in their communities. The great super beings who had once led mankind began to withdraw and allow the initiated humans to take command. Kings were created for “the purpose of dealing justly by and helping the people.” Humanity was approaching its prime.
With the tremendous power available to individuals, untampered by a thinking mind, came an inevitable decline and decay as personal ambition turned into selfishness. There arose a misuse of power and a misuse of such tremendous power led to grave consequences for the Atlanteans.
The Primal Turanians
This next sub-race often used their mastery over nature for the satisfaction of their own selfish wishes and desires. In the words of one theosophical author, they were “a wicked generation.” Kings were worshipped as gods. There was abuse and extreme oppression of the lower classes. Personal ambition turned into selfishness. With the misuse of power came the rise in the use of black magic. Remember, these men still retained power over the forces of Nature. With such abuses occurring, there was a withdrawal of divine leaders from the affairs of men. Men were now free to learn from their mistakes. The curbing of such a misuse of power came only with the development of a higher faculty in man, the faculty of thought. With logical thinking came a restraining effect on the personal selfish wishes of an individual. This development came with the fifth sub-race…
The Primal Semites
Man began to go beyond the remembrance of the past and began to compare experiences. Judgment emerged from the comparisons. Man began to listen to an inner voice, the first glimmerings of conscience. From these men came the first laws, long before the formation of the kingdoms of the Sumerians.
With the development of logical thinking, the fifth sub-race of the Atlanteans lost much of its native capacity to control external natural forces. A new inner life began to awake inside of these men. From the fifth sub-race came the beginnings of the fifth root race, the Aryan race, whose mission it was to complete the development of rational thinking and the individualization of the ego.
From my notes, more on these people: This sub-race lost the control of external natural forces. They were the progenitors of the fifth root race. The Primal Semites were a “cunning race that did not obey its Divine Leader to become a separate and chosen people (seed race for the next root race). They willfully intermarried with other Atlantean races – hence preventing the plans of their Super Being leaders – and as a karmic consequence, suffered the “40 years” in the wilderness (the actual length of this wandering was much, much longer than the symbolic 40 years). They were led by their manu (divine leader) to Central Asia (the wilderness) during the lengthy submergence of Atlantis (over thousands of years). During the period of this sub-race, there was an introduction of the concept of worship of an invisible Godhead, as the divine and semi-divine leaders of mankind were withdrawing and leaving men under the jurisdiction of initiated human kings, priests, seers and teachers.
Does anyone else see the resemblance of this particular story to the chapters in Genesis about Moses and the deliverance of the Children of Israel from “the Egyptians”? Again, the stories in the Bible and other ancient texts from the Middle East including those of the Sumerians (from which portions of the Old Testament were derived) are extremely shortened retelling of thousands of years of evolution and human experience. The Promised Land that was to be given to these people, but which was withdrawn from them due to their disobedience, was the entire planet not a scrap of land on the Mediterranean Sea.
The Akkdadians
This sixth sub-race developed the calculating faculty of thought which spurred their race into new enterprises and environments. They were a race absorbed by commerce and moved to form colonies far from the main island continents of Atlantis. This particular sub-race was not in the evolutionary line of progress.
The Mongols
The seventh sub-race also developed the faculty of thought. The Mongol race carried the gifts of the fourth root race to levels of great refinement in the ancient cultures of China and Central Asia. This race also continued to develop a devotion to the memories of their people through the cult of ancestor worship. While they lost their power over nature, they came to worship this sacred power. This devotion is exemplified through the Shinto religion of the Japanese race. The vast majority of humankind alive today is descended from this once mighty sub-race, including the Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, some Native Americans and peoples scattered across Central Asia, Siberia and into parts of the Middle East.
Summation on the Atlantean Root Race
The Atlantean epoch had been primarily focused on the development of the emotional body and the beginning of the lower mental body. Much of the misuse of personal and group power during this epoch came as a consequence of unbridled emotional expression. Man had to learn from the consequences of his actions. That lesson would come during the epoch of the Fifth root race.
The ancient Atlanteans lived in a world of group consciousness. As their powers of thought developed, they became more aware of themselves as individuals, separate from tribe and family. Man was gradually becoming more individualized although that process is still continuing well into the Aryan epoch. The next epoch would see the development of the mental body as well as the refinement of the emotional body of man. The physical stature of the people shrunk, from 20 feet down to 12 to 15 feet (still giants in our parlance today). These people lost control over vital forces of Nature as the physical brain and reasoning Mind grew. The Atlanteans had a strong desire nature. There was the development of cunning, the power of the brain over brawn, used primarily by the Primal Semites.
The Atlanteans incurred a lot of karma that resulted from the misuse of Nature and Power by the black magicians of the various generations. They were, by far, the most materialistic of races, and of extreme duality, builders of great cities, innovators of magnificent science, architecture, arts, and culture, ranging alongside the deepest of human depravities. The bottom of the arc of descent for Humanity as a whole took place during the fourth sub-race of the Atlanteans, the “evil” Turanians (evil being disobedience to the Cosmic Laws and that of the guidance of their spiritual leaders and teachers). The karma incurred by this “evil” generation is still being played out in our present times, thousands of years later. One can see, from a neutral perspective, the extremes of experience that took place during the Atlantean epoch, in the current releasing of those collective unconscious memories from the body of Man. Even now, there are people who have a fear of water, a fear that stems from being drowned during one of the great cataclysms of Atlantis. Numerous authors and seers, including Dolores Cannon and Edgar Cayce, have addressed the lingering effect of fall of Atlantis on current generations.
Long before the final cataclysm that took down the island kingdom of Poseidonis occurred, various groups of Atlanteans had migrated to North Europe, North America, South America and Africa. From these emigrants, led by their divinely inspired teachers and leaders, came some of the seeds for the fifth root race, the Aryans.
More detailed descriptions of what life during Atlantean times might have been like can be found in the books of Ignatius Donnelly (1882), “Atlantis, the Antediluvian World”; the “Book of Dzyan”, by H. P. Blavatsky; and “The Story of Atlantis”, by W. Scott-Elliott.
These books were written in the late 1800’s without the benefit of our increasing awareness and scientific knowledge, as well as the numerous archaeological and other related finds that are being discovered now every day. (Keep in mind, some of the data gathered during such finds has been, in some cases, suppressed or discredited by authorities intent on putting forth their own version of the history of humanity, in most parts, a very shortened version). Even now, the remains of great cities and ruins are being found under the seas or covered by skins of earth, hidden by jungle, echoes of this vast, complicated world-wide culture.
The Aryan Root Race
Ancient wisdom names the first five sub-races of the fifth root race as follows: the Hindu- Aryans, the Babylonian-Assyrian-Chaldeans (Magi), the Persian-Graceo-Romans, the Celts, and the Teutonic-Anglo-Saxons. The sixth sub-race, yet unnamed, is supposed to be based, primarily, in the Americas. The seventh sub-race will be based primarily in the Slavic countries of Eastern Europe and Russia.
The Hindu Aryans – the First “Aryan” Sub-race
According to ancient wisdom, the great first sub-race of the fifth root race, the Hindu-Aryans, had their beginnings in the upper highlands of Central Asia, some three to four million years ago. Guided by their manu and teachers, the seed stock of the first Aryan sub-race traveled from the sinking Atlantis to Ireland (see the work of Michael Tasarion) through Europe and Asia Minor to Central Asia, where they remained until the earth had quieted down after the final travail of Atlantis (some 9,000 to 9,500 thousand years ago. They were descendants of the fifth sub-race of the Atlanteans, the Primal Semites (ironic, in view of the irrational and racist views of current day Nazis and their counterparts, the Aryan Nation and other racially-motivated white supremacist groups).
In due time, the fir