Det levende væsens sanseevne og verdensaltet

Symbol 31

A Summary Explanation of Symbol No. 31 - The Sensory Faculty of the Living Being and the Steps in Evolution

The symbol shows the as-yet unfinished human being’s limited perception of reality. From a cosmic point of view all beings are the same being. They appear as thousands upon thousands of different races and species because they are ordinarily judged by their physical organisms. This organism is absolutely not the being itself, but is merely its creative tool and tool for experiencing life. It is of course a mistake to judge the being’s real or absolute identity by its organism, particularly because it is temporal and will perish.

See also Martinus’ description of symbol no. 31 in The Eternal World Picture 3.

The main details of the symbol:

The cone-shaped figure on the left symbolises the universe. This universe comprises everything that exists.
The stairs on the right symbolise the ladder of evolution on whose steps all existing living beings are situated. Each step symbolises a step in evolution.
The triangle symbolises a living being.
The shining ray that emanates from the living being symbolises its sensory faculty, that is to say, its ability to manifest and to experience life. The ray shows that the unfinished human being has a limited sensory faculty. It sees the universe from its own particular limited perspective, but perceives this perspective as true reality. It finds it difficult to understand the view of the universe of people on the steps in evolution above and below it. This lack of understanding of the view of life of other people is the reason for intolerance, war and suffering.