 Man
in the Light of Occultism, Theosophy
and Philosophy
10 lectures by Rudolf
Steiner
In these lectures, given in Christiania
(Oslo), Norway in 1912, Rudolf Steiner traverses a wide range of
subject matter yet he does so following a consistent theme. He
traces the broad historical development of human consciousness
through progressive changes which have occurred over millennia and
which have given rise to the period of cultural religions, the age
of philosophy (which continues), and the development of spiritual
knowledge or theosophy which is now just budding.
The primary source and foundation of
all of these is occultism, by which is meant the direct conscious
experience of the divine or spiritual realms from which human and
all life derives. Occult knowledge and power has always been
restricted to a few, the initiates, who through their own merit and
under the auspices of the guiding higher Powers are able to use it
benevolently and in service of the World process. Because humanity
at large is driven by egocentric motives, this knowledge had to be
held back from them until a level of maturity could develop which
would ensure intelligent and moral use of it.
Yet without some experience of the
divine, the human soul, and with it all human joy, would wither. To
ensure that life and society could continue to grow and develop, the
initiates conveyed their revelations and the inherent guiding wisdom
to their communities through the founding of cultural religions.
Through these and their various cults, rituals, practices and
beliefs, humanity could still experience the divine through
Imaginations which could then still be experienced. These religions
were the theosophy of these earlier cultures.
Later, as human consciousness became
more sense-bound and individualised, conceptualization began and the
earlier Imaginative consciousness paled into our ordinary sense of
fantasy or daydream, no longer to be relied on as a source of
inspiration. With this came alienation and the individualised
questioning outlook of the Greek philosopher, seeking, like the
religious impulses before it and the occultist’s upward gaze, the
source of its own being and
raison d'être.
Steiner also describes how
religion, in the modern time has become guarded over by theology
which has proscribed two paths from adherents of the faith:
theosophy and mysticism. In religions of faith, God or the spiritual
must remain outside personal experience and is only related to
through faith in this ‘wholly other’.
He then examines different
kinds of mystical experience as exemplified in historical
personalities such as Meister Eckhart, St Francis of Assisi, St
Theresa and Mechthild of Magdeburg.
In contrast to the mystical
path, Steiner then describes one involving contemplation of the
human form in a manner wholly different than we are accustomed to,
one which is a ‘theosophy’ of the human form. He examines the
threefold human form in relation to the underlying dynamics of the
zodiac so that we can see how the human being is a threefolded
extract of cosmos. The body is first seen as a twelvefold organism
in relation to the 12 signs of the zodiac. It is then re-examined as
3 sevenfold organisms which comprise the head man (Sagittarius to
Gemini), rhythmic middle man (Gemini to Sagittarius) and the
digestive and lower limb man (Virgo to Pisces). Each of the 12
zodiac signs and corresponding bodily forms and characteristics is
described.
Having related the 12
zodiacal signs to the human form, Steiner then relates 7 types of
human movement to the 7 planets. This he describes as the next phase
of occult development following the experience of the threefold
human form.
In the later lectures of this
series, Steiner describes the different states of consciousness that
the occultist comes to know and special role played by the Christ
Being in securing the human ‘I’ in these higher states, the
historical development of Buddha and his current activities, the
influences of Lucifer and Ahriman, and also those of Jehovah and
Judaism.
Something not dealt with much in other lectures, is the pre-history
of the Christ and Lucifer in Old Moon and Old Sun evolutions and
their activities in these earlier Worlds.
10 lectures, Christiania (Oslo), Norway,
June 1912, GA137
Garber Communications
214pp; hardback
ISBN: 0 89345 257 2
Prompt
delivery within the United Kingdom and overseas.
Copyright © 2003 Skylark Books
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