A Western Approach to Reincarnation and Karma

A Western Approach to Reincarnation and Karma PDF Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 0880109351
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
The soul's immortality and its repeated earthly births are not new ideas in Western thought. They are implicit in the Pythagorean and Platonic traditions, as well as in some branches of esoteric Judaism and Cabbala. But it was not until the early years of this century that the West was given a detailed, modern, evolutionary philosophy of human life based on the reality of reincarnation and karma. This turning point occurred when Rudolf Steiner began to make public the results of his spiritual scientific researches. He viewed the revelation of reincarnation and karma as one of his most important life tasks. Steiner's contribution, however, remains unique in its understanding of the human being as an evolving, developing being of body, soul, and spirit. On the basis of his researches--presented in numerous books and lectures--we begin to understand how the complex interaction of human lives between birth and death and between death and a new birth gives new meaning not only to individual lives lived on Earth in community with others, but also to human history and evolution and to earthly and cosmic events. This book collects many of Steiner's major statements on reincarnation and karma. The primary purpose of this volume is to help readers meet the challenge of spiritual research in the area of individual evolution of the soul and spirit in the context of cultural and universal evolution. Such a study can be tremendously revealing and provide spiritual understanding in a time of increasing intellectual confusion and spiritual poverty. The notion of reincarnation and karma is generally associated in most minds with spiritual traditions of the East, especially Hinduism and Buddhism. Ren Querido's in-depth, sixty-page introduction, however, places these concepts within the context of Western spiritual development and esoteric tradition, showing us a panoramic view of how such ideas have developed over the centuries in the West. Contents: Introduction by Ren Querido: 1 Our Present Dilemma 2 Historical Survey of Reincarnation and Karma 3 Rudolf Steiner's Original Contributions The lectures: 1 Natural and Chance Illnesses in the Human Being 2 Elemental Events, Volcanic Eruptions, Earthquakes & Epidemics in Relation to Karma 3 Death and Rebirth in Relation to Karma 4 Knowledge of Reincarnation and Karma 5 Examples of Karma Working between Two Incarnations 6 Vital Questions in the Light of Reincarnation and Karma 7 The Formation of Karmic Forces 8 Reincarnation of the Spirit and Destiny

A Western Approach to Reincarnation and Karma

A Western Approach to Reincarnation and Karma PDF Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 0880109351
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 124

Get Book

Book Description
The soul's immortality and its repeated earthly births are not new ideas in Western thought. They are implicit in the Pythagorean and Platonic traditions, as well as in some branches of esoteric Judaism and Cabbala. But it was not until the early years of this century that the West was given a detailed, modern, evolutionary philosophy of human life based on the reality of reincarnation and karma. This turning point occurred when Rudolf Steiner began to make public the results of his spiritual scientific researches. He viewed the revelation of reincarnation and karma as one of his most important life tasks. Steiner's contribution, however, remains unique in its understanding of the human being as an evolving, developing being of body, soul, and spirit. On the basis of his researches--presented in numerous books and lectures--we begin to understand how the complex interaction of human lives between birth and death and between death and a new birth gives new meaning not only to individual lives lived on Earth in community with others, but also to human history and evolution and to earthly and cosmic events. This book collects many of Steiner's major statements on reincarnation and karma. The primary purpose of this volume is to help readers meet the challenge of spiritual research in the area of individual evolution of the soul and spirit in the context of cultural and universal evolution. Such a study can be tremendously revealing and provide spiritual understanding in a time of increasing intellectual confusion and spiritual poverty. The notion of reincarnation and karma is generally associated in most minds with spiritual traditions of the East, especially Hinduism and Buddhism. Ren Querido's in-depth, sixty-page introduction, however, places these concepts within the context of Western spiritual development and esoteric tradition, showing us a panoramic view of how such ideas have developed over the centuries in the West. Contents: Introduction by Ren Querido: 1 Our Present Dilemma 2 Historical Survey of Reincarnation and Karma 3 Rudolf Steiner's Original Contributions The lectures: 1 Natural and Chance Illnesses in the Human Being 2 Elemental Events, Volcanic Eruptions, Earthquakes & Epidemics in Relation to Karma 3 Death and Rebirth in Relation to Karma 4 Knowledge of Reincarnation and Karma 5 Examples of Karma Working between Two Incarnations 6 Vital Questions in the Light of Reincarnation and Karma 7 The Formation of Karmic Forces 8 Reincarnation of the Spirit and Destiny

A Western Approach to Reincarnation and Karma

A Western Approach to Reincarnation and Karma PDF Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 9780880103992
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
The soul's immortality and its repeated earthly births are not new ideas in Western thought. They are implicit in the Pythagorean and Platonic traditions, as well as in some branches of esoteric Judaism and Cabbala. But it was not until the early years of this century that the West was given a detailed, modern, evolutionary philosophy of human life based on the reality of reincarnation and karma. This turning point occurred when Rudolf Steiner began to make public the results of his spiritual scientific researches. He viewed the revelation of reincarnation and karma as one of his most important life tasks. Steiner's contribution, however, remains unique in its understanding of the human being as an evolving, developing being of body, soul, and spirit. On the basis of his researches--presented in numerous books and lectures--we begin to understand how the complex interaction of human lives between birth and death and between death and a new birth gives new meaning not only to individual lives lived on Earth in community with others, but also to human history and evolution and to earthly and cosmic events. This book collects many of Steiner's major statements on reincarnation and karma. The primary purpose of this volume is to help readers meet the challenge of spiritual research in the area of individual evolution of the soul and spirit in the context of cultural and universal evolution. Such a study can be tremendously revealing and provide spiritual understanding in a time of increasing intellectual confusion and spiritual poverty. The notion of reincarnation and karma is generally associated in most minds with spiritual traditions of the East, especially Hinduism and Buddhism. Ren Querido's in-depth, sixty-page introduction, however, places these concepts within the context of Western spiritual development and esoteric tradition, showing us a panoramic view of how such ideas have developed over the centuries in the West. Contents: Introduction by Ren Querido: 1 Our Present Dilemma 2 Historical Survey of Reincarnation and Karma 3 Rudolf Steiner's Original Contributions The lectures: 1 Natural and Chance Illnesses in the Human Being 2 Elemental Events, Volcanic Eruptions, Earthquakes & Epidemics in Relation to Karma 3 Death and Rebirth in Relation to Karma 4 Knowledge of Reincarnation and Karma 5 Examples of Karma Working between Two Incarnations 6 Vital Questions in the Light of Reincarnation and Karma 7 The Formation of Karmic Forces 8 Reincarnation of the Spirit and Destiny

Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma

Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma PDF Author: Norman C. McClelland
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 9780786456758
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Featuring over 1,200 topical entries arranged alphabetically, this encyclopedia provides diverse and detailed coverage of the related subjects of reincarnation and karma. Its in-depth examination ranges from ancient beliefs to those of the present, incorporating all relevant world cultures. A series of broad thematic entries cover foundational aspects while over a thousand highly focused entries deal with various societies and organizations which support the concepts of reincarnation and karma; specific religious groups, sects, and associations; key individuals both historic and modern; and related beliefs, concepts, and practices.

The Mysticism of Ordinary and Extraordinary Experience

The Mysticism of Ordinary and Extraordinary Experience PDF Author: Harry L. Serio
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725291010
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
We are so much more than we appear to be. The “why” of our existence is far more complex than the “how” of our being. Mysticism probes the hidden nature of who we are, why we are, and our relationship to our Creator. We catch glimpses of this not only in the ordinary experiences of life, but also through extraordinary and unusual encounters with mystery. Mysticism is the awareness of our reality.

Awakening to Spirit

Awakening to Spirit PDF Author: Lee Irwin
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791442210
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Explores the concept of Spirit in the postmodern age.

A Life for the Spirit

A Life for the Spirit PDF Author: Henry Barnes
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 9780880103954
Category : Anthroposophists
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
"Whether or not Steiner's insights are valid is for each of us to determine. His work is not easy, and he challenges our usual thinking every step of the way. The insights are radical, in the original meaning of that word: they go to the roots. We are forced more and more to realize that only through such thinking can actions arise that are truly healing and constructive." --Henry Barnes (from the introduction) Few people today recognize Rudolf Steiner's name, yet those who are aware of him know that his presence pervades every forward-looking aspect of contemporary life. Nearly all fields of life have been fructified by his insights--not abstractly or theoretically, but in a concrete way that changes lives. No wonder, then, that Steiner has been called "the best kept secret of the twentieth century." Born in 1861 in Kraljvec, Austria, Steiner showed evidence early on of the most varied gifts--a precise and probing scientific mind combined with a natural clairvoyant ability to see into the spiritual world, a determined need to think things through for himself, and a profound reverence for the divine. He first made his mark as a philosopher and the editor of Goethe's scientific writings. He also recognized the revolutionary spirit in Nietzsche. But Steiner's destiny led him in a different direction. Profound cognitive experiences determined that his task would lie in service to the spirit. While recognizing the integrity of modern science's phenomenological empiricism, he also knew that the time had come to extend the field of science to include investigation of the supersensible. Working at first within the Theosophical Society, but always speaking and writing out of his own experience, Steiner developed the foundations for a thoroughly modern spiritual-scientific discipline that would transform spiritual and cultural life. Until his death in 1925, in countless lectures and books, Steiner created the body of knowledge and practice known as "anthroposophy," which not only challenged and extended the underlying methods of modern knowledge, but stimulated many practical cultural initiatives such as: Waldorf education, biodynamic agriculture, the art of eurythmy, the movement for a threefold social order, and anthroposophical medicine. Henry Barnes--the author of Into the Heart's Land: A Century of Rudolf Steiner's Work in North America--recounts the dynamic life of this remarkable man. He does so by placing Steiner in the crosscurrents of history and showing him not as a spectator or ivory-tower philosopher, but as a leading actor in the drama, one whose entire being was given in service to humanity and to the spirit. Contents: Foreword by Robert McDermott Introduction: In Search of a New Thinking The Twentieth Century: Battleground for Human Individuality Child of Middle Europe: Biographical Foundations The Weimar Years: Nietzsche, Steiner, and the Redemption of Thinking The Years of Inner Testing: Berlin The Work Unfolds The Building Rises Insight Becomes Life: The Three fold Movement for Social Reform The First Waldorf School and the Independence of Education The Healing Arts Religious Renewal Out of Fire Renewal from Within: The Christmas Foundation Months of Grace Afterword: The Battle Continues--What Can I Do?

The Bhagavad Gita and the West

The Bhagavad Gita and the West PDF Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 0880109610
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 566

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Book Description
5 lectures, Cologne, Dec. 28, 1912 - Jan. 1, 1913 (CW 142) 9 lectures, Helsinki, May 28 - June 5, 1913 (CW 146) 1 lecture, Basel, Sept. 19, 1912 (CW 139) This combination of two volumes in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works presents Steiner's profound engagement with Hindu thought and, above all, the Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita as they illuminate Western Christian esotericism. In his masterly introduction, Robert McDermott, a longtime student of Rudolf Steiner, as well as Hindu spirituality, explores the complex ways in which the "Song of the Lord," or Bhagavad Gita, has been understood in East and West. He shows how Krishna's revelation to Arjuna--a foundation of spirituality in India for more than two and a half millennia--assumed a similarly critical role in the Western spiritual revival of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the West, for instance, leading up to Steiner's engagement, he describes the different approaches manifested by Emerson, Thoreau, H.P. Blavatsky, and William James. In the East, he engages with the interpretation of historical figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo, relating them to Steiner's unique perspective. At the same time, and most valuable, he illuminates the various technical terms and assumptions implicit in the worldview expressed in the Bhagavad Gita. The main body of The Bhagavad Gita and the West consists of two lecture courses by Rudolf Steiner: "The Bhagavad Gita and the Epistles of Paul" and "The Esoteric Significance of the Bhagavad Gita." In the first course, his main purpose, as McDermott shows, is to integrate the flower of Hindu spirituality into his view of the evolution of consciousness and the pivotal role played in it by the Mystery of Golgotha--the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Steiner views Krishna as a great spiritual teacher and the Bhagavad Gita as a preparation, though still abstract, for the coming of Christ and the Christ impulse as the living embodiment of the World, Law, and Devotion, represented by the three Hindu streams of Veda, Sankhya, and Yoga. For him, the epic poem of the Bhagavad Gita represents the "fully ripened fruit" of Hinduism, whereas Paul is related but represents "the seed of something entirely new." In the last lecture, Steiner reveals Krishna as the sister soul of Adam, incarnated as Jesus, and claims Krisha's Yoga teachings streamed from Christ into Paul. In the second lecture course, given five months later, Steiner engages the text of the Bhagavad Gita on its own terms, as signaling the beginning of a new soul consciousness. To aid in the understanding of both these important cycles, this volume includes the complete text of the Bhagavad Gita in Eknath Easwaran's luminous translation. In our age, when East and West are growing closer together and we live increasingly in a global, intercultural, religiously pluralistic world, The Bhagavad Gita and the West is necessary reading for all concerned with a truly spiritual approach to the new reality. This book is a translation of two volumes in German: Die Bhagavad Gita und die Paulusbriefe (CW 142) and Die okkulten Grundlagen der Bhagavad Gita (CW 146), published by Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach, Switzerland, 1961. The lecture in the appendix is translated from Das Markus-Evangelium (CW 139) and was published in The Gospel of St. Mark, Anthroposophic Press, 1986. Part I: "The Bhagavad Gita and the Epistles of Paul" was translated by Lisa D. Monges and Doris M. Bugbey. Part II: "The Esoteric Meaning of the Bhagavad Gita" was translated by George and Mary Adams and amended by Doris M. Bugbey. Both translations were revised for this edition by Mado Spiegler. The lecture in the Appendix was translated by Conrad Mainzer and edited by Stewart C. Easton. Part III: The text of the Bhagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran, is reproduced with kind permission from Nilgiri Press, Berkeley, CA, 2007. Click here to read the first part of Robert McDermott's introduction to The Bhagavad Gita and the West.

Staying Connected

Staying Connected PDF Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 9780880104623
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
The idea of maintaining, continuing, and enhancing our relationships with those who have died was a fundamental part of Rudolf Steiner's work. This volume collects a rich harvest of Steiner's thoughts on this subject gathered over many years. Steiner speaks from his own experiences, providing some of the meditation practices and verses that worked for him. We learn of the value of reading to the dead; of using verbs (rather than nouns) when talking with them; of the importance of the sacred moments while falling asleep and awaking for asking questions and receiving answers; of the way our memories of the dead are like art to them; and of key moods we must develop -- community with the world, gratitude, confidence in the current of life.

The Language of the Conscious Soul

The Language of the Conscious Soul PDF Author: Carl Unger
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 1621480178
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 517

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Book Description
"After Rudolf Steiner had left us in the body, the gifts of the spirit that were offered by him in such overflowing measure could not continue. It must now happen that a community of human beings takes over the results of his spiritual research, takes them in such a way that they remain alive in the community. People must come together in anthroposophic work, united in such a way that Anthroposophy comes into its own." --Carl Unger (lecture in Stuttgart, Oct. 29, 1928) This volume provides perhaps the most comprehensive and profound exegesis of Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy, especially his book titled Anthroposophical Leading Thoughts. That book provides Steiner's final and most complete explanation of his Spiritual Science through brief, aphoristic thoughts, or meditations, on the profound esoteric meaning of the modern spiritual path he called Anthroposophy. In The Language of the Consciousness Soul, Carl Unger unfolds and expands Rudolf Steiner's "leading thoughts" to help the reader comprehend the deeper meaning behind the words. Unger lets us see how Rudolf Steiner created a mandala-like image of Anthroposophy, revealing an ever-expanding cosmology and epistemology that goes far beyond mere philosophy or a belief system to a practical path of spiritual investigation and knowledge for modern humankind. Rudolf Steiner had this to say about Carl Unger: "Dr. Carl Unger, for many years past, has always been the most industrious and devoted collaborator in the anthroposophic movement.... At an early date, Dr. Unger saw that Anthroposophy, before all, needs a strong foundation of the theory of knowledge. With a deep understanding he took up what I myself, many years ago, was able to give in my books Goethe's Theory of Knowledge, Truth and Knowledge, and Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path: A Philosophy of Freedom, he developed independently what I had intimated. Supported by mental discernment, his goal was to see through the nature of the human process of knowledge in a clear analysis, and from that to form its true picture. Dr. Unger is not dialectical but an observer of empirical facts. This is why, through the years, he has been able to give results of the highest value, showing how the process of knowledge in ordinary consciousness produces, always and everywhere, out of itself, the impulses to anthroposophic investigation. Moreover, Dr. Unger's method of thinking, trained through technical problems, is free from subjective vagueness, and thus his scientific collaboration in Anthroposophy is the most important that we can have." The Language of the Consciousness Soul is an indispensable guidebook for group study and for individuals who wish to penetrate the depths of Anthroposophy and apply its principles both inwardly and to outer daily life. This volume is a translation by Effie Grace Wilson of Aus der Sprache der Bewusstseinsseele: Unter Zugrundelegung der Leitsätze Rudolf Steiners.

The Christian Mystery

The Christian Mystery PDF Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: SteinerBooks
ISBN: 9780880104197
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
In this major collection, Rudolf Steiner affirms the reality of esoteric Christianity and unveils many of its secret teachings. His lectures are on the significance of the Mystery of Golgotha and of the Blood that flowed on the Cross; the relationship of Christ and Lucifer (or Love and Knowledge); the various paths of initiation, including the Christian-Gnostic and Rosicrucian Paths; and Steiner's early interpretations of St. John's gospel and the sermon on the mount. All of Steiner's lectures on the Lord's Prayer are also included, as well as the version of the prayer that Steiner himself prayed throughout his life. This is an excellent book for all those who want to deepen their understanding of the Western stream of Christian esotericism and Rudolf Steiner's approach to Christianity as a spiritual practice. C O N T E N T S Introduction by Christopher Bamford 1. Prologue The Mystical Meaning of the Mass The Significance of Christmas from the Perspective of Spiritual Science The Origin of Religious Confessions and Forms of Prayers 2. The Christian Mystery The Christian Mystery The Mystery of Golgotha The Promise of the Spirit of Truth The World-historical Significance of the Blood that Flowed on the Cross The Purification of the Blood from the Passion of Selfhood through the Mystery of Golgotha 3. Lucifer and Christ Lucifer, the Bearer of Light; Christ, the Bringer of Love The Children of Lucifer: The Step from Love Based on Kinship to Spiritual Love The Intellect as a Gift from Lucifer 4. Paths of Initiation The Three Paths of Initiation The Yoga Path, Christian Gnostic Initiation, and the Esotericism of the Rosicrucian How Does One Gain Higher Knowledge in the Rosicrucian Sense? Who Are the Rosicrucians? Christian Initiation and Rosicrucian Training The Schools for Adepts of the Past Earlier Initiation and Esoteric Christianity Christian Gnostic Meditations 5. The Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer as Prayed by Rudolf Steiner The Lord's Prayer, 1 & 2 The Lord's Prayer Considered Esoterically, 1 & 2 6. Gospel Readings John's Gospel John's gospel as a Record of Initiation: The First Twelve Chapters The Sermon on the Mount 7. Epilogue Christianity Began as a Religion but is Greater than a Religion