A Road to Self Knowledge, and The Threshold of the Spiritual World - Softcover

Steiner, Rudolf

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0854402918 ISBN 13: 9780854402915

Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press, 1975

Synopsis

Originally published in 1918, this book takes an extensive look into how to achieve greater self-knowledge. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.Contents Include : Introductory remarks, First meditation In which the attempt is made to obtain a true idea of the physical body, Second meditation In which the attempt is made to form a true conception of the elemental or etheric body, Third meditation In which the attempt is made to form an idea of clairvoyant cognition of the elemental world, Fourth meditation In which the attempt is made to form a conception of the guardian of the threshold, Fifth meditation In which the attempt is made to form an idea of the astral body, Sixth meditation In which the attempt is made to form a conception of the ego body or thought body, Seventh meditation In which the attempt is made to form an idea of the character of experience in supersensible worlds, Eighth meditation In which the attempt is made to form an idea of the way in which man beholds his repeated earth lives. The threshold of the spiritual world, Concerning the reliance which may be placed on thinking the nature of the thinking soul and of meditation, Concerning knowledge of the spiritual world, Concerning man's etheric body and the elemental world, Summary of the foregoing, Concerning reincarnation and Karma man's astral body and the spiritual world and ahrimanic beings, Concerning the astral body and luciferic beings and the nature of the etheric body, Concerning the guardian of the threshold and some peculiarities of clairvoyant consciousness, Concerning the ego feeling and the human soul's capacity for love and the relation of these to the elemental world, Concerning the boundary between the physical world and supersensible worlds, Concerning beings of the spirit worlds, Concerning spiritual cosmic beings, The first beginnings of man's physical body, Concerning man's real ego, Summary of part of the foregoing, Remarks on the connection of what is described in this book with the accounts given in my books Theosophy and Occult Science

About this title

About the Author

Rudolf Steiner (25/27 February, 1861 – 30 March, 1925) was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. He gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he founded a spiritual movement, anthroposophy, as an esoteric philosophy with roots in German idealist philosophy and theosophy. When he was nine years old, he believed he saw the spirit of an aunt who had died in a far-off town asking him to help her; at the time of the vision neither he, nor his family supposedly knew of the woman's death. In contrast to mainstream Theosophy, he sought to build a Western approach to spirituality based on the philosophical and mystical traditions of European culture. The German Section of the Theosophical Society grew rapidly under Steiner's leadership as he lectured throughout much of Europe on his spiritual science. During this period, he maintained an original approach, replacing Madame Blavatsky's terminology with his own, and basing his spiritual research and teachings upon the Western esoteric and philosophical tradition. This and other differences, in particular Steiner's vocal rejection of Leadbeater and Besant's claim that Jiddu Krishnamurti was the vehicle of a new Maitreya, or world teacher, led to a formal split in 1912/13, when Steiner and the majority of members of the German section of the Theosophical Society broke off to form a new group, the Anthroposophical Society. Far right-wing groups gained strength in Germany after the First World War. In 1919, a political theorist of the National Socialist movement in Germany, Dietrich Eckart, attacked Steiner and suggested that he was a Jew. In 1921, Adolf Hitler attacked Steiner on many fronts, including accusations that he was a tool of the Jews, while other nationalist extremists in Germany called for a "war against Steiner". The 1923 Beer Hall Putsch in Munich led him to give up his residence in Berlin, saying that if those responsible for the attempted coup [Hitler and others] came to power in Germany, it would no longer be possible for him to enter the country. From 1923 on, Steiner showed signs of increasing frailness and illness. He nonetheless continued to lecture widely, and even to travel; especially towards the end of this time, he was often giving two, three or even four lectures daily for courses taking place concurrently.

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation)

Edition details

• Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
• Publication date: 1975
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0854402918
• ISBN 13: 9780854402915
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 173