Karmic Relationships : Esoteric Studies

16 lectures, Dornach, April 6 – June 29, 1924 (CW 236)

During 1924, before his final address in September, Rudolf Steiner delivered more than eighty lectures on karma to members of the Anthroposophical Society. These profoundly esoteric lectures examine the underlying laws of reincarnation and karma, and explore in detail the incarnations of certain named historical figures.

In Rudolf Steiner's words, the study of karma is “a matter of penetrating into the most profound mysteries of existence, for within the sphere of karma and the course it takes lie those processes which are the basis of the other phenomena of world existence.”

In this second volume of the “Karmic Relationships” series, Steiner considers individual karmic relationships in history―for example Marx and Engels―as well as surveying karma in human life, the shaping of karma after death, and the "cosmic form" of karma.

This book is a translation from German of 16 lectures (of 17) in Esoterische Betrachtungen karmischer Zusammenhänge, in 6 Bdn., Bd.2 (GA 236).

Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe's scientific writings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner's multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland.