Theosophy

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Classic spiritual masterwork - Rated
Rudolf Steiner is widely regarded, at least amongst those in the know, as a giant amongst 20th century thinkers and guides. His practical initiatives were wide ranging enough to qualify him as a great 'Renaissance man'. He developed a revolutionary educational philosophy, which has given birth to some 700 or 800 schools worldwide, an education characterised by its cultivation of the balanced and free human being and deriving from his spiritual philosophy and insights, which are outlined in a systematic way in this book.

He was a noted artist, sculptor, choreographer, playwright and architect whose work has led to the foundation of several artistic and architectural schools. At the end of the First World War he was active in trying to promote a more sensible set of economic, cultural and political arrangements, the failure of which lead directly to several of the disasters of 20th-century European and world history. He also formally trained as and was a valued scientist in a number of fields. For example, he developed a highly effective form of organic agriculture known as biodynamics, which is now cultivated from New Zealand to California, is recognised as an important agricultural model in Germany and is much esteemed in viniculture. He also warned against feeding cows reconstituted meat-based foods, describing the kind of illness which we now know as BSE. According to Richard Tarnas, author of The Passion of the Western Mind, Steiner can also be located as a philosopher alongside Goethe and Hegel, and his epistemology, outlined in The Philosophy of Freedom (aka Intuitive Thinking as a Path of Knowledge) is an answer to the dilemmas of the Descartian-Hegelian paradigm. Amongst those who are actively engaged in his path of knowledge, known as anthroposophy, excellent as these initiatives are, they are but the proof points of Steiner's spiritual seership, the outcomes of which he outlined in several thousand lectures and a number of books.

Theosophy is his classic outline of the spiritual nature of the human being and the nature of existence, both during life and after death. It is not strictly speaking philosophical book; indeed Steiner would call it science. But it is not science as you know it, being based on his cultivated ability to observe the supersensible. Were it not for the rigour of his thinking and the width and depth of his practical achievements you might think he was a nutter. But a short exposure makes this impossible to believe.

It is a serious book and both needs and repays study. It is also hugely stimulating: you are likely to be left speechless and dumbfounded and whether this turns you off or starts you on a long engagement will be down to you. At the heart of Steiner's philosophy is the conviction of the need to develop human freedom. For those more interested in practice of spiritual development, his introductory text Knowledge of Higher Worlds (aka How to Know Higher Worlds) may be a better alternative start.

STIMULATING AND THOUGHT PROVOKING - Rated
This work by Steiner covers the fundamentals of spirituality and mankind’s place in the cosmos. Chapter One deals with the essential nature of the human being as body, soul and spirit, beginning with the physical bodily nature and concluding with the higher spiritual aspects of our being. The picture that emerges is one of the human being in an evolving process of becoming, where the agent of transformation is the “I”. Chapter Two covers destiny and the reincarnation of the human spirit, while Chapter Three discusses other dimensions of consciousness like the soul world, the spirit world and their connection with the physical world and includes with a section on thought forms and the human aura. These worlds are not to be considered spatially, but are states of consciousness, qualitative spaces of inner relationship. Chapter Four discusses the individual’s spiritual path and encourages the acquisition of spiritual knowledge with the emphasis on thinking and proving truth for oneself. Steiner sees the first step in this path of knowledge as the assimilation of scientific spiritual concepts. He asks the reader not to “believe” what he says, but to “think” it. It is not a question of belief but of experience. Here his thoughts correspond with those of Jung as explained in Stephan Hoeller’s great book The Gnostic Jung And The Seven Sermons To The Dead – that mankind has a need of religious experience, not of belief. Unlike a major portion of Eastern thought which believes in the dissolution of individuality, Steiner‘s view is that spiritual growth does not take place at the expense of individuality, but through its enhancement. A similar idea can be found in Thomas Troward’s beautiful book The Creative Process In The Individual. I would also like to recommend the following works for those interested in spirituality: Cosmic Consciousness by R M Bucke and The Varieties Of Religious Experience by William James. Theosophy is a thought-provoking book that ought to be studied rather than read. The book concludes with a thorough index and a short biography and photograph of Rudolf Steiner. It has stimulated my interest to investigate his other works.