The Effects of Esoteric Development - Rudolf Steiner

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Résumé :
On February 3, 1913, the first general meeting of the newly formed Anthroposophical Society was convened in Berlin. Six weeks later in Holland, Rudolf Steiner spoke for the first time as an anthroposophist in a detailed, intimate way of the esoteric schooling of the individual human being in earthly life -- hence the fundamental importance of these lectures on anthroposophical inner development. Steiner deals here with the subtle effects of spiritual development at every level of the human being. Beginning with straightforward questions relating to the body's experience of food -- meat, coffee, alcohol, and so forth -- he unfolds the universe of spiritual striving until it includes direct perception of Paradise and the Holy Grail, and the role of the human being evolving between the forces of Lucifer and Ahriman. Included as a prologue is Steiner's crucial lecture on The Being of Anthroposophy, which has never before appeared in English. This edition also includes Steiner's introductory words, previousl available only in German typescript.

Biographie:
Rudolf Steiner (b. Rudolf Joseph Lorenz 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.