Dettagli
Scarica Docx
Leggi di più
Born in 1861, Dr. Rudolf Steiner was a great Austrian polymath, philosopher and scientist who made influential contributions in the fields of education, science, spirituality and medicine. He is perhaps best known for pioneering the holistic educational methods for the Waldorf schools. An eloquent public speaker and gifted writer, he gave over 6,000 lectures in his lifetime and gained recognition as a literary critic. His writings cover a wide range of subjects, and he published more than 25 books, including “Mysticism at the Dawn of the Modern Age,” “The Way of Initiation,” and “Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path: The Philosophy of Freedom.” He developed and taught an esoteric spiritual philosophy called anthroposophy, based on “the science of the spirit.” Today, we will read a passage from the chapter “Path of Discipleship,” in Dr. Rudolf Steiner’s book, “The Way of Initiation.”
“This calm contemplation must become a necessity to the student. He is plunged completely into a world of thought, and must develop an earnest desire for calm thinking. He must learn to love the in-pouring of the spirit. Then he will learn to regard this thought-world and its thought-forms as more real than the every-day things which surround him, and he begins to deal with thoughts as with things existing in space.”
“He begins to hear voices through the silence. Formerly his ear was the only organ of hearing; now he can listen with his soul. An inner language and an inner voice are revealed to him. It is a moment of supremest ecstasy to the student when this experience first comes to him. An inner light floods the whole external world for him, and he is ‘born anew.’ Through his being passes a current from a divine world, bringing with it divine bliss.”
“Those who, by means of meditation, rise to that which unites man with spirit, are bringing to life within them the eternal element which is not limited by birth nor death. Only those who have had no experience for themselves can doubt the existence of this eternal element. Thus, meditation becomes the way by which man also attains to the recognition and contemplation of his eternal, indestructible, essential being. And only through meditation can one attain to such a view of life. Gnosis and Theosophy tell of the eternal nature of this essential being, and of its reincarnation. The question is often asked: ‘Why does a man know nothing of those experiences which lie beyond the borders of birth and death?’ Not thus should we ask, but rather: ‘How may we attain to such knowledge?’ The entrance to the Path is opened by right meditation. This alone can revive the memory of events that lie beyond the borders of birth and death.”
