Theosophy: An Introduction to the Supersensible Knowledge of the World and the Destination of Man

Rudolf Steiner

Anthroposophic Press, 1971 - Anthroposophy - 195 pages

This book is a good starting point among the hundreds of books written by Rudolf Steiner. He sees a tripartate model of the individual here: body, soul and spirit, cautioning us that these are only approximate terms. This book will give a description of some of the regions of the supersensible world. The reader who is willing to admit the existence of the sensible world only will regard this delineation as a mere unreal production of the imagination. He, however, who looks for paths that lead beyond this world of the senses will soon learn to understand that human life only gains in worth and significance through sight into another world. Such a man will not, as many fear, be estranged from the "real" world through this new power of vision. He learns to know the causes of life, while without it he gropes like a blind man through their effects. Only through the understanding of the supersensible does the sensible "real" acquire meaning.

Contents

• THE ESSENTIAL NATURE OF MAN: 1
• REEMBODIMENT OF THE SPIRIT: 40
• THE THREE Worlds: 70

About the author

Austrian-born Rudolf Steiner was a noted Goethe (see Vol. 2) scholar and private student of the occult who became involved with Theosophy in Germany in 1902, when he met Annie Besant (1847--1933), a devoted follower of Madame Helena P. Blavatsky (1831--1891). In 1912 he broke with the Theosophists because of what he regarded as their oriental bias and established a system of his own, which he called Anthroposophy (anthro meaning "man"; sophia sophia meaning "wisdom"), a "spiritual science" he hoped would restore humanism to a materialistic world. In 1923 he set up headquarters for the Society of Anthroposophy in New York City. Steiner believed that human beings had evolved to the point where material existence had obscured spiritual capacities and that Christ had come to reverse that trend and to inaugurate an age of spiritual reintegration. He advocated that education, art, agriculture, and science be based on spiritual principles and infused with the psychic powers he believed were latent in everyone. The world center of the Anhthroposophical Society today is in Dornach, Switzerland, in a building designed by Steiner. The nonproselytizing society is noted for its schools.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Theosophy: An Introduction to the Supersensible Knowledge of the World and the Destination of Man
• Author: Rudolf Steiner
• Edition: 4, revised
• Publisher: Anthroposophic Press, 1971
• Original from: Indiana University
• Digitized: Oct 24, 2008
• ISBN: 0854402691, 9780854402694
• Length: 195 pages