The nineteenth and twentieth centuries were significant in the history of mankind. For some hundred years, man has made significant progress in his development. This applies to absolutely all spheres of life, but the spiritual world of man was of particular interest to philosophers and scientists. During this period, various mystical teachings and schools of self-knowledge were actively formed, in which the human essence was considered as a combination of several equivalent components. Some teachings very quickly lost their popularity, while others were able to organically enter the life of society and radically change it. One of the most prominent representatives of the past century is Rudolf Steiner, whose biography is filled with the most incredible events and signs of fate. This man, even during his lifetime, caused an ambiguous assessment among his contemporaries, so in the article we will not evaluate his activities, but simply tell about this extraordinary scientist who tried to change the whole world.
Rudolf Steiner: biography. Briefly about the main thing
The future genius was born in Austria, in the small town of Kralevich, in February 1861 in a simpleworking family. In connection with the activities of his father, Rudolf Steiner often moved from city to city and managed to travel almost the entire country in early childhood.
The boy studied very well, he was surprisingly quick-witted, and the parents sent the child to the Vienna Polytechnic School, where he received a very extensive education. Young Rudolf enjoyed studying natural sciences, religion, philosophy and history. Around the same period, he became interested in the works of Goethe, which had a great influence on his entire subsequent life.
From early childhood, the boy discovered psychic abilities in himself and saw in them a huge gift from above, which must be developed and used for the benefit of people. Until a certain time, Rudolf Steiner hid his abilities from his parents and acquaintances so as not to cause a flurry of negative emotions. But the young man was constantly improving, independently studying philosophy, theosophy and the occult sciences. All his research Steiner began to dress in the form of books and scientific papers, which gradually began to be published throughout Europe.
In 1891, he received a Ph. D. in philosophy and began working with popularist magazines, hoping to interest a wide range of the public with his ideas. Unfortunately, Steiner's teachings and theories remained beyond the understanding and interest of ordinary people. But he begins to work closely with the Theosophists and becomes the de facto leader of their society. All this time, the scientist has been working on new books and the theory of science of anthroposophy, designed to give a person the opportunity to know himself.through various spiritual practices and discover new facets of consciousness and attitude. This science becomes the main brainchild of the scientist, which Rudolf Steiner developed until his death. The biography of a talented philosopher says that his labor piggy bank was replenished not only with new books on anthroposophy, but also with works in the field of educating the younger generation, astronomy, architecture and art. It is difficult to name an area of public life that this unique person would not touch in his works. Moreover, it is worth noting that he was not a theoretician; Steiner successfully put all his ideas into practice. He created several schools, designed and built buildings, and wrote scripts and staged plays.
Rudolf Steiner often gave lectures and at the end of his life could give five classes in one day. The great scientist died on March 30, 1925, leaving a large number of unfinished works and a wide circle of followers who still work and live according to the Steiner system.
Of course, in order to be imbued with the ideas of a scientist, you need to study at least some of his works. They will fully help to understand who Rudolf Steiner really is. The biography, summarized, is not quite what readers need. Therefore, we will try to tell about this amazing person in more detail.
Spiritual development according to Steiner
The doctor of philosophical sciences paid great attention to such a topic as human self-development, and Rudolf Steiner believed that each person has his own path and speed of progress along it. Notit is worth comparing yourself with others and entering into internal conflict with yourself. This interferes with enlightenment and self-knowledge, closes the channels of communication with higher powers.
Steiner has developed a large number of spiritual practices based on a combination of ancient occult sciences, world religions and philosophies. He was the first in history to be able to analyze the spiritual world with the help of natural sciences and formulas. The result was a surprisingly understandable and accessible guide to enlightening the mind and developing one's abilities. Steiner believed that the Universe with all its knowledge constantly interacts with a person, and he needs to be included in this process in order to feel the fullness of life. Otherwise, he will spend his whole life in agonizing expectation and searching for something incredible. One of the first books on this topic, which was written by Rudolf Steiner - "Knowledge of the supersensible worlds." She, of course, was not the last in this cycle, but actually opened a series of works on the study of the spiritual world that preceded the formation of anthroposophy.
From Theosophy to Anthroposophy: The World Through the Eyes of a Genius
Over time, numerous scientific works and books emerged as a separate teaching of Rudolf Steiner - anthroposophy. The creator himself called this amazing trend "the science of the spirit" and positioned it as a new philosophy of society. The very name of the doctrine was formed from two Greek words: "man" and "wisdom", it fits the description of religious and mysticaland is based on the knowledge of the spirit through thinking and a rational approach. It is worth noting that this science stood out from theosophy, extremely popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Theosophists actively studied the Christian religion and viewed the Bible and the story of Christ from a completely new perspective. The followers of Theosophy believed that the ability to contemplate and cognize God reveals to a person the deep meaning of all the things and events around him. At one time, Rudolf Steiner was very actively interested in this teaching and was even the leader of the Theosophical Society in Germany.
The Theosophy theory itself is based on philosophy, occultism and ancient spiritual practices. Moreover, almost all theosophists were highly educated people and actively studied world history and culture. At the end of the nineteenth century, Steiner gave a talk on Nietzsche at a branch of the Theosophical Society and for the first time in his career felt understood and needed.
From the beginning of the twentieth century, Steiner began to work actively, in a short period of time he gave more than six thousand lectures and wrote at least a dozen books. He gave his all so that people would better understand the relationship of historical events with the level of spiritual and cultural development of the individual individually and of the entire society as a whole. Interest in the works of the scientist all over the world was obvious, because it coincided with the desire of people to penetrate into the essence of the universe, which no longer seemed to be something separated from everyday life, as religion had previously presented this issue. Man strove for self-knowledge, and nothing could stop him onthis way. Almost all of Steiner's lectures were based on his personal experience and therefore were more valuable to the audience.
The founder of the society, H. P. Blavatsky, had a very high opinion of Rudolf Steiner, because their ideas on many basic points of the doctrine coincided. But by 1913, the tension between the leaders of the society and the occult philosopher increased, they completely disagreed, and Steiner, along with his followers, left the Theosophical Society, founding his own organization.
Anthroposophical Society
The doctrine of Rudolf Steiner, which eventually took shape in a practically new science of society and its development, began to gain followers. After some time, the Anthroposophical Society became a kind of educational institution, where the sciences were taught as a modified material, allowing, with the help of theory and practice, to discover new talents, aspirations and goals. Steiner's influence spread to many European countries, even in Russia he had followers who continued his scientific work.
Through anthroposophy, Steiner was able to push the development of pedagogy, agriculture and the arts. He created an amazing current, which made it possible to change not only a person, but also his environment. And also to bring activity to a new level, because, according to Steiner, even nature management can have a spiritual beginning and become more effective.
Waldorf pedagogy: a brief description
Rudolf Steiner paid great attention to the upbringing of children. He believed that their little soulscan receive in the process of education a much more powerful impetus to development than is currently happening. The scientist began work on the creation of a pedagogical theory based on the freedom of the individual and the priority development of her talents. Steiner believed that modern schools do not take into account the spiritual component and thereby miss the most important stage in the upbringing of the younger generation. In the end, a real pedagogical theory saw the light, expressed in a course of lectures that Rudolf Steiner collected bit by bit for several years - "Education and teaching from the knowledge of man".
In 1919, he gave a course of lectures on the upbringing of children at the Waldorf, which became the basis of a whole trend in pedagogy. Waldorf schools that were opened all over the world taught according to a new method. Steiner is currently teaching in more than a thousand schools across Europe.
The main principles of the scientist's pedagogy is the simultaneous development of the so-called "three souls":
- physical;
- ethereal;
- astral.
Steiner perceived them as some entities that are born not simultaneously with a person, but at different stages of his growing up. Therefore, the approach to the development and upbringing of the child should be based on this knowledge. Moreover, each of the entities is responsible for certain facets of a person's personality.
Waldorf schools have no textbooks and no grades, many use this method for home teaching. To this day, scholars are debating whethersuch a system of education and do not come to a consensus. But no matter how teachers treat Steiner's teachings, no one can deny that there are quite a lot of rational grains in his theory of education that can be applied in combination with other methods.
Disclosure of the essence of Christianity
It is impossible to separate Steiner's scientific work from the understanding of Christianity. The occult philosopher has always studied religion, he was able to draw a parallel between the main religious movements and bring out their common features. In addition, the scientist practically from the point of view of the natural sciences proved the reality of the events set forth in the Bible, but managed to give them a slightly different color. On the basis of these scientific works, the Community of Christians was created, which for a long time was not recognized by the Christian Church and now in many countries of the world is not an official religious movement.
The most famous book on this subject, which was written by Rudolf Steiner - "The Mysteries of Antiquity and Christianity". To create this scientific work, he was helped by his own abilities as a clairvoyant and a contactee with spirits. Even as a child, the boy saw the spirit of his aunt, who suddenly died. He was able to talk to her and find out the cause of death. Surprisingly, the parents of young Rudolf did not receive any reliable information about her death at that moment. From that time on, the child developed his abilities, and his spiritual experiences were the basis of many scientific works.
Society accepted Steiner's views on Christianity with interest. In the nineteenth century it was customary to rejectreligion under the influence of technological progress and the development of scientific thought. The occult philosopher became the first person to prove the existence of higher powers with the help of science.
Space and astrology: Perceptions of Robert Steiner
An Austrian scientist wrote more than once about space and its conquest by man. Moreover, we can say that Rudolf Steiner and astrology are inseparable concepts. She gave great importance to the philosopher in the development of mankind. He believed that it was necessary to make horoscopes only using serious mathematical calculations, and to interpret them with the help of philosophy and historical knowledge. At the same time, according to Steiner, it would be useful to draw up a horoscope of planets, then human civilization will better understand all the processes taking place on Earth and other planets.
Surprisingly, Rudolf Steiner, whose quotes about astrology were often used by various magicians and clairvoyants, had no doubt that in the foreseeable future man would master outer space. He spoke about several ways of development and proposed to determine the correct one, in which the cosmos would become a structure friendly to people. According to Steiner's teachings, technological progress should be based on completely different technologies than it actually is. After all, it is necessary to use the energy of the Universe and one's own biofield, and not create new machines that consume the resources of the planet. A different path of development, according to the scientist, is a dead end and does not bring anything good to a person even in the case of space exploration.
Architecture and art in Steiner's work
One of the creators of a new trend in modernism of the nineteenth century was Rudolf Steiner. Architecture became the sincere love of the scientist. He personally designed more than seventeen buildings. Three of them are recognized as monuments of the nineteenth century and admired by architects around the world.
The most famous works of Steiner are the two Goetheanums. These unusual buildings combine a theater and a school belonging to the Anthroposophical Society. The first Goetheanum was built by people from all over the world, more than eighteen different peoples erected a structure that became a haven for all who aspired to self-knowledge and development.
In art, Steiner left a rather bright and significant mark. He created sculptures, wrote and staged plays, painted pictures, mostly on a wooden surface, and did not even think about how highly his descendants would appreciate his work.
The influence of Rudolf Steiner on the development of society
I would like to note that Steiner touched medicine in his activities, founding a new trademark, which is still successfully operating in the market of natural healing drugs.
At the same time, the scientist worked on a new technology for nature management, we can say that he created biodynamic farming, which does not provide for fertilizing the soil with chemicals. Steiner's developments in this area are still used by people. There are many biodynamic farms in America thatconsidered as a single organism. With this approach, the efficiency and productivity of agriculture increases several times.
At the same time, the scientist was working on a kind of large-scale social project, which was supposed to lead to a complete change in the worldview in society. Ultimately, humanity was to reach a completely new level of development, promising prosperity and enlightenment.
In Russia, the scientist's ideas were very popular. One of his followers was Peter Deunov. He often spoke about Rudolf Steiner in his lectures, and many of his works were based precisely on the calculations of the Austrian scientist. Quite often he was called the "Slavic Steiner", although his activities were not so large-scale and comprehensive.
Rudolf Steiner: books
If you are interested in the works of this extraordinary scientist, then you can always find his books written in a very easy and accessible language. The following editions should be the best for beginners:
- "Essay on occult science".
- "Philosophy of freedom".
- "Cosmology, religion and philosophy".
- "The Path to Enlightenment".
Each of these books fully reflects the worldview of the author and will open to readers a completely new world, unknown and unfamiliar.
It is difficult to give any characterization of Rudolf Steiner. His activities inspired many people to change their lives, so the genius of the scientist is not subject to anydoubt, and the scientific substantiation of the philosopher's theories still surprises scientists around the world with its accuracy in calculations and extraordinary simplicity.
