There is a great difference between the meaning of "know yourself" in the ancient mystery centers and its meaning today. In ancient times, one tried to achieve after death what one can now attain during earthly life. In order to reach higher stages of development after we die, we must become fully human during life on Earth. Such matters have changed over millennia of human and earthly evolution.At the center of the evolution human consciousness is the Christ event. Today, we must experience the Christ within ourselves as light, life, and love. By adopting the appropriate path of knowledge, we can become citizens of the universe rather than "hermits" on the Earth.
These lectures are crucial reading for a real understanding of the anthroposophic view of our place in the cosmos.
 Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) was born in Kraljevic, Austria, where he grew up the son of a railroad station chief. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a respected and 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 earlier 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 its results. The influence of Steiner’s multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine and therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs (including the Camphill Village movement), 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.
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