The Way of Initiation; or, How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds — John Shaqi
The Way of Initiation; or, How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher WorldsSteiner, Rudolf
Religion
The Way of Initiation; or, How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds
Steiner, Rudolf
Theosophy
world for him, and he is "born anew." Through his being passes a
current from a divine world, bringing with it divine bliss.
This thought-life of the soul, which is gradually widened into a life
of spiritual being, is designated by the Gnosis and by Theosophy as
meditation (contemplative thought). This meditation is the means by
which supersensual knowledge is attained. But during such moments the
student must not be content to give himself up to the luxury of
sensation. He must not permit undefined feelings to take possession of
his soul. That would only hinder him from attaining true spiritual
knowledge. His thoughts must be clearly and sharply defined, and he
will be helped in this by not allowing himself to be carried away
blindly by the thoughts that spring up within him. Rather must he
permeate his mind with the lofty ideas which originated with advanced
students to whom inspiration has already come. Let him first of all
study the wisdom which originated in such moments of meditation. The
student will find such in the mystical, gnostic, and theosophical
literature of our time, and will there gain the material for his
meditation. Wise men have inscribed in these books the thoughts of
divine science, or have proclaimed them to the world through their
agents.
Such meditation produces a complete transformation in the student. He
begins to form entirely new conceptions of Reality. All things acquire
fresh values in his eyes. And it cannot be declared too often that this
transformation does not estrange him from the world nor keep him from
his daily round of duties. For he begins to realize that his most
insignificant actions or experiences are in close connection with the
great cosmic beings and events. When once this connection is revealed
to him in his moments of contemplation, he is endowed with fresher and
fuller power for his daily duties. For then he knows that his labor and
his suffering are given and endured for the sake of a great spiritual
cosmic whole. Thus, instead of weariness, his meditation gives him
strength to live.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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