The Foundation Stone Meditation (Rudolf Steiner)
Judge for Yourself
[My 2-star Amazon review (NDA) of “The Foundation Stone Meditation” by Rudolf Steiner.]
I recently wrote a critical two-star review of Rudolf Steiner’s “The Way of Initiation, or How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds,” and some my Facebook friends insisted that I needed to read more of Steiner, that the three books of his I had read --“The Essential Rudolph Steiner” and “Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path” (see my three-star review) in addition to “The Way of Initiation, or How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds” – did not constitute a sufficient consideration of his teachings. They recommended that I I read his “The Foundation Stone Meditation” – and so I did.
This super-skimpy text, which I purchased from Amazon for $3.49, consists of nothing but a few different, but very similar, translations of the “sutra-like” 200 or so words below. That is the whole enchilada. Read it and form your own opinion.
My opinion is that without exegetical commentary, it is no more than vague, nebulous quasi-poetic Dharma. It is bereft of depth, details, definitions, practical instructions, and an esoteric dimension that explains the En-Light-enment process.
Compare this work to truly profound Dharma poetry, such as Tilopa’s “The Song of Mahamudra” and there is no real comparison; Tilopa smokes Steiner.
I don’t dislike “The Foundation Stone Meditation”; it just does nothing for me, and it’s grossly overpriced at $10.00 for the paperback and $3.49 for the Kindle. With this in mind, I’ll give it two stars.
Soul of man!
You live in the limbs
That carry you through the world of space
Into the sea of spirit-being:
Practice spirit remembrance
In the depths of soul,
Where in the reigning
Cosmic creator-being
Your own I
In God’s I
Is begotten;
And you will truly live
In the cosmic human being.
For the Father Spirit of the heights reigns
Creating being in the cosmic depths:
Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones
Let resound from the heights
What in the depths its echo finds;
This speaks:
Ex deo nascimur.
The elemental spirits
In East, West, North, South hear this:
May men hear it too.
Soul of man!
You live in the heart-lung-beat
That guides you through the rhythm of times
To the sensing of your own soul’s being:
Practice spirit contemplation
In equanimity of soul,
Where the surging
Cosmic creative deeds
Unite
Your own I
To the cosmic I;
And you will truly feel
In deeds of the human soul.
For the will of Christ reigns in the earthly sphere
Granting grace to souls in cosmic rhythms:
Kyriotetes, Dynamis, Exusiai
Let from the east inflame
What through the west takes form;
This speaks:
In Christo morimur.
The elemental spirits
In East, West, North, South hear this:
May men hear it too.
Soul of man!
You live in the reposing head
Which opens cosmic thoughts
from eternal founts to you:
Practice spirit-seeing
In peace of mind,
Where the eternal goals of the gods
Confer
The cosmic being’s light
On your own I
For its free will;
And you will truly think
From founts of human spirit.
For the cosmic thoughts of spirit,
light imploring, reign in cosmic being;
Archai, Archangeloi, Angeloi
Let from the depths demand
What will be heard in the heights;
This speaks:
Per spiritum sanctum reviviscimus.
The elemental spirits
In the East, West, North, South hear this:
May men hear it too.
At the turning point of time
The cosmic spirit-light stepped
Into earthly evolution;
Night darkness
Had ended its reign;
The bright light of day
Streamed into human souls;
Light
That warms
The poor shepherd hearts
Light
That enlightens
The wise kings’ heads.
Light divine,
Sun of Christ,
Warm
Our hearts,
Enlighten
our heads,
So that good will be
What we
From our hearts beget,
What we
Through our heads
Will to achieve.
[My 2-star Amazon review (NDA) of “The Foundation Stone Meditation” by Rudolf Steiner.]
I recently wrote a critical two-star review of Rudolf Steiner’s “The Way of Initiation, or How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds,” and some my Facebook friends insisted that I needed to read more of Steiner, that the three books of his I had read --“The Essential Rudolph Steiner” and “Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path” (see my three-star review) in addition to “The Way of Initiation, or How to Attain Knowledge of the Higher Worlds” – did not constitute a sufficient consideration of his teachings. They recommended that I I read his “The Foundation Stone Meditation” – and so I did.
This super-skimpy text, which I purchased from Amazon for $3.49, consists of nothing but a few different, but very similar, translations of the “sutra-like” 200 or so words below. That is the whole enchilada. Read it and form your own opinion.
My opinion is that without exegetical commentary, it is no more than vague, nebulous quasi-poetic Dharma. It is bereft of depth, details, definitions, practical instructions, and an esoteric dimension that explains the En-Light-enment process.
Compare this work to truly profound Dharma poetry, such as Tilopa’s “The Song of Mahamudra” and there is no real comparison; Tilopa smokes Steiner.
I don’t dislike “The Foundation Stone Meditation”; it just does nothing for me, and it’s grossly overpriced at $10.00 for the paperback and $3.49 for the Kindle. With this in mind, I’ll give it two stars.
Soul of man!
You live in the limbs
That carry you through the world of space
Into the sea of spirit-being:
Practice spirit remembrance
In the depths of soul,
Where in the reigning
Cosmic creator-being
Your own I
In God’s I
Is begotten;
And you will truly live
In the cosmic human being.
For the Father Spirit of the heights reigns
Creating being in the cosmic depths:
Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones
Let resound from the heights
What in the depths its echo finds;
This speaks:
Ex deo nascimur.
The elemental spirits
In East, West, North, South hear this:
May men hear it too.
Soul of man!
You live in the heart-lung-beat
That guides you through the rhythm of times
To the sensing of your own soul’s being:
Practice spirit contemplation
In equanimity of soul,
Where the surging
Cosmic creative deeds
Unite
Your own I
To the cosmic I;
And you will truly feel
In deeds of the human soul.
For the will of Christ reigns in the earthly sphere
Granting grace to souls in cosmic rhythms:
Kyriotetes, Dynamis, Exusiai
Let from the east inflame
What through the west takes form;
This speaks:
In Christo morimur.
The elemental spirits
In East, West, North, South hear this:
May men hear it too.
Soul of man!
You live in the reposing head
Which opens cosmic thoughts
from eternal founts to you:
Practice spirit-seeing
In peace of mind,
Where the eternal goals of the gods
Confer
The cosmic being’s light
On your own I
For its free will;
And you will truly think
From founts of human spirit.
For the cosmic thoughts of spirit,
light imploring, reign in cosmic being;
Archai, Archangeloi, Angeloi
Let from the depths demand
What will be heard in the heights;
This speaks:
Per spiritum sanctum reviviscimus.
The elemental spirits
In the East, West, North, South hear this:
May men hear it too.
At the turning point of time
The cosmic spirit-light stepped
Into earthly evolution;
Night darkness
Had ended its reign;
The bright light of day
Streamed into human souls;
Light
That warms
The poor shepherd hearts
Light
That enlightens
The wise kings’ heads.
Light divine,
Sun of Christ,
Warm
Our hearts,
Enlighten
our heads,
So that good will be
What we
From our hearts beget,
What we
Through our heads
Will to achieve.
