Cosmic Christianity and the Impulse of Michael
GA 240
At the end of his life Rudolf Steiner took up the task that was his special destiny; to bring to the West a knowledge of reincarnation and karma. To do this he gave over eighty lectures in 1924 in which he explicitly and concretely revealed the destinies of various individuals from one life to the next in order to show how the general laws of karma operate in individual cases. He also revealed many details of the karmic streams of the members of the Anthroposophical Society. These volumes constitute an immeasurable contribution to the understanding of reincarnation and karma, and the tasks of the Anthroposophical Society in connection with the Archangel Michael.
First printed in English in 1953 with the title, Cosmic Christianity and the Impulse of Michael. Karma in the Life of Individuals and the Evolution of the World. Six lectures given at Torquay and London, England, between 12th and 27th August, 1924. Published here with the kind permission of the Rudolf Steiner Nachlassverwaltung, Dornach, Switzerland.
Translated from shorthand reports unrevised by the lecturer by D. S. Osmond. The original texts of the lectures are contained in Vol. VIII of the series entitled Esoterische Betrachtungen karmischer Zusammenhänge
| Introduction | ||
| Lecture I | August 12, 2024 | |
| The fruits of earlier lives carried over into later lives. The Michael Rulership | ||
| Lecture II | August 14, 2024 | |
| Karmic connections in history. Haroun al Raschid and his Counsellor. The work of Aristotle and Alexander the Great. Gregory VII. Ernst Haeckel. Lord Bacon of Verulam. Amos Comenius. The Michael Impulse. | ||
| Lecture III | August 21, 2024 | |
| Michael and the Cosmic Intelligence. The deepening of Christianity. The Arthur Stream. The Grail Stream. The School of Chartres. Aristotelianism and Christianity. On the karma of the Anthroposophical Movement. | ||
| Lecture IV | August 24, 2024 | |
| The vision of karma: a reality of consciousness for men of olden time. Fading of the vision of karma and of astral vision. Through the new Initiation-Science, knowledge of the manifestations of karma and vision of the spirit in nature can be regained. | ||
| Lecture V | August 24, 2024 | |
| Difficulties in the investigation of karma. Karma in history. Dr. Steiner's own geometry teacher. Lord Byron. Voltaire. Swedenborg. Loyola. Laurence Oliphant. Mars genii and Mercury genii. | ||
| Lecture VI | August 27, 2024 | |
| The growth and development of Christianity in connection with the Anthroposophical Movement. Tintagel and the Mysteries of Hibernia. Christ as a Sun-Hero — the Arthur Stream. The Grail Stream — Christianity in the hearts of men. The Impulse of Michael. | ||
| Appendix | ||
| Address on the Christmas Foundation Meeting | ||