The Mysteries of the Holy Grail: From Arthur and Parzival to Modern Initiation

by Rudolf Steiner, Matthew Barton (Editor)

Overview

From the ancient British tales of King Arthur and his knights through the medieval Central European sagas of Parzival, right up to modern-day blockbuster novels and films, the Grail has long maintained its enigmatic presence in western culture. It is said to be many things: a lost and priceless treasure, the chalice cup of the Last Supper, the cup that caught Jesus Christ's blood from the cross on Golgotha, or even a secret royal bloodline . . .

Basing his presentations on far-reaching spiritual research, Rudolf Steiner gave profoundly esoteric, multifaceted insights into the mysteries of the Holy Grail. Collected together for the first time in a single volume, together with commentary and notes, these passages offer vivid tableaux with a multiplicity of meanings: a story that speaks to the human soul with a depth and complexity that intellectual interpretations alone cannot begin to fathom.

Just as Parzival had to encounter and engage with veils of illusion and valleys of shadow and doubt, Rudoff Steiner presents us with a similarly challenging path. This book is more than a treasure of thought and insight: it invites us to embark on a personal quest to develop the abilities and vision required for grasping the elusive Grail itself. As editor Matthew Barton writes: 'The vessel of the Grail gradually descends towards us and comes into focus as we raise ourselves individually to it by piercing through the illusions of materialism, acknowledging that we ourselves can ultimately become true vessels for the spirit.'

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781855842342
Publisher:	Rudolf Steiner Press
Publication date:	05/28/2010
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Rudolf Steiner (b. Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner, 1861-1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe's scientific writings. Steiner termed his spiritual philosophy anthroposophy, meaning "wisdom of the human being." As an exceptionally developed seer, he based his work on direct knowledge and perception of spiritual dimensions. He initiated a modern, universal "spiritual science" that is accessible to anyone willing to exercise clear and unbiased thinking. From his spiritual investigations, Steiner provided suggestions for the renewal of numerous activities, including education (general and for special needs), agriculture, medicine, economics, architecture, science, philosophy, Christianity, and the arts. There are currently thousands of schools, clinics, farms, and initiatives in other fields that involve practical work based on the principles Steiner developed. His many published works feature his research into the spiritual nature of human beings, the evolution of the world and humanity, and methods for personal development. He wrote some thirty books and delivered more than six thousand lectures throughout much of Europe. In 1924, Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches around the world.

Matthew Barton is a translator, editor, teacher, and poet, and taught kindergarten for many years at the Bristol Waldorf School. His first collection of poems was Learning To Row (1999). He has won numerous prizes for his work, including an Arts Council Writer's Award and a Hawthornden Fellowship.

Matthew Barton is a translator, editor, teacher, and poet, and taught kindergarten for many years at the Bristol Waldorf School. His first collection of poems was Learning To Row (1999). He has won numerous prizes for his work, including an Arts Council Writer's Award and a Hawthornden Fellowship.

Matthew Barton is a translator, editor, teacher, and poet, and taught kindergarten for many years at the Bristol Waldorf School. His first collection of poems was Learning To Row (1999). He has won numerous prizes for his work, including an Arts Council Writer's Award and a Hawthornden Fellowship.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

I The Gospel of John and the Virgin Sophia

1 Christian Catharsis: the Purified Soul 7

2 The Birth of Higher Perception 15

II From the Spirit in Nature to the Spirit in us: the New Initiation

3 From Arthur to Parzival 23

4 The Grail as Human Potential 30

5 Seeking for Signs of Parzival 32

6 The Soul's Bright Vessel 44

III The Quest and the Question: Piercing Through Materialism

7 The Questioning Stance of Soul 53

8 The Lapse into Matter 62

9 Piercing the Thicket 66

IV New Spiritual Community: The Grail as Transformed Larynx

10 The Living Word 73

11 Transforming Sexuality 80

12 The Higher Calyx 86

13 The Resonant Chalice 91

14 Seeing I to I 98

V The War-Torn Soul and The Quest for Integration

15 Acknowledging Amfortas 117

16 The Word in Chains 130

17 Balancing the Soul 136

VI The Grail in the Human Organism: Spirit Infusing Matter

18 From Dullness to Inner Joy 143

19 The Fire of Compassion 147

20 Raising Earthly Substance 149

21 Raying In, and Raying Out from Within 151

22 The Grail in the Brain 158

23 Receiving the Light 162

VII Initiation Today: The Trials and the Quest

24 Seeing Heaven in a Wild Flower 169

25 The Past and Future of the Pineal Gland 171

26 The Riven Path 174

27 The Parzival Saga as Modern Initiation 179

28 Humanity Resurrected 205

Notes and References 211

List of sources 215