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The Great Initiates

A Study of the Secret History of Religions

Paperback
December 1989
9780893452285
More details
  • Publisher
    SteinerBooks
  • Published
    1st December 1989
  • ISBN 9780893452285
  • Language English
  • Pages 480 pp.
$35.00

The Great Initiates encompasses long centuries of human existence and reflects our great search—the greatest search of all—the quest for the spirit. This book describes the motivations behind external history, the growth of religious striving, the rise and fall of cultures, and indicates their importance for us today. It reflects the lives and deeds of human beings of extraordinary stature: Rama, Krishna, Hermes, Moses, Orpheus, Pythagoras, Plato, and Jesus.

In these pages one witnesses spiritual adventure of a depth and intensity rarely experienced by creative human beings, even in their most exalted moments. This excitement of discovery which breathes through The Great Initiates may well explain its continuing popularity after over a century.

C O N T E N T S:

Introduction

Rama: The Aryan Cycle
Krishna: India and Brahmanic Initiation
Hermes: The Mysteries of Egypt
Moses: The Mission of Israel
Orpheus: The Mysteries of Dionysus
Pythagoras: The Mysteries od Delphi
Plato: The Mysteries of Eleusis
Jesus: The Mission of Christ

Endnotes
Index

Édouard Schuré

Édouard Schuré (1841-1929) was a French writer born in Strasbourg. He was a writer, philosopher, and musicologist. He wrote novels, theater pieces, historical works, poetry, and philosophical treatises. He was especially well known for his work The Great Initiates, which has been in print continuously in numerous languages. He was a devoted and early student of Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy. His other books include From Sphinx to Christ: An Occult History and the play The Children of Lucifer.