Rudolph Steiner (1861-1925)
Rudolf Steiner broke from the Theosophical Society in 1907 and founded the Anthroposophical Society, headquartered in Dornach, Switzerland. Anthroposophists valued education, creative arts, and drama and later established Waldorf Schools.
In The Submerged Continents of Atlantis and Lemuria (1911), Steiner wrote of the Akashic Records that contain all lost, ancient knowledge and are only accessible to those deemed spiritually ready. By “reading” the Akashic Records, Steiner added more details about the Lemurians and Atlanteans. He claimed that Lemurians lifted objects by willpower, lived in caves, reworked hills, and accomplished complex masonry. There were no temples or places of worship, only places of instruction in science and magic. Ancient civilizations rose from the knowledge of the gods.
Steiner emphasized the scientific study of the spiritual world. Unlike Blavatsky, he did not emphasize hidden masters or occult communication with Ascended Masters. He warns the clairvoyants to practice good judgment when talking to the spirit world. Steiner notes, “We may meet some being of the soul or spirit world, but we do not necessarily know whether it is progressing in its evolution or belongs to the category of powers that have lagged behind.” He believed in the spiritual basis of reality, reincarnation, and personal experiences that could expand consciousness.
Steiner believed that humans originally shared the spiritual consciousness of the cosmos, and present knowledge is only a vestige of primordial cognition. For Steiner, all beings advanced, though some were left behind in every state.