Steiner on Indra, Rudolf Steiner commenting on the Vedic divinity Indra Options

[Gaudeamus]

Some time ago I came across a forum in which someone wrote a post quoting Rudolf Steiner on Indra. I have not been able to find this forum again (you get too many results with Google, you would spend days and weeks on it) but I think the excerpt came from this book 'The East in the Light of the West' which you can look into on Google Books

http://books.google.nl/books?id=LM3c2E2BZ4...p;q&f=false

I wanted to post this excerpt here, as I think it's interesting in the way Steiner's view on spiritual realities might shed some light too on things of interest to people who are searching on other paths. The new idea here is probably the concept of spiritual beings and divinities evolving. Humanity is not the only hierarchy going through an evolution.

Page 75.

"In the spiritual ream behind the element of air, for instance, a host of spiritual beings appear, beings which do not descend so far as the physical world, but express themselves therein through the air. In the sould-world we meet them as entities, as individualities, and the mightiest of them is still to be found to-day in him who in ancient India was named 'Indra'. Indra is associated with the whole regulation of the breathing process, and to his activity we owe the fact that we breathe as we do to-day. Humanity may look up to this being for ever and realise that it is the mighty Indra who has endowed them with the instrument of breath. The activities of such a being are however not limited to one sphere, and humanity owes much else to Indra; they owe to Indra the force which must pour through their muscles if their enemies are to be conquered in war. Hence men were able to pray to mighty Indra for power to be victorious in battle, since this was also one of his functions. To this same being (which needs no name if only its presence is realised) is to be ascribed the flashing of the lightning effects of storms. For these things, too, prayers may be raised, if, in the praying, the gods are thought of."

The next page is not available for examination, but page 77 is.

[Gaudeamus]

"In the spiritual ream behind the element of air,

Typo : 'ream' should be 'realm'.

[babu]

"In the spiritual ream behind the element of air,

Typo : 'ream' should be 'realm'.

Don't forget to inform the spiritual elders of Iskcon who for decades have been misled by this typo.

[Gaudeamus]

"In the spiritual ream behind the element of air,

Typo : 'ream' should be 'realm'.

Don't forget to inform the spiritual elders of Iskcon who for decades have been misled by this typo.

If they have been misled, than not for more than about one day, Babu, as it was my own typo, not the book's.

[babu]

"In the spiritual ream behind the element of air,

Typo : 'ream' should be 'realm'.

Don't forget to inform the spiritual elders of Iskcon who for decades have been misled by this typo.

If they have been misled, than not for more than about one day, Babu, as it was my own typo, not the book's.

Must be some other typo long ago that has misled.