The Rudolf Steiner Archive

by Felix Löhnis in “Vâhan”, Volume VII, No. 5, November 1905

The General Assembly of the German Section of the Theosophical Society took place on October 22, a.c. in Berlin. We can summarize our report briefly. Cult of personality and servility have triumphed there. Not only for the board meeting held the day before, but also for the general assembly itself, it was decided, at the request of Mr. Hubo (Hamburg), that the strictest silence must be maintained regarding the course of the negotiations. The Secretary General was to report exclusively to the members and in strict confidence at a time and in a form of his own choosing. The vast majority of the delegates agreed to such a restriction of freedom of expression. Instead of the factual annual report that the General Secretary was obliged to give, Dr. Steiner offered his faithful followers a brilliant apotheosis of Mrs. Besant, and he increased his own nimbus even more by declaring that he had been in contact for a long time “on higher planes” with Mrs. Blavatsky, the “great teacher,” to whom all those who “know” “look up from true knowledge.” During the discussion of the financial matters, it was mentioned that Countess Wachtmeister had donated a considerable sum to promote the Theosophical movement in Germany. It was not considered necessary to provide exact details of the amount. Only so much was communicated that about 1000 Marks are available annually, which, according to a proposal by the Secretary-General, which was of course very favorably received, do not flow into the section's treasury, but are transferred to him, together with Fräulein von Sivers, for his free disposal, in order to make accounting superfluous. (!) The “revered leaders” of the Theosophical Society are also setting an example in this respect. Under such circumstances, it was also very understandable that Dr. Steiner himself campaigned vigorously for his re-election as General Secretary during the election of the new board. Mr. Bresch spoke against the re-election. He pointed out the serious concerns that arise in this regard with regard to the alleged clairvoyance that Dr. Steiner boasts of, compared to the experiences in a very similar situation in America ten years ago. The same fate befell the motion printed in issue 3 of Vâhan, which was intended to remedy the violations of rights and duties mentioned at the locations listed, of which the president and the central committee of the Society have been proven to be guilty. It was not admitted to the proceedings at all. In accordance with a motion from the Hanover branch, it was decided by a large majority to “proceed to the agenda”. (!) And how did the Hanover branch justify its motion? Literally as follows:

“Quite apart from the question of whether or not the individual complaints can be justified factually, it is formally quite inexpedient to discuss such matters of the Society in a public journal and even less to represent them from the point of view of a section. This must damage the reputation of our Society and impair the influence of our movement.”

Thus, in the Theosophical Society, no longer are objective reasons valid, but only formal ones. It does not matter if the Society itself suffers harm at the hands of disloyal officials; only its reputation must be protected at all costs. The motto of the Society is still: “No law above the truth!” But under no circumstances may the members publicly stand up for justice and truth; the “fear of the truth” reigns in the Society and demands strict secrecy. - For historical reasons, it may be mentioned in passing that Miss Scholl (Cologne), probably to make up for the “Autodafé” in London (see numbers 2-4 of “Vâhan”) that she denied, made a motion to expel Mr. Bresch and the reporter from the Society. A quarter of the votes were in favor of this first heresy trial; over the course of a year, it might be the majority. In fact, such a motion was completely superfluous in this case. Because – however shamefully this General Assembly went otherwise – it did produce a result that was beneficial to the cause: It has now made it completely clear to anyone who can and wants to see that, given the current state of affairs, one can no longer serve the truth and the progress of humanity within this society.

Finally, on behalf of the editor of 'Vâhan', I would like to point out that this magazine will no longer deal with the affairs of that 'Theosophical Society' in the future.

Report by Rudolf Steiner in “Lucifer - Gnosis” no. 31/1906

In the first days of June [1906] (on the 3rd, 4th and 5th), the third congress of the federated European sections of the Theosophical Society took place in Paris. Around 450 members from various European countries were present. The welcoming speeches that the representatives of the various nations gave in their own languages at the first official meeting therefore expressed a common human interest in the most diverse forms. One could hear this interest expressed in English, French, Swedish, Italian, Dutch, German, Russian, Spanish, Czech; one could hear it expressed by a Hindu and a Parsee. There were over twenty German members present.

The President-Founder of the Theosophical Society, H. $. Olcott, presided over the meeting. The preparatory work had been done by the members of the French section in a devoted and sacrificial manner. It is, of course, impossible to list all those esteemed members of the Society who have earned recognition on this occasion. Those who have even a slight idea of how much work is involved in such an undertaking can appreciate what those members who are at the venue of the meeting at such a time have to accomplish. In particular, however, we would like to mention the ladies Aimee Blech and Zelma Blech, the gentlemen Commandant Courmes, Charles Blech, P. E. Bernard, M. Bailly, Jules Siegfried fils, A. Ostermann and, above all, the Secretary General of the French Section, Dr. Th. Pascal.

Thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of our French friends, the Society has a beautifully furnished French headquarters at 59 Avenue de la Bourdonnais in Paris, which is ideal for lectures and visits. It not only has a spacious and friendly lecture hall, but also good rooms for work, a library and a book depository for Theosophical works in French. There is a lot of work going on at these headquarters. The Secretary General receives visitors there on the first and third Sunday of the month from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Public lectures are held on the first Sunday of the month (4 p.m.) and every Thursday at 8% p.m. A meeting for members takes place every third Sunday of the month at 4 p.m. In addition, a course is held on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in French and one on Monday at 4 p.m. in English.

During the congress, these rooms also housed the “Exhibition of Arts and Crafts”, which was opened by President H. S. Olcott on Saturday, June 4 (4 p.m.). Our French friends put a lot of effort into tastefully assembling works of art and art objects that testify to the endeavor to also depict the Theosophical interest in pictures.

The actual meetings of the congress took place in the magnificent hall of the Washington Palace (14 Rue Magellan). The first official session opened at 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 3 [1906]. M. Ed. Bailly had written and composed an opening chorus for the occasion: “Ode to the Sun”. This provided a beautiful, atmospheric introduction. This was followed by a warm welcome from the Secretary General of the French Section, Dr. Th. Pascal. The next item was a longer address by the President-Founder H. S. Olcott. It was possible to see from it how the Society is growing all the time (it has now spread its branches to forty-four different countries around the world). In particular, the gratifying growth of the movement in France was emphasized, considering its current state compared to its modest beginnings in 1884, when he, the President, and H. P. Blavatsky first endeavored to stimulate interest in Theosophy from Paris. Olcott presented the nature of the Theosophical work in its most important aspects to the assembled members. He characterized the importance of the headquarters in Adyar, the library there with its treasures of old manuscripts and a rich collection of books containing invaluable material for the study of occultism, the various religions, and so on. In his speech, Olcott was particularly concerned to emphasize the universal human character of the Society. It wanted to keep away from anything that could somehow give rise to disharmony between people. Nothing should be included in its endeavors that had to do with the one-sided, special interests of gender, race, class, creed, and so on. Society as a whole should stand above the achievements, reputation, etc. of individual leaders and teachers of the same. One should not put individuals on a pedestal and expect absolute perfection from them, and one should not be immediately disappointed when one finds faults in those from whom one would not expect them. One should behave in such a way towards particular questions, directions and views that one never loses sight of the broad basis of society. Esoteric, Masonic and so on currents are none of the Society's business. It can only deal with the overarching goal of leading to human brotherhood and must not identify with the aforementioned currents.¹

The President read his address in English. It was repeated in French by Mr. Jules Siegfried fils. After this “presidential address”, the representatives of the individual regions were welcomed in the corresponding languages, as already described above.

This year, the permanent secretary of the Federation, Johan van Manen, was once again in charge of the business of the congress. It must be said that J. van Manen deserves the special thanks of the society for his dedicated work. He has to conduct extensive correspondence with all section leaders and many individual members many months before the annual meeting. He has to take care of the difficult arrangements. And J. van Manen has now taken on this task for the third time in his pleasant and personable way.

On the afternoon of June 3, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., the first of the general debates took place. Two questions were debated:

1. “To what extent is the Theosophical Society only a group of people seeking the truth; to what extent does it unite learners or those who propagate or adhere to a particular direction of spiritual science?”

2. “If the Theosophical Society has no dogmas, it does recognize authorities, and rightly so. Is the relative value of these authorities merely a matter of individual acceptance? What qualities or abilities should such authorities possess?”

A wide variety of views were expressed in the debate, from the strict rejection of all authority to the emphasis on the necessity of such. At present, it seems, as was noted in the debate, there is a strong tendency towards the view that it is dangerous to rely too much on authorities. But those who recognize that the necessary authority should not be disregarded also spoke up, which arises wherever those who have already progressed in some knowledge are to have an effect on those who have yet to learn in one way or another. The participation in the debate was very lively; the third question envisaged could no longer be tackled. According to the program, it should read: “Should the moral character of a person influence his admission to the Theosophical Society? Can persons whose morality does not coincide with prevailing social views be within the Theosophical Society? Can there be any general rules in this direction?” - Bertram Keightley chaired this debate in his sympathetic and judicious manner.

That same evening, two lectures were held. The first was given by Mr. G. R. S. Mead, the scholar of Gnosticism. He spoke about “The Religion of the Mind”. He started from his studies of the Theosophical-Gnostic views of life at the time of the origin of Christianity, which spanned many years of his busy life. He explained the essence of the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus and his followers. Through these teachings, a wisdom was to be found that, in perfect harmony of head and heart, would lead the soul of man to its union with the “higher divine self.” A religion based on science, leading to the highest levels of experience, was outlined as that of certain ancestors and contemporaries of the emerging Christianity. A French translation of this speech, delivered in English, was distributed among the audience. The second lecture was given in French by M. Bernard on “Problems of the Present Moment.” He spoke about the current tasks at hand in society, the attitudes required of its members, and the best way to achieve the goals of the Theosophical Society.

On Monday, June 4, lectures were given by members in two sections in the morning hours. One of the sections, which had to deal with religion, mysticism, mythology, and folklore, was chaired by Dr. Koopmans, a member of the Dutch section. The second section was concerned with philosophy; its chairman was Dr. Steiner, and later, when he had to speak in the first section, Miss M. von Sivers. Mr. Becker from London served as secretary for the first section, and Mr. Max Gysi from London for the second. In the first section, Mrs. Sharpe first read an essay by Edward E. Long entitled “Insight into Islam”. The aim was to present the moral foundations and beauties and the sublime teachings of this religion, which are so often misunderstood. It was shown in what particular way the followers of this religion strive for “union with God” in order to achieve inner harmony and peace of mind. The original nobility of this religion and its later decline into idolatry and superstition were presented, but also the more recent efforts around this belief, and the theosophical points of view that can be found in it. - Georg Doe then spoke about “Some research results in folklore, especially with regard to Devonshire”. - This lecture was followed by one by a member of the Italian section, Mrs. von Ulrich, on “The old Slavic religions”. The lecturer spoke about the simple lines of Lithuanian and Latvian religious forms, within which a kind of worship of the forces of nature prevails. There are no priests or temples; every head of the household is a priest. She went on to say that the Russians started out with similar religions, but later adopted Germanic gods and gave them Slavic names. Then it was shown how the transition from this form of religion to Christianity took place. There was also talk of the part of the Russians who occupied the north of the Germanic territories and changed their faith in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, of their richly endowed temples and images of the gods. The conclusion in this section was a lecture by Dr. Rudolf Steiner on “Theosophy in Germany a Hundred Years Ago”. The lecturer explained that in the spiritual movement in Germany at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, which is associated with the names Schiller, Goethe, Fichte, Schelling, Novalis, Hegel and so on, there is a significant undercurrent whose origins are to be found in esoteric, occult brotherhoods. Such occult fraternizations have existed in German-speaking areas since the fourteenth century. Personalities such as Paracelsus and Jakob Böhme were not members of such societies; however, what they taught emanated from them in a certain way. In particular, the speaker showed how Schiller can only be fully understood if the mysterious foundations of his thinking and writing are revealed. Knowledge of German occultism contains not only the key to his youthful essay “Theosophy of Julius,” but also to his later work. Then the occult basis was uncovered in the philosophy of J. G. Fichte. Finally, the speaker pointed to the intimate esotericism of Novalis, to the actual psychological studies of Ennemoser, [Eckartshausen], Justinus Kerner, but especially to a no longer known theosophist who only called his theosophy “biosophy”, namely Troxler, who gave the most beautiful discussions about the “astral body”, for example. The speaker concluded by discussing why the idea of reincarnation had to be absent from this “German theosophy” and what relationship this idea has to that world view. Miss Kamensky from St. Petersburg then gave a summary of this lecture in French.

In the second section, which was dedicated to philosophy, Herbert Whyte spoke first about “Agvaghosha's Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana”. He explained that the essence of Mahayana is the same as that of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, and he showed the similarities between Agvaghosha's teachings and Annie Besant's explanations of the expansion of self-awareness in “Studies in Consciousness.” True enlightenment cannot be attained through anything external, but only through the inner life of the mind. The spirit is the source from which the higher life must flow. And it must be supported by the following forces: compassion, patience, concentration, energy, inner harmony and calm. - Then Mr. Xifré read an excerpt from a longer work by Rafael Urbano, which dealt with Spanish mysticism and explained it with examples such as St. Teresa, St. John of the Cross and so on. Then an essay was excerpted that the study group “Yoga” in Algiers had worked on “Devotion and Wisdom.” It is shown in it how for much that the still ignorant man undertakes, the “masters” on the higher planes are the leaders. Then, as the person develops, he enters into a relationship with these masters. This union with them leads to wisdom and to “yoga”. - Mr. Wallace then spoke about “diagrams and symbols”. He distinguishes between static symbols, which contain nothing essential of what they represent, and dynamic symbols, which in their whole structure reflect the essence of the laws of nature. He expressed the demand that true symbolism must be taken from the essence of things. After this lecture, Louis Desaint spoke about “Bergson's Philosophy in Relation to Ancient Indian Philosophy”. According to this philosophy, the spirit is understood as an entity independent of matter. Maurice Largeris gave an excerpt from his work “The Alleged Pessimism of the Indians and the Moral Theory of Happiness”. He showed how inaccurate the widespread views of this pessimism are. They find their correction in the idea of that “freedom” that is attained through union with the “own divine self”. Finally, in a lecture entitled “An Attempt at a Way of Life”, Eugene Levy presented a series of rules that can be applied in the daily life of those who aspire to higher spiritual development.

On the afternoon of June 4, 1906, the second general debate took place under the chairmanship of Commandant D. A. Courmes, who led it in a tasteful and judicious manner. The following questions were discussed:

1. Is propaganda an essential goal of the Theosophical Society?

2. How is it that despite the long existence of the Theosophical Society and despite the propaganda it has conducted, the number of members today is still relatively small (13,000 in 1905)? Can it be said that the Theosophical Society lacks a method or a system? If it did, would that be regrettable? If it did, how could it be remedied?

Many members also took part in this debate, which again lasted from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., and again the most diverse views came to light. There was discussion about the usefulness of propaganda, as well as about the best way to do it. There were also warnings that some clumsiness happens when individual overzealous members do the propaganda work. It was said that it was above all a certain way of thinking and feeling that made a Theosophist, but less the acceptance of certain dogmas and teachings.

Another question that was discussed was: “Should the Theosophical Society or its parts (sections, branches, etc.) officially bring everything related to the course of the movement to the attention of the members?” Regarding this question, it was agreed that the president would send a detailed annual report on the events to the sections, which would then be passed on to the members. There was little time left for the fourth question: “Are measures for material assistance among members necessary?”

In the evening of the same day, an interesting concert took place, in which the French members participated in an appreciable way: Mme Revel, M. Gaston Revel and M. Louis Revel, Mme Pauline Smith, Mme Andre-Gedalge, Mme Lasneret, Mile Roberty, Mme Strohl and Mme Alice-Heres, Mlle Jeanne Bussiere, M. Rene Billa and M. Henry Farre.

On Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock, the individual members' lectures began again. The following sections were active: 1. proposals, discussions, criticisms, requests, resolutions and so on; 2. art; 3. history of the Theosophical Society and the Theosophical movement; 4. science and border areas in the various directions; 5. brotherhood; 6. administration, propaganda, working methods and so on.

In the first section, the possibility and usefulness of a unified world language, “Esperanto”, was discussed. In the second section, Ed. Bailly gave a presentation on ancient Egyptian music, accompanied by singing samples. It was an “invocation of the planetary spirits”; the relationship of the seven vowels to the planetary spirits was discussed. Madame Andre-Gedalge also developed a mystical interpretation of Mozart's “Magic Flute”. She explained how Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn, through their initiation into the “Scottish Rite” of Freemasonry, were able to give their musical works an occult foundation. In the third section, P. C. [Taraporewalla] spoke about the Theosophical movement in India and its significance for religious life in that country. In the fourth section, Dr. Th. Pascal gave a lecture on: “Le mécanisme du rêve cérébral”. It is hardly possible to reproduce the subtle arguments of the French theosophical researcher, who is trying to gain a truly scientific basis for certain theosophical views. —After that, F. Bligh Bond gave a discussion of “Rhythmic Energies and Form Design with Illustrations”. By combining pendulums that swing in different directions and at different speeds and which fix the movement on a sheet of paper with an attached pen, very complicated oscillation patterns are created. This can give an idea of the forces at work in matter. Miss Ward then spoke of how it would be desirable to find suitable people in a wide variety of places who would collect everything that recent scientific and other research could produce as evidence for the theories contained in H. P. Blavatsky's “Secret Doctrine”. Science has found many new things since the book was published. If one were to collect it and compare it with the “Secret Doctrine” in an appropriate way, one would first see what a treasure of wisdom humanity has received in the said work. Monsieur le Commandant D. A. Courmes spoke in the fifth section on “Material Assistance within the Theosophical Movement”. In the sixth section, Ré Levie gave a discussion on the systematic study of Kabbalah using the Theosophical key.

In the afternoon, the closing session of the congress took place. Unfortunately, President Olcott was unable to attend this session due to feeling unwell. First, it was announced that a telegram of welcome should be sent to Mrs. Besant and that next year's congress should take place in Germany.

Then the general secretaries of the various countries spoke on behalf of their sections: Dr. Th. Pascal for the French section, Arvid Knös for the Scandinavian section, Miss Kate Spink for the British section, W. B. Fricke for the Dutch section, Professor Dr. O. Penzig for the Italian section and Dr. Rudolf Steiner for the German section. The secretary of the Federation, Johan van Manen, gave business announcements. The conference was closed in a moving way by a 'final chorus', composed by Rita Strohl.

In particular, it should also be emphasized that during the debates, Mr. P. E. Bernhard, Mr. Johan van Manen and Mr. Xifré took the trouble to translate the statements made in different languages into French.

On Wednesday, there was an excursion to Meudon, by boat on the Seine. The gracious way in which our French friends took care of the foreign visitors on this afternoon was a wonderful way to end the entire congress.

• 1. It is expressly noted here that the above is intended to be an objective report, that the President's remarks are therefore to be reproduced factually and that the rapporteur is not to mix his own views into the report.

Rudolf Steiner's lecture at the Congress of the Federation of European Sections of the Theosophical Society

Those who portray the spiritual life of Germany from the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century usually see, alongside the high point of art in Lessing, Herder, Schiller, Goethe, Mozart, Beethoven and others, only an epoch of purely speculative thinking in Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, Schopenhauer and a few less important philosophers. It is frequently held that the latter personalities are to be recognized as mere laborers in the field of thought. It is admitted that they have done extraordinary work in the speculative field; but one is all too easily inclined to say that these thinkers were quite far removed from actual occult research and real spiritual experience. And so it happens that the theosophically striving person expects little gain from delving into their works.

Many who attempt to penetrate the thought-web of these philosophers give up the work after a time because they find it fruitless. The scientific investigator says to himself: These thinkers have lost the firm ground of experience under their feet; they have built up in the nebulous heights the chimeras of systems, without any regard for positive reality. And anyone interested in occultism will find that they lack the truly spiritual foundations. He comes to the conclusion: They knew nothing of spiritual experiences, of supersensible facts, and merely devised intellectual constructs.

As long as one stops at merely observing the outer side of spiritual development, it is not easy to come to a different opinion. But if one penetrates to the undercurrents, the whole epoch presents itself in a different light. The apparent airy-fairy notions can be recognized as the expression of a deeper occult life. And Theosophy can then provide the key to understanding what these sixty to seventy years of spiritual life mean in the development of mankind. During this time in Germany, there are two sets of facts, one of which represents the surface, but the other must be regarded as a deeper foundation. The whole thing gives the impression of a flowing stream, on the surface of which the waves ripple in the most diverse ways. And what is presented in the usual [literary histories] are only these rising and falling waves; but what lives in the depths is left unconsidered, and from which the waves actually draw their nourishment.

This depth contains a rich and fertile occult life. And this is none other than that which once pulsated in the works of the great German mystics, Paracelsus, Jakob Böhme and Angelus Silesius. Like a hidden power, this life was contained in the worlds of thought that Lessing, Herder, Schiller, Goethe, Fichte, Schelling and Hegel found. The way in which, for example, Jakob Böhme had expressed his great spiritual experiences was no longer at the forefront of the leading literary discussion; but the spirit of these experiences continued to live. One can see how this spirit lived on in Herder, for example. Public discussion led both Herder and Goethe to the study of Spinoza. In the work that he called “God”, the former sought to deepen the conception of God in Spinozism. What he contributed to Spinozism was nothing other than the spirit of German mysticism. One could say that, unconsciously to himself, Jakob Böhme and Angelus Silesius were guiding his pen. It is also from such hidden sources that we can explain how, in the “Education of the Human Race”, the ideas of reincarnation emerged in a mind as rationally inclined as Lessing's was. The term “unconscious” is, however, only half accurate, because such ideas and intuitions led a full life within Germany, not on the surface of literary discussion, but in the most diverse “occult societies” and “fraternities”. But of the above, only Goethe can be considered as having been initiated into the most intimate life of such “fraternities”; the others had only a more superficial connection with them. Much of it found its way into their lives and work as inspiration, without them being fully aware of the real sources.

In this respect, Schiller represents an interesting phenomenon of intellectual development. We cannot understand the real intellectual nerve of his life if we do not delve into his youthful works, which can be found in his writings as “Correspondence between Julius and Raphael”. Some of the material contained in it was written by Schiller while he was still at the Karls School in Stuttgart, while some of it was only written in 1785 and 1786. It contains what Schiller calls the “Theosophy of Julius,” by which he means the sum of ideas to which he had risen at that time. It is only necessary to cite the most important thoughts from this “theosophy” to characterize the way in which this genius assembled his own edifice of ideas from the rudiments of German mysticism that were accessible to him. Such essential thoughts are, for example, the following: “The universe is a thought of God. After this [idealized] image of the spirit entered into reality and the born world fulfilled the plan of its creator – allow me this human representation – so the task of all thinking beings in this existing whole is to find the first drawing again, the rule in the machine, the unity in the composition, the law in the phenomenon and to transfer the building backwards to its ground plan... The great composition that we call the world now only remains strange to me because it exists to symbolically describe the [manifold] expressions of that [being]. Everything in me and outside of me is only a hieroglyph of a force that is similar to me. The laws of nature are the ciphers that the thinking being combines to make itself understandable to the thinking being – the alphabet by means of which all spirits negotiate with the most perfect spirit and with themselves... A new experience in this [realm of truth], gravity, the discovery of blood circulation, Linnaeus's system of nature classification: these things seem to me to be, in their very origin, what an antique, unearthed in Herculaneum, reveals to me – both mere reflections of a spirit, a new acquaintance with a being similar to myself. [...] There is no longer any wilderness in all of nature for me. Where I discover a body, I suspect a spirit. Where I perceive movement, I guess a thought... We have concepts of the wisdom of the supreme being, of his benevolence, of his justice – but none of his omnipotence. To express its omnipotence, we help ourselves with the piecemeal idea of three successions: nothing, its will [and] something. It is desolate and dark – God calls: light – and there is light. If we had a real idea of its active omnipotence, we would be creators, like Him.” Such were the ideas of Schiller's theosophy when he was in his early twenties. And from this basis he rises to the comprehension of human spiritual life itself, which he places in the context of cosmic forces: “Love, then, the most beautiful phenomenon in the creation of the soul, the almighty magnet in the spiritual world, the source of devotion and the loftiest virtue. Love is only the reflection of this one primal power, an attraction of the excellent, based on an instantaneous exchange of personality, a confusion of beings. When I hate, I take something away from myself; when I love, I become richer by what I love. Forgiveness is the recovery of a lost possession; hatred of men is a prolonged suicide; egotism is the greatest poverty of a created being.” From this starting-point Schiller seeks to find an idea of God corresponding to his own feeling, which he presents in the following sentences: ”All perfections in the universe are united in God. God and nature are two entities that are completely equal to each other... There is one truth that runs like a fixed axis through all religions and systems: Approach the God you mean.

If one compares these statements of the young Schiller with the teachings of the German mystics, one will find that in the latter, there are sharply defined contours of thought, which in Schiller's works appear as the exuberant outpourings of a more general world of feeling. Paracelsus, Jakob Böhme, Angelus Silesius have as a certain view of their intuitive mind what Schiller has in mind in the vague presentiment of feeling.

What comes to light in such a characteristic way in Schiller is also present in other of his contemporaries. Intellectual history only has to present it in the case of Schiller because it has become a driving force of the nation in his epoch-making works. It can be said that in Schiller's time, the spiritual world of German mysticism as intuition, as direct experience of spiritual life, was hidden as if under a veil; but it lived on in the world of feeling, in the intuitions. People had retained devotion and enthusiasm for that which they no longer saw directly with the “sense organs of the spirit”. We are dealing with an epoch of veiling of spiritual vision, but of a kind that is based on feeling, on an intuitive sense of this world.

This entire process is based on a certain law-governed necessity. What entered the hidden world as spiritual insight emerged as artistic life in this period of German spiritual life. In occultism, one speaks of successive cycles of involution and evolution. Here we are dealing with such a cycle on a small scale. The art of Germany in the epoch of Schiller and Goethe is nothing more than the evolution of German mysticism in the realm of outer, sensual form. But in the creations of the German poets, the deeper insight recognizes the intuitions of the great mystical age of Germany. The mystical life of the past now takes on a completely aesthetic, artistic character.

This is clearly expressed in the writing in which Schiller reached the full height of his world view, in his [letters “On the Aesthetic Education of Man”]. The dogmatist of occultism will perhaps find nothing in these “letters” either but the spirited speculations of a fine artistic mind. In reality, however, they are dominated by the endeavour to give instructions for a different state of consciousness than the ordinary one. A stage on the way to the “higher self” is to be described. The state of consciousness Schiller describes is indeed far removed from the life of experience of the astral or devachanic, but it does represent something higher than our everyday life. And if we approach it with an open mind, we can very well recognize in what can be called the 'aesthetic state', according to Schiller, a preliminary stage of those higher forms of intuition. Schiller wants to lead man beyond the standpoint of the 'lower self'. This lower self is characterized by two qualities. Firstly, it is necessarily dependent on the influences of the sensual world. Secondly, it is subject to the demands of logical and moral necessity. It is thus unfree in two directions. The sensual world rules in its drives, instincts, perceptions, passions, and so on. In his thinking and in his morality, the necessity of reason prevails. But only the person who has ennobled his feelings, drives, desires, wishes, etc., so that only the spiritual is expressed in them, and who, on the other hand, has so completely absorbed the necessity of reason within himself that it is the expression of his own being, is free in the sense of Schiller. A life led in this way can also be described as one in which a harmonious balance has been established between the “lower and higher self”. Man has so ennobled his desire nature that it is the embodiment of his “higher self”. Schiller sets this high ideal in these “Letters”; and he finds that in artistic creation and in pure aesthetic devotion to a work of art, an approach to this ideal takes place. Thus, for him, life in art becomes a genuine means of educating the human being in the development of his “higher self”. For him, the true work of art is a perfect harmony of spirit and sensuality, of higher life and outer form. The sensual is only a means of expression; but the spiritual only becomes a work of art when it has found its expression entirely in the sensual. Thus, the creative artist lives in the spirit; but he lives in it in a completely sensual way; through him, everything spiritual becomes perceptible through the senses. And the person who immerses himself aesthetically perceives through his external senses; but what he perceives is completely spiritualized sensuality. So one is dealing with a harmony between spirit and sensuality; the sensual appears ennobled by the spirit; the spiritual has come to revelation to the point of sensual vividness. Schiller would also like to make this “aesthetic state” the model for social coexistence. He regards as unfree a social relationship in which people base their mutual relationships only on the desires of the lower self, of egoism. But a state in which mere legislation of reason is called upon to rein in the lower instincts and passions also seems no less unfree to him. As an ideal, he presents a social constitution within which the individual feels the “higher self” of the whole to be so strong that he acts “selflessly” out of his innermost urge. The “individual ego” should come to the point where it becomes the expression of the “total ego”. Schiller perceives social action that is driven by such impulses as the action of “beautiful souls”; and such “beautiful souls”, which bring the spirit of the “higher self” to revelation in their everyday nature: for Schiller, they are also the truly “free souls”. He wants to lead humanity to “truth” through beauty and art. One of his core statements is: “Only through the dawn of the beautiful does man penetrate into the realm of knowledge.”

Thus, from Schiller's view of the world, art is assigned a high educational mission in the evolutionary process of humanity. One can say: What Schiller presents here is the mysticism of the older period of German intellectual life that has become aesthetic and artistic.

It might now appear that it is not easy to build a bridge from Schiller's aestheticism to another personality of the same time, but who is no less to be understood as coming from an occult undercurrent, to Johann Gottlieb Fichte. On superficial examination, Fichte will be seen as a mere speculative mind, as an intellectual thinker. Now it is true that thought is his domain and that anyone seeking spiritual heights above the world of thought will not find them with Fichte. Those who want a description of “higher worlds” will look for them in vain with him. Fichte has no experience of an astral or mental world. According to the content of his philosophy, he is concerned only with ideas that belong to the physical world. But the matter presents itself quite differently when one looks at his treatment of the world of thoughts. This treatment is by no means a merely speculative one. Rather, it is one that corresponds completely to occult experience. Fichte considers only thoughts that relate to the physical world; but he considers them as an occultist would. It is for this reason that he himself is thoroughly conscious of living in higher worlds. We have only to refer to his lectures in Berlin in 1813, where he says: “Imagine a world of the blind-born, who know only those things and their relations that exist through the sense of touch. Stand among them and speak to them of colors and the other qualities that are only present through light for those who can see. Either you speak to them of nothing, and that is fortunate if they say so; for in this way you will soon notice the error and, if you are unable to open their eyes, stop the futile talking. Or they want to give your teaching a reason for some reason: so they can only understand it from what they know through touch: they will want to feel the light and the colors and the other relationships of visibility, feel that they are feeling, and lie to themselves about something they call color. Then they misunderstand, distort, and misinterpret it.” At another time, Fichte states directly that for him his contemplation of the world is not merely a speculation about that which the ordinary senses give, but that a higher sense, one that reaches beyond them, is necessary for it: ”The new sense is is the sense for the spirit; for which there is only spirit and absolutely nothing else, and to which even the other, the given existence, takes on the form of the spirit and is transformed into it, to which therefore existence in its own form has in fact disappeared... It has been seen with this sense ever since man has existed, and all that is great and excellent in the world, and which alone makes humanity endure, comes from the visions of this sense. But that this sense should have seen itself, and in its difference and contrast to the other ordinary sense, was not the case. The impressions of the two senses merged, life disintegrated into these two halves without a unifying bond.” These last words are extremely characteristic of Fichte's place in the world of intellectual life. It is indeed true of the merely external (exoteric) philosophical striving of the West that the sense of which Fichte speaks “did not see itself”. In all mystical currents of intellectual life that are based on occult experience and esoteric contemplation, it is clearly mentioned; but its deeper basis was, as has already been explained, unknown in Fichte's time for the prevailing literary and scholarly discussion. For the means of expression of German philosophy at that time, Fichte was indeed the scout and discoverer of this higher meaning. That is why he took something quite different as the starting point of his thinking than other philosophers. As a teacher, he demanded of his students, and as a writer, of his readers, that they should, above all, perform an inner act of the soul. He did not want to impart knowledge of anything outside themselves, but rather he called on them to perform an inner action. And through this inner action they should ignite the true light of self-awareness within themselves. Like most philosophers of his time, he started from Kant's philosophy. Therefore, he expressed himself in the form of Kant's terminology, just as Schiller did in his mature years. But in terms of the height of inner, spiritual life, he surpassed Kant's philosophy very far, just like Schiller. If one attempts to translate Fichte's demands on his readers and listeners from the difficult philosophical language into a more popular form, it might go something like this. Every thing and every fact perceived by a person imposes its existence on that person. It is there without any action on the part of the person, at least as far as their innermost being is concerned. The table, the flower, the dog, a luminous apparition and so on are there through something foreign to man; and it is only for him to establish the existence that has come about without him. For Fichte, the situation is different for the “I” of man. The “I” is only there to the extent that it attains being through its own activity. Therefore, the sentence “I am” means something completely different than any other sentence. Fichte demanded that one become aware of this self-creation as the starting point for any spiritual contemplation of the world. In every other realization, man can only be receptive; in the “I” he must be the creator. And he can only perceive his “I” by looking at himself as the creator of this “I”. Thus Fichte demands a completely different way of looking at the “I” than at all other things. And he is as strict as possible in this demand. He says, “Most people would be more easily persuaded to consider themselves a piece of lava in the moon than an ego... Anyone who is not yet at peace with himself on this point does not understand fundamental philosophy, and does not need it. Nature, of which he is a machine, will guide him in all his affairs without any effort on his part.” To philosophize requires independence: and this one can only give oneself. We should not want to see without an eye; [but should] also not claim that the eye sees.

This very sharply defines the boundary where ordinary experience ends and the occult begins. Ordinary perception and experience extend as far as the human being's objective perception organs are built in. Occultism begins where man begins to build higher organs of perception for himself through the dormant powers within him. Within ordinary experience, man can only feel like a creature. When he begins to feel like the creator of his being, he enters the realm of so-called occult life. The way Fichte characterizes the “I am” is entirely in line with occultism. Even if he remains in the realm of pure thought, his contemplation is not mere speculation, but true inner experience. But for this very reason, it is also so easy to confuse his world view with mere speculation. Those who are driven by curiosity into the higher worlds will not find what they are looking for by delving into Fichte's philosophy. But for those who want to work on themselves, to discover the abilities slumbering in their souls, Fichte can be a good guide. He will realize that what matters is not the content of his teachings or dogmas, but the power that grows in the soul when one devotedly follows Fichte's lines of thought. One would compare this thinker to the prophet who did not enter the promised land himself, but led his people to a summit from which they could see its glories. Fichte leads thought to the summit from which entry into the land of occultism can be made. And the preparation that one acquires through him is as pure as can be imagined. For it completely transcends the realm of sense perception and the realm of that which originates from the nature of human desire and covetousness (from the human being's astral body). Through Fichte, one learns to live and move in the very pure element of thought. One retains nothing of the physical world in the soul except what has been implanted from higher regions, namely thoughts. And these form a better bridge to spiritual experiences than the training of other psychic abilities. For thought is the same everywhere, whether it occurs in the physical, astral or mental world. Only its content is different in each of these worlds. And the supersensible worlds remain hidden from man only as long as he cannot completely remove sensual content from his thoughts. If the thought becomes free of sensuality, then only one step remains to be taken and the supersensible world can be entered.

The contemplation of one's own self in Fichte's sense is so significant because, in relation to this “self”, man remains without any thought content at all if he does not give himself such a content from within. For all the rest of the world's content, for all perception, feeling, will and so on, which make up the content of ordinary existence, the outer world fills man. He needs - according to Fichte's words - basically nothing but the “machine of nature”, which “manages its business without his intervention”. But the “I” remains empty, no outside world fills it with content, if it does not come from within. The realization “I am” can therefore never be anything other than the human being's most intimate inner experience. So there is something speaking in this sentence within the soul that can only speak from within. But this apparently quite empty affirmation of one's own self is how all higher occult experiences take place. They become more meaningful and full of life, but they retain the same form. Through the ego experience as presented by Fichte, one can get to know the type of all occult experiences, initially in the purely intellectual realm. It is therefore correct to say that with the “I am” God begins to speak in man. And just because this happens in a purely mental form, so many people do not want to recognize it.

Now, however, a limit to knowledge had to be reached precisely by the keenest minds that followed in the footsteps of Fichte. Pure thinking is namely only an activity of the personality, not of the individuality, which passes through the various personalities in recurring reincarnations. The laws of even the highest logic never change, even if in the stages of re-embodiments the human individuality ascends to the stage of the highest sage. The spiritual perception increases, the perceptive faculty expands when an individuality that was highly developed in one incarnation is re-embodied, but the logic of thought remains the same even for a higher level of consciousness. Therefore, that which goes beyond the individual incarnation can never be grasped by any thought-experience, no matter how refined, even if it rises to the highest levels. This is the reason why Fichte's way of looking at things, and also that of his contemporaries who followed in his footsteps, could not bring them to a realization of the laws of reincarnation and karma. Although various indications can be found in the works of the thinkers of this epoch, they arise more out of a general feeling than out of a necessary organic connection with their thought-structures. It may be said that the mission of these personalities in the history of thought was to present pure thought experiences as they can take place within an incarnation, excluding everything that reaches beyond this one embodiment of the human being.

The evolution of the human spirit proceeds in such a way that in certain epochs portions of the esoteric original wisdom are transferred into the consciousness of the people. And at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century it fell to the German national consciousness to shape the spiritual life of pure thought in its relation to the individual personal existence. If we consider what has already been said in connection with Schiller's personality, that art at this time was to be brought to the center of spiritual life, then we will find the emphasis on the personal point of view all the more understandable. Art is, after all, the living out of the spirit in sensual-physical forms. But the perception of these forms is conditioned by the organization of the individual personality living within the one incarnation. What extends beyond the personality into the supersensible realm will no longer be able to find immediate expression in art. Art does cast its reflection into the supersensible realm, but this reflection is only carried over as the fruit of artistic creation and experience by the abiding essence of the soul from one reincarnation to another. That which enters into existence directly as art and aesthetic experience is bound to the personality.

Therefore, in the case of a personality of the marked epoch, a theosophical world view in the most eminent sense also has a thoroughly personal character. This is the case with Friedrich von Hardenberg, who as a poet bears the name Novalis. He was born in 1772 and died as early as 1801. What lived in this soul, which was entirely imbued with a theosophical attitude, is present in some of his poetry and in a series of poetic-philosophical fragments. This attitude flows from every page of his creations to the reader; but everything is so that the highest spirituality is coupled with an immediate sensual passion, with very personal drives and instincts. A truly Pythagorean way of thinking lives in this young man's nature, which was further nourished by the fact that Novalis worked his way up to become a mining engineer by undergoing thorough mathematical and scientific training. The way in which the human mind develops the laws of pure mathematics out of itself, without the help of any kind of sensory perception, became for him the model for all supersensible knowledge in general. Just as the world is harmoniously structured according to the mathematical laws that the soul finds within itself, so he thought this could be applied to all the ideas underlying the world. That is why man's relationship to mathematics took on an almost devotional, religious character for him. Sayings such as the following reveal the peculiarly Pythagorean nature of his disposition: “True mathematics is the actual element of the magician... The highest life is mathematics... The true mathematician is an enthusiast per se. Without enthusiasm, there is no mathematics. The life of the gods is mathematics. All divine messengers must be mathematicians. Pure mathematics is religion. One can only attain mathematics through a theophany. Mathematicians are the only happy people. The mathematician knows everything. He could do it even if he didn't know it. ... In the East, true mathematics is at home. In Europe, it has degenerated into mere technique. He who does not grasp a mathematical book with devotion and read it like the word of God does not understand it. ... Miracles, as unnatural facts, are amathematical, but there is no miracle in this sense, and what is called that is precisely understandable through mathematics, because there is nothing miraculous about mathematics."

In such sayings, Novalis has in mind not merely a glorification of the science of numbers and spatial dimensions, but the realization that all inner soul experiences should relate to the cosmos as the purely sensual-free mathematical construction of the mind relates to the outer numerical and spatially ordered harmony of the world. This is beautifully expressed when he says: “Mankind is the higher meaning of our planet, the nerve that connects this limb with the upper world, the eye that looks up to heaven.” The identity of the human ego with the fundamental essence of the objective world is the leitmotif in all of Novalis's work. Among his “Fragments” is the saying: “Among people, one must seek God. In human affairs, in human thoughts and feelings, the spirit of heaven reveals itself most brightly.” And he expresses the unity of the ‘higher self’ in all of humanity in the following way: ”In the I, in the point of freedom, we are all in fact completely identical – only from there does each individual separate. I is the absolute total place, the central point.” At Noyalis, Noyalis's position is particularly evident, which was dictated by his awareness of art and artistic feeling at the time. For him, art is something through which man rises above his narrowly defined “lower self” and connects with the creative forces of the world. In the creative artistic imagination, he sees a reflection of the magical forces at work. Thus he can say: “The artist stands on man as the statue stands on the pedestal.” “Nature will be moral when, out of true love for art, it surrenders to art and does what art wills; art, when, out of true love for nature, it lives for nature and works after nature. Both must do it at the same time, out of their own choice for their own sake and out of the other's choice for the sake of the other.... When our intelligence and our world are in harmony, then we are equal to God.” Novalis's lyrical poems, especially his ‘Hymns to the Night,’ are imbued with such sentiments, as are his unfinished novel ‘Heinrich von Ofterdingen’ and the little work ‘The Apprentices at Sais,’ which is rooted entirely in mystical thinking and feeling.

These few personalities show how German poetry and thought in that period were based on a theosophical-mystical undercurrent. The examples could be multiplied by numerous others. Therefore, it is not even possible to attempt to give a complete picture here, but only to characterize the basic note of this spiritual epoch with a few lines. It is not difficult to see that individual mystical and theosophical natures with a spiritual and intuitive mind found the theosophical basic ideas in their own way. Thus, theosophy shines out beautifully from the creations of some personalities of this epoch. Many could be cited where this is the case. Lorenz Oken could be mentioned, who founded a natural philosophy that on the one hand points back to Paracelsus and Jakob Böhme through its mystical spirit; on the other hand, through ingenious conceptions about evolution and the connection of living beings, it is a forerunner of the justified parts of Darwinism. Steffens could be cited, who sought reflections of a cosmic spiritual life in the processes of earth development; Eckartshausen (1752–1803) could be referred to, who sought to explain the abnormal phenomena of nature and soul life in a theosophical-mystical way ; Ennemoser (1787–1854) with his “History of Magic”, Gotthilf Heinrich Schubert with his works on dream phenomena and the hidden facts in nature; and the brilliant works of Justinus Kerner and Karl Gustav Carus are rooted in the same school of thought. Schelling moved more and more from pure Fichteanism to theosophy, and then, in his “Philosophy of Mythology” and “Philosophy of Revelation”, which were not published until after his death, traced the developmental history of the human spirit and the connection between religions back to their starting point in the mysteries. Hegel's philosophy should also be viewed in theosophical light, and then one would see how wrong the history of philosophy is in regarding this profound spiritual experience of the soul as mere speculation. All this would require a detailed work if it were to be treated exhaustively. Here, however, only a little-known personality is to be mentioned, who, in the focus of his mind, combined the rays of theosophical world-view and created a structure of ideas that in many respects completely coincides with the thoughts of theosophy that are being revived today. It is I. P. V. Troxler, who lived from 1780 to 1866 and whose works, in particular, the “Blicke in das Wesen des Menschen” (Glimpses into the essence of man), published in 1812, come into consideration. Troxler objects to the usual division of human nature into soul and body, which he finds misleading because it does not exhaust nature. He initially differentiates between four parts of the human being: spirit, higher soul, soul (which he considers the lower soul) and body. One need only see this classification in the right light to recognize how close it is to the one commonly found in theosophical books today. The body in his sense coincides completely with what is now called the physical body. The lower soul, or what he, in contrast to the body, calls the body, is nothing other than the so-called astral body. This is not just something that has been inserted into his world of thought, but he himself says that what is subjectively the lower soul should be characterized objectively by falling back on the term used by the ancient researchers, the astral body. “There is therefore,” he explains, ”necessarily something in man which the sages of ancient times foresaw and proclaimed as a σῶμα αστροιδες (Soma astroeides) [and ομραγιον σῶμα (Uranion soma)], or as a σχημα πνευματιχον ([scheme] pneumatikon) [sensed] and proclaimed, and what is the substrate of the middle sphere of life, the bond of immortal and mortal life.” Among the poets and philosophers who were Troxler's contemporaries, theosophy was alive as an undercurrent; but Troxler himself became keenly aware of this theosophy in the intellectual world around him and developed it in an original way. Thus, he himself comes upon much of what is found in the ancient wisdom teachings. It is all the more appealing to delve into his thought processes, since he does not directly build on old traditions, but rather creates something like an original theosophy out of the thinking and attitudes of his time.

[Rudolf Steiner:] “The first condition for an occultist who acquires powers to lead others is a willingness to make sacrifices. The good that such a self-sacrificing occultist has done cannot be erased. It continues to have an effect, it remains. And it would be highly unchristian and even more untheosophical to judge a fallen occultist without love. Every person who joins the Theosophical Society must be able to count on brotherly feelings. Those who join the Society only to learn have the wrong idea. Those who give their best to help their brothers and thereby support the brotherly spirit have correctly recognized the purpose of the Society.

Now there is the case of a member who has done a lot of good being rejected. What is it that rejects?

It is very difficult to talk about this matter in public. It is a matter of opinions here. By doing things that are not approved by ordinary morality, Leadbeater had the ideal in mind of counteracting precisely this sexual evil. He thought he had done nothing wrong, he saw the matter as a remedy.

One cannot say: “Leadbeater does not want to improve.”

The Society has excluded him. In doing so, it has set itself up as a judge of an idea. In so doing, it has acknowledged its own infallibility. During the congress, there was some talk about common sense. Here, an occult case has been brought before the forum of “common sense”. This means that any occultist could be brought before this forum.

The case has been created and society must see how it deals with it.

Dr. Steiner: “We have only been informed of the fact. We have no right to judge the actions of others; if we do that, we make heretics. Everyone should answer for their own actions.

The exoteric leadership of the Society has only to occupy itself with administrative matters. The rest they have to place in the hands of those who stand behind them. They should not exercise police power.

If they want to start judging the faults of the members, they are beating their own faces. There are seemingly quite harmless things, but they are not as harmless as they seem. These include, for example, the ladies' coffee klatch and the gentlemen's early or evening drink. This is where lust is encouraged. And those affected are, to a certain extent, committing fornication on the astral plane. They are performing a veritable witches' sabbath there. Certain astral beings feed on this gossip.

Only the intention of the culprit determines the difference between white and black magic.

The question at issue here is: Did the culprit act out of lust for his own sake?

Kieser, Stuttgart: “How did Leadbeater behave during the interrogation? Did he confess?”

Miss Bright: “Yes. He fully confessed it and retired from the Society for the good of the Society. He does not want to attach his karma to that of the Society, so he resigns. He has firmly declared that he did not do it to satisfy his lust.”

Dr. Steiner: “So Leadbeater acted in good faith. If the method he used to fight the evil is wrong, it shows in the fruits it produces. If it is right, that can also only be recognized by the fruits.

A similar case is celibacy. Society has no right to judge occult matters. If it does so, it makes itself into a sect that establishes dogmas. The dogma is the establishment of a doctrine whose meaning is not understood. The Trinity, for example, is a dogma as long as it is not understood. If one understands it, it ceases to be a dogma.

The things that are in question here have always been practiced in occult societies. Occultism is the wisdom of the future. Through the heroism of the occultists, they often prepare a tragic end. The occultist lives the morals of the future and that is not understood by his fellow human beings.

This case will become clearer to us if we consider the evolution of man. Wisdom teaches us to look from the bottom up, from man to God. There we saw a whole hierarchy of spiritual beings, a hierarchy, a spiritual state. In this hierarchy, the occultist occupies a very specific place; it is not appropriate for a less developed person to accuse an occultist, because that would be like accusing the gods. The gods have brought illness and sin into the world. Where there is much light, there is also much black shadow. Therefore, the gods could not bring us good without also causing evil. To look for the shadow in the light is nonsense; but the shadow is the consequence of the light. Man first had to emerge completely onto the physical plane before he could become self-aware on the higher planes. First he should explore the physical plan independently. Once in ancient Greece, man was not yet independent, he did not yet feel as an individual, that only developed in Rome. So three to four hundred years before Christ, the Romans developed this sense of independence. We actually owe independent thinking to the ancient Romans. But the decline of sexual morals is connected to the development of thinking. All this is known to the occultist, and we have high occultists to thank for the institution of prostitution. We have to tie in with this if we don't want to go around blindfolded in the world.

A large percentage of humanity is afflicted with sexual vices. That is a fact and there is little that can be done about it. Anyone who thinks that moral sermons can remedy the evil is mistaken. The occultist knows that other things are needed to do so. Even if these things stink, they are necessary and we cannot completely escape them, just as we cannot escape the stench of the faeces we ourselves secrete. Man must go through the swamp. The only question is whether he will wallow in the mud like a pig or whether he will go into the mud to transform it, as it is well known that the most beautiful scents can be developed from feces. Anyone who undertakes this for humanity is acting in an apocalyptic sense. He anticipates something that humanity as a whole will only come to in later times. What he wants to accomplish in view of the future, he must carry out in a physical body that, especially in his brain, does not offer him the necessary conditions to carry out what he has already anticipated in spirit before the rest of humanity. He is crucified in the flesh. He has skipped a step and his physical body does not offer him the necessary conditions.

Let the matter speak as it speaks through the personality. Let it not become a dogma that can be discussed. The interdependence of people, who are all working at different levels of humanity, means that when one person falls, many fall with him.

The point here (with Leadbeater) is that something has happened with the best, noblest of intentions that is incompatible with the current order of things.

Question: “What should we say about this case when we are asked?”

Dr. Steiner: “Right and wrong can only be distinguished according to the attitude from which an act is done.

The higher beings send us teachings through society. Those who do not want them have no place in society. When a teacher falls, we do not want to sing dirges because of it; we need not fear. There are still more suitable teachers to lead the good cause to victory. It depends on the person, not on the idea he has; not on the organization of society, but on the spiritual individuality of the person in whom we have or have no trust."

Above all, I must express my satisfaction at being able to greet you once again in Berlin. I know full well that my absence, my all-too-frequent absences, cause some disruption. But you will understand, from a theosophical point of view, that today's work is necessary at the most diverse points in the German-speaking world – and is necessary in other ways as well. Right now we are at a very important stage of the development of the Theosophical movement, and each and every one of us must contribute to the development of occultism and Theosophy wherever we feel we can contribute. I hope that you will therefore also understand this matter, that I am not always able to work only in the place that is, after all, in a certain respect the starting point of my theosophical work; but circumstances have made it necessary for a temporary absence like the last one to occur more often, and we can hope that somewhat different times will arise for Berlin in the future. For my part, I will endeavor to be here as much as possible. However, I cannot neglect the comprehensive task of our Theosophical development during this time and ask you to be understanding in this regard.

Obituary for Countess Brockdorff

The next thing we have to do today is to remember the departure from the physical plane of one of our very dear members. Countess von Brockdorff, who, as especially the old members of the Theosophical movement in Germany know, devoted so much strength and devotion to this Theosophical movement in Germany, departed from the physical plane on June 8, after a physically agonizing ordeal. The older members of our group, and I myself in particular, are aware of the beautiful and devoted work of Countess von Brockdorff. At times when the Theosophical cause in Germany was often on the verge of dying out, it was the couple, Count and Countess Brockdorff, who, time and again, knew how to keep this Theosophical movement in Germany afloat in their loving and, at the same time, extraordinarily appealing way for the widest circles. Those who still remember the quiet and extremely effective way in which the countess knew how to gather individual minds in her house to send out individual rays of light will fully appreciate her work.

If I may first say a few words about how I myself came to be part of the circle in which Countess Brockdorff was active, inspiring in the broadest sense in theosophical and other intellectual matters, I would just like to say that one day a lady said to me whether I would like to give a lecture on Nietzsche in Brockdorff's circle. I accepted and gave a lecture on Nietzsche. The countess then took the opportunity to ask if I would like to give a second lecture in the same winter cycle. This second lecture - I think it was the 1901 winter series - was about the fairy tale of the “Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily”. Even then, the countess had the desire to take up again what had been dormant at the time - the actual theosophical activity.

The countess's work was extremely difficult because she became more and more rooted in the theosophical life with which she had come to various theosophical experiences.

It was difficult to continue the spiritual life under the name of Theosophy. Therefore, she had initially limited herself to her Thursday afternoons, but then felt the need to return to actual Theosophical activity and invited me - I was not even a member of the society at the time - to give lectures at the association, which took place during the first winter and were about German mysticism up to Angelus Silesius. An outline of this is given in the book 'The Mysticism of Modern Spiritual Life'. The following winter I gave the lectures on 'Christianity as a Mystical Fact'. This led to the creation of a kind of center for the gathering of theosophical forces in Germany, from which a foundation was laid for the actual founding of the section.

Now, when one thinks of the dear Countess Brockdorff, it must be emphasized that the Theosophical cause was repeatedly kept afloat by her extraordinarily sympathetic manner and work. The Countess had little sense for certain organizational issues and currents in the Theosophical movement. It was less her thing. She had less sympathy for it. But a certain basic tendency of her heart formed to work in the direction of the theosophical movement. She did this in a way that was truly rare in a human being, borne of the fullest devotion and extraordinary love.

It was probably her health that made it necessary for her to retire to her country residence in Algund near Meran at a time when we were forced by circumstances to develop a tighter and more cohesive organization in Germany. And, as was often the case, even this peace was not truly rest for the good countess. She soon began to suffer from ill health, and she went through difficult times in terms of her health in the last few years.

Objectively speaking, the history of the Theosophical Society in Germany in the 1890s and early 1900s will be linked to the name Brockdorff, as the achievements of the countess and the count cannot be praised enough. The older members will still remember our good count when he was still at the side of the companion he has now lost in the physical plane. But the members also know how deeply rooted the theosophical sentiment was, with which peace will be won from the theosophical world view. But even those who may have been younger members and did not know Countess Brockdorff will, in view of what she achieved for the Theosophical movement in Germany and particularly in Berlin, gratefully remember it, and look back with a certain – essentially Theosophical – emotion on the last days that brought physical death to the much-admired and beloved member. I ask you to honor the honored member by rising from our seats.

Report on the Paris Congress

Now it is my turn to speak briefly about the congress of the European section that took place at Whitsun in Paris and that coincided with my presence in Paris. It was not just a matter of attending the congress, but I also spent four weeks in Paris giving lectures and tried to cover the various fields of Theosophy and occultism in these lectures. These lectures – I may say this objectively – have aroused some interest. In the end, it was no longer possible to finish the lectures in the small venue. The French section has earned our special thanks by providing us with their club venue for these lectures.

I am particularly gratified by the fact that one man in particular took part in these lectures from start to finish, and he has achieved extraordinary things for the occult and spiritual movement in our time: namely Edouard Schur, whom you may also know from 'Lucifer'.

So our French congress took place at Pentecost. This congress, like all congresses of this kind, kept our French comrades and colleagues busy for a long time. Anyone who is able to look behind the scenes of such a congress and see what needs to be done will know that it is not without reason that we look back with gratitude on everything the French Section has achieved over many months, just as the English Section did last year. However, I have to add a bitter pill sweetened by joy by informing you that we will have the congress in Germany next year. I believe that the German Section will be able to take on the burden of this congress as the fourth of these sections. I hope that we will be able to welcome many friends from abroad here next year.

If I am to speak of the participants in the congress that began on Saturday, July 2 and ended on Wednesday, June 6, I have to mention President-Founder Olcott, who made the long journey from Adyar to Paris especially for the congress and who was the chairman of the congress this year. Then I can only give you a few of the names of the participants in this congress that may interest you. I can tell you that on the part of America, only one member was there – that is natural, because America does not belong to the European section – our member [Bernard]. Of foreign members, I would like to mention an Indian who is currently planning to give lectures in England: [...]. He will give lectures on Vedanta philosophy. Then there was a personality, a representative of the area north of India, who spoke in a few words during the congress, in a way that gave an idea of the shades of the theosophical view in this area.

Among the European participants, mention should be made of Mr. Mead, Mr. [Keightley], Secretary General of the European Section, [Kate Spink], then Misses Cooper-Oakley, then, from the English Section, Miss [Ward] and several other members who can hardly be known in Germany by name.

Our Scandinavian member [Arvid Knös] represented the Scandinavian Theosophical Society at the congress in an exceptionally pleasant manner. The Dutch section was represented by our friend [W. B. Fricke]. The French section was present in person. Then there was Pascal, the secretary general of the French section, who was not very active due to poor health and could only devote a little time to the work of the Theosophical Society. The main work of the French section lies with the three siblings: Monsieur and [Mesdames Blech], who have ensured that there is now a beautiful headquarters in France and who had a lion's share in the preparation of the congress. In addition, Mr. Ostermann, who lives in Alsace for most of the year and who has greatly supported our work through his activities, made it possible to give lectures in Strasbourg and Colmar. In Strasbourg, he had an audience of about 700 people. He supports the theosophical cause wherever he can.

From Spain, there was Monsieur [Rafael Urbano]. From Italy, there was our friend Professor Penzig, a professor in Genoa, who is also the Secretary General of the Italian Section. The German members Fräulein von Sivers, Baroness v. Bredow, Mr. Kiem; also from Cologne, Miss Scholl, Mr. and Mrs. Künstler, Miss Noss, Miss Link – Cologne, now Bonn. A lodge has recently been established in Bonn. From Hamburg there were: Miss Wagner, the sister of Günther Wagner, who could not be present. Then from Darmstadt: Mr. Kull, from Munich: Countess Kalckreuth, Miss Stinde and [Miss Stucky]. From Stuttgart: [Carl Kieser], from Regensburg: Mr. [Feldner]. Those are more or less the German members who were able to attend. So that was the list of participants.

The congress was opened by an exhibition held in the rooms of the French headquarters at [Avenue de la Bourdonnais 59] on the afternoon of June 2. In a series of partly symbolic and partly other images, the French section endeavored to make the artistic part of our congress. It is to be hoped that this part in particular will be developed more and more. It is certainly true that the French section did well to only allow works by French artists. Whether this can continue to be the case to this extent will have to be carefully considered. The artistic element was relegated to a mere secondary meaning by the fact that the congress was held in a large room at [14 Rue Magellan], but the smaller exhibition in the rooms a little way away could only be considered for those who could spare a quarter of an hour to look at the pictures. Nevertheless, just consider what it would cost such a congress committee to gather a larger number of images from all over France in order to organize the congress to the satisfaction of the members.

The opening of the congress by President Olcott took place the next morning, and was preceded by a very pleasant performance of the “Ode to the Sun”, which was written and composed by our French member [Edmond Bailly] and which introduced the congress in a very beautiful and dignified way. Then there was an address by our friend Dr. Pascal, the Secretary General of the French Section, in which he welcomed the assembled members (over 400 in number). Of course, the members of the [affected] country provided the main support. The number of German members has grown somewhat compared to the number that could be represented in Amsterdam and London. I can say that we had a very favorable number in Paris.

Then our president Olcott gave his speech, which he first delivered in English and then repeated in French. This opening speech – allow me to give you an objective report – probably belongs to a current in the theosophical movement that, I would say, no longer stands on the ground of the original intention of the theosophical movement. I do not wish to hide my views and convictions from the members of the German Section, but I would ask to be allowed to speak openly about the matters at hand during a relatively difficult period in our development. It is not a matter of in any way touching on the merits and virtues of President Olcott, but for me it is only a matter of speaking to the German members in a completely unbiased and honest way.

The speech that our president gave more or less culminates in expressing the aspiration that is prevailing in a large part of our society today, the aspiration to push back occultism. Within society, more superficial studies than can otherwise be found today, and in particular, as is often emphasized, the ethical direction, the moralizing direction, have come to the fore. I do not want to say that the theosophical movement today is already shaping itself similarly to a society for ethical culture. But there is clearly a certain turning away from actual occultism and a limitation to what is in the first principle, to an external study, to the results of scientific research, such as hypnotism, suggestion and so on; as I said, there is a reluctance to deal with the great occult problems, which we in Germany tried to place at the center of the movement. There is a tendency to push them more into the background.

I am not going too far when I note that there was a tendency in the speech to let the esoteric element in society recede somewhat. It is self-evident that within society every person can have their own opinion, and that the president must also have and can have his own opinion. However, I must say that for many members, what the president says carries more weight than what anyone else says. But what he says must not be taken democratically. I myself would not be dissuaded at any moment from the path I have taken, and which actually does not go in the direction that appears to be official, but emerged as the opinion of an individual in the opening speech of the congress. I do not want to say – I do not actually want to say what I am saying – that I myself [...] consider it right for the Theosophical movement to be gradually pushed aside by occultism, but that I consider the cultivation of the great aspects of occultism and esotericism to be the basic nerve that should make up the Theosophical movement.

I can also say that at the congress, where I had the opportunity, I never hesitated to speak about this view. I said that in Germany it could not be about anything other than the cultivation of esotericism and occultism, although sometimes I was all alone. But it seemed necessary to me not to hold back what I consider to be the main focus of the movement.

Recently, our German section has been accused – including by German members – of spinelessness and all sorts of other things because we did not engage with their matters, which were not worth the trouble, because we could not go along with this line. Where it will be a matter of objective opposition, we will hopefully not shrink from making that opposition. I am not saying that our president expressed his personal opinion as president, but that he did not actually fully observe the custom that a president should observe: namely, to speak in generalities and in a kind of greeting, that is, to speak in a comprehensive manner, so that he may have gone too far in a way that can very easily create the danger of also giving a certain impression in society. That would have to be avoided at all costs.

The next item on the congress agenda was the individual speeches of the general secretaries and then also of the representatives of other individual nations. There was a colourful mix of languages, as each person gave their welcome address in their own language, in keeping with the true spirit of an international congress.

Dr. Pascal spoke for France, [W. B. Fricke] for the Netherlands, [Arvid Knös] for Sweden and Norway, Penzig for Italy, and I for Germany. The British section – and this was a cute scene: the of the English section is our member [Kate Spink], who spoke in such a way that Miss [Ward], who has a good voice and is good at speaking, stood behind her and spoke those words that were to be considered the greeting of the English section.

The last thing was the announcement that our friend Johan van Manen, who for years has been the de facto secretary of the Federation's congress and has always organized this congress in an extremely busy and active manner, and who has devoted himself so intensively to this work that he had to take a vacation next year to recover, so that we will have to do without a permanent secretary. Fräulein Stinde from Munich has therefore been elected as secretary for the German work, and she will represent Johann van Manen next year.

That was the first morning. Then came the first afternoon, which was dedicated to one of the two discussions that were held. The questions were as follows. The first question was: “To what extent is the Theosophical Society purely a group of seekers after truth? And a group of students? Or is it a group of propagandists or of followers of some system?”

The second question was this: “Whether the Theosophical Society has no dogmas or whether any authority exists in it, and what the value of that authority is?”

The third question was: “Whether the moral character of individuals should influence admission to the Theosophical Society?”

This last point about admitting [morally questionable] individuals was not even included on the agenda. To approach this question would be a difficult experiment. It would then come about that members would be thrown out of the society under some form or other. We would be holding heresy trials.

A number of prominent figures spoke on the first question, and here two stages in particular emerged clearly in the discussion. If I am to characterize what lies dormant in the bosom of our society, I would say it in the following words: There is a group that is mindful of the purpose of the original society and desires that true occultism be practiced. But then it is necessary that those who know something can say it in some way. Then the others will listen first. It is in the nature of the facts that one cannot immediately control and test everything that someone who has progressed as a teacher proclaims. There will always be those who say: This is uncontrollable, anyone can make something up.

Then there is the other current, which says: There must be no authority in the Theosophical Society, no dogmas, only what everyone - and the word has been repeated in all variations - can understand in the sense of common sense, can be taught.

In Germany, there is someone who wanted to trace everything back to common sense. Even Fichte has risen to a pamphlet, because who has that kills gods. [...] You could also have a vote in the Reichstag on what should be valid as common sense. Then you could also come to vote on mathematics and so on.

There are those who know what is important and that what is true does not require the approval of others. There are those who understand the teachings and those who do not yet understand them. Therefore, it is necessary that there is a certain trust, a certain personal relationship between those who teach in society and those who receive it. This is so obvious that it should not be discussed. But there is a current in society that only talks about what everyone knows and everyone can talk about. That was the question that was discussed that afternoon and about authority in the sense that a certain field must be created in the theosophical movement for those who, from their own experience, from higher experience, can teach occultly. The Russian friend Miss Kamensky stood up for this, then Miss Winters, then myself. But then we are more or less finished with those who advocate this view. In fact, however, there is a very strong sentiment in favor of the other [current] within the Theosophical movement, and Messrs. Mead and [Keightley] have vigorously advocated this direction. That is a true report, and I think I have given you such a true report.

The evening was filled with two lectures. Mr. Mead spoke about the religious spirit. What he said was from the circle of his studies, which for years have been in the field of esoteric fraternities, which developed outside of Christianity in the first centuries of Christianity, namely the great fraternities of Egypt, which bear the name of Hermes Trismegistus, and he sought to show that the receptivity of those great brotherhoods has been able to achieve a wisdom that is capable of forming a complete harmony between research on the one hand and the demands of reason on the other. He showed how, at that time, there were currents existing alongside Christianity, and his tendency was to show how these have eliminated a personal master, how they have limited themselves to regarding the actual spirit as the actual inspirer and, instead of what is understood as initiation, namely the fertilization of one spirit by another that is further along, to set self-initiation, which in this sense is the actual initiation.

That same evening, Monsieur Bernard, who had been in India for two years, gave a lecture on “The Problems of the Present Hour”, on those problems that Theosophy is dealing with in the present hour, how the goal of brotherhood is made the high goal of the Theosophical movement, how difficult it is to understand and interpret this correctly, and how those who believe they are living this brotherhood can fall into all kinds of aberrations. In a more moralizing way, he tried to explain how this moral-ethical aspect of the movement should be fulfilled.

On Monday morning, the actual sectional work began. Now we had sections working in two halls next to each other. I can report little about this. The main event was a lecture by Mrs. [von Ulrich], a member of the Italian section. She spoke about old [Slavic] myths and legends; she tried to extract the occultism of such primitive peoples.

Then I myself spoke about “Theosophy in Germany 100 years ago”. It is not for me to give further details of my own lecture. The Spanish Section was discussed in terms of [Louis Desaint].

Another example: a lecture was given on [Henri Bergson] in order to put the relationship of modern scholars with Indian occultism into perspective. Mr. Whyte from England gave a lecture in which he discussed interesting relationships within the oriental esotericism referred to by the name Mahayana. Then something else was read about a group under the title “Yoga from Algiers”. Then there was a reading about... that was a lodge work, the result of all members together.

The afternoon of that Monday was filled with questions. The question: to what extent propaganda could be a goal for the movement, and whether directives should be given to individual lodges for joint work. The latter could be useful if there is time for those who can do such a thing.

Then came the question: why the Theosophical Society has not grown beyond 13,000 members. In relation to this question, those who believe that 13,000 members is already a very respectable number for the spiritual current worldwide will be right. And if we were to gradually shed the occult character of the Theosophical movement, the number of members would also decrease considerably, but our culture makes it self-evident that with the expanded concepts of occult knowledge, the number of members of the Theosophical movement will continue to grow.

Monday evening was filled with musical soirées organized by members of the Society in France, and which, with a rich program, earned all credit for the musical achievements of our French comrades. Then the evening was closed with a [r&ception du soir], a kind of hospitality with tea and other things.

Of the next day – Tuesday – I would like to highlight, of the work that was given, a treatise by [Edmond Bailly, who also wrote the “Ode to the Sun”], with discussions of certain [mantric type, from the English language of the gods [...1] – Then we heard a talk about Mozart's “Magic Flute”, then a suggestion from Dr. Pascal (France) and then a suggestion from Miss [Ward] that people in different countries should gather evidence to support what is written in Blavatsky's “secret doctrine” and to confirm it with new scientific discoveries. She expected a lot from the fact that this enormous treasure of science, which has been created over time, will be collected and used to support the secret doctrine.

Then a member of the French Society, [Commandant D. A. Courmes], spoke about what needs to be done in the Theosophical movement to cultivate the material side of Theosophy, the mutual support in a spiritual and material sense. No specific proposals were made. But there should be a suggestion in this direction to consider to what extent members can help each other on this issue.

Then there is a lecture by [Frederick Bligh Bond] that will be of interest to those who favor a more materialistic elaboration of the basic theosophical ideas. He has tried, by combining certain pendulum movements, to draw figures [...] that come about when one pendulum swings to one side and crosses another pendulum. This creates interesting vibrational relationships. Our friend Gysi in Zurich tried to cut out an ordinary piece of a tree and let a drop of liquid dye fall on it and then let it run into the channels. It turned out that one piece of wood gave the shape of a butterfly, another piece the shape of a flower. You can get beautiful shapes out of it. This is better because it is reality that lives on the astral plane, while the pendulum movement is more of a game.

On Tuesday afternoon, the congress was closed at four o'clock. The president had become indisposed and could not attend the closing of the congress. The congress was closed by an address from our French friend Pascal and by addresses from the various general secretaries. At the opening, not only the general secretaries spoke, but also the others. It was interesting to hear India and Persia, then to hear the member from Spain speak, or rather, I can almost say, to see him speak. I was reminded of the Viennese university lecturer Unger. He once said: “The individual nations differ in many ways, including their speakers. And while the Latin souls have speeches that have a harmony between gesture and speech, the Germans have no gestures. The Spaniard spoke with his head, with his hands and feet. He spoke warmly. He also spoke in a discussion; there he said that one must have theosophy in one's heart and mind, then one can also express it with the appropriate gestures. Kamensky spoke in Russian. Then a Czech speaker took the floor. The approximately ten members in Prague were represented by him. They belong to us in Germany. The next day, everyone gathered for an excursion to Meudon. You can see the city from a nearby point outside. The congress was closed.

It has been decided to hold the congress in Germany next year, and we have endeavored to invite the friends of the world to join us.

Regarding the Leadbeater case

We have been discussing this for a little too long, but I still have to discuss one more matter that I feel is necessary to discuss, which is somewhat related to the things I told you about as difficulties of the Theosophical movement. I remind those who were at our general assembly that our friend Hübbe-Schleiden, together with Mr. Deinhard, said that our movement is going through a severe crisis. I have already said that this crisis does not consist of an action by Hensoldt and Bresch, but that we have now fully entered into this crisis through a certain event.

I would now like to talk about this event that led to a major crisis. There was something like a black shadow operating in the background of the whole Congress mood, and those who, like the General Secretaries, had to deal with what belonged to the background had to deal with these difficult circumstances – some more than others. They know that Mr. Leadbeater is one of those personalities who have been most appreciated by a large number of Theosophists all over the world in the past years, and that the Leadbeater books are among the most popular literary works of the Theosophical movement. Recently, Leadbeater had given effective lectures for the Theosophical movement throughout America and Australia. You also know – the members of the Berlin branches know this best – that this veneration of Leadbeater was even greater outside of Germany than within Germany. They know that some outsiders, like [Schouten Beek] always said, “But Leadbeater says it differently.” So you can imagine that it was significant for certain members - though not surprising for occultists - when, after May 16, the various general secretaries received word that on May 16, President Olcott felt obliged to convene a committee consisting of English, American and French members to discuss Leadbeater, so that Leadbeater had now resigned or would have been expelled. It is a hard blow when one of the pillars of the Theosophical Society is now being excluded after serious accusations by the section in which he has otherwise worked successfully.

Now it is, I might almost say, an insurmountable difficulty to speak about the reasons that led to the exclusion of Leadbeater. You know – and this is a problem that I have emphasized time and again – that there is a boundary between what is called black and white magic that is as easy to break as a cobweb, and that it is very easy for highly developed personalities to fall away through all kinds of impossible arts.

This is indeed a fact that is understandable to the occultist, but of course in no way defensible – and at present has found no other solution than that which lies in the exclusion of Leadbeater. If I am to speak in generalities in order to clarify the serious case at hand, I must relate it to a number of contemporary conditions.

You must not forget that occultism leads people up to higher levels of spiritual life, that people must consciously go through what they have unconsciously gone through in the past.

I have guided you through the sublime mysteries of the past in a variety of ways. I have not yet spoken of the degenerations of the mysteries because I did not consider it necessary. But there are also degenerate mysteries that have dragged down the sacred teachings, which shine into the depths of the universe, to the basest level. There are mysteries that have degenerated into the most savage sex cult and the most savage abuse of the sexual organs, and the one that on the one hand leads to the most sublime can, if abused, actually lead to the most terrible. You will often have heard that this is symbolically expressed by the great teachers of ancient Egypt, that it is compared to words - Osiris, the male; Isis, the female principle - that sexual images are evoked to describe that which rises to the highest region of the spirit. It is the same with a person who rises above all teachings. It is just as easy for him to fall into the swamp.

Now, in Leadbeater's case, it is still the case that he has come to excesses that are extremely condemned by morality. He started out from priests who described the difficulties of life with an awakening sex drive and offered help, so that the view has developed that one must counteract what there was of excess in this area. He combined this with all kinds of practices that are called practices, which are mixed into his educational system. It is difficult to continue talking about this. This is an ugly case of a slide that the occultist has to understand, who condemns himself only within his own karma of life.

We must not forget that he has achieved an infinite amount. What he has achieved will be won. What he has done wrong will have to be worked off again through him. The outsider has no right to judge his fellow man, because karma is the incorruptible and just judge. That is why we do not interfere in personal matters either.

Olcott did not consider it appropriate to ask the General Secretary of the German Section about this question. So the German voice was not considered. I do not wish to call this an accident, because it would have been difficult for the occultist to take a definite position. Leadbeater is of the opinion that he has done the right thing and that, in terms of cultural development, he has done good with what he has done. But those who have judged him are of the opinion that he has done something bad, which is punished in the most severe way according to the laws of various countries, with the exception of Italy.

We have here a case that signifies a crisis, a difficulty within the Theosophical movement. And perhaps those who are just joining the Theosophical movement today or have only been part of it for a short time and are superficially familiar with what is going on in the Theosophical movement will say to themselves: If such things can happen in the Theosophical such things can happen in the theosophical movement, if a person who has written books that have brought countless students can fall into immorality and be accused of it, then stay away from us if it is such a dangerous thing. Others will become frightened when they hear that even someone so advanced can fall into such a state. Those who are more advanced will say to themselves: however many people fall away, it cannot harm the theosophical movement. It will show who has only joined the theosophical movement for the sake of its reputation when they fall away because of such events. Those, however, who recognize the significance and greatness and value of the Theosophical Society will join together more closely. They will experience the strangest things, especially in the fields of occultism and esoteric life. Not only those who have done something not quite right for the ethically thinking person leave the movement. There can also be reasons for this when the Theosophical movement and the members of the Theosophical movement are spoken about, when judged from points of view that are only able to put the Theosophical movement in a miserable light, - because of its assumptions. Our culture suffers from an evil that is the evil of many hideous dark sides of culture. It is the evil that is connected with sexual life. The one who has open eyes and can see into the miserable swamp that humanity is sailing into, who is a versatile one, can be a good and an evil to a certain extent. Those who have entered the white path ascend the good side of culture, those who have entered the black path ascend the reprehensible side, the evil side, so that everything they can hear from either side, about the evil sides of occultism, is nothing more than the grotesque, the caricature of occultism.

Of course, people can say that what our poets and artists achieve, the atrocities that are created in these directions, is already bad enough. There is no longer any need to ban occultism. They would simply have to cross out the occult, although it is so necessary because humanity would have to perish if it did not have it. I already said to our members in Paris: The case of Leadbeater can be settled by a simple analogy. He should not be excused and nor should he be defended: Where there is much light, there is also much shadow; where there is strong light, there is also black shadow. Now, occultism needs the light of the cultural movement. But it has black shadows. So it will be a matter of the Theosophical movement, despite its severe crisis, despite its severe impairments, gradually overcoming its shadows to a real fertilization of the light it has to practice.

It was not my intention to tell you about this somewhat painful event in the Theosophical movement just for the sake of being here one day longer. But I also had to tell you at the same time – and that is my duty – that in my own opinion such an event cannot affect the momentum and impetus of the Theosophical movement. Even if it should prove to be the case that persecutions may arise from a misunderstanding of the actual crux of the matter and from a mere looking at the dark sides of those who lead the Theosophical Society in the various crises that the Theosophical Society will experience in the near future, we must not waver for a moment if we recognize the greatness and cultural significance of the Theosophical Society. We will also overcome the Leadbeater crisis. But those who do not know what is at stake will fall away. They know that great tasks are knocking at the doors from all sides, which we know to be the doors of the culture of the future. See how the world is in flames, both physically and morally. Consider how the ground begins to shake underfoot, not only in the East but also in Europe, and understand the profound role that the realization of spiritual forces plays. Anyone who thinks this way will also look at the Leadbeater case differently. The storm rages and claims its victims. It is a great sacrifice, as will become apparent from the consequences that the Leadbeater case will have. In the next issue of 'Lucifer', I will give an account of the Leadbeater case and everything connected with it. At the same time, I apologize for the fact that “Lucifer” appears so irregularly, but the next issue will be published on the 31st. You will then be able to form an accurate judgment from reading about the case, the discussion of which is met with almost insurmountable difficulties.

This would have brought me to the end of my arguments.

Report in the “Mitteilungen für die Mitglieder der Deutschen Sektion der Theosophischen Gesellschaft (Hauptquartier Adyar), herausgegeben von Mathilde Scholl”, No. IV/1907

At half past ten, Dr. Rudolf Steiner, the General Secretary of the German Section, opened the fourth ordinary General Assembly. The first item was the [the] determination of the votes. Represented were:

Not represented: Bremen, Stuttgart I, Charlottenburg. Similarly, the section members who did not belong to a branch had not exercised their right to appoint representatives.

Mr. Selling was elected secretary. He read out the minutes of the General Assembly of October 22, 1905, which was approved by the Assembly.

Regarding Item II, the report of the General Secretary, Dr. Rudolf Steiner first warmly welcomes the members present in the theosophical sense and then says the following about the course of the movement in the past year:

"During my travels and lectures, it has become clear to me that the actual effective basis of our Theosophical movement does not lie in mere talk of universal love of humanity and the like, but that the real reason that drives most people to Theosophy consists in the desire to gain knowledge of the treasure of wisdom that is Theosophy. And this is entirely justified. Morality is the result of wisdom. Just as it is certain that the yearning to develop into a noble humanity lives in man, so it is certain that the worn-out phrases of duty and mere moral admonitions have proved ineffective. Just as a stove needs real fuel, not just admonition, to radiate warmth, so too must man receive such an impulse to act morally. This real firing is the occult wisdom.

Of course, there was no lack of resistance and obstacles of various kinds to the spreading of this wisdom. The opposition that arose in the process of bringing this wisdom out can be characterized as a lack of understanding on the one hand and complacency on the other. If many people do not want to know anything about what they do not see for themselves, it is certainly true that people do ask themselves: Can we understand these occult things with ordinary logic? But if they really wanted to look into it, they would soon see that the teachings of Theosophy contradict logic just as little as the teachings of ordinary natural science.

Others would like to participate in the ennobling of morals, but they want to remain in the same place where they are, they want to help with what they have already achieved. But Theosophy consists in the pursuit of self-perfection. To understand this, one needs tact, a sense of not being called upon to help, and the realization that one really has something to give.

Few scholars today still belong to the Theosophical movement, that is, few of those people who are convinced of the infallibility of their own views; for there can be nothing more infallible than today's science. Most of them are people who are in the prime of life, driven to the Theosophical movement by the longing for the powers that flow from the wisdom teachings. This longing for security and strength is growing despite all the resistance that lies in our time, as the gratifying increase in membership shows us. If scholarship is still dismissive, this should not make us unjust to the merits of that scholarship, but should spur us on to conquer the culture of the present and its scholarship for our theosophical movement. Under the influence of our present-day culture, almost all our scholars think much more materialistically than they themselves suspect.

As a symptom of the obstacles that this materialistic way of thinking poses to our views, I would like to point out a representation that a biologist who starts from the view that everything in the world is based on a materialistic foundation has recently given about the nature of movement. The scientist in question said that he could not imagine the deeper causes of the movement of a billiard ball other than that in the collision, very small particles of one ball were transferred to the other, thereby causing the movement. So, for a modern scientist, the problem of movement is presented as a kind of tiny passenger transferring from one train to another. In an age when such a materialistic view of life dominates science, it is understandable that a spiritual movement has a particularly difficult time.

Without going into all these things in any more detail, I would just like to emphasize that the Theosophical movement is the only movement that is built entirely on freedom.

However, it does not work without any authority; but authority is understood in a completely different sense than in the laboratory, where the only authority is the person who understands chemistry.

In contrast to all earlier intellectual movements that used external means of power to assert themselves – I am only recalling the Church here – the theosophical movement is a completely free movement that is built only on the spirit. Without invoking external powers for support, which would be a failure for any intellectual movement today, without propaganda in the usual sense, because the theosophical movement does not agitate, it presents itself. Everyone must approach it of their own free will. What it offers people is not an external organization, agitation in the sense of the old power organizations. In theosophy, it can only be about an organization to help people find what they are seeking within themselves. Without polemics, even without polemics against those who attack us, let us do positive work.

Sometimes we have been told that we should reject the attacks against us, so sometimes a correction is certainly necessary, but in general, everything can be recognized by its fruits. We want to do positive work that leads up to the higher worlds; fighting does not help anything, it can at best straighten something out on the physical plane. But on the higher planes, only positive work can help.

You have received a report about this year's international conference in Paris. The most important thing we brought home for the German Section is a great deal of work: preparing for the next conference in Germany. Next year we will welcome the representatives of the individual sections to Germany. Negotiations for the next conference are, after all, part of the program of today's general assembly.

In addition to the lectures that have been given everywhere, something new has been added: lecture cycles – not only in Paris but also in Leipzig and Stuttgart; one will soon begin in Munich. Such cycles are of great value; they allow the foundations of the Theosophical worldview to pass before the soul.

But we should also remember at this point the members who have left the physical plane this year. In particular, we would like to remember our esteemed member, Countess Brockdorff, whose unassuming but all the more admirable work at a time when few in Germany were willing to stand up for Theosophy. In honor of the deceased, we want to rise from our seats.

Over the past year, our movement has gained some excellent new members, in particular Ms. Wolfram from Leipzig. This deserves special mention because she is the kind of member the Theosophical Society could only dream of. Furthermore, I would like to announce that our long-standing and valued member Mr. Günther Wagner has decided to swap his residence in Lugano for one in Berlin in order to provide assistance here. With his help, we will be able to accomplish many things that have been left undone in recent years.

Let us hope that through the combined efforts of all, the Theosophical movement will flourish and develop in the coming year.

Miss von Sivers, as secretary of the German Section, then gives the following report on the course of Theosophical life in the past year:

There are 24 branches, compared to 18 in the previous year, and 3 centers: Regensburg, Elberfeld and Esslingen.

Eleven members have left and seven have died, while 232 have joined, compared to 131 in the previous year, an increase of 214. The total number of members is 591, compared to 377 in the previous year.

The names of the new branches are: Basel, Bonn, Bremen, Frankfurt a.M., Heidelberg, Munich II, St. Gallen. The DTG (Berlin branch) has disbanded.

The treasurer's report by Mr. Seiler follows.

According to the auditor's report, Mr. Tessmar, the treasurer is discharged.

Fräulein von Sivers then read out and translated a welcoming letter from the English General Secretary, Miss Kate Spink.

Since there are no reports from delegates about work in the branches, the Secretary General remarked on this point that it is desirable that the branches should recognize it as their duty to publish such reports in Fräulein Scholl's “Mitteilungen”.

Thereupon, a new member of the board was elected to replace Mrs. Lübke, who joined the section in England because she moved there. Mrs. Wolfram from Leipzig was proposed and elected unanimously by acclamation.

Item III is the discussion about next year's congress of the Federation of European Sections. Dr. Steiner takes the floor and says something along the following lines: “The General Secretariat and the Board propose to hold the congress in Munich. The reasons for this are purely practical, since the appropriate forces for the long and demanding work are only available in Munich. Whitsun seems to be the most suitable time.”

In response to a question from Mr. Hubo as to how the organization of the congress was planned, Dr. Steiner said that all previous congresses should be seen as attempts. The task of the German congress should be to bring everything into intimate harmony with each other, so that works of art, music and speech interact and sound atmospherically with the rest of the arrangement - striving in its intended effect to recall the ancient mysteries. To this end, a performance of a mystery play is also planned. Whether all this can be realized depends, of course, on the circumstances. Dr. Steiner also announced that Miss Stinde has been elected as secretary of the International Congress Committee for this year, replacing Mr. van Manen, and that Countess Kalckreuth has been elected treasurer of the International Congress Committee. All inquiries from German members, including payments, are to be addressed exclusively to Miss von Sivers, and she alone will contact Miss Stinde.

The following have been elected as additional members of the German committee:

Miss Scholl,
Baroness von Gumppenberg,
Mr. Günther Wagner,
Mr. Arenson.

To cover the costs of the congress, which amount to between 4,000 and 5,000 marks, it is proposed that a list of voluntary contributions be circulated as soon as possible and that Mr. Selling be authorized to accept payments.

The Secretary General then requested the authority to greet the General Secretaries of the other Sections on behalf of the General Assembly. The meeting agreed.

Regarding Item IV, “Final settlement of the matter of the Library of the German Theosophical Society”, the General Secretary reported that the matter had taken a gratifying turn, namely that Graf Brockdorff had transferred all rights to the library to Mr. Günther Wagner. After a lengthy debate, Mr. Günther Wagner in turn transferred these rights to the German Section.

The General Assembly has passed the following resolution:

"The German Section takes over the library of the former German Theosophical Society on the basis of the transfer of the rights that Count Brockdorff held over it to Mr. Günther Wagner. The Section's Executive Board will act as a library commission and transfers to Mr. Günther Wagner the measures for the desirable installation of the library and its further administration.” At the request of Mr. Tessmar, Mr. Günther Wagner is appointed by the German Section as the lifelong custodian of the library in recognition of his generous actions.

Item V: Motions from the floor.

Mr. Hubo: The costs for the “Mitteilungen” should be covered by an annual contribution of 50 pfennigs per member.

Dr. Steiner notes that the proposal is not possible in this form because the previous year's General Assembly decided to make the mandatory delivery of the “Mitteilungen” free of charge. It might therefore be necessary to take the decision to increase the contribution. After a lengthy debate, in which members Scholl, Wolfram, Hubo, Ahner and Wagner took part, Mr. Hubo withdrew his proposal. Mr. Hubo then proposes: In view of the fact that the costs of the German Congress will amount to at least 4500 Marks, based on previous experience, voluntary subscriptions are required and a registration list is to be circulated immediately. It is pointed out once again that subscriptions can only be made to Fräulein von Sivers.

There is no material on the agenda for Item VI, “Miscellaneous”, whereupon Dr. Steiner closes the business part of the meeting and announces that the Theosophical part of the General Assembly will begin at four o'clock.

Died on February 17, 1907

In what I am going to say today, I do not intend to give an appreciation of Olcott's invaluable services. He was not only the long-standing president of the Theosophical Society, but also a co-founder of the Theosophical movement. Through his great organizational and administrative talent, which was extraordinary, he made the Society what it is today. The spiritual current can, however, be traced back to H. P. Blavatsky, who, through the peculiar organization of her soul, offered the opportunity to the great Masters of Wisdom and Harmony of Feelings to let their wisdom flow into the movement. Olcott was their faithful companion and that was the real half of the work in this case.

You have to be clear about how the work of the entire movement, which we call theosophical, is actually to be understood. It became necessary at a certain point in the nineteenth century. It became necessary for some of that spiritual wisdom, which had previously only been at home in the innermost circles, in closely guarded occult brotherhoods, to be brought into general human culture.

The Masters cannot stand directly in front of humanity; and for reasons that cannot be discussed here. They need tools. And H. P. Blavatsky was such a useful tool.

Gratitude will be the feeling that the members of the Society must maintain for Colonel Olcott. The selfless love that is maintained beyond death gives him wings and facilitates his ascent.

The President-Founder has been granted the right to make a personal proposal for his successor. The Vice President takes over the business in the meantime and initiates the election process. Everyone can vote for whomever they want. The President's proposal is not binding. The election will not begin before May 1. No ballot that is submitted before May 1 May is therefore invalid. During the month of May, all members will have to elect the new President of the Theosophical Society. Sinnett is the acting Vice President until the election.

I will not make use of what I now want to say, so I will not say anything about it, although it has been mentioned in other sections.

If we had been informed by Olcott that he was proposing Annie Besant, we would all have elected Annie Besant. But Colonel Olcott's proposal occurs in connection with psychic phenomena. It has been communicated in a communiqué sent to all the general secretaries that on the last day of Olcott's life, the two masters appeared to him on his deathbed and expressed their wish that Mrs. Besant should succeed Colonel Olcott.

They have left it to me to discuss this matter, precisely because I believe I know something definite about these things. However, I am in the special position of not being able to say much about these matters. We would be in a difficult position if we were to refer to this communiqué. We must therefore treat it as if it were not there. We must take it as if it were only Colonel Olcott's personal wish. We will ignore the content of the matter and discuss only the formalities. We must not care whether Olcott was advised by a Schulze, a Müller or a Mahatma. He may have been advised by a Mahatma. This is an administrative act, and it is true that the Masters do not concern themselves with administrative matters on the physical plane. On the other hand, we would be in a strange position if we opposed the Masters' pronouncements. So we simply have to write the name we want on the ballot paper. For those who live an occult life, the Master's pronouncement would be absolutely binding. Olcott may have taken advice. That is his business as an esotericist, but not the business of the Society. So for us there is only a wish of the Society's meritorious President. If we took it as a Master's wish, we Theosophists would be in a very difficult position.

If the Adyar communiqué were correct, then the president would be appointed; and then we would not need to elect him. I would like to urge you to do whatever you can to help ensure that little or no mention is made of this matter. But it should be recognized that the German Section at least understands that these things do not belong in public, and that if they must be discussed at all, they should be treated as an intimate family matter in the Society. We can only serve the true, great cause if we not only try to remain silent about this matter, but also try to maintain that silence in such a way that the matter does not become public, so that it can never appear in our newspapers. Just think of the shock that could be caused to our society if it became known in the world that the Theosophical Society has the President appointed by extrasensory means. This appointment is to be considered as non-existent. This is difficult because it can be read everywhere and because there is discussion about whether it should be considered valuable or not. The only thing to do is to ignore it. The high [wisdom teachers] have nothing to do with the administrative affairs of the society. The content is provided by wisdom, the framework for which people have to provide and form.

Not only out of my conscience, but also out of my knowledge, I had to give you this advice: to ignore the communiqué.

Dr. Steiner on the election:

The members are concerned with nothing other than the statutes when they proceed to the election. After that, the president has the right to propose his successor, and the members have to confirm this through their election.

The statutes are incomplete.

The statutes should be interpreted as I have communicated them. However, others are of the opinion that only [illegible]

The president's proposal was preceded by many important details.

I therefore felt justified in confiscating everything that these [illegible] brought into the election matter.

We are dealing with two different things: what happens in the administration is our human activity. This has nothing at all to do with the higher individualities behind the Theosophical movement. The individualities we address as the Masters of the Wisdom do not interfere in anything that happens on the physical plane. The Theosophical movement is under the guidance of such spiritual individuals. Therefore, one must strictly separate. One does not have to defend the truth before the physical forum. It would be nonsensical to practice democracy towards the ancient teachings, just as little as towards mathematics. One is responsible to one's spiritual guide for spiritual things. In administrative matters, we cannot call upon the masters.

I will tell you later how it is with the manifestations. I cannot do that now.

A member sent a letter to the individual lodges stating that it was impossible to elect Mrs. Besant. There then follows a point and a proposal that everyone is equally entitled.

The discussion about the manifestations should be postponed until after the election. Various magazines have announced that the president did not just make the suggestion to elect Annie Besant of his own volition, but that the masters appeared at his bedside and told him to nominate Mrs. Besant as his successor. This nomination has been firmly rejected by the German section. Other sections have behaved similarly. The German Section has so far taken the view that this cannot be of influence, but must be regarded as if a Mr. Müller had given advice.

The Leadbeater affair: Circulars have been issued by Adyar which shed new light on the Leadbeater affair. So far, the German Section has not taken a different view from that recently issued by Adyar.

The Dutch and Italian Sections have received letters dated January 21, asking them to proceed with the election after Annie Besant was nominated by Olcott.

We will have to face severe struggles in the near future. Strong spirits have turned against the Theosophical movement, and they are finding their tools on the physical plane as well.

Report by Rudolf Steiner in Lucifer-Gnosis no. 34/1907

It was the task of the German Section of the Theosophical Society to organize this year's congress of the “Federation of European Sections”. It is therefore more fitting that here, from within the circle of the organizers, there is less talk of what has been achieved and more of what has been intended and striven for. For the organizers know only too well how little of what was achieved has been achieved, and how much has been achieved that could not be achieved on such an occasion. Therefore, the following should only be understood as a description of the underlying ideas.

Munich was chosen as the venue: the time was the days of Pentecost, May 18, 19, 20 and 21. The questions that the organizers asked themselves in their preparations were: How can the task of the Theosophical movement be expressed within the current spiritual life through such a congress? How can it give a picture of the ideals and aims of the theosophical work? Since the event is naturally limited by the circumstances, it can only provide a limited answer to these questions. It now seems particularly important that the comprehensive character of the theosophical movement be emphasized on such occasions. First of all, the focus of this movement is the cultivation of a worldview based on knowledge of the supernatural. And at such a congress, people come together who, in the spirit of such a worldview, work across all national borders and other human differences on spiritual ideals that are common to all of humanity. Mutual inspiration in the best sense will be the most beautiful fruit of such events. In addition, it will be shown how the theosophical work should really be integrated into the whole of life in our time. For the spiritual foundation of this movement cannot be called upon to express itself only in thoughts and ideas, in theories and so on; rather, as a content of the soul that has emerged in our time, it can have a fertilizing effect on all branches of human activity. Theosophy can only be grasped in the right sense if we set it the ideal of inspiring not only the imagination and the human soul, but the human being as a whole. If we wish to interpret its mission in this sense, we may recall how, for example, the world view of the corresponding time found expression in the buildings and sculptures (e.g. the Sphinx) of the Egyptians. The ideas of the Egyptian worldview were not only thought by the souls; they were made visible in the environment of the human eye. And think of how everything that is known of Greek sculpture and drama is the worldview of the Greek soul, shaped in stone and depicted in poetry. Consider how in medieval painting Christian ideas and feelings were revealed to the eye, how in the Gothic period Christian devotion took form and shape. A true harmony of the soul can only be experienced where the human senses are reflected in form, shape and color and so on as an environment, which the soul knows as its most valuable thoughts, feelings and impulses. Out of such thoughts arises the intention to give a picture of theosophical striving in the external form of the event at a congress. The room in which the meeting takes place can reflect the theosophical feeling and thinking around the visitor. According to our circumstances, we could not do more than sketch out what might be considered an ideal in this regard. We had decorated the assembly hall in such a way that a fresh, stimulating red formed the basic color of all the walls. This color was intended to express the basic mood of the celebration in an external view. It is obvious that some people will object to the use of “red” for this purpose. These objections are justified as long as one relies on an esoteric judgment and experience. They are well known to the esotericist, who nevertheless, in accordance with all occult symbolism, must use the color red for the purpose in question. For him, it is not a matter of what the part of his being feels that is devoted to the immediate sensual environment; but what the higher self experiences in the spiritual realm while the external environment is physically seen in red. And that is the exact opposite of what the ordinary sensation of “red” says. Esoteric knowledge says: “If you want to attune yourself in your innermost being as the gods were attuned when they gave the world the green plant cover, then learn to endure ‘red’ in your surroundings as they had to.” This indicates a reference to the higher human nature in relation to “red” that the genuine [esotericist] has in mind when he presents the two opposing entities of the creative world ground in the occult symbolism in such a way that, downward, the green as a sign of the earthly, upward the “red” as a sign of the heavenly (elohistic) creative powers. Much more could be said about the reasons for opposing this color, and much could be said in refutation of these arguments. However, it may suffice here to make this brief comment: this color was chosen in accordance with occultism.

On the walls (on both sides and at the back wall) were placed the so-called seven apocalyptic seals in a size appropriate for the room. They represent certain experiences of the astral world in pictures. There is a story behind them. At first, some viewers may mistake such pictorial representations for ordinary symbols. But they are much more than that. Anyone who simply wants to interpret what is depicted in them symbolically with the mind has not penetrated the spirit of the matter. One should experience the content of these seven pictures with one's whole soul, with one's undivided mind; one should shape it inwardly in one's soul in terms of form, color and content, so that it lives inwardly in the imagination. For this content corresponds to very specific astral experiences of the clairvoyant. What the clairvoyant wants to express in such images is not at all an arbitrary symbol, or even a straw-thin allegory, but something that is best illustrated by way of comparison. Take a person who is illuminated in a room by a light in such a way that his shadow is visible on a wall. The shadow is in some respects similar to the person casting the shadow. But it is a two-dimensional image of a three-dimensional being. Just as the shadow relates to the person, so what is depicted in the apocalyptic seals relates to certain experiences of the clairvoyant in the astral world. The seals are, of course, in a figurative sense, silhouettes of astral processes. Therefore, they are not arbitrary representations of an individual, but anyone who is familiar with the corresponding supersensible processes will find their silhouettes in the physical world. Such things cannot be invented in their essential content, but are taken from the existing teachings of the secret scientists. A student of these matters may have noticed that some of our seals correspond with what he finds in this or that work, but others do not. The reason for this is that some of the imaginations of occult science have already been communicated in books; but the most important part – and the true part – may only now, in our time, be made public. And part of the theosophical work must consist in handing over to the public some of the material which has hitherto been kept strictly secret by the appointed custodians. This is demanded by the development of the spiritual life of our time by the exponents of occult science.

It is the development of humanity, the expression of which in the astral world must form one of the most essential foundations of occult knowledge, which is expressed in these seven seals. The Christian esotericist will recognize them in a certain way in the descriptions of the “Revelation of St. John”. But the form they presented in our festival hall corresponds to the secret-scientific spiritual current that has been the dominant one in the West since the fourteenth century. The mysteries of existence, as they are reflected in these images, represent ancient wisdom; the clairvoyants of the various epochs of humanity see them from different points of view. Therefore, according to the necessary developmental needs of the times, the forms change somewhat. In the “Revelation of St. John” it is “set in signs” what is to happen “in brief”. Those who know how to read a secret-scientific form of expression properly know that this means nothing other than a reference to the secret-scientific signs for certain imaginations that can be experienced in the astral world and that are related to the nature of man as it reveals itself in time. And the Rosicrucian Seals also represent the same. Only very sketchily, with a few words, shall the infinitely rich content of the seals be interpreted. Basically everything - even the seemingly most insignificant - in these pictures means something important. The first seal represents man's entire evolution in the most general way. In the “Revelation of St. John” this is indicated with the words: “And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about upon his chest with a golden girdle. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like brass glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the rushing of many waters. And he had seven stars in his right hand; and out of his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword; and his face shone like the bright sun.” In general terms, such words point to the most comprehensive secrets of human development. If one wanted to present in detail what each of the deeply significant words contains, one would have to write a thick volume. Our seal depicts such things. Among the physical organs and forms of expression of the human being, some represent, in their present form, the downward stages of development of earlier forms, and have thus already passed their peak. Others, however, represent the initial stages of development and are, as it were, the rudiments of what they are to become in the future. The esotericist must know these secrets of development. The organ of speech represents an organ that will be much higher and more perfect in the future than it is at present. By pronouncing this, one touches on a great secret of existence, which is often also called the “mystery of the creative word”. This gives a hint of the future state of the human speech organ, which will become a spiritual organ of production (procreation) when the human being is spiritualized. In myths and religions, this spiritual production is indicated by the appropriate image of a “sword” coming out of the mouth. In this way, every line and every point in the picture signifies something that is connected with the secret of human development. The fact that such pictures are made does not merely arise from a need for a sensualization of the supersensible processes, but it corresponds to the fact that living into these pictures - if they are the right ones - really means an arousal of forces that lie dormant in the human soul, and through the awakening of which the representations of the supersensible world emerge. It is not right for the supersensible worlds to be described only in schematic terms in theosophy; the true path is to awaken the imagination to the images presented in these seals. (If the occultist does not have such images at hand, he should verbally describe the higher worlds in appropriate images.) - The second seal, with the appropriate accessories, represents one of the first stages of development of humanity on earth. In its primeval times, humanity on earth had not yet developed what is called the individual soul. What was still present at that time, and what is still found in animals today, is the group soul. Anyone who can follow the old human group souls on the astral plane through imaginative clairvoyance will find the four types of group soul represented in the four apocalyptic animals of the second seal: the lion, the bull, the eagle and the man. This touches on the truth of what is often so dryly allegorized in the interpretation of the four animals. The third seal represents the secrets of the so-called harmony of the spheres. Man experiences these secrets in the interval between death and a new birth (in the “spirit land” or what is called “Devachan” in the usual theosophical literature). However, the account is not given as it is experienced in the “spirit realm” itself, but rather as the events of this realm are reflected in the astral world. It must be noted that all seven seals are experiences of the astral world; however, the other worlds can be seen in their reflections in the astral. The angels blowing trumpets in the picture represent the original spiritual beings of the world phenomena; the book with the seven seals indicates that the mysteries of existence are “unsealed” in the experiences illustrated in this picture. The “four horsemen of the Apocalypse” represent the stages of human development through long earth cycles. The fourth seal represents, among other things, two pillars, one rising from the sea and the other from the earth. These pillars hint at the secret of the role played by red (oxygen-rich) blood and blue-red (carbon-rich) blood in human development, and how this blood changes in line with human development from distant primeval times to distant future times. The letters on these pillars point to this developmental secret in a way known only to the initiated. (Old interpretations of the two letters given in public writings or in certain societies remain only a superficial, exoteric interpretation.) The book in the cloud points to a future state of man in which all his knowledge will be internalized. In the Book of Revelation we find the significant words: “And I took a little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up...”

The sun in the picture points to a cosmic process that will take place at the same time as the marked future stage of humanity; the earth will enter into a completely different relationship with the sun than it currently does in the cosmos. And everything is depicted in the picture so that all the arrangements of the parts, all the details and so on, correspond exactly to specific real processes. The fifth seal represents the further development of man in the future in a cosmos in which the conditions just indicated will have occurred. The future human being, who will have a different relationship to the sun than the present one, is represented by the “woman who gives birth to the sun”; and the power that he will then have over certain forces of the world, which today express themselves in his lower nature, is represented by the “sun woman” standing on the beast with the seven heads and ten horns. The woman has the moon under her feet: this points to a later cosmic relationship between the sun, earth and moon. The sixth seal represents the evolved human being with even greater power over the lower forces of the universe. The way the image expresses this is reminiscent of Christian esotericism: Michael holds the dragon bound. Finally, the seventh seal is that of the “Mystery of the Grail”, as it was in the esoteric current beginning in the fourteenth century. In the picture there is a cube, representing the world of space, from which the world serpent arises from all sides of the cube, insofar as it represents the higher forces living out in the lower: From the mouth of the snake comes the world line (as a spiral), the symbol of the purified and refined world forces; and from this arises the “holy grail,” which is confronted by the “dove.” All of this points - and quite appropriately - to the mystery of the creation of the world, of which the earthly one is a lower reflection. The deepest mysteries lie in the lines and figures and so on of this seal. Between each two seals a column was inserted. These seven columns could not be executed in plastic form; they had to be painted as a substitute. But they are definitely intended as real architectural forms and correspond to the “seven pillars” of the “true Rosicrucian temple”. (Of course, the arrangement in Munich does not quite correspond to that in the “Rosicrucian Temple of Initiation”, because there each such column is duplicated, so that when one walks from the back wall towards the front, one passes through fourteen columns, two of which are always facing each other. This is only a hint for those who know the true facts; for us, only a general idea of the meaning of this column secret should be awakened). The capitals of these columns represent the planetary development of our solar system. Our Earth is, after all, the fourth embodiment in a planetary developmental system, and in the ways it is configured it points to three future embodiments. (More exact details about this can be found in the articles in this journal headed 'From the Akasha Chronicle'. The seven successive embodiments of the Earth are referred to as the Saturn, Sun, Moon, Earth, Jupiter, Venus and Vulcan states. In the representations commonly used in esoteric studies, the Vulcan state is omitted as being too far in the future, and for reasons that would take us too far afield to discuss here, the Earth's development is divided into a Martian and a Mercury state. (These reasons can also be found in the essays on the “Akasha Chronicle”. These seven embodiments of the earth: Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus are now expressed in esotericism by seven column capitals. The inner life of each of these states of development is depicted in the forms of these capitals. Here, too, the intention is that one should not delve into the forms of the capitals intellectually, but entirely through the feelings, in a truly artistic experience and in the imagination. For every line, every curve, everything about these forms is such that when you immerse yourself in them, you awaken dormant powers in your soul; and these powers lead to ideas about the great mysteries of the world that underlie the cosmic and related human development of the earth. Anyone who might criticize the design of such columns should consider that the Corinthian and Ionic columns, for example, also emerged from the embodiment of the secrets of existence, and that such facts are only unknown to the materialistic way of thinking of our time. From the way the motives of world development are expressed in these column capitals, one can gauge how esotericism is to have a fruitful effect on art. The ancient columns, too, are born out of esotericism. And the architecture of the future will have to present to people what the esoteric worldview of Theosophy can give as a hint today.

In Munich, for example, an attempt has been made to sketch out an interior in the spirit of the Theosophical worldview; of course, only some of the relevant information could be provided, and even that only in general terms, and above all not in the precise order that would be most appropriate. But the aim was only to evoke a sense of what was important. The esoteric symbolism of the room in which we were meeting also included two columns at the front of the hall. What they signify can be seen from the description of the fourth seal, which also contains the two columns. They point to the mystery of blood and contain the “mystery of human development”. The color of the pillars is connected with the blood secret. One is red; the other is a deep blue-red. Esoteric science writes four deeply significant sayings on these two pillars. When the human soul immerses itself in these four sayings in meditation, then entire secrets of the world and of humanity well up from their depths. Many books would have to be written to exhaust the full meaning of these sayings, for not only is every word significant, but so is the symmetry of the words, the way they are distributed among the four sayings, the intensifications that lie within them, and much more, so that only long, patient devotion to the matter can exhaust what lies within. The four sayings of the “Pillar of Wisdom” in English are:

In pure thought you find
the self that can sustain itself.

When you transform thought into image,
you experience creative wisdom.

If you condense feeling into light,
you reveal the forming power.

If you reify will into being,
you create in the world's being.

We tried to express the fundamental mood that we wanted to express in our “inner space” in the program book that was given to visitors. After the significance of the red color in esoteric symbolism has been discussed above, there is no need to say anything more about the red cover of this book. On this cover (in the upper left corner) there is a black cross entwined with red roses in a blue oval field; to the right of it are the letters: E. D. N. - J. C.M. - P. S. S. R. - These are the ten initial letters of the words by which true Rosicrucianism is summarized in a single sentence: “Ex deo nascimur, in Christo morimur, per spiritum sanctum reviviscimus.” The cross symbol, entwined with roses, expresses the meaning of Rosicrucianism in an esoteric way. In view of the relationship that our event has established with Rosicrucianism through such things, it seems necessary to point out serious misunderstandings that are brought to it. Here and there, people have tried to form an idea of Rosicrucianism based on historical tradition. Of those who have formed an opinion of it in this way, some at present look upon it with a certain benevolence; but most look upon it as charlatanry, enthusiasm or something of that kind, perhaps worse. It may readily be conceded that If Rosicrucianism were what it appears to be to those who know of it only from historical documents and traditions, it would certainly not be worthy of the attention of any rational man. But at the present time no one knows anything about true Rosicrucianism who has not approached it through the medium of occult science. Outside the circle of occult science there are no authentic records of it, for the name stands for the spiritual current mentioned here, which has set the tone in the Occident since the fourteenth century. Only now may we begin to communicate to the public some of the secrets of Rosicrucianism. In drawing from this source in Munich, we naturally did not want to present it as the only true source of the theosophical movement, but only as one of the paths by which spiritual knowledge can be sought. It cannot be said that we gave preferential treatment to this source, while the theosophical movement should take all forms of religion and paths to truth into equal consideration. But it can never be the task of the theosophical movement to study the diversity of religions as an end in itself; it must reach the unity of religions, their core, through their forms; and we did not want to show what Rosicrucianism is, but through Rosicrucianism we wanted to show the perspective to the one core of truth in all religions. And this is precisely the true mission of the Theosophical movement. In the program book one finds five drawings. They are the motifs of the first five of the seven capitals mentioned above, transposed into vignette form. In these five drawings, too, there is something of what is called “occult writing”. Those who immerse themselves in the line forms and figures with all their soul will inwardly perceive something of what are known as the important states for [the] realization of human development (Saturn, Sun, Moon, Mars and Mercury states).

This should describe the intentions of the conference organizers in preparing the framework within which the festivities were to take place. The venue for the event was the Tonhalle (Kaim-Säle), which seemed particularly suitable for this event.

The description of the proceedings of the congress must be preceded by the expression of the deepest satisfaction felt by all the participants at the presence of Mrs. Besant. The much-admired woman had just returned to Europe after spending two years in her field of activity in India; and Munich was the first place where the European members were able to greet her again and hear her powerful speech. The German committee of the Congress had invited Mrs. Besant to preside over the honorary committee; and so the esteemed leader gave the assembly its consecration and lent it the mood that her whole being communicates to all those around her and to whom the magic of her words reaches.

The visit to the congress was a thoroughly satisfying one. We had the great pleasure of welcoming many members of the other European sections, as well as those of the Indian section. The members of the German section were present in large numbers. The British section was officially represented by its General Secretary, Miss Spink; the French section by its General Secretary, Dr. Th. Pascal; the Dutch section by its General Secretary, Mr. Fricke; the Italian section by its General Secretary, Prof. Dr. Penzig; the Scandinavian section by its General Secretary, A. Knös; and the Hungarian section by its General Secretary, D. Nagy.

The opening of the congress took place on May 18 at 10 o'clock in the morning. It began with a musical introduction. Emanuel Nowotny played the Toccata in F major by Johann Sebastian Bach on the organ. - Thereupon the Secretary General of the German Section had to greet the participants on behalf of the German committee. He greeted Mrs. Besant and emphasized the importance of the fact that the Munich Congress was honored by her visit. After welcoming the representatives of the other sections and the German visitors, the speaker expressed words of love, appreciation and thanks for the founder-president H. S. Olcott, who died in February. The extensive mission of the Theosophical movement in the spiritual life of the present day was also pointed out in this opening address, and the necessity emphasized that the cultivation of spiritual life must form the basis of the Theosophical work. After that, the representatives of the European sections and the other fields of work spoke: from England (Mr. Wedgwood), from France (Dr. “Th. Pascal), from the Netherlands (Mr. Fricke), from Italy (Prof. Penzig), from Scandinavia (Mr. A. Knös ), Hungary (Mr. D. Nagy), Bohemia (Mr. Bedrnicek), Russia (Miss Kamensky, Mrs. Forsch, Miss N. v. Gernet), Bulgaria, Belgium (and others).

As at previous congresses, each speaker spoke in their national language.

Mrs. Besant then took the floor to greet the German section and emphasize the nature of the Theosophical movement, as well as to point out in a few forceful sentences the spiritual life and its fundamental importance for society.

The Saturday afternoon was devoted to lectures and talks by Mr. Alan Leo, Dr. Th. Pascal, Michael Bauer, Mr. James Wedgwood and Miss Kamensky. Mr. Alan Leo read his paper on “Astrology and Personal Fate”. The esoteric nature of astrology was discussed and free will was clearly explained in relation to predetermined fate, showing the way in which planetary forces influence human life. Dr. Th. Pascal presented the results of his long inner research in the theosophical field in a thoughtful essay. It was stimulating to follow the subtle arguments of intimate trains of thought. Michael Bauer spoke about the relationship between nature and man. This very meritorious leader of our Nuremberg branch showed in his warm-hearted and spirited way how the inner essence of nature and man's own inner being are interlinked in their depths. Mr. Wedgwood read his paper on “The Value of the Theosophical Society.” He explained how the study of occultism elevates man to an awareness of his higher destiny by giving him a knowledge of his place in the world process. It depends on the perspectives that occultism gives to the human soul. (No summary of the contents of the individual lectures and papers will be given here, as these will appear in detail in the “Congress Yearbook”. Miss Kamensky read her fascinating paper on “Theosophy in Russia” that same afternoon. Her brief but meaningful remarks showed how many Theosophical ideas are to be found in Russian literary and intellectual life. The work was a prime example of how to seek out those seeds in a nation's intellectual life that only require spiritual light in order to grow into Theosophy in the right way.

The first day of the conference ended with an evening of artistic performances. Johann Sebastian Bach's “Prelude and Fugue in B minor”, performed by Emanuel Nowotny on the organ, opened the evening. After that, Marie von Sivers recited the monologue from the beginning of the second part of Goethe's Faust, “Des Lebens Pulse schlagen frisch lebendig...”, as an example of a poem written for esoteric reasons. The two members, Ms. Alice von Sonklar and Ms. Toni Völker, performed Robert Schumann's “Pictures from the East” on the piano, which seem very suitable for promoting a mystical mood. Miss Gertrud Garmatter then sang two songs by Schubert, “An die Musik” and “Die schöne Müllerin”, in her charmingly sensitive way, and Miss Toni Völker concluded the evening with her beautiful artistic performance on the piano: “Pastorale and Capriccio” by Scarlatti.

On Sunday, May 19, the morning session was opened by the atmospheric Trio in E-flat major by Johannes Brahms (1st movement), played by Miss Johanna Fritsch (violin), Marika v. Gumppenberg (piano) and Mr. Tuckermann (French horn). Mrs. Besant then gave her momentous lecture: “The Place of Phenomena in the Theosophical Society”. She explained the role phenomena played in the early days of the Theosophical Society through H. P. Blavatsky, and how important they were in a time of doubt about higher worlds. She emphasized how the observation of phenomena related to higher worlds can never be dangerous if approached with the same spirit of research that is applied to observations in the physical world. She emphasized how little good it would do for the Theosophical Society if, for fear of the danger posed by psychic powers, it abandoned the pursuit of the goal of “studying those forces in the world and in man that are not accessible to sensory observation” to other societies.

It would be quite impossible to convey the manifold content of this lecture within the framework of a short report. Therefore, as with all earlier and later lectures of the congress, reference must be made to the “Yearbook” of the “Federation of European Sections”, which will appear following this lecture.

The second lecture of the morning was Dr. Rudolf Steiner's lecture on “The Initiation of the Rosicrucian”, in which the method of attaining knowledge of supersensible worlds in the sense of esotericism, which has set the tone in the West since the 14th century, is discussed and at the same time the necessity of these methods for the present period of human development is shown.

On Sunday afternoon (5 p.m.), Edouard Schuré's “Sacred Drama of Eleusis” was performed. The German organizers considered this performance to be an especially important part of the congress. It impressively demonstrated how theosophical ideas and sentiments can be expressed in true, high art. Edouard Schuré is the great French artist and writer who, through his works in so many directions, communicates the theosophical spirit to our contemporaries. Schuré's works “Les Grands Initiés” (“The Great Initiates”) and “Sanctuaires d'Orient” (“The Sanctuaries of the Orient”) are completely theosophical in the noblest sense of the word. And Schuré's theosophical way of looking at things is fully transformed into a vital creative power when he works as an artist. Within him lives that relationship between imagination and fantasy on which the basic secret of all high art is based. Edouard Schuré's truly mystical drama “The Children of Lucifer” is a shining example of how a world view striving towards the heights of knowledge can be fully realized in artistic form. Only a mind of this kind could have undertaken what Schuré did, to resurrect the “sacred drama” of Eleusis in the mind and eye of the modern man. This drama leads us to the door of that ancient time, where knowledge, religion and art still lived in one, where imagination was the faithful witness of truth and the sacred guide to piety; and where the reflection of imagination fell on this imagination in a transfiguring and revealing way. In Edouard Schur there lives a modern artistic soul, in which the light of that mysterious time shines, and so he was able to recreate what the priestly sages showed the audience in the “Drama at Eleusis” in Greece's distant past: the deep mystery of the world, which is reflected in the meaningful events of Eros' seduction of Persephone and her abduction by Pluto; of the pain of Demeter and the advice she to go to Eleusis, to seek advice from the “Goddess of Transformations”, Hekate; of Triptolem's initiation by Demeter as a priest in Eleusis; of Triptolem's daring journey into Pluto's realm to free Persephones; and of the emergence of a “new Dionysos”, who arises from Zeus' fire and the light of Demeter through the sacrifice of Triptolem. The congress organizers attempted to present the drama, which was inspired by Schuré, to the visitors in German. This was made possible by the dedicated work of a number of our members and by the beautiful, loving support of Bernhard Stavenhagen, who created a wonderful musical accompaniment to the Schuré drama. Stavenhagen preceded each of the four acts with a musical introduction that atmospherically prepared the audience for the dramatic action. With true congeniality, this important composer has immersed himself in the basic motifs of the mystery and rendered them musically. This musical performance was received with great enthusiasm by the participants of the congress. The willingness of the members of the German Section to work on this performance can be gauged from the fact that all the roles were played by members. Miss Fräulein v. Sivers played Demeter, Miss Sprengel played Persephone, Miss Garmatter played Eros, Mrs. v. Vacano played Hekate, Mr. Stahl played Pluto; we were delighted to have the collaboration of our member, the excellent actor Mr. Jürgas, who created an impressive figure in the role of Triptolemus; Baroness v. Gumppenberg, Dr. Peipers as Zeus, and Miss Wollisch as Dionysus. These are only the main roles; the choruses that are part of the plot were also composed of members. Special recognition must be given to our esteemed member, Mr. Linde, who took on the laborious task of creating the decorations.

The morning of Monday was introduced by the recitation of Goethe's poems “Song of the Spirits over the Waters” and “Prometheus”, by Richard Jürgas, whom the participants now got to know as an excellent reciter, just as they had been introduced to his acting skills the night before. Then the participants had the great joy of hearing the second lecture by Mrs. Besant, in which she spoke about the relationship of the Masters to the Theosophical Society. Drawing from her rich spiritual experience, she described the relationship of great individuals to spiritual progress and the way such individuals participate in the progress of the Theosophical Society. It is also impossible to give a brief overview of the wide-ranging content of this lecture in just a few words. Here too, we must refer you to the publication of the Yearbook. After this lecture, our member Frau Hempel delighted the participants with an excellent display of her vocal art. This was followed by a lecture by Dr. Carl Ungers, who spoke very interestingly about working methods in the theosophical branches and explained the relationship of the non-clairvoyant theosophist to the messages of the clairvoyants, showing how the writing “Theosophy” by Dr. Rudolf Steiner can provide a basis for shaping this relationship in the right way. Later that morning, Mrs. Elise Wolfram gave her lecture on the occult basis of the Siegfried saga. She showed subtly and vividly how the deeper spiritual development of Europe is expressed in the myth, how Germanic and even older mystery wisdom took shape in Siegfried. The lecturer's subtle interpretations were well suited to allowing the audience to enter into the mysterious life of part of the Nibelungen saga.

In the afternoon, Mrs. v. Gumppenberg read Mr. Arvid Knös's essay, “Absolute and Relative Truths”; then Dr. Rudolf Steiner gave his lecture, “Planetary Development and Human Development”. He described the development of the earth through three of its present forms, and then pointed to the connection between the development of the earth and that of man. He also showed how one could know something about the future of development.

The evening was again devoted to purely artistic performances. The Sonata in G minor by L. van Beethoven was performed by Chr. Döbereiner (cello) and Elfriede Schunk (piano). Afterwards, Gertrud Garmatter's excellent vocal performance could be heard again (two songs: “Weylas Gesang” by Hugo Wolf and “Frühlingslaube” by Franz Schubert). This was followed by solos for viola da gamba with piano, firstly “Adagio” by Handel and secondly “Aria con variazione” composed by A. Kühnel in 1695. Both pieces were performed by Chr. Döbereiner (viola da gamba) and Miss Elfriede Schunk (piano). A brilliant performance on the piano by the Italian member Mr. Kirby concluded the evening.

On Tuesday morning, the program began with: “Adagio from the Violin Concerto” by Max Bruch, op. 26, performed by Johanna Fritsch and Pauline Frieß. After that, Mr. Richard Jürgas recited some poems full of intimate feeling and mystical moods by our dear member Mia Holm. The rest of the morning was taken up with a free discussion on the topic: The necessity of cultivating occultism within society. Mr. Jules Ägoston from Budapest, Bernhard Hubo, Ludwig Deinhard, Dr. [Carl] Unger, Michael Bauer, D. Nagy, Mr. Wedgwood, Miss Severs and Mrs. Elise Wolfram took part in the discussion. The discussion was introduced by Jules Ägoston, who emphasized the necessity of maintaining the spiritualist experiment; following on from this, Bernhard Hubo developed a contrary point of view based on his many years of experience; Ludwig Deinhard discussed the necessity of acquainting theosophical circles with scientific experiments to penetrate the deeper foundations of the soul. It is impossible to report here on the rich and varied addresses of the above-mentioned speakers. Nor is it possible to do so with regard to the stimulating points of view that Mr. Nerei from Budapest gave in the afternoon during the discussion on “educational issues”. Following these points of view, Dr. Rudolf Steiner also spoke about education. — Mrs. Douglas-[Sheild] spoke about the relationship between “Theosophy and Christianity”.

The closing act of the congress took place on Tuesday at nine o'clock in the evening. It began with the spirited and heartfelt Adagio in D major by our dear member and head of the Stuttgart lodge I: Adolf Arenson, which was performed by Mr. Arenson himself (piano), Dr. Carl Unger (cello) and Johanna Fritsch (violin). This was followed by: “Tröstung” by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, performed by Hilde Stockmeyer, “Ave verum” by Mozart performed by Gertrud Garmatter, the recitation of a poem by Mrs. Ripper, solos for violin by J. S. Bach, by Johanna Fritsch and Pauline Frieß, and variations on the chorale “Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig>, for organ by J. S. Bach, by Emanuel Nowotny. The Congress then drew to a close with short closing addresses by the representatives of the individual sections: Mr. Wallace spoke for the British section, Mlle Aimée Blech (representing Dr. Pascal, who had to leave earlier due to his state of health) for the French section, Mr. Fricke for the Dutch section, and Prof. Dr. Penzig for the Italian section. Mrs. Besant then addressed some deeply moving words to the participants, and finally Dr. Rudolf Steiner gave the closing address, in which he thanked the participants, especially those from foreign sections, for coming, and also expressed his warmest thanks to all those whose dedicated work had made the congress possible.

And these thanks must be expressed to many, especially Miss Sophie Stinde, who, as secretary of the congress, has done tireless and important work; Countess Pauline Kalckreuth, who has worked tirelessly on all the preparatory work and tasks. We have these two to thank above all that we were able to pursue the intentions described above at all, and that we were able to achieve what has been achieved. Adolf Arenson took care of the musical part of the program. Our dear member Clara Rettich devoted herself selflessly to the task of painting the seven apocalyptic seals according to the occult instructions given to her; in the same way, Karl Stahl took on the task of painting the seven pillars in the perimeter of the hall. It is impossible to mention all the numerous workers individually by name. But it should not go unmentioned that dear members had set up a buffet in an adjoining room and did the necessary work, which greatly enhanced the convivial get-together, through which members were to come together.

Dr. Rudolf Steiner was authorized at his request, and indeed unanimously and out of the enthusiasm of the audience, to express the thanks of the congress to Monsieur Edouard Schure, the poet of the “Drama of Eleusis” and Bernhard Stavenhagen, the composer of the musical part.

The sculptures by our highly talented member, the sculptor Dr. Ernst Wagner, who strives for the highest artistic goals, were an excellent artistic presentation for the congress. The sculptures he provided for our exhibition were set up in the area around the main hall, and, for their inwardness, had an atmospheric background in the red wall of the hall. The following works of art were present: Portrait bust, Woman praying, Portrait bust, Relief for a sepulchral chapel, Bust, Sepulchral relief, King's child, Resolution, Sybille, Relief for a sepulchral niche, Portrait bust, Pain, Christ mask, Mask “Death”, Bronze statuette. Besides these works of art, only the interesting symbolic painting “The Great Babylon” by our member Mr. Haß, which was hung above the boardroom, and a carpet by Ms. Lehmann, which showed a fascinating utilization of mystical ideas in the applied arts, and finally a relief depicting Colonel Olcott by M. Gailland, and a sketch “H. P. Blavatsky” by Julia Wesw-Hoffmann.

The exhibition of a series of artworks and reproductions of such artworks that have a special connection to theosophical thought took place in the adjoining room. Here one could see: etchings by Hans Volkert; reproductions of two pictures by Moreau; reproductions of two pictures by Hermann Schmiechen; a statuette “The Master” by [Heyman]; a picture “Out of Deep Distress” by Stockmeyer; reproductions of various pictures by Watts; three reproductions of works by Lionardo; pictures by Kalckreuth the Elder, by Sophie Stinde (landscapes); by Haß (After the Storm, Fairy Tale. The King's Daughter, The Storm Cloud, Five Fir Tree Studies); a reproduction by the painter Knopf.

The next Federation Congress will take place in Budapest in 1909, two years hence, at the kind invitation of our Hungarian members.

The following events also took place after the congress: a public lecture by Mrs. Besant in Munich on “exertion and destiny” on 27 May; two public lectures by Dr. Rudolf Steiner in Munich on “Bible and Wisdom” on 23 and 24 May; and a “Course in Theosophy” based on the Rosicrucian method by Dr. Rudolf Steiner, which began on Wednesday, May 22 and included 14 lectures (lasting until June 8).

Photographs of the seals and pillars described above were provided by our member Mr. Kuhn, and will soon be available from Miss Marie von Sivers (Berlin W, Motzstraße 17).

It should be noted here that the first two yearbooks of the Federation (containing the communications, lectures and papers of the Amsterdam and London congresses) have been published. Those of the third (Paris) and fourth (Munich) congresses will follow shortly. The content of the books will be discussed in detail in the next issue of this journal; however, the importance of the books for every theosophist should be pointed out here, and their purchase is strongly recommended.

A group photograph of the Munich conference participants in the festival hall has been obtained by our member Otto Rietmann and can be obtained from Mr. Otto Rietmann (photographer in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Rorschacherstraße).

[We have not seen each other here for a few weeks. You know that this is because of our congress, which took place at Pentecost. These congresses will indeed] establish a kind of connection between the different nations within Europe, also in relation to our theosophical cause. The Munich congress, which is the fourth – after Amsterdam, London and Paris – should, in a certain respect, be a stage in the development of our theosophical movement.

I do not intend to give a proper report of the congress today, but just a few remarks for those who were unable to attend. It should show one thing that I have emphasized over and over again in relation to our Theosophical cause: that Theosophy should not be just a matter of personal brooding and introspection. The theosophical cause should intervene in practical life, should be a matter of education, a matter of becoming familiar with all branches of practical existence. Only those who have a deeper understanding and a deeper concept of the actual impulses of the theosophical cause already know today what possibilities this theosophy will offer in the future. It will be the harmony between what we see and look at and what we feel inwardly. For those who can see more deeply, an important reason for the absent-mindedness of today's people lies in this disharmony between what is and what Theosophy wants. Not only Theosophists have felt this, but also other important natures, such as Richard Wagner.

In earlier times, every door lock, every house, every structure was a structure of the soul. Soul substance had flowed into it. In ancient times, the work of art belonged to human feeling and thinking. The forms of Gothic churches in ancient times were in keeping with the mood of those who made the pilgrimage to the churches. They were their own soul mood. The pilgrim to the church felt the forms as a folding of hands, as the old Teuton felt a folding of hands in the growing together of the trees. In those days everything was more familiar to people. You see this wonderfully expressed in Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. The gathering of the whole village in the church was nothing other than the expression of the entire soul life of the village. The whole ether currents gathered at the place where the church stood. The materialistic age has fragmented all this. Those who cannot contemplate life do not know this. But the seer knows that when you walk through a city today, there is almost nothing but things that concern the stomach or the obsession with cleanliness. Those who know how to follow the secret threads of life also know what materialistic culture has brought to this division.

The recovery of the outside world arises from the fact that it becomes an imprint of what our innermost soul moods are. You can't immediately reach for the most perfect, but an example of this was given in Munich. The theosophical worldview was expressed in the room. You saw nothing but theosophy. The whole room was decorated in red. There is often a great deal of confusion about the color red, but the red could not be mistaken in its deeper meaning.

The development of humanity is an ascending and descending. Look at the original peoples. They have green in nature. And what do they love most? Red. The occultist knows that red has a special effect on the healthy soul. It releases the active forces in the healthy soul, those forces that inspire action, those forces that are meant to move the soul from the comfort into the discomfort of doing. A room with a holiday mood must be papered in red. Anyone who paperes a living room in red shows that they no longer know a holiday mood and profane the red color. Goethe has said the most beautiful words about such things: “The effect of this color is as unique as its nature. It gives an impression of both seriousness and dignity as well as of grace and charm. It does the latter in its dark, condensed state, and the former in its light, diluted state. And so the dignity of age and the loveliness of youth can be clothed in one color.”

These are the moods that are triggered by red; moods that can be proven in an occult way. Look at the landscape through a red glass and you get the impression: this is what it must look like on Judgment Day. Red makes you happy about what man has achieved in his development. Red is an enemy of retarding moods, of sinful moods.

Then there were seven column motifs for the time when Theosophy could also build a building. The motifs of the columns are taken from the teachings of the initiates, from ancient times. Theosophy will have the opportunity to give architecture truly new column motifs. The old columns actually no longer mean anything to people. The new ones relate to Saturn, the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, [Jupiter], Venus. [These] principles were expressed in the capitals.

Between the columns we had placed the seven apocalyptic seals in a Rosicrucian way. The Grail seal has been revealed to the public for the first time.

Theosophy can also be built. It can be built in architectonics, in education and in the social question. The principle of Rosicrucianism is to introduce the spirit into the world, to do fruitful work for the soul. We will also succeed in elevating art to a mystery art, for which Richard Wagner had such a great longing. An attempt has been made in Edouard Schur's mystery drama, which Edouard Schur has tried to recreate the mystery plays (of antiquity).

What underlay the [whole of the congress arrangements] was the intention of crystallizing theosophy into the structure of the world. The program booklet showed the festive color red and bore a black cross entwined with roses in a blue field. Rosicrucianism passes on what Christianity has given to the future. The initial letters on the program booklet reflect the basic ideas.