264. The History of the Esoteric School 1904–1914, Volume One: To Anna Minsloff in Russia
26 Mar 1907, Berlin Rudolf Steiner |
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Besant will not perceive her office in this way seems to be the most important reason against her election. But such an understanding of the President's position will only come about after many years. Therefore, for the time being, it would probably be best if Mrs. |
264. The History of the Esoteric School 1904–1914, Volume One: To Anna Minsloff in Russia
26 Mar 1907, Berlin Rudolf Steiner |
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Regarding the election of Annie Besant, head of the Esoteric School, as president of the Theosophical Society, which led to the separation of the Esoteric School. Private! Berlin, March 26, 1907 My dear Miss Minsloff! Your feelings regarding the information about occult events being distributed by Adyar are correct. However, we are now facing difficult times, not only for the progress of the Theosophical Society but for spiritual life in general. There are many dark forces at work seeking to destroy the most sincere occult striving, which is so necessary for the present time for the good of humanity. At the present moment, I must remain silent about the actual deeper foundations of the struggle that is being waged behind the scenes. It may become a terrible fight and we must face with open eyes what is coming. Perhaps the time will soon come when I will no longer be able to keep silent about what is going on in Adyar. For the time being, it is best to simply ignore everything that is being spread by Adyar or elsewhere about occult events if it is in line with what has been published so far. It means really blindfolding oneself if one does as Miss Kamensky does and is glad to find a straw somewhere to lift a heavy stone from one's heart. One must ignore everything coming from that source. Now, at the present moment, the important question is not who is elected, but the main thing is that the sacred cause of the masters should not be associated with something as trivial as an election. What matters is not whether Mrs. Besant is elected or not, but whether she can associate the election at all with the exalted masters. This is what must cause the greatest possible confusion, and what could lead to the complete loss of connection between the Masters and the Society in the future. For the Masters may no longer concern themselves with a society in which they are expected to play the role that is currently being attributed to them by Adyar. What is much more important, whether Mrs. Besant is elected, is that she herself gets back on the right track. Unless some very special complications arise, Mrs. Besant will probably have to be elected. Of all the older members of the Society, she must appear to be the most suitable so far. Please do not tell anyone that you are thinking of me, because apart from the fact that this is as hopeless as possible, my task lies in a completely different area than the administration of the Society. It must surely be the aim that the position of President should increasingly turn him into a mere administrative figure. The best President will be the one who does the paperwork well, takes care of correspondence from Adyar and otherwise keeps his mouth shut about occult matters. The fact that Mrs. Besant will not perceive her office in this way seems to be the most important reason against her election. But such an understanding of the President's position will only come about after many years. Therefore, for the time being, it would probably be best if Mrs. Besant were elected. The practice of how we act and how we always strictly reject occult messages that are spread as widely as the current ones will determine whether the Society can be a spiritual guardian in the future. But for the time being, no member should decide yet. The election in the German section will not take place until May 1, and a lot can still happen then that could influence the vote in this or that direction. Until then, however, you will still hear from me what I believe to be right. Your inner life continues in the right direction, as we have discussed it here. Since you are doing everything right, I have no new instructions to give you, but only from the physical distance, but the spiritual closeness, in thoughts to send what I am able to send to you. In this sense, entirely yours Dr. Rudolf Steiner |
264. The History of the Esoteric School 1904–1914, Volume One: To the Members of the Board of the German section of the Theosophical Society
28 Apr 1907, Berlin Rudolf Steiner |
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I must confess that that I regarded this essay as a correct, even obvious expression of an occultist attitude, and that I assumed that other Theosophists also think so, until I came across the April issue of the Theosophical Review, in which it is said from many sides and in endless repetition that such an attitude is the height of immorality and must undermine all good morals. And again and again the refrain, spoken or unspoken: Can anyone who preaches such immorality be president of the Society? |
Besant's particular spiritual direction, but one could still admit that under the present circumstances she is the only possible candidate for the presidency. For it must be borne in mind that the opposition to Mrs. |
Besant's spiritual direction, but one wants the spirituality of the Society to be preserved, and therefore, under the present circumstances, one must vote for Mrs. Besant, even if it might later lead to conflicts over her spiritual direction. |
264. The History of the Esoteric School 1904–1914, Volume One: To the Members of the Board of the German section of the Theosophical Society
28 Apr 1907, Berlin Rudolf Steiner |
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Regarding the election of Annie Besant, head of the Esoteric School, as president of the Theosophical Society, which led to the separation of the Esoteric School. Berlin, April 28, 1907 Dear Friends! From the letters that I have addressed to the individual members and to the chairmen of the branches, it is known that we will soon be obliged to elect the successor to our dear deceased president-founder. The circumstances of this election in general have also been discussed in these letters. Through these lines, I am now addressing the matter to the dear friends of the board. I would like to emphasize once again that, from a formal point of view, there is no ambiguity at the moment. This ambiguity could only arise later from an imperfection in the statutes, which I will discuss below. I will first quote the relevant passages of the statutes for the election, in the version in which they have been laid down since April 1905. They read: §9 The President-Founder H.S. Olcott holds the office of President for life and has the right to nominate his successor. This nomination is subject to confirmation by the Society. The vote shall be cast in the manner prescribed for the election of the President. §10 Six months before the term of office of the President has expired, the General Council shall, at a meeting convened for that purpose, nominate his successor, and the nomination shall be communicated to the Secretaries-General and the Archivist. Each Secretary-General shall collect the votes according to the rules of his Section, and the Archivist shall collect the votes of the other members of the Society. A majority of two-thirds of the votes cast is required for election. Now I will also put the names of the members of the General Council here: Ex officio: A.P. Sinnett, Hon. Sir S.Subramania Aiyer, W.A.English, Alexander Fullerton, Upendra Nath Basu, Bertram Keightley, W.G. John, Arvid Knös, C.W. Sanders, W.B. Fricke, Dr. Theodor Pascal, Decio Calvari, Dr. Rudolf Steiner, José M. Masso. In addition, the following assessors: Annie Besant, G.R.S. Mead, Khan Bahadur Kaoroji Khandalwala, Dinshaw Jivaji Edal Behram, Francesca Arundale, Tumachendra Row, Charles Blech. Now it is clear that these provisions contain regrettable ambiguities, and that if the current election does not produce a positive result in the first ballot, we have no provision at all for this case, unless, as some seem to be doing, we assume that the General Council can make a second nomination. But in any case, nothing of the sort is stated in the above passages. Furthermore, it should be considered that if the statutes are interpreted literally – and we must undoubtedly adhere to such an interpretation – the member can do nothing but either elect the person designated by the president-founder or express on the ballot that he does not want the latter. It would therefore serve no purpose at all to write any other name on the ballot paper. Whether what is supposed to happen here can still be called an election seems at the very least questionable. After all, one can only say “yes” or “no”. Now, of course, we can do nothing but abide by the statutes in the present case. In January, the president-founder sent me a circular in which he announced that the Masters had appeared to him at his sickbed and had caused him to appoint Mrs. Besant as his successor. Nothing more was stated in this and similar communications than that the president-founder was nominating Mrs. Besant as his successor. Officially, no consideration could be given to the fact that the president stated that he had received the advice from the masters to do so. For by giving such consideration, we would have conjured up esoteric questions, such as those about the masters and the truth of their appearances at Oilcott's bedside during the handling of a purely administrative matter such as the presidential election. And we have had painful enough experiences to see where that leads. In other sections, they did not do what seemed to me to be the only right thing to do – to simply remain silent about the master apparitions, as esoteric questions in mere business have to be dealt with – but they talked about them. And that has also generated a flood of writings and counter-writings, a regrettable discussion in which things are discussed that can only be discussed in quiet esoteric work and certainly not during a presidential election. Officially, nothing could be considered other than the nomination of Mrs. Besant by the president-founder. Officially, nothing else concerned us, because it was Olcott's business to decide whether he sought the advice of an ordinary mortal or of a master when making the nomination. The members had to consider nothing other than the fact that this nomination had been made, and then they had to decide whether they considered Mrs. Besant to be the appropriate person or not. Of course, this is not to say that unofficially the appearances of the Masters could not have been announced after all, so that the Council, which for Olcott was one, could also have become one for those who believe in the Masters, and who can also believe that the appearances in Adyar were really the Masters. So it was quite clear what I had to do as Secretary-General. First officially announce that it is Olcott's wish that Mrs. Besant be elected. Then, after Olcott's death, carry out the election. And at the same time, unofficially, as a friend, let the confidential information about the Master's appearances reach the members. To initiate the election before Olcott's death would have seemed absurd to me. For if one could have spoken of Olcott's imminent death as an esoteric, it would never have occurred to me to base an administrative act on it. After all, in theory, Olcott could have lived for another ten years. Since the term of office for the new president is only for seven years according to the statutes, we would have had two presidents if Olcott had lived for another ten years, the second of whom would never have been able to take office. Now I must confess that it is completely beyond me how some sections were able to initiate the election while Olcott was still alive. Now, immediately after the passing of our dear President-Founder, I received an official letter dated February 22 [21] from Vice President Mr. Sinnett, which decreed that the election should take place in the month of May, and that only those ballots sent to the Secretaries-General between the first and the last of May would be valid. This gave me a certain indisputable directive. I had to make the election in May. For Mr. Sinnett is rightly in charge after the President's death. It is therefore also up to him to lead the election. In the sense of this letter from Mr. Sinnett, the German section will now also be proceeded. Each member will receive their ballot with the necessary information at the appropriate time. Had nothing else happened, I would not have needed to write to our dear Theosophical friends about this. After all, everything is actually clear. But now, as a result of the unusual communications mentioned, extensive discussions have taken place. Outside the German Section, people have spoken out against the authenticity of the Masters' appearances. Even the oldest members of the Theosophical Society have done so. There has been quite a fierce backlash against Mrs. Besant. It was said that Mrs. Besant already had too many offices. She could not have others as well, and so on. Finally, fierce attacks on Mrs. Besant have appeared because of an article she wrote in the February issue of the Theosophical Review. It is, of course, not possible here to reproduce the content of this article in detail, and a brief summary could all too easily be criticized as subjective. I would therefore like to relate what I said about it in the 33rd issue of the magazine “Lucifer-Gnosis” not in my capacity as General Secretary, but as a friend of the members. The Theosophical Society demands that its members recognize the universal brotherhood of humanity. Anyone who recognizes that the Society has a duty to work towards the realization of such a brotherhood can be a member of the Society. And one should not say that a member can be excluded because of actions that cause offense here and there, provided that he recognizes the above rule of the society. For the Theosophical Society has no moral code, and one finds actions among the greatest minds of humanity that might offend someone, depending on the circumstances of his time and country. I must confess that that I regarded this essay as a correct, even obvious expression of an occultist attitude, and that I assumed that other Theosophists also think so, until I came across the April issue of the Theosophical Review, in which it is said from many sides and in endless repetition that such an attitude is the height of immorality and must undermine all good morals. And again and again the refrain, spoken or unspoken: Can anyone who preaches such immorality be president of the Society? It is probably not the time to modestly raise the question: Where is the transference of the doctrine of karma into life, which shows us that man is dependent on his karma in his present actions, but that he will depend on his thoughts in the present with regard to his future actions? As Theosophists, should we judge as people do who know nothing about karma, or should we see the actions of our fellow human beings as conditioned by their past lives? Do we still know that thoughts are facts and that those who work for right thoughts in our ranks are laying the very foundation for overcoming what clings to people from the past? What Mrs. Besant has dealt with in this essay is nothing more than an ancient occultist principle, which is expressed in the otherwise certainly disputable novel “Zanoni” 1 is expressed in the following words: “Our thoughts are the part of us that is angelic, our deeds the part that is earthly.” In quieter times Mrs. Besant's essay would have been taken as much of what the occultist often has to say to popular morality. From all this and much more it will be seen that there has been an antagonism to Mrs. Besant in the Society for some time. This has been known for a long time to those who have had an opportunity of observing certain proceedings. It has now only come to the surface, with Olcott's unexpected nomination of Mrs. Besant for the presidency. It will be strange to many, however, that even old friends of Mrs. Besant have now deserted her or taken sides against her. Now, as far as possible, I would like to avoid influencing anyone in this case. However, I do feel obliged to say a few things that may be useful in forming one's own opinion. It has been said that Mrs. Besant acts on the advice of the masters or even on their orders. It is certainly a confusing fact. It has been pointed out by some with all their might that the existence of the Masters is not a dogma for society, that one can be a perfectly good member of society without believing in the Masters. It was further said that one could generally be convinced that there are Masters, but that one could therefore still consider the revelations at Olcott's sickbed to be deceptions or the like. It was further emphasized that if something like the orders given with master authority were issued in a matter that, like an election, must be left entirely to the discretion of each member, it would inevitably lead to psychological tyranny. These are things which the opponents have put forward. Now we shall set here what she herself says on this main point. Her own words in a document dated Benares, March 24, are: “In regard to the statements made by Colonel Olcott in his letter of information” – that is, the letter of January referred to above, about the Master's appearances – ”that his Master had appointed him to make me his successor, I declare most emphatically – in view of letters received from some dear friends who for this reason alone intend to cast their vote against me, that the Colonel made these communications truly and in a sound mind, and that I myself, in particular, received the order for me as well as in his presence to take it over. I would rather be rejected on my Master's word than succeed by denying what, in my opinion, leads to higher honors than any election by the applause of the crowd. While many members disbelieve in the Masters and others deny this particular revelation, the Theosophical Society draws its essence, its life, its strength from the Masters, and like H.P.B. and Colonel Olcott, I too am their servant and only as their servant do I perform my work in the Society. I do not ask anyone to believe, but I must assert my own faith. Separate the Society from the Masters, and it is dead. Let those who do not wish the Second President to have this faith vote against me."These sentences clearly express two things. Firstly, that Mrs. Besant wants to do everything she does in the spirit of the Masters, and that she believes in the Society only insofar as the work of the Masters is expressed in it. But secondly, that she considers the revelations of the Masters to be absolutely authoritative. One can now fully agree with the first point, but not with the second. I can only give the assurance that I myself am not yet allowed to say what I know about the phenomena in Adyar. But the time will certainly come when I shall be able to speak openly to Theosophical friends about the matter.2 So the decision will not depend on what I know. Now I must immediately say openly that I foresee many difficulties that could arise for our work in the German section because of Mrs. Besant, precisely because of the things that, to my regret, are connected with her occult position and with many other things about her. I do not hide the fact that I also have serious concerns. And few realize how difficult it is for me to express such things here. I would now like to say something that could be useful to some people. One can want to be a servant of the Masters, one can firmly believe that society only makes sense if it does the work of the Masters, and yet one does not need to take the revelations that are now being proclaimed from Adyar as one's guiding principle. It is not correct, as many seem to believe, that these revelations either come from the Masters, according to whom one should act, or that they are illusions. There is, as every true occultist should know, a third possibility. But since, as I said, I cannot speak about the revelations themselves, these hints will have to suffice for the time being. In any case, however, it is the case that one might not agree with Mrs. Besant's particular spiritual direction, but one could still admit that under the present circumstances she is the only possible candidate for the presidency. For it must be borne in mind that the opposition to Mrs. Besant is not based on her personality, but that those who are now turning against her are turning against spiritual life in general. They will certainly not admit this so readily, but it is so nevertheless. There is a current in society which, if it were to prevail, would gradually extinguish spiritual life. As a result, society would perhaps become an association for the comparison of religions, for philosophical considerations, for ethical culture or the like, but would not remain a spiritual brotherhood. One can also take the position that one cannot go along with Mrs. Besant's spiritual direction, but one wants the spirituality of the Society to be preserved, and therefore, under the present circumstances, one must vote for Mrs. Besant, even if it might later lead to conflicts over her spiritual direction. We must accept this fact as conditioned by the circumstances of the Society. In the near future, I will send each member a ballot paper with information, and thus initiate the election in the appropriate manner. If you would like to write to me about my remarks, I would be very grateful if you could do so as soon as possible so that it reaches me before the election. With warm theosophical greetings, Dr. Rudolf Steiner
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264. The History of the Esoteric School 1904–1914, Volume One: Free Esotericism — A Question of Methodology
N/A Hella Wiesberger |
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To make these new revelations, which have begun especially since the end of the Kali Yuga in 1899, understandable to humanity and to open up anew through them the meaning of the greatest human event, the mystery of Golgotha, has become a cultural-historical task that Rudolf Steiner took on and about which he once said: “Anyone who does not understand anthroposophy in this sense does not understand it at all.” |
In this same connection, he also asserted that the spiritual movement he represented had never been dependent on any other and that he was therefore under no obligation to anyone to keep silent about something he himself felt should be said in the present time. |
5 This path of Rudolf Steiner's, which is so unusual for ordinary thinking and feeling, could not be understood at all by opponents, and only with difficulty by friends of his spiritual-scientific worldview. |
264. The History of the Esoteric School 1904–1914, Volume One: Free Esotericism — A Question of Methodology
N/A Hella Wiesberger |
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An Introduction by Hella Wiesberger Concerning Rudolf Steiner's Place in the History of the Occult Movement
As the first modern scientist of the supersensible, Rudolf Steiner was completely on his own. He only ever taught what he could give and take responsibility for from personal experience. Far ahead of his time, he recognized that the turn of the 19th to the 20th century would usher in not just a new century, but a completely new era in which humanity would be confronted with social upheavals of unimaginable proportions. With the ever-increasing individual consciousness, a tremendous struggle for freedom would begin; great technical and economic progress will be achieved through the increasingly life-dominant agnostic-pragmatic way of thinking of the mechanical-materialistic sciences, but at the same time the last remnants of the ancient knowledge of the connection with the world of the creative-spiritual as the true origin and goal of all existence will be lost. The inevitable consequence of this must be worldwide spiritual desolation and a feeling of meaninglessness in life. From this insight, Rudolf Steiner gained the conviction that this historical process, necessary for the sake of general progress, can only be met by one thing: by a new world and life view rooted in modern individual consciousness, but oriented towards the Creative-Spiritual. And so, from his personal experiential knowledge of the supersensible world and life purpose, he developed the modern spiritual science of “Anthroposophy” and lived and taught in accordance with the spirit of the new age, according to the principle: freedom through the modern spirit of science, also in the field of the supersensible, of esotericism. With this basic intention, he also brought about a turning point in the history of the occult movement. For the wisdom of the occult movement came from other sources of consciousness. It went back to the so-called original wisdom that had been revealed to mankind in the days of the primeval world and had enabled it to gain a very extensive mastery of the material forces of existence. As long as man still acted without personal responsibility in full agreement with the intentions of the spiritual worlds, this wisdom formed a common fund of knowledge. But when, in the course of the development of personality, egotism made its appearance and the natural connection with the supersensible worlds gradually disappeared, the supersensible knowledge conferring power had to be protected against misuse. It was withdrawn into the mysteries. But from there it continued to influence public cultural life well into the early days of the Christian era. It was only when, through Christianity and the rise of intellectualism, progressive cultural awareness became increasingly focused on the knowledge of material laws of the world that the old mysteries gradually lost their dominant position and were finally eradicated as public institutions. Since then, the old mystery wisdom could only be cultivated in secret, small circles. There it was strictly guarded until in the 19th century the signs of the times demanded that a spiritual counterpole be created to counter the exclusively materialistic-agnostic cultural thinking. This task had raised a question that had become a serious problem for the occult movement of the 19th century. It was the question of whether the wisdom should continue to be kept secret under these circumstances, or whether it would not be more correct to popularize it. This question touched so deeply on the lifeblood of the working method practiced so far - since one was obliged from time immemorial to pass on the higher truths only to those who were prepared to receive them, in order to protect them from abuse - that one could not immediately decide to popularize it. They tried a compromise solution, first of all to test, so to speak, how public awareness would react to the knowledge of the existence of spiritual worlds and beings. This is how the manifestations of the spiritualist mediumistic movement of the forties to the seventies of the 19th century came about. The result was, however, different than expected, but the dam of strict secrecy had been breached and so it became inevitable to at least popularize the basic truths. This happened through the Theosophical Society, founded in 1875 by the Russian Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and the American Henry Steel Olcott. Although these two attempts had led to sensational movements, in the deeper sense they had to be considered a failure, mainly because the culturally dominant scientific thinking rejected the mediumistic path as unscientific. This was justified to the extent that the mediumistic path not only meant a return to earlier levels of consciousness, but also an impairment of the free right of self-determination. On the other hand, mediumship was the only method for supersensible research that had existed until then.2 While the occult movement was still facing this dilemma at the end of the 19th century, Rudolf Steiner had already solved the problem on his own spiritual path. Not through the traditional teachings preserved in the secret societies, but through his own experiences since childhood, he was quite naturally connected to the supersensible and, as a result of his scientific education, also mastered the mechanical-materialistic way of thinking of the sciences, he had gained the decisive insight that supersensible knowledge and beings can only be beneficially combined with modern cultural consciousness if the method can guarantee the same certainty and independence as is the case in modern natural science. On the basis of this realization, he made it his first task to develop a method for supersensible research that was based entirely on scientific principles. Through a process of strict self-education, he transformed his thinking from a sensual to a supersensible level, and in so doing, he attained the necessary certainty of knowledge about the spiritual realm. At the same time, he discovered freedom as a real experience and as the basis of morality. Thus, for him, thinking free of sensuality became the starting point for a scientifically clear connection to the supersensible world and to a science of freedom as the basis of an “ethical individualism”. The consistently further developed experience of the nature of the I led in turn to the realization of the macrocosmic representative of the I, the spirit of Christ, whose nature reveals itself in true freedom and love. Thus Rudolf Steiner had also paved the way for a contemporary understanding of the two greatest Christian ideals, freedom and love, as they are later repeatedly expounded by him as the basic impulses of the central event of human development, the mystery of Golgotha and the deepest task of humanity connected with it: to shape the earth into a cosmos of freedom and love (Düsseldorf, April 18, 1909). The later statement that the ethical individualism of the “Philosophy of Freedom” is already built upon the Christ impulse, even if this is not directly expressed there (Dornach, May 24, 1920), as well as the other statement that there is no other way at present to “impart original wisdom of initiation directly than by keeping fellowship with the Christ” (Stuttgart, March 7, 1920). On the basis of this community with the “emancipation of the higher consciousness of humanity from the fetters of all authority” achieved through thinking free of the senses, 3 Rudolf Steiner had created the conditions for a healthy liberation of esotericism from the era of its ties to particular circles. Whereas in the past it was only possible to penetrate to the world of spiritual realities with a subdued consciousness under the guidance of a spiritual leader whose authority had to be unconditionally recognized, today, through Rudolf Steiner's pioneering work, every serious seeker, in a clear consciousness and in free self-responsibility, can do so. The only requirement for this, which everyone has to set for themselves, is spiritual activity. This is essential not only for individual but also for general progress, to such an extent that civilization must perish if each individual is not willing to give civilization a new impetus through the new spiritual knowledge. This was already stated by Rudolf Steiner more than six decades ago (Dornach, July 2, 1920). It is precisely this aspect of activating the will of the individual with regard to social co-responsibility that fundamentally distinguishes anthroposophically oriented spiritual science from the ancient wisdom preserved in the occult movement. For no new fundamental social impulses can come from the ideas of the occult movement, which arose from the revelations of an epoch of humanity that was still rooted in group consciousness. On the other hand, social thinking cannot be developed without knowledge gained through initiation. For this social necessity, anthroposophy sees itself as an instrument of new revelations of the spirit that take personality consciousness into account. To make these new revelations, which have begun especially since the end of the Kali Yuga in 1899, understandable to humanity and to open up anew through them the meaning of the greatest human event, the mystery of Golgotha, has become a cultural-historical task that Rudolf Steiner took on and about which he once said: “Anyone who does not understand anthroposophy in this sense does not understand it at all.” (Dornach, December 20, 1918). That is why, at the time when he began to present his social insights, he appealed to the ability to distinguish within his own ranks by pointing out:
In this same connection, he also asserted that the spiritual movement he represented had never been dependent on any other and that he was therefore under no obligation to anyone to keep silent about something he himself felt should be said in the present time.
On the basis of this statement, the question arises as to why Rudolf Steiner then joined other movements at all, if he felt obliged to reject both the old practice of secrecy and the old method of research? This contradiction can only be resolved if the two main laws of esoteric life are taken into account, which Rudolf Steiner always tried to follow as far as possible. These are the two commandments of absolute truthfulness and the maintenance of continuity. Rudolf Steiner repeatedly presented these two laws to his esoteric students.4 He himself followed the commandment of unconditional truthfulness by teaching only what he had recognized as true through his own research, and the commandment of continuity by not simply replacing something incomplete with something completely new and more perfect, but by building on what already existed and seeking to transform it into something more perfect. For him, this meant bringing to life the most profound Christian idea, that of resurrection, in the realm of the imagination. If we experience the living continuation of the present in this way and thereby fulfill the words of Christ, not only to bind the bodies with the blood, but to the souls with the spirit, then this can become a path to the knowledge of the mystery of Golgotha (Berlin, April 24, 1917). According to Rudolf Steiner, much would be gained if those who lived later were to orient themselves in this way towards the deceased, in order to consciously maintain continuity in development. When he wrote about Goethe, he himself had completely disregarded his own opinion and tried only to express the thoughts that could come from Goethe; he had written an epistemology of Goethe's, not his worldview. Just as he had delved into the world of Goethe's thoughts, so had he also delved into those of Nietzsche and Haeckel, since one can only arrive at real insight if one does not want to represent one's own point of view absolutely, but rather delves into foreign currents of thought. And only after he had endeavored for two decades to work from such insight, to acquire, so to speak, the right to influence the living, he advocated the public dissemination of spiritual science. For now no one could rightly claim that “this occultist speaks of the spiritual world because he does not know the philosophical and scientific achievements of the time.” 5 This path of Rudolf Steiner's, which is so unusual for ordinary thinking and feeling, could not be understood at all by opponents, and only with difficulty by friends of his spiritual-scientific worldview. Aware of this difficulty, he repeatedly endeavored from time to time to make it clear, at least to his anthroposophical friends, that the spiritual current he represented was never dependent on any other and that certain connections had only been superficial. He admitted that the distinction was complicated by historical events. But even if, from an external point of view, it might have been wiser to found the Anthroposophical Society without any relationship to other societies, the relationships were nevertheless justified by fate (Dornach, December 15, 1918). This remark makes it clear that the connection with other societies at that time was founded on the tension between the polarities of freedom and love in their form of truthfulness and continuity as applied to esoteric life. The striving for truth and knowledge requires freedom, but at the same time what is recognized as true should connect fraternally with what already exists in the world. It is obvious that even Rudolf Steiner's strong power was not always able to balance the pole of a free, truthful life of knowledge with the pole of continuity as brotherhood. This was objectively impossible because the world is involved at the pole of continuity and this was respected by him to an extent far beyond the norm, based on his ideals of freedom and love. However, he was unable to cultivate brotherhood at the expense of truthfulness. When this became a problem in the Theosophical Society, it led to a split. Only by ignoring Rudolf Steiner's subtle behavior towards the two poles of esoteric life can misunderstandings and misjudgments regarding his spiritual independence arise. But beyond all such passing judgments, the historical significance of his cultural achievement will be more and more confirmed, which lies precisely in having created a science for the study of supersensible realities, through which freedom also became possible in the field of esotericism. It could be objected here that Rudolf Steiner also practised secrecy with his Esoteric School. This objection would not be justified, however, because for Rudolf Steiner, even in the Esoteric School, it was never a matter of secrecy in the usual sense. He was always concerned only with maintaining a genuine scientific spirit, which in public education quite naturally requires that serious knowledge can only be imparted in stages. For example, higher geometry cannot be presented to anyone if they do not know the basics. While this is clear with regard to geometry, there is a widespread belief in relation to supersensible knowledge that one can understand and judge everything in this field without any prerequisites. Rudolf Steiner's teaching activity was structured solely in terms of this factually determined, gradual teaching, from public teaching with no prerequisites at all to teaching with prerequisites. All levels of teaching had their common root in what he described as his “inaugural act” before the public beginning of his work for a science of the supersensible:
The Esoteric School served this purpose in a special way, because here the students were taught according to their individual predispositions and needs. But when the Esoteric School was re-established as the “Free University for Spiritual Science” in 1924, the esoteric teaching was also structured in a strictly methodical and generally valid way. However, this could only be done for the first class. The failure of his physical strength in the fall of 1924 made it impossible for Rudolf Steiner to complete his last great work.
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264. The History of the Esoteric School 1904–1914, Volume One: Part I: Preliminary Remarks by the Editor
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– was founded in 1888 by H.P. Blavatsky and was under her sole leadership until her death in 1891.2 After that, Annie Besant and W.Q. Judge took over together, and from 1895 A. |
(Berlin, October 13, 1904) In the following lecture, he characterizes the masters in such a way that it can be understood how they, in particular, respect human freedom to the highest degree, so that no kind of dependency can arise. |
Rudolf Steiner's achievement for cultural progress lies quite obviously in the fact that he was able to translate the sign language of the underlying creative-spiritual of all existence into the conceptual language of anthroposophy, which is in keeping with modern consciousness. |
264. The History of the Esoteric School 1904–1914, Volume One: Part I: Preliminary Remarks by the Editor
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by Hella Wiesberger At the re-establishment of the Anthroposophical Society at Christmas 1923/24, Rudolf Steiner spoke of his plan to establish the new esoteric school in future as a “Free University for Spiritual Science” with three classes and pointed out that such three classes had existed before, only in a slightly different form. These were the three working groups or departments of the Esoteric School, as they had existed from 1904 until the outbreak of the First World War in the summer of 1914. In keeping with the precept of maintaining continuity as far as possible, he had also linked these groups to what already existed at the time and which lay in the direction of his own intentions: for the first group to the Esoteric School of Theosophy of the Theosophical Society, for the second and third groups, from which the department of the cult of knowledge was formed, to a society with masonic cult forms. 1 Structure The Esoteric School of Theosophy – abbreviated as E.S.T. or simply called E.S. – was founded in 1888 by H.P. Blavatsky and was under her sole leadership until her death in 1891.2 After that, Annie Besant and W.Q. Judge took over together, and from 1895 A. Besant alone.” The few German Theosophists who were seeking esoteric training were affiliated with this E.S. in London. It was only through Rudolf Steiner that a German Esoteric School was established together with the German Society. The following can still be reconstructed today about the successive development of the first circle initially affiliated with the E.S.T. On October 20, 1902, the German Section of the Theosophical Society, based in Berlin, was officially founded with Rudolf Steiner as General Secretary and Marie von Sivers as Secretary. Annie Besant, one of the most active representatives of the Theosophical Society and then head of the Esoteric School, came to Berlin and delivered the certificate of foundation. On this occasion, Rudolf Steiner asked her to admit him to the E.S.3 He reports on this in his “Life Course” (chapter 32) as follows:
The letters summarized in the first part of this volume document that Rudolf Steiner was asked for esoteric instructions immediately after the founding of the German Section, that is, even before he was officially nominated Arch-Warden (National Leader) of the Esoteric School in 1904. The formation of a circle, which he considered necessary and which his first students hoped for, is hinted at in the letter to Marie von Sivers of April 16, 1903, which states: “Without a core of true Theosophists who, through the most diligent meditation work, improve the present karma, the Theosophical teaching would only be preached to half-deaf ears.” (GA 262), as well as by the answer to a corresponding question from Mathilde Scholl: “It would be quite nice if the newer members of the E.S. in Germany would somehow come together more closely. We need that especially in Germany. For the E.S. must become the soul of the Theosophical Society.” (Letter dated May 1, 1903, $43. One year after this statement, in May 1904, Rudolf Steiner and Marie von Sivers spent a week in London to discuss with Annie Besant his role in the E.S. Marie von Sivers was always present as an interpreter during his personal conversations with Annie Besant. In a circular letter dated May 10, 1904, sent to all members of the E.S. in Germany and Austria, Annie Besant announced that Rudolf Steiner had been authorized to act as Arch-Warden for Germany and Austria. According to his statements, he was also responsible for German-speaking Switzerland and Hungary.5 Annie Besant's circular letter of May 10, 1904, read as follows (see facsimile on page 26):
Upon his return from London to Berlin, Rudolf Steiner began to build up his Esoteric School in addition to his activities for the public dissemination of spiritual science and the development of the Society. Since he placed the main emphasis of his activity from the very beginning on public work, he began to present the Christian-Rosicrucian path of training that is necessary for the West in a series of articles in the public Theosophical journal “Lucifer-Gnosis”, which he founded and edited: “How to Know Higher Worlds?” (June 1904 to 1908, 1st edition 1909). The earliest date of an E.S. event undertaken by him in his capacity as Arch-Warden of the E.S.T. also dates from this month of June 1904. It was during the days of the Theosophical Congress in Amsterdam, which lasted from June 18 to 21, 1904, and in which, in addition to Rudolf Steiner and Marie von Sivers, several German Theosophists also participated; among them were Mathilde Scholl from Cologne, Sophie Stinde and Pauline von Kalckreuth from Munich, Günther Wagner from Lugano and his sister Amalie Wagner from Hamburg. Mathilde Scholl reports that Amalie Wagner was to be accepted into the E.S. at the time and that Rudolf Steiner organized this acceptance in her hotel room. However, this can only have been a kind of anticipation, since the official E.S. work was only established from Berlin after the Amsterdam Congress. The first esoteric lessons took place there on July 9 and 14, 1904; at any rate, these are the two earliest known dates for esoteric lessons in Berlin, and from the available notes it can be seen that the E.S. work in Berlin began at that time. But these lessons must actually still be counted among the preliminary stages, which basically extended into the fall of 1905. For it was only when the second and third departments were established that the school was fully formed. During the month of August vacation in 1904, Rudolf Steiner addressed personal letters to various external members, admitting them to the school or inviting them to join. Another E.S. meeting was planned for the beginning of September (according to a letter dated August 29, 1904 to Günther Wagner); however, it is not known whether it actually took place. In the second half of September 1904, Rudolf Steiner accompanied Annie Besant on her lecture tour through several German cities and repeated the public lectures she gave in English in German. At the last stop on this trip, in Cologne, where both were staying with Mathilde Scholl, a meeting of E.S. members also took place, according to her account: “Mrs. Besant, Dr. Steiner, Fräulein von Sivers, Miss Bright, Mr. Keightley, Mathilde Scholl in Mrs. Besant's room. Before we left the room, Mrs. Besant spoke with Dr. Steiner about the study material for E.S. students. She recommended Leadbeater's “The Christian Creed.” Dr. Steiner replied politely but firmly that he could not use this book for his students. In the period that followed, until May 1905, a few esoteric lessons took place in Berlin. But the first official orientation through the “long-prepared circular letter to the German E.S. members” with rules did not take place until the beginning of June 1905. In October 1905, when a large number of members travelled to Berlin at the express request of Rudolf Steiner for the general assembly of the German Section and the School was expanded to include the second and third sections of the Knowledge of Religion, several E.S. lessons were also held. Steiner personally wrote down the content of the lesson of October 24, 1905 for Anna Wagner, the wife of Günther Wagner, who had been unable to attend for health reasons. 6 This is the only esoteric lecture recorded in his handwriting, apart from the short summary in a letter from the lecture on October 4, 1905 for Adolf Kolbe in Hamburg. All other records of such hours were made by participants afterwards from memory, since it was not allowed to take notes during the hours themselves. From this autumn of 1905 onwards, more and more esoteric hours took place not only in Berlin, but also in other German cities and later in other countries, where Rudolf Steiner's students worked in this way. After the outbreak of the First World War in the summer of 1914, the esoteric work was discontinued because strictly closed events could be mistrusted, but also because it was not possible to work esoterically in a time so burdened by strong emotions. It was only ten years later, in connection with the re-establishment of the Anthroposophical Society, that an Esoteric School was re-established. The rules From the relevant documents it can be seen that during the period of the establishment of the first esoteric working group, “rules” were set up that were based on those of the E.S.T. The latter were originally very strict, but over time they were modified several times. At the time of Rudolf Steiner's affiliation, admission to the T.S. could be requested after two years of membership. The school was divided into grades, which could be worked through in four different ways or methods (disciplines): a general one, a special yoga one, a Christian-Gnostic one, and a Pythagorean one. Before one was admitted to the actual training, however, one had to belong to the probationary or hearer order (Shrävaka order in Indian) for at least one, and later two, years. Upon admission, a written “promise” had to be given to treat the received papers confidentially and to return them upon request. After the prescribed probationary period, one could be admitted to the actual first degree, provided one was willing to make the written vow to make Theosophy the all-determining factor of one's life. Since Rudolf Steiner's first esoteric study group was outwardly affiliated with the examination order of the E.S.T., and within the general discipline therefore in the first rules issued by him the designation “Shrävaka-Orden” - was connected, his students also had to give the obligatory “promise”, as can be seen from various letters. He ran his working group completely independently of this. For example, there were no electable disciplines, even though the four disciplines are mentioned in the letters to Anna and Günther Wagner dated January 2, 1905. But at that time everything was still in the process of being formed and soon after it had obviously become a matter of course to follow Rudolf Steiner's intentions. For example, on January 23, 1905, Mathilde Scholl, who through his mediation in May 1904 had been accepted by Annie Besant into the first degree of the E.S.T. in London, but had not yet received his instructions, wrote to him: “Personally, it is now of no importance to me at all whether Mrs. Mead sends the writings or not, because everything I need you give me and is given to me, and that is so much that I can only raise my eyes with awe and wonder at all that is coming.” Similar words are spoken in a letter from Günther Wagner, who wrote to him on April 3, 1905: “Months ago I received from Mrs. Oakley an English E.S. pamphlet containing messages about the four paths that are taken in the E.S., which you also mention in your kind and loving letter to my wife. My wife and I have decided to follow the 'Christian' path and now ask whether we should also start on April 1 in Germany, as stated in the English pamphlet. Will a German instruction be issued? Probably, since you cannot give written instructions to all E.S. members living abroad. I would also like to know whether there are any other regulations for students in the first degree (according to the old regulations) than those in the English brochure, or whether everyone should follow these from now on. On January 2, you wrote to my wife, instructing her to do the exercises for four weeks from around January 6. She did that and continues to do so, but she too is asking for further instructions.” These questions were answered more and more with the first E.S. circular letter of June 5, 1905 and the further instructions given. Thus far, the gradual development of the first circle can be reconstructed. However, the question of how the oath of the E.S.T. was handled remains open, since Rudolf Steiner's pupils did not go through the degrees of the E.S.T. and yet there are some such oaths that, as far as they are dated, date from 1906. Whether they were given at the time of admission to the first degree of the Section for the Cult of Knowledge or in some other context is not known. In any case, in the same year, 1906, Rudolf Steiner also wrote to an esoteric disciple: “Please do not regard the keeping of secrets as an obligation in principle, but as a temporary one, due to the confused present circumstances in the E.S. and T.S. ... I myself would be glad if this too need not be.” This statement is consistent with the fact that nothing of it has been handed down - although the circle of students had already grown quite large - that after the separation from E.S.T. in May 1907, Rudolf Steiner had written promises made. In fact, when the Esoteric School was re-established in 1924, the only appeal made with regard to the obligation to treat the teaching material received confidentially was to the sense of responsibility of the individual. In this sense, Marie Steiner wrote after Rudolf Steiner's death: “He did not believe that esotericism could be practised as in earlier times, in the deepest seclusion, with strictly binding vows. These were no longer compatible with the sense of freedom of the individual. The soul must come before its own higher self and recognize what it owes to this self and to the spiritual world in reverent silence.” 7 The teaching material The teaching was divided into three parts, so to speak: the rules and exercises that applied equally to all students; the personal exercises; and the esoteric lessons, in which the intimacies of the training path were discussed and the consciousness was directed to the great teachers of humanity, the masters of wisdom and of the harmony of feelings, as the actual leaders of the school. The ideal goal of the training was, through the higher consciousness developed by the exercises, to gradually find access to the Masters themselves. The descriptions of the nature and work of the Masters, as imparted in esoteric hours, were intended to help on this path. The little that has been handed down is summarized in the section on the Masters. However, since Rudolf Steiner not only spoke about them in esoteric lessons, but also in lectures for members of the Society and even in public, a sufficient idea can be gained from the picture that he painted of the Masters. See the attempt at an overview in the appendix to the section 'From the teaching material on the Masters...'. Knowledge about the masters has been of fundamental importance in the Theosophical Society and its Esoteric School since its inception.8 For Rudolf Steiner himself, the existence of the masters was a reality that he had personally experienced decades before his association with the Theosophical Society. He testified to this on several occasions.9 He also taught from his own experience the necessity of teaching the truths of occultism to the world, as he received them from his master. Beiträge zur Rudolf Steiner Gesamtausgabe», Heft 83/84, 1984. There is also personal testimony that he was convinced by his Master of the necessity of teaching the truths of occultism to the world:
And he had only joined the Society after he had realized at the “endpoint of a long inner development” that “the spiritual forces I must serve are present in the T.S.” 10 However, while in the T.S. the Masters were always spoken of as the “Masters of Wisdom”, he spoke of them as the “Masters of Wisdom and Harmony of Feelings” or also the “Feelings of Humanity”, because they not only possess a high degree of wisdom, but also an “unlimited source of love for humanity” (letter of August 2, 1904, p. 62). This nuance, like everything in his work, points to the central point of his spiritual knowledge: the unique significance of the Christ principle for the development of all humanity and the Earth. For Steiner, Christ was the Master of all Masters and the “Masters of Wisdom and of the Harmony of Feelings” were those who “stand in direct connection with the forces of the higher hierarchies” (Düsseldorf Lecture, June 15, 1915) and who have grasped that “the progress of humanity depends on the comprehension of the great event of Golgotha” (Berlin, March 22, 1909). The most enlightening thing about Rudolf Steiner's personal relationship with the masters is probably what he said in one of his very first public lectures in Berlin. Referring to the description of these highly developed individuals in Sinnett's “Secret Buddhism”, he tried to make it clear that, if one bears in mind that there are endless possibilities on the ladder of development — from the least developed to, for example, Goethe and beyond — the concept of the master need not be strange to European thinking. And then follow the words that are so decisive for him:
In the following lecture, he characterizes the masters in such a way that it can be understood how they, in particular, respect human freedom to the highest degree, so that no kind of dependency can arise. For example, no one can suffer harm from the rules in “How to Know Higher Worlds,” in contrast to much of what is touted in such fields today. But because so much is being advertised that is not only worthless but can also be harmful, “the Masters have given permission to publish such rules.” (Berlin, December 15, 1904). Taking the various statements about the Masters, at first glance they seem to contradict each other. In particular, what was said in the lecture of October 13, 1904 seems to contradict what is to be read in letters to esoteric disciples: “I can and may only lead so far as the exalted Master, who guides me Himself, gives me the instruction” (Letter of August 11, 1904); or when it is said that the theosophical teachings go back to the Masters:
However, if we delve into these various statements, the apparent contradiction between them disappears. It becomes clear that Rudolf Steiner himself belongs to those initiates who receive the impulses of the masters with their free powers of thought and have to elaborate them for the progress of humanity. The world of the supersensible, and thus also of the masters, has its own language. It reveals itself in signs and symbols, the study and interpretation of which is only possible through special training. The way in which occult revelations are translated, interpreted and applied depends entirely on the depth of the person's ability to comprehend and on their sense of moral responsibility. Rudolf Steiner's achievement for cultural progress lies quite obviously in the fact that he was able to translate the sign language of the underlying creative-spiritual of all existence into the conceptual language of anthroposophy, which is in keeping with modern consciousness. He had to represent this personal deed in the world without having to invoke the authority of the masters. He was personally responsible for his teaching. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Steiner, especially in the years after the First World War, no longer spoke of the Masters in the intimate way of the earlier years, the stronger the scientific character of Anthroposophy was developed. 11 The way of teaching in the Esoteric School While Rudolf Steiner personally took responsibility for the way in which he publicly taught his supersensible knowledge in the sense described above, the same did not apply in the same way to the Esoteric School. He himself stated that the school was under the direct leadership of the masters and that it must therefore be a basic commitment of the school that everything that flows through it originates only from the Masters of Wisdom and of the Harmony of Feelings, while the basic obligation for the students would be to apply their entire reason to everything that was taught and to ask themselves whether it is reasonable to follow this path. (Esoteric Lesson Düsseldorf, April 19, 1909, p. 223). Apparently not always, but in certain esoteric lessons or in certain moments of esoteric lessons, Rudolf Steiner spoke as the direct messenger of the masters. A participant in the Düsseldorf lesson of April 19, 1909 reports that this particular lesson began with the words: “My dear sisters and brothers! This esoteric lesson is one that is not subject to the responsibility of the one who speaks!” And this was said because in the following description of how Zarathustra was once initiated by the spirit of the sun, Rudolf Steiner was said to have been Zarathustra himself at that moment. It could have been perceived as a tremendous experience, how “our great teacher, who had shared with us the results of his research, now showed us himself how an ancient leader and teacher of humanity could reveal himself in an inspiring way,” how Rudolf Steiner was the first person in modern times to be trained, not as a medium, but as a fully conscious spiritual researcher, through his own strict schooling, to become a serving tool for spiritual beings." Only a few have passed on something about this very special way in which Rudolf Steiner could be experienced as a messenger of the masters in the esoteric hours. One of them put his memory into the words: “I remember exactly how Rudolf Steiner entered. It was him and it wasn't him. When he came to the esoteric lessons, he didn't look like Rudolf Steiner, only like his shell. 'The Masters of Wisdom and of the Harmony of Sensations speak through me,' he began. It was always solemn. You can never forget it, the expression on his face.12Another reports the deep impression he received when he was able to attend an esoteric session for the first time, with the following words: "Everyone was sitting in silence. When Rudolf Steiner entered, an unearthly light seemed to shine on his face, from the realm from which he came to us - it didn't just seem like it: it was there. He spoke as if he knew the great masters who guide our lives and aspirations from an immediate knowledge: Kuthumi, Morya, Jesus and Christian Rosenkreutz - the “Masters of Wisdom and Harmony of Feelings”. Suffice to say that the consecration of this hour was indescribably beautiful. Here Rudolf Steiner appeared entirely as the messenger of a higher world. The impression is unforgettable.13 In his book of memoirs, “Transformations of Life” (Basel 1975), the well-known Russian poet Andrei Bely describes in the most detailed and linguistically subtle way how he experienced the task of training attention more for the how than the what in the “Class of Hearing”. For there was no external difference between the esoteric lectures and the other lectures, since everything had an esoteric tone, all the more delicate the more popularly Rudolf Steiner spoke. But what could have been experienced in a concentrated way in the esoteric lectures was precisely how the how became the what and radiated everything.
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264. The History of the Esoteric School 1904–1914, Volume One: Part II: Preliminary Remarks by the Editor
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They have long been known in theosophical literature under the names “KH” (Kuthumi) and “M” (Morya). The same applies to their portraits, which were painted by a German theosophist, Hermann Schmiechen, from sketches by H.P. |
She had discussed with him last year (1907) that it would be better “if his disciples formed a special organization under his responsibility, rather than remaining only nominally part of the E.S.T. and yet looking to him as their leader.” |
This decided 11 assertion astonished me. I was to understand its meaning and scope soon afterwards, when, like a bombshell, or rather like an artificial firework, the Alkyone affair burst. |
264. The History of the Esoteric School 1904–1914, Volume One: Part II: Preliminary Remarks by the Editor
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On the history of the division of the Esoteric School of the Theosophy into an Eastern and a Western School in 1907. The extent to which Rudolf Steiner was committed to the two main precepts of esoteric life, truthfulness and continuity, is particularly evident from the deeper reasons that led him to separate his first esoteric department from the E.S.T.1 The fact that after only three years of affiliation the connection was dissolved again shows that, however willing he was to cooperate, he was by no means willing to make concessions on spiritual issues. Above all, the commandment of absolute truthfulness always stood for him, without which any esoteric striving must become meaningless and without which no true brotherhood is possible either. He stated this succinctly during the period of his most intense disputes with Annie Besant. At that time, he presented it as his “ideal” to have inaugurated and strictly adhered to a Theosophical-occult movement that “wants to be based solely on truthfulness and truth”. Even if no stone were left of what could be developed so far, his ideal would still be achieved if one could say that an occult movement based entirely on truthfulness had been striven for. At the same time, he warned that if not practiced correctly, occultism could undermine the powers of judgment instead of developing them (Berlin, June 20, 1912). This had occurred in the T.S. not only through the changed behavior of Annie Besant in the management of the Society, but also through her reconstituting the Esoteric School and having the members take an oath of obedience.2 The tendency towards this development had already become apparent to Rudolf Steiner when he broke away from the Esoteric School in 1907. This took place on the basis of a personal agreement between him and Annie Besant, on the occasion of her presence at the Theosophical Congress in Munich during the Whitsun days of 1907. Rudolf Steiner has mentioned the fact of the separation as such on various occasions, for example in his “Life Course” (chapter 32).3span class="footnoteText">Cf. page 22. However, the actual reasons only become clear from the relevant documents in this volume. They make it clear that he no longer tolerated certain actions by leading personalities in the T. S. He later characterized them as the “beginning of the end” of the Theosophical Society (Dornach, June 15, 1923). These were incidents related to the Masters, who had been accorded fundamental importance in the T.S. and the Esoteric School from the very beginning. The term “Master” - from the English “Master” for the Sanskrit word “Mahatma”, which literally means “great soul” and is a generally accepted honorary title in India for spiritually advanced personalities - had S. had acquired a special significance when, in 1879, its headquarters were moved from America to India and it became known that the Society's founding and the Theosophical teachings could be traced back to Tibetan Mahatmas with superhuman knowledge and abilities who were in contact with H.P. Blavatsky. In the early years of the Society's existence, the Mahatmas, who otherwise lived in the greatest seclusion, are said to have appeared frequently: sometimes in astral, sometimes in materialized, sometimes in real physical form. They gave instructions and orders, and sometimes left objects, especially letters, the so-called “master letters”. After a fraud perpetrated on H.P. Blavatsky with fake master letters, they withdrew from society and became the “inner” head of the Esoteric School; H. P. Blavatsky, and later her successor Annie Besant, were understood to be the “outer” head. The first reports of the Mahatmas reached Europe through the sensational writings of the English journalist Alfred Percy Sinnett, who was living in India at the time. Blavatsky had arranged for him to correspond with one of her Tibetan teachers, in which the teacher answered a wide range of questions. As a result of this correspondence, Sinnett published his work “The Occult World” in 1881 with a number of master letters (German “Die okkulte Welt”, Leipzig 0.J.).4 In 1883, ‘Esoteric Buddhism’ (German ‘Die esoterische Lehre oder Geheimbuddhismus’, Leipzig 1884) followed. These two writings by Sinnett provided the first systematic presentation of the Theosophical world view. In 1885, Mabel Collins' widely read work “Light on the Path” (German “Licht auf den Weg”, 2nd German edition with notes and explanations, Leipzig 1888) followed, which also contains much talk of the masters and on which Rudolf Steiner wrote an exegesis. In the actual main theosophical work, the “Secret Doctrine” (1888, German “Die Geheimlehre”, Leipzig o.J.) by H.P.Blavatsky, it is also stated in the preface that it is about the teachings of the masters, with the restriction that the responsibility for the often inadequate way of reproducing them lies solely with the writer. While Sinnett's publications were burdened by a certain sensationalist journalistic simplification, Blavatsky endeavored to emphasize the diverse and complicated connections in the hierarchy of adepts, whereby, however, all great adepts and historically known initiates, like the branches of a tree, could be traced back to a first great leader of early humanity, to the initiate, therefore called “Mahaguru”. This is also indicated by Rudolf Steiner's written record of the Hierarchy of the Adepts ($. 152), as well as the following note, which Marie von Sivers made of her private remarks:
These Tibetan Mahatmas refer in particular to the two who were considered the teachers of H.P. Blavatsky. They are also meant when it is said that the Esoteric School is led by the Masters. They have long been known in theosophical literature under the names “KH” (Kuthumi) and “M” (Morya). The same applies to their portraits, which were painted by a German theosophist, Hermann Schmiechen, from sketches by H.P. Blavatsky, the genesis of which is described in A.P. Sinnett's “The Occult World”. He later joined the German Section and also painted copies for Rudolf Steiner, which were shown in the early days in esoteric hours. Marie Steiner recalled that these pictures played a major role and had a great effect: “I myself have seen how some people lost their speech when looking at them and were quite absent and confused for a while. But the pictures used to be shown in a very mysterious way or at esoteric gatherings; now they have been printed many times.6In a letter dated September 29, 1948. Since the history of the T.S. was determined from the very beginning by its relationship to the masters, it can be seen today that it was bound to fail precisely because of the erroneous development of this relationship. Because it was originally understood as a foundation of the masters, structured into three sections, of which the third section managed itself, one always referred to the encounters that had taken place with the masters and to the teachings and instructions received from them, in order to support the credibility of the teachings and for social measures. Such an anachronistic appeal to invisible authorities for the modern consciousness was bound to lead to misunderstandings and abuses. Two major scandals arose from this, which undermined the further effectiveness and significance of the Theosophical Society in the eyes of discerning and critical individuals. The first scandal occurred in the early 1880s, when H.P. Blavatsky was publicly branded a fraud for allegedly revealing that the letters of the master were forged. According to Rudolf Steiner's account, however, she was not the fraud, but herself the victim of a fraud. He once hinted that she was cheated by the fact that the “sublime powers” that had stood at the starting point of the Theosophical movement had been “falsified”, because occultists pursuing their special interests could “take the form of those who had previously given the actual impulses” (Helsingfors, April 11, 1912). This obviously also applies to the authorship of the Master Letters. For this reason, it is not really a contradiction when Rudolf Steiner speaks of these letters as highly significant cultural documents (Berlin, June 21, 1909) and at another time describes them as the result of a fraud (Dornach, June 12, 1923). In one case, the original and genuine master letters are meant, as published by Sinnett, in the other case the forged ones. But why could a personality like H. P. Blavatsky, who was well-versed in practical occultism, be deceived in this way? Rudolf Steiner, who often shed light on the Blavatsky mystery, once explained that it had to be understood from the conditions of the time why the Masters had to use Blavatsky as their instrument to bring about the “cultural miracle” of the occult revelations that were so necessary for the new age. Blavatsky had precisely such a “greatness of soul” and unreserved devotion to the intentions of the Masters, which the scientific greats of the last third of the 19th century could never have mustered due to their learned reservations; she, on the other hand, lacked such a scientific training of thought that would have enabled her not always to refer to the Masters, but to personally take responsibility for what she advocated. (Berlin, May 5, 1909; Helsingfors, April 11, 1912; Dornach, October 11, 1915). For the T.$. the scandal surrounding the forged master's certificates had the effect that the broad membership was faced with the alternative of either continuing to believe in invisible authorities or considering them to be frauds. The discussions about this in the Society and in the interested public were countless. Many members left the Society at that time because they could no longer believe that Blavatsky was an emissary of the real Masters. She had to resign from the Society and leave the Indian headquarters. She demanded to be defended by the Society so that the Masters could remain in contact with it; if she herself had to leave the Society, the Masters would go with her. Apparently she was not defended by the Society to the extent she expected, because although she was soon officially asked to resume her position in the Society, she remained in Europe and never returned to India. That was around 1885/86. In 1887 she founded her own magazine “Lucifer” in London 7 and in connection with that, the ‘Blavatsky Lodge,’ whose members regarded her as their spiritual teacher and from whom they received esoteric instruction. From this arose in 1888 – the year in which her “Secret Doctrine” also appeared – the “Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society” with the obligation to remain loyal to the Masters, come what may. Originally, therefore, the Esoteric School was incorporated into the Society. However, antagonisms soon arose in relation to the leadership, leading Blavatsky to reorganize the Esoteric Section into the “Eastern School of Theosophy” (commonly abbreviated to E.S.T. or E.S.), which was completely independent of the Society. This took place in 1889, and from then on the School was under her sole direction. In the year of the reorganization, Blavatsky's work “Key to Theosophy – a discussion in questions and answers about ethics, science and philosophy, for the study of which the Theosophical Society was founded” was published. In it, in a chapter (“The Theosophical Mahatmas”), questions about the Masters are addressed. 8 The Masters had ceased their direct association with the Society and now became “The Inner Head” (the inner head) of the Esoteric School, while Blavatsky - and after her death Annie Besant - as “The outer Head” (the outer head) personally directed the school. The Society had become a democratic administrative organization. Thus, a scandal orchestrated by opponents of the Theosophical cause, to which H. P. Blavatsky had fallen victim, had after all led to a new form and inner consolidation. This was the situation when Rudolf Steiner re-established contact with the Theosophical Society and its Esoteric School after the turn of the century; it also forms the basis for his account, for example in his letter of January 2, 1905 to Amalie Wagner, of the contrast between the movement and the society, or between the Esoteric School and the Society. The second scandal, also in connection with the masters, occurred in 1906/07. In May 1906, C.W. Leadbeater, a prominent Theosophical writer on account of his own clairvoyant research, had been accused of certain moral transgressions and had to withdraw from the T.S. as a result. In January 1907, it became known that at the deathbed of founding president H.S. Olcott in Adyar, the Masters K.H. and M. had appeared several times and confirmed his wish to appoint Annie Besant as his successor. They also advised him to resolve the matter of Leadbeater, which had been dealt with too hastily. Thereupon Olcott sent a message to the General Secretaries. After Olcott's death on February 17, 1907, Vice President A. P. Sinnett officiated as President until the election of a new President scheduled for May. Sinnett, along with many other Englishmen, expressed doubts as to whether the Masters who had appeared were really who they claimed to be. This again led to great discussions in the Society. Since the matter had not only reached the Theosophical press, but even the public press, Rudolf Steiner felt compelled to comment on it publicly in his journal 'Lucifer-Gnosis'; see 'On the Occasion of the Election of the President of the Theosophical Society'. He had also written to Olcott personally in the same vein, and after his death to various committees. In a letter to George Mead dated March 6, 1907, he concludes that he “naturally considers it quite impossible that the president of our society can be the head of an esoteric school.” He expressed himself particularly freely and clearly in his letter to the Russian woman Anna Minsloff dated March 26, 1907. On this basis, he met with Annie Besant who had come to Munich in May 1907 to attend the Theosophical Congress while the presidential election was still in full swing, they agreed to separate his esoteric study group from its previous connection with the Esoteric School. In the first esoteric lecture he gave in Munich after the congress (June 1, 1907), he characterized this separation as a drastic change. The final remark, that this was an answer to the questions that many had asked themselves “as a result of recent events”, obviously refers to the questionable events surrounding Olcott's death. From that time on, Rudolf Steiner spoke only of the Masters of the West. Annie Besant also commented at the time on Rudolf Steiner's division of the Esoteric School into an Eastern and a Western School. After her return from Munich to London, she wrote about it to a leading German theosophist from the turn of the century, Wilhelm Hübbe-Schleiden. He had approached her with a question on the subject, since he was also a member of Rudolf Steiner's first esoteric department, and on June 7, 1907, she wrote him the following reply:
In addition, she officially informed the members of the E.S.T. in one of the so-called Esoteric Papers “Membership in the E.S.” (1908). It states that there is now a school in Germany whose main is “good colleague Dr. Steiner”. She had discussed with him last year (1907) that it would be better “if his disciples formed a special organization under his responsibility, rather than remaining only nominally part of the E.S.T. and yet looking to him as their leader.” In truth, however, the initiative for this came from Rudolf Steiner, for the reasons stated and for essentially different reasons. These reasons then led to the separation from the Theosophical Society. The stone that set this avalanche in motion was the Leadbeater case. In 1906, Annie Besant had still been one of those who had condemned Leadbeater most severely, demanding that “the Theosophical Society must reject all teachings that defile and degrade,”10 After her election as president of the T.S., she pursued his re-admission in a way that met with widespread criticism and rejection. Among others, George Mead left the Society at that time. Rudolf Steiner had already explained his position on the Leadbeater case in detail in a letter (p. 279) to Annie Besant in 1906. In a letter dated October 1, 1908, he was asked to get the German Section to take up Leadbeater again, but he refused in his letter at the beginning of November (p. 283). Thereupon A. Besant wrote from Adyar on November 23: “... What you write is indeed in line with this, so that unless I hear the opposite from you, I will consider your vote in favor of the motion.” Since the decisive meeting of the General Council in Adyar began on December 27, 1908, and the mail boat to Madras took three weeks, Rudolf Steiner telegraphed in mid-December to abstain from voting. The whole related issue was summarized by Edouard Schure in his letter of 1 May 1913 to the President of the Theosophical Society in France, in which he explained his resignation, as follows: “... The outstanding personality of the president, Mrs. Annie Besant, and her noble past seemed to guarantee that the T.G. would follow the broad path of tolerance, impartiality and truthfulness, which forms an essential part of its program. Unfortunately, things turned out differently. The original reason for this deviation lies in Mrs. Besant's close alliance with Mr. Leadbeater, an erudite occultist, but of a murky nature, of dubious morality. After Mr. Leadbeater was condemned by the General Council of the T.G., Mrs. Besant publicly announced her condemnation of the means of education that were being used against him. Her judgment of the Theosophist, who was recognized as unworthy, was even one of the strictest. Through an incredible, sudden change, she declared her intention to let Mr. Leadbeater rejoin the T.G., and she succeeded, though not without effort, in winning the majority vote of her colleagues for this vote. The pretext she offered for this revocation was one of mercy and forgiveness. The real reason was that the President needed Leadbeater for her occult researches, and this collaboration seemed to her necessary to maintain her prestige. To those who have followed her words and deeds since that day, it is clear that Mrs. Besant had fallen prey to the disastrous suggestion of her dangerous collaborator, that she could only see, think and act in the grip of his absolute rule.The personality that now speaks from her mouth is no longer the author of the Ancient Wisdom, but the dubious visionary, the skillful suggestor, who is no longer allowed to show himself, neither in London nor in Paris nor in America, but who, hidden in a garden house in Adyar, directs the TG from there through its president. The disastrous consequences of this influence were soon to be revealed in broad daylight by the Alkyone affair and the founding of the Order of the Star in the East. By a strange coincidence, I had the opportunity to surprise the secret motive and, so to speak, the psychological spring of this lamentable undertaking. I will start by saying that at that moment no one was yet talking about a new teacher who was to come from India, nor about a near incarnation of Christ, and that probably no one was thinking of it. Alkyone had not yet been discovered. It was 1908. I had just published the translation of Dr. Rudolf Steiner's book: “Christianity as a Mystical Fact”. This book had drawn the attention of the European public to the resurrection of Western esotericism in the magnificent work and deed of the German Theosophist. During a stay in Stuttgart, I met with about ten English, Dutch, French and Swiss Theosophists. The following question was raised: “Will the two schools, that of Adyar and that of Dr. Steiner, be able to work together?” We all agreed that an understanding could be reached despite the differences in our points of view, and that this was highly desirable in the greater interest of Theosophy, which does not represent any particularist or national current, but a universal current of contemporary humanity. One questioner in the group protested. He was a Dutch Theosophist, very intelligent, with a skeptical and mocking mind, and an intimate friend of Leadbeater and Adyar. He explicitly stated that the two schools would never be able to communicate, and gave as a reason that “India alone has the tradition, and that there has never been a scientific esotericism in the West.” This decided 11 assertion astonished me. I was to understand its meaning and scope soon afterwards, when, like a bombshell, or rather like an artificial firework, the Alkyone affair burst. For this affair is in reality nothing more than Adyar's answer to the rebirth of Christian esotericism in the West, and I am convinced that without the latter we would never have heard of the future prophet Krishnamurti... While Annie Besant was still explaining to Rudolf Steiner in Munich in 1907 that she was not competent with regard to Christianity and therefore resigned the movement to him insofar as Christianity was to flow into it, she and Leadbeater proclaimed around the turn of the year 1909/10 that the imminent reappearance of Christ could be expected and that Iddu Krishnamurti had been chosen to be his vehicle. In order to prepare for this event, the “Order of the Star in the East” was founded in January 1911. 12 Christ was spoken of as a bodhisattva being, a world teacher like other great spiritual teachers, while Rudolf Steiner always taught that Christ is to be understood as a cosmic being that has only embodied itself physically once. Since he felt obliged to defend his conception of Christ against the confused beliefs of Annie Besant, which ran counter to all Western sensibilities, this led to the German section, which at that time had 2,400 members, being officially excluded from the T.S. in March 1913 after the independent Anthroposophical Society had been founded at Christmas 1912 as a result of this predictable action.
These were incidents related to the Masters, who had been accorded fundamental importance in the T.S. and the Esoteric School from the very beginning. The term “Master” - from the English “Master” for the Sanskrit word “Mahatma”, which literally means “great soul” and is a generally accepted honorary title in India for spiritually advanced personalities - had S. had acquired a special significance when, in 1879, its headquarters were moved from America to India and it became known that the Society's founding and the Theosophical teachings could be traced back to Tibetan Mahatmas with superhuman knowledge and abilities who were in contact with H.P. Blavatsky. In the early years of the Society's existence, the Mahatmas, who otherwise lived in the greatest seclusion, are said to have appeared frequently: sometimes in astral, sometimes in materialized, sometimes in real physical form. They gave instructions and orders, and sometimes left objects, especially letters, the so-called “master letters”. After a fraud perpetrated on H.P. Blavatsky with fake master letters, they withdrew from society and became the “inner” head of the Esoteric School; H. P. Blavatsky, and later her successor Annie Besant, were understood to be the “outer” head. The first reports of the Mahatmas reached Europe through the sensational writings of the English journalist Alfred Percy Sinnett, who was living in India at the time. Blavatsky had arranged for him to correspond with one of her Tibetan teachers, in which the teacher answered a wide range of questions. As a result of this correspondence, Sinnett published his work “The Occult World” in 1881 with a number of master letters (German “Die okkulte Welt”, Leipzig 0.J.). These were incidents related to the Masters, who had been accorded fundamental importance in the T.S. and the Esoteric School from the very beginning. The term “Master” - from the English “Master” for the Sanskrit word “Mahatma”, which literally means “great soul” and is a generally accepted honorary title in India for spiritually advanced personalities - had S. had acquired a special significance when, in 1879, its headquarters were moved from America to India and it became known that the Society's founding and the Theosophical teachings could be traced back to Tibetan Mahatmas with superhuman knowledge and abilities who were in contact with H.P. Blavatsky. In the early years of the Society's existence, the Mahatmas, who otherwise lived in the greatest seclusion, are said to have appeared frequently: sometimes in astral, sometimes in materialized, sometimes in real physical form. They gave instructions and orders, and sometimes left objects, especially letters, the so-called “master letters”. After a fraud perpetrated on H.P. Blavatsky with fake master letters, they withdrew from society and became the “inner” head of the Esoteric School; H. P. Blavatsky, and later her successor Annie Besant, were understood to be the “outer” head. The first reports of the Mahatmas reached Europe through the sensational writings of the English journalist Alfred Percy Sinnett, who was living in India at the time. Blavatsky had arranged for him to correspond with one of her Tibetan teachers, in which the teacher answered a wide range of questions. As a result of this correspondence, Sinnett published his work “The Occult World” in 1881 with a number of master letters (German “Die okkulte Welt”, Leipzig 0.J.). |
264. The History of the Esoteric School 1904–1914, Volume One: Part III: Preliminary Remarks by the Editor
Hella Wiesberger |
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(Berlin, October 10, 1904) This underlying social ideal of brotherhood was not only strongly emphasized by Rudolf Steiner during the formative years of the Society, but he even stated that this was done at the suggestion of the Masters (Berlin, January 2, 1905). |
They, the Eastern Initiators, wanted to instill into the Western world their form of spiritual knowledge, preserved from ancient times. Under the influence of this current, the Theosophical Society took on an Eastern character, and under the same influence, Sinnett's “Esoteric Buddhism” and Blavatsky's “Secret Doctrine” were inspired. |
But this little episode came to an end when Annie Besant surrendered to the influence of certain Indians who, under the influence of German philosophers in particular, developed a grotesque intellectualism, which they misinterpreted. |
264. The History of the Esoteric School 1904–1914, Volume One: Part III: Preliminary Remarks by the Editor
Hella Wiesberger |
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In the early years of building up the Society and Esoteric School, Rudolf Steiner repeatedly pointed out that a distinction must be made between the movement and society, and between the Esoteric School and society. By movement he meant the new spiritual revelation, as it has been able to be conveyed to humanity since the last third of the 19th century by the Masters of Wisdom and of the harmony of feelings and their earthly messengers. He once characterized the relationship of the messengers to the masters as follows:
Steiner named H.P. Blavatsky as the first messenger of the Theosophical movement (letter of January 2, 1905); Annie Besant as the second messenger (letter of August 29, 1904 to Mathilde Scholl), although in the restrictive sense expressed three years later, that it was only a small episode in which she, through her high-minded way of thinking and living, had come into contact with the initiators (written in 1907 to Edouard Schuré). The third messenger would be Rudolf Steiner, who was in fact the first to found and develop the science of the spirit demanded by the consciousness of the times. With his training method 'How to Know Higher Worlds', he made it possible to take the path to supersensible knowledge in spiritual self-responsibility, on which every spiritual disciple will meet their master in their own time. In the introduction to his first introductory work on supersensible world knowledge and the destiny of man, 'Theosophy', Steiner describes how he understood this inaugural act of 'setting spiritual disciples on the path of development', and how such an inauguration or installation into the office of a spiritual teacher, just as in public educational life, requires a corresponding calling. He writes:
What he himself had to represent as a spiritual teacher called into the world in this way was taught by him in public, in society and in the Esoteric School and understood as a movement. The movement and the esoteric school – as their most direct instrument, he regarded it as a foundation of the masters, for which only the appropriately called can be held responsible; the democratically organized society, on the other hand, as a foundation of people, for which they themselves are responsible and must administer. Thus, in the field of the occult movement, the latter formed the “first community that strives for an organization with freedom” 1 It was to become, as it were, the bridge that connects true occultism with the general public. At the same time, it should provide the ground on which people can unite in the same quest for wisdom in a time that increasingly threatens to lead to the fragmentation of the community. This ideal of brotherhood manifested itself in the founding of the Theosophical Society in the three principles: To form the core of a universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, faith, sex, caste or color. To cultivate the recognition of the core of truth in all religions and in the world. To explore the deeper spiritual forces in human nature and in the world. Rudolf Steiner always adhered to the spirit of these principles for the statutes of the Anthroposophical Society as well. It is from their spirit that the general Christian consciousness of brotherhood of the next cultural epoch must be prepared. He pointed this out as early as 1904:
This underlying social ideal of brotherhood was not only strongly emphasized by Rudolf Steiner during the formative years of the Society, but he even stated that this was done at the suggestion of the Masters (Berlin, January 2, 1905). A reorientation according to this ideal was necessary at that time because it could not be realized through the T.S. Soon after its founding, the partial interest of ancient oriental wisdom had been placed above the spirit of universal humanity and thus truly Christian occultism. The background to this development is illuminated by the following writing of Rudolf Steiner, which was written on September 9, soon after the agreement with Annie Besant at the Munich Congress in May 1907 to separate from the Esoteric School for the personal orientation of Edouard Schure:
The Theosophical Society was founded in New York in 1875 by H.P. Blavatsky and H.S. Olcott. This first foundation had a distinctly Western character. And the book Isis Unveiled, in which Blavatsky published a great many occult truths, also has a distinctly Western character. It must be said, however, that the great truths communicated in it are presented in a distorted and often caricatured way. It is as if a harmonious countenance were to appear completely distorted in a convex mirror. The things said in Isis are true, but the way they are said is an irregular reflection of the truth. This is because the truths themselves are inspired by the great initiates of the West, who are also the initiators of the Rosicrucian wisdom. The distortion stems from the inappropriate way in which these truths were received by the soul of H.P. Blavatsky. For the educated world, this fact should have been proof of the higher source of inspiration for these truths. Because no one could have received these truths through themselves and still expressed them in such a distorted way. When the initiates of the West saw how little chance they had of the flow of spiritual wisdom entering humanity in this way, they decided to abandon the matter for the time being. But once the gate was open, Blavatsky's soul was prepared to receive spiritual wisdom. Eastern initiators were able to take hold of it. These Eastern initiators initially had the very best of intentions. They saw how humanity was steering towards the terrible danger of a complete materialization of the way of thinking through Anglo-Americanism. They, the Eastern Initiators, wanted to instill into the Western world their form of spiritual knowledge, preserved from ancient times. Under the influence of this current, the Theosophical Society took on an Eastern character, and under the same influence, Sinnett's “Esoteric Buddhism” and Blavatsky's “Secret Doctrine” were inspired. But both became distortions of the truth again. Sinnett's work distorts the high revelations of the initiators through an inadequate philosophical intellectualism carried into it, and Blavatsky's “Secret Doctrine” through their own chaotic soul. The result of this was that the initiators, including the Eastern ones, withdrew their influence more and more from the official Theosophical Society, and that this became a stomping ground for all kinds of occult powers that distorted the high cause. There was a brief episode in which Annie Besant's pure, lofty way of thinking and living brought her into contact with the initiators. But this little episode came to an end when Annie Besant surrendered to the influence of certain Indians who, under the influence of German philosophers in particular, developed a grotesque intellectualism, which they misinterpreted. That was the situation when I myself was faced with the necessity of joining the Theosophical Society. It had been founded by true initiates, and therefore, although subsequent events have given it a certain imperfection, it is for the time being an instrument for the spiritual life of the present. Its fruitful development in Western countries depends entirely on the extent to which it proves capable of incorporating the principle of Western initiation under its influence. For the Eastern initiations must necessarily leave untouched the Christ principle as the central cosmic factor of evolution. Without this principle, however, the Theosophical movement would have to remain without a determining influence on Western cultures, which have the Christ life at their point of origin. The revelations of Oriental initiation would have to present themselves in the West as a sect alongside living culture. They could only hope to succeed in evolution if they eradicated the Christ principle from Western culture. But this would be identical with extinguishing the very purpose of the earth, which lies in the knowledge and realization of the intentions of the living Christ. To reveal this in its full wisdom, beauty and form is the deepest goal of Rosicrucianism. Regarding the value of Eastern wisdom as a subject of study, there can only be the opinion that this study is of the highest value because Western peoples have lost their sense of esotericism, while the Eastern peoples have retained it. But regarding the introduction of the right esotericism in the West, there should also only be the opinion that this can only be the Rosicrucian-Christian one, because it also gave birth to Western life, and because by losing it, humanity would deny the meaning and purpose of the Earth. Only in this esoteric can the harmony of science and religion flourish, while any fusion of Western knowledge with Eastern esotericism can only produce such barren bastards as Sinnett's “Esoteric Buddhism” is. One can schematically represent the correct: the incorrect, of which Sinnett's “Esoteric Buddhism” and Blavatsky's “Secret Doctrine” are examples: After Annie Besant had declared at the Munich Congress in May 1907 that she was not competent with regard to Christianity and therefore handed over the movement to Rudolf Steiner, insofar as Christianity was to be incorporated into it, she soon afterwards presented a Christ-teaching that was in complete contrast to that of Rudolf Steiner. While he always taught that Christ had become the leading spirit of the earth since the event of Golgotha, who only appeared once in a physical body, Annie Besant taught that Christ was a teacher of humanity like Buddha and other great spirits, whose carnal reappearance could soon be expected. This was already in the background at the next Theosophical Congress in Budapest in 1909. In this context, the following statements made by Rudolf Steiner at the time about a law in occult research and the related necessity of cultivating spiritual knowledge in community take on a very special significance:
This statement makes it clear why the Theosophical Society was approached. The fact that a split occurred was not primarily due to the divergence with Annie Besant regarding the Christ-knowledge, but to her untruthful behavior towards real events in the management of the society. How Rudolf Steiner, in agreement with the intentions of the masters, viewed the whole problem at the time can be seen from the two addresses he gave on December 14 and 15, 1911.
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261. Our Dead: Eulogy for Countess von Brockdorff
25 Jun 1906, Berlin Rudolf Steiner |
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It was difficult to continue her 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 asked me – I was not even a member of the Society at the time – to give lectures at the Association, which during the first winter were on German mysticism up to Angelus Silesius. |
261. Our Dead: Eulogy for Countess von Brockdorff
25 Jun 1906, Berlin Rudolf Steiner |
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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 the old members of the Theosophical Society in Germany in particular know, devoted so much strength and dedication to this Theosophical Society in Germany, passed away on June 8 after a physically painful suffering. The older of our members, and I myself in particular, know of the beautiful and devoted work of Countess von Brockdorff. In times when the Theosophical cause in Germany was often on the verge of dying out, it was the couple, Count and Countess Brockdorff, who, in their loving and at the same time extremely likeable manner, knew how to keep the Theosophical movement in Germany afloat again and again. Those who still remember the quiet and extremely effective way in which the countess knew how to gather the most diverse 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 worked, inspiring in the broadest sense in a theosophical and otherwise intellectual way, 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 give a second lecture in the same winter cycle. This second lecture - I think it was the winter series of 1900 - was about the fairy tale of the “Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily”. Even then, the Countess felt the desire to resume her actual theosophical work, which had been somewhat dormant. The Countess's work was gradually becoming extremely difficult because she was becoming more and more rooted in the theosophical life, which had led to various theosophical experiences. It was difficult to continue her 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 asked me – I was not even a member of the Society at the time – to give lectures at the Association, which during the first winter were on German mysticism up to Angelus Silesius. An outline of this is given in the book 'Mysticism in Modern Spiritual Life'. The next winter I gave the lectures on 'Christianity as a Mystical Fact'. Through this a kind of center for the gathering of the Theosophical forces in Germany arose, from which the actual founding of the Section spread out and a foundation was created. 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, as rarely as a human being, in a way that was supported by the fullest devotion and extraordinary love. It was probably necessary for her health that at the moment when we were forced by circumstances to develop a tighter and more concentrated organization in Germany, she had to retire to her retirement home in Algund near Meran. And how often this rest was not a real rest for the good countess either. She soon began to suffer from ill health, and in the last few years she went through difficult times in terms of her health. Speaking objectively, I can say that the history of the Theosophical movement in Germany in the 1890s and early 1900s will be linked with the name of Brockdorff, as the services rendered by the countess and the count cannot be praised enough. The older members will still remember our dear count when he was still at the side of his partner, whom 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, remember her with gratitude and look back with a certain — essentially Theosophical — sentiment on the last days that brought physical death to this much-admired and beloved member. I ask you to honor the honored member by rising from our seats. |
261. Our Dead: Eulogies Given at the 1908 General Meeting
26 Oct 1908, Berlin Rudolf Steiner |
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This lady, who had also been in poor health for a long time, whose body had only been held together by a lively mind for a long time, also had an active striving in every direction, and she was always there when something needed to be done, even if she had just undergone an operation; And anyone who has become acquainted with the beautiful inner and outer life of Miss von Hoffstetten will give her the most beautiful love on the other side. |
261. Our Dead: Eulogies Given at the 1908 General Meeting
26 Oct 1908, Berlin Rudolf Steiner |
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It now falls to me to fulfill the special duty of remembering at this moment those dear members of our Society who have left the physical plane during this year. We have Mrs. Agnes Schuchardt, a lady who has lived in theosophical pursuit for many years. She has been a member of the Theosophical Society for a long time, and although she was already confined to her bed when the German Section was founded, she was still very much connected in her soul to what was happening internally and externally; and many a letter she wrote to me showed how she followed what was going on with heartfelt concern. Secondly, Franz Vrba, who joined the Theosophical Society as a member of the Prague branch and who left the physical plane after a relatively short period of membership. Furthermore, we have two particularly poignant cases from our Munich branch. One is Otto Fluschke. The name Huschke is inextricably linked with the development of Theosophical work in Germany, and Huschke was among those who offered their help when the German Section was being founded. He was already deeply involved in the Theosophical movement and in occultism. It was always a pleasant duty for me when I came to Munich to visit the always sickly and immobile gentleman and to see what kind of occult needs and aspirations prevailed within the four walls of this gentleman. It may well be said to be particularly painful that Mr. Huschke's death occurred in the days when his daughter, Miss Huschke, also left the physical plane. They both shared everything they had in life, theosophically, as much as possible. Miss Huschke was also a dear member of the Munich Lodge, and above all, one of the most ambitious members. Otto and Flilda Fuschke lived together and left the physical plane together a few hours apart, and will continue to live together theosophically in other worlds. The passing of our dear Mrs. Doser from the physical plane is a fifth case. Mrs. Doser was also one of the oldest members of the German Section. In a very special way, she allowed into herself all that came from the resources of the occult world movement. Everyone who knew her or came into close contact with her will have felt in their hearts the nature of this wonderful woman, who was so devoted and tender on the one hand and, on the other, filled with a deep yearning. The last period of her life was marked by a serious illness, which she bore with a wonderful dignity. But she was a person who, despite everything, had something of the blissful anticipation of living towards a new world in the depths of her consciousness. She lived her life in such a way that she faded away on the outside, as it were, but this allowed her inner spiritual life to become ever richer and richer. I am certain that those personalities who were closest to her during her life will also fully recognize these feelings as their own. A number of members made it possible for Mrs. Doser to visit the sunny south, for which she longed so much; and it was really touching to see how she could perceive the spiritual power in the physical sun. And it will remain unforgettable for me that in Capri, a few hours before her death, this soul of Frau Doser addressed a few lines to me, from which emerges the longing to overcome the yearning, the mood, the confinement of the physical plane: “I want to get out, board a ship tomorrow, - out into the wide sea!” It was a feeling that the soul was freeing itself from the physical body. I have to mention a painful event in the death of Fritz Eyselein. Many of you who were at the Theosophical lectures know that in Fritz Eyselein a personality came among you who, so to speak, early in the development of the German Section, fell into an unfortunate state of mind that made it impossible to help her. It is neither necessary nor perhaps even tactful to go into this here, which needs only to be hinted at and which can therefore no less enable us to give our dear Fritz Eyselein the most beautiful feelings of love and friendship on the other side. Now we have to mention a personality who bid farewell to the physical plane last year and who had been at the head of the Munich Lodge for years: Fräulein von Hofstetten. Based on her extensive life experience, she was able to take over the leadership of this lodge in an appropriate manner. This lady, who had also been in poor health for a long time, whose body had only been held together by a lively mind for a long time, also had an active striving in every direction, and she was always there when something needed to be done, even if she had just undergone an operation; And anyone who has become acquainted with the beautiful inner and outer life of Miss von Hoffstetten will give her the most beautiful love on the other side. Another member who was more interested in the Theosophical Society and passed away from the physical plane is Mrs. Fähndrich. We will also remember her with love and respect beyond the physical plane. Now I have to mention our dear Mrs. Rozbenstein, who belonged to the Heidelberg Lodge for a short time and was taken from us after a short time by a treacherous illness. She was a beautiful, self-contained nature, deeply and earnestly devoted to our cause. We will also send her the feelings of love. In saying this, I have remembered those who are no longer with us in the flesh, but who are always with us in spirit. The assembly honors the memory of the persons mentioned by standing up. |
261. Our Dead: Eulogies Given at the 1909 General Meeting
24 Oct 1909, Berlin Rudolf Steiner |
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Thus the popular phrase of universal love for humanity is replaced by a true understanding of individual real love for one's neighbor. If human love does not take hold of individual cases and become active there, it remains a mere phrase. |
261. Our Dead: Eulogies Given at the 1909 General Meeting
24 Oct 1909, Berlin Rudolf Steiner |
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In a very solemn manner, the General Secretary then named those of our dear members who had left the physical plane during the year, and linked this with a brief description of the relationship of the deceased to Theosophy, especially the three ladies from Stuttgart who had passed away: Mrs. Lina Schwarz, Mrs. Cohen and Mrs. Aldinger. In such a case, too, we can place ourselves in the soul of the deceased, in particular, in terms of the importance of what Theosophy can offer us. We do not want to try to console the bereaved of our dear friends who have passed away with banal phrases, but we want to point out that although we are only at the beginning of our movement, the overall karma of it must gradually be balanced in the individual karma. The Theosophists must feel it their duty to support each other in certain cases. Thus the popular phrase of universal love for humanity is replaced by a true understanding of individual real love for one's neighbor. If human love does not take hold of individual cases and become active there, it remains a mere phrase. Such thoughts must arise in us when we see from time to time this or that of our dear members leave the physical plane. |
261. Our Dead: Eulogies Given at the 1910 General Meeting
30 Oct 1910, Berlin Rudolf Steiner |
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At that time I was able to experience the beautiful, loving understanding with which Amalie Wagner's soul approached the event that took place with the death of her sister. |
While he was working in Zurich, his dear wife passed over into the spiritual world. Our dear friend understands his wife's passing in the most wonderful way, and anyone who has been privileged to feel what Sellin himself feels towards the dead knows how the theosophist should feel towards the dead in the true, beautiful sense. |
When we sink eye to eye, not thinking of ourselves at all, we don't even need words, True understanding speaks without sound! Even to the most hardened hearts There is a way. If you walk courageously on a shaky path With the one thought: to be a helper, You will soon no longer be alone! |
261. Our Dead: Eulogies Given at the 1910 General Meeting
30 Oct 1910, Berlin Rudolf Steiner |
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After the expiration of our seven-year period, we have other things to report, which we Theosophists always characterize differently than the outside world. Just in this past year, we have had to report the passing of some of our oldest members, some of whom were particularly committed to the Theosophical cause, to the physical plane. And when we remember these dear Theosophical members of ours, we think of them in the same way and with the same love that we regarded them as belonging to us while they were among us in the physical world. We want to say that for us Theosophists there is something that is considered a duty in the outer, non-Theosophical world, but which must be a special consecration and a special permeation with the content of the nuances of feelings and thoughts acquired in the Theosophical life for us Theosophists. This is the forwarding of love, the forwarding of our best feelings beyond the physical plane to those who have left this physical plane. We should strive to develop such feelings, strengthened by the theosophical sentiment, towards the departed. We should make ourselves capable of sending such feelings to the other worlds through our theosophical progress, so that we feel the love, truth, and good that we have encountered in such members as an ever-present presence, and so that these members themselves feel constantly present, so that we speak of them as those who continue to walk among us, and whose walk becomes more and more sacred to us for the reason that what they can send us from that world must be more valuable to them than what they could give us on the physical plane. In this active way we remember those of our dear members who left the physical plane in the past year. In particular, we remember an elderly member who has been with us since the Section was founded. We feel a special closeness to her because the brother of this member, who is here as our dear friend Mr. Wagner, is close to us in turn. Miss Amalie Wagner in Hamburg, who is well known to many of us, left the physical plane during the course of this year, and we will always look to what she tried to do for Theosophical life. Many of those Theosophists who were close to our dear Amalie Wagner have, in their inmost hearts, come to appreciate the work of Amalie Wagner in an extraordinary way and have shown an unlimited love for this friend. And that was only the beautiful reflection of the beautiful Theosophical striving in the soul of Amalie Wagner. And it is with reverence and sacred consecration that we commemorate an important moment in the life of Amalie Wagner. That was the moment when her sister, who had been a member of our movement with her in Hamburg, preceded her in death. At that time I was able to experience the beautiful, loving understanding with which Amalie Wagner's soul approached the event that took place with the death of her sister. There I was able to receive, so to speak, Amalie Wagner's genuine theosophical feeling of looking up to her sister. How Amalie Wagner looked up to the higher worlds to form ideas about how a person lives on in these higher worlds was the subject of much discussion in Amalie Wagner's dear, lonely living room. And now we look after her in thought, as she in turn receives from above what is offered to her and from below, from the physical plane, the feelings of love and admiration that we have for her from here. We can already see two sides of this soul today, how she lives up and down, how a person in the spiritual world lives when there is an impulse in their heart to join what passes through our movement as a soul. And so we look with devotion and love for the soul of this dear Miss Wagner, as if she were always present to us. Another old member has left the physical plane, who is indeed known to few, but these few are those who loved this dear member very much, who, whenever they met with him, felt anew the reverence-inspiring soul of our dear friend Jargues Tschudy in Glarus, who has belonged to our German Section from the very beginning. He was met by a number of our dear members at the Swiss Theosophical Society meetings. And if I may use a word in this case that is meant very seriously, I would like to say that the soul of this personality worked in such a way that one could not help but love it. And those who often saw how this man was loved know that those who knew him will continue to send this feeling to him in the spiritual world. Then there is another exceptionally ambitious member who, in vigorous energy, tried to penetrate into the exoteric and esoteric of Theosophy, and who only in recent years joined our German Section, has left the physical plan. Our dear friend Minuth from Riga was present at the last Stuttgart cycle; then he reappeared in Hamburg, and by then his outer physical body was already afflicted with the germ that did not allow him to live further. He was no longer able to attend the complete cycle and left the physical plane soon afterwards. We will also send up to the higher worlds those feelings that we not only had when we decided to become Theosophists, but that we have acquired during our Theosophical life. We have seen another personality depart from the physical plane: the wife of our dear friend Sellin. You all know our dear friend Sellin from previous theosophical meetings. While he was working in Zurich, his dear wife passed over into the spiritual world. Our dear friend understands his wife's passing in the most wonderful way, and anyone who has been privileged to feel what Sellin himself feels towards the dead knows how the theosophist should feel towards the dead in the true, beautiful sense. I would have to speak words that would describe in the most vivid colors feelings that stream up vividly into the spiritual world if I wanted to convey to you some of the beautiful words that were sent from the soul of our dear friend Sellin here on the physical plane to his beloved wife. But it is better if we evoke in ourselves, so to speak, only a hint of what can be said through something so beautiful if we have not heard it ourselves. And anyone who, like me, has heard such beautiful words as those of our dear friend Sellin, which bear witness to his truly beautiful, real feelings, anyone who has experienced this himself has no desire to profane such beautiful words by speaking them. But at this moment I have the need in my soul to awaken in your own hearts an inkling of what beautiful feeling, beautiful inner experience is, towards those who have physically disappeared in the direction of the spiritual world. Another personality in Stuttgart has disappeared from those close to her in the physical world: our dear friend Frenze/ recently lost his wife to the higher planes. When we see how we Theosophists begin to develop a real soul life, we need only think of our dear Mrs. Frenzel, who worked so beautifully on her soul to enter into the Theosophical life. Perhaps only those who were close to her soul, like myself, can appreciate this. And so we may send up our love to our dear friend Mrs. Frenzel. And so we also remember another friend who left the physical plane through a tragic fate, Mrs. /Jedwig von Knebel, whose loving devotion to the Theosophical cause was noticed both when we others were in Wiesbaden and by the Wiesbadeners themselves. But then the image of a Theosophical personality who recently left the physical plane descends upon us with a special power, with a very special vibrancy from the higher worlds, who for years devoted herself to the Theosophical cause with an intensity, an understanding and a devotion that truly cannot be described in words, and she was able to do a lot. I myself will always remember the moment after a Theosophical meeting when our dear FZilde Stockmeyer approached me for the first time to learn more about some of the things she had learned in Theosophy, which she had absorbed with all the strength she had. On the other hand, she tried – and she was allowed and able to try a great deal – to combine what she had learned in Theosophy with what external science offers in terms of truth and good. And it can be said that her extensive knowledge was also able to bear fruit externally, in that she passed the final exam shortly before her passing, to the satisfaction of the external world. Hilde Stockmeyer's knowledge can be seen as the first thing she gave us as a beautiful gift of her personal values. What Hilde Stockmeyer, the chairwoman of the Malsch lodge, was to us in the physical realm was due to her abilities and the way she processed these abilities. She was therefore called to work fruitfully, and to what Hilde Stockmeyer acquired through the development of her abilities in this way, she added something else, which, through its emanation, worked on those close to her, which could only reveal itself to us through its effect, how fruitful genuine, true, theosophical feeling can become here in human life. This is shown by the way in which father, mother, brothers and sisters and friends took their departure to the higher worlds. This is again proof of the effectiveness of theosophy in human souls in this case. It is proof of this in yet another way than was the case with the others mentioned. Personalities were everywhere around the others who had sought theosophy. Hilde Stockmeyer's parents even confessed: 'She brought us Theosophy, she was sent to us.' The people who had preceded her on the physical plane, who had given her physical life, confessed what they could feel in response to what came to them from the higher worlds in their own daughter, which they had to say: We could not help this being to existence on the physical plane, we were the tool for this. And it is one of the most beautiful feelings that has been expressed within our theosophical movement, that the parents of Hilde Stockmeyer expressed the magnitude of the gratitude and appreciation they felt for the knowledge of their daughter, the knowledge of the daughter who brought Theosophy into the home of the parents. And this glorious echo is what Hilde Stockmeyer's parents express to their daughter, who has passed into the spiritual world. But we should learn to send up to the higher worlds especially for Hilde Stockmeyer what can only be sensed in such matters. And it is clear to me that I cannot send a better feeling up into the spiritual worlds than if I were to send up the feelings of Hilde Stockmeyer's soul myself now, making myself the tool of her soul for the beautiful thing that our dear friend knew how to say out of a beautiful feeling while she was still here with us. In two little poems that were entrusted to me and that came from the pen of our dear friend, which sprang from her beautifully developed mind, she still speaks to us from the physical plane. How Hilde Stockmeyer felt about the eternal teachings of Theosophy may resonate with us from her own little poems at this moment. This is how Hilde Stockmeyer spoke when she was still alive, and this is how she may resonate for us:
Let us try, after their departure from our hearts, to develop feelings that are worthy of theirs, feelings that will let them follow her. And let us learn to feel as she herself felt and as she expressed it in the other little poem:
She spoke like this in life, and she died for the physical plane. It goes without saying that we should endeavor to send her something as valuable as she did, sensing her own death, speaking in her last words, the last little poem. Those who knew Hilde Stockmeyer as I did know that the death of this dear soul was:
The meeting honored the memory of the above-named individuals by rising from their seats. |