The Rudolf Steiner Archive

37. What Does Modern Man Find in Theosophy?

Article in the “Hamburger Fremdenblatt”, 3rd supplement, November 10, 1904

[ 1 ] Theosophical Society. At the public meeting held on Monday at the Patriotisches Haus, Dr. phil. Rudolf Steiner from Berlin spoke on the topic: “What Does Modern Man Find in Theosophy?”

[ 2 ] The speaker assumed that theosophy is based on human spiritual experience. This experience goes beyond mere external sensory phenomena to a direct perception of life, the soul, and the spirit. In the realm of sensory phenomena, creation and decay, birth and death prevail. Things, people, nations—indeed, entire world systems—come into being and pass away. But life is constantly renewed in new forms. The individual plant form dies; its life is reborn in a new plant. In the realm of the soul, this life appears at a higher level. The outer appearance of the human being is an expression of the ever-renewing life of the soul. An unbiased exploration of this idea leads to the concept of reincarnation or re-embodiment. The speaker then turned to a consideration of the spirit, demonstrating that while the creations arising from a being’s activity do perish, this activity itself continues to operate as a cause. In its activity, the spirit is imperishable. It becomes ever more perfect, since its abilities spring from its own activity. From this arises the law of “karma,” of cause and effect in the spiritual world. And from this law, in conjunction with the concept of reincarnation, follows the ethical doctrine of the Theosophical worldview. What initially drives the soul to action is desire, the longing. In this, the soul’s inclination toward the external world of phenomena finds expression. The spirit, however, transforms this desire into love. An action that arises from the spirit is a loving one. Since every action lives on in its effects, “karma” represents a law of moral balance. The deeds a person performs at a given time, and the experiences they have, are consequences of earlier deeds and experiences and, in turn, become the causes of later ones. A continuous thread of moral causality must be woven from reincarnation to reincarnation in the life of the soul. The theosophical view of life builds its principles of universal love for humanity, brotherhood, and tolerance upon these great universal laws. Its moral laws are the eternal laws of the universal life that permeates the world.

[ 3 ] The lecture, which was met with enthusiastic applause from the large audience, was followed by an extended discussion and a question-and-answer session. Dr. Steiner’s next lecture, “Universal Law and Human Destiny,” will take place on December 12 at the Patriotisches Haus.