The Rudolf Steiner Archive

3. Brotherhood and the Struggle for Existence

[ 1 ] In our time, the outcome of a struggle is often regarded as the driving force behind progress. One frequently hears it said that one’s strength must be tempered by encountering resistance. It is believed that progress can be made only through struggle. Even in intellectual life, people believe this to be the case. It is believed that the best way to help young people move forward is to present life to them as a kind of battlefield. This view is far removed from another that has at least as many adherents as the former. This view is related to the worldview that Buddha characterized with the words: “Hatred is not overcome by hatred, but by love.” It embodies the exact opposite of a combative spirit. True Christianity, too, is founded on a mindset different from one that makes struggle the lever of progress. Yet in our time, it is precisely the deepest minds who, in order to bring about what many long for, have believed that a combative spirit offers the best means for the advancement of humanity in its development.

[ 2 ] The most radical expression of a combative spirit is found in Nietzsche. He says: “I love only the great war.” This view holds that human beings develop toward greatness through struggle. This view believes it finds support in science. If that is the case, we cannot easily venture to raise many objections against such a mindset. We must, however, try to see whether this science itself stands on solid ground. Opposed to this is what the theosophical worldview seeks to resolve.

[ 3 ] Along with all the other questions, the theosophical worldview is confronted with the question of brotherhood and the struggle for existence. The Theosophical Society and the Theosophical movement exist to usher in a new era in this realm as well; to shift much of what has hitherto been based on struggle onto a firm foundation in a different way.

[ 4 ] It is only at first glance that the three principles of the Theosophical Society appear to be unrelated. They are all interconnected. In particular, however, the second and third are linked to the first—the principle of establishing a universal brotherhood of humankind. The theosophist, while seemingly thinking in an impractical, idealistic way, has precisely the most practical goal in mind. Let us put ourselves in the shoes of our fellow human beings so that we may truly understand where this combative spirit might come from. We hear about class struggle, the struggle for women’s liberation, and the struggle for workers’ liberation. Wherever we see the major issues of the day raised, we see them literally shrouded in the question of struggle. Because this is rooted in the spirit of the age, it has led to the presentation of struggle as the principle of progress—especially since Darwin. How do Darwinian materialists conceive of progress? They imagine: Perhaps there was once something imperfect and unsuitable in nature, alongside what was perfect and more suitable. The suitable has overcome the unsuitable. Those who subscribe to this view believe that in the struggle for existence, the better constantly gains the upper hand. Thus, the idea of the struggle for existence is linked to the idea of progress. This continues in human life as well. The world of beings around us is like a gladiatorial contest, in which the strongest emerges victorious and the weaker is overcome. Some Darwinists have argued that something similar is necessary in human life as well. In Haeckel’s writings, one can read that the strong prevail, and that the weak must perish. Alexander Tille argues that from our view—that we must help our oppressed fellow human beings, draw them closer to us, warm them with our love, and embrace them with our compassion—another view must emerge that replaces compassion with struggle; that the weak should not be protected, precisely for the sake of the general progress of humanity. It is from this view that Nietzsche’s ideas about the great struggle and the great war also stem. It is telling that this struggle for existence was even projected onto nature itself.

[ 5 ] Here we must make certain assumptions about the nature of time, the spirit of the age. If it is true that those animals have the greatest prospects for development who oppress their weaker brethren, then we would have to draw a peculiar conclusion about the spirit of the age. If this is not the case, then humanity has been mistaken; it has projected the struggle onto nature, and as a result, humanity itself is now particularly predisposed to this struggle. Our public life is founded on little else but the struggle for existence. Even people who are close to one another find themselves in such a struggle for existence. Our minds often stand in opposition to one another in a way that is quite different from how we actually face one another as individuals. Our lives have become alienated from the way our institutions are structured. Let us suppose that two people are entangled in different business dealings. The two businesses are engaged in fierce competition. But the two people are fond of one another. In truth, however, they are fighting each other behind the scenes of their personal lives.

[ 6 ] Our public life is, in fact, based in many ways on the conflict between individuals. We must realize that our circumstances today are so complex that it takes a great deal of insight for people to relate to one another in a fully conscious way, so that our entire life is built upon brotherhood. This requires a worldview that permeates all areas of life, that can influence everything, and that is built upon this brotherhood. To understand theosophy, one should engage with it in relation to specific practical questions of life and demonstrate how the theosophical perspective can be applied to each of these questions. Here in Western Europe, one can learn a great deal about the struggle for existence, yet people are unaware that for the past 25 years there has been a school of thought within the natural sciences that has demonstrated, almost beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the view of the struggle for existence in nature is false. In 1880, the Russian naturalist Kessler gave a lecture in which he elucidated a scientific view that is highly convincing, namely, that it is not the animals whose individuals fight one another that progress the most, but rather those that help one another the most.

[ 7 ] Of course, there is struggle in nature. But it is not what war brings about that constitutes progress; rather, it is that which works against war and in favor of mutual aid that constitutes progress. Since that time, many works in this field have been produced in the natural sciences. As one becomes familiar with them, one becomes increasingly convinced that it lay in the souls of those who established the struggle for existence as a principle to regard this struggle for existence as the principle of progress. — Souls, on the other hand, that possess within themselves a spirit of brotherhood will also find brotherhood out in nature. When we consider this, we cannot hold fast to the notion that the human race advances through the mutual struggle of forces. The human race is a species. It will advance as a species when its entire life is built upon mutual aid. This is where the Theosophical worldview comes in, viewing mutual aid not as based on some vague feeling, but on the deepest understanding of human nature. — The two great teachings that the Theosophical worldview presents to us appear absurd to those who approach them with prejudice. When a meteorite was once displayed at a certain Academy of Sciences, it was claimed that it was impossible for this stone to have fallen from outer space. — Likewise, the teachings of reincarnation and karma, which concern human destinies and universal justice, are still regarded by many as absurd.

[ 8 ] Our life between birth and death is not the only one; we have within us an imperishable core of existence. It was there before the physical body existed, and it will still be there when the physical body has decayed. We have lived many times before, and we will return many times more. Life becomes infinitely more understandable through these teachings. I see one person born into the deepest misery, with limited abilities, doomed to live his entire life in poverty and misery; I see another, endowed with great abilities, so that life is easy for him. The theosophical worldview tells us: What we see here contains within it an essential core, an imperishable soul that has prepared its destiny in previous lives. Everything we experience in this one life is the consequence of our previous incarnations. When I do now what I consider justified, I am shaping my future life. Through my actions in earlier times, I have shaped my present life.

[ 9 ] Let us look back on a time when this worldview was the prevailing mindset. For the Egyptian slave, it was therefore possible to perform the hardest labor of pyramid construction without complaint, because he knew that this incarnation was one among many, that he would one day stand where his master now stood, that his fate was his karma—the consequence of previous incarnations—and that he himself would one day prepare his next incarnations. — When this becomes the deepest consciousness, a calm spreads through the soul—a peaceful repose in existence; and in a spiritual sense, a life of bliss spreads within the human being. Deep within the soul, the following is inscribed: My brother stands beside me. I see him. He may be what one calls a bad person. And I judge him, even though Christianity prescribes: “Do not judge!” As long as I know only sensory existence, I may judge rightly. But if I know that this person is perhaps not meeting me for the first time in this world, then I may well think: In a past life, I was with him—I myself may be to blame for the fact that he is not different. Perhaps as a father or as a teacher, I failed in my duty toward him. — The principle of brotherhood is deepened even further when I have a glimpse of a past life. Even if someone does me wrong, I must realize that what they are doing to me may be something I myself brought about in a previous life. If we conceive of life as being spiritually permeated and intertwined like a network, then a sense of brotherhood arises from this.

[ 10 ] Those who embrace the theosophical life come to understand other reasons why spiritual threads are woven from one person to another. We recognize how the deeper spiritual essence within all of us is one and the same. One must gradually feel this bond of unity with all the powers of the soul. If I separate the hand from the body, it withers away. It is valuable only as part of the collective organism. If we were transported a few miles above the earth, we would die immediately. We can live only at this altitude above the earth. Just as the hand is bound to the body, so is the human being bound to the earth. Our entire being extends outward as well; it is not confined solely within our skin. Whoever recognizes this says to their entire physical surroundings: “This is you.” As human souls, we are all connected to one another by even stronger bonds. When we look toward the spiritual realm, we will feel that no one could exist without their fellow human beings. If we were to try to separate our soul from the rest of humanity, our soul would wither away. The task of the Theosophical Movement is to empathize with all of humanity and to recognize ourselves as a part of it; to know that if we remove a single part from here, we cause that part to wither away. When the individual human soul is taken out of the whole human community, it is no longer a soul—a living soul; it withers away. It is becoming increasingly clear to those who immerse themselves in the spiritual worldview that, just as individual cells subordinate themselves to the body and integrate into the whole, so too must individual souls integrate into the whole. If individual cells were to go their own separate ways, we could not live. The soul lives on a higher plane than the individual cells. The cells work together as a community. They create a new center. The soul acts within this center; in the same way, souls also work together. The law of cooperation applies to every other realm of existence as well.

[ 11 ] Imagine a community of people whose souls give up their own existence, thinking together with their thoughts, feeling together with their emotions, and willing together with their impulses of will, just as cells come together. When we unite in this way, we create a new center for a higher being; we give an invisible being the opportunity to manifest itself here, whenever people come together like cells. A true being of a higher order can then work through human powers, just as a soul works through cells. This requires more than what is called a spirit of brotherhood—it requires something that reaches deep into the human soul. Around the turn of the eighteenth century, the principle of liberty, equality, and fraternity was established. We have certainly managed to respect the freedom of the individual. At least in principle, this is recognized—in theory. But there is an even deeper principle of brotherhood, equality, and freedom. Here we are dealing with something capable of conquering the world. I do not readily recognize that I encroach upon another’s freedom—even through words, thoughts, and feelings. When two people are talking to each other, one often hears that one person doesn’t even wait to hear what the other has to say. He contradicts outwardly or, if that isn’t possible, inwardly. There is an art to listening. It requires tremendous self-discipline to learn the art of listening—to fully tolerate even opposing opinions and to value them in all their dignity. Our lives would take a very different course if we learned to exercise restraint with our words and thoughts. This is the essence of our second principle: We seek to recognize the core of truth in all religions. When one makes an effort to understand others and to embrace their views—including religious ones—with love, one discovers that a core of truth is contained in all opinions. In all worldviews and religions—even different religions—we seek the core of truth so that we may live together in brotherhood. If souls tolerate one another inwardly, then they will also create outward conditions that serve the principle of brotherhood. This is where the full practice of life truly begins. The current way of life is fundamentally different from what has been described. All our institutions have sprung from what is not tolerance. Public institutions are reflections of what lived in the souls of our ancestors. If we proceed from the profound principle of brotherly love, then we will also infuse that brotherly love into the institutions of social life. This clear brotherly love must be built upon a clear understanding of the human soul.

[ 12 ] Here followed the example of Government Councilor Kolb, who went to America to work alongside the laborers and gain experience—and who came to realize there just how little those who sit at their desks know about what really matters.

[ 13 ] We must examine our current worldview in light of the theosophical worldview. The theosophical worldview does not stop at the mask of life, but leads us into the Spirit. The reflection of the one Spirit lives within every single personality. In earlier times, the idea of brotherhood was more prevalent than one might think. In the era when what we now call the bourgeoisie emerged from a myriad of small towns, one finds everywhere that life, wherever it takes on a new form, is founded on the principle of brotherhood. Today, the bond between the lawyer and the one he is to judge is abstract and intellectual. In the Middle Ages, the judge knew the person he was to judge. Back then, brotherhoods were founded among those united by a common interest. These old forms no longer suit our present age. But Theosophy is meant to create new forms for the new circumstances.

[ 14 ] The same is true of religions. The founders established the various religions to suit the capacities of different peoples. Now the entire globe is united by a common way of thinking. Therefore, people must also understand one another on an inner level. The advancement of culture in the material realm is linked to the emergence of the theosophical worldview through inner bonds. It is intended to bring about the same transformation in the spiritual realm as culture has done in the material realm. The theosophical worldview is capable of bringing new depth to all areas of life: medicine, education, jurisprudence, and so on. Because there is so little understanding of the spiritual realm, all these areas of life suffer.

[ 15 ] When every single aspect of life is imbued with theosophically trained thinking, everything is completely transformed. Anyone who has once reflected on the ideas provided by the theosophical worldview gains insight into the innermost essence of things. They learn to train their thinking in an entirely different way. — All of this shows how the theosophical worldview conceives of the principle of brotherhood, which is grounded in a true understanding of the world and of life. To look into the soul of another and to see oneself reflected in that image—that is the highest fruit of theosophy. The ancient maxim “Know thyself” takes on new significance here. A new life, built upon brotherly love, because this brotherly love is founded on knowledge. Opening the spiritual eyes and looking into the soul of another, becoming tolerant of what lives within the other’s soul—this leads to truly loving them. Recognize yourself in the other; embrace, with a sense of commonality, the shared essence that is within all. Learn to say of the other as you would of yourself: “That is you.”