The Rudolf Steiner Archive

13. Newsletter from the Youth Section of the School of Spiritual Science

[ 1 ] Once again, I would like to address the younger members of the Anthroposophical Society specifically regarding the establishment of the Youth Section. There seem to be two opposing views within our youth circles. One group experiences youth as something that must be sought. They feel drawn to anthroposophy because they hope to find fulfillment for their search there. They have come to realize that this search must go to the depths of the soul, and that contemporary civilization cannot lead to these depths. There is a group of young people who seek esotericism in this way because they have intuitively discovered that it is only through esotericism that the true essence of the human being can be experienced.

[ 2 ] These young people will easily find their way toward what the Executive Council of the Anthroposophical Society aims to achieve with the Youth Section. And this Executive Council will not interfere with anyone’s independent endeavors. It will have a heart for this independence. But it will also be mindful of the fact that the cultivation of the esoteric life has become its responsibility. This concern will be its foremost priority. It will guide the Youth Section in such a way that the esoteric is given its rightful place within it, and it believes that it can also find true “youthful wisdom” within true esotericism.

[ 3 ] But there is another perspective among young people. This perspective tends to take “being young” in such an absolute sense that even the pursuit of esotericism seems to them like the ingestion of a foreign object. Above all, undeterred by anything coming from the outside, they wish to immerse themselves in their own youth and come to understand it.

[ 4 ] Within the Anthroposophical Society, young people who share this view likely hope to find something as well. Otherwise, they would not be there at all. But they believe they must first infuse anthroposophy with the right spirit through the active expression of their youth. The Executive Council of the Anthroposophical Society is far from meeting this segment of the youth with philistine criticism. But it could easily happen that its intentions are viewed in a false light by some young people. For it cannot deviate from the insight it has gained that the stream of eternity, toward which the youth strives, flows through the esotericism pursued by the Anthroposophical Society. It cannot fall into the error of believing that esotericism must first take on its true form through youth, since it knows full well that in esotericism, young people will find the right paths to be “young” in the true sense.

[ 5 ] I say this not because I wish to point out a conflict between a segment of the youth and the Executive Board. I do not see such a contrast; and from the perspective of a practical worldview, there cannot be one. For the Executive Board is aware that its tasks come from the spiritual world; and in all things, it will have to follow the paths shown to it from there. There can be no “contrast” to this within the sphere of its activity.

[ 6 ] But it is certainly possible that young people themselves could be driven into extremes if one group were to emphasize its aspirations in a one-sided manner at the expense of the other. And that could cause immeasurable harm to the anthroposophical youth movement. However, this will not happen if young people were to pay closer attention to something they have learned from a civilization that has become “too old” than they often do. It is a certain tendency toward abstraction, toward speaking in mere concepts. I have already stated in the preceding reflection how little this abstract thinking benefits young people. In truth, no one in the youth movement wants that either. But when talking about being young, about the ideals of youth, it is still there. There is even a troubling element of “old age” in today’s youth. If, on the other hand, young people reflect on their true experiences, they will find that these are like questions, and that the esotericism of the Anthroposophical Society offers them at least attempts at answers.

[ 7 ] Based on such practical insight, an understanding between the various opinions within our youth movement will certainly emerge. Engagement with esotericism can become an experience for the young people themselves. If this happens, young people will come to realize that it is precisely through this engagement that they can bring to life what they often envision in a vague, idealistic way. If it does not happen, it could easily be that some young people—not out of an innate inclination, but based on externally absorbed “old talk”—will draw a theoretical curtain over the experience they have only hinted at.

[ 8 ] If young people can understand one another, they will also understand the Executive Council of the Anthroposophical Society.