The Rudolf Steiner Archive

14. At the Free University, the essence of humanity should be brought to the fore

Newsletter of the Youth Section of the School of Spiritual Science

[ 1 ] This institution cannot arise from abstract considerations “from above.” It must emerge “from below” out of the needs of our membership. The Executive Council of the Anthroposophical Society has decided to form a Youth Section because this corresponds to what young people in our society are seeking from the depths of their being. And it will be structured in such a way that these needs can be met as they arise.

[ 2 ] This must also be the case for the other sections. For this to happen, however, it is necessary that the needs emerging within our membership truly flow through the entire Society and ultimately converge in what is expected of the Executive Council at the Goetheanum. We should therefore increasingly bring to mind that the purpose of the Christmas Conference was not merely to form an “administrative board.” Certainly, “administration” must be present, and we must not forget that it is necessary and that it must cultivate care and precision. But the main point will be that, through the attitude of the membership, the Executive Council at the Goetheanum is truly placed at the center of the Society’s spiritual interests. It is in this Council that all such spiritual interests should converge.

[ 3 ] This board should have no intention of restricting the initiative of individual segments of society in any way. However, it should increasingly be viewed as a necessity that everything that arises within society be brought to the attention of this board. It can then harmonize what is desired in one place or by one group of people with what is intended by others. This Executive Board does not wish to act in a one-sided manner like an authority “from above”; it will make it its task to maintain an open heart and an understanding mind toward everything that the membership strives to bring to fruition. In this regard, it would simply like to be able to count on understanding and cooperation in the sense that people will meet it halfway—actively and proactively—when it wishes to carry out something on its own initiative, based on the goals of the anthroposophical movement. In this sense, I said at the Christmas Conference: this Executive Council should be a proactive Executive Council.

[ 4 ] If people are increasingly willing to view this Executive Council in this way, then it will be able to serve as a true advisor in all matters concerning the Society. And it wishes to be an “advisor”; for it knows full well that it would be fundamentally contrary to the spirit of the Anthroposophical Society if it were to act as a “ruler.” In offering his advice, he will appeal to nothing other than the members’ free judgment; but he will only be able to be a true “advisor” if what lies in the members’ intentions and aspirations is brought to bear on his role in the right spirit.

[ 5 ] The Executive Council at the Goetheanum wishes to avoid, as much as possible, establishing a connection between its work and that in society through paragraphs and programs; it wishes for the immediately human—which can also have an individual effect in every detail—to attain universal validity within society. And it wishes to achieve this above all in everything that is to be done for the School of Spiritual Science.