The Rudolf Steiner Archive

29. Discussion on the Leadbeater Case by the German Participants at the Theosophical Congress

[ 1 ] [Rudolf Steiner:] “The first requirement for the occultist who wishes to acquire the powers to guide others is a willingness to make sacrifices. The good that such a self-sacrificing occultist has accomplished cannot be erased. It continues to have an effect; it endures. And it would be highly unchristian—and all the more un-theosophical—to judge a fallen occultist without love. Everyone who joins the Theosophical Society must be able to count on a spirit of brotherhood. Anyone who joins the Society merely to learn is applying the wrong standard. Anyone who gives their best to help their brothers and thereby foster a spirit of brotherhood has correctly understood the purpose of the Society.

[ 2 ] Now there is a case where a member who has done much good has been rejected. What is it that [rejects] him?

[ 3 ] It is very difficult to speak publicly about this matter. This is a matter of opinion. Although Leadbeater engaged in acts that ordinary morality would not approve of, he was guided by the ideal of counteracting precisely this sexual evil. He believed he had done nothing wrong; he viewed the matter as a remedy.

[ 4 ] You can't say, “Leadbeater doesn't want to improve.”

[ 5 ] Society has excluded him. In doing so, it has set itself up as the judge of an idea. In doing so, it has declared itself infallible. There was once talk in Congress of “common sense.” Here, an occult case has been brought before the forum of “common sense.” This opens up the possibility that any occultist could be brought before this forum.

[ 6 ] “The situation has arisen, and society must figure out how to deal with it.” Ms. asked about the specific reason and nature of the expulsion.

[ 7 ] Dr. Steiner: “We have only been informed of the fact. We have no right to judge the actions of others; if we do so, we create heretics. Everyone must take responsibility for their own actions.

[ 8 ] The Society’s exoteric leadership is to concern itself only with administrative matters. The rest must be entrusted to those who stand behind it. It shall not exercise any police authority.

[ 9 ] If she wants to start judging the members’ mistakes, she is only shooting herself in the foot. There are things that seem quite harmless, but are not as harmless as they appear. These include, for example, the ladies’ coffee klatches and the gentlemen’s morning or evening drinks. This fosters lust. And those involved are, in a sense, committing fornication on the astral plane. They stage a veritable witches’ sabbath there. Certain astral beings feed on this gossip.

[ 10 ] Only the perpetrator's intent determines the difference between white and black magic.

[ 11 ] The question at hand, then, is this: Did what happened occur for the sake of one’s own pleasure?

[ 12 ] Kieser, Stuttgart: “How did Leadbeater behave during the interrogation? Did he confess?”

[ 13 ] Miss Bright: “Yes. He fully admitted to it and has withdrawn from society for the good of society. He doesn’t want to tie his karma to that of society, which is why he is stepping down. He has clearly stated that he did not do it to satisfy his own desires.”

[ 14 ] Dr. Steiner: “Leadbeater, then, acted in good faith. If the method he used to combat evil is wrong, this will be evident from the results it produces. If it is correct, this, too, can only be recognized by its results.

[ 15 ] A similar case can be found in celibacy. Society has no right to judge occult matters. If it does, it turns itself into a sect that establishes dogmas. A dogma is the establishment of a doctrine whose meaning one does not understand. The Trinity, for example, is a dogma as long as one does not understand it. Once one understands it, it ceases to be a dogma.

[ 16 ] The matters under consideration here have always been pursued within occult societies. — Occultism is the wisdom of the future. Through their heroism, occultists often bring about a tragic end for themselves. The occultist simply lives by the morality of the future, which is not understood by his fellow human beings.

[ 17 ] This case will become clearer to us if we consider the evolution of humankind. Wisdom teaches us to look from below to above, from humankind to God. There we saw a whole series of spiritual beings, a hierarchy, a spiritual realm. Within this hierarchy, the occultist occupies a very specific place; it is not appropriate for a less developed person to accuse an occultist, for that would be tantamount to accusing the gods. The gods brought illness and sin into the world. Where there is much light, there is also much dark shadow. That is why the gods could not bring us good without at the same time causing evil. To seek the shadow within the light is nonsense; but the shadow is the consequence of the light. Humanity first had to emerge fully onto the physical plane before it could become self-aware on the higher planes. First, he had to explore the physical plane independently. In ancient Greece, man was not yet independent; he did not yet feel himself to be an individual—that only developed in Rome. Thus, three to four hundred years before Christ, the Romans developed this sense of independence. In reality, we owe independent thinking to the ancient Romans. The development of thinking, however, is linked to the decline of sexual morality. All of this is known to the occultist, [and we owe the institution of prostitution to the high occultists]. This is where we must pick up the thread if we do not want to walk through the world blindfolded.

[ 18 ] A large percentage of humanity is plagued by sexual vices. That is a fact, and there is little that can be done about it. Anyone who believes they can remedy this evil through moralizing is mistaken. The occultist knows that other things are necessary for this. Even if these things stink, they are necessary, and we cannot completely escape them—just as we cannot escape the stench of the feces we ourselves excrete. Man must wade through the swamp. The only question is whether he wallows in the filth like a pig or whether he enters the filth to transform it—for, as is well known, the most beautiful fragrances can be developed from feces. Whoever undertakes this for humanity acts in an apocalyptic sense. He anticipates something that humanity as a whole will only reach in later times. What he intends to accomplish with a view to the future, he must carry out in a physical body that—especially in his brain—does not provide him with the necessary conditions to accomplish what he has already anticipated in spirit ahead of the rest of humanity. He is crucified in the flesh. He has skipped a step, and his physical body does not provide him with the necessary conditions.

[ 19 ] Let the matter speak for itself, as it does through the individual. Do not let it become a dogma open to debate. The interconnectedness of human beings—who all operate at different levels of human development—means that when one person falls, many fall with them.

[ 20 ] Here (according to Leadbeater), the point is that something happened with the best and noblest of intentions that is incompatible with the current order of things.»

[ 21 ] Question: “What should we say about this case when we are asked?”

[ 22 ] Dr. Steiner: “Right and wrong can only be distinguished by the attitude from which an act is performed.

[ 23 ] The higher beings send us teachings through society. Those who do not want them have no place in society. If a teacher has passed away, we need not sing dirges; we need not be afraid. There are still more suitable teachers to lead the good cause to victory. It depends on the person, not on an idea they have; not on the organization of society, but on the spiritual individuality of the person in whom we have—or do not have—trust.”