The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Preface to the First Edition of the Book

[ 1 ] The content of the lectures published here—which are written in a lively, conversational tone and were not originally intended as a book—can serve as a supplement to what Rudolf Steiner provides in his book *My Life*. However, because of their extraordinarily important content and the historical context in which they were given, they constitute a document of inestimable significance—not only for the anthroposophist, who can see the connections within the movement to which he or she has joined in a clear and illuminating way, and thus gain a firm footing through an understanding of the necessity of those events, which goes far beyond mere justification; but also those who otherwise hear only the most superficial judgments or find them printed in encyclopedias should be grateful for the opportunity to gain a genuine insight into the facts. May there be ever more souls who will wish to seize such an opportunity to experience that the questions which arise as riddles before their inner eye can be answered, and that paths to these answers can be shown to them. One no longer has the right to repeat in writings and newspaper columns that salvation from humanity’s plight would be possible only if a universal genius were to appear—one who could master the manifold realms of life and knowledge, hold them together, weigh them against one another, and then work in a creative and innovative way— and that there would be no escape from uncertainty unless the barriers of the limits of knowledge were broken through—yet that this is not possible... For this genius has existed, and he has broken through the limits of knowledge. His work lies before us, bearing witness to this. His words, even the most intimate ones, need not shy away from the light; they can be made accessible to everyone. The moral strength and towering greatness of his being shine through this work just as brightly as the certainty of his comprehensive knowledge. Why were no means spared to oppose him, to render him harmless through slander, once silence alone was no longer enough? Because our age cannot tolerate the extraordinary; it hates it; it refuses to acknowledge its right to exist, and in doing so plays into the hands of the powerful organizations that have an interest in preventing the emergence of that which they themselves refuse to grant to humanity. The idol of the present, materialistic science, is still more to their liking. Goethe’s words, which he dedicated to the discerning mind, remain true:

“Who is allowed to call the child by its true name?
The few who recognized it,
Who were foolish enough not to guard their hearts,
Who revealed their feelings and their vision to the mob,
Have always been crucified and burned.”

[ 2 ] And no other reason is needed for this hatred and this fury to destroy. It is the hatred of the world directed against that which surpasses it. It is through this hatred that the adversary of the world sees and acts.

[ 3 ] But now that the excesses of hatred can scarcely be outdone, now that the great champion of human liberation is dead, now that the selfish and base motives behind the struggle have become all too evident, now there will be more and more souls who will want to see through this chaos and follow the course of intellectual development, seeking to discover its source and its first steps. For those interested in the historical development of the movement, this book will provide the necessary information and, at the same time, the necessary explanation and simple rationale for what emerged as a matter of course from the existing facts: the original collaboration with the Theosophical Society, which was searching for a knowledgeable teacher. - If one is called and the conditions set are accepted, why should the one called not go and help? If one is courted and does not hesitate for a moment to point out the consequences of this alliance—the need to re-educate oneself, to awaken to the demands of the times, and to develop a sense for progressive developments and for the mission of the West—why should the one who is sure of his path not take charge of those who are searching without a guide and show them the way to the divine Guide and to their own freedom? Had Annie Besant not been deluded at the most fateful moment of her life, when she lacked all certainty, everything could still have turned out for the best, and she could have found the lost bridge to Christ without fabricating the little substitute idol that has now slipped from her grasp. With her, thousands in the Theosophical Society would have set out on the path of inner liberation.

[ 4 ] Rudolf Steiner alone shed light on the mystery of Blavatsky; she did not need to be an obstacle to him, for he saw the positive aspects of her work and was able to channel this positivity into paths where, freed from the clinging aberrations, delusions, and chains, it could continue to bear fruit as a source of knowledge without causing harm. In this way, Blavatsky’s evolving individuality was given the recognition it deserved, and her karma was lightened. Her inner essence—what she was as an honest soul and a powerful force—would thus stand out more prominently in history than if she remained entangled with the spiritualist phenomena that represent the heavy side of her karma. It was difficult to penetrate to the sensed core of her being when one heard the countless tales of miracles that her close or more distant friends told about her—as even the author of these lines has experienced. Yet one could sense a truly significant power and greatness even from just a few pages read from *Isis Unveiled* or *The Secret Doctrine*, which were of an entirely different caliber than anything contained in the entire body of works published by the Theosophical Society. Rudolf Steiner provided us with the key to her complex nature, and despite the very incomplete transcripts from 1915—since we did not yet have a professional stenographer in Dornach—it will likely be necessary to publish Rudolf Steiner’s relevant lectures, albeit heavily abridged, in order to shed fuller light on those enigmatic phenomena.

[ 5 ] H.P. Blavatsky was born in 1831. This year marks the centennial of her birth. One must assume that the Theosophists in every country will organize various celebrations and commemorative events. Blavatsky had a free-spirited temperament and was a woman of nature; she suffered greatly within the Anglo-American social conventions that were alien to her nature; to their representatives, she was merely a phenomenon, a half-barbarian, and remained misunderstood; through her, the spirit world knocked at the gate of a world closed off by materialism. Moreover, she did not understand herself and suffered terribly as she awoke from states that eluded her consciousness. Those who come to understand her in the light and context of her role in the early attempts by occultists to break the materialistic spell will do her memory the greatest service. It is the duty of the spiritually mature occultist not to discard what has been accomplished—even if it is intertwined with errors—but to carry its positive aspects forward into the future. It is also in this light that the earlier collaboration between the Anthroposophical Society and the Theosophical Society must be understood time and again—up to the day when Annie Besant could no longer tolerate the thwarting of her own intentions.

[ 6 ] Although Rudolf Steiner tells us in these lectures that, toward the end of the second epoch of the anthroposophical movement, what had been passed down to us as a legacy from the Theosophical Society had been overcome, the fact remains that, due to the influx of new generations and many Theosophical members into our Society, certain unpleasant symptoms—which had already been overcome—keep reappearing, and he had taken it upon himself with the utmost rigor to remedy them. It follows from this that, since people today are of the same nature and kind as those who came before them, they must also go through the same mistakes and teething problems again and again—only, unfortunately, with ever-greater self-confidence and an ever-stronger will to live out their individuality. What are certain errors that Rudolf Steiner criticizes in the lectures printed here—for example, the deification of Max Seiling (a minor local affair) or Bhagavân Dâs (a fleeting, superficial fad)—compared to certain phenomena that have arisen in recent years? But he pointed out such symptoms to reveal their consequences; to uncover the causes of the recurring phenomena of decay; to show how societies can fail when such behavior finds its way into the leading circles. At that time, he considered the latter to be out of the question in our case. Yet he left us too soon; and in the young people who had assumed leadership roles too early, the old mistakes flared up—all too human—with redoubled force.

[ 7 ] It is up to us to come to our senses. Let us not pretend to be better than we are. We need not shyly hide our mistakes, but must allow light to shine forth from their darkness, a light that brings us self-knowledge. A sense of community is difficult to achieve; the formation of a strong collective “I” is possible for us only on the basis of the power of awakening, the will to knowledge, and the courage to face the truth. This cannot be achieved in secret; it must be fought for together. Honest struggle will not harm us; it will earn us the respect of those of good will. But let those of ill will reflect on what the Church has endured and exemplified in its communal life, despite the strictest discipline imposed from without; on the imperfections and contradictions to its ideal that it has had to live through. They will then see that it is not the leader who drives the movement who is to be held responsible for the errors of the followers of his teaching, but rather the human race itself, which requires many detours and much rising and falling and renewed striving to reach its goal.

[ 8 ] Anthroposophy is an educational path. The Anthroposophical Society is certainly not a model institution for the embodiment of anthroposophical ideals. One could even say that, in many respects, it is a sanatorium—as is only natural in a time of human illness. Those in need—those broken by the hardships of the times—flock to it. But should there only be sanatoriums for the physically ill? Is it not a duty to have places where people can regain their spiritual strength? And this has happened here to the greatest extent. There was an abundance of letters and words of gratitude in which people testified that it was only through anthroposophy and its messenger that they had found life worth living again. But in order to discover anthroposophy, there had to be a community in which work was being done.

[ 9 ] Thus, the Anthroposophical Society was a place of work, and an immense amount of work was accomplished within it. Anthroposophy was able to have a fruitful influence on all areas of life—the artistic, the scientific, and even the practical. During the most difficult times of economic crisis, anthroposophists were often unable to carry out what they envisioned as their ideal; yet they had to contend with resistance that was doubly strong. However, the people who flocked to the Society and began to exert an influence outwardly—once it had already gained some significance in the world and established an external presence—were people shaped by the spirit of the times, not as the ideal of anthroposophy would have them; and so many certainly succumbed once again to the temptations and customs of the age. The young people who had been disappointed by what they had experienced—and failed to find—in the organized youth movements not only found an answer to their perplexing questions here, nor did they merely seek fulfillment of their aspirations in the new community of anthroposophy; they also brought their habits into the Society, including some of what they should have left behind in order to make a fresh start in anthroposophy. Thus, the Anthroposophical Society cannot yet be a model institution; it remains a place of education. But aren’t places of education also needed in the broader sense of humanity, in order to move forward toward a better future?

[ 10 ] No matter how we frame the question, society is a necessity. It must educate itself, and it must provide the opportunity to serve as a place of education for humanity. The life forces that have been instilled in it can bring this about if strong, capable, and devoted people come together within it—people who know that they must unite in order to act as a community for humanity in the broader sense, rather than closing themselves off to indulge only in their own self-interest; who know that it would be ungrateful to accept only that which serves as a lifeline for oneself; who know that in doing so, one assumes the obligation to extend it to those others whose ship of life is in distress.

Marie Steiner