The Life and Work of Rudolf Steiner
1902
The lectures which Rudolf Steiner gave on Mysticism at the Beginning of the New Spiritual Life and Its Relation to the Modern World Conception, published in book form in 1901, aroused so much interest that the volume was published at once in other languages (including English, under the title Mystics of the Renaissance). Through the many contacts of Count and Countess Brockdorff, this book had come to the notice of Theosophical circles, and Dr. Steiner received an invitation to lecture at their next Congress in London, in July 1902. Although he had not felt attracted by the publications which had reached him from these circles, yet he felt it to be his duty as always to form a connection with the historically existent, and not to turn away from honest interest. He accepted the invitation, therefore, but in regard to this he has commented: “For myself, I could never have worked in the same direction as these Theosophists. But I considered what formed the spiritual core of this Movement as a spiritual center with which one might rightly unite if one were taking with profound seriousness the spreading of spiritual cognition.”
Prior to this Congress of 1902, in the circle of Die Kommenden in Berlin and within the framework of the lecture course From Buddha to Christ, he had included a lecture on the significant work of the French dramatist Eduard Schuré, The Children of Lucifer, which had been translated into German by Frl. von Sivers. In this manner various links came about with numerous spiritual movements in the cultural life of Europe. Frl. von Sivers, later Frau Dr. Steiner, moved to Berlin in 1902 and had a great influence from that time on upon the development of the Anthroposophical Movement. Descended from a noble German-Baltic family, and having grown up in Warsaw, Riga, and St. Petersburg, she had for a time developed her great artistic talent in Paris, studying there the art of speech and recitation. She first heard lectures of Rudolf Steiner in 1900 at the Brockdorff’s home in Berlin, was persuaded by a Russian Theosophist to go with her to Italy and cooperate in establishing and developing in Bologna a branch of the society, and was then recalled to Berlin in 1902 to take over from the Brockdorff's the running of the library, and to help with arrangements for Dr. Steiner’s lectures. Her cooperation thus served in the initiation of the Movement which was being inaugurated, and in its growth in the years ahead.
In July of this year, Rudolf Steiner traveled to London to attend the Theosophical Congress. Such congresses were held by turns in one or another of the European capitals. He comments thus on this one:
“At this Congress, at which Marie von Sivers was also present, it was already taken for granted that a German Section of the Society should be established, with me as General Secretary, I having been invited recently to become a member... When I spoke in London for the first time at the Theosophical Society Congress I said that the alliance which was formed out of the separate Sections was to consist in the fact that each of them would bring to a common center what was contained within it, and I firmly stressed that this was what I had in mind most of all as regards the German Section. I made it clear that this Section could never act as the bearer of hard and fast dogmas, but would be active as the seat of independent spiritual research, and would seek to arrive at a common understanding on the cultivation of a true spiritual life upon the occasions of the General Meetings of the whole Society.”
At the very commencement of his activity in the Theosophical Society, Rudolf Steiner thus made full provision for freedom in spiritual life and the unquestioned right to go his own way, even if he was to work, upon invitation, within these circles. As it later transpired, this was insisted upon consistently to the end. In London, in 1902, he was present as guest of the Theosophical Society and not as a Section Leader. On this occasion, he made the acquaintance of a number of interesting and well known personalities of the Society, which extended with its 700 branches all over the world. Between the lectures, he visited scientific exhibitions, historic monuments, and art treasures, an activity which, as we shall see, he pursued on his later European journeys, much to his own and his listeners’ benefit. His spiritual research gave him the ability to use the monuments of ancient times to shed fight on the earlier evolutionary epochs of mankind, so as to make them live for the inner eye of his listeners, rendering it possible for them to learn something about the reality of travel and sight-seeing. He himself said: “I endeavored to busy myself in the intervals between the Congress meetings in visiting the exhibitions of science and art in London. I may say that I got from these visits many an idea regarding the evolution of nature and of man.”
After a pause in Paris and a visit to the Louvre and other historical centers, he took up in Berlin again lecture cycles already begun. Almost every day of the week he spoke in one or another circle and on various themes—thus giving three times weekly in a continuation school for working men a series of lectures on The History of Literature from Luther to the Present Time; and once a week continuing his cycle on The Spiritual Life of Germany in the Nineteenth Century; speaking once a week before the circle of die Kommenden, in continuing the cycle From Buddha to Christ; speaking once a week at the Theosophical Library on Christianity as Mystical Fact.
Certain additional lectures of that period in the Giordano Bruno Bund bore the title Truth and Science—the theme he had dealt with in 1891 in his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
The topics and the content of these writings and series of lectures indicate the mastery of so many areas of science that this alone refutes later attempts of different groups of critics to limit the sources of Rudolf Steiner’s activity either to the Goethe realm in Weimar or to Indian Theosophical influence. Familiar as he obviously was with Oriental wisdom, his point of departure and his areas of research were Christianity and the natural science of the West, and his research was original and completely independent. His relations with those belonging to the circle influenced by Indian Theosophy was never that of a receiver but always that of the giver.
In October 1902 occurred the foundation meeting of the German Section of the Theosophical Society. In the spring, discussions had already taken place in the Brockdorff Library at which the decision had been made to form a German Section, and Rudolf Steiner had been asked to become its General Secretary. The conditions of entire freedom as regards research and teaching which he had made are dealt with fully in his autobiography, The Course of My Life, and they have also been mentioned above. These were repeated with utmost emphasis at the time of the present discussions. On October 18, 1902, the founding of the Section was consummated, Annie Besant being present as guest lecturer. Rudolf Steiner announced his intention of publishing a magazine, the first number to appear in the following year. To this he allotted the duty “to collect and expound all the threads and guiding principles from nature, art, philosophy, science, and social life which lead to the spiritual.” It is important to note that he had to interrupt discussions in connection with the founding in order to give elsewhere, as previously arranged, a lecture before scientists and students which, in the title itself, indicated his path: “Anthroposophy.”
In this lecture he spoke on the theme: History of the Evolution of Man in Connection with the World Conceptions from the Oldest Oriental Times up to the Present, or Anthroposophy. Regarding this event, Albert Steffen has appropriately drawn special attention to the following characteristic episode. One of the Theosophists present said afterwards to the speaker:
“But what you have been saying is by no means in agreement with Mrs. Besant’s teaching.” The individual in question was an expert in Theosophy and must have known. Dr. Steiner replied: “Then it is, no doubt, as you say.” On later occasions, too, he did not concern himself with the dogmas of Theosophical leaders, but invariably represented that which seemed to him to be right.
So it was that, even in the very moment of birth of a spiritual Movement which he inaugurated, there stood the character and content of Anthroposophy plainly before both himself and those who wished to listen to him and who could understand the way clearly indicated by him. For these reasons, Annie Besant, the prominent personality of the Theosophical Society and its spiritual leader, who was present at these discussions, could not possibly have been in doubt about the independent and divergent relation in which Rudolf Steiner stood to the Movement led by her or as to the path he was determined to follow. This led during the next seven years to many differences and finally to a rupture. At first, however, he did all in his power to find a basis for cooperation. Thus, in his exemplary objective way, seeking to do justice to other human beings, he gave an introductory talk, followed by an exposition of Mrs. Besant’s lecture in the English language for the benefit of her German audience.
Rudolf Steiner himself gave a lecture on October 20 in the Brockdorff Library on Practical Studies in Karma, which was attended by forty or fifty persons. This was one of the first lectures which inaugurated the new phase of the Movement, and it is a strange fact that the last series of lectures given by him before his death bore the title Reflections on Karma. It thus came about that considerations of human destiny—karma—came both at the beginning and at the end of these epochs of work.
During the foundation meeting, his certificate as General Secretary of the German Section was handed to him by Annie Besant in the name of the President, Colonel Olcott, and congratulatory messages were read by delegates from Scandinavia, France, England, Italy, Switzerland, and Denmark. Frl. von Sivers was chosen a member of the Council of the Section and received thanks for her hospitable accommodation of visitors at the meeting. She now took over from the Brockdorff's the management of the library, as well as other duties, and it was in her residence that the lectures for members took place in the first few years.
At first, it was but a small circle that met there on regular evenings. As I have been informed by Frl. Mücke, Rudolf Steiner used to give these lectures standing before the stove, a position from which he commanded a view of three rooms and from which he could be heard by his audience. The chairs had to be set close together to accommodate all in attendance until, owing to the growth of membership from 1909 onwards, it became necessary to rent a larger lecture room even for the lectures to members. The winter season of 1902-1903 opened with a lecture cycle on the whole field of Theosophy, with which, twice a week, was combined a Theosophical Conversation, which served to educate listeners through questions and answers. Along with this inside activity, Rudolf Steiner continued without a break his public work, such as historical lectures already mentioned and contributions to the editing of German classical literature—for example, a biography of Ludwig Uhland and an introduction to a collection of Schiller’s works. Of his own works, there appeared in 1902 Christianity as Mystical Fact and Goethe’s Faust as Picture of an Esoteric World Conception. Thus, in the year of birth of this spiritual Movement, the foundation and plan of a lifework yet to be developed were clearly traced from the outset.