Tasks and responsibilities in the current world situation
The significance of 8 February
With the renaming of the Building Society (Bauverein) as the General Anthroposophical Society on 8 February 1925 and its entry in the commercial register, the “unified constitution” sought by Rudolf Steiner and at the same time a threefold social structure – consisting of the School of Spiritual Science, the member society of the Christmas Conference “Anthroposophical Society” and the administrative and external representative body “General Anthroposophical Society” – had been achieved. (See chronology[1] , a result of the work of the two-year colloquia).
However, it is quite obvious that nobody understood this at the time and to this day the most diverse opinions are held on this subject. Moreover, an astonishing “wave of confusion” immediately set in in connection with the events surrounding 8 February, which has “successfully” prevented a clarification and agreement of views to this day. (Newsletter 74)[2] How is this possible? An identity-forming clarity and a corresponding awareness in the membership would strengthen the General Anthroposophical Society enormously, while living in the most diverse images and ideas or even in ignorance or confusion must have a correspondingly weakening effect in a Society whose members should lead humanity on the path of the development of the Consciousness Soul. The work of the opposing spiritual powers, “who make use of people on Earth”, is also evident in the fact that for more than six decades, the so-called constitutional question has repeatedly sparked serious conflicts, which have had a traumatising effect on several occasions, so that these questions could not be discussed for years afterwards. (This made the second constitutional conference, which took place in November 2023 and was characterised by an atmosphere of goodwill and mutual appreciation – despite all the remaining differences of opinion – all the more pleasing).
Why is this topic so controversial? We know from Rudolf Steiner that behind all external events there is in reality a “struggle against the spirit”. The effectiveness of anthroposophy as a force for cultural renewal also depends on whether it maintains the social corporeality appropriate to it. To make this possible, Rudolf Steiner made his last attempt to save it with the Christmas Conference. The clarification of the constitutional question, Rudolf Steiner’s intentions and the actual form of the General Anthroposophical Society would however, inevitably lead to the realisation that we have a mixture of Christmas Conference Society and Building Society elements in our Society and structures similar to a unitary state, i.e. a hybrid being with centralism. It would be plausible if interests were at work here that wanted to prevent such a realisation, because who benefits from these forms? Could they be the forms that anthroposophy needs to cultivate and develop? This will be discussed again later.
Current developments
Over the past two years, initiatives and a commitment to shared responsibility have increasingly emerged from the membership. Through the members’ forums and constitutional conferences[3] , discussions and social processes have also begun since the 2023 General Assembly, giving rise to the hope that we can now find ways for further beneficial forms of cooperation and a contemporary reorganisation of the Society. It seems possible that now – 99 years after the last weeks of Rudolf Steiner’s life on earth and the memorable 8 February – there is sufficient goodwill for the necessary changes to lead the General Anthroposophical Society out of its state of obsolete, unitary state-like structures. However, as a next step, it would also be necessary and desirable to unite the processes of the members’ forums with those of the upcoming 3rd constitutional conference entitled “What could become?”
The consequences of incomprehension and incompleteness
It is part of Rudolf Steiner’s life and sacrifice that an infinite number of his impulses were not sufficiently received and understood by people.[4] The successful work of the opposing forces went so far that he was met by the greatest “inner opposition” through the membership and the Society itself became the greatest obstacle to anthroposophy and Rudolf Steiner’s work. Therefore, it is also part of this fateful signature of the obstacles to the unfolding of anthroposophy on Earth that – despite all the goodwill that can certainly be assumed in people, as far as the conscious will is concerned – mistakes have been made out of a lack of understanding – with serious consequences.
One of these errors, which only recently came to light, concerns the Foundation Stone for the first Goetheanum. (“The interpenetrating Foundation Stone“[5] ). If you let the pictures sink in, you may get the impression that one of them remains floating above the Earth. The other one lies on it and rests on it, it can arrive on Earth. – And so this gesture is reflected in the tragic fate of the building: it could never be handed over to its true purpose, it was never inaugurated – only “opened”. And this with a conference whose abstract contributions of conventional natural science, according to Rudolf Steiner, stood in stark, sharp contrast to the essence of the building and its living design.
In the last weeks of his life 99 years ago, Rudolf Steiner still hoped almost every day that he would be able to resume work on the interior model for the second building. So much depended on him being able to complete it! In a letter to Marie Steiner dated 5 March 1925, he wrote: “… My condition is only improving slowly. And I must soon be fit for work, because after everything that has happened, it is impossible to imagine what it would be like if my illness were to interrupt the construction work.”[6] The question may arise here – why did so much depend on him being able to complete the model of the interior construction? The same applies to the Representative of Humanity, which he was so keen to continue working on. Why – since it already seemed almost finished?
If one looks at the Representative of Humanity with this question in mind and the area that remained unfinished, a shocking answer may emerge. Raw wood, completely unworked and untransformed, remained in place precisely where the effect of the Christ being should have penetrated down from the heart through the arm and hand into Ahriman’s realm. The stream of light, love and life cannot penetrate into the cave to Ahriman, who would be tied up through the effect of Christ.
This tragedy is a prime example of Rudolf Steiner’s unfinished mission and the catastrophic consequences of this in the 20th century and right up to the present day: as if a gap had been left open for Ahriman and so much of the abundance of supersensible revelations was not allowed to arrive on Earth, could not arrive in human hearts. The Foundation Stone remained in limbo, the building was never consecrated, it was lost due to a lack of spiritual alertness and protection, the second Goetheanum could not be realised as a true “Michael-castle”, and a “gap” remained open for Ahriman right into the figure of the Representative of Humanity. – Due to the failure of human beings (which is meant without reproach, as it applies equally to us), Rudolf Steiner was unable to complete his mission and the work of Christ could not fully penetrate the earthly conditions. We know the consequences for human development and experience them to this day.
Unitary state and Ahriman
The fate of Rudolf Steiner’s impulses continues – as described – in the so-called constitutional question, in that Ahriman has been able to successfully obscure and confuse for almost a hundred years what Rudolf Steiner wanted to realise as the social form of the Society and – according to the results of two years of colloquium work – also achieved with the 8 February.
However, even if it has not yet been possible to reach a consensus on this issue among all the people researching it, there is still the possibility that the processes of the members’ forums and the constitutional conferences that began last year will lead to further fruitful social processes and contemporary organisations. – However, these two processes would have to be combined and a sufficient number of members and leaders would have to participate! Then something could emerge with a healing effect for the Society.
Only when this process is successful and we leave the centralised forms behind will the Society be able to fulfil some of its tasks in the current world situation. It would then represent something – no matter how small in its external impact – exemplary in terms of free social organisation in the world and be able to counterbalance the coming world dictatorship of Ahriman, which has already begun.
At this point, it is worth recalling Rudolf Steiner’s serious words, which have already been quoted several times and which make it clear what is at stake:
“A unitary state, regardless of whether it calls itself a monarchy, republic or democracy – as long as it is a unitary state (and not threefold) – serves the incarnation of Ahriman.“[7]
“But there are two things in the world today, and anyone who looks at the world honestly and sincerely, who is under no illusions, will see that there are two options: either Bolshevism over the whole world or threefolding! You may not like the threefold order; in that case, you have just decided in favour of an old world order!”[8]
“Bolshevism” in the sense of that time and the word itself no longer exists today, but the corresponding endeavours to enslave humanity certainly do.
Sorath works through Bolshevism.[9]
If we do not take the reality of spiritual beings working through and within the social forms seriously, the General Anthroposophical Society will not only become more and more “Ahrimanically perforated”, but will fall completely under his power.
It should be emphasised once again that these statements are not directed against individual people who have certainly taken up and accepted their leading tasks for anthroposophy with all their strength and good will. Yet we must no longer dream and remain asleep in the face of what Rudolf Steiner himself gave us in countless warnings and indications for the present! The attitude “everyone wants what is good” shows how precisely those spiritual beings – who are working through us unasked and unnoticed – are forgotten. Ahrimanic beings are actively working in obsolete centralised forms. Anyone who is familiar with the mystery dramas knows how cunning and powerful they are and how difficult it is, especially for the people involved, to recognise them. First and foremost, those who are not in leading positions are able to help. All members of the Society who live together in these structures are affected. The more a common awareness of this could arise, the stronger the liberating effect would become.
Understanding and love
One of the effects of the opposing powers through those people who are connected to anthroposophy is the predominantly too weak interest in the question: Who is Rudolf Steiner? If a sufficient number of members had lived with this as a deep inner question of the heart, he would not have left the earthly plane prematurely and might still have been able to fulfil his mission.
Rudolf Steiner’s life was in the hands of the members, it depended on their understanding (willingness) – and on their love. It was not the abundance of lectures that exhausted him, on the contrary – they “keep me healthy… What makes you tired are the dead thoughts that come to you; it is the lack of understanding, the non-understanding of the people that paralyses you.[10] And in a shocking way it becomes clear what was lacking above all in the membership: interest in Rudolf Steiner’s true nature.
Wilhelm Rath’s experience of the evening lectures during the Christmas Conference awakened in him a question and a hunch about Rudolf Steiner’s nature and he wrote a short essay on Thomas Aquinas, which he had it delivered to Rudolf Steiner, who was already lying on his sickbed. Rudolf Steiner’s heartfelt words of thanks have been passed down to us, with the remark “If more such things were written, I would not need to be ill”.[11]
Anna Samweber recalls how the question suddenly arose in her mind during a lecture – Who are you? – Who is Rudolf Steiner? – She would have liked to ask him immediately afterwards, but then did not want to bother him as he was always besieged by so many people. But Rudolf Steiner himself came up to her later and said “…you wanted to ask me something…?” And she asked the question. But he did not answer directly, instead encouraging her to research: She would find the answer in this life if she pondered who he was with love and enthusiasm.
When Sergei O. Prokofieff joined the Executive Board in 2001, he brought with him five heartfelt concerns and projects that he wanted to work towards. The first was: “Cultivating the relationship with Rudolf Steiner“[12] . – Towards the end of his life, he confessed that none of his five topics had met with a favourable response from his fellow Board members.
What would it mean today if this question were to live as a matter of the heart in a larger number of members? What effects would it have?
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For those who want to explore the question of Rudolf Steiner’s nature, Sergei O. Prokofieff’s two works published after his death may be fundamental: “Rudolf Steiner and the Masters of Esoteric Christianity” and “Rudolf Steiner – Fragments of a Spiritual Biography”.
Eva Lohmann-Heck
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Note: The statements quoted from Rudolf Steiner are not all identified as quotations or sources if they have already appeared in earlier newsletters, but reference is made above all to Nos. 58, 62 and 74, as well as the brochure “Tasks, aims and contemporary social structures of an anthroposophical society“[13] .
I ask for your understanding.
[1] https://www.konstitution.anthroposophie.online/Konstitution.pdf, see page 14.
[2] https://wtg-99.com/Rundbrief_74
[3] Next date 23 – 25 Feb 2024, https://goetheanum.ch/de/veranstaltungen/sow-die-konstitution-der.
[4] Gerhardt von Beckerath, “The path of suffering of Rudolf Steiner”, Dornach
[5] Michael Toepell, “Der sich durchdringende Grundstein”, in “Anthroposophie” 12/2023, AGiD Newsletter. Sent out with this newsletter or downloadable from the newsletter archive. www.wtg-99.com/Rundbriefe-Archiv
[6] GA 262, p. 266, emphasis by Rudolf Steiner.
[7] GA 191, P. 213.
[8] GA 196, P. 133.
[9] GA 346, p. 122f.
[10] “Ita Wegman – Memories of Rudolf Steiner”, ed. Peter Selg, p. 41.
[11] Wilhelm Rath “Rudolf Steiner and Thomas Aquinas”, Perseus Verlag.
[12] Brochure “The Books of Sergei O. Prokofieff”, privately printed.
[13] https://wtg-99.com/Neue-Sozialstrukturen and at www.wtg-99.com/Rundbriefe-Archiv.