Esoteric Christianity and the Guiding Spirits of Humanity
GA 130
Marie Steiner Foreword to The Christ Impulse in the Historical Development
First edition of the lectures given on September 17 and 19, 1911
The Theosophical Society founded by H. P. Blavatsky had the task of giving an occult slant to the interest in Eastern spirituality that had awakened in Europe in the mid-nineteenth century, powerfully stimulated by Schopenhauer and other important thinkers. “Secret Doctrine” by H. P. Blavatsky was the sensational work through which the Theosophical Society spread rapidly in English-speaking countries. Christianity was not taken into account in it. An attempt by Rosicrucian occultists to place Christianity at the center of the new movement, making use of the author's mediumistic abilities, had already been rejected earlier. However, it was necessary to harmonize Eastern and Western traditions. Ancient wisdom of the past was to live on in the future of humanity, whose salvation was guaranteed by the mystery of Golgotha. In the same way that the young, faith-filled Christianity of Europe had once absorbed science with the wave of Arabism, and natural philosophy had thus developed into natural science, so now the present humanity, which had fallen into materialism and become withered, had to be revived through the permeation of ancient wisdom. This happened through familiarity with Buddhist philosophy and led to the teachings of karma and reincarnation being accepted and understood by many souls. The scientific works of Max Müller, Deussen, and other important philosophers opened up a world of overwhelming spirituality and vivid imagination to Europeans. But the key to understanding these worlds still had to be given to intellectual science. The work of Blavatsky and her disciples was not enough; suitable personalities had to be found to act as mediators. H. P. Blavatsky, due to the special nature of her physical organism, had been a tool that was particularly accessible to influences from spiritual worlds. Her strong willpower made her suitable for carrying out difficult tasks in the service of humanity; her thinking was quick, but her character often degenerated into passion, and when her temperament broke through, there were catastrophes and even changes in direction. One can already say that, as a spiritually permeable instrument, she was fought over by occult forces.
In order to transform the knowledge of the occult worlds into a science of the spirit that could gradually be mastered by human beings through serious study, it was necessary for a person to devote himself to this task who had complete control over his character and temperament, who was able to survey and handle all the knowledge of his time, and who had mastered the individual fields of knowledge to such an extent that enabled him to respond to the objections of the sharpest critics. He had to have an iron yet relaxed physical constitution at his disposal in order to withstand the attacks that were directed against him.
This man was Rudolf Steiner. He spent his youth, one might say, in sociable solitude and incessant study. Barely out of childhood, he earned his living by giving lessons and then as a tutor. From this foundation, his career as a lecturer and writer took shape at an early age. Since spiritual life was natural to him, he consciously set himself the task of raising all the objections that critical materialists raise against spiritual revelations, and of sparing himself nothing that would in the slightest deviate from this line. He called this “crawling into the skin of the dragon.” This difficult struggle seemed to him a duty. For otherwise he would not have granted himself the right to fight the difficult battle for humanity: to achieve the victory of the spirit over abstract intellectuality. Only then could he present the deed of Buddha and the deed of Christ as a harmonious whole; only then would he be able to point the way to salvation through the deed of Christ, once he himself had defeated his inner adversary on his hidden paths. Thus equipped, he appeared as an exponent of the ancient wisdom teaching as it had been revealed to him in the light of the deed of Christ.
The Theosophical Society was alarmed. It saw the profound effect of Dr. Steiner's teachings on souls seeking Christ. It did not want to expose its members to the danger of accepting Dr. Steiner's teachings and thereby becoming unfaithful to the Orientalizing movement. His topics for the Congress of the Federation of European Sections scheduled for Genoa at that time were: Buddhist wisdom and Western esotericism. They had opposed these contents with the Christ Jesus, who, according to their teachings, was now incarnated in the flesh in an Indian boy. Such a glaring difference left no common ground for the kind of scientific debate that should have taken place during the congress in Genoa, and now that Rudolf Steiner's significance had been recognized, it seemed far too dangerous an undertaking. It was better not to tread on this hot ground at all. For reasons that remain unclear, the congress was canceled at the last minute.
And Dr. Steiner, who, like many others, had already left for Italy, could only speak in small circles at branch meetings. It was no longer possible to arrange for stenographers. However, the essentials were recorded by the loving devotion of a few members who wrote down the words, whose hands naturally grew weary towards the end of the speeches, which were delivered in the heat of enthusiasm. We remember here especially on the occasion of the Locarno lecture and the one held in Neuchâtel our dear co-worker Agnes Friedländer, who died of pneumonia in a concentration camp in 1942. She was one of those whose soul had been particularly deeply touched by the impulses of transformation living in the Mystery of Christ.
Dornach 1947
Foreword to The Mission of Christian Rosenkreutz, Its Character and Task, Dornach 1947 (first edition of lectures given on November 18 and 20, 1911, January 27 and 29, 1912, February 8 and 9, 1912, and December 18 and 19, 1912).
The 1909 Congress of the “Federation of European Sections of the Theosophical Society” held in Budapest was followed by a series of lectures by Dr. Steiner on “Theosophy and Occultism of the Rosicrucians.” The Mystery of Golgotha stands in this series as the decisive turning point between the old, already decaying mystery wisdom and the new revelation, which reckons with the thinking powers of the now matured humanity and includes the historical development of the cultures. Theosophy, the wisdom of God, could no longer flow into the hardened organization of humanity as spiritual enlightenment, as it had done in earlier times. The intellect, the newly emerging soul force, was directed toward the sensory world and its manifestations. Theosophy was dismissed with a shrug by scholars; the very word brought a superior smile to the lips of monists. In contrast, Dr. Steiner attempts to illuminate the full significance of this word, to restore its spiritual weight and to show how all later knowledge is rooted in theosophy, how East and West meet in it, how all creeds fit harmoniously into it.
This was still the view of the founders of the Theosophical Society, but they did not understand the uniqueness of Christianity and denied its unique significance. Due to their tendency to attach too much importance to spiritualistic manifestations, they fell into the trap of an Orientalizing movement that wanted to use this instrument for its own purposes, initially under the guise of Neo-Buddhism, now represented by the former Anglican priest Charles Leadbeater. The most brilliant speaker of the time in the political and social sphere, the freethinker Annie Besant, a student of Charles Breadlaugh, had also been so influenced by spiritualist manifestations that, following the advice of William Stead, she sought out Madame Blavatsky in her last years and became her enthusiastic student. Stead's spiritualist circle was quite influential. The Theosophical Society had a dangerous competitor here, one that endangered its purer spiritual foundation.
Dr. Steiner shed light on the connections between this historical development, its goals, and its aberrations, and lifted Theosophy far beyond the narrow confines of the Theosophical Society. This alarmed the national Indian inspirers behind the Adyar Society, and they took action. They pointed to the imminent return of Christ, who would be reincarnated in an Indian boy. A new order, the Star of the East, was founded, which was to use the widespread organization of the Theosophical Society to achieve what had failed in Palestine.
It was in this context that Dr. Steiner's lectures soon after the Budapest Congress took place. The branches that were alarmed by the initial propaganda of the Star of the East asked him to speak out on these matters. This alarmed the organizers of the congress in Genoa. Both the scientific and esoteric disputes with Dr. Steiner seemed too dangerous to the organizers, and under very flimsy pretexts, the congress was canceled at the last minute. Some participants were already on their way, including us. This prompted some branches in Switzerland to ask Dr. Steiner to give lectures. They wanted to try to penetrate with their thinking the significance of the Michaelic impact, which represents the turning point in the historical development of the wisdom of the mysteries. For now, the intellect administered by Michael's hierarchy in the spiritual world had descended into humanity. People had to consciously take it into their will impulses and now work together to shape the future that would one day unite the human ego with the divine ego. Humanity had to be gradually prepared for this future goal, transformed spiritually; it had to “change its mindset.” It was Rudolf Steiner's task to bring this about. The moment had come to embark on the path that would free the spirit from the grip of material forces. The first healthy step on this path is now, for the spiritual student, the study.
Following on from the theme chosen for Genoa, “From Buddha to Christ,” it seemed natural in the lectures now being given to shed light on the spiritual-scientific connections not only between the earlier relationships between Buddha and Christ Jesus, but also between their enduring relationships, as hinted at in the Essene wisdom of the Gospels. This is what gives these reflections their special character, which could not have been emphasized without an explanation of the historical development of the mystery wisdom. The ancient mystery revelation, which had shone in so many cultures, had exhausted itself, and signs of decay and increasing intellectual sterility were evident everywhere. Then, from spiritual heights, the Michaelic influence descended upon the earth to gradually take hold of people's hearts and inflame them. The intellect was permeated by spiritual fire, and the lower human ego was lifted up to its future ideal: union with the divine ego. It was Dr. Steiner's task to awaken understanding for these goals, to establish them from their spiritual origins, and to bring them to life in vivid images.
This naturally had to provoke a counterattack from the opposing forces, who had to drive their wedge into it. The free development of the human being, this gift of Michael, was to be held back and the contradiction in the human mind awakened. Rudolf Steiner vividly portrayed this for us in his Mystery Dramas: the human being between Lucifer and Ahriman, sometimes succumbing to their whisperings, sometimes overcoming them, but like a poison that can always break through again, carrying it forward in the soul. We too will carry this image and its substance forward in our souls.
However, the lectures themselves have not been preserved in their entirety; we have no good transcripts. It seems to us like a counterattack by the opposing forces that there was no reliable stenographer who was confident in his work. Apart from the abridged Kassel lectures, there are only fragments and pieced-together notes. But the essential guidelines have been preserved. An attempt has been made to put them into context. The attempt is not always stylistically convincing, but this makes it all the more necessary to sharpen the mind and encourage study.
The activities emanating from the Star of the East led to the exclusion of the German section from the Theosophical Society, but this was preceded by the founding of an association that also included foreign opponents of the Adyar sectarianism and led to the establishment of the Anthroposophical Society. For a time, it was necessary to ensure that the two societies were not confused, and so Dr. Steiner chose the name Anthroposophy for the movement he initiated, meaning the wisdom of God fulfilled in humanity; they are one when the soul is freed from its dross. And Rudolf Steiner always showed the way to this end.
The new Indian Messiah soon threw off the shackles imposed on him and retired to private life in California. Annie Besant had to give up her dream; she died at an advanced age. It is said that the question of whether the Adyar Society should be dissolved was considered, but that this was not possible because of its extensive material possessions. Jenaradschadasa, my good friend from the time when the Italian section was founded, succeeded her as president. The Theosophical Society in America, which had split off at the time of the Judge conflict and to which Mrs. Blavatsky's niece also belonged, had found an energetic and initiative-rich leader in Mrs. C. Tingley. She had now also died, and it is said that the two societies have united.
The old stories have now faded. Those grotesque fantasies can no longer be associated with the now anthroposophical, formerly theosophical movement; they have collapsed. We can allow ourselves to restore the word “theosophy” to its former glory, as Dr. Steiner did for objective reasons when he wanted to restore the word “theosophy” to its original and full meaning.
In addition to emphasizing the special character of post-Christian spiritual science, the aim of the lectures given in 1911 and 1912 was to highlight the significance of karma as the course of destiny and to allow us to penetrate its intimacies. The overall style of these reflections could only be captured in memories; the transcripts were often too brief to convey the logical connections, and the notes and keywords collected here and there are more like markers. However, the direction of the spiritual impulses given by Dr. Steiner has been preserved and perhaps justifies the attempt at this compilation; through meditative work, deepening our souls, they can continue to work within us.
Dornach 1947