The History of the German Section of the Theosophical Society 1902-1913

GA 250 — 5 November 1904, Berlin

17. Report of the General Assembly of the German Section

Report by Richard Bresch in “Vâhan”, Volume VI, No. 5, November 1904

After the board meeting on Saturday at three o'clock, the actual general assembly was scheduled for Sunday morning at ten o'clock. All thirteen lodges were represented: Berlin with five votes, Leipzig with three, all the other lodges with two votes each, making a total of thirty votes. Düsseldorf, Hannover, Lugano and Nuremberg were not represented directly but by proxy, and Nuremberg, Dresden and Munich were represented for the first time as new lodges.

The General Secretary, Dr. Rudolf Steiner, welcomed those present and emphasized that we Germans are an advanced post for Central Europe for the spread of the great spiritual wave that poured over the Occident through the Theosophical movement in 1875. He then looked back over the past year and emphasized Mrs. Besant's visit as the most important event for the German Section, and he was convinced that it had a favorable influence. Dr. Steiner then spoke about his lecture at the Dresden Congress. As a Theosophist, he was not accountable for what had prompted him to do so, but as General Secretary he wanted to say a few words about it. He regarded the fact that the so-called Secessionist movement had adopted our title “Theosophical Society” as a mistake, regardless of whether it was moral or intellectual. Our relationship to others should therefore be understood to mean that we must help them. He would have given the lecture that was requested of him anywhere, regardless of what the society calls itself. Whether one should actively participate in the organizations is another question! He (Dr. Steiner) personally considers this a mistake, and that is why he did not participate in anything during the entire congress, even though he was in Dresden the whole time. Regarding voting, which had been a dubious point up to now, it was decided that the lodges should be free to decide whether they wanted to cast their votes in one hand or have them cast by several delegates. To avoid complications, all correspondence (including payments) intended for the German Section should be addressed to Miss Marie von Sivers, Berlin W., Motzstraße 17.

Dr. Noll (Kassel) was replaced on the board by Miss Stinde (Munich) and Mr. Oppel (Stuttgart) by Mr. Arenson (Cannstatt); Mrs. von Holten was replaced as treasurer by Mr. Seiler (Charlottenburg). Mr. Krojanker replaced Mr. Seiler as auditor.

As for the treasury, at the end of the financial year, the income amounted to 1795 marks, the expenditure to 795.04 marks. Of this, 427.51 marks were paid to the headquarters in Adyar, and the remaining expenses were distributed among the printing of the statutes, invitations to the congress, postage, and the German Section's contribution to the Amsterdam European Congress, so that the cash balance is currently 999.96 marks.

The number of members has increased from 130 on October 1, 1903 to 251, an increase of 121 members. 7 members have resigned or died.

Various reports have been provided about the activities of the representatives of the foreign branches. In particular, Lugano has expressed its thanks in writing and Dr. Steiner has expressed his thanks verbally through his representative in Stuttgart for their work over the past year.

Inspired by the editorial footnote on page 86 of the October “Vâhan”, Mr. Ffelix] L[öhnis] (for Dresden) had submitted two proposals. The first read, not in words but in spirit, as follows: The General Assembly should decide whether it considers it consistent with the spirit of the constitution and the decisions of the General Council and President of the Theosophical Society to allow Adyar members to participate in the convening of a general Theosophical Congress.

During the discussion of this proposal, however, the fear was expressed that the sharp tone sometimes adopted towards the secession at the “Vâhan” might do more harm than good, but in fact the view expressed in the footnote was generally agreed upon, with the exception of the proposer, as it also corresponded to the guideline set out by Dr. Steiner. Experience has shown that such congresses tend to form a new organization. Therefore, the co-convocation of such congresses by Adyar members cannot be approved, and such action can no longer be regarded as a mere private matter for members. Consequently, the following motion was adopted:

“The General Assembly of the German Section of the Theosophical Society of October 30, 1904, resolves not to participate in any undertaking originating from other so-called Theosophical Societies and considers it the duty of each individual branch to act in the same way. Any participation can only be a private one of the individual members.”

The second motion by Mr. Ffelix] L[öhnis] was to collect all the general resolutions and executive decrees scattered in “Theosophist” and (in German) in “Vâhan” and to attach them to the statutes, so that no one who, when joining the society, was only presented with the constitution and statutes, could not be ambushed by such a resolution, as happened to the applicant with the footnote in question, and also so that the police, to whom the constitution and statutes are to be submitted when a lodge is founded, are provided with everything and treated fairly. This motion was unanimously approved and adopted as a resolution. The only surprising thing is that it has not long since been recognized as a need throughout the entire society.

Now that this footnote has provided clarity in an important matter, thus protecting the members from missteps and also providing a truly not inconsiderable, lasting benefit, those readers who were offended by it will probably be reconciled to it. However, why all this could not be achieved without “taking refuge in the public sphere” must remain undiscussed here.

A proposal was made from Munich to move the headquarters to Munich because of the favorable prospects for theosophy there, but the general assembly merely took note of this proposal. Mr. B. Hubo then suggested calling for voluntary contributions to provide the society with a better financial foundation. After a short debate, it was decided that the board should be instructed to call for such contributions. At half past two, all the items on the agenda had been completed.

On the evening of October 30th, from half past four o'clock, lectures and discussions took place. First, our Mr. Bresch spoke on the topic: “Should we teach theosophy to young people?” Then Dr. Steiner spoke on “The Nature of Clairvoyance”. A report on the latter lecture can be found in this issue, and we will include the former in the next issue or two.