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

GA 250 — 3 June 1906, Paris

27. The Congress of the Federation of European Sections of the Theosophical Society

Report by Rudolf Steiner in “Lucifer - Gnosis” no. 31/1906

In the first days of June [1906] (on the 3rd, 4th and 5th), the third congress of the federated European sections of the Theosophical Society took place in Paris. Around 450 members from various European countries were present. The welcoming speeches that the representatives of the various nations gave in their own languages at the first official meeting therefore expressed a common human interest in the most diverse forms. One could hear this interest expressed in English, French, Swedish, Italian, Dutch, German, Russian, Spanish, Czech; one could hear it expressed by a Hindu and a Parsee. There were over twenty German members present.

The President-Founder of the Theosophical Society, H. $. Olcott, presided over the meeting. The preparatory work had been done by the members of the French section in a devoted and sacrificial manner. It is, of course, impossible to list all those esteemed members of the Society who have earned recognition on this occasion. Those who have even a slight idea of how much work is involved in such an undertaking can appreciate what those members who are at the venue of the meeting at such a time have to accomplish. In particular, however, we would like to mention the ladies Aimee Blech and Zelma Blech, the gentlemen Commandant Courmes, Charles Blech, P. E. Bernard, M. Bailly, Jules Siegfried fils, A. Ostermann and, above all, the Secretary General of the French Section, Dr. Th. Pascal.

Thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of our French friends, the Society has a beautifully furnished French headquarters at 59 Avenue de la Bourdonnais in Paris, which is ideal for lectures and visits. It not only has a spacious and friendly lecture hall, but also good rooms for work, a library and a book depository for Theosophical works in French. There is a lot of work going on at these headquarters. The Secretary General receives visitors there on the first and third Sunday of the month from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Public lectures are held on the first Sunday of the month (4 p.m.) and every Thursday at 8% p.m. A meeting for members takes place every third Sunday of the month at 4 p.m. In addition, a course is held on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in French and one on Monday at 4 p.m. in English.

During the congress, these rooms also housed the “Exhibition of Arts and Crafts”, which was opened by President H. S. Olcott on Saturday, June 4 (4 p.m.). Our French friends put a lot of effort into tastefully assembling works of art and art objects that testify to the endeavor to also depict the Theosophical interest in pictures.

The actual meetings of the congress took place in the magnificent hall of the Washington Palace (14 Rue Magellan). The first official session opened at 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 3 [1906]. M. Ed. Bailly had written and composed an opening chorus for the occasion: “Ode to the Sun”. This provided a beautiful, atmospheric introduction. This was followed by a warm welcome from the Secretary General of the French Section, Dr. Th. Pascal. The next item was a longer address by the President-Founder H. S. Olcott. It was possible to see from it how the Society is growing all the time (it has now spread its branches to forty-four different countries around the world). In particular, the gratifying growth of the movement in France was emphasized, considering its current state compared to its modest beginnings in 1884, when he, the President, and H. P. Blavatsky first endeavored to stimulate interest in Theosophy from Paris. Olcott presented the nature of the Theosophical work in its most important aspects to the assembled members. He characterized the importance of the headquarters in Adyar, the library there with its treasures of old manuscripts and a rich collection of books containing invaluable material for the study of occultism, the various religions, and so on. In his speech, Olcott was particularly concerned to emphasize the universal human character of the Society. It wanted to keep away from anything that could somehow give rise to disharmony between people. Nothing should be included in its endeavors that had to do with the one-sided, special interests of gender, race, class, creed, and so on. Society as a whole should stand above the achievements, reputation, etc. of individual leaders and teachers of the same. One should not put individuals on a pedestal and expect absolute perfection from them, and one should not be immediately disappointed when one finds faults in those from whom one would not expect them. One should behave in such a way towards particular questions, directions and views that one never loses sight of the broad basis of society. Esoteric, Masonic and so on currents are none of the Society's business. It can only deal with the overarching goal of leading to human brotherhood and must not identify with the aforementioned currents.¹

The President read his address in English. It was repeated in French by Mr. Jules Siegfried fils. After this “presidential address”, the representatives of the individual regions were welcomed in the corresponding languages, as already described above.

This year, the permanent secretary of the Federation, Johan van Manen, was once again in charge of the business of the congress. It must be said that J. van Manen deserves the special thanks of the society for his dedicated work. He has to conduct extensive correspondence with all section leaders and many individual members many months before the annual meeting. He has to take care of the difficult arrangements. And J. van Manen has now taken on this task for the third time in his pleasant and personable way.

On the afternoon of June 3, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., the first of the general debates took place. Two questions were debated:

1. “To what extent is the Theosophical Society only a group of people seeking the truth; to what extent does it unite learners or those who propagate or adhere to a particular direction of spiritual science?”

2. “If the Theosophical Society has no dogmas, it does recognize authorities, and rightly so. Is the relative value of these authorities merely a matter of individual acceptance? What qualities or abilities should such authorities possess?”

A wide variety of views were expressed in the debate, from the strict rejection of all authority to the emphasis on the necessity of such. At present, it seems, as was noted in the debate, there is a strong tendency towards the view that it is dangerous to rely too much on authorities. But those who recognize that the necessary authority should not be disregarded also spoke up, which arises wherever those who have already progressed in some knowledge are to have an effect on those who have yet to learn in one way or another. The participation in the debate was very lively; the third question envisaged could no longer be tackled. According to the program, it should read: “Should the moral character of a person influence his admission to the Theosophical Society? Can persons whose morality does not coincide with prevailing social views be within the Theosophical Society? Can there be any general rules in this direction?” - Bertram Keightley chaired this debate in his sympathetic and judicious manner.

That same evening, two lectures were held. The first was given by Mr. G. R. S. Mead, the scholar of Gnosticism. He spoke about “The Religion of the Mind”. He started from his studies of the Theosophical-Gnostic views of life at the time of the origin of Christianity, which spanned many years of his busy life. He explained the essence of the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus and his followers. Through these teachings, a wisdom was to be found that, in perfect harmony of head and heart, would lead the soul of man to its union with the “higher divine self.” A religion based on science, leading to the highest levels of experience, was outlined as that of certain ancestors and contemporaries of the emerging Christianity. A French translation of this speech, delivered in English, was distributed among the audience. The second lecture was given in French by M. Bernard on “Problems of the Present Moment.” He spoke about the current tasks at hand in society, the attitudes required of its members, and the best way to achieve the goals of the Theosophical Society.

On Monday, June 4, lectures were given by members in two sections in the morning hours. One of the sections, which had to deal with religion, mysticism, mythology, and folklore, was chaired by Dr. Koopmans, a member of the Dutch section. The second section was concerned with philosophy; its chairman was Dr. Steiner, and later, when he had to speak in the first section, Miss M. von Sivers. Mr. Becker from London served as secretary for the first section, and Mr. Max Gysi from London for the second. In the first section, Mrs. Sharpe first read an essay by Edward E. Long entitled “Insight into Islam”. The aim was to present the moral foundations and beauties and the sublime teachings of this religion, which are so often misunderstood. It was shown in what particular way the followers of this religion strive for “union with God” in order to achieve inner harmony and peace of mind. The original nobility of this religion and its later decline into idolatry and superstition were presented, but also the more recent efforts around this belief, and the theosophical points of view that can be found in it. - Georg Doe then spoke about “Some research results in folklore, especially with regard to Devonshire”. - This lecture was followed by one by a member of the Italian section, Mrs. von Ulrich, on “The old Slavic religions”. The lecturer spoke about the simple lines of Lithuanian and Latvian religious forms, within which a kind of worship of the forces of nature prevails. There are no priests or temples; every head of the household is a priest. She went on to say that the Russians started out with similar religions, but later adopted Germanic gods and gave them Slavic names. Then it was shown how the transition from this form of religion to Christianity took place. There was also talk of the part of the Russians who occupied the north of the Germanic territories and changed their faith in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, of their richly endowed temples and images of the gods. The conclusion in this section was a lecture by Dr. Rudolf Steiner on “Theosophy in Germany a Hundred Years Ago”. The lecturer explained that in the spiritual movement in Germany at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century, which is associated with the names Schiller, Goethe, Fichte, Schelling, Novalis, Hegel and so on, there is a significant undercurrent whose origins are to be found in esoteric, occult brotherhoods. Such occult fraternizations have existed in German-speaking areas since the fourteenth century. Personalities such as Paracelsus and Jakob Böhme were not members of such societies; however, what they taught emanated from them in a certain way. In particular, the speaker showed how Schiller can only be fully understood if the mysterious foundations of his thinking and writing are revealed. Knowledge of German occultism contains not only the key to his youthful essay “Theosophy of Julius,” but also to his later work. Then the occult basis was uncovered in the philosophy of J. G. Fichte. Finally, the speaker pointed to the intimate esotericism of Novalis, to the actual psychological studies of Ennemoser, [Eckartshausen], Justinus Kerner, but especially to a no longer known theosophist who only called his theosophy “biosophy”, namely Troxler, who gave the most beautiful discussions about the “astral body”, for example. The speaker concluded by discussing why the idea of reincarnation had to be absent from this “German theosophy” and what relationship this idea has to that world view. Miss Kamensky from St. Petersburg then gave a summary of this lecture in French.

In the second section, which was dedicated to philosophy, Herbert Whyte spoke first about “Agvaghosha's Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana”. He explained that the essence of Mahayana is the same as that of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, and he showed the similarities between Agvaghosha's teachings and Annie Besant's explanations of the expansion of self-awareness in “Studies in Consciousness.” True enlightenment cannot be attained through anything external, but only through the inner life of the mind. The spirit is the source from which the higher life must flow. And it must be supported by the following forces: compassion, patience, concentration, energy, inner harmony and calm. - Then Mr. Xifré read an excerpt from a longer work by Rafael Urbano, which dealt with Spanish mysticism and explained it with examples such as St. Teresa, St. John of the Cross and so on. Then an essay was excerpted that the study group “Yoga” in Algiers had worked on “Devotion and Wisdom.” It is shown in it how for much that the still ignorant man undertakes, the “masters” on the higher planes are the leaders. Then, as the person develops, he enters into a relationship with these masters. This union with them leads to wisdom and to “yoga”. - Mr. Wallace then spoke about “diagrams and symbols”. He distinguishes between static symbols, which contain nothing essential of what they represent, and dynamic symbols, which in their whole structure reflect the essence of the laws of nature. He expressed the demand that true symbolism must be taken from the essence of things. After this lecture, Louis Desaint spoke about “Bergson's Philosophy in Relation to Ancient Indian Philosophy”. According to this philosophy, the spirit is understood as an entity independent of matter. Maurice Largeris gave an excerpt from his work “The Alleged Pessimism of the Indians and the Moral Theory of Happiness”. He showed how inaccurate the widespread views of this pessimism are. They find their correction in the idea of that “freedom” that is attained through union with the “own divine self”. Finally, in a lecture entitled “An Attempt at a Way of Life”, Eugene Levy presented a series of rules that can be applied in the daily life of those who aspire to higher spiritual development.

On the afternoon of June 4, 1906, the second general debate took place under the chairmanship of Commandant D. A. Courmes, who led it in a tasteful and judicious manner. The following questions were discussed:

1. Is propaganda an essential goal of the Theosophical Society?

2. How is it that despite the long existence of the Theosophical Society and despite the propaganda it has conducted, the number of members today is still relatively small (13,000 in 1905)? Can it be said that the Theosophical Society lacks a method or a system? If it did, would that be regrettable? If it did, how could it be remedied?

Many members also took part in this debate, which again lasted from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., and again the most diverse views came to light. There was discussion about the usefulness of propaganda, as well as about the best way to do it. There were also warnings that some clumsiness happens when individual overzealous members do the propaganda work. It was said that it was above all a certain way of thinking and feeling that made a Theosophist, but less the acceptance of certain dogmas and teachings.

Another question that was discussed was: “Should the Theosophical Society or its parts (sections, branches, etc.) officially bring everything related to the course of the movement to the attention of the members?” Regarding this question, it was agreed that the president would send a detailed annual report on the events to the sections, which would then be passed on to the members. There was little time left for the fourth question: “Are measures for material assistance among members necessary?”

In the evening of the same day, an interesting concert took place, in which the French members participated in an appreciable way: Mme Revel, M. Gaston Revel and M. Louis Revel, Mme Pauline Smith, Mme Andre-Gedalge, Mme Lasneret, Mile Roberty, Mme Strohl and Mme Alice-Heres, Mlle Jeanne Bussiere, M. Rene Billa and M. Henry Farre.

On Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock, the individual members' lectures began again. The following sections were active: 1. proposals, discussions, criticisms, requests, resolutions and so on; 2. art; 3. history of the Theosophical Society and the Theosophical movement; 4. science and border areas in the various directions; 5. brotherhood; 6. administration, propaganda, working methods and so on.

In the first section, the possibility and usefulness of a unified world language, “Esperanto”, was discussed. In the second section, Ed. Bailly gave a presentation on ancient Egyptian music, accompanied by singing samples. It was an “invocation of the planetary spirits”; the relationship of the seven vowels to the planetary spirits was discussed. Madame Andre-Gedalge also developed a mystical interpretation of Mozart's “Magic Flute”. She explained how Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn, through their initiation into the “Scottish Rite” of Freemasonry, were able to give their musical works an occult foundation. In the third section, P. C. [Taraporewalla] spoke about the Theosophical movement in India and its significance for religious life in that country. In the fourth section, Dr. Th. Pascal gave a lecture on: “Le mécanisme du rêve cérébral”. It is hardly possible to reproduce the subtle arguments of the French theosophical researcher, who is trying to gain a truly scientific basis for certain theosophical views. —After that, F. Bligh Bond gave a discussion of “Rhythmic Energies and Form Design with Illustrations”. By combining pendulums that swing in different directions and at different speeds and which fix the movement on a sheet of paper with an attached pen, very complicated oscillation patterns are created. This can give an idea of the forces at work in matter. Miss Ward then spoke of how it would be desirable to find suitable people in a wide variety of places who would collect everything that recent scientific and other research could produce as evidence for the theories contained in H. P. Blavatsky's “Secret Doctrine”. Science has found many new things since the book was published. If one were to collect it and compare it with the “Secret Doctrine” in an appropriate way, one would first see what a treasure of wisdom humanity has received in the said work. Monsieur le Commandant D. A. Courmes spoke in the fifth section on “Material Assistance within the Theosophical Movement”. In the sixth section, Ré Levie gave a discussion on the systematic study of Kabbalah using the Theosophical key.

In the afternoon, the closing session of the congress took place. Unfortunately, President Olcott was unable to attend this session due to feeling unwell. First, it was announced that a telegram of welcome should be sent to Mrs. Besant and that next year's congress should take place in Germany.

Then the general secretaries of the various countries spoke on behalf of their sections: Dr. Th. Pascal for the French section, Arvid Knös for the Scandinavian section, Miss Kate Spink for the British section, W. B. Fricke for the Dutch section, Professor Dr. O. Penzig for the Italian section and Dr. Rudolf Steiner for the German section. The secretary of the Federation, Johan van Manen, gave business announcements. The conference was closed in a moving way by a 'final chorus', composed by Rita Strohl.

In particular, it should also be emphasized that during the debates, Mr. P. E. Bernhard, Mr. Johan van Manen and Mr. Xifré took the trouble to translate the statements made in different languages into French.

On Wednesday, there was an excursion to Meudon, by boat on the Seine. The gracious way in which our French friends took care of the foreign visitors on this afternoon was a wonderful way to end the entire congress.