"Anthroposophists are those who experience, as an essential need of life,
certain questions on the nature of the human being and the universe,
just as one experiences hunger and thirst."

cont.
Rudolf Steiner surveyed the spiritual realities at work within the realms of nature and throughout the universe. He explored the inner nature of the human soul and spirit and their potential for further development; he developed new methods of meditation; he investigated the experiences of human souls before birth and after death; he looked back into the spiritual history and evolution of humanity and Earth; he made detailed studies of reincarnation and karma. After several years, Rudolf Steiner became increasingly active in the arts. It is significant that he saw the arts as crucial for translating spiritual science into social and cultural innovation. Today we have seen what happens when natural science bypasses the human heart and translates knowledge into technology without grace, beauty, or compassion.

In 1913 the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland was begun. This extraordinary wooden building gradually took shape during the first World War. An international group of volunteers collaborated with local builders and artisans to shape the unique carved forms and structures designed by Steiner. It was not Steiner’s intention, however, to build an impressive monument; he thought of architecture as the servant of human life and designed the Goetheanum to support the work of anthroposophy -- especially drama and eurythmy. An arsonist caused the Goetheanum to burn to the ground on New Year’s Eve, 1922. Rudolf Steiner designed a second building (pictured), which was completed after his death. It is now the center for the Anthroposophical Society and its School of Spiritual Science.

Rudolf Steiner began to work toward social renewal. After the end of World War I, Europe was in ruins and people were ready for new social forms. Although attempts to realize Steiner's ideal of a "threefold social order" as a political and social alternative was unsuccessful, its conceptual basis is even more relevant today. Steiner's social thinking can be understood only within the context of his view of history. He saw history, in contrast to Marx, as shaped essentially by changes in human consciousness, in which higher spiritual beings actively participate.

We can expect to build a healthy social order only on the basis of penetrating insight into the material, soul, and spiritual needs of human beings. Such needs are characterized by a powerful tension between the search for community and the experience of the human I, or true individuality. Community, in the sense of material interdependence, is the essence of our world economy. Like independent thinking and free speech, the human I is also essential to every creative endeavor and innovation, and crucial to the realization of human spirit in the arts and sciences. Without spiritual freedom, culture withers and dies.

The health of this polarity, however, depends on the full recognition of a third human need and function -- the social relationships that concern our sense of human rights. Here again, Steiner emphasized the need to develop a distinct realm of social organization to support this sphere, inspired by a concern for equality, which awakens when we recognize the fundamental spiritual nature of every human being. This is the meaning and source our right to freedom of spirit and to material sustenance.

These insights are the basis of Steiner’s responses to the needs of today, which have inspired renewal in many areas. Doctors, therapists, farmers, businesspeople, academics, scientists, theologians, pastors, and teachers all approached him for ways to bring new life to their endeavors. Steiner's decision to speak directly from his own spiritual research did not reflect any desire to become a spiritual teacher, feed curiosity, or to revive some ancient wisdom. It arose from his perception of what is needed for our time.

...read more about Steiner and Anthroposophy

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