Constitution of the School of Spiritual Science

Constitution of the School of Spiritual Science
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
Total Pages: 86
Release: 2013
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 185584382X

"If the intentions of the Christmas Conference are to be carried out, the Anthroposophical Society will in future have to fulfill, insofar as possible, the esoteric aspirations of its members. With this end in view, the School, consisting of three Classes, will be established within the General Society." --Rudolf Steiner, January 1924 A year after the first Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, was destroyed by fire, Rudolf Steiner reestablished the Anthroposophical Society during the Christmas Conference of 1923-24. At the very heart of the Society, he created "The School of Spiritual Science," whose specific task is to present the "esoteric aspect" and to lead its members to knowledge and experience of the spirit. The school was to have "sections" that represent various fields of human endeavor, including medicine and education, as well as three "classes," of which the First Class was to be established immediately by Rudolf Steiner himself. This short book collects articles (from the society's official newsletter) and lectures by Steiner in 1924 that introduce and explain the purpose of The School of Spiritual Science for members of the Anthroposophical Society. This book is an excellent companion volume to The Foundation Stone/The Life, Nature and Cultivation of Anthroposophy.

CONSCIOUS SOCIETY

CONSCIOUS SOCIETY
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2018-04-24
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1855845431

Delivered in the context of post-war cultural and social chaos, these lectures form part of Rudolf Steiner’s energetic efforts to cultivate social understanding and renew culture through his innovative ideas based on ‘threefolding’. Steiner develops a subtle and discerning perception of how social dynamics could change and heal if they were founded on real insight into our threefold nature as individuals, social beings and economic participants in the world. He doesn’t offer a programmatic agenda for change, but a real foundation from which change can organically grow. Social forms and reforms, says Steiner, are ‘created together’, not imposed by lone geniuses. Nevertheless, the detail of some of the thoughts and ideas he presents here as a possible model – down to the economic specifics of commodity, labour, taxation, ground rent and capitalism itself – are staggering in their clarity and originality. This is no mystic effusion but a heartfelt plea, backed by profound insights, to change our thinking and the world we live in. As he points out, thoughts create reality, and so it is vital how and what we think. Among the many contemporary and highly-relevant topics Steiner discusses here are: the nature of money and capital; taxation and the state; free enterprise and initiative; capitalism and Marxism; the relationship between employer and employee; ‘added value’ theory and the concept of commodity; and ‘class consciousness’, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.

Rudolf Steiner's Intentions for the Anthroposophical Society

Rudolf Steiner's Intentions for the Anthroposophical Society
Author: Peter Selg
Publisher: SteinerBooks
Total Pages: 98
Release: 2011-08
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0880108266

Although the fruits of Anthroposophy --Waldorf education, biodynamic agriculture, Camphill, anthroposophic medicine, and so on --are relatively well known and moderately successful, their relationship to Anthroposophy and its vehicle for transmission, the General Anthroposophical Society, and the School for Spiritual Science, remains mysterious and unclear; sadly, the same is true of the meaning and purpose of those institutions. Related to this is the fact that, though these offshoots of Anthroposophy are well known, eighty-five years after his death and eighty-seven years after the re-formation of the Anthroposophical Society, what Rudolf Steiner brought into the world, what entered the world through him and what he sought to accomplish --that is, what spiritual science and spiritual-scientific research are and how one practices them --remain virtually unknown. In other words, something essential has been forgotten. Written both in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Rudolf Steiner's birth and in the context of the long-standing, episodically erupting, and ongoing confusion surrounding the mission and task of the Anthroposophical Society, Peter Selg seeks to recover what has perhaps been forgotten or overlooked in Rudolf Steiner's own words and life. He does so by describing, clearly and objectively, the historical background of Steiner's vision of the "civilizational task" of Anthroposophy and how he had hoped it might be accomplished. This book has two parts. First, the author offers a lucid description of the development and gradual sharpening --in the face of the crisis of Western culture epitomized by World War I and its aftermath --of the vision of spiritual science as a truly Michaelic task for the Michael Age. In part two, Peter Selg takes up the events following Rudolf Steiner's death, outlining deftly and subtly the struggles and developments that ensued, commenting tactfully on the questions and perspectives that arose and continue to arise. Rudolf Steiner's Intentions for the Anthroposophical Society is for all those who care about the reality and future of Anthroposophy. Originally published in German as Der Vorstand, die Sektionen und die Gesellschaft. Welche Hochschule wollte Rudolf Steiner? by Ita Wegman Institute for Basic Research into Anthroposophy.

The School of Spiritual Science

The School of Spiritual Science
Author: C. Kaliks et al.
Publisher: Temple Lodge Publishing
Total Pages: 120
Release: 2024-04-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1915776163

In a thoroughly revised and updated second edition, this important volume describes the character, intentions and working methods of the pioneering School of Spiritual Science, as established by Rudolf Steiner within the framework of the re-founded Anthroposophical Society in 1924. It explains the School’s prerequisites for membership and examines the role of the First Class and its representatives’ responsibilities. The main body of the book features descriptions of the sections within the School of Spiritual Science, contributed by individuals responsible for leadership of those sections. They indicate how the School connects with daily work in various aspects of life – including medicine, agriculture, education, science and the arts – and how they relate to contemporary society. Also included are significant articles and lectures by Rudolf Steiner regarding his original intentions for the School, and practical information on the process of becoming a member. In keeping with the transparency that he called for, The School of Spiritual Science is available to anyone who wants to explore the work of this invaluable cultural institution.

The School of Spiritual Science

The School of Spiritual Science
Author: Johannes Kühl
Publisher: Temple Lodge Publishing
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2010
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1906999163

In 1924, Rudolf Steiner established the School of Spiritual Science within the framework of the newly reestablished Anthroposophical Society. This book represents a beginning attempt at describing the nature, intent, and methods of this pioneering school and its place in modern culture. It describes the school's three prerequisites for membership and studies its connection with the Anthroposophical Society and the anthroposophic movement. It also examines the role of its "First Class" in relation to Rudolf Steiner's original intentions and the responsibilities of its representatives. The bulk of the book involves descriptions of the various sections in the School of Spiritual Science, contributed by those who are currently their leaders. These descriptions indicate how the school connects with daily work in various areas of life, in keeping with an esotericism based on the idea that "life and its depths can be confronted in the most energetic way." Also featured is practical information, including a description of the process for becoming a member and an appendix containing significant statements by Rudolf Steiner. In keeping with the transparency that Steiner requested from the outset, this book is suitable for anyone interested in the School of Spiritual Science.

Approaches to Anthroposophy

Approaches to Anthroposophy
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
Total Pages: 80
Release: 1992
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781855841512

These lectures provide an excellent introduction to some of the leading themes of anthroposophy. Steiner carefully corrects certain misunderstandings that had arisen regarding his spiritual-scientific research and demonstrates how anthroposophy has nothing whatever to do with mysticism or spiritualism; nor is it simply a revival of ancient esoteric teachings. Rather, it is a genuinely modern spiritual teaching for Western humanity that builds upon the achievements of science and develops its exact methodology further into the investigation of spiritual realities through the awakening of higher organs of perception.

Rudolf Steiner, Life and Work

Rudolf Steiner, Life and Work
Author: Peter Selg
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner, Life and Work
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781621482338

"All this must be accepted as destiny [karma]. It would be sentimental to enlarge on how much it pains me to be separated physically from the Goetheanum and its activities. I hope only that all this will not inhibit but temper and enhance our dear friends' forces." --Rudolf Steiner, Dec. 24, 1924 In the final volume of his comprehensive biography of Rudolf Steiner, Peter Selg describes Steiner's last months on Earth. Although his health was beginning to decline, 1924 might have been his most productive and fruitful year. It saw a new beginning for the Anthroposophical Society and the beginning of the Esoteric School and the School for Spiritual Science. The year began with the "Christmas Conference," during which the Anthroposophical Society was reborn). That year also witnessed Rudolf Steiner's "Karmic Relationships" lectures, as well as the serialized "Leading Thoughts," summarizing Anthroposophy in a series of aphoristic guidelines for meditation, supplemented by essays on the Michaelic nature of Anthroposophy. Also serialized in the Goetheanum newsletter were autobiographical chapters in Rudolf Steiner's life up to 1907. He also defined his important spiritual relationships with Ita Wegman, Marie Steiner, and Lili Kolisko, as well as their significant connection to the Society and his spiritual legacy. New initiatives were also planted in the world during that time, including anthroposophically extended medicine and biodynamic agriculture. From his sickbed in the Goetheanum carpentry shop, Steiner also formed plans and a model for the new Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. Also included in this volume is a lecture by Rudolf Steiner on June 4, 1924, "The Festival of Pentecost." Rudolf Steiner, Life and Work, Seven Volumes Vol. 1. (1861-1890): Childhood, Youth, and Study Years (ISBN: 9781621480822 Pbk - ISBN: 9781621480839 Hbk) Vol. 2. (1890-1900): Weimar and Berlin (ISBN: 9781621480853 Pbk - ISBN: 9781621480860 Hbk) Vol. 3. (1900-1914): Spiritual Science and Spiritual Community (ISBN: 9781621480884 Pbk - ISBN: 9781621480891 Hbk) Vol. 4. (1914-1918): The Years of World War I (ISBN: 9781621481577 Pbk - ISBN: 9781621481584 Hbk) Vol. 5. (1919-1922): Social Threefolding and the Waldorf School (ISBN: 9781621481935 Pbk - ISBN: 9781621481942 Hbk) Vol. 6. (1923): The Burning of the Goetheanum (ISBN: 9781621482192 Pbk - ISBN: 9781621482208 Hbk) Vol. 7. (1924-1925): The Anthroposophical Society and the School for Spiritual Science (ISBN: 9781621482321 Pbk - ISBN: 9781621482338 Hbk)

Esoteric Lessons for the First Class of the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum

Esoteric Lessons for the First Class of the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum
Author: Rudolf Steiner
Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
Total Pages: 1733
Release: 2020-11-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1855845822

During the refounding of the Anthroposophical Society as the General Anthroposophical Society at Christmas 1923/24, Rudolf Steiner also reconstituted, as the School of Spiritual Science, the Esoteric School he had led in three classes from 1904 to 1914, at the same time extending its scope by adding artistic and scientific Sections. However, owing to his illness and later death in March 1925, he was only able to make a beginning by establishing the First Class and the Sections. The actual step from the Esoteric School to the School of Spiritual Science was nevertheless an exceptional one. The Esoteric School from Helena Blavatsky’s time had been secret. Its existence was known only to those personally invited to participate. In contrast, the existence of the School of Spiritual Science was stated openly in the public statutes of the General Anthroposophical Society. From the Christmas Conference onwards, Rudolf Steiner worked within this publicly acknowledged framework. The Class Lessons comprise a complete spiritual course of nineteen fundamental lessons given between February and August 1924, several lessons given at other locations, and seven further lessons from September 1924 which take up the themes of the first part of the nineteen lessons in a modified form. This authentic, accurate and high-quality bilingual edition – with English and German texts printed side by side – is published in conjunction with the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum. A compact four-volume clothbound set, it features plates with Rudolf Steiner’s handwritten notes of the mantras and reproductions of his original colour blackboard drawings. The translations of the mantric verses have been reworked by a committed group of translators, linguists and editors, expressing subtleties of meaning, grammatical accuracy and poetic style whilst retaining the original sound and metre of the German mantric forms. Three versions of the existing English translations are also included.

A History of the School of Spiritual Science

A History of the School of Spiritual Science
Author: Johannes Kiersch
Publisher: Temple Lodge Publishing
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2006
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 9781902636801

The School of Spiritual Science and its individual sections was initiated by Rudolf Steiner at the Christmas Conference (1923-1924). His intention, in his own words, was to present "the esoteric aspect." It was to have three classes, though only the First Class was instituted before Steiner's death in 1925. Recently, the written records on which the teaching of the First Class is based have been published in both German and English, which has given rise to a number of questions. Consequently, the council of the General Anthroposophical Society in Dornach, Switzerland, commissioned Johannes Kiersch to write a history of this unique organization. The result is an overview of the First Class and its development, from the early esotericism developed by Rudolf Steiner while still connected with the Theosophical Society, to the period following World War II. The author provides individual commentaries on the first "mediators" of the school, including Lili Kolisko, Harry Collison, and Count Polzer-Hoditz. The book also presents some thirty-seven original documents in an extensive appendix, which features personal notes, letters, and speeches connected with the Esoteric School. A History of the School of Spiritual Science presents a balanced history of the birth and development of the First Class and its struggles through the controversial splits and conflicts that followed Steiner's death. As Kiersch states, "The aim has been, above all, to come as close as possible to the sources and offer historical material for individuals to form their own opinion."