TheMissing Michaelic Millions loel Kobran

The PrOblem unite with the other participantsof the spiritual Schol in orderto daselopa liaing spiitual- In recent years,a number of Anthroposophists hav Yichael written or spokenabout the so-calledMiihaeiic millions," iQ within a creatiuecontext' often numbered at six or sevenmillion, claiming thai Therelevantchapterof Ben-Aharon'sbookisnum- four, "The Rebirth of ," in which he although all or most of them are incarnated in ouitime, Tt the ovJrwhelming majority have not found *r"ii*uy to statesthat "the Michael school on the Earth is divided Anthroposophy ind io joining the Anthroposoph'ical int9.1*"groups,betweenwhichasyetnoconsciousand Society.They are also referred to as MichJelic'so,rls, fruitf.ulconnectionexists,"rbuthedoesnotdaimthatthe in kinds of Michaelites, the Michael(ic) stream,and the uictraet(icj "much larger SouP . . . exPressesitself all movement.* we are further told that thosewho identifv organizations in what is now called the civil society newsletter themselvesasAnthroposophistsareobligedtoruchoit movement'" No doubt the authors of the have in an attempt to find tlie others and to unile with them in article may have heard Ben-Aharon speakof this or their realmi of activity. readitinanarticleof hiselsewhere,butthisisyetanother ideas Whenever my co-editor and I questioned those we typical exampleof the carelessway such are being in could who have referred to thesenumbered miliions. not presented.This particular idea is certainly circulation to rruch that is being put one could tell us where this idea can be found in the and has a direct relation has works of . And ye! due to tie apparen, forward by 'with whom Ben-Aharon finds following lack of scrupulosity of most of [hosewho bring tiris idea often collaborated'For example,one the '"Working for forward, ^uny u." led to believe it comesai.&tly f.r- in the origrnal, undated version of Group and Steiner's lectures,even as it continues to sprJ'*ithir, Global Threefolding," co-authored by Ben-Aharon "The with the Society membership and beyond. ft is r"pporea Perlas: primary task of the Working Group anthropo- knowledgL is being ,rsedin ar, obvious attempt tf influ- regard to unconrious Michaelitesoutside the err." p"o!I" and to createpolicy within the inthropo- sophicalmovementistodevelopwaysofinformallyand and sophical bociety as it relatei to t-herest of ttre world. in fglmltty linking up with global cultural creatives* e^amplewouldbetheAnthroposophicalconferencesthat gt"b.i] civil society at all levels--global' national' and (p' devote far more time to meetingsof membersand local" 10)' The beginning of the corresponding Pas- frimds of this (that is, non-members)than to membersmeetings.' sage-ofthe "Short Version Updated May 20(X)" Group Another example can be found in the operiing para- article was changedto:."One task of the Working (p.2) (The of graphs of the lead article in the newsletter or tfi.i a"- is to develop ways . .,.." founding members theworkingGroupincludeBen-Aharon'Perlas'andthe t"nroposoptricalSociety in America, Newsfor Membus, of the newsletterarticle, Brodal, Blomberg, and Septemb'er 1999, wiitten by Hans Brodal, HAkan 3u,th?rs Blomberg,and Alexander Iviin for the Organizing Group, Iviin ) follows: Anthrop;sophical Society,Gothenburg] SwedJn, titl# Chapterfour of Ben-Aharon'sbook beginsas "seriesoflnternationalConferencestoEfolorethePresent In his memoirsRmE Maikuaski reportson an SocialIntentions of Michael,,: imprtantconaersatianwithRudolfSteiner,inwhich Inhisbook,ThespiritualEoentof theTwmti- the questionconcuning the numberof potential anthroposophistsin the world was discussed'After eth Century, JesanhBen-Nraron describeshow the Steinermade it clear that nme millions of strmm of tte'Michaelic Schoolwas split into tio ludolf separategroups, a small one consistingof themexist,headded,noticingMaikunski'sbewil' anthroposiphistsand a muchlarger group thai i duedexpression:'ThesoulsthatseekAnthroposophy pressesitsetf in attkinds of organ"imtions'inwhat is areincarnated;butweilon't speaktheirlanguage!' greater now calledihe ciail societvmiaement. These irgani- Today, at theend of the[20thl cmtury , a still zations now wield porn, but they lactcspiiiiial numberof Michaelpupils are incarnated'but there scrcnce r o ar rt cu I at e tn etr Nltcnaet tc, mpu Ises I w ntcn drasticatrydecresses theirefficiency. ;:I'K!:":r{l'J;:,:j,f}'l'jl'ff: iln:f;:*:lX'.'-'^[",:: Theret'ore,the mostimportant taskfor theanthro- chapterseven, "tultiral Creativesaird the Cultural Revolu- posophicatmoaement intheaseof to slobatimtionis iil|";,:lf:::k::Awk{,X7:i;I;i"rih:i;fl,trrtJli:!l:; *Michaelisthearchangelwho,accordingtoRudolfSteiner,has Alternative Deielopment Initiatives, Qu6zon tity, fnitip- beenihecuictingspirftofourAgesincel8T9' ,.Jti,,, Ga,y L* * L osteJ .ui(e ;:71??io,t of - 3B F-tl ?OoO-tstvq Ho,(1 TheThreefoldReview hasbeen little real increasein the numberof human given at Arnhem, Holland, on July 20,'l.gT4,another at beingswho seek actiae identificatian with anthropo- Dornach, Switzerland, on july 28,1924,and another at sophicallife and thought . Wemust askourselua: Are Torquay, England, on August 2'1,,1924. The following is weyet spenkingthe appropriate language of spiritual taken from the Arnhem lecture: science,or is a considerablepart of our anthropo- Michnelgathered his hosts,he gatheredfrom the sophicallife and thanghtstraying behindthe super- realmsof theAngeloi and the Archangeloithe super- sensiblemoaementofurTime Spirit,Michael.. . ?z smsibleBeings uho belongedto him,but hegathued, The _ _ following should be noted about this quotation. tn,human soulswho in oneway or anotherhad been When my researchbegan over oneyearago,Ben-Aharon,s connected[to] him. And thus therearose [something book was the only referencein English I could find to I ikela grwt andarcr-widming supersutsible schnl. Maikowski's memoirs. However, it is Ben-Aharon who . . . a supersensible[schmlingl nno took place,from places the emphasis on certain words, not Maikowski. thefiftemth into theeightemth centuries, undu the The latter's memoirs are the acfual source of one of direct leadershipof Michael-a supersensible Steiner's referencesto the missing millions, a fact un- schmling in uthichthe great Teachu, ordained by known to all those my colleagueand I had queried. cosmicdecree, was Michael himself. Thus,. . . num- Before continuing on to Maikowski's memoirg it is bers of human suls hadalrudy receiaedasupu *nsible necessary for the sake of clarity to address the related xhmling whreeresults they ww carry[uncansciouslyl matter of the Michael School already referred to in the within them.Thes raults comcto etprasion in the newsletter article. One of the authors of that article, urge by su& to ame to Anthroponphy.s -S€ek- felt ryaple HAkan Blomberg,has also written the lead article, Turning now to the relevant passagein Maikowski's ing a Culture of Active Will,- in the May 2000issue of book, one finds this record of a conversationhe had with Anthroponphy Worldwide:Lit'e in theAnthioponphical So- Rudolf Steiner in7922: ciety, U.S. Edition, a publication addressedto members Anothertime I wasreporting about a studentwho, andfrimds of the Society,where he discussesthe Michael at theuniaersity,had handed in a paperthat Rudolf School at greater length: Steinerhad adaised him on. It was rejected.Where- IesaiahBm-Aharon writes in his book,The Spii- uponRudolf Steiner suddenly asked me: " How mnny tual Eoent of the Twentieth Century, that membersdowe actuallyhaue?" I gaaehim a certain anthroposophy is usentially isolated.Ithas not suc- figure of severalthousand, as well as I knew at the ceededin reachingmost of thoseindiaiduals who, time. Thenhe said, "lf we had that many million while in the spirihnl world, had beenactiue in the members,one wutld haaeto listen to us, and such Schoolot' Michael. Thesepmple arefilled with the work could no longu be rejected."I was somewhat puoerful impulsesof the Michael School,but they astonished;henoticed this and added,suiously and may lacka consciousttasof thescience of thespirit anphatically:"The souls who are seekingAnthro- andthus cannot effectiuely work with theirMichaelic Wophy haaeincarnated, but we do not speaktheir impulses.Most of themare also not consciousof their language!"a directrelationship to theanthroposophical sais with Accordingto Martin Barkoff,inDas (the whomthey had dnelopedtheir impulses. newsletter from Dornach, '1.,1997, It must bethe gml of thepeople within theanthro- Switzerland),December writing when he was '?en6 posophicalmouement to rannite with their karmic still editor of that publication: Maikowski is said brothersand sisters.This necessitvand the ruliza- to haveasked Rudolf Steinerhow many people took part tbn of Michael'sintentiont rue ihe decisiaemotit's in the Michael School in the spiritual world. 'About ot' the conference."Michael's intentians encornpass sevenmillion' was Rudolf Steiner'sreply." This incident all peoplein all cultures. Thty presupposebrmd is not reported in Maikowski's book, and thus this sup- collaboration arnng diuerse int erest s. posed conversation recedesinto the dubious realm of Nowhere in this article does Blomberg describe the hearsaywithout a named source.Barkoff then goeson to Michael school,nor does he provide the readerwith any suggestthat thesesouls would incarnate "in the course helpful references.And manyof thosewhodobringitup of sevengenerationsbetween 1900and about2l5Q" with have only the vaguest picture of it. "one to two million incarnatedat the sametime who are Rudolf Steiner spoke of the Michael school during onearthseekfngtomakecontact with theMichaelforces." the last year of his life, after the refounding of the He provides no basisfor this idea. However, it must be Anthroposophical Society,in atleastthree of hislectures admitted that f the total number of such souls is about on karmic connections when he tried to awaken his sevenmillion, and only "several" millionl*were on the audienceto a particular formof self-knowledge;one was E In the Maikowski quotation, "that many million" meansas * Held nearCoat many as there were thbusands,which was an igen,that is,somc, a or several.(It Anthroposophical"nU".g, Socie$ and Its Relationshipto the present few, is, of course,regrettable that Maikowski is not SocialIirtentions of Michiel." morespecific.)Often it is forgottenthat in thedecimal systemthe lssueNo. 19 39 earthin Steiner'stime, then all sevencould not havebeen firture, that olderforms hauecome duun into the incarnatedat that time. presentfrom by.gonedays itr which they werenot It is not at all clear how many of these souls are onlyfully justifiedbut thepro duct of historical neces' incarnatednow, but in contrastto Barkoff'sconclusion sity, but that they no longerprouide what modern that "the Societyhas 50,000 members and lives in a seaof mnn's inner life requiresand the dignity of fitll one to two million Michael Schoolstudents!," one must humannessdemands.6 '16, consider Steiner'sremark from his lecture of |uly 28, And in Dornach,Switzerland, on Iune 1923,he 7924: said: Thosewho are able to receiaeAnthroposophy todny But zuhatin this third period"*must beof special with true and deep dnotion in theirhwrt s-those who importance,that is the consciortsnessof hattingbuilt are able to unite themselaeswith Anthroposophy- up a societythat is takingthe first stepin a matterin haaewithin themthe impulse, as a resultof all thE uhich a largepart of mankindwill haueto follua. haaeexperiencerl in the supersensibleworld at the Indeed,cansider this my dur friends, a relatiaely beginningofthelSth century and at thebeginnbryof smallsociety is buildingitself up with theintention the19th cmtury, to appur againon urth at theend of doingsomething ruherein a largepart ot'mankind of the20th century together zuith the others zuhohaue shouldfollow. That setsthe obligations not onlyfol notyet returned. By that titne anthroposophical spiri' thosewho will follow, but ratherit setsobligations of tuality uill luae preparedfor what must then be a far highersort; that setsobligations of a aery high realized,through the community of them all, potencyas against that ,say , of theduties of thosewho, namely,for thefuller reuelationof all that hnsbeen asagreat number ot'pmple,will take Anthroposophy supersensiblyprepared through the dit'ferent streams for theirorientation. thatI haaementioned.s [emphasis added] Today'sAnthroposophists are not to think that they A further complication is that during the year fol- haaeonly thoseobligations that thepeople who will be lowing his conversationwith Maikowski, Steinerspoke committedto Anthroposophyuill haaeuhen thv on at least two occasionsabout certainmillions some- Anthropnsolthistsare in the millions, not in the what differently. It should be noted that in the material thousands.lf thethousands hurry aheadof a moue- availableto me concerningthe missing Michaelit€s,no ment, thosethousands haue an obligationraised to a referenceis made to thcsestatemcnts of Steiner. higherpuuer.That means they haae an abligationto In Stuttgart,Germany, on February13, 1923, he said: practicein all detailsgreater catrage, greater mergy, lf urelcnk backoaer the truenty-oneor tutenty-ttuo greaterpatience, grenter tolerance, and, aboueall, 7 yearsof theSocietv's dcaelolnnent ," ue wiII certainly greatertrutht'ulness." under con- discwerthat byt'ar the greater number of thosewho Many questionsrelated to the material apptroachthe Societvdo so ortt ot'a senseof dissatis- siderationare difficult to answerwithout genuinespiri- factiottuith thesytiritual, psychological, and practi' tual-scientificresearch, questions such as: How many cal conditionsthul t'ind surroundingthem in life Michaelicsouls are there ? And how many of them areon today.ln the earhldatls of the Society,tuhich, uthen the earth now? Rudolf consideredfactualhl and not critically, might nen be However, the careful study of the works of calle d i ts hc tt er davs, someth i n g wast aking 7tl a ce tha t Sterinermay bring us to the answersof suchquestions as: almostamounted to flight from thelife of thepresent Why havemost, however many, failed to find their way intoa differentkind ot'life built on humancommu- to the AnthroposophicalSociety? Can we recognizethem? nity, a communitrlzuhere people could liue in a way And can we help them? 6, they felt in their soulsto be in keepinguith their During anotherlecture given in Dornach on |uly dignitll as human beings.This alienationfom the 1924,Steiner said: sltir it uaI, px1 ch i c, and 7tr ac t ic al sit ua t ion pr eaail i ng At thesame time, it' we look out into theuorld uith in thelife around them must be taken into accotntt as a clearpuceptiotr of what hashappened hitherto, we hutnnn a t'actor in the t'ounding of the Anthroposophical are also bamd to admit: Thereare mnnu Society. F or those utho beca me a nthrolnsophists uere beingswhom we t'ind here or therein theuorld today, their the firstpeoptle to feeluhat millionsand millionsot' andof uhom-looking at theirconnection [to] truIy othersutill be f eeling keenlll indeed in anot too distant Ttre-earthlylife-

40 TheThreefold Review arefar moreof themthan wegenerally think.s A second response (which can blend with the first), One may well ponder whatother things render them particularly to the lack of members and to the idea that unable to find their way into it. At the very least one must there are many million missing Michaelites, is the at- consider thekarmic difficultiesbrought from prior earthly tempt to reach out in all the problematical ways typical lives and the crippling effectsof the anti-spiritual form of of our age, the implicit rationale being that the ends education that has beenprevalent for sometime and that justify the means (as if one can even reach the desired continues to get worse. endsby any means).One example is the increasing reli- Regarding those who were children in the 1920s,at ance upon electronic-mechanicalmedia such as televi- least someof the six million referred to by Inge Boesein sion, videotapes,radio, and tape recordings to present anarticle thatappearedin DasGoethunam(March8 ,1992) the content of Anthroposophy. Another is the drive may have been Michaelic souls. Shestates thah "In fuly merely to market Steiner's works in English without 1924,during the pedagogical lectures in Arnhem, Hol- regard for whether the presentation is in harmony with land, when Mr. van Bemmelen,in a break, accompanied the contentsor is accurate/even to go so far as to delete him on a short walk, Rudolf Steiner said to him that passagesof great significanceto his pupils. Yet another originally six million souls had wanted the Waldorf is to publish books by those attempting to popularize pedagogy,but they had been scatteredby the war." This Anthroposophy, books that only trivialize it. And so problem may well continue up to the present,for all the on.** obvious reasons. Would not an alternative approach that is more to One may also ponder Rudolf Steiner'sobservation the point be to ruch in and be more responsiblein taking that "we do not speak their language." Surely Steiner up and representing Anthroposophy? Whether or not himself was neither incapableof speakingtheir language Barkoff s numbers are correct,he is certainly justified in nor unwilling to do so. This observation must apply claiming that the current skewed proportion of Michael rather to how his followers were representing Anthro- School shrdents in the Society to those outside it "can posophy.OnJanuary 18,1924,afewweeksafter the 1923 furnish an idea of how little our Societyis up to its tasks Christnns Conference in Dornach that refounded the or focuseson thesetasks." Anthroposophical Society and during which Steiner A beginning in reversing this trend and in speaking joined and becameits president, he said: their languagewould be to take to heart the "obligation Nothingis to besaid against anyone who wants to raised to a higher power/' incurred by the members of the lmrn. On the contrary, this must becultiwted far Anthroposophical Society, that is, "to practice in all rnoreintensiuely in thefuture thanit hasbeen in the details greatercourage, greater energy, greater patience, yearssince 19'1.8, when the attempt was made to bring greater tolerance,and, above all, greater truthfulness." all mannu ofacademic usagn, and other alluremmts Another stepwould be to take seriously what Rudolf tm, into theAnthroposophical Mwement. Btttsome- Steinersaid in Stuttgart, Germany, on February 6,1923: thingelse must nuo beadded---

lssueNo. 19 4l ActioifuI has not beenread in the dit'fumt way I incitementto pessimismor optimismbut rathera call haaebeen describing. That is the point, and a point to an innerawakening so thnt independmtwork and thatmust be sharply stressed if thednelopmmt of the thecultiaation of right thinkingwill rault. For abooe AnthroposophicalSociety b not tofall far behindthat all things, adequateinsight is necessary.If only a of anthroposophyitself. If it doesfall behind, sufficimt numberof pmpletoday were motiaated to anthroposophy's conaeyancethrough the Society will say,"We absolutelymust haaea betterunderstand- resultin its beingcompletely misunderstood, and its ing of things," thenanerything else would follua. lt 10 fruit will beendless conflict! isjust in regardto socinlquntions that thereis a need A dubious development in relation to the challenge to consciouslystrive for insightand understanding. of "speaking their language" is the growing sentiment Thedanlopment of thewill actiaity is plannedfor, it that lecturing is merely old hat. A recent example ap- is coming,If we in daily life would only wish to pearsin Blombergls article, mentioned earlier, where he educateourselaes about social issues,and dnelop characterizesthe conferenceheld in Swedenat the end of newsocial ideas, then hccording to an occult law), 1999. He writes: "Each day of the conference had a enchofuswouldbe able to takcanothu humanbeing particular theme. Certain questionsprovided direction. along. Eachof uscan th u efor e w ork t'or two if we haae It was a processleading through the past, present,and thewill. Wecould achisue much if wehad an earnest future. There were no group leaders or any kind of desireto acquireinsight at once. The rut would speakers.Each one of us was responsiblefor allowing follow.lt is not so badthat not many peoplecan do constructive conversation to occur." muchabout the situationof societytoday, but it is While constructive conversation should always be incrediblysad if peoplecannot at lenstmake up their welcome, obviously there is a time and a place for other mindsto becomeacquainted with the sociallaws of things, including speakers.This ideal of the democrati- Spiritual Science.The rest would t'ollou if serious zation of culture is a far cry from what Steinercalled for studywould take place.13 inThe Art of Lecturing, six lectures given in Dornach in Furthermore, inasmuch as we are concerned with October 1921.The day has not yet come when any recognizing what is Michaelic, due regard must also be significant number of English-speakinglecturers have givento statementsofRudolf Steinersuch as thosefound masteredthe art "of delivering a lecture for Anthroposo- at the end of "At the Dawn of the Michael Age," oneof the phy"tt in the manner indicated by Steiner.He beganby letters written to members of the Societv after its saying: "I am of the opinion, that, in this course we are refounding: now starting, it is a question of a discussion of what is Onewho understandshow to obseruesuch things necessaryin order really to connectone's self responsi- knuwswhnta grut changetookplace in thelastthird bly [tol the movement of Anthroposophy and the of the nineteenthcentury with respectto the lit'eof r2 ThreefoldIdea." humanthought. Before that timemnn could only feel Blombergalsostates:'Theintentionof theconference hun thoughtsformed thanselaes in his own being; was to contribute something to an anthroposophical from the time indicatedhe is able to raisehimself culture based on the initiative of individual abwe his own being;hecan turn his mind to the anthroposophists living in all parts of the world. Such Spiritual;he theremeets Michael, who proueshis anthroposophy is a culture of active will, not exclusively ancient kinship with eaerythingconnected [to] one of wisdom (which can sometimeslead to passivity). thought.He liberatesthought from thesphere of the In our time it is important to want to dare to act,because hwd;heclears the way for it to theheart ;he enkindles every development requires an initiative that is spiritu- enthusiasmin thefeelings, so that the humanmind ally inspired." can befilled with the dnotion for all that can be No doubt an unhealthy relation to wisdom can lead experiencedin the light of thought. to passivity. But for anyone truly concerned with the The Age of Michaelhas dawned.Hearts are be- presentsocial intentionsof Michael, the Spiritof the Age, ginning to haaethoughts; spiritual fmtour is now which include the threefolding of the social order, this proceetling,not merelyfrom mysticalobscurity but observation is both one-sided and, in the context of from soulsclarified by thought.To understandthis Blomberg's article, self-serving. What of the opposite meansto receiaeMichael into the heart. Thoughts danger-those who areactivebecause theyaredrivenby whichat thepresent time striue to grasp the Spiritual impatience, restlessness,or impetuosity? mustoriginateinhurtswhichbut t'or Michael as the Rudolf Steinerhimself, who surelycannotbe charac- fiuy Princeof Thoughtin the Uniaerse.la terized as being passive, said near the very end of a It should be obvious that merely to glorify as letture given in Bern, Switzerland, on December 12, Michaelic those active in civil society and to demonize 1918: those involved in elite globalization, as Perlasand Ben- Eaenif thefaults and tragediesof the ageare aery Aharon do, representsa tendency to extreme oversim- aisible to Spiritual Sciutce,this shouldnot be an plification and a failure carefully to consider all the facts

42 TheThreefold Review available to us.* To this end,howeuer, it must be mndewssible for Those inclined to the point of view of Ben-Aharon anthropwophicalmatters to comebefore ihe world in and Perlasmaybe surprised that Rudolf Steinersaid the sucha way that mm whogrow out of theciuilizntion following during the lecture of fanuary 18, 1924,men- ofour timewiththetypeofmind possessedby Harry tioned earlier: Ford, the AutomobileKing, will say to themselaes: ' lf you adopt the point of uiew which I haoehere HereI haae written thatmodutt science itself is,aft er explained,you will alreadybe chnishing in yanr all, nmething that points past. 'more' to the Man cannot heart that of which we saiil the pursuit of only liue in thepast. There must alsobe something Anthropsophy standsin need.Anthropo*phy can thatguarantealife t'or thefuture. Wecannot muely neitherbe a thmry, nor can it altogetherdo without absorbso much information; we must alsohaae theelemmt of thought.We areliaingin atimewhen somethingthat b aliae,AII thisI haaewritten' lyou Anthropnphy would beconte a burning quat iont'or mayrud thisin thehighly interatingbookby Ford, cnuntlas humnn beingson the earth-if only the apecially in the penultimatechnptd-'all this I Anthropsophical Societysucceeded in working in haaewritten, and yet . . . somethingis lacking.' suchaway that thereal needsof men could'catchfire' And that isjust whereAnthroposophy belongs! lt by what is presmtedto than as Anthroponphy. would becomepossible for peopleto speakso, if only Thepoint is . . . let meput a concreteinstance before weknewhow to takein realenrnest whnt was intended 'book yar. A wonilerful of life,' if I mayso describe it, in the Chr istmas F ou n dat ion Me et in g, n thatas t ime hasonce again been published. It is a kind of autobi- went on the ChristmasFoundation Meeting would ography-4 dacription of his own lrfe-bV Hmry not lue contentbut on thecontrary gain 'Automobile moreand Ford. What this King' placesbefore the more.1s world asa descriptionof his life is highly characteris- Whether or not Ford is one of the Michaelic souls is tic. Thne is somethingdelightful and huly great not the issuehere. It is, rather, that Steiner presentsthe abwt it and what he saysabout the spiritual and Automobile King, who adapted the conveyor belt and materiallongings of all his life, makesthis imprasion the assemblyline to the production of automobilesand on me:lmngine sommne standingbefore a dmr. He is was consideredto be the apostle of mass production, as 'tnocking full of urgmt needs-not exactlyspiritual nads, in "a representativeman," and hammering at this instance.But what hedesires isnot only urgent, the door." butjustified ; hisuoice hswarcr is quiteinadequate to Of course,it is a real challengeto develop the ability explesshis legitimateand urgentdesires. He would to recognize a Michaelic soul. Ceneralizations about faincryout aloud to all theworldwhathedaires,but groups will hardly suffice. A Michaelic soul is an indi- his aoicedoes not seemloud enough.So he knock at vidual,afterall, and a strivingAnthroposophistcanonly the dmr, knock urgently-inaents all nrannerof recognizethem oneby one.Allowing for all the obstacles dasicesto thunderant rthat hedesires. of modern life, and for the damage inflicted on so many Wcn I rud Ford'sbmk,I feelalmost as thoughI people, it is conceivable that they may appear any- myselfwere the door. Neuntheles, it is delightful, where-for example: in prison, living on the street, liv- Yw feelyourself beatot black and bluein your soul, ing with the use of recreational drugs or the abuse of but you cherishthese bruisa, for the bmk is inde- prescribed drugs, enjoying techno at raves,** or even scribablyintelligent. And therebehind that dnr is working for transnational corporations. Anthroponphy. Hitherto, however,it has bem so While many active in civil society may indeed be constitutedina Societyas tomnkeit quiteimrysible part of the Michael stream, most of these who present for that whichstands before the door to comenear to their thoughts in articles,books, and talks do not seemto thatwhidt is behindit. lt issimply impossible. To this have escapeddamage to themselves,particularly if they md we neednmething quitediffermt. are Michaelic souls, becausea significant characteristic Ford,after all, is a rqraentatiae man. Whathe b they have in common is materialistic thinking, which is on a granderscale-truly, on thegrandat possible hardly Michaelic. Returning to Steiner/s letter to the scale-is after aII only representatioeof many,many members, "At the Dawn of the Michael Age," one can peopleof our time. . , . read: Thereis the ktocking and hammeringat thedoor. In urlier timesthehuman beings relat ed to Michnel Behinil the door is Anthroponphy, but*huoner sw him dnelop hisactiuity in the spiritual sphere; loud the knocking-the door has not beat opened. thry nowknou that theyought to let Michaeldwell Now, at last, howeuer, u)e may find thepusibility for in theirharts;theynuu dedicatetohim theirspiri- Anthropsophy herselfto openthe dmr from within. tuallifewhichisbasedon thought; they now,in their u t Technois aformof electronicmusic. Rarcs are all-nieht dance A detailed examination of the works of Perlaswill appear in a garties..Participants are mainly youths; the useof reFreational future issueof this magazine. orugsls common among them. lssueNo. 19 43 freeand indtuiduallife of thought,allow themselaes therehas been little real increasein the number of human to beinstructed by Michaelas to whichare the right beings who seek active identification with anthropo- pathsof thesoul.16 sophical life and thought." Is "active identification with It is Michael who enablesus to spiritualize our thinking anthroposophicallife and thoughf' to be understood to to overcome materialism. But what is unffansformed in mean membership in the Anthroposophical Societyor, those active in civil society manifests itself relentlessly in fact, something quite different? and unsubtly, even if it is overlooked by many; for the Further on, Ben-Aharon states thah 'The urgently most part their outlook is colored by the ideasof Adam needed bridge across the abyss that still separatesthe Smith, Karl Marx, Charles Darwiry modern physicsand two parts of the Michael streamon Earth canonly be built biology, and so on. if Anthroposophy succeedsin reestablishing a direct A review of certain of the quotationsprovided in this spiritual connectionwith the supersensibleevents of this article will reveal another significant problem. Accord- [20th] century and of the next.*This is possibleat the end ing to the article by Brodal, Blomberg, and Iv6ry the of the [20th] century. This renewed possibilitybelongs to larger group of Michaelic souls is not in the Anthropo- the truedestiny of the Michael streamand the Anthropo- sophical Society, but "expressesitself in all kinds of sophical Movement and Society in the Michael age de- organizations in what is now called the civil society scribed by Rudolf Steiner in 1924in his studies of the movement." The smaller group, of Anthroposophists,is karma of the Michael sfream. Becausethis cannot be supposedto unite with them "in order to developa living dealt with herein greaterdetail, we shall only point to the spirituality within a creativecontext." But this context is following relevant perspective."rT(What follows this not to be the Anthroposophical Society. passagedoes not, in fact, refer to "the two parts of the Blomberg, in his separatearticle, also referring both Michael stream.") to the smaller group and to the larger, says:"It must be Notwithstanding the fact that Ben-Aharon, in his the goal of the people within the anthroposophical book, gives no indication of the two sheams uniting in movement to reunite with their karmic brothers and the Anthroposophical Society and that elsewhere Ben- sisters. This necessity and the realization of Michael's Aharon, Perlas,and their colleaguesclaim that the two intentions were the decisive motifs of the conference. streamsare to come together in civil society, it is in the Michael's intentions encompassall peoplein all cultures. very same esoteric studies of the karma of the Michael They presuppose broad collaboration among diverse streamreferred toby Ben-Aharonabove thatoneisgiven interests." Thus, the two groups are to reunite, but once the clear picture of all the Michaelic souls uniting in the again, not within the Anthroposophical Society. AnthrolnsophicalSociety. Both of these articles rely in part on Ben-Aharon's The quotation already provided from Steiner'slec- book, the first article going so far as to credit it with an ture of July 20,L92|,describesthose who had beenpupils idea that does not appear in it. But subsequentlyBen- in the Michael schoolas carrying results "unconsciously Aharondoespresentthis idea in the articlehewrote with within them" that "come to expressionin the urge felt by Perlas where they state that the "primary task of the suchpeople to cometo Anthroposophy." In other words, Working Group," composed of Anthroposophists, is to to cometo the AnthraposophicalSociety. Those who may link up wi th the "unconsciousMichaelites" in "globalcivil doubt this should considerwhatSteiner said in the same society at all the levels." Yet again this linking up is not to place, Arnhem, Holland, two days earlier, on fuly 18, take place within the Anthroposophical Society. 1924. What Ben-Aharon writes in his book regarding the He first explains that the Anthroposophical Move- two groups of Michaelic souls is ambiguous, if not mis- ment,the "streamflowing in the spiritual worlds through leading. Where he quotes the single sentence from the present phase of the evolution of mankind," was Maikowski's report of his conversation with Steiner, originally to bedistinguished from the Anthroposophical Ben-Aharon statesthat they were speakingof "potential Society,which "was a kind of administrative organ for anthroposophists" when Steiner said "we don't speak the anthroposophical knowledge flowing through the their language." But even the attentive reader may ini- Anthroposophical Movement." However, since the tially be thrown by this becausein current usage,which Christmas 1923 Foundation Meeting, during which is often imprecise, people who are not members of the Steinerbecame the leader of the new Anthroposophical Societyhave beenreferred to as Anthroposophists.Why Society, "the opposite of what went before must be Ben-Aharon chosenot to include the entire quotation is recognized:no distinction is to be made henceforward not known to me, but in it Steiner and Maikowski are between Anthroposophical Movement and Anthropo- speakingnot just about Michaelic soulsbut about poten- sophical Society,for they are now identical." r8 tial members of the Anthroposophical Society. Then somewhat further on he says: Ben-Aharon further enhancesthe ambiguity when Whenwethinktodayof howthe Anthroposophical he adds: "Today, at the end of the [2fth] century, a still 'What Ben-Aharonmeansbythis and whether he establishes its greater number of Michael pupils are incarnated, but veracitycannot be addresseil in this article.

44 TheThreefold Review Societyexists in theworld as the embodimmtof the retedin Anthroposophy,kttcaring little for the AnthroposophicalMoaemmt, we seea numberof threefoldsocial order, In thelong run, howaner,such humanbeings mming togethuwithin theAnthropo- aseparation isnot feasible if anything of consEuence sophicalSociety. Any discerningpersonrulizs that isto bebrought about. . . .20 thereare also other humnn beings in theworld--one An independattcultural lif e must b e a rul lifeof the finds them arcrywhere-whose knrma predisposn spirit. Today , when pmple speak of thespiritual life , themto cuneto theAnthroposophiul Society,but, to theymean ideas; they speak only of ideas. beginwith, somethingholdsthem back, they do not Consequmtly,since Anthroposophy exists for the immediately,and in thefull sanse,find theirway into purposeot' calling forth in peoplethe feeling for a it-thwgh nentually theywill certainlydo so, either gmuinelife of thespirit, it is indispensablewhm the in thisor in thenext incarnatbn, We must , howeuer, demandarises for a threet'oldsocinl organism. Ac- bearthe following in mind:Thosehuman beings who cordingly,the two should go togethu ;t'urthuance of through their karmacune to the Anthraposophical Anthroposopltyand furtherance of thethreefold so- Moaemmtare predestined for thisMwement.le cialotder.21 Much could be said about these remarks of Rudolf However, in two distinct ways, an impulse counter Steiner,but for the purposesof this article it will have to to theindicationsofSteinerappearsin the workof Perlas. suffice to emphasizethe following. We only know about Firstly, he tends to separateboth Anthroposophy and the Michael rhool, its pupils, and the challengesfacing Rudolf Steiner from his presentationsof threefold. An the Anthroposophical Society because,based on his extreme example can be found in David Korten's Sep- spiritual-scientific research, Steiner has revealed this tember5, 1995,interview of Perlasin which Korten asks knowledge to us. It was given to awaken the membersof him about his relation to an "associative economics the Anthroposophical Society to necessaryself-knowl- model."22It is remarkable that Perlas then goes on to edgeand to inspire them to representAnthroposophy in describewhat the people he works with "call associative a way that would be helpful to all the Michaelic souls economics"without once mentioning Rudolf Steineror predestined to join the Society. Anthroposophy, without which he could never have Without adequately addressing Steiner's descrip- createdhis "model," however defective it may be. tion of the intrinsic relation of the Michael stream to the Secondly, Perlas never makes it clear that "since Anthroposophical Society(or of the Societyto the School Anthroposophy existsfor the purpose of calling forth in for Spiritual Science*),Ben-Aharon, Perlas,and others people the feeling for a genuine life of the spirit, it is have createda counterpicture leading to a goal opposed indispensablewhen the demand arises for a threefold to the one that is based on Steiner'spicture. social organism." Quite to the contrary, in some of his In his works, Perlasbegan bydirecting our attention writings he achrally presentsthe Catholic Church as the to civil society, uhich he mistakenlychnracterizes as the vitalizing elementin cultural life; instead of repre- cultural cornponentof thesocial order, credittng if with be- sentingAnthroposophy, he refersus to five papal encyc- ing the driving force for threefolding in our time. In fact, licalsfrom 1891to 7987.** Anthrolnsophyis thedriaing forcefor threefolding. In his book, Ben-Aharon began by adding to what In the last lecture of The Art of Lecturing,Rudolf Rudolf Steiner had said about the Michael School his Steiner makes abundantly clear the intrinsic and in- own derription of later developments. He states that separablerelation of Anthroposophy to threefolding. "The imagination of the Spiritual Event of the Twentieth Whatone must striaefor is a genuineknowledge of Century presentedbelow describesthe actual supersen- the eomts of the time. And, you see,such a firm sible action of the Michael Schoolin the middle third of groundingin theevents of thetime, an arousalof the this [20th] century. . ."23.And earlier on he refers to the really deqer interestfor the nents of the time,can contentsof his book as "The anthroposophical research only be woked todayby Anthroposophy.For these presentedbelow. . ."24,meaning his research;in the in- and othu reasons,uhoeaer spmks effectiuely about troduction it is made abundantly clear that he is relying threefoldingmust be at least inwardly pumeated upon his own supersensibleexperiences.2s with theconuiction that for theworld to understand However,it'is not clear how Ben-Aharon is pre- threefold,itis also necessary to bringAnthropwophy senting himself to the reader regarding his research.On to the world. theonehand,hemay think of his researchasbeingon Admittedly,since the aery firstffirts tuaardthe the level of Steiner'sand of himself as an occult teacher. realizationof the threefoldncial order, therehaae Regardingthis possibility,we must considerwhat Steiner been,on the one hand, thosewho are apparently wrote about himself: "Now I reached my fortieth year, interestedin the threefoldsocial order, but not An- beforewhich no one should appear publicly as a teacher throposophy;uhile on the other hand, thoseinter- ** SeeAssocaatiw Economics: Responding to the Challarye ot' Elite (199T * Globalintion andElite Globalintlon: The Attack in Christi- The esotericschool within the AnthroposophicalSoci*y. anitv(J998). lssueNo. 19 45 of occultism, according to the intention of the Masters.* sibleanthropoxphical life in thesecond third of this (Everywhere, when someone taught earlier, a mistake cantury. The anthropreophicalraearch prnented was made.)"26Ben-Aharon was born in 1955,gave his belowshoros that besidethe extemally aisiblehistori' lectureson this subjectin 1992-1993,and the first edition caltragedire of thiscentury caused by Ruilolf Steinu's ' of his book was published in 1993.On the other hand, if unfinishedlde-task there occurred also the hiililm hedoesnot viewhimself thisway, anyreaderconfronting prrely supusmsible compensatory Michaelie the grandiosity of his claims in the realm of knowledge act that,on ahigher leuel,aimed to compmsatefor can only be perplexeci. thisomission.n Once Perlas and Ben-Aharon begin to collaborate, While it is true that Ben-Aharonseems to addressthe the counterpicture emerges:the Michaelic soulswill not signifiqanceof the Anthroposophical Societyin relation gather in the Anthroposophical Society as Steiner had to the problem of the division in the Michaelic stream, said, but rather, the Anthroposophists, few in number, what he saysis filled with ambiguity. For example: will unite with the many others active in civil society.** Thealways preserued and liaing pnsibility to bring Neither of theseauthors,nor thosewho follow theirlead, the whole spiritual da;elopmmt of the Michael ever attempts to convince us that Steiner's pichrre has streamin the twentiethcentury, in its physicalas been supersededby theirs-Steiner's picture is simply well as in its spiritual aspectsto a fully conscious never mentioned, and theirs merely takesits place. anthroposophicalearthly as weII as supersensible One can imagine that their perception of all the life at its end,is to befamd in theeternal Life-Spirit apparent negativity and failure associatedwith the his- forca of Anthroposophy.This Lif e-Spiritconstitutes tory of the Anthroposophical Societyhasprepared them thesubstance of the ChristmnsFoundation Confer' to accept the idea that what has not yet happened (the enceand is the Foundatbn Stoneof the Schoolfor uniting of the Michaelic souls in the Society)will never SpiritualScience and theGmeral Anthroponphical happen and has driven them to seizeupon a goal that Society, initiated and consecrated by thelife-sacrifice they themselvesintend to bring about-the linking up of of RudolfSteiner.3l Anthroposophists with the "unconscious Michaelites" Here and elsewherehe is implying that the spiritual in global civil society. developmentof the Michael stream,as a consequenceof Ben-Aharon's spiritual researchhas led him to an Rudolf Steiner'sdeath, was separated from earthly life enhancedperception of what has gone wrong. Accord- and, therefore, from the Anthroposophical Society. He ing to him, in the foreword to his book: does not clearly state that a fully conrious anthropo- The world tragediesof the secondthird of the sophicalearthly life includesthe unifi cationof the Michael cantury, and especiallyof the twelaeyurs [1.9j3- stream in the Anthroposophical Society.Nor is the mat- -19451, cameaburt becauseRudolt' Steiner could not ter made any clearer when he statesnear the end of his continuehis life taskto its completion.This was not book: hisfailure but our own.Thisfailurehas constituted Therapening of the spiitual world to conscious sincethen the main anthroposophical lurmic debtof anthroposophicalresearch is theesoteric aspect of the this century,and this appliesnot only to the indi' rebirth of Anthrolnsophyat the end of the t2}thl uiduals who werephysically inuolaedin the an- cmtury.The exotericaspect must gradually deman- throposophicallife of thefirst andsecond thirds of the strate thisfact in the increasingunification of the canturybut to all themembers of theMichael school Michaelstrenm on earth.32 thatstriae truly to makethe canying and resolaing of This is all the more puzzling since I have yet to find thiskarmic debt into their uon knrmicduty.z7 in the works of Ben-Aharon,Perlas, or other membersof He goeson to claim: the Working Group for Global Threefolding the basiq Thm we can rulize that the negatiaeworld and clairvoyant or otherwise, for the assertion that the "un- Societyresults of our failure in the t'irstthird of the consciousMichaelites" are to be found in global civil centurycreatul alsothepossibility for a transformn' society,nor do I find anywhere in their works the reason for not strioing morethan anr beforeto mnkeit possible __tio!! thisfailure into ahighergood for Michaelicsouls to unite within theAnthroposophical Society. * Accordinqto Steiner,the Masters are those "elevated beings lwhol havdalready passedalong the path which the rest6f Of course, it is clear that what Rudolf Steiner hoped mankind still has to travel."28ThEy ard the great leadersand would transpire by the end of the 20th century, the teachersof mankind. Michaelic souls,*** did not take ** community of all the It is not surprisinsthat Ben-Aharonhas incorporated Perlas's place,but this is not a sufficient reason to abandon the focuson civil sociity into his own picture of ihe currentsitu- ation on earth when one considershis characterizationof the goal of uniting the Michaelic souls, now on the earth, Michael pupils who "reached the aqe of 21 years in 19(6/7." within the Anthroposophical Society.Nor are we given Accordirigio him: "They werethe fiYstto leail the greatsocial, any indication how the proposed,clearly statedalterna- ecologicafpolitical, culiural and spiritual transfoimationsof thela5t third of the century,iirthe midst of which weare [20th] *o Seethe quotation from 2$ 7924,on our page 40. living now."2e ]uly

46 TheThreefold Review tive to this goal can fruly bring about the necessary the Society is reason enough either not to joiry or to results for the ultimatebenefit of mankind. The more we withdraw from it. work for this alternative goal, the weakerthe Societywill Those who have studied ThePhilosophy of Spiritual becomeand. the more difficult it will befor it tofulfitl its task. Actiaity, the book Steiner refened to in the February 5, Furthermore, while altogether sidestepping the is- 1923,lecture from Awakeningto Community,willbe able sue of how Steiner wanted Anthroposophy to be repre- to recognize the relation between the new form of the sentedbefore the world at large many people have put Anthroposophical Society and the "free spirituality considerableeffort into selling more anthroposophical [whichl is the ultimate stageof man's development.,,s books and into training more and more people to be A significant confirmation and deepening of this active in the various endeavors inspired by Anthro- awarenessis granted to anyone who will study as well posophy, such as Waldorf teaching, eurythmy, the published record of TheChristmas Conference for the , anthroposophically extended Foundationof the Genual Anthroposophical'sxietylgZtl medicine, and so on. The students in these training 1924.$ Surely the lack of a proper understanding of what coursesmust inevitably learn something about Anthro- Rudolf Steiner accomplished at the Chrishnas Confer- posophy, and in some cases they will take a whole ence has contributed to the problem of the missing introductory year of general anthroposophical studies. Michaelicmillions. In all this the Anthroposophical Society is kept in the Michael(the Spirit of the Age), background, and almost all introductory courses in Anthroposophy, whether or not connected to further Threefolding,and the training, are notgiven by the Anthroposophical fuciety, Futureof the AnthroposophicalSociety as they should be, but by Waldorf training collegesand In "Economic Profit and the Spirit of the Age," other instifutions. Is it, therefore,any wonder that many written in1919, Steiner states: of thosewho buy the books and take the coursesor even Todny'sparty groupings qre still quite remoued become active in anthroposophically inspired endeav- from what the spirit of the age is shown here to ors do not join the Society? demand.Thus it is inanitablethat the idea of the Finally, we must consider those who know they are threefoldsocial order should meetmuch prejudice being nourished by Anthroposophy or even claim to be stemmingfrom opinionspranalent in thae party working out of it while remainingapart from theAnthro- groupings. . . . What is needednul is . an posophicalSociety. Howmanyof themhavestudied Tfte unprejudiceilinsight into thedemands of "the spirit Lit'e,Nature, and the Cultiaation of Anthroposophy,a col- of theage."36 lection of letters to the membersin which Rudolf Steiner A few years later, in Dornach on April 2,'1923, describestherefounded Society, takingup topicssuchas Steinersaid: "The right Relationship of the Society to Anthroposo- When,by complementingthe Easterthought with phy," "Members' Meetings," "The Relationof the Mem- theMichael thought in this way wehaae become able bers to the Society," and "The Work in the Socie$/'?sln to perceiuerightly theprimordial trinity in all exist- theseletters he presentsus with the highest ideal of how ence,then we shalltake it into our wholeattitude of human beings cancome together in cultural life in free- soul.Then we shall be in a psition to understandthat dom, an ideal with which he fully united himself. Why actuallyall life depads upon the actiuity and the would anyonewho hasa true connectionto Anthroposo- intmnorking of prinnrdial tinitia. And whenwe phy not want to do the same? And for anyone who haaethe Michaelfatiaal [celebratedon Septembu recognizes Rudolf Steiner as his teacher, the further 29thl inspiringsuch a aientin thesme way that the questionarises: Am I truly his pupil if I do notirin him one-sidedEaster fatitsal inspiredthe aiew nuo exist- in his commitment to the most positive experimentof ing [wherennything appenrsas a panthebticmix- our age? ture--a unityl, thm weshall haue an inspiration. . Theseare the very considerationsthat led me to join . to introduce threet'oldness,the impulse of the Anthroposophical Society. It should be added that threefoldnessinto all the obsmtingand forming of this happened seven years after I began studying An- Iife.And it dependsfinally and only upon the intro- throposophy and attending public anthroposophical ductionof thisimpulse whether the destructiue forca lectures becauseit took almost that long before I was in humanewlutian can be transformedonce more introduced to the book in question (although in print, it into ascendingforcre.37 . . . was not advertised at the time). My impression of the Wecan euot say that it is only possibleto haaetrue Anthroposophical Societydid not motivate me to join it, ideasof thefree spiritual , thelife of rights,the ncial- and after joining it, I have often been among the disap- economiclife, whm we perceiaein the depths this pointed and the aggrieved. But for anyone who hastruly triple pulseof cosmicactiaity, zahichmust alsopu grasped the points made above, it makes no senseto meatehumnn actiaity, 38 argue that what is problematical or unpleasant within It was during this lecture that Steiner also made the lssueNo. 19 47 interesting and challenging observations: following this theme. He characterizes what he perceives, as a we spokeof thethreefold One might say that whm result "of the fact that Rudolf Steiner'searthly life came a certainsurse a tat of whetherthe 'trindered impulseit wasin to a too early end,"sa$ the life-forces that were enoughw that it Michaeltharyht is alreadystrong destined for earthly-anthroposophicalwork until 1933" an impulse dirutly wt of canbe felt how such flows and "were spiritually preserved" to "become purely su- the time. It was a testof the the forcesthat shape pusensible,anthroposophical formative forces, shaping theMichael thought is strong humansoul , of whethu the purely spiritual-supersensibleMichael Event of the enoughas yet in a largenumbo of people.Well, the [20thl century"ar which in rurn should lead to certain yielded rault. TheMichael thought b t est a negatiae culminating earthly events during the last third of the a small numbu of not strongmugh in nm ryaple 20th century. Although his presentatiqn is both unclear perceivedtruly in all its time-shaping for it to be and confused,one can only come away from it with the pm.aerand And it will indudhardly be forcefulnas. impression that he does not Picture the Anthroposophi- pwsible, thesake of new of ascmt,to unite for forca cal Societyin a positive way; and while anthroposophists ginal ormatiue cosmic ces humansul sw i th the or i f for may gather within iC one of their main tasks is directed an inspiing in thewaythat is necessary,unlnssuch outside it-to unite somewhere else with the maiority of thnt forceas can permute a Michaelfrethsal-unlss , Michaelic souls. come is to say,a nan formatiaeimpulse--ean forth A few years after the publication (1993)of his book, from thedepths of esotericlife. Ben-Aharon went considerably further in an undated passiaemembers of theAnthropo- If insteadof the articlea2with his characterizationof the problem with the actiue members sophicalSociety, eaan only a faa Anthroposophical Society and of his own role in the it becomepossibletoset up couldbe famd, then wutld current situation. In it, he revealswhat he claims to be "a to considersuch a thought.It is further delibuations central spiritual-rientific fact of evolution that must be that while essentialto theAnthroposophical Society applied also to the anthroposophical society and the of coursebecanied stimuliwithin theSociety shwld practical movementsspringing out of AnthroposoPhy." attach prinary out, the membersshuild actually He goeson to write: in whatis coming ualue,I mightsay , to participating We must seethat this "horizontal" spiritual trans- contemplatiue to pass.Thry may perhap focus the mitting of what Rudolf Steinergaae physically is of their soulson what is takingplace, but the forces bund to becomewenker from one generntion to own sotrlsdoa not becomeunited actiaity of their arather,and that this is occurringnotwithstaniling animpulse, with whatis passing through thetimeas the quation of the significanceof any indiaidual Anthroposophical Hence,with theprnent stateof the contibution offeredalong theway . This is so because be no quation of Mouanent, thue can of course of the operationof an important spiritual law that consideringas part of its actiaityanythinglikewhat gqnernsthe natural spiritual decline in the uitality just impulse. has now beenspokrn of as an reoteic and of anyspiitual inheritancein thephysi' mankind's anlution fertility But it must beunderstnd how cnl world. of really moaes,that the great sustainingfarces This law work in sudr n way. that a spiritual not what is humanity'sworld-anlution come from impulseon the physicalplane can maintain its- but entirely propoundedin superficialwords from alreadydeclining-inna aitality only in thecourse differentquarters.3e of thru gmnations. After three times 33---a cen' Move- Of course,the "stateof the Anthroposophical tury-the physicalability to transmit a spiritual 1923Christrnas ment" in April 1923was changedby the irryulse casa mtirely. Then any spiritual motte- "the opposite of Conference,as a consequenceof which mmt standsat a crossroads:lt hasonly two possi' recognized;no distinctionis to whatwentbefore mustbe bilitiesbefore it. Either it becomesptrely traditional, Anthroposophical be made henceforeward between carrytng thingspast in an old and hence Society,for they are fonlard Movement and Anthroposophical in creasin gly in d n ant or isabl e t o break throu gh itself brought form, now identical." The Christmas Conference to theat present lioing supasensiblenurca out of just such a new formative impulse, coming forth from which its inspiratbn camein the first place' the depths of esotericlife. l,Intil ttoutin humanhistory, rn spiritual raae' I am well aware that from not long after Rudolf ment that uentd itselfa physical-wial form of have been those for Steiner's death until the present there organimtion, succeededin this. Eaery such moae' the Chrishmas who are convinced that with his death ment has chosm to remain bwnd to the physical- the Anthropo- Conference was proved a failure, that organizedbody and usethe t eachingsto keq thedud with the Anthro- sophicalMovement is no longer united bdy in a semblanceof life and thus be mtirely posophical Society,that the Societyis esotericallybank- sEaratedfrom its fwnding spirit, which obaiously rupt, and that Steiner is no longer connectedto it' continuesto daselop,crmtingfor itselfnan formsof In his book, Ben-Aharon adds more than one twist to

48 The ThreefoldReview nunifestation on thephysicalplane. WiII theanthro_ among the priests of . For plfophigal societybe the first to breakthis tratlition of many years the Rudolf SteinerNachlassverwaltung, the all traditionsT Euentually,perhaps already in the literary estate of Rudolf Steiner-a fully independent courseof the presentMichael Age,but if not, thenin organization which holds the literary copyright to his thecour se of thepresent fif th atltural epoch,aspiritual work-has not ventured to publish its copy of the notes, society ortthe mrth utill achine thisgoal . But is it the respecting Steinels original intention that they were present societythat shall be able to achianeit, or one intended only for the circle of priests. In 1995,however, of its futuremanifestations in thecoming cmtury or the decision was taken-without the support of the centuries?This is preciselythe quatian that must Christian Community-to publish a versionof the texts.,, increasingly engagethe attention and true hurt Of course, during the interval between 1924 and es forc of anthropsophists. 1995,illicit copies of this material were in circulation in AII of ,,most this is introduced by the assertionthat German (and eventually, in English). Thus, there were anthroposophists seemto be unaware,,of this supposed only three possible sourcesof this material at the time "central spiritual-scientific fact of evolution,, ind, bv Ben-Aharon wrote his book: the archives of the implication, of "an important spiritual law.,, It is on-e Nachlassverwaltung,a priest in the Christian Commu- thing for Ben-Aharon to share,in his book, his spiritual nity, or an illicit edition. What is one to think of Ben- imagination; it is quite another for him to malie these Aharon's failure to reveal both his source and the subsequent rycle claims. Surely he would have revealedto the this quotation is takenfrom, letalone the reasonthe majority rycle of ignorant Anthroposophistsjust whereRudolf was as yet "unpublished"? By not being forthright, Ben- Steiner described this law had Steinei in fact done so. Aharon has not only createda false impression as to the Therefore, it should be obvious that Ben-Aharon, with factsofthe matterbuthasdrawn many of his readersinto a.ffectedmodesty, is claiming, but only by implication, anunconsciousparticipation ,,important in countering Rudolf Stiner,s that fteis the discovererof this spiritual law,, original intention. and thathe hasindeed takenontheroleof oicultteacher. It should also be noted that an author who would go Although he was past forty yearsof agebefore announc- this far inorder to quote froma Steinerlecture would nbt ing this discove'ry,his performance in the book under fail to cite where Steiner revealed the spiritual law re- consideration cannot inspire confidence in the careful ferred troearlier if indeed there were such a lecture. reader. Inasmuchas we have only Ben-Aharon to rely upon Beforc entering upon spiritual-scientific research, for the veracity of the apparently dire conditions in the one is supposed to aftain to a certain rigor, cognitively Anthroposophical Society due to the law he claims to and morally, in relation to ordinary earthly experience. have discovered,the reader of his words cannot be too The way one handles the anthroposophical material at cautious or too skeptical. The first obvious question, one'sdisposal is certainly an indication of how far one after considering his credibility, is: Do Ben-Aharon's has progressed in regard to these preliminary require- assertionsresonate within the soul the sameway Rudolf ments. Only a knowledgeable reader of Ben-Aharon,s Steiner'sdo? book will noticesuch as the following,which is not to say Furthermore,in the undated article referred to above, that such defectsin his book are without effect on those Ben-Aharon gives himself a most prominent role in lacking this knowledge. saving the situatiory as he seesit. The last paragraph of chapter 2 of his book (p.22) What actually happensif man entersthis abyss, reads: "During the last week of Rudolf Steiner/slechrr- crossr its thrahold, and arriaesat the otherside,I ing activity he directly alluded to the apocalyptic nature haue tried to portray in my two Dook, The New of the timebeginningin 1933.The Beastwilibereleased SupersensibleExperience, and The Spiritual from its captivity in the Earth. . . Beforethe EthericChrist Event of the 20th Century : One meetsthi ttigher is recognized rightly by man, humanity must first come Guardian of the Threshold, the Christ, in His to terms with the confrontation with the Beastthatcomes Ethericfotm, anil is guiiled into the inner super- out of the depths in 1933.'" And the endnotethat Ben- sotsible actiaity of the true, currently liaing Aharorr ,,In provides for this quotationmerely reads: an Michael School. For now, sufficeit to say that the unpublished lecture (20 September'1,924) J' acfual,real, not learnedor abstract,abyss situation, Flowever, Ben-Aharon had to know the following. the crossingof the thrahold of the20ti centuryand The quotationis from the sixteenthlectureofthe cvcleon themeetingwiththeChrist on theothershore, areyet the Apocalypsegiven by Rudolf Steinerto the prieits and to becomethe central work situationof true wtuic potential priests of the Christian Community. anthroposophicalwork in I thel beginningof thenext Since Ben-Aharon's book appeared, the Apocatypse cmtury. cycle was published in English in 1998.a3In-the Thismeans that this esotericanthro1n- ,,Since first future publisher'sforward one can read: 1924,this text wphical work becmtered around a sharedstudy of (in a slightly revised form) hasbeen in private circulation the experienceof the modernDamascus euent. A lssueNo. 19 49 the School Spiritual Science, cunmunal, socinlstudy of the spiritual-scimtific 15.Tle Constitutionol fforl buwledgeprocusof thesecond coming, indiuidual- pp.14-17. '16. Thoughts,p' 53. izedthriugh mnnyhumnn beings in theaurse of this AnthroposophicalLeading SpiritualEvent, century,ii asentiat to theformntion of a newschool- 17. The P.57. ing inihe surets of theliaing MichaelSchool and its 1.8.Karmic Relationships,vol. VI, pp.120-127. noteric contmt. 79.IQtrmic Relationships, vol. VI, p.'1,23. Thus far Ben-Aharon points only to his own work as 20.The Art ot'Lecturing, P. 774. the basis for the "shared study of the experiencesof the 21,.TleArt of Lecturing,P.775. modern Damascusevent." 22.PCDForum Paradigm Wanior Profile#4' Profile of Nicanor Although Ben-Aharon, Perlas, and the rest of the "Nicky" Perlas.Interviewed by David Korten' http:/ /iisd'ca/ Working Gioup for Global Threefolding are-membersof pcdf. edition, p' 8' the Ant[roposbphical Society,implicit in the goal they 23.TheSpiritual Eaent,foreword to the second p' 3' all shareare negative judgements regarding the Society 24.TheSpiritual Euent,foteword to the second edition, as the intendedlessel for the Michaelic community and 25.TheSpiritual Eoent,inttoduction, p. 9' regarding Anthroposophy as the drivingforce for three- 26. Rudolf Steiner, "Autobiographical Sketch" (written for foiding, iegative judgementsthat many should have the Eduard Shur6at Barr in Alsace,France, on Septembet9, 19fi7)' Societyin insight and the courage to reject. A TheGolden Blade:7966 (London: Anthroposophical GreatBritain), p.1. Notes: 27.TheSpiritual Eaent,foreword to the second edition, p' 2' Cen' 1.Jesaiah Ben-Aharon, The SpiritualEwnt of theTwefltieth 28.Rudolf Steiner and Marie Steiner-Von Sivers, Corre- fury (London:Temple Lodge,1995), p.50. spondenceand Documents:190L-1925 (New York: Anthropo- (from a letterto a 2. TheSpiritual Eoent, P. 49. sophicPress, 1988), p.269, end note no' [I]27 3. Rudolf Steiner, Karmic Relationships(lectures to membersof memberof the Theoiophical Society,Berlin, January20, 1905)' the Anthroposophical Society),Vol. VI (London:Rudolf Steiner 29.T\rcSpiritual Eoent , chapter4, "The Rebirth of Anthroposo- Press,1971), p. 158. phv,"p.50. 4. Ren6 Maikowski, Schicksalswegeauf der Suchenach dem 30.TheSpiritual Euent,foreword to the second edition, p' 3' the Liwng lebendigenGeist lPaths ot' Destiny in thz Searcht'or 31.The Spiitual Ewnt, foreword to the secondedition, PP'6-7' Vertag die Kommenden' 1980)' Spirit)lGreiburg, Germany: 32.TheSpiritual Eaent , chapter4, "The Rebirth of Anthroposo- into English. p.27-not yet translated phy," p.52. Relationships(lectures to members), 5. Rudolf Steiner,Karmic gg. n,raotf Steiner, TheLife, Nature,and thc Cultioation of An- (London: Anthroposophic Publishing Co', 1957)' Vol. III throposophy(London: Anthroposophical Society in GreatBrit- p.115. ain, 1953),p. vii. Ataakeningto Community(lectures to mem- 5. Rudolf Steiner, 34.Rudolf Steiner,ThePhilosophy of SpiritualAclittity(Blauvelt' (SpringValley, New York: AnthroposophicPress, 197 4)' bers), New York: Multimedia Publishing, 1980),chapter IX, "The P.55. Idea of Freedom,"P. 184. by Root, Sr., who also translated the 7. Translated John 35.Rud ol f Steiner, T he C hi stmas C ont'erence t'or t heF oundation ot' quotation and the materialfrom DasGoetheanum' Maikowski theGeneral Anthroposophical Society 1-92311'924 (Hudson, New correspondingpassage inThe AnthroposophicMooement The York: AnthroposoPhicPress, 1990). (lectures to members) (Bristol, England: Rudolf Steiner 36.TheThreet'otdRertbw,issue no. 73,p'16 orThe Renewalot'the Press,1993),aPPears on 98 of that book without the last Page SocialOrganisnl (written by Steiner for the weekly newspaper sentenceofthe first parigraph. (This translationis presented TheThreifoldSocial Order) (Spring Valley, New York: Anthro- as "abridged.") -98. posophicPress,1985), PP. 97 8. KarmicRelationships, Vol. III, pp.48-49. 37. Rudolf Steiner, TheCycle ot' the Year(lectures to members) Steiner,The Constitution of the School[t'or] Spiritual 9. Rudolf (SpringValley, New York: AnthroposophicPress, 1984)' p' 45' Science(lectures to memberspublished in abbreviatedform) 38.Tle Cycleot' the Year, 49. (London: AnthroposophicalSociety in Great Britain, 1954)' P. ot'theYear, 45-46. pp.15-15. 39.TheCycle PP. Eaent,foreword to the second edition, p' 3' "!0.Awakening to Community'P.45' 40.Tlre Spiritual foreword to the second edition, P' 5' 11. Rudolf Steiner,The Art ot'Lecturing (lectures to members) 47. TheSpiritual Eaent, Societyand (SpringValley, New York: Mercury Press,1984),p' 2' 42."Future Tasksof a Timely Anthroposophical Spiritual Science:As Preparation for The 12.The Art ot'Lecturirtg, 1. the High School for P. 29th, 1999-January 3rd' Anti-social Forcesin the Hu- Gotheiburg Conference, December 13.Rudolf Steiner,"social and 2001 (Spring New York: 2000,and th"eCapeTown Conference,]anuary-February, man Being" (lectureto members) Valley, "' 43.The Bookof Reaelationand the Work ot'the Priest,London' Mercury Press,1982),P. 28. (lettet SteinerPress, 1998. 14. Rudolf Steiner, AnthroposophicalLeading Thoughts Rudolf of August 17, 1924)(London: Rudolf SteinerPress, 1973)' pp.53-5a.

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