Theos-Talk Archives (March 2004 Message tt00638)

--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, Bart Lidofsky <bartl@s...> wrote:
> walkinsnotwelcome wrote:
> > It wasn't disagreement with Steiner's religious beliefs that he 
had a 
> > problem with, it was membership in the Krishnamurti-as-Maitreya 
> > organization, the Order of the Star in the East I believe it was 
> > called.
> 
> Which meant that he kept people out because they had 
religious beliefs 
> that differed from his own.
> 
> Bart

Bart is quite correct. I have a lot of admiration for some things 
that Steiner did (Waldorf education, Biodynamic agriculture) and have 
learned much from him and some of his disciples (Owen Barfield, Chris 
Bamford, etc). But he definitely was intolerant over a number of 
issues, esp Krishnamurti, around the split with the TS. Just read 
any of Rudi's lectures from the second half of 1912, as things were 
coming to a head. Not pretty.

Many things caused the split -- Steiner's ego as a spiritual teacher 
and clairvoyant with a growing group of followers; his view of 
Christianity vis-a-vis other world religions; etc -- Krishnamurti was 
just a point of focus for all this. (And I don't mean to imply that 
those on the TS side -- Mrs Besant and CWL -- were innocent saints. 
Tempers flared on all sides, which did not help matters.)

Just like all of us, these folks had both great strengths and 
significant personal failings. I think we have to learn from their 
good work, while not avoiding an honest, but compassionate, awareness 
of the less edifying parts of the story.

John