Participants from seven countries came to the July 2023 colloquium in Donji Kraljevec, Rudolf Steiner’s birthplace, to exchange ideas on the theme of “Anthroposophy, a Cultural Impulse of the Future.”
We were kindly welcomed to the Centar Dr. Rudolfa Steinera by Dijana Posavec, the director of the center and the person in Kraljevec who is responsible for all questions related to Rudolf Steiner. In a lively way, she unfolded beautiful pictures of her work for Kraljevec and Croatia. Gerhard Stocker and Tom Tritschel from the German National Society got us in the mood for the conference topic. What does a Michaelic culture of encounter mean in times of crisis? And how does the East-West theme relate to it? In his Aphorisms, Rudolf Steiner characterized the experiences of the Eastern person in the sense world as illusion (Maya), while, conversely, the Western person considers the spiritual world illusionary. We wondered if this was still the case 100 years later. Hasn’t materialism brought the whole of humankind to the point that they can only recognize reality in the sense world? Or do we still have to deal with these opposites? To recognize and possibly to balance them might be the task of a Michaelic culture of encounter. The middle rhythm of the Foundation Stone verse expressed the conference theme well: “Let from the east enflame what through the west takes form.”
Olga Kranich, a musician from Russia, drew attention to new ways of music. Tomaz Biffio, an artist from Slovenia, put us in touch with the cultural impulses and spiritual forces of the present. The focus of his reflections was Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic. In her art, she points to human abysses that require new strength to overcome. And, of course, we visited the birthplace of Rudolf Steiner. After a warm welcome from the Tisaj family, I reported on the restoration of this jewel, which I had supervised along with Christian von Wistinghausen at the beginning of 2000.
All the participants expressed the wish to continue this conference next year and, in particular, to deepen the East-West question.
Translation Laura Liska
Photos Willi Grass
