If you are a member of our membership service “Takeo Harada Gemeinschaft”, you have probably heard the word “anthroposophy” in the IISIA Daily Report or in the audio reports. In this blog, I will introduce the words of Rudolf Steiner, a thinker who found anthroposophy, and explore why we, a private independent think tank, have been used “anthroposophy” as a keyword.

(Photo 1: Rudolf Steiner)

(Reference: Wikipedia)

Steiner was born in Central Europe on February 25, 1861. He was a thinker, philosopher, and educator who later became active in Austria and Germany. In 1879, he entered the Business School Teaching Course at the Technical University of Vienna, where he studied mainly mathematics, biology, physics, and chemistry. After leaving university, he worked as a private teacher for the four children of the Specht family, wool importers, from the ages of 23 to 29, and worked at the Goethe-Schiller Library in Weimar until the age of 36. After that, Steiner moved to Berlin and he worked as an editor of literary and theater reviews and taught history, literature, and natural science to students at the Berlin Workers’ School of Liberal Arts. He also joined the Theosophy group in Berlin when he was 40 years old.

(Photo 2: Helena P. Blavatsky)

(Reference: Wikipedia)

“Theosophy” is another word that is regularly used in our audio reports. It is founded by a Russian woman, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891). Steiner studied the nature of human existence, how the universe is made, etc. in her Theosophy group. At the age of 52, Steiner, while resonating with Theosophy, was unable to transcend the boundaries of Western tradition and Christianity, and organized his own anthroposophical society to continue his quest for a “spiritual science”. (The term “spiritual science” here refers to chemistry, which is not limited to the study of the psyche, as in psychology, but extends to pneuma (spirituality) as its object of inquiry. It attempted to conduct this exploration in a natural scientific way of thinking, without assuming faith as in religion. He respected a strictly scientific attitude rather than a vague mystical sense.)

Let us first look at the way of thinking that Steiner taught.

In anthroposophy, he said, the “principle of practical thinking” is important. What makes thinking fruitful, essential, and valuable is the ability to form an accurate picture of a sequence of events and to say, “Yesterday it went like this, and today it goes like this.” and thus bring both images as close as possible, which in the real world are far apart. Of course, we cannot guess tomorrow’s weather based on what we see right now, but we must trust that things in the outside world are related and that tomorrow is related to today. Steiner continues: “If you eliminate thinking as much as possible and present an exact picture of a sequence of events, you can feel something arising in the invisible part of human [p.28].” Here follows a quote from Steiner’s statement about his way of thinking.

“We try to connect the new image to the next image about an internally related process. When we do this, we soon find that our thinking becomes more flexible. This is how it should be done with the unknown things. Making time to consider things from the perspective that our thoughts are IN things. It is important to practice the basic principle of “submerging ourselves in things”, in the activity of thought within things. By practice, we gradually find ourselves literally merging with the thing. Then we no longer think, “Things are outside of us.” But we feel that “our thoughts move within things. When this is achieved, many things become clear. [p.29-31]”

(Photo 3: Rudolf Steiner, The Four Temperaments of Man)

(Reference: photo by the author)

The reason why the Institute has repeatedly promoted “entrepreneurship education” as a social contribution project to young people is to lead students, both in Japan and abroad to a correct understanding of the past. So, “guide students to understand the past correctly, guide them to understand more deeply that NOW exist as a continuation of the past, and that the future will continue.” This concept may have some overlap with the above-mentioned anthroposophical way of thinking.

In “Takeo Harada Weekly Audio Report” in November 22, (https://haradatakeo.com/ec/products/25896), which is distributed through our members-only service “Takeo Harada Gemeinschaft,” he talked about “living appropriately as a human being,” by introducing nutrition and so on. Steiner’s spiritual science is about “living properly like a human being.” In Steiner’s spiritual science, “human beings need the body as a material tool,” so it is difficult to simply say that “human beings are made of the food they eat”. However, it is also the fact that “if it(body) does not function properly, it would be unuseless.” Steiner uses the example of vegetarianism and the others as follows.

“When one goes vegetarian, the plants ingested in the body demand a lot from the human body. A vegetarian diet cannot be fatty. The human body has the ability to manufacture its own fat and is required to make fat out of things that are not fat. In other words, when a person goes vegetarian, he must develop activity internally, and he must strive internally to use up what is needed to manufacture fat. When animal fat is consumed, such activity is omitted. The materialist says, ‘If we can get a lot of fat without effort, it is good for us.’ From a spiritual standpoint, we must see that “inner activity is the original development of inner life.’ When we need to invoke the power to produce our own fat, in that inner activity, the ego and the astral body take the initiative over the body and the etheric body (the organism). If you consume animal fats, the result is that you save the effort of producing your own fats. However, if one goes vegetarian and takes the opportunity to be active oneself, one becomes free and master of one’s own body. [p.120]”

(*Steiner recognizes that human beings are composed of four components: 1) the “material body (physical body)” that we share with the mineral world, 2) the “etheric body (life form)” that is connected to the physical body throughout life, 3) the “astral body (sensory body)” that is the carrier of instinct, impulse, passion, desire, perception and representation, and 4) the “ego” that is the highest component of human beings. The ego is the highest component of the human being).

In other words, we humans have the potential to construct the human body in a sensible way and contribute to the development of a free and independent inner power. Based on the above, I conclude with the assertion that “we are made of the food we eat.” Therefore, we can say that “diet” is a very important factor in becoming a pilot of one’s own body without becoming a slave to food.

This is a bit off topic, but when I attended the 16th Global Peter Drucker Forum (hereinafter referred to as “Drucker Forum”) held recently in Vienna, Austria, one of the scholars pointed out of the importance of “being totally focused on something.” This is considered to be synonymous with the state of “being in the zone” in sports and the phenomenon of “concentration” in Montessori education (the state of repeatedly focusing attention on a single point and engaging in activities to enhance one’s abilities).

(Photo 4: A scene from the Drucker Forum)

(Reference: Photo taken at the venue)

In a program on YouTube called Drucker Forum TV (https://www.youtube.com/@GlobalPeterDruckerForum/streams), a scholar repeatedly stresses the importance of using one’s hands, and the most undesirable way is unfortunately, the common form of schooling, which is just sitting and listening. Maria Montessori was the first female doctor in Italy, and she claimed that the use of hands activates the brain, which leads to the development of human intelligence (or mentality).

She said, “The development of hand’ skills is tied to the development of human intelligence. If we consider history, it is tied to the development of civilization. Almost as soon as man appeared on earth, they left traces of work with their hands. The great civilizations of past eras have always left examples of work done with hands. [p.148]”

“Children’s intelligence can reach a certain level even without using their hands, but it can reach a higher level through activities using their hands, and children who use their hands have a stronger character.” (“Strong character” here refers to clear development and toughness of character.”)

In my previous blog (Deciphering the “Knowledge Society” from Education), I mentioned Montessori education. I want to question, why would a similar claim appear in a forum held annually in honor of Peter Drucker, the father of business administration, if it’s just an educational method? why would the same claims appear in a specific educational method, if the Drucker Forum is simply a presentation of management methods? This is because both are neither “mere early childhood education methods” nor “mere management studies aimed solely at economic development.” Interestingly enough, they share the same fundamental elements, as they are both concerned with the education and management of human beings who continue to develop throughout their lives. Maria Montessori, the founder of Montessori education, and Peter Drucker, the father of business administration, had something in common as a “mysterious commonality.”

The reason why I have chosen to focus on Peter Drucker and Maria Montessori above is to show that there is a common thread that runs through the long-established and highly regarded thinking methods and personalities, and that there are reasons why they have been passed down through the generations. Our institute analyzes not only domestic and international affairs, but also makes predictions from various angles, as shown in this blog, and provides audio reports and other materials through our membership service “Takeo Harada Gemeinschaft”. This blog is the essence of the analysis, and is the humble opinion of one of the staff members.

Finally, I believe that our lives will become richer when we master the way of life as “human beings,” not as other animals. I believe that one of the hints for this is “anthroposophy.” Why don’t you consider the existence of YOU from the viewpoint of your own interests and concerns? You may gain some new insights.

Chancellery Unit, Group for Project Pax Japonica, Maria Tanaka

※The statements in this blog are not the official views of the Institute, but rather the personal views of the author.

［References]

・［H.P.Blavatski01］Helena・P・Blavatski, Translated by Masato Tojyo“Introduction to the Secret Doctrine”Syuppan Shinsya,2001.・

・［R.Steiner19］R.Steiner, Translated by Ryuhan Nishikawa“Rudolf Steiner -Four Temperaments-”,Futosya,2019.

・［M.Montessori73］Maria Montessori, Translated by Masami Takeda“Souzousuru Kodomo”,Enderure Syoten,1973.