Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy [antikvár]

1 ».r-ikr-f- :.^ FIRST PHASE 1861--1889 In his Autobiography Rudolf Stelner describes how he received, as a gift from Destiny, what he needed for his development during this period. Outer life on the whole demanded from him just that which arose from his own impulses. Rudolf Steiner was born on 27 February 1861 at Kraljevec on the border of Austria and Hungary. His father was stationmaster at a little station on the Southern Austrian railway. In spite of various moves his childhood environment was always of the same Childhood simple character: station buildings and tracks. His father was not very well paid, so the children had to help in the family upkeep, by working in household and garden and on the potato field, Rudolf Steiner took an active part too in the whole life of the station. He learnt to use the telegraph, for Instance, at an early age. Thus he grew up in a milieu that encouraged him to become alert and capable. The wider environment was both beautiful and majestic. Close by were meadows and woods, and in the distance towered the snow-capped Alpine peaks. Daily contact with simple, good-hearted peasant folk, the natural use of a picturesque country dialect, a deep participation in the life of Nature with her changing moods and seasons, all these things helped to develop in the boy strong forces of the heart and keen inner sensibility. According to his own description, which he gave much later, Rudolf Steiner was about 7 years old when he underwent a decisive inner experience. He received