The Steiner Question

“The Bodhisattva Question” by T.H. Meyer is an Anthroposophical book discussing whether or not Rudolf Steiner was a bodhisattva. After Steiner's death, the question was answered in the affirmative by Adolf Arenson, while Elizabeth Vreede denied it. Both Arenson and Vreede had been students of Steiner. To an outsider, whether or not Steiner was The Bodhisattva of the 20th century, or was directly inspired by him without being identical, sounds like a moot point, but apparently it's a hotly debated one within Anthroposophical circles.

If Steiner wasn't a bodhisattva, who is the actual 20th century saviour of mankind? Some people have pointed to Valentin Tomberg, a controversial choice given the fact that Tomberg was an apostate from the Anthroposophical Society. The Theosophists, from which Steiner split, had their own choice: Jiddu Krishnamurti, who was considered to be both a bodhisattva, the Christ and the World Teacher. Steiner denied that Krishnamurti could be the Christ who according to Steiner's research would soon appear “in the etheric” rather than physically in a human vessel. He also denied that a young boy could be initiated into the being and function of a bodhisattva. In Steiner's soteriology, the bodhisattva (who is a reincarnation of Jeshu bin Pandera, a mysterious personage mentioned in the Talmud and sometimes identified with Jesus of Nazareth) proclaims the Christ, without being identical to him.

By claiming that Steiner was The Bodhisattva (and hence the future Maitreya Buddha), Anthroposophists can elevate their founder to a very central role in the spiritual hierarchy, while simultaneously denying any competing claims to bodhisattva status, buddhahood or Christhood. However, Steiner himself apparently never explicitly pointed to himself as a bodhisattva, making the position of the opposite camp somewhat logical, too: if Steiner's revelations are true, surely he was telling the truth when denying that he was a bodhisattva? Steiner also said that the bodhisattva always designates his successor, something Steiner never did.

“The Bodhisattva Question” is a rather “boring” book, and is probably of little interest to the general reader. You need to be extremely interested in the occult milieu (or everything connected to Krishnamurti) to sift through this material. However, if you are, chances are that T. H. Meyer's expositions on the Steiner Question will find its way to your bookshelf.