Anthroposophical Leading Thought (4)
For certainty of feeling and for a strong unfolding of his will, man needs a knowledge of the spiritual world. However widely he may feel the greatness, beauty and wisdom of the natural world, this world gives him no answer to the question of his own being. His own being holds together the materials and forces of the natural world in the living and sensitive form of man until the moment when he passes through the gate of death. Then Nature receives this human form, and Nature cannot hold it together; she can but dissolve and disperse it. Great, beautiful, wisdom-filled Nature does indeed answer the question, How is the human form dissolved and destroyed? but not the other question, How is it maintained and held together? No theoretical objection can dispel this question from the feeling soul of man, unless indeed he prefers to lull himself to sleep. The presence of this question must incessantly maintain alive, in every human soul that is really awake, the longing for spiritual paths of World-knowledge.
– Rudolf Steiner
(http://wn.rsarchive.org/Books/GA026/English/RSP1973/GA026_a01.html [1])
 
This week I was in conversation with a doctor who recognised anthroposophy as becoming effective in life. This led me to the following message from Steiner.
 
The preconception that there can be only one truth is so deeply rooted in human souls that contradictions are suspected when in a lecture course something is expressed in one way, and at another time is expressed in a different way. This, however, is exactly what must be cultivated among [the anthroposophical movement] in order to show how diversity is demanded by the presentation of truth. It is diversity that must become an ideal, not uniformity.
STEINER, R., (1984) The Lost Unison of Speaking and Thinking. Spring Valley NY: Mercury Press

 What is needed is our freely unbiased and uncompromising integrity. Tolerance and the willingness to engage creatively with contrary points of view can demonstrate the integrity of anthroposophy as a valid, cosmopolitan, non-partisan and non-sectarian means to global cultural development. We can rigorously discern the true value of detractions from anthroposophy. Our arguments have no need to disrespect other authors. We have no need to muddy the ground of free spiritual activity by hurling mud. Our foundation for knowledge can only be individual spiritual activity.