The Coronavirus Pandemic II

Introduction

It is surely unusual for the author of a study such as this one to reveal her feelings while writing it; and the reader may consider such private disclosures as inappropriate in such a context.

With this in mind I request your understanding, for I find no other way than to openly express my own feeling of oppression as I write this book. Actually, my foremost intention is to work with people who are prepared to enter into a significant spiritual task full speed ahead and without detours, into a work that is focused on the setting of spiritual foundation stones for the soul's future higher development. It is, after all, the kind of work which is presently so urgently needed everywhere!

But an obstacle stands in the way of this step. And it is clear that this work cannot begin until that obstacle is removed.

The obstacle is basically that I consider a fruitful spiritual working in community against the background of the heated debates about the “right” way to handle the corona-virus problem to be impossible. For something has entered the anthroposophical movement with “corona” which in form and magnitude has, in my opinion, never been the case before. And what is happening in the anthroposophical movement in this respect is no different than in society as a whole. The populace is deeply divided across all its different social, economic, political, cultural, religious, educational and age groups. And the tendency toward radicalization that becomes apparent when one's own opinion about this subject is expressed compared to that of others, has increased to a worrying extent. One often observes that people have suddenly forgotten their ethical principles and ideals when dealing with others. A moral amnesia seems to have broken out. These developments are catastrophic for people in everyday social life. For a spiritual community they mean, in effect, death.

Of course a spiritual, anthroposophical working community should be the appropriate space in which people with different opinions can nevertheless come together, because they know themselves to be united in a higher spirit and strive together for it. If, however, doubts arise among them as to whether the other person truly strives for this spirit because he has a different opinion about the coronavirus question, then such a community is threatened in its very spiritual foundations. Furthermore, in this case a “live” event taking place depends on whether all can agree about how to act in respect to the protection or non-protection from infection. Since I naturally cannot ensure that before every working meeting the participants reach such a formal as well as spiritual agreement among themselves, I see no other possibility than that those people who in the future wish to share a common working group with me reach a basic consensus to accompany the course leader's contribution and participate in the event without “stomach aches,” without inner stress.

Originally I wanted what follows to be directed only to the members of the anthroposophical working group of the Free Association for Anthroposophy in Dornach, the Lazarus-John Branch (as well as to those who register for my events) — just as I intended to do with the contents of volume 1. But it's probably an illusion to think that these words will remain in the circle of those for whom they are intended. And I would like very much to avoid a piecemeal way of passing them on, especially in this case. So I have no choice but to attempt to remove the above-mentioned obstacle by means of an official publication.

Although my book is now a public one and therefore accessible to every interested person, I cannot do so except with the background of anthroposophical knowledge of the world and humanity, and the use of certain applicable concepts and basic knowledge. This means that the reader who has not yet come into contact with Anthroposophy may not necessarily find it easy to follow my explanations correctly. This is pointed out here in advance. For this volume also deals with anthroposophical perspectives.

Although these words are of course directed at everyone who is open to a somewhat different consideration of outer events, and is basically prepared to accept the reality of a spiritual sovereignty of consciousness as a causally inherent creative force of all things and beings, as well as the importance of the Son of God for the development of the free human being, I am writing mostly for people who, because of being aware of the contents of anthroposophical knowledge, already possess a certain insight into the world and the human being.

But what follows is not only directed to that group of persons because due to their previous knowledge of anthroposophical terminology and contents they will more easily understand, but also because the conditions now seem to be such that among those people who count themselves as members of the anthroposophical movement, it is precisely the “knowing” of certain spiritual facts, or the handling of this (mostly read) knowledge, which at an earlier point in time had been provided by a third party (mainly by Rudolf Steiner), does not have to lead directly to enlightenment, but — on the contrary — carries the danger of missing reality by a hair's breadth or even by miles (for which, however, the provider of this spiritual knowledge, Rudolf Steiner, is not to be held in the least responsible).

And here lies the obstacle of which I spoke, not in its essence, but in detail: that within the anthroposophical movement it is precisely because of knowing certain statements once made based on spiritual-scientific research that it becomes clear in the present situation what such knowledge is worth if it alone is used to judge the present situation, that is, if we confuse certain spiritual-scientific learning with spiritual insight, if we consider what has been acquired by study to be valid spiritual-scientific knowledge. It is apparent in this situation, which has been caused by the coronavirus, that knowing such things can, under certain circumstances, lead in a completely different direction than the one leading to direct, living knowledge of the spiritual facts.

This has — as is evident to me from letters, various internet contributions and articles in anthroposophical journals — led a large (perhaps predominant?) part of anthroposophical oriented circles to adhere to a view of things and events surrounding the coronavirus that not only seems to be almost unprovable, but also makes it clear to me that I am alone out on a limb in my spiritual-scientific consideration of the coronavirus problem, which will be outlined below.

And since the viewpoint that is obviously predominant in large parts of the anthroposophical movement, and which is held with breathless emotion and propagated with an almost missionary zeal, I have little confidence that this book will ultimately lead to anything other than its defamation or the questioning of my spiritual-scientific competence. For a not insignificant number of the letters addressed directly to me contain the wish (or the demand) for agreement by me with their own opinion rather than open questions about understanding of the situation based on spiritual science.

I therefore consider the chance of opening a small door for a different perspective on things through a book like this to be very small. For there is already a certain gate within the anthroposophical movement that is wide open, and through much banging of drums and trumpets apparently many people have already passed through this gate, which opens in only one direction.

But I feel obligated, in the best sense of the word, to those who have waited for many months for a statement from me on the present situation and who are really open to considering my answers, although I would like to emphasize that I do not have “the” answer to all your questions! So on one hand there are those whose souls are not yet completely hardened in their conviction, as well as those who have turned to me with the request for an answer, which give me the reason to write and publish this book. And last but not least, as I said, reading this book may help to ensure that the work I actually have in mind can take place in an atmosphere cleared of any ill-feelings, because those who have a strict contradictory view of the sketchy explanations presented here will not want to join (any longer) working groups with me in the future — which is deplorable, but would probably be the only sensible thing in the end.

All these introductory remarks indicate, however, how complicated and deeply regrettable the situation has become.

We are really living in a time in which every individual has fundamental decisions to make — whether they want to or not, whether they are aware of it or not.

However, and this is one of the things that causes me such great distress in writing these thoughts, that at the moment one can actually only identify two major camps of opinion, that tend to be suspicious of each other: for one, that of the “classical,” scientifically oriented, essentially un-or-anti-spiritual worldview, the camp in favor of all kinds of exterior protective measures against the coronavirus, who consider it dangerous, and also of those in favor of general regulations and laws and basically supporters of vaccination; and for the other the “alternatives” and otherwise vague definitions or categories, of partly a spiritual, but also a not-at-all spiritual worldview, the position of those who consider the coronavirus harmless, comparable to the influenza virus, the position of supporters of individual freedom of choice in every respect and categorical opponents of vaccination. These two positions accuse each other, sometimes more or less reticently, of fundamental errors and intentions, so that gradually a world appears that seems to be drawn in black and white.

As is indicated in this book, the situation in which we currently find ourselves is not, however, one in which “black” and “white” are as easily distinguishable as many voices today suggest. That this is still widely believed, however, makes it so difficult to untangle the knot, and also to introduce “appealing” evidence for the points to be made, although this in itself is an indication of the nature of the spiritual test we are facing as humanity and as individuals.

I would like to also state now that with this book I have no intention of convincing my readers to change their opinion.

The writing down of the following remarks is not due to a missionary impulse. (In fact, I must admit that I am repelled by writings based on such an impulse.) It is done out of an effort to investigate and deal with the questions brought to me and the cause of the present conditions which have arisen in various areas from the coronavirus problem by means of anthroposophical spiritual science — whether a certain opinion is thereby strengthened or weakened.

In a real anthroposophical investigation it cannot be otherwise but that no attention is paid to personal opinions, because it's not a question of personal opinions when we are following the track of spiritual realities. It cannot be understood and operated in any other way than that the personal opinion of the one who undertakes the spiritual-scientific investigation plays such a minor role that — if in the end it proves to be completely insubstantial in relation to reality — the person concerned is prepared to abandon the effort without difficulty.

If otherwise, in such a super-sensible endeavor, one tries (consciously or subconsciously) to confirm his or her own opinion by means of the super-sensible investigation, they may as well not have bothered to undertake such a super-sensory investigation, for it will in fact not be one. Everyone should know this fact who has had first experiences on the path of spiritual training, and is courageous and sincere enough to admit their initial unfortunate errors in this respect.

So it should be clear that this exposition does not present my personal views regarding political, economic or external social events. It addresses the spiritual challenges which exist for general humanity, and thus within the anthroposophical movement, with regard to the coronavirus issue. It makes no claim to completeness and no claim to complete correctness. But it is the result of a spiritual-scientific investigation carried out to the best of my knowledge and belief and according to the possibilities available to me.

What is therefore explored in this book is considered exclusively according to its spiritual content — according to spiritual-scientific perspectives alone. (This fact may help to answer the question about participation in my events).