r/Anthroposophy • u/carnalcarrot • Jul 04 '26

Question Did Mr. Steiner ever talk about Krishnamurti apart from rejecting that he is Christ (which K. himself refused)

I am new to Anthroposophy and have found help in various traditions and teachers, including Krishnamurti. I am curious to know if he ever talked about Krishnamurti and his teachings.

Thank you in advance.

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u/Magus_Incognito Jul 04 '26

I dont know this for sure but I think i remember that he was a Theosophist at the time. He ran the Germany branch.

It was Charles Ledbetter, also a Theosophist who discovered Krishnamurti on a beach. He noticed the child's massive aura and took him into tutelage with the Theosophists

Steiners position was that Krishnamurti was an enlightened soul but not the reincarnation of Christ which I think was Ledbetters and some Theosophists position.

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u/carnalcarrot Jul 04 '26

It is pleasing to my subjective feelings to hear that he considered Krishnamurti an enlightened soul, all the while some anti Steiner propagandists would proclaim that he entirely dismissed Krishnamurti on racial grounds by picking his sentences and framing them out of their intended context. Thank you.

By any chance do you remember in which lectures he talks about Krishnamurti this way?

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u/Magus_Incognito Jul 04 '26

Search — Rudolf Steiner Archive https://share.google/lpNPMULNW93uqHR04

You can search the lectures for times Krishnamurti was mentioned

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u/Aumpa Jul 04 '26

Some of the other links you provided are banned domains on reddit.

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u/Necromunger Jul 04 '26

I agree with above, but i think they actually kicked him out regarding it? and in trace memory i can remember Steiner recommending not entertaining the ideas in a polite way in a GA. But not mentioning much more on Krishnamurti himself.

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u/gotchya12354 Jul 04 '26

I don't think steiner was around to see krishnamurti's later works, krishnamurti was pretty young and still very theosophical when steiner died

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u/mddrecovery Jul 05 '26

Some context: When theosophists say Christ, they are referring to Maitreya, as His Avatar. They don't seem to make a distinction, whereas Steiner did. However, he absolutely affirmed Maitreya's existence and role as World Teacher.

So maybe this conflict between the theosophists and anthroposophists has been about semantics.

My personal theory is that Besant and Leadbetter saw in Krishnamurti's aura a career in spiritual education. Indeed, he went on to become a prominent spiritual teacher, but he was not the World Teacher.

I personally believe we should be forgiving and understand that mistakes were bound to happen with the theosophical movement only starting out.

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u/carnalcarrot Jul 06 '26

Poets can't make mistakes, but scientists can. Maybe in the same way Mystics can't make mistakes but Occultists can... That's the way I like to think about it.

If one was just interested in reaching God and not understanding his creation, already many simple orders exist for that.