Sergei O. Prokofieff and The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity

Sergei O Prokofieff and the Philosophy of Spiritual Activity

“The full reality of a thing is given to us in the moment of observation through

the fitting together of concept and percept.” 

Rudolf Steiner, The Philosophy of Freedom pp84

“In his book The Philosophy of Freedom, Rudolf Steiner describes how, through the unification of concept and perception (percept), man creates a new reality in his cognition.” 

Sergei O. Prokofieff, Anthroposophy and The Philosophy of Freedom pp79

Definitions (Oxford dictionary) 

New – not existing before

Full - complete

In his book The Philosophy of Freedom, Rudolf Steiner describes how, through the unification of concept and perception (percept), man creates a previously non existent reality in his cognition.

I ask myself why a devoted pupil would so misrepresent his teacher’s work?

Those who are familiar with the Philosophy of Freedom will recognise instantly that this a grave misrepresentation.

Behind the idea of “full reality” in The Philosophy of Freedom lie 5 chapters of patient, careful work which demonstrate why we experience incomplete reality, so that when we come to the idea of “full reality” we grasp firmly that it means complete reality.

But S.O.P. has not grasped this since his thinking leads him not to full, or complete, reality but to new, or not previously existing reality.

Thus, all of us who can follow the thinking of The Philosophy of Freedom leading up to “full reality” can safely say that S.O.P. has not followed RS’s thinking in the first five chapters if he can arrive at “new reality” rather than the intended and stated “full reality”.

As with The Philosophy of Freedom itself one need not concern oneself with any spiritual scientific concepts drawn from elsewhere in the writings of RS or S.O.P to illuminate the point being made here;

Preface to the Philosophy of Freedom

“The course of this demonstration is so conducted that for anyone who is able and willing to enter into these arguments it is never necessary, in order to accept them, to cast furtive glances at the experiences which my later writings have shown to be relevant.” 

Rudolf Steiner 1918

Whatever has led S.O.P. to his mode of cognition with its” new reality” it is clearly not The Philosophy of Freedom.

To get nearer to this “whatever”, it is instructive to enter into the misrepresentation and try to experience “new reality” in the philosophic context of spiritual activity given by RS, ie. only with “full reality” on our side.

I will repeat the misrepresentation;

In his book The Philosophy of Freedom, Rudolf Steiner describes how, through the unification of concept and percept, man creates a previously non existing (new) reality in his cognition.

Thus in every act of cognition, every uniting of percept and concept, man creates a new reality. This cannot be an act of cognition for what objective knowledge is one gaining? Everything that one encounters in the world and in the soul is the same, namely, new. But the concept new only works in conjunction with the concept old and this thinking knows no old reality, only new reality, perpetually new realities in fact, for each reality is discrete, otherwise the next act of “cognition” could not result in new reality.

Nowhere in The Philosophy of Freedom does RS use the concept old reality to illustrate the argument; so we can be sure and certain in our thinking that new reality is not the concept being illuminated, but it is indeed full, whole, or complete reality that the philosophy of spiritual activity of Rudolf Steiner deals with.

It is worth entering into this misrepresentation numerous times and really experiencing where one is led.

However this immersion can lead to feelings arising in the soul of incredulity and great sorrow for a thinking gone so far astray, but also, out of disbelief can emerge a temptation towards the idea of ever-new reality. In a weary world ever-new reality has an appeal. These feeling must be countered by the feeling for Truth.

If nothing at all were built on this misrepresentation by a leading anthroposophist one could follow one’s feelings of sympathy or antipathy, but a great deal is built on this misrepresentation and we owe it to Anthroposophia and the coming generations to try to clarify it.

One of the feelings that arises when entering this misrepresentation can be raised to a picture. It is a picture of shifting sands. Each new reality gained is like a grain of sand in an endless sea of shifting sand. Indeed one can walk on it, after a fashion, one can feel the feet moving and the muscles straining as one tries to climb up the dunes. But one is going nowhere. That is the will experience that arises in the philosophic experience of such thinking. The will is imprisoned in endless effort of going nowhere.

On this shifting sea of ever new realities S.O.P. builds and bids us also build.

He assures us,

“Thus if pursued consistently the path of knowledge (or cognition) of the Philosophy of Freedom leads from Jesus-consciousness to the Christ- consciousness.” 

S.O.P. Anthroposophy and The Philosophy of Freedom pp80

And he also gives a methodology ;

“If to start with an individual arrives in the sense of the Philosophy of Freedom at an inner experience of the ideal (of the concept) of the free man (First Part) and then through the work on himself creates a perception corresponding to this ideal of his own being, then through bringing the two into correlation in his consciousness he reaches the stage of Jesus who can then receive the Christ impulse into himself.” 

S.O.P Anthroposophy and The Philosophy of Freedom pp89

One must assume that he follows his own methodology, for, as we have seen, his demonstration proves that it is not, despite his protestations, to be found in The Philosophy of Freedom. And actually here it would be good to call to mind again the title of the book that RS recommended for the English speaking world, namely, The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity. 

We can see that S.O.P’s philosophy of spiritual activity differs radically from that of RS.

The above quote, which I will call the methodological sentence, gives even further evidence of this radical difference, dealing as it does with percepts.

“ I shall apply the word” percept” to the immediate objects of sensation (colours, sounds, sensations of pressure, of warmth, of taste and smell; also feelings of pleasure and pain) insofar as the conscious subject apprehends them through observation. It is then not the process of observation but the object of observation which I call the percept.....(pp44)

A percept emerges always as something perfectly definite, as a concrete content. This content is directly given and is completely contained in what is given (pp 76).” 

Rudolf Steiner, The Philosophy of Freedom

The man following S.O.P’s methodology however,

“creates a perception (percept)”

He creates colours ,sounds, smells, feelings of pleasure and pain. In other words he has no need for an outer world, since he creates all his percepts, his “objects of sensation”.

Whereas Rudolf Steiner merely experiences percepts emerging as “givens”, Sergei O Prokofieff creates his percepts.

Definitions (Oxford Dictionary)

Create - bring something into existence 

Emerge.- .appear

I confess that I find it impossible to enter into this new misrepresentation with my thinking. I am forced back onto my feelings and I feel as if there is surrounding this misrepresentation a guardian of its threshold who says to me. “ to enter this mystery presentation of the Philosophy of Freedom your thinking is barred. Leave it aside and you may enter with feelings of awe only, for here the mystery of Jesus- consciousness is unveiled.”

Being Glaswegian and familiar with the poem Tam O’Shanter by Robert Burns I cannot help but cast a furtive glance through the window and allow my feelings to explore. As silly as Tam O’Shanter am I ! Woe that I ever cast that furtive glance, for my feelings tell me that S.O.P., with this new misrepresentation, has gone through Jesus-consciousness and Christ-consciousness to the Creator God-consciousness and at the same time proved reincarnation to be a lie.

S.O.P., alone, through intensive work has created “ a percept corresponding to (his) ideal of his own being”. He has created a percept, where for Rudolf Steiner percepts only emerge. He has done what Rudolf Steiner could not do.

In every cognitive act of self-knowledge, following his own methodology, S.O.P. creates himself anew. Moreover with every cognitive act of self-knowledge he is a never before existing reality.

But, my feelings say, if he has never existed before then he cannot have incarnated before. He is like the Nathan Jesus.

I have no wish to utter such blasphemy, but since I cannot fully enter this misrepresentation with my thinking I am reduced to entering it as his guardian of its threshold wishes, with my feelings...and my feelings tell me blasphemy.

My feeling is that within this one sentence, the methodology sentence, there is profound blasphemy and a karmic crime against the author of The Philosophy of Freedom. He has used and misrepresented The Philosophy of Freedom as the means to justify his ends. This is the freedom he extends to his ever-new self-created percept of himself striding unceasingly on his shifting sand.

Hopefully those who can enter the mystery edifice of this one sentence with their thinking, are able to think it through and articulate what it contains in terms of The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity and can prove me wrong, thus rescuing me from this necessity to perceive profound blasphemy.

As we are still trying to see the full outline of this temple he has built on his shifting sands I must await deliverance from the friends who can hopefully prove me wrong about the content of the methodology sentence. I must follow this new teacher further.

The New Content for The School for Spiritual Science

We now reach the facts of life in the exoteric General Anthroposophical Section.

The School of Spiritual Science has a new esoteric teacher, who has placed his lessons fully into the exoteric structure presided over by Dornach. We have seen how this teacher’s concept “Jesus-consciousness” has been developed in earlier works like his Anthroposophy and The Philosophy of Freedom. Indeed we have seen very clearly the grotesque misrepresentation of The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity necessary to develop this concept. A gross misrepresentation seemingly unnoticed by the leadership and members of the Anthroposophical Society...that is at least 49,500 people.

But here is where all dissent in the stream of the Anthroposophical Movement must cease. For now the teaching is to be given only to members of the Class and we are as powerless in the Society as are any dissenting ordinary members. So now we see that the guardian at this threshold is the exoteric structure existing in Dornach. An esoterically empty structure now newly filled with new content of which we have had but a glimpse when the true content of the Philosophy of Spiritual Activity in us rose up in arms against the distortion.

“This is the second book, which, however, is meant only for members of the School for Spiritual Science.” Sergei O Prokofieff, Jan. 2014 

Introduction to The Esoteric Path through the 19 lessons of the Class in the light of the Supersensible Mystery of Golgotha and the Fifth Gospel. Vol 2. (Der esoterische Weg durch die neunzehn Klassenstunden im Lichte des über- sinnlichen Mysteriums von Golgatha und des Fünften Evangeliums)

This book is advertised and promoted in a Special Issue, November 2014 of Anthroposophy Worldwide which is being sent to all Class members only.

The aim of the book is

“only to provide an indication of a direction that can be taken, one that could be intensively meditated, thought about and developed further by the reader himself.” S.O.P. Introduction.

However the author also believes the book,

“gives evidence of an initial stage, the barest beginning of what ought (!) to live and work among the members of the School for Spiritual science as the content of the General Anthroposophical Section.” S.O.P Introduction.

As previously said, the leadership in Dornach are promoting this book through a special issue of Anthroposophy Worldwide.

“The leadership of the School for Spiritual Science—in cooperation with Peter Selg—wishes to draw attention in an appropriate way to Sergei Prokofieff’s second book for the School.” AW Special Issue Nov 2014.

So what is it that the members of the School are being urged to intensively meditate, think about and develop further themselves so that what ought to live and work among them as content of the general Anthroposophical section can do so?

Well it certainly involves his concept of Jesus-consciousness.

“He (S.O.P) wished to show that the steps for gaining and implementing “Christ consciousness” (in the sense described earlier) were to be found very concretely within the 19 lessons. Meditatively, it had become clear to him (S.O.P.) that the levels of soul belonging to “Jesus consciousness” and connected with the Nathan soul and the Zarathustra being were to be found in lessons 5 to 9—the “Jesus consciousness” that was a necessary precursor of “Christ consciousness” prior to the baptism in the Jordan. .....

Peter Selg in his overview of the book in the Special Issue November 2014

Would that be the same (or new?) Jesus-consciousness, which is nowhere found in The Philosophy of Freedom ? This empty (of meaningful esoteric content) concept for which The Philosophy of Freedom was debased and misrepresented (along with the rest of RS’s epistemological foundational work) is now to be found in the mantras and lessons of the School. There it will be safe from any thinking being applied to it by ordinary members of the AS, or, God forbid, anybody at all who can think, for only Class members are meant to have access to it.

“When the Jesus principle is fully developed in the above described way on the level of consciousness in the process of cognition (meaning that it is brought all the way to the stage of the Son of Man), it is then capable of receiving the Christ as Son of God into itself. Thus if pursued consistently the path of Knowledge (or cognition) of the Philosophy of Freedom leads from the Jesus-consciousness to the Christ –consciousness.”

S.O.P Anthroposophy and The Philosophy of Freedom pp80

“..Jesus-consciousness on which all his (RS) early works were founded..to the Christ consciousness on which he subsequently based Anthroposophy at the beginning of the 20thc” 

S.O.P Anthroposophy and The Philosophy of Freedom pp87

Unless the pupils of the new esoteric school in Dornach have first swallowed the pill of S.O.P’s Anthroposophy and The Philosophy of Freedom and his New Mysteries they will not fall for the seamless transition from Rudolf Steiner to Sergei Prokofieff. But alas it seems the pill has already been swallowed even though it is the size of a golf ball. Such a pill cures the problem of having oxygen in the brain and induces the brain fog necessary to block the action of phosphorus and sodium lest a crystal clear thought light up in the brain.

“In his (SOP) view, the book marks just the beginning of something that might live and work among the members of the School “as the content of the General Anthroposophical Section”—“and it will...perhaps take a long time and many incarnations before these mantric contents reveal their full reality or become guides that lead us up into the realities of the spiritual world, realities that now are only described in the human language of these mantric words.” (p. 328f.)........

According to Sergei O. Prokofieff, the acquisition of this “Jesus conscious-ness” is still needed in order to gain the “Christ consciousness” that unfolds step by step after the midpoint of the Class lessons. Sergei O. Prokofieff describes these processes in his “Exegesis”—and what he says there is very far-reaching. Based on having lived with the mantras and the content of the Fifth Gospel (but absent any source materials from Rudolf Steiner in this regard), he describes the individual achievements of the Nathan soul’s and the Zarathustra being’s consciousness (in thinking, feeling, and willing) as well as that of Christ Jesus after the baptism—as they are reflected in the esoteric Class lessons of the Michael School. “This can be thought of as quite real...” (p. 119).

He presents his own research results, results that are quite wide-ranging; they take a very new view of the mantric words and the whole content of the 19 lessons and also of the turning point of time (or—more precisely—of the events and relationships described in the Fifth Gospel)."

Peter Selg AW Special Issue November 2014

Not even this rings any alarm bells, so we can only conclude, from their deeds of promotion, that the leadership agrees that the content of the book should live as the “content of the GAS” since its promotion is signed by Justus Wittich for The General Anthroposophical Section.

“Thus the fact that Sergei O. Prokofieff concludes his life’s work for anthroposophy with a comprehensive book about “the esoteric path through the nineteen Class lessons in the light of the supersensible Mystery of Golgotha and the Fifth Gospel” is more than consistent with his life and work and may be seen as a hallmark of it. It might be said that all his work flows into this final book—or was involved in its creation.

With this book and its over 400 pages, Sergei O. Prokofieff certainly left behind more than an “incomplete indication of a direction,” and he made it available to the Anthroposophical Society—or to that “perhaps not very large number of people in the present age of the Michael regency on the earth” who are ready to undertake the path of the Class lessons and consistently follow it (p. 341). He felt united in brotherhood with these people and with those souls who will in the future find their way to them. Thus he made the decision not to withhold his research—despite the expected criticism and despite the fact he would soon no longer be able to protect his book on the earth—defend it and its intention. In his view, the book marks just the beginning of something that might live and work among the members of the School “as the content of the General Anthroposophical Section”—“and it will...perhaps take a long time and many incarnations before these mantric contents reveal their full reality or become guides that lead us up into the realities of the spiritual world, realities that now are only described in the human language of these mantric words.” (p. 328f.)”

Peter Selg, AW Special Issue, November 2014

So now we can see at least the outline and estimate the spiritual space and spiritual space-time of the temple of The New Mysteries that S.O.P has built on his shifting sands for all the members...and presumably all of humanity. The interior furnishings we do not have access to but clearly they are, in his own words “impressive” and will last for many incarnations.

This edifice looks remarkably like the Goethanum that stands on Dornach hill...is this the correct match of percept and concept to give the full reality of this new reality? In terms of RS, Anthroposophy and the Goetheanum it is indeed a previously not existing reality....the School for Spiritual Science with a new teacher, fostered from the Goetheanum, a teacher who did indeed work out of the building for the many years it took to elaborate this fiction.

“The realities to which Sergei O. Prokofieff penetrated in this way will, no doubt, leave the reader inwardly shaken.”

Peter Selg AW Special Issue November 2014

Indeed we are shaken already to our core and we have not even read the book!  Nor can we read it, we are excluded from its readership; it is only for members of the exoteric Class whose leadership resides in Dornach.

Fortunately we do not face the choice the Members of the Class now face....Rudolf Steiner or Sergei O Prokofieff, for they cannot choose both given that they have antithetical philosophies of spiritual activity. Let us hope that when they are shaken they are also stirred to some thinking.

In Conclusion

The First Sacrifice on the Altar of the New Mysteries

The Biography of Rudolf Steiner

The Second Sacrifice on the Altar of the New Mysteries

The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity.

The Third Sacrifice on the Altar of the New Mysteries

Thinking

The Esoteric Path through the 19 lessons of the Class in the light of the Supersensible Mystery of Golgotha and the Fifth Gospel. Vol 2. (Der esoterische Weg durch die neunzehn Klassenstunden im Lichte des übersinnlichen Mysteriums von Golgatha und des Fünften Evangeliums) by Sergei O. Prokofieff.

Contents

Introduction 9 Foreword 11

1. The Etheric Return of Christ and the Mystery

of Evil (Class Lessons One to Four) 25

2. The Stages of Jesus Consciousness (Part I). The Consciousness of the Nathan Soul (Class Lessons Five and Six) 59

3. The Cooperation between Jesus of Nazareth and the

Zarathustra I. The Mystery of the Threshold

(Class Lesson Seven) 89

4. The Stages of Jesus Consciousness (Part II). The Consciousness of the Zarathustra I (Class Lessons Eight and Nine) 101

5. The Mystery of the Baptism in the Jordan and the Transformation of Human Karma through Christ (Class Lesson Ten) 129

6. Building the Spiritual Temple as the Prerequisite for the

Unfolding of Christ Consciousness in the Human Soul

(Class Lesson Eleven) 143

7. The Stages of Christ Consciousness (Part I). Its Experience within

the Three Soul Forces (Class Lessons Twelve and Thirteen) 169

8. The Nature of the Group Sculpture and the Statement by Paul:

“Not I, but the Christ in me.” (Class Lesson Fourteen) 195

9. The Stages of Christ Consciousness (Part II). Its Experience within the four Elements (Class Lessons Fifteen and Sixteen) 231

10. The Earthly Aspect of the Mystery of Golgotha Understood through Christ Consciousness (Class Lesson Seventeen) 263

11. The Cosmic Realm of Truth as the Origin of the

Paraclete Promised by Christ (Class Lesson Eighteen) 287

12. The Cosmic Aspect of the Mystery of Golgotha Understood through Christ Consciousness (Class Lesson Nineteen) 309

A Closing Remark 339

Epilogue. Rudolf Steiner’s Early Work and the Content of the First Class 343

Appendix

The Path through the Nineteen Class Lessons and Anthroposophical

10

Knowledge of the Human Being 351

Instead of an Afterword: The Significance of Jesus Consciousness and

Christ Consciousness for the Anthroposophical Professions: Priest, Physician, Educator (Religion Teacher) and Farmer 361

Notes 371 Bibliography 407

Note

Had the title of the book been the truth ,ie that it is S.O.P’s esoteric path through the 19 lessons then all members of the Class would have been left free....but the difference between freedom and slavery in the realm of thought can sometimes depend on something as small as the use of definite or indefinite article.

E.A. MacKenzie, Advent 2014.

“Were I not a world knower, but world creator, object and subject (percept and I) would originate in one act” RS, Philosophy of Spiritual Activity

Opening Seal ; First Seal of the Vision of John by Sar Remon

Seal of Ordo Eirne