Rudolf Steiner Biography

While describing Rudolf Steiner, it is rather easy to list the fields in which he failed to excel than explain the areas in which he was a master. A philosopher, a theologian, an educationalist, an agricultural expert, an architect, an expert in medicinal plants, a dramatist, an authority on Goethe and a blessed artistic trendsetter, the areas of his interest and expertise are almost endless. Born to a Southern Austrian Railway employee, his early years were spent in moving from place to place, which helped to nurture his inquisitive mind. Realizing his potentials, his father sent him first to a realschule in Wiener Neustadt and then to Technische Hochschule at Vienna. During this period, he read extensively outside his curricula and was greatly influenced by Goethe. Eventually he gained recognition as a literally critic and started publishing several philosophical works, which began to be appreciated by the critics. Later, when the German section of the Theosophical Society was opened, he was made its General Secretary and it was mainly due to his efforts that it underwent rapid expansion. However after around a decade, religious disagreement with other leaders forced him to leave the society and establish the Anthroposophical Society, which too began to expand rapidly. Unfortunately, he also had powerful enemies and because of them he left Germany to spend his last days in Switzerland.