Dr. Rudolf Steiner: Bridging the Physical and Spiritual

Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was born in 1861 at Kraljevec, present-day Croatia. Dr. Rudolf Steiner was a great polymath, a philosopher and scientist. An eloquent public speaker and gifted writer, he gave over 6,000 lectures in his lifetime, and he published more than 25 books. He developed and taught a path of research called anthroposophy, based on “the science of the spirit.” Rudolf Steiner was also a vegetarian. He placed great emphasis on the benefits of meditation. In 1913, Rudolf Steiner designed and built the Goetheanum, a “school of spiritual science,” in Dornach, Switzerland. This has become the world center for the anthroposophical movement. He believed that education should focus on the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of each student. In 1919, the first free Waldorf School was founded in Stuttgart, Germany, based on Dr. Steiner’s philosophy. Now, a century later, there are more than 1,000 of these Waldorf and Steiner Schools in 64 countries.