Junge Hochschule: an initiative from the Youth Section in Germany
The meetings of the Junge Hochschule (Youthful School) take place in Berlin twice a year in the Münchenerstrasse at Bodo von Plato's apartment, with 3-4 smaller meetings in Schloss Hamborn in between. We particularly invite (young) people between the ages of 18 and 40 who feel the inner impulse to connect with the contents of the School of Spiritual Science.
From October 4th - 6th, 12 young people from very different corners of Germany met for the second time at the Kulturimpuls Foundation, where Bodo von Plato is based in Berlin, to devote themselves to the words of the mantras of the School of Spiritual Science.
The weekend was filled with and carried by a serious kind of joy. It was so nice to see each other again. There were also some new or unexpected faces. We all felt a common desire to enter the central, invisible, inner ‘building’ of Anthroposophy; the ‘Mantram’. To look around us, to share what we experienced there, and to be strengthened by these deeply shared experiences.
We read, spoke, listened, painted, sat in silence, worked in small groups, and ‘acted out’ the first and second Mantram. And at the end, on Sunday morning, all 19 mantras resonated, read by Bodo, as a great gateway and entrance to the becoming human being.
One thing that touched me deeply was the image that emerged in one of the small group discussions that working on the mantras and connecting with these essential words of humanity can enable us to overcome our differences and conflicts. They can create a deep foundation between the people who live with them so that differences and misunderstandings can be soothed and dissolved through this golden substance of trust.
- Lisa van Holsteijn, 28, Waldorf teacher in Schloss Hamborn
The Mantram as a Child
An image that has touched me deeply since our weekend together in Berlin is that the mantras are similar to a child who needs attention. But unlike a child that draws attention to itself, the mantras are not intrusive. It requires the will. But in such a way that the impulse of will is not triggered by outward appearances to pay attention to the mantras. For me, a central question that has arisen after the weekend is how the mantras and the will are connected.
- Carl Hartmann, 27, Waldorf teacher training Kassel