Hermann Beckh

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Hermann Beckh (born May 4, 1875 in Nuremberg , † March 1, 1937 in Stuttgart ) was a German orientalist and anthroposophist and co-founder of the Christian Community .

Life

Hermann Beckh was born as the son of the Nuremberg factory owner Eugen Beckh and his wife Marie, b. Seiler († 1943), born. He had a sister twelve years his junior, with whom he was closely related until her death in 1929.

It was mainly thanks to his extraordinary memory that he graduated from high school in 1893 and thus received a free place at the Maximilianeum in Munich . Versatile and interested, he was initially unable to choose a course of study; He was encouraged to study law by fellow students . He concluded this in 1896 with an award-winning paper on the burden of proof under the Civil Code and worked as an assessor until 1899 . When he had to sentence a poor couple to a fine for stealing wood, it finally became clear to him that he was no good judge: he paid the fine out of his own pocket and ended the service.

He now began to study oriental languages, Indology and Tibetology in Kiel , received his doctorate in 1907 from the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Berlin with a thesis on Kalidasa's poem Meghaduta and completed his habilitation the following year with another thesis on this script. As one of the few people who know the Tibetan language, he taught as a private lecturer until 1921 and edited the Tibetan manuscripts in the Prussian State Library .

In 1911 he first met Rudolf Steiner and Friedrich Rittelmeyer . He now studied Steiner's writings intensively and became a member of the Anthroposophical Society at Christmas 1912 .

In 1916 he was drafted into military service. Shortly beforehand, the two volumes on Buddha and his teachings in the Göschen Collection had been published. Initially deployed in the Balkans, he was appointed to the Institute for Shipping and World Economy in Kiel, where he had to evaluate the economic reports in the Scandinavian newspapers. For this he was "allowed" to learn the Scandinavian languages; He had already learned English, French, Italian as well as the classical (Greek, Latin) and ancient oriental languages ​​(Hebrew, Egyptian, Sanskrit, Tibetan and ancient Persian). His service obligation - from August 1918 in the Berlin Foreign Trade Office - lasted until the post-war period.

In addition, he began to give lectures at the university again, but turned down a teaching position for Tibetan philology and took leave of absence. An extension of this leave of absence was refused and he was appointed associate professor; however, he ended his academic career in November 1921.

From 1920 he worked as an anthroposophical speaker. In March 1922 he joined the founding group of the Christian community around Friedrich Rittelmeyer and worked as a priest until his death, but above all as a seminar teacher, speaker, freelance researcher and writer.

Works

  • The Tibetan translation of Kãlidãsas Meghaduta . After the red and black Tanjur ed. and translated into German. Royal Academy of Sciences, Berlin 1907
  • Udanavarga. A collection of Buddhist sayings in the Tibetan language , 1911
  • Directory of the Tibetan manuscripts in the Royal Library of Berlin , 1914
  • Buddhism. Buddha and his teaching . 2 volumes, Göschen'sche (Göschen Collection 174 and 770), Berlin / Leipzig 1916
  • Indology and the humanities . Three lectures given at the Goetheanum in Dornach on October 1st, 8th and 15th, 1920; in: Culture and Education . The coming day, Stuttgart 1921
  • Let there be light. Creation Words of the Bible . The coming day, Stuttgart 1921
  • The physical and spiritual origins of language . The coming day, Stuttgart 1921
  • Etymology and Sound Meaning in the Light of Spiritual Science . The coming day, Stuttgart 1921
  • Anthroposophy and university science . Wroclaw 1922
  • The spiritual essence of the keys. Attempt to re-examine musical problems in the light of spiritual science . Preuss & Jünger, Breslau 1923
  • The origin in the light. Images of Genesis . Michael Verlag (Christ of All Earth 7), Munich 1924
  • From Buddha to Christ . Verlag der Christengemeinschaft (Christ of All Earth 10), Stuttgart 1925
  • The departure of the accomplished . The story of Buddha's farewell to earth and nirvana (Mahaparinibbanasutta of the Palikanon). Verlag der Christengemeinschaft, Stuttgart 1925; 2nd ext. A. Urachhaus, Stuttgart 1960
  • Zarathustra . Verlag der Christengemeinschaft (Christ of All Earth 24), Stuttgart 1927
  • From the world of mysteries . Basel 1927
  • The cosmic rhythm in the Gospel of Mark . Geering, Dornach 1928
  • The cosmic rhythm, the star mystery and earth mystery in John's Gospel . Geering, Dornach 1930
  • The Christ experience in the dramatic and musical aspect of Richard Wagner's “Parsifal” . Christian Community Publishing House, Stuttgart 1930
  • Alchemy. From the secret of the material world . Geering, Dornach 1931 ( e-book )
  • Richard Wagner and Christianity . Publishing house of the Christian Community, Stuttgart 1933
  • The hymn to the earth . Translated and explained from the ancient Indian Atharvaveda. Verlag der Christengemeinschaft (Christ of All Earth 34), Stuttgart 1934
  • The language of the key in music from Bach to Bruckner, with special emphasis on Wagner's musical drama . Urachhaus, Stuttgart 1937
  • New ways to the original language. Linguistic studies . Urachhaus, Stuttgart 1954

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Beckh, Hermann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German orientalist and anthroposophist
DATE OF BIRTH May 4, 1875
PLACE OF BIRTH Nuremberg
DATE OF DEATH March 1, 1937
Place of death Stuttgart