Johannes Hohlenberg


Johannes Hohlenberg was a Danish author, artist and Anthroposophist.

His life and work

Hohlenberg was born in Copenhagen in the family of a priest which encouraged his interest in the fine arts even at a young age. In 1906 he moved to Paris for art studies. There he became acquainted with Mirra Alfassa and met her nearly every evening for studying the teachings of occultism. When Paul and Mirra Richard had travelled to Pondicherry in 1914 to meet Sri Aurobindo, they invited Hohlenberg to join them and help publishing a journal. But due to the war and other circumstances he could come only in 1915, staying for a month. During this brief stay he took one of the few photos of Sri Aurobindo and prepared some sketches on whose basis he created an oil painting later on.
Through his participation in talks of Sri Aurobindo with his disciples, Hohlenberg had acquired some basic knowledge which he used in 1916 for publishing his book titled Yoga i dens betydning for Europa. In 1954 the title was also published in a German translation in whose Preface Hohlenberg referred to his stay with Sri Aurobindo and the talks with him as a source. At a later stage he started taking an interest in Anthroposophy and became a disciple of Rudolf Steiner, playing an important role as the general secretary of a newly founded anthroposophical society in Denmark and helping to spread Steiner's thought there.

Publications

Among Hohlenberg's works are Goethes Faust i det 20. Aarhundrede from 1928, a biography of Søren Kierkegaard from 1940, and further treatments of Kierkegaard's works. He published the cultural magazine Øjeblikket between 1947 and 1954, and contributed to the Norwegian magazines Samtiden and Janus. He also brought out the whole text of the Bhagavad Gita as well as two essays of Sri Aurobindo and an extract from his work "The Life Divine" in Danish translation.

Literature