Q. I have heard that Waldorf teachers believe in karma and reincarnation. Is this true? Do these beliefs come into play in Waldorf schools?
A. Yes. Typical Waldorf teachers — the ones who are faithful to Rudolf Steiner's teachings — believe in karma and reincarnation. Books by Steiner have such titles as • MANIFESTATIONS OF KARMA, • REINCARNATION AND KARMA, • A WESTERN APPROACH TO REINCARNATION AND KARMA, and so on. [1]
Belief in karma is sometimes considered the central pillar of Waldorf education. Seen from this perspective, Waldorf schools exist not to convey ordinary knowledge to students, but to help the children with their karmas. Here is what one leading Waldorf teacher has written:
"From the spiritual world the human being comes into earthly incarnation with certain tendencies, potentialities and ambitions, acquired as a result of experiences in previous existences ... The purpose of [Waldorf] education is to help the individual fulfill his karma. The teacher is an intermediary and his task is to guide the incarnating individualities [i.e., children] into the physical world and equip them for earthly existence, bearing in mind what they bring with them from the past and what they are likely to take with them into the future.” [2]
[1] Steiner wrote numerous books. The subjects of karma and reincarnation are major threads in many of these publications.
[2] Waldorf teacher Roy Wilkinson, THE SPIRITUAL BASIS OF STEINER EDUCATION (Rudolf Steiner Press, 1996), p. 52.
We may say, with Wilkinson, that Waldorf education is designed to assist children to fulfill their karmas. But it is also possible to say that the purpose of Waldorf education is to help children incarnate their invisible bodies [see "Incarnation - What Is Its Relevance at Waldorf?"]. These two descriptions of the Waldorf agenda may seem contradictory, but in fact they dovetail. Waldorf teachers try to help students to incarnate fully and healthfully so that they may work on their karmas. In Waldorf belief, being born on Earth and then incarnating invisible bodies are parts of the process of reincarnation. Steiner taught that humans live many lives, alternating between the physical plane and the spirit realm. We create our karmas as we go along. We arrive on Earth as a part of the process of reincarnation. Directed by our karmas, we gradually gather our four bodies (physical, etheric, astral, and ego), and then we use our bodies as we attempt to fulfill our karmas so that we can later reincarnate at a higher level in our next life.
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