Waldorf News

An Introduction to Why Parzival?: An Epic of Our Age with Global Reach and Its Secret Connections to Waldorf Education

(Alkion Press, 2023, 432 pages)

By Eric Müller

A hundred years ago, Walter Johannes Stein taught the inaugural Parzival block to 11th graders at the first Waldorf school in Stuttgart, Germany in 1923.

Since then, it has been a staple in Waldorf high schools all across the world.

In Why Parzival? I have endeavored to explore the diverse reasons why this particular epic has played such a central role in the Waldorf high school curriculum and why it continues to be significant, especially in our troubled current socio-political climate, marked by such multi-levelled divisiveness.

For my part, I have taught the block for the last twenty-five years at the Hawthorne Valley Waldorf High School in upstate New York. I have loved teaching Parzival for a number of reasons: it’s a profound story that relates to where the 11th graders are in their development; it addresses the challenges that we, as modern human beings, are forced to face, while providing answers and solutions to almost every challenge imaginable; it clarifies the different layers of love, life, and death from inner and outer perspectives; and Parzival’s journey is the prototype of each person’s evolving journey out into the world and into the soul’s interior, offering endless opportunities for in-depth discussions.

There is something for everybody because of its all-encompassing and all-inclusive nature. Its thematic content provides us with the means to harmonize the multifaceted polarities of the world, especially in regard to the dichotomy between spirit and matter, the seen and unseen, the constructive and the destructive, to name only a few.

Parzival bolsters the inner life and wakes us up to the needs of the world and our fellow human beings, and through awakening we become more aware and willing to take action where it is necessary.

That said, I have questioned my own core values for teaching Parzival: Is it still relevant to the students of today? To what extent does it meet them? Is it too Eurocentric? Are my elucidations enough to satisfy the wide range of students who come from all walks of life, races, religions, and cultures? Does it reach beyond the here and now into the future? In essence, I asked myself: Why Parzival?

In my personal quest to further deepen my understanding, I pursued questions that had still not been fully answered: What is the cosmic scope of the epic’s relationship to ancient wisdom? How does it relate to the respective spiritual beliefs of all cultures? In what way does the content represent the consciousness soul and how does it prepare us to meet and overcome materialism?

Who really are the characters portrayed in Parzival—historically and esoterically—and what significance can we glean from their names? What are their karmic connections? More specifically: What is Parzival’s global reach and what are the underlying connections to Waldorf education?

Parzival has influenced countless realms and segments of contemporary life and culture. We find the themes directly reflected in blockbusters such as Star Wars, The Fisher King (starring Robin Williams), Spielberg’s Ready Player One (the hero’s virtual name is Parzival), and Forrest Gump, to name only a few. Or in best-sellers, such as The Da Vinci Code, Lord of the Rings, and the Harry Potter books.

Increasingly, I have noticed that students are especially interested to hear how Parzival might relate to other cultures and their respective worldviews; there is an ever-greater openness to the spiritual underpinnings of Parzival, for the students cherish a deep reverence for the spirituality and beliefs of non-Western cultures, which they want to see reflected in the classroom in an inclusive manner, while simultaneously trying to find the right context for Western worldviews.

The quest for the Grail is Love in the making and the wish to embrace all worldviews within the splendor of diversity, while simultaneously recognizing the overarching commonality. Parzival offers a roadmap to an authentic life.

These are some of the myriad questions and topics I have endeavored to pursue, examine, and portray in Why Parzival?

Eric G. Müller was born in Durban, South Africa. After graduating from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, he continued his studies in England and Germany. Presently, he lives in upstate New York where he teaches music, drama, and English literature. In 2012 he was the recipient of the prestigious Kapteyn Prize for excellence in teaching. He is the director of Teacher Education at the Alkion Center. Müller’s published work includes novels, books on education, and children’s literature. Poetry, articles and short stories have appeared in numerous journals, anthologies and magazines. www.ericgmuller.com

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