The most disturbing thing I ever read about Steiner was from a short lecture given in 1946 at the Threefold Community in NY state. I always thought Steiner was the rational one during the Krishnamurti fiasco of the Theosophical Society. From what I understood, Steiner completely rejected Theosophical attempts to pass a boy off as the reincarnation of Maitreya. However, then I discovered this little gem:


"The threefold social order of Rudolf Steiner is particularly a preparatory work to bring about a future incarnation of Manes. I once discussed with Rudolf Steiner the question of when would be the proper time for the application of etheric forces for technical uses. He said that this would be when the threefold order is established. He said that Manes could not find a suitable body yet, that all the forces he would be able to bring to an incarnation would be destroyed by modern education. Therefore he said that Waldorf education needed first to come into being and that the threefold social order must also come into being.
Therefore I would see it as our immediate task to bring about this threefold order first through thought and then through action, so that Manes can incarnate. By karma, Manes' incarnation would be due by the end of the century. Whether this will be possible I do not know, but if the threefold social order and Waldorf education were established he could incarnate. I see it as our task to make the preparations so that he can incarnate again."

Ehrenfried Pfeiffer
THE TASK OF THE ARCHANGEL MICHAEL
1946


And to confirm this, I also quote Bernard Lievegoed from his THE BATTLE OF THE SOUL ( 1993 ):


"Rudolf Steiner once said to Pfeiffer that he had started the Waldorf school and the threefold social order to make the incarnation of Manu and his helpers possible. Let us hope there are enough active anthroposophists to accomplish what Manu needs for his development. And let us hope anthroposophists will recognize him once he is here."


My question is this: How many people who are involved in Waldorf education, whether they be teachers, parents, students, etc, are aware that the grand purpose of Waldorf is to create a culture conducive to the incarnation of a spirit being named Manes/Manu??

Good grief! I had considered Waldorf when finding a school for my youngest, but I decided against it. Good thing I did.

Thanks fo posting this. This will come in handy for my friends who are currently "school shopping".

From the outlooks it seems they are quite extensive. They 800 Waldorf schools in over 40 countries. In North America there are over 150 schools affiliated with the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America, and several public schools. There are also over 50 full-time Waldorf teacher-training institutes around the world; of these eight are in the United States and one in Canada. No two schools are identical; each is administratively independent. Nevertheless, a visitor would recognize many characteristics common to them all.