In Viktor Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning, he outlines his idea that man’s will to find meaning is the driving force of our lives. In Frankl’s logotherapy, he has three tenets: 1) Life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable ones; 2) Our main motivation for living is our will to find meaning in life; 3) We have freedom to find meaning in what we do, and what we experience. Central to his theory is that we must find ways to endure hardship.
Rudolf Steiner tells us that understanding the principles of karma is the key to understanding the meaning of life. We can see that underlying Frankl’s theory is the law of karma. Why is this happening to me or to them is understandable on a deeper level when we begin to grasp the idea of karma and reincarnation. The suffering we see in the world and in our own lives, the disparity of one human life compared to another, seems random, senseless, and cruel without this key.
Let’s see what Dr. Steiner has to say:
The law of Karma does not throw light upon abstract riddles of the universe, but upon problems which we actually encounter in life at every step. Is it not a real life-riddle when we see that one human being is born in misery and poverty, apparently without any fault of his own, and that the finest gifts which lie concealed within him must atrophy owing to the social condition into which life has placed him? We must often ask ourselves in life: How can we explain the fact that an apparently innocent man is born in the midst of misery and pain, whereas another man is born without his merit in overabundance and wealth, surrounded at the cradle by those who tenderly love him? These are problems which modern superficiality alone can ignore.
The deeper we look into the law of karma; the more we find that the hard injustice apparently presenting itself to a superficial observation of this law disappears. We then realize more and more why one person must live in one condition of life and another person in another. Injustice and hardness in one or other life-situation can only be seen if we limit ourselves to the observation of one life; but if we know that this one life is the absolute result of former deeds, the injustice completely vanishes, for we perceive that the human being prepares his own life.
Someone might now object: It is terrible to think that all the blows of destiny which a human being encounters in this life are brought about through his own fault! We must realize, however, that the law of karma is not something for sentimental people to brood over, but that it is an active law, rendering us strong and giving us courage and hope. For even though we ourselves have molded our present life with all its hardships, we know at the same time that karma is a law the chief significance of which must be looked for, not in the past, but in the future. No matter how deeply oppressed we may be in the present owing to the result of past deeds, our insight into the law of karma will bear fruit in our subsequent lives. Our attitude determines what fruit our deeds will bear, for no action is without consequence. It is far more anthroposophical to look upon karma as an active law! For no matter what we do, we cannot escape the consequences of our deeds. The more we suffer in this life and the better we bear our sufferings, the more shall we profit by this in future lives. Karma is a law which solves the riddles of life which we encounter at every step.
Excerpt from: Theosophy and Rosicrucianism, Lecture 7: The Law of Karma by Rudolf Steiner. June 22, 1907 Kassel, Germany
Applying the law of karma to our own lives means that we are better able to accept and move on through life’s tribulations; we are meant to grow and become stronger because of them.
Applying the law of karma to the woes of the world includes the knowledge that we cannot idly watch evil run riot. We must help wherever we can; we can choose to have a positive effect on another person’s karma. To see an example of this, watch the short documentary, The Barber of Little Rock, on YouTube. Arlo Washington’s work in Little Rock, Arkansas is an inspiring examples of what Steiner calls making a new entry in the book of someone else’s karma.
Truly understanding the law of karma is not to focus on the past, but to embrace the future knowing that nothing we do is in vain.
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