The gap between knowing and not knowing the teachings of Krishnamurti is thin, blurred and perhaps, unrecognizable. All those many decades he spoke, Krishnaji earnestly requested to understand oneself and not his teachings. However, as any conditioned mind would have it, the journey with Krishnaji for most of us starts with the latter. And so did it for me!
Á colleague of mine had a peculiar habit of listening to YouTube videos without headphones, of course generally late in the evening. While video sessions generally comprised old cricket memories and music, an odd evening it happened to be a Krishnamurti dialogue with Dr Allen W Anderson! Another colleague walked in warning our colleague to lower the volume as the boss from the headquarters was visiting. “So what if the boss is coming, everyone needs to listen to it,” the colleague answered.
This is where my tête-à-tête with Krishnamurti’s teaching started and the rapport grew thicker, albeit at the level of thought. It took a little while to understand the paradox. Krishnaji was talking about the limits of thoughts and knowledge and I was more trying to understand the teachings at the level of thought and intellect. Krishnaji was talking about if we could live without identifying and maybe I was unknowingly identifying myself with what he was trying to say!
It was the same point where I was trying to enroll myself to a doctorate degree with a newfound interest in spiritual masters and their philosophy. ‘Krishnaji must be part of the research and dissertation,’ instructed my ‘thought’ful (l) mind to me. Nevertheless, here unfolded a wonderful new world called Krishnamurti! As Krishanji’s philosophy was not a systematic stream of thought, my explorations with his teachings were unsystematic. That brought me closer to Krishnamurti Foundations with myself attending a maiden retreat (organized by the KFI Kolkata Study Centre) at Rajghat, Varanasi.
This exploration made me understand Krishanji’s intent of schools, study centres, having dialogues and retreats. There is no denying the fact that other Krishnaji meets you through his Journal, Notebooks and Commentaries on Living. Krishnaji’s memoirs unfold the other side of him, which is nothing but love. Memoirs tell you how much he loved not only humanity but this whole creation!
I would barely call him an enlightened person as I don’t know what the term implies. But the implications of Krishnaji’s teachings are far-reaching and can transform humanity if we allow it to. What’s so different in Krishnamurti than most of us? Without comparison, we know that Krishnaji was able to listen to us when we spoke and when we didn’t! He never forgot to tell us that the word is not the thing but his words pointed out at ‘what is’. He was capable of seeing, listening and speaking with clarity.
For so many decades, he spoke on the urgency of change with a lot of intensity. His compassion for humanity could have been Buddha-like. Did he resonate with this Zen saying, ‘Kill the Buddha when you see him on the road’?
Kanchan Gogate at Rajghat Retreat 2018 (front row 4th from left with her daughter)
Kanchan Gogate has been working with The Times of India Pune and currently pursuing her research on Krishnamurti and Swami Vivekananda. Her explorations find the best expression in writing and travel.