‘FOR ME, THE ‘FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE’ BEGAN AT IOWA!’

Dr Harshad Parekh writes about his life journey with J Krishnamurti, a journey that began in 1969 as a student at Iowa and led to 28 years of teaching in K schools. A remarkable story, narrated with passion and sincerity.

I went to the United States for the first time in 1969 to study for a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering at Iowa State University. It was a great cultural shock. I was not exposed to western culture at all before leaving India. The shock produced loneliness, anxiety about the future, fear and loss of confidence in myself.

One day in 1972, I was passing by our campus bookshop at Iowa State University. Through a glass window, I saw a book of J Krishnamurti, “The Flight of the Eagle”, on display. The photograph and the title of the book attracted me. I knew nothing about Krishnamurti (K) at that time.

I bought the book out of curiosity. As I started reading the book, it had an immediate impact. His words were simple. He talked about the problems of daily existence, about fear, loneliness, boredom, anxiety, religious and nationalistic prejudice and other psychological problems. Through his words, I could see what was going on in my own mind.

He asked: ” Why are we conditioned by our culture? Why do we think of ourselves as Indians, Americans, Chinese? Why are we lonely and isolated human beings? Why are we afraid of the future?”

He asked us to look at the source of our psychological problems like jealousy, anxiety, fear and loneliness. He said that thought creates the thinker and then, the thinker tries to change thought. The duality between the thinker and the thought creates all psychological problems.

It was thus that the observation of the thinking process became the main interest in my life. I began to observe clearly the beginning of fear, jealousy, anxiety, and other such feelings. The observation of ‘what is’ brought about a sense of freedom and confidence. The senses were sharpened. Colours, trees, lights, human faces – everything began to appear clear, beautiful, fresh.

I began to take an active part in social activities. I shared apartments with people of various nationalities and began to express my thoughts and feelings in our campus newspaper. I began to see how we human beings share the same consciousness.

For five years, I read K’s books. The interest in observing the thinking process intensified with time. It also helped in my research work at the university. During these years, I completed the Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering. I wrote several letters to K. In my first letter, written in 1973, I wrote: “I have been attracted to the teachings of Ramkrishna Paramhansha and Vivekananda for many years. Now reading your books, I understand how far a human being can go in the spiritual dimension.”

In 1975, I moved to Canada. Now I was working as a Research Associate at University of Waterloo and was earning money too. In 1977, I went to Ojai to listen to K’s public talks for the first time. I was happy to see the man who had influenced my life so much. I was happy to see the beauty of oak trees and the hills in Ojai.  What he talked about was no longer new to me.

I visited Ojai again in both1978 and 1979. This, I thought, would be my last visit to Ojai. I listened to K in perfect silence and attention. In that state of mind, I could listen to sounds of children playing far away, dogs barking, as well as the meaning behind the words as K spoke.

The next day, I wrote a letter to K. The words of the letter came to me in a spontaneous flow. I wrote:

“You ignited a flame in my life. That happened about seven years ago when I was a student at Iowa State University. The flame has become brighter with time. I would be glad to dedicate my life to K schools if there is an opportunity. I would like to teach love, beauty and life to children of your schools. I have no experience in teaching these things, but I can at least teach physics and mathematics.”        

I gave the letter to Mark Lee to hand it over to K. I felt very happy after writing the letter. When I left Ojai, my eyes were seeing everything so clear and beautiful. After returning to Canada, I could not sleep for two days. It was very clear to me that my life was meant for K schools. So, I wrote another letter to K from Canada.

“It is very clear to me that my life is meant for K schools and Foundations. Everything I have now, belongs to the schools. I have saved about $15000 which I would like to donate to the schools. There is an awakening of love and compassion. Please write to me if there is any possibility for me to teach at any of the K schools.”

Only after writing this letter, I could sleep. I knew that my life was changing direction without any conflict, doubt, fear. I received a letter from K dated May 9, 1979 from Ojai.

“My dear Dr. Parekh:

Thank you very much for your letter and your deep interest in the various Foundations. I talked to Mark Lee and I am afraid there is no place at Ojai for your capacities. Perhaps you might be able to be of great help at Rajghat near Benares or at Rishi Valley in the south. As I am seeing the Principal of Rishi Valley, Mr. G.Narayan, at Brockwood Park in England in a few days, I will talk the matter over with him to write to you. He will naturally want to know your qualifications and so on. It is very good of you to have written and to be willing to give up everything to work for the Foundations, and most likely it will be in India. I hope everything will be well with you.”

A few days later, I received a letter from Mr. Narayan. He was at Brockwood and so was K. Mr. Narayan suggested that I visit Brockwood and discuss about my coming to India. I visited Brockwood for the first time in June 1979. It was a tiring journey from Heathrow airport to Brockwood. I travelled by bus, then by train, and again by bus. When I reached Brockwood, I was hungry and tired.

After lunch, I was feeling sleepy, but Mr. Narayan suggested that we go to the Grove. The giant redwood trees in the grove looked strangely alive and beautiful. All my tiredness was gone. Then Mr. Narayan said “Look! Who is there?”. K was in the grove. Probably he was responsible for the extraordinary happiness and energy I felt in the grove.

The next day I had lunch with K. I was a bit shy sitting in front of him but not nervous or self-conscious. He asked me a few questions about my family, whether I was married or not, whether my parents approved of my joining a K school in India and giving up my job in Canada. I told him that there were no problems and I was free to do what I enjoyed most. Then he said “Try for a year or two at Rishi Valley.”  He added: “If I may suggest, do not stay at one place for too long.”

I went to Rishi Valley in November 1979. The school van came to Madanpalle to pick me up. As the van entered the campus, I saw K coming out for his evening walk. When the van reached the guest house, I felt an extraordinary beauty around me. I knew that this place would be my home.

K passed away in 1986. I continued to teach in Rishi Valley up to 1998. I was at Rajghat for a year in 1983 and at Brockwood Park in 1989. Then I taught at Sahyadri School from 1998 to 2004 and at Valley School in Bangalore from 2004 to 2007. I retired from teaching in April 2007 but continue to visit all these schools and also schools in Ojai and Brockwood Park.  All these places are beautiful and it has been a great privilege to be there. I wanted to teach in K schools and feel blessed that I could do so for 28 years.

Note: The original article by Dr Harshad Parekh has been edited in order only to achieve brevity and bring it within 1500 words. If any reader wishes to read the full article, please email us at kfikolkata@gmail.com