Harsha Dalal writes about an occasion when she met J Krishnamurti in person and her association with Rishi Valley School through her children.
If you want to change the world, you have to begin here (taps chest), which is the world. If you change, you are bound to affect the world.’ Reading this lovely quote brought sweet memories of my good fortune in 1984. Krishna ji came to our house in Mumbai one evening for dinner. Needless to say, our whole family was excited. We were all in awe! It was a special evening when Krishna ji talked to us on so many issues making them so much more meaningful.
When he was leaving, I was holding my two year old nephew in my arms. Krishna ji tapped the child’s chest and said: “Don’t rush into business like your grandfather. Follow your dreams and do what your heart tells you to do.” He asked my older son, who was standing close by, whether he would like to join Rishi Valley school. At that time, I was not in favour of boarding schools and so there was a lukewarm response and an evasive smile from me.
But things have their own way of unfolding! As we were not happy with the school my son was studying in Mumbai, we approached Rishi Valley School. My son gave an admission test and thus began my association with Rishi Valley in I985. The process of education at Rishi Valley was one which revealed new ways of learning. Just watching both teachers and students involved in such a different approach to education was so gratifying.
Through all this, I saw that a growing affinity was developing between my son and the teachers; specially a few like Alok Sir and Hamid Sir. They had amazing patience in handling each situation with firmness and yet with compassion. As I look back, I recall feeling a bit worried sometimes as to how the future would be for my son in a world that is full of competition. Yet now I feel that the environment of freedom at Rishi Valley allowed him to explore and learn at his own pace. It enabled the mind to flower in goodness and love.
My younger son too went afterwards to Rishi Valley School and so I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit the school regularly. It was a treat to be there in the midst of all that beauty of nature. Now when I look back, I can see that the childhood which my children experienced was something of a benediction in their lives. And also for us as parents too. Through our children, we got the opportunity to understand what true education is. I could see that parents are also educators. I wish that we as parents had worked much more on ourselves to support the excellent foundations laid at Rishi Valley School.