My most valuable lessons in psychotherapy

Dr Dipankar Patra, psychotherapist, writes candidly about how his journey in his profession was greatly enriched by     J Krishnamurti. Read on to uncover the unusual learning that Dr Patra came upon when he started reading the three volume ‘Commentaries on Living’ written by  J Krishnamurti.

People may be surprised when I say that my most valuable lessons as a psychotherapist came from J Krishnamurti.  To me, he was a master psychotherapist. He would probably not like this statement because throughout his life, he denied any form of authority. For me, he touched the deepest core of my being and helped me evolve as a human being. He also helped me mature as a psychotherapist. It all began from the time I began reading his three volume work titled ‘Commentaries of Living’, a book I have been strongly recommending to psychotherapists, especially those engaged in the art and science of hypnotherapy.

All the different aspects of life have been poignantly touched through the exuberance of an extremely intelligent mind. The writing by Krishnamurti is in the simplest of English and crafted to take one beyond the confines and resistance of the conscious mind. The impact is instantaneously therapeutic and the process is undeniably hypnotic.

The impact of his words is spontaneously ‘trance inducing’. Almost all the writing has a lyrical description of nature and takes one to a state of peacefulness. Once the attention is drawn, Krishnamurti moves promptly to the central aspect of his teaching which focuses on freedom from conditioning. He does this with the tenderness, love, compassion, kindness and poise that a mother would use to discipline a child. The unique writing in the ‘Commentaries on Living’ and elsewhere has helped me to design therapy, especially for those who delight in logic and understanding. The truism in his statements is irrefutable and has qualities of Upanishadic mahavakyas. He is very direct and repetitive in his teachings and his phrases have the quality and weight of proverbs, which I unmistakably use in the form of suggestions in my therapy room.

His was an Ericksonian approach – non-invasive, collaborative, naturalistic.  I have often emulated the use of voice and silence that Krishnamurti uses in his speeches, like a master story teller.  One has to go inwards to fetch the meaning and weight of his sentences. The rapport is almost immediate and the learnings are universal.

For me, his conversational style of exploring issues together has some quality which is beyond the Upanishadic guru-shishya relationship.   Krishnamurti insists on being just a fellow passenger working through issues together. His unhurried, gentle and layered approach is designed to take one to the core of one’s being and establish an immediate rapport. I have also learned to explore issues in totality because incompleteness eventually creates conflicts and contradictions, that lead to suffering.

Krishnamurti’s stress on the individual to effect the first change made me realize the importance of the therapist to work on himself first before attempting therapy on others. Problems find expression in the questions Krishnamurti raises. He teaches us how to frame questions using the power of observation which is devoid of defilement and contamination of thoughts, ideals or beliefs. His essence is one of Sattvic purity and Vedantic oneness, although he is careful not to identify with any form of isms, a quality to be definitely emulated by all practicing therapists. Yes, indeed for me Krishnamurti was a master psychotherapist.