Meditative Self-Inquiry with Mukesh Gupta, March 13 & 14, 2021
Meditative Self-Inquiry with Mukesh Gupta
Saturday and Sunday, March 13 and 14, 2021
Zoom online
This was the second in a series of four presentations by Mukesh on meditative self-inquiry. The weekend events feature a talk on the Saturday followed by a dialogue on Sunday further exploring the material covered in the Saturday session. This weekend the focus was on “the awakening of intelligence”. Each of the Saturday and Sunday events were attended by 16 people, all included.
Mukesh began the meeting with a short meditation inviting participants to be fully attentive to all that is arising in their awareness. He then asked the question “Do we live in an intelligent manner?” Our human history is one of almost constant war and our way of thinking creates division and therefore conflict. Human thought does not operate with intelligence. According to Krishnamurti, the mind must be silent for intelligence to function. There must be a listening, a watchfulness, which brings in an energy that can discover what is false and what is true, that is an energy of love and not of the self. It is an openness which sees the nature of the observer, which is available to all, and which is already present. We only have to listen to it and observe without interference from the past. This energy of seeing and listening is not conditioned; it is a learning about ourselves. If we are not watching and listening, the very noticing of that fact is awakening intelligence. Thought has a place, but we must see the danger of unexamined images and beliefs. This seeing is available to us without cultivation. Lack of awareness (ignorance) is the cause of suffering but the studying of ignorance brings freedom, love, and compassion.
After a forty-five minute presentation the meeting was opened to questions from the participants to which Mukesh responded in his usual skillful way. Some suggested reading material, mostly on the subject of the awakening of intelligence, was distributed for contemplation prior to the Sunday meeting,
The Sunday gathering began with quiet meditation experimenting with awareness. The group was then split into four smaller units, which allowed for some intimate discussion of the nature of intelligence. Finally, we shared again in the full group format. Appreciation was expressed for the opportunity to inquire into Krishnamurti’s teachings within a group context, which provides a useful mirror for seeing ourselves.
