The Transformation of Consciousness, May 29 – 30, 2021

Meditative Self-Inquiry: The Transformation of Consciousness

With Mukesh Gupta

May 29 – 30, 2021

Zoom online

This was the final session of the spring series on “meditative self-inquiry” presented by Mukesh Gupta and sponsored by the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada. Eleven people (all included) were in attendance. The Saturday meeting featured a presentation by Mukesh covering quite widely the subject of the transformation of consciousness as Krishnamurti spoke of it in his teachings. Mukesh clearly stated that he was presenting his own understanding of the teachings and not claiming to be an ultimate authority on what K has said. He soon asked the question, “What is consciousness?” According to his understanding of K, there is no consciousness as we know it without the contents, which are our experiences, thoughts, memories, knowledge, desires and fears. There may be something else when consciousness is emptied of its content, but normally we only know it through conflict between fragments, between one desire and another, between what is and what should be (the ideal). There is the conflict between “me” and my experiences, the thinker and the thought, the observer and the observed. K asked if there is a separate “I”, or is the “I” merely a thought and therefore, in a sense, an illusion or unreal. What can be done about this sense of separation that creates all our suffering and problems psychologically speaking? Is there anything to be done other than to be completely still with it? Transformation cannot happen through effort, thought, idea, or desire. There must, rather, be a seeing of the patterns of thought and division. This seeing is the ending of conflict. The nature of this seeing includes the facts of no observer or “past baggage”, no psychological time or effort (which is futile), and no motive. It is not part of thought and is therefore free of time and conflict. Seeing is also supreme action, negation, intelligence, love, and transformation. The false drops away when seen. Supreme discontentment is necessary in this self-inquiry process.

The second half of the meeting was open for questions and comments from participants. There seemed to be some difficulties in fully comprehending what K is actually meaning and applying it to everyday life, so there was a good deal of discussion of finer points of the presentation. The meeting on Sunday continued with the same number of people and further group exploration of the same and similar issues, partly in the form of a breakout into two smaller groups. The breakout allowed for a more intimate and engaged sharing, which apparently was enjoyed by participants. Being with emotions such as anger was looked into along with what it means to be aware. At the end of the meeting Mukesh recommended two Krishnamurti books as being very helpful: The Wholeness of Life, and Truth and Actuality. It was a fruitful and enjoyable weekend of inquiry.