Weekend Retreat at the Centre
Krishnamurti and the Transformation of Consciousness Weekend Retreat with Prof. P Krishna May 24 – 26, 2015 Professor Krishna is a long-time associate of J. Krishnamurti and former Principal of the Rajghat Krishnamurti School in Varanasi, India. He is considered to be deeply versed in K’s teachings and an extremely eloquent speaker on the subjects K felt to be crucial for a transformation of human consciousness. On Friday evening he gave a public talk on Science and Spirituality which was attended by 26 people all included. He spoke of the differences and similarities between the two fields and why, despite huge leaps in knowledge in the scientific realm, there has been so little progress in understanding of ourselves and how to live harmoniously. He introduced some ideas which became the main themes of the weekend, emphasizing the importance of inquiring into human behaviour and the need to employ a different mode of exploration than our conventional ways of thinking, which can never bring transformation. What is required is not knowledge in the usual sense but direct looking into ourselves, self awareness, and insight, none of which are based in thinking. The talk was followed by a question and answer session. Participants commented on the clarity and helpfulness of the presentation and a number of them who had not already done so signed up for the full weekend retreat. 19 people in all were present for the weekend sessions. On Saturday morning Krishna gave a talk on the central tenets of Krishnamurti’s teachings such as the statement “you are the world’, the need for individual transformation if there is to be any social change, and the power of “passive awareness”. The talk was followed by a lively group discussion. The rest of the day and Sunday included two videos of K talks, more talks by Krishna, and further group inquiries. The main focus continued to be the art of learning about ourselves and the right place of everything in life, always emphasizing the need to look for ourselves rather than thinking and analyzing, which do have a place but do not bring real transformation. The clarity and logical precision with which Krishna spoke had a strong impact and I noticed that as I listened my own understanding seemed to deepen in a way that was more profound than the mere accumulation of knowledge. Participants gave feedback that they were very happy with their experience of the retreat. A book has recently been published about Krishna’s experiences with Krishnamurti entitled A Jewel On a Silver Platter: Remembering Jiddhu Krishnamurti. More information and articles can be found on Krishna’s website: www.pkrishna.org
