Self-inquiry with Mukesh Gupta, July 10, 2024

Meditative Self-inquiry

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

With Mukesh Gupta

At Esquimalt Gorge Park

 

Nine people attended this gathering on the Gorge Park grounds at a lovely outdoor setting to which some participants brought folding chairs and others blankets. We sat in a circle near the forest bordering the grassy field of the park and several comments were made about the suitable nature of the location. The meeting was sponsored by the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada.

The facilitator for this gathering, Mukesh Gupta, led us in a period of silence which he described as a deep listening which has a universal nature in that all humans are likely to share whatever issues arise to be explored. When we give attention to what is being said we create a safe space in the here and now where we can be compassionate and sensitive with each other.

Mukesh asked one of the group if she would read the July 10 passage in The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti, the book we have been using to guide our group inquiries. The selection is titled “Acquiring Beliefs to Ward Off Pain” and in it K points out how we use the accumulation of beliefs in order to protect ourselves from pain both in the physical sense and the psychological. We do not want to be disturbed, so we resist the unknown, using knowledge to ward off pain. There was some discussion about the tendencies of the mind to hold on to accumulated identities or to create new ones. Can I create a satisfying life by organising my memories and my “past” in a way that forms a sense of security for myself? This question led to some inquiry into the issue of dealing with the “darkness” in ourselves. How do I experience myself if I do not hold on to my accumulated identities and attachments – and burdens? There is a fear of losing my “self”, which may not actually exist. Can we invite ourselves to step outside of the familiar, to abandon our past identities? When Krishnamurti was asked what is his secret, Mukesh reminded us, he replied “I don’t mind what happens”. A fundamental question that must be asked again and again, one group member shared, is the question “Who am I?” or “What is the I?” The past identity must be abandoned moment by moment.

It seemed that most participants found the inquiry to be interesting and fruitful. A good meeting!

 

DB