Self Study Meeting

Sunday, November 15, 2020

Zoom online

 

This Sunday morning meeting online was attended by 16 participants, all included. We continued with a question asked by Mukesh in his presentation a week previously: “Is There a Completely Different Way of Living?” The Self Study Meetings have been using The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti as an inspiration for our inquiry into the nature of ourselves. In this case participants had been asked to read carefully at least eight selections from the November entries and to bring observations and questions to the meeting for sharing and discussion. The entries quoted passages from Krishnamurti’s talks on the subjects of “Living, Dying, Rebirth, and Love” and seemed to blend well with Mukesh’s question.

After a guided meditation exploring awareness without naming or conceptualizing, we entered a group discussion of people’s experiences and insights during the meditation along with those that emerged from their readings of the text. A number of participants reported profound insights and the dialogue as a whole was quite deep and engaging. Such topics as the meaning of psychological death were explored with keen penetration, and appreciation was expressed for the opportunity to share such inquiry with others in this way.

Is There a Different Way of Living in This World of Confusion and Uncertainty?

With Mukesh Gupta

November 7, 2020, online

This was the last in a series of eight presentations by Mukesh Gupta on the general topic of “Meditative Self-Inquiry” which began in July and took place twice a month. Twenty-three people in total participated in this Zoom online meeting focusing on the question “Is There a Different Way of Living in This World of Confusion and Uncertainty?” Mukesh began, after a short silent sit, by pointing out that what is outside us is a reflection of what we are inside and of our day-to-day relationships. Are we willing to look into “the mirror of relationship”, as Krishnamurti puts it? We must begin where we are, paying attention to what is around us and within us, noticing our inattention, our fear and uncertainty, and our obsessive self-concern and lack of love. Can we be awake to these facts without judgement?

Mukesh explored the nature of attention as pure seeing:

– Choiceless, non-selective

– Deep, total listening

– With a quality of love

– A quality of wonder and innocence not dependent on acquired past knowledge

– A space of stillness or “emptiness”

Not to react like a robot is a different way of living. Can we live and face the world with the intelligence of a still and compassionate mind that sees clearly?

The half-hour presentation was followed by a Q & A period wherein participants shared insights, experiences, and questions. It was suggested that we need love right from the beginning, which produces a “letting go”. Attention without an “ego” brings a different quality to our living. Mukesh’s presentations have been much appreciated and helpful to those seeking greater understanding of Krishnamurti’s teachings. We look forward to his next series of talks in January, 2021.

Self Study Meeting

Sunday, October 18, 2020

Zoom online

 

We had sixteen people present for this meeting. The usual format of the group is to start with readings from The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti and to discuss what insights and questions have been awakened by the study of the readings assigned for that specific gathering. Usually participants have spent time at home with the material. In this case the readings were a selection taken from the July 9 – 29 entries in the text, which largely deal with being fully present with suffering and sorrow.

We began with a guided meditation focusing on being aware of the habit of thought to split into an “observer” and that which is observed, a central aspect of Krishnamurti’s teachings and the prescribed readings. The participants silently followed the meditation to a point and then some began to respond verbally to what had been presented. There was a lively engagement with ideas surrounding the duality created by the mind, as well as other aspects of suffering covered by K in the readings. The conversation spontaneously generated itself in such a way that material from the text was hardly mentioned. After two hours of dialogue it was hard to wind down the momentum and bring the session to an end. One could certainly say that the participants were involved and interested in the investigation.

The Urgency of Change Dialogue Group

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Zoom online

 

Five participants were able to attend this weekday meeting of the group which has now been functioning for nine months. We have been using the Krishnamurti book The Urgency of Change to focus our inquiry and to keep us close to K’s teachings as we explore our own consciousness. The meeting started with a reminder that there are at least two levels at which the dialogue can be taking place. The first is the level of intellectual understanding, which is often where people begin and which is probably necessary. K has pointed out that the teachings come alive in the moment to moment attention we give to the movements of thought that are creating our reality. This is a second level of engagement in dialogue wherein we are choicelessly aware of our processes of thought and feeling as we interact in relationship with each other. This awareness can open a space for insight and the experiencing of a state of being less identified with thought and more free to simply “be”, with access to the qualities of Beingness such as peace, joy, and love. The dialogue progressed within that context and seemed to be quite effortlessly grounded in Presence and cooperative exploration.

The chapter of “choice” for the meeting was “Morality”. K makes the distinction between social morality, usually motivated by fear, and authentic “virtue”, which is spontaneous compassion and love emerging from our understanding of ourselves and the patterns of the “self”. Questions such as “What is goodness?” and “What is the true flowering of the individual?” were also part of the dialogue. We touched briefly on the topic of the next chapter, “Suicide”, and will probably continue to explore it further in our next meeting. The participants in this meeting expressed an appreciation of the quality of attention that we had been able to bring forth, which in turn created enjoyment.

Meditative Self-Inquiry with Mukesh Gupta

Saturday, October 3, 2020

Zoom online

 

This was the sixth of eight presentations by Mukesh on various aspects of Self-Inquiry, with an emphasis on J. Krishnamurti’s teachings on the same subject. In total there were 23 participants for the online session which was broadcast from Varanasi, India. This presentation was entitled “What is Meditation in Daily Living?”

Mukesh started the meeting with a ten minute guided meditation in which everything was allowed to be just as it is. He then spoke about the emphasis of traditional meditation on concentration and setting aside set times during the day. “Is this all there is to meditation?” he asked. Krishnamurti has a different approach, which stresses the understanding of the meditator, which brings freedom from the “meditator” or “self”. And what is understanding? Is it thinking and gathering knowledge about oneself? Krishnamurti’s approach is, rather, to watch ourselves as we are, to be “choicelessly aware”, which empties the mind of its content and supports the flowering of love and joy. Without love and compassion there is no meditation, and, as Krishnamurti said, “as long as there is a meditator there is no meditation.” Complete attention in daily life is meditation.

The meeting was then opened up to sharing from the group, which inspired a fuller exploration of the themes presented. Some of the issues discussed were the following:

– Dying to the past every day, every moment. The past is images and psychological memory.

– Non-resistance and surrender

– The power of attention to burn away attachments

– Being fully present with “what is” without conditions

– Awakening to our ignorance

– Dealing with memories by giving them full attention. If we do not identify with a memory it loses energy and fades away

 

Deep appreciation for the presentation was expressed by some of the participants, who reported understanding meditation in a more profound way than ever before.

The meeting ended with some silent sitting during which it was suggested we follow any thoughts from beginning to end.