Self-inquiry with Mukesh Gupta, June 16, 2024

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Self-inquiry with Mukesh Gupta

Sunday, June 16, 2024

At KECC, Metchosin, BC

 

Six people in total were present for this Sunday afternoon meeting sponsored by the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada and held at the Swanwick Road location with Mukesh Gupta facilitating the dialogue. The weather as we began was very suitable for sitting outside on the lawn but towards the end of the session some rain began to fall and we decided to move inside, with the Gate House offering the best locale for the last twenty minutes of the meeting.

Right from the beginning Mukesh invited us all to bring Presence to the gathering, both outwardly and inwardly. This would function as an action of the Heart and would connect us with our inner silence. Meditative self-inquiry, Mukesh stated, involved a slowing down, a listening to each other and ourselves, a watching of reactions, and a natural quietness that comes as we observe with compassion, do not rush, and respond with questions rather than expressing our knowledge. What question is most alive for us, he asked.

Several participants were interested in exploring the challenge of facing our own death and the idea that we must “die before we die”. What place does facing our own death and that of close loved ones in the here and now have for us? It seemed that everyone was keen to investigate the question and we were drawn to look into a number of issues surrounding the possibility of “surrendering” psychologically to the fact of our own ending. We looked at some of the ways we have separated life and death and distanced ourselves from the fear of the latter. It was a lively and revealing inquiry into a challenging topic.

DB

Self-inquiry with Mukesh Gupta on June 12, 2024

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Self-inquiry with Mukesh Gupta

Wednesday, June 12, 2024

At Esquimalt Gorge Park Pavilion

1170 Tillicum Rd., Victoria, BC

 

Eleven participants in total were present for this meeting with Mukesh Gupta at the Gorge Park Pavilion on Tillicum Road in Esquimalt. Mukesh began the session with a silent sit of five to ten minutes. He then said that it was always a good idea to review the basic principles of self-inquiry, one of which is the exploring of deeper aspects of our nature (or what we are). This, he explained, involves our entire being – our heart, our mind, and our senses. In self-inquiry there is no fixed goal to be reached. We join together to explore ourselves without authority or hierarchy in a relationship of friends. We are not in any rush to find an answer to any particular question or to apply past knowledge to our uncertainties. It is more that we are opening to a silent space wherein any problem can be faced. There is a slowing down of our thinking; affection and love are the ground of the journey. It is a sacred space for exploring together in a compassionate presence. A deep listening is needed, along with a suspension of reactions. Anyone can share a question or issue which the group can then explore. We are not interested in judging each other.

One group member asked how we can best stay present when we are badly triggered and tempted to go into a reaction. It was suggested that it would be helpful for there to be plenty of space for everyone to contribute to the conversation. Any belief in “what should be” was deemed to be counter-productive to meaningful dialogue. Also, if individuals can find a capacity in themselves to trust that the group’s interactions will turn out to be supportive as the communication unfolds, then that would probably be helpful to the flow of sharing. There would be space for reactions, and this would create less argument along with less fear of losing both inner and outer space.

As we talked together, we realised that there was a beautiful silence in the room being shared by the whole group. It was a suitable time to bring the meeting to an end.

DB

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Meditative Self-Inquiry with Mukesh Gupta

Sunday, June 9, 2024

Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada

Metchosin, BC

 

There was a small turnout of six people on a sunny but windy day at the Krishnamurti Centre on Swanwick Road in Metchosin. It was difficult to find a suitable place to sit in a tight circle where we could hear each other talk. Mukesh chose a place sheltered from the worst of the gusts and we settled in as best we could, given the situation, to share our questions, understandings, and insights. It seemed appropriate to address the subject of listening and Mukesh did so right away. “Listening is a complete act,” he offered, “which brings its own freedom. It requires no effort, no seeking; these just get in the way. And listening is connected with “seeing”.

Mukesh read a couple of passages from The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti. The reading was followed by a quiet sit which was described as the experience of a “space of affection” within which words were not the primary reality. Several participants acknowledged that there is awareness prior to thinking, and this could be called a power of “negation” and a “clarity” which arises when something is seen as false. This brought us to question what it is that we are most interested in as human beings living together and exploring our daily lives. As we often do, we admitted that perhaps our greatest challenge is that of facing fear as we move through our world, both physically and psychologically. We looked at a variety of ways that thought and fear could affect our lives and inquired what could be effective responses to such disturbances when they arose. We discussed our challenges with fear to a significant depth, it seemed, then were treated to another quote from The Book of Life and a few moments of silence which were felt to be a kind of “awakeness” relevant to our dialogue. It was an interesting and meaningful afternoon under the oak trees.

 

DB

Meditative Self-inquiry with Mukesh Gupta, June 5, 2024

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Meditative Self-Inquiry with Mukesh Gupta
Esquimalt Gorge Park Pavilion
Wednesday, June 5, 2024

We are happy to have Mukesh Gupta facilitating dialogues with us after
a fairly long break. Ten people in total showed up to participate in a
dialogue session in the pavilion on a lovely warm day which promised a
pleasant spring to come. Mukesh began with a silent sit, followed by an
introduction to the concepts of “meditative” self-inquiry, many of which
the group members seemed familiar with. Also a good deal of what
Mukesh communicated was very much worth reviewing for everyone
present. He reminded us that the spirit and nature of this work was a
deep togetherness wherein we could look into fundamental questions in
our lives and feel safe to really explore the issues and our responses to
them. It is best if there is no hierarchy or psychological separation and
therefore a minimum of fear in our interactions. We are not interested in
judging each other or comparing ourselves with each other. We can
listen to each other from the heart and from beyond the words we are
using. Listening is much more than simply hearing.
Listening, Mukesh maintained, is more than gathering information. It is
about what is really true in the here and now. It is sharing a field of
compassionate learning wherein each moment can be a healing. We can
open up issues and look at them without making them “personal”.
Problems in this context are universal and shared by all humans.
In order to look and listen in this way, slowing down is important. The
mind must be quiet for listening to happen. “Seeing” is not separate from
listening.
One participant spoke of how being listened to can be powerful in
opening and deepening our experience. It can also be a part of the
process of dissolving the “me” or the “ego”. Another group member
stressed the importance of what he called “Presence” and others added
the significance of keeping a connection with a sacred space – a space
of “the unknown”. We all seemed to agree that emptiness has a great
beauty and that holding a question without finding a quick answer can be
a very meaningful “practice”. In this “meditation” there is no purpose, no
motive or goal. Listening can bring an end to separation, which is a great
gift.
We had one final period of silence in which the sensitivity of a deep
quietness was appreciated. It had been a very peaceful and yet rich
sharing of a gentle love and joy, and many participants seemed reluctant
to take leave.

DB

Self-inquiry with Cynthia Overweg, June 2, 2024

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Self-Inquiry with Cynthia Overweg,

Sunday, June 2, 2024

Metchosin, BC

KECC Gatehouse

 

Thirteen people showed up for this Sunday afternoon meeting facilitated by Cynthia Overweg. Her quiet and gentle manner accommodated a good number of participants new to the teachings of J. Krishnamurti and the ways in which we explore our understanding of his words and our understanding of ourselves as we contemplate observations from his books and the ideas shared by members of the group that gathers for any discussion or “Dialogue” session. In this meeting Cynthia offered a passage from The Book of Life: Daily Meditation with Krishnamurti wherein K posed the question “What would you do if you suddenly were faced with having only one hour to live?” The question stimulated some very interesting responses from the group, some related to the sense of relationship with individuals we would never be seeing again and the desire to acknowledge the preciousness of having been with them for whatever times of heightened meaning were provided by the feelings of love and connection that had been and perhaps were even more valued now that an ending of those experiences was approaching. Would people hold on to resentments and judgements about others/ Would they be more forgiving? Would there be anything to forgive? Is forgiveness an action of the mind or of the heart?

Along with the heightened feeling of appreciation for good human friendship was the possibility of greater appreciation of our surroundings and of nature. Would there be an embracing of what is most important to us and to our true “identity”, which has no need to cling to superficial aspects of our being and activities? How, in contemplating death, do we feel about the famous advice to “die before you die”? Can we live in that state in the present moment.

It was mentioned that the participants seemed very ready to contemplate the subject and displayed little fear of the fact of death when invited to discuss it. One person commented that not only is death the unknown but also life is full of unknowns we must face in our daily existence.

This will be our last meeting with Cynthia before she returns home. We have much appreciated her presence and guidance in our self-inquiry “practice” and will look forward to future times together.

DB

Self-inquiry with Cynthia Overweg, May 29, 2024

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Self-Inquiry with Cynthia Overweg

May 29, 2024

At Gorge Park Pavilion

Victoria, BC

 

Nine people were present, including staff, at the Gorge Park pavilion in Esquimalt for a dialogue meeting sponsored by the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada. Cynthia began the event with a reading from a Krishnamurti Foundation of America newsletter which featured a question asking ”What is the cause of our confusion?” The questioner wondered if we are actually looking deeply and completely at ourselves when we approach the “practice” of self-inquiry. And do we ever listen totally to each other? One of our group had an inquiry which he felt to be related and significant for him in his own desire for self-understanding. He asked if people in the group could describe what is meant by the word “ego” and what Krishnamurti might say about it. There followed some discussion of the way in which most human beings give greater importance to themselves than to the self of others and how such self-importance can cause conflict and even war in the world.

Cynthia read a passage from The Book of Life: Meditations with Krishnamurti in which K spoke of the significance of listening, which, he said, effortlessly brings about an extraordinary change in us which has great beauty and depth of insight. What happens, Cynthia wondered, when listening starts to happen in us? One participant offered that there is an immediate awakening of interest, which creates a different space between the dialoguers. It was offered that Krishnamurti spoke somewhat of feelings which had a reactive and emotional content but seemed to give more significance to feeling as a sensitivity and “presence” or “attention”, a kind of global awareness which might well include a flavour of kindness such as that displayed by the Dalai Lama. Also included would likely be an awareness of one’s judgements and resistances.

The meeting was brought to a close with a period of silence and some casual conversation before heading out of the building.

DB

Self-inquiry with Cynthia Overweg, May 24, 2024

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Self-inquiry with Cynthia Overweg

Sunday, May24, 2024

At Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada

Metchosin location: Gatehouse

 

Eight participants in total were present in the Gatehouse at Swanwick Road for this Sunday afternoon meeting facilitated by Cynthia Overweg. She began the meeting with a quiet sit feeling our feet on the floor and noticing the movement of our breathing. After some time she asked if anyone had an issue they would like to explore with the group. When noone responded to the invitation, Cynthia read a selection from The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti. In the quote K spoke of knowing the whole content of one thought, including the source. This seemed at least a little challenging to understand but most of the group was willing to probe into the issue. We explored another quote of Krishnamurti’s to the effect that it is fear that makes us accept our conditioning. We spent a good deal of time with the issue of fear and how to be with it. It was suggested that it had something to do with facing the fear that underlies all thought and a question was asked about the reality of making thought and feeling two separate things. One participant wanted to make a clear distinction between loneliness and aloneness, leading to some deep inquiry into the nature of the images we tend to carry with us at most times and which may be the source of all our conflict. We investigated the key role of attachment in shaping our experience.

It was an interesting and revealing dialogue; the meeting finished with a sense of some insight having been realised.

 

DB

Krishnamurti and Nondual Teachings, May 24 – 26, 2024

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Krishnamurti and Modern Nondual Teachings

With Hillary Rodrigues

May 24 – 26, 2024

Zoom online

 

A long-time contributor and friend of the Krishnamurti Centre, Hillary, formerly a professor at the University of Lethbridge, was welcomed back to the Krishnamurti Educational Centre to present a three day online workshop exploring the teachings of J. Krishnamurti in contrast to modern and ancient nondual teachings which have been attracting a great deal of interest in recent years. Twelve people were in attendance for the event. Hillary began with the essential issue he wanted to consider with us: the possibility of having a transformative realisation that is more real and experiential than mere knowledge, which has its own place. Over the three sessions of 1 ½ hours he went into some of the history of nondual teachings such as Advaita Vedanta and the Upanishads in the Hindu tradition, including the teachings of Shankara, Buddhist teachings such as Zen, modern offshoots such as Ramana Maharshi, and current teachers such as Rupert Spira, Adyashanti, Mooji, Eckhart Tolle, Joan Tollifson, and Francis Lucille. Hillary emphasised that he was not so much making a comparison between the different teachers but was, rather, presenting triggers which might stimulate our own “seeking” or inquiry. He then led an investigation of Krishnamurti’s teachings along similar lines and where there were at least apparent differences and emphases. He made use of the short summary called “the core of the teachings” which K himself shared with Mary Zimbalist when requested by her.

In examining the various teachings, Hillary asked four questions concerning each approach which might reveal interesting perspectives:

1) What is the problem?

2) What is the goal?

3) What are the methods employed?

4) What are the obstacles?

For example, when addressing “the problem”, Rupert Spira seems to have considered that the main problem is that, given our essential nature is happiness, why is it not experienced all the time? Eckhart Tolle maintains that most of us have a superficial understanding of who we really are and Joan Tollifson says that the idea that we are an

encapsulated unit is the basis of our suffering. For Adyashanti, we have deceived ourselves such that we do not experience our divinity. Krishnamurti starts not with our divine nature but rather with our conditioned self which is not experiencing freedom or the unchanging awareness that Mooji suggests is our true nature. For K, we must see that there is actually no division between the observer and the observed, the thinker and the thought. The division is an illusion. Pure observation brings an insight which in turn brings about a radical mutation in the mind.

Along the way we touched on various questions of identity, knowledge, and awareness, as well as some of the paradoxes that arise as the mind attempts to understand something which essentially cannot be grasped through thought.

When it came to looking at Krishnamurti’s expression of self inquiry, we spent some time exploring his approach to being with pain and suffering. K gives great emphasis on not moving away from our suffering and not creating a duality between the observer and the observed or the “me” and the “other”. It is our movement away from “what is” that is the problem in that it creates a duality which results in conflict. When we stay with “what is”, it changes. This change leaves no residue and there is a transformation. These ideas were explored, sometimes very seriously and sometimes with a sense of humour and lightness which did not detract from the depth of the inquiry and the resulting sense of freedom and uncaused joy felt by some. Krishnamurti’s emphasis on nature was rare and his communication with scientists like David Bohm was unusual for his time. His message was global.

Hillary’s integration of academic skillfulness and logic, along with his depth of direct realisation of that which he speaks, created a space where it was possible to touch at least a somewhat different dimension of consciousness. We are grateful for his ongoing participation in the life of the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada. He will be available at the Centre in the months to come.

DB

Self-inquiry with Cynthia Overweg, May 22, 2024

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Self-inquiry with Cynthia Overweg

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Esquimalt Gorge Park Pavilion

 

Nine people in total attended this afternoon meeting sponsored by the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada and facilitated by Cynthia Overweg. It was a lovely, sunny day, but perhaps we needed the protection afforded by the recently constructed building where we could be sheltered from the slight breeze blowing through the trees. Cynthia began the meeting with a period of silence which was followed by three short readings from The Book of Life: Meditations with J. Krishnamurti and offered to the group by volunteers from the dialoguers. The readings were samples of Krishnamurti’s teachings recommended by Cynthia and dealing with the subjects of listening, conditioning, and freedom from conditioning. The group then launched into a discussion of these subjects and the challenge of finding freedom while having been affected more or less by events that took place in the past. Some of the sharing was difficult to follow and to understand fully, but most participants seemed able to make sense of it and to engage in the communication that was taking place. The discussion carried on beyond the allotted time but came to a close with the group members seemingly content with the experience of the afternoon.

DB

Self-inquiry with Cynthia Overweg, May 19, 2024, at KECC

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Self-inquiry with Cynthia Overweg

Sunday, May 19, 2024

Metchosin, BC

 

There was a turnout of twelve (all included) for this meeting at the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada in Metchosin, BC. The weather was sunny and the wind was very mild, so we were able to sit outside on the front lawn without getting cold and without the problems in hearing each other when speaking that have been an issue at recent gatherings. The meeting began with self-introductions by participants, after which our facilitator, Cynthia, asked us to observe a few minutes of silence, listening to what was happening around us and within us. Following the silence She asked if anyone had a question or insight to share from their reading of the Krishnamurti text The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti, which we are using as a reference for these self-inquiry sessions, or from their “reading” of the book of their own lives. Several group members expressed that the process of looking at ourselves involved an exposure of vulnerabilities which often made it quite challenging. It was agreed that the process involves a peeling away of layers of our consciousness which are not our true identity and in that process fear can easily be awakened. Krishnamurti has spoken of this awakening of fear and its transcendence. We opened up and examined a variety of fears which can arise and questioned the reality or “realness” of them. It was said that Krishnamurti felt it was most important to examine our psychological fears rather than ones related to physical harm or danger, which could be dealt with on a different level.

We discussed the importance of “being with” our fears and being authentic in our sharing of them and their effects on us. When it comes to dealing with our fears it was questioned whether the search for “answers” to our problems is effective or helpful. It was an interesting and revealing dialogue in which we attempted to gain an understanding which could bring a greater freedom into our daily lives.

DB