Inquiry with Zeenat Patel, August 2, 2026
The group met at the Swanwick Centre. The question brought forward by the group for exploration was how one can engage in society during times when it feels like action is imperative. The group explored the subtle but critically important difference between striving and right action on the one hand and apathy and surrender on the other hand.
The group explored how striving may come from the desire to achieve a particular result, to change society according to a specific idea of what we believe it should be. As a result, striving often requires tremendous effort and can feel exhausting and depleting, sometimes leading to apathy. Apathy may arise when one feels that things are hopeless and itself may be a form of withdrawal born from fear, frustration, or resignation. Surrender on the other hand does not imply apathy or passivity. Nor does surrender necessarily imply approval or that one must tolerate injustice. It is simply seeing something exactly as it is without any resistance.
From the direct observation of seeing things as they are, right action is possible. Krishnamurti often emphasized that when we see something directly and clearly, the action that arises does not require the effort that comes from an idea of what we should do. The group ended with questioning whether we can remain attentive to discover what action is called for in each moment. Can we engage with society in a manner that neither results in withdrawing from the world nor trying to impose our will upon it but rather responding intelligently and compassionately to what we actually observe?
- Zeenat Patel
