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This retreat was focused on the question, “Is it possible to live a meditative life?”  Mark Lee, for many years Executive Director of the Krishnamurti Foundation of America in Ojai, California, and his wife Asha were the guest facilitators. Dr. Ashutosh Kalsi, who teaches at Simon Fraser University, came with them from Vancouver and contributed his passionate interest in dialogue and inquiry to the group. In all there were 18 participants in the retreat.

On the Friday evening, after a short introduction by Mark, Asha and Ashutosh each gave a short talk about dialogue and their intention for the weekend. This was followed by a demonstration by these three of a dialogue on the subject of “What is a meditative life?” The dialogue was then opened to the whole circle.

On Saturday morning a video was shown of Krishnamurti speaking on meditation and the importance of “putting our house in order”. A group dialogue followed until lunch and was picked up again in the afternoon. The discussion was quite intense and passionate at times and provoked some depth of questioning and looking. Before dinner Mark facilitated a text study session wherein passages from the booklet “Mind in Meditation” were read and discussed. A copy of this booklet had been given to every participant at the start of the retreat.

Saturday evening we watched a video of K in conversation with Allan Anderson, again exploring meditation. The group seemed to be spontaneously drawn into a period of silence after the video ended.

A talk given by K in Ojai was shown on Sunday morning, once more on the topic of meditation but this also included the necessity of right relationship, the issue of the self-image being hurt, and the possibility of it never being hurt. K then touched on a variety of related issues such as the psychological recording of hurts, ending problems as they arise, time and the timeless, space without a centre, space and silence, the unoccupied mind, and openness to the new. The question was asked by K, “Can thought come to an end?”.

The remainder of the morning was spent in group dialogue, mostly focused on the question of what is right action in a world that seems to be disintegrating or in disorder. Whether or not the world is in fact disintegrating or in a state of degradation was part of the discussion.

This was followed by a final dialogue in the afternoon. In closing, Mark asked the participants how they felt they had responded to the intent of the retreat, which was to investigate what is a meditative life, and if there were any suggestions for improving the retreat. There were a few suggestions but it seemed that most felt the weekend was very interesting and valuable, very much appreciated the facilitation of Mark and company, and were hoping the three guests would return again next year, which they all said they would be happy to do.

David Bruneau/ Ralph Tiller

Dr. Kumar teaches at Mt. St. Vincent’s Education Department in Halifax. He had recently given a presentation at the annual gathering of the Krishnamurti Foundation of America and was staying at Swanwick for a personal retreat.  He has participated in numerous Krishnamurti dialogues at locales such as Brockwood Park in England, as well as using the dialogue format in his university courses.   He kindly offered to meet with interested persons for a dialogue while in Victoria, so we met with him for a special dialogue in lieu of the normal Inquiry Sunday. Altogether 11 people gathered for a two hour session, very interested in experiencing Dr. Kumar’s approach to group dialogue.

Following brief self introductions by the participants, Dr. Kumar suggested we discuss questions that are the most significant to us in our self exploration.  What is our central urgent question?  One participant raised a, to her, burning question, namely what is meditation and the role of the meditator?  Dr. Kumar then asked: Why do we meditate?  In the ensuing dialogue Dr. Kumar was quite directive in maintaining a focus on the essentials of the inquiry and guided the group to consider what it is we are looking for and what are the obstructions.

He shared that his own most pressing question was why, once the ego has become quiet or non-active for perhaps a short time (or no-time) it always returns and takes a central position in our sense of ourselves.  Many of the group agreed that this was also a real question for them and some discussion took place on the topic.  Dr. Kumar suggested that a question such as this one can be asked from the thinking mind, in which case it has little power to transform, or from the totality of our being, which creates a disturbance in our lives which has creative potential to respond to the question in a profound way.  The importance of intense awareness of the subtleties of the thinking process was emphasized and explored. The session ended with 5 minutes of silence.

Participants seemed to very much appreciate and enjoy the chance to share meditative inquiry with Dr. Kumar and it seems there is a good possibility he will return next year to hold a retreat at the centre.

The following day Dr. Kumar gave a presentation at the University of Victoria as part of ‘Congress 2013’ which was attended by Ralph.  The topic was Brockwood Park School, a residential Krishnamurti school in England, where he had recently spent 3 months observing the way the school implements K’s approach to inquiry-based education. A 13 minute introductory video of the school was part of the presentation (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi9aaFNqpU8 ). For an earlier presentation by Dr. Kumar at Brockwood itself, with some of his observations about the school, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKPxp7FtpBU .

Ralph/David

Dr. Ravi Ravindra, invited to facilitate a retreat at the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada, had personal contact with Krishnamurti on numerous occasions. He also had a long and varied academic career with degrees in Physics, Philosophy, and Religious Studies and taught many years at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

On the Friday evening Dr. Ravindra gave a public talk and interactive dialogue in Victoria which was very well attended by 67 persons!  The weekend retreat, attended by altogether 16 participants (including 6 overnighters and 7 commuters), was an exploration in greater depth of many of the ideas presented at the public talk. Each day there was a guided meditation, a talk by Dr. Ravindra, and time for group discussions of different kinds (exploring quotations of Krishnamurti, participants’ questions and observations, and so on). Also included were some exercises on looking and listening and a Krishnamurti DVD (Ojai 1982, 3^rd public talk) was shown.

Dr. Ravindra had a number of stories to relate about his experiences with Krishnamurti and those around him, many of which showed aspects of K’s character and his ways of relating with others. He also presented certain ideas and viewpoints regarding K’s teachings and questions for the group to consider. Topics touched on included the importance of being aware of our deeper motives and what is driving our lives and spiritual search. Our motives are purified as we deepen in our understanding and self knowledge. Right action was discussed as freedom from the “me”: if understanding of the “actor” is right then every action is right. It was suggested that it is important to be aware also of our deep need for approval and fear of disapproval.

One of the points Dr. Ravindra shared was that in studying K we should not take his words too literally but must question and explore what they mean for us. If we take any one statement to be the absolute truth we will become confused when we later hear or read something which seems opposed or different. Dr. Ravindra suggested that such apparent contradictions can be helpful in requiring us to look for ourselves.

It seemed that everyone felt very fortunate to have been visited by Dr. Ravindra and to have shared this opportunity to meet together.

Ralph/David

During Dr. Ravindra’s workshop, he suggested that the participants go out into nature and find an object to investigate like a tree or a flower. The object was to be examined in three different ways and the effects of such observation to be noted.

First of all, participants were to make a scientific-like report about a tree, for example, and put it down in writing. Just “objective” facts were to be noted. Then, after a break of a few minutes with perhaps a short walk, people were to return to the tree and observe it with the intention of writing a poem about it, and actually doing so. Once the poem was complete, there was to be another short break before coming back to the tree for the third time and observing it as if to hear what it was communicating or expressing to the observer. This was more like opening to it as a living being or expression of life and again writing down the results of such observation.

When everyone had finished the exercise participants met as a group and shared their experiences. It apparently proved to be most interesting for everyone involved and the results of the different ways of looking and listening were quite pronounced.

David

Unfortunately, I did not have the privilege of attending Dr. Ravindra’s retreat due to my Mother’s illness. However, when I received David’s most excellent description, I found “the tree exercise” so fascinating that I tried it.

Each time, I looked at a tree, a one-word impression came to mind – crooked; leaning.

Then, that impression changed into a one-word experience – light; energy; colour.

Finally, there was a sense of movement or vibration.  

There was no “experiencer” in this experiment for “the experiencer” cannot exist without the word “I”. In fact, fresh impressions and experiences received in a meditative state of mind do not usually involve a “doer” for this reason.

Suddenly, I felt an affection and gratitude to this man I had not met who had devised such an insightful exercise!

…And, that was the first manifestation of “the thinker” during this whole experiment…

Why don’t you try the tree exercise and share your thoughts on our blog?

Chanda

“Death is such a shock for all of us” –  Jagdis, Sister

“Chanda, I am so sorry….your Mom had a very special place in my heart….she will be missed”

– Bruce, Forester

“I am so very sorry. Your Mom was a wonderful person and I’ll truly miss her”

– Mary, Bank Manager

“I am so very sorry to hear of your Mom’s death. I felt close to her from the first time we met at Rishi Valley in 1980 and was very fond of her. Early on she said I was ‘a brother’, which I deeply appreciated. We had quite a few laughs together whenever we met, which was not often enough”

– Ray, KFT Trustee

“Chanda, we are deeply sad to learn of your dear mother’s passing. Please know you have our profound condolences. Your mother was a great woman–a great friend and so deeply serious about whatever she touched. Love to you and your family”

– Mark, KFA Trustee

“I was sorry to hear of your mother’s death. I only met her a couple of times but I know how much she did for all the K work in Canada and I guess she was instrumental in getting you to Brockwood (which we sure appreciate). I hope you are managing well and don’t forget it would be lovely to have you come and visit us sometime”

–Bill,  Brockwood Co-Principal

“I’m so sorry to hear of your mom’s passing. She was always a person I enjoyed to be with and to talk with, during the times I had the chance to meet her, I have such good memories of her. I had thought when she came back home that she was going to get better and I was hoping to see her again. It was so nice when I talked with her the last time, and how she called me back right away to tell me ‘Luis can you say hello to Tsuki and give him a hug from me’…her presence will be always with me until my time comes too”

– Luis, Property Manager  

“I only just read the bulletin from the KFA that mentioned the passing of your mother several days ago.

This news struck me both with surprise and a deep sense of sadness. Surprise, because while I was aware of Jackie’s failing health, I was unaware of any health issues with which your mother may have been grappling. Sadness, because Sarjit was an extraordinary woman, strong, intelligent, yet loving and compassionate, qualities which I quickly discerned when I first met her when I came out to teach at Wolf Lake school. These same qualities I noticed were also evident in you, and I hope they provide you with the fortitude to deal with the undeniable grief at your loss. I feel that loss, and send you my deepest condolences.

Thinking of your mom brings up many wonderful memories, such as listening to bhajans together in the cosy Rolls, while there was torrential rain pouring outside, on one of our Wolf Lake school field trips. Or seeing her shooing away those peacocks, both delightful and annoying, from her cottage at Swanwick”

– Hillary, Professor (and ex-principal of Wolf Lake School)
“Rosanna wrote to me and told me your mother passed away. I’m sorry I did not have a chance to see her during more recent times. She was a wonderful human being who affected my life in such a positive way. I think of her (and you) always with affection and the fondest of memories. I will never forget her”

–Krishna, Film Director (and ex-student at Wolf Lake School) 

“I am at a loss for adequate words to express my sadness for you. Your mom was such a lovely lady. I often think about all the times I met her and will remember her always. Your mom touched so many people’s lives, and I know we are all enriched by it. I know heaven just received one of the most special angels. I am standing by your side in my prayers”

-Upi,  Scientist
“Chanda, it is with great sadness that I now write to you.

I knew as we all did that your dear mother was soon to be leaving us however her departure, although expected, was nevertheless a shock, as incongruent as that may sound. Sarj was such a presence that the impression she gave at times was that she would always be there to ask the pointed and sometimes abrupt questions and then point the way…..albeit her way.

I will also remember Sarj for her caring for others, and I say that knowing she at times did not always show such favour to those close to her. She was much like my father in that regard, a product of another era (he was born in 1896) with a substantially different upbringing to mine. So we each must live our lives in our own way and hope we are appreciated and make a difference. Sarj appreciated how fortunate we are to be living here on this wonderful planet and throughout her life made a conscious effort, in both big and small ways, to make it a better place for all. We can all learn from her example, I know you have.

You must be well aware that you have many of your mother’s most admirable traits and for that you should be proud. It will be some of those traits that will help you through this difficult time”

–Charlie, Lawyer

“Dearest Chanda, Sarjit still lives in you…She had the most interesting life and loving family and her love for those things shone through her ever so brightly. I feel so privileged to have met her, your dad, and you and to have spend that time at the cafe with you all a few months ago. You all mean so much to me, as human beings…”

–  Aleyona, KECC Facilitator

“I’m sorry to hear that she is gone. It’s a big blow to everybody. It must be very hard for you and other members of your family. I will miss her. It’s good that she enjoyed a few weeks at home after coming back from the hospital. I don’t know what else to say. Be strong…”

– Vance, KECC Director 

Krishnamurti’s visit to the centre in 1978, with Sarjit Siddoo on his left.

The ancient Hindus say that the soul of the departed hovers around the body for about three days desperately trying to re-enter it, but it is not able. The grief of those left behind can cause the soul further suffering and turmoil.

So, it is an interesting thing that on the morning of my mother’s passing, these words came into my mind and I resolved to say them on that day:

“We are here and we love you.

If you can stay, there is nothing we would like better,

But, if you have to go,

Then you must go, and

We will not hold you back”.

This was about an hour before she died and I think she must have heard me. It was February 22^nd.

I only dreamt of her one night after that and so believe she understood her situation and her soul had its final release from this world.

Chanda, Daughter

On the morning of March 13^th, I found myself pondering Allan’s words about Intelligence and how it cannot be perceived by thought.

A few days earlier, I had observed a pair of birds freeing themselves quite effortlessly from my verandah (see next entry). It reminded me of our discussion likening the bird that thinks it is trapped in the glass verandah (even though it is really free, because of the spaces in-between) to the human condition.

So, it is strange that the mantle of sadness settled upon my shoulders, once again, on the morning of March 14^th only to learn of Allan’s passing. I had asked him to promise that if anything happened to either of us, we would each communicate with the other.

At the same time, I realized that the self-pity we feel is only for ourselves…

At my favourite spot in Vancouver which is sacred to the Native Americans, I started thinking about the Dr. David Bohm dialogue years at Swanwick and the seminars there with Professor Allan Anderson. I think we got really, really close to some communally shared spiritual meaning. It was so close to K’s prediction about “a new race of men emerging from the west coast of America”. Sarjit, of course, was a focal point right at the beginning of this movement. Then, it just seemed to slip through our fingers and we all went our own ways…but, then, again, maybe that was it…maybe something didhappen…

Now, how can I say that I have not lost two of my greatest teachers, when there is a gaping chasm?

Chanda, Friend and Student of the Spiritual

CS –     I have written out our last discussion and, reading over it, it occurs to me that we have not dealt with the “fabric” of the human prison.

AA –     Ah, yes! – the nature of the dragon’s pool.

CS –      I think it has something to do with one’s relationship to past memories or “trace” – the trace that one senses after meeting a person, leaving a cemetery, visiting a particular part of the city or place.

I sense that it may be the crux of these chains, this imprisonment. Trace is like a layer of dirt that mars the beauty of everything. It is a desolation, the collective sorrow of mankind – I think it is human suffering.

AA –     The difficulty of learning the freedom that is available to one,  it takes a long time to discover.

There may be little flashes – insights – illuminations – but, then, the realization invariably recedes unless it is renewed each moment.

CS –      …the obstacle to overcoming the idea of psychological limits.

That reminds me of something that happened this morning:

There was a little bird who flew into my glass-encased verandah and, suddenly, found that it was no longer free. It flew around and around in great distress but could find no way out of its prison. When it had exhausted itself, it just sat quietly in a corner.

Then, two other birds alighted beside it from a nearby tree.

Soon, they flew off again and the trapped little bird realized there was a gap between the glass sheets, so she followed them through.

AA –     Yes, that is a marvellous description of it. Often, we do not take heed of the messengers sent to “guide” us along the way.

CS –      As a child, I was always very sensitive to “trace” and had an intuition that there was a different way of living, without conflict.

AA –     Because there is…but it is not an idea or concept.

CS –      It is outside the realm of thinking.

AA –     Yes!

Excerpt from The Bird in the Verandah (March 2001):  personal impressions of dialogues with Professor Allan Anderson [AA] and printed with his permission.

In no way does the writer, Chanda Siddoo [CS] purport that these are verbatim discussions, but, passages recalled after telephone conversations in which she has attempted to pluck out their essence.

Excerpt from Education and the Significance of Life
–       J. Krishnamurti

When one travels around the world, one notices to what an extraordinary degree human nature is the same, whether in India or America, in Europe or Australia. This is especially true in colleges and universities. We are turning out, as if through a mould, a type of human being whose chief interest is to find security, to become somebody important, or to have a good time with as little thought as possible.

Conventional education makes independent thinking extremely difficult. Conformity leads to mediocrity. To be different from the group or to resist environment is not easy and is often risky as long as we worship success. The urge to be successful, which is the pursuit of reward whether in the material or in the so-called spiritual sphere, the search for inward or outward security, the desire for comfort – this whole process smothers discontent, puts an end to spontaneity and breeds fear; and fear blocks the intelligent understanding of life. With increasing age, dullness of mind and heart sets in.

In seeking comfort, we generally find a quiet corner in life where there is a minimum of conflict, and then we are afraid to step out of that seclusion. This fear of life, this fear of struggle and of new experience, kills in us the spirit of adventure; our whole upbringing and education have made us afraid to be different from our neighbour, afraid to think contrary to the established pattern of society, falsely respectful of authority and tradition.

Fortunately, there are a few who are in earnest, who are willing to examine our human problems without the prejudice of the right or of the left; but in the vast majority of us, there is no real spirit of discontent, of revolt. When we yield uncomprehendingly to environment, any spirit of revolt that we may have had dies down, and our responsibilities soon put an end to it.

Revolt is of two kinds: there is violent revolt, which is mere reaction, without understanding, against the existing order; and there is the deep psychological revolt of intelligence. There are many who revolt against the established orthodoxies only to fall into new orthodoxies, further illusions and concealed self-indulgences. What generally happens is that we break away from one group or set of ideals and join another group, take up other ideals, thus creating a new pattern of thought against which we will again have to revolt. Reaction only breeds opposition, and reform needs further reform.

But there is an intelligent revolt which is not reaction, and which comes with self-knowledge through the awareness of one’s own thought and feeling. It is only when we face experience as it comes and do not avoid disturbance that we keep intelligence highly awakened; and intelligence highly awakened is intuition, which is the only true guide in life.

Butchart Gardens, Friedrich Grohe [2010]

Butchart Gardens, Friedrich Grohe [2010]

Excerpt from Listening is the Guru 

–       Dr. JK Siddoo’s Diary; March 8, 1974 (Malibu, California)

Yesterday, we flew from Vancouver to Los Angeles at seven in the morning. It was snowing when we got up and we drove in the snow to the airport. The dawn was breathtaking. A heavy dark cloud hung everywhere except in the east. There was a clear golden sky with the pale blue mountains in the distance. Mount Baker was very clear. At the airport we hired a car and Sarjit drove to the home of Mary Zimbalist. The house overlooked the Pacific Ocean. Krishnaji was staying there as her guest. We joined a group, mostly from Ojai, in the living room awaiting Krishnaji for a discussion about a new school at Ojai. He entered the room quietly and began to speak.

K: To whom are you responsible? To the parent, society, the student, to yourself? How can you have order, discipline, virtue, freedom without authority, without reward or punishment, knowing that both the teacher and the pupil are in disorder? How can you teach mathematics, history – and these must be taught, because the brain is meant to be used – and also have the “Other”? What would you do – there are ten or fifteen students sitting before you? I know how I would teach if I was a mathematics teacher; thank God I’m not. I would begin by talking over with them disorder, point out the disorder in my life and in their life, and discuss this together with them with both of us learning. Then after a ten-minute discussion, I’d devote the rest of the time to mathematics. I would do this every day. If a child is not punctual, comes half an hour late, how are you going to make him punctual, bearing in mind no authority, no reward, no punishment? By making the child sensitive by talking to him at his own level of authority. How are you going to educate the parents, knowing both parents go to work and come home tired, having very little or no time with their children? If you talk to them and say spend more time with your children, give them affection, love, care, will they listen to you?

This country is falling apart. The permissiveness, the vulgarity, the utter lack of discipline, the corruption. You must have seen on the TV last night, students running naked across the campus. This is what this society has degenerated into. This is the society and you are going to build a new school. So we come back again to the question, to whom are we responsible? I will answer that question. We are responsible for the producing of a child with a new mind. Why should I be responsible to anyone? In talking about disorder in my life and the child’s life, I create an intensity, which is order.

The next day, we had lunch with Krishnaji. There were several of us – Mary Zimbalist, who was the hostess, Asit Chandmal from Bombay, Sarjit, and myself.

JS: In this awareness, there are days of intensity and there are days when the process levels off.

K: What’s wrong with that?

JS: Nothing. If one listens to your tapes, the intensity is there but one doesn’t want to become dependent on them.

K: Of course.

AC: Krishnaji, many years ago when you were in Bombay you said that you thought a perfect crime could be committed. Do you think it could be done?

K: It would be difficult. Yes, I think I could write a book about it.

[The conversation covered many other topics including earthquakes]

K: Once when I was in Delhi with Shiva Rao, when he lived in the other house, I went for a walk and there was a line of elephants passing by, circus elephants. About half an hour later I heard a commotion and went out to see. All three elephants were sitting on the ground and their keepers couldn’t make them move. About half an hour later, there was an earthquake. Another time there was an earthquake, I saw a cat clutching the ground.

Sarjit talked about one of the people coming to her house in West Vancouver to listen to K’s tapes. He was a wealthy businessman.

JS: Now his business is transplanting hair on bald heads (K laughed and laughed)

We had finished our meal and Sarjit was still eating because she was having trouble with her teeth.

JS (to SS): We have all finished eating and are just waiting for you.

K picked up a roll and began to eat it. I realized how inconsiderate I had been and how aware K had been of not hurting another. Later as we sat in the living room, K pointed out some whales in the ocean in front of the house.

A Short History of The Swanwick Study Centre by Chris Pratt

The open meadows that fringe the shores of the sea in Metchosin are the result of the Garry Oak groves that stand there, and the careful cultivation of the camas plant by the First Nations people. They cultivated the camas fields, which form part of the natural order of vegetation, a plant whose bulbs were an important part of their winter diet. The dark Douglas fir forest favoured the deeper soils a bit farther inland.

This open land attracted the first settlers to Metchosin, the Weir family from Scotland in this case. In 1859. Robert Weir, known affectionately by his family and friends as “The Laird”, was a widower with three grown sons and four young children. Only a bridle path linked their farm with Victoria when they first built their home here, and all heavy freight was landed over the beach. The beach is still known as the Laird’s Beach.

Actually, the Weir family had been living in Sooke for a few years, and the only overland connection between there and Victoria was by a path that led past Matheson Lake and Pedder Inlet to Sandy Bay (Weir’s Beach), and from there along the shoreline to Albert Head and beyond. That shore path is still in local use by Metchosin folk.  And that was how the Weirs were originally attracted to this piece of potential farmland. They named it “Gordon Bush” after their Scottish home.

Gradually the Weir family added to their holdings until their lands extended to a thousand acres (400ha) and their sheep numbered almost a thousand head when they took custody of the Hudson’s Bay Co. flock. Robert and his four sons formed a partnership, and some years later the youngest son, Adam, established his own farm on the land adjoining Gordon Bush to the south. The Helgesen family took up the land to the north of the Weirs, and the lane separating the two farms has become Swanwick Road, named for a Weir son-in-law, Thomas F Swanwick.

The Laird died in 1895, and Gordon Bush was sold out of the family in the early 1900’s. The old farm house burned down in 1912. It was located near the present tennis court.

The Weir holdings have now passed to other owners: the Army took up a large portion of it when a heavy gun battery was installed atop Mary Hill at the beginning of the Second World War, and the land around Weir’s Beach has become privately owned. The home farm itself has had several owners:

First, a family by the name of Charlesworth, about which little is known.

Next, early in the 1920’s, an American international lawyer, David Hunter Miller,   bought the property. He had been an adviser to the US Government at the time of settling the Alaska Boundary with Canada, and later was adviser to President Wilson at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. He and his wife built a comfortable home, which they named “Craiglands”, and continued to enjoy a secluded retirement there.

The property came on the market again in 1950 and was bought by Mr. and Mrs. G.S.M. Warlow, Victoria residents, for their daughter Mary. They renamed the property “Gatherly” after a home in England. There was a second house on the property that stood on the site of the two cottages used by the present owners. Tony Mitchell lived there with his family, and raised turkeys on the land. The present office building and living accommodation began their life as a turkey barn.

It was sold again in about 1956 to John and Catherine Meade, who dismantled the Hunter Miller house and built another to their own design on the same foundation. It is the present building. The Meades had come to Canada from England after the Second World War, and were friends of the Warlows. John Meade, an English industrialist, designed the new house to suit the needs of his family, with bedrooms and a sitting room for his three daughters and their nanny at one end, and a bedroom with separate bathrooms for him and his wife at the other end. The kitchen, dining room and sitting room, with separate entrance, were in between. The hardware that went into construction and fireplace mantles, etc., were imported from England. They built the swimming pool, tennis court, and stables for the children’s ponies.

The Meades in turn sold the property to Alfred and Evelyn Caywood, who lived there until 1976 when it came into the hands of the present owners. Caywood was a “bush pilot” in the northern territories. He occasionally flew the noted  artist A.Y.Jackson into remote areas for a summer of painting.

Of some interest may be the adjoining property, also part of the Weir lands, known as Fernie Farm. The father of the Misses Fernie was a member of the B.C. Provincial Police, head of the Mounted Division. It was he who apprehended the notorious train robber known as “The Grey Wolf”. And the house, built after the Boer War, was occupied for several years by two veterans, Bill Thwaites and a Mr. Dreyfus, a close relative of Captain Dreyfus of Devil’s Island fame.

This section of land has formed part of Metchosin’s history since its earliest days, and is still considered to be one of Metchosin’s rarest treasures.

Krishnamurti and Advaita  by Professor Hillary Rodrigues

Vedanta is a school of Indian philosophy with ancient origins. It traces its roots to teachings within influential scriptures, notably the Upanishads, which form the latter portion of Vedic literature. A major focus of this philosophy is to question the relationship between the real self (called Atman) and Absolute Reality (called Brahman). Who are we really? What is the nature of this world? And what is our relationship to this mysterious existence? Advaita Vedanta is a stream within Vedanta philosophy that interprets that relationship as non-dual (advaita). In other words, Advaita Vedanta proclaims that a deep investigation into one’s own nature, beyond the superficial identifications that we typically make with our cultures, nations, races, and so on, reveals that Atman and Brahman are one and the same.

There have been many renowned Advaita Vedanta philosophers since the time of the Upanishads, the most famous being the 8^th/9^th century Indian sage, Shankara. In the last century various teachers have promulgated non-dual teachings, which have sometimes been labeled Neo-Advaita, because the philosophies do not derive from the interpretations of the classical Vedanta texts, and do not insist on their methods. Instead, the teachers point to a sort of experiential realization of the truth of non-dualism. Among these teachers are Nisargadatta Maharaj and Ramana Maharshi.

Krishnamurti did not want his teachings compared to other teachers and their teachings. I think this is because he did not want his teachings to become exclusively subjected to an academic sort of examination. I think K wanted listeners to grasp the essence of what he was saying, when listening to him or reading his words, and in that instant have an insight into the truth to which he was pointing. To go off and think about his teachings, and to compare them to other teachings, while useful for academics like myself, and of interest to everyone’s intellectual curiosities, is not necessarily beneficial in bringing about the transformative psychological insight that Krishnamurti urges us to attain.

Nevertheless, one can certainly find patterns in Krishnamurti’s teachings and demonstrate how these parallel the teachings of the philosophies of liberation.  Some have seen similarities between Krishnamurti’s teachings and those of Advaita Vedanta. It would take a volume to delineate all the similarities. However, many traditional followers of the Advaita Vedanta are at pains to point out the differences. I think both groups are correct, because there are many places where Krishnamurti’s teachings converge with those of non-dual philosophies and many places where they diverge from traditional Advaita Vedanta. A simple illustration is to look at Krishnamurti’s statement, “You are the world,” which suggests that the seemingly separate and isolated person is actually one with the broad, fullness of reality. But Krishnamurti also rejects tradition, and paths, and the following of masters and authoritative scriptures, all of which are very much part of the corpus of Advaita Vedanta teachings.

A more interesting activity, I suggest, is a rigorous self-examination of what motivates one to find similarities or to highlight differences between these two teachings. Such an examination might lead to insights into the attachments that one has to either of the two. A pen and a marker have similarities and differences. One can spend much time and energy talking about these and why one has a preference for choosing one over the other. But if one wants to send a letter urgently, such deliberations will not be significant. One will pick up and use whatever is at hand. Krishnamurti seemed to me to be telling us to pick up and use whatever bit of reality is at our disposal, at this moment, because transformative change is something urgent. Conflict is resolved through insight, now, not tomorrow when we have satisfied ourselves that the teachers or teachings we follow are unique, adequately profound, historically venerable, in keeping with the tenets of our religious heritage, and so on. Conflict can be fuelled by minds that apply thinking to satisfy the needs of thought-constructed selves that need to be “right,” and secure in their intellectual preferences.

Swanwick Study Centre, Friedrich Grohe [2010]

The Thanksgiving gathering had a gracious atmosphere with Elena there to greet the guests with a table full of snacks, delicacies, and tempting teas while Dr. JK Siddoo’s piano fugues played in the background. It was a wonderfully light and airy room at the Vancouver Public Library with an unusual view of downtown. We were a small group of ten.

…And, then, K started to remind us with his stream of consciousness lecture how we are responsible for the deplorable state of the world and that when there is the self, there is no love. It was quite a shocking statement that stunned the mind into silence.

Strangely, it had Russian subtitles and, luckily, a few Russian speakers arrived who were able to benefit from them. How nice it is to hear a language spoken with such sensuality and conviction! It is so unlike the tentative and timid way in which we speak English.

At the end, we were given slips of paper and pencils to write down our thoughts and, after a period of silence, we went around the circle asking each person to share them with us.

The here and now is all that matters; living life in the present; the death of individualconsciousness; living with passion; the body is a jail which the soul must transcend, were some of the comments we explored in the ensuing discussion.

Then, came the final question, what is love and what does one want from it if anything? And, I was put in mind of a neighbourhood cat, Puss-in-boots, who had died recently. What an extraordinary creature who had lived with such attention and given me so much of it!…not through flattery, or, by giving me some kind of false importance, but just her total, unadulterated Attention. And, as I thought of it, perhaps, there had not even been the feeling we were two separate entities…

Once again, this meeting was held at the Vancouver Public Library and lovingly catered and hosted. Twenty-one people attended in all. Many of them seemed to be new to K and had heard of it through our new meetup group.

K provided another “koan” in this lecture as he talked about the silence in meditation…

Afterwards, one participant talked about the importance of preparing a sacred space for meditation in order to allow this silence in… another mentioned the harmony of Nature in helping one to escape the bonds of consciousness.

Some of the new participants were quite taken with K’s emphasis on doubting things one is told to believe and felt that this truth resonated deeply with them. One lady in particular felt that she had done just this with Roman Catholicism. So, I told them that as a cancer biologist I also saw the beauty in this since science is all about doubting, questioning, and re-examining everything we already think we know.

It is interesting that newcomers seem to want a little structure and direction to the dialogue-exploration session following the DVD. They look to a central person, or, facilitator to fulfill this function and seem to appreciate some kind of understanding and encouragement in their quest. However, those already acquainted with K do not always like things focussing around one person and seem to prefer more of a free flowing discussion. Besides trying new formats for these gatherings, K blogging, and the meetup group on the internet, it might be an idea for those really passionate about the subject to start up a dialogue group. The Vancouver Public Library meetings really only provide an introduction to K and a taste of dialogue for people discovering his teachings for the first time. That is all the time permits! Hopefully, participants leave feeling that it was time well-spent, or, even energized by the experience.    

The Wisdom and Wonder of Nature by Greg Marian

It has become more and more clear to me that an incredible wisdom can be found by simply turning our attention towards the world of Nature.  I have found that one of the ways that Nature teaches me profound lessons is by its constant invitation to align my attention to the present moment.  Every moment seems to be trying to reveal an unfathomable intelligence and a sense of connectivity with all of Life.  An experience that highlights these insights for me happened while I was working on the retreat grounds at Swanwick Centre.

One day while I was using a weed trimmer to cut some grass beside the walking trails in the forest, I suddenly became aware that a little brown bird was sitting on the ground about 10 feet away from me.  This was quite odd as the weed trimmer was extremely loud, so much so that I was using ear muffs to deaden its noise.  I was amazed that this little bird seemed completely unbothered by the noise and was actually making attempts to come closer to me.  In comparison to it I must have appeared as a giant, yet it didn’t seem to display any fear towards me.  After a while I continued on with my work and noticed that the bird kept staying in close proximity to me, even though I kept moving along the trail.  At times I even feared for the bird’s safety as I almost stepped on it once and was worried that I might accidently injure it with the trimmer.  I sensed something profound was occurring but what made it even more interesting is that the retreat centre dog Amigo all of sudden playfully appeared with a stick for me to throw for him to fetch.  He had brought his stick to me countless times, but never when I was using the loud weed trimmer, nor when I was that far away from the buildings.  I was worried he was going to see the bird and chase it away, but after they noticed each other, they both gave the other space and continued to follow me along the trail.  It was delightful to watch them be so respectful and tolerant of each other.

After I was done trimming the grass, the little bird followed me back to the equipment shed, continuing with its fearless behaviour.  I then went inside for lunch and wondered if it was still going to be around when I came back, and to my amazement it was, and it continued its playful and curious behaviour.  Up to that point I had thought that the bird couldn’t fly as it had just been hopping along the trail, but then all of sudden it flew away into the forest.  The next morning I was pleasantly surprised to see the little bird again, which suddenly flew towards me and landed on the ground beside me.  This time I had time to call the resident manager Luis so that he could see it as well.  He got his camera and took several pictures of it, and in time the bird let us get closer and closer, until it finally got onto Luis’s shoe.  We tried to feed it but it wasn’t really interested in food, only in curiously checking us out.  We were both amazed at the strangeness of its situation and enjoyed simply being with this precious creature and its remarkable behaviour.  Then as suddenly as it appeared, the bird once again flew away, leaving us to wonder if we would ever see it again.  For the next 3 days it continued to make daily visits and we began getting accustomed to having its presence around.  But as quickly and mysteriously as it came into our lives, one day it flew off into the forest, and we never saw it again.

Because I have had many amazing and profound experiences with animals, I very quickly recognized that this little being was here to show me something important.  While experiencing the mysteriousness of this little bird’s visit, one of the things that I witnessed was my mind’s tendency to want to remember other similar situations from the past, and I noticed how that deadened the moment that was happening right in front of me, and which was so incredibly alive with breathless awe.  I noticed how there was a sense of trying to figure out the reason why the bird was so tame, and I noticed that it actually didn’t matter, and that indulging in such speculation once again began to pull me away from the profundity of the present moment.  I also witnessed the desire arising of wanting the bird to continue being around and how helpless my mind felt when it recognized that it actually had no control over this.

What became more and more apparent was that the lesson was to just simply be alert in every moment, and enjoy the bird’s presence with complete detachment and innocent openness.  As the days went on, trying to attach meaning or reason as to why this little bird was miraculously blessing us with its presence began to feel almost violent.  All that was left for me to do was to completely let go of trying to fit this situation into something I had known from the past, or to hold onto it with a sense of control and keep it for the future.  Through its fearlessness and innocent curiosity, this little being reminded me that all the knowledge and wisdom that I could ever learn is only useful if I can embody it in the moment to moment flow of my life.  So to honour this little bird’s visit and the simple yet profound wisdom that it offered me, I decided to call it Dharma, which means ‘the eternal way of truth’.  Dharma again revealed to me how beautifully delicate and vulnerable the present moment always is, and for this incredible reminder I feel truly blessed.

This year the centre hosted two Krishnamurti-focused retreats. The first, on July 22-24, was facilitated by Ralph Tiller and David Bruneau and was entitled “Living Without Conflict”. The core material was four talks given by K at Brockwood Park in England in 1982. In addition there were times of silent sitting and reflection, some writing, sharing in pairs, and group dialogue on the topic of conflict and the possibility of freedom. Participants gave very positive feedback as to the value of the retreat.

The weekend of August 6-7, following a Friday evening talk at the Church of Truth in Victoria, a retreat took place with Hillary Rodrigues, author of a book on Krishnamurti and Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Lethbridge. Hillary had led a retreat the previous summer and many of the participants from that event were again in attendance, as well as some newcomers. The subject this year was “The Power of Self-Inquiry: Advaita and Krishnamurti”. Hillary gave a number of talks on aspects of Advaita Vedanta and on K’s approach to inquiry, followed by a group dialogue. A couple of videos of K and another of James Schwartz, an American Vedanta teacher, were part of the program. The participation was spirited and the topic was found to inspire some very interesting questioning, exploration, and insight. Participants very much appreciated the combination of scholarly knowledge and personal authentic experience that Hillary brings to his presentations and it is hoped that he will return again next year.

This year’s format for the Inquiry Sundays included a monthly theme which was explored during the two events normally held each month. The topics were: “What Are We Searching For?”, “What Is Self-Inquiry?”, “Being With Emotional Challenges”, The Challenge of Relationship”, “Living Without Conflict”, “The Power of Attention”, and “What Is True Meditation?”. On the first Sunday of the month there were both morning and afternoon sessions. The mornings featured a variety of teachers speaking (on DVD) on the chosen themes, as did the afternoon sessions on the third Sunday of the month. Then there were guided meditations or silent sittings, often a sharing in pairs, and a group discussion. Teachers presented were Mooji, Adyashanti, Eckhart Tolle, Scott Kiloby, Byron Katie, and Rupert Spira. These teachers all have similar but unique ways of approaching inquiry and self-exploration and provide slightly different but complementary lenses through which to look at the issues.

The afternoon session of the first Sunday was always an exploration of Krishnamurti’s teaching as pointers to our own self-observation. Usually a video was shown, or else there was some reading from K’s teaching, and then a group dialogue. Some of these inquiry sessions were well attended – up to eighteen people – and some involved less participants. The sessions were felt by many to provide support, encouragement, and an opportunity for deeper insight to those either beginning their inward search or well on their way. There is an enjoyment in coming together to share and investigate in this way.

This year a new retreat format was attempted, seemingly with some positive results. Two weekend retreats were held entitled “The Journey of Awakening, Parts 1 and 2”. Using, as the unifying material, the book “Wake Up Now” by Stephen Bodian, an American spiritual teacher living in Arizona, a selection of DVDs was presented of several, mostly contemporary, teachers: Eckhart Tolle, Adyashanti, Mooji, Krishnamurti, and Byron Katie. Stephen Bodian joined us for a session by skype during the second retreat. The DVDs were chosen because of their pertinence to the subjects from the book being explored at each step of the process and were found to be very powerful and relevant, providing viewpoints on the aspects of “awakening” or self-realization being explored and the challenge of integrating deep insights and experiences into daily life. The DVD material was supported with guided meditations, discussion, and time for silent contemplation. According to feedback from participants, the format was found to be interesting and effective.

These retreats offer an opportunity where people can dive more deeply into themselves and keep their attention on the self-exploration for some sustained amount of time without the usual concerns of practical life. It seems that participants find this to be very refreshing and insightful and there is usually a great enjoyment of spending such time with other like-minded explorers.

Also, there were a number of people who came for personal retreats to the Centre this year from around North America. A few young guest-helpers who came by invitation participated in gardening, cooking, and other activities. Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy their stay and visitors always seem to remark on the natural beauty of their surroundings. A place like Swanwick is such a luxury in our fast-paced society.

May 18, 2011

Dear Luis,

Thank you so much for talking to me about Amigo’s life and death.  I loved Amigo very much. He was a great comfort to me while Goggles was alive and these last few years when I have fed the birds. When one of my beloved friends dies, I find some lasting comfort in writing about their special ways and, then, looking at what I’ve written from time to time. So I want to share with you the ways that Amigo touched my heart. I hope that as the days pass this will help to remind you of his sweetness each time you miss him. When Goggles was alive, Amigo and Gigi would often keep me company out in the field. Amigo was amazing at knowing my routines, whether I was caring for Goggles or feeding the birds. Even though you asked me not to give him treats, he still came around to the car to check. But most of the time Amigo just liked to sit beside me after I had fed Goggles and brushed her. If he was feeling frisky, he would fetch one of his toys or a piece of wood in the field and tease me into chasing him. And I remember when I bought him the toy tire how you said he carried it around for days, only dropping it to eat. As tired as I often was when I cared for Goggles, he teased me by keeping the toy just out of my reach and this little game gave me new energy and such joy. I know this is one of the reasons I will miss him. With all the suffering in the world touching my heart daily, I deeply appreciate the animals in my life who instantly take me into the blissful present. Lately, Amigo would come out about once a week to where I feed the birds. He would wait until I had fed them, sniffing around for a few minutes, but never walking away until I had rubbed his tummy. Even if I was dressed for town, I could always rub his tummy because he was careful not to muddy my clothes. And he would be so happy, so content, so blissful. I would speak to him in Spanish saying “buenos dias, Amigo” or “buenos tardes, Amigo” and “gracias” for coming to see me. He would come even in the rain. And in the first few weeks after Goggles died, when I would just sit in the field remembering her, Amigo and Gigi would sit with me, sometimes for an hour. Then, Amigo would bring a stick or toy and get me out of myself and my memories. He was really a wonderful companion, a very special soul, and I will always be grateful for the time we had together.

Respectful, loving best wishes, Pamela Joy Miller

No matter how small your contribution, it helps to keep our doors open to the public and keep providing great retreats with facilitators from around the world. Thank you for doing your part in supporting us.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

The Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada was incorporated in 1975 and is a registered charitable foundation in Canada. J. Krishnamurti selected the name for the foundation and was Honorary President for many years. It operates the Swanwick Centre in Victoria.

VICTORIA:

Swanwick Centre

538 Swanwick Road

Victoria, BC V9C 3Y8

Tel: (250) 474 – 1488  Fax: (250) 474 – 1104

E-mail: admin@krishnamurti-canada.ca

QUEBEC

MONTREAL:

K Information Centre of Montreal

a/c Mary Kowalchuk

Case Postale 543, Succ B.

Montreal, QC H3B 3K3 Tel: (514) 521 – 0176 in French

Tel: (514) 937 – 8869 in English

RIMOUSKI:

Pierre Groulx

Tel: (418) 775 – 0170

E-mail: pierregens@globetrotter.net

ONTARIO

OTTAWA

Raj Thakkur

4E – 260 Metcalfe Street

Ottawa, ON K2P 1R6

Tel: (613) 233 – 6644

TORONTO

Hermann Janzen

#204 – 159 Russell Hill Road

Toronto, ON M4V 2S9

Bramdean, Hampshire, UK SO24 0LQ

Tel: (416) 962 – 9046

E-mail: heja@intelog.com

J. Krishnamurti was born to Brahmin parents on May 12th 1895 in South India. He was discovered at the age of 14 by Leadbeater while walking on Adyar Beach in Madras. He was adopted by Dr. Annie Besant (an influential Englishwoman) and taken to England along with his younger brother, Nitya, for education and to prepare him for the role of World Teacher for which he had been chosen by the Theosophical Society, a worldwide organization whose primary purpose was to attain “Universal Brotherhood”.

In 1911, he was ordained as the head of the religious organization known as The Order of the Star in the East and travelled extensively giving lectures to audiences all over the world.

However, on August 2, 1929 he shocked a gathering of 3000 people at a camp in Ommen, Holland by giving an impromptu, electrifying speech in which he dissolved The Order of the Star and renounced his role in it. He had come to this conclusion after profound introspection.

He began by proclaiming: Truth is a pathless land and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, any religion, or, any sect; truth, being limitless, it is unapproachable. It cannot be organized, nor should any organization be formed to lead or coerce people along any particular path. My only concern is to set humanity absolutely and unconditionally free.

Throughout his 90 years, Krishnamurti travelled to various countries and continents including Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia. He refused to have followers and, often repeated in his lectures, I am not your Guru and you are not my disciples.

Many eminent thinkers, scientists and scholars came to listen and delve deeply into psychological questions with him. Foremost among these were Aldous Huxley who said, “It was like listening to a discourse of the Buddha”. Another very close relationship was with Dr. David Bohm, one of the foremost theoretical physicists of our time who had worked with Einstein and Oppenheimer. Together, they had numerous dialogues over the years and most of these were recorded. In 1984, Krishnamurti was invited to give a lecture to nuclear scientists at the National Research Centre at Los Alamos, New Mexico. He was accompanied by Dr. David Bohm. Among the other notables were Professor Allan W. Anderson of Columbia University and the Nobel Laureate, Jonas Salk.

Krishnamurti established Foundations and schools in Britain, India, USA, and Canada. He was keen on educating the young mind before it is conditioned into dogmatic routines. He wanted people to think for themselves rather than parroting others.

Until the end of his life in 1986, he stressed the need for self-exploration in order to discover the Intelligence that exists within each one of us. In other words, “Know thyself”.

For more information contact Luis at (250) 474-1488 or visit our website at: www.krishnamurti-canada.ca

Do you realise actually, not theoretically, that you have no relationship one with another, that your relationship with another cannot exist as long as the old brain is in operation, because the old brain functions in images, pictures, past incidents; when the past happenings, knowledge, are strong, then relationship comes to an end – obviously. If I have built an image about you – who are my wife, or my friend, my girl or whatever it is – that image, that knowledge, which is the past, obviously prevents relationship. Relationship means direct contact immediately in the present, at the same level, with the same intensity, with the same passion. And that passion, that intensity at the same level, cannot exist if I have an image about you and you have an image about me. So it is for you to see if you have an image about somebody else. Obviously you have; therefore apply yourself, work to find out – that is, if you really want a relationship with another, which I doubt. We are all so terribly selfish, enclosed; if you really want a relationship with another, you have to understand this whole structure of the past – which is what we have been doing. And when that is gone, you have a relationship which is totally new all the time. And that new relationship is love – not the old, beating the drum!

Now what is the relationship of that quality, of that dimension which is the new, which is not known, which cannot be captured by the old, to my daily life? I have discovered that dimension, it has happened because I have seen that the old brain can never be free and so is incapable of finding out what truth is. Therefore the old brain says: my whole structure is of time and I function only with regard to that which has time – machinery, language, all the rest of I – so that part will be completely still. So what is the relationship between the two? Has the old any relationship with freedom, love, the unknown? If it has relationship with the unknown, then it is part of the old – you follow? But if the unknown has relationship with the old, then it is quite a different proposition. I don’t know if you see that?

My question is: what is the relationship between these two, and who wants relationship? Who is demanding this relationship? Is the old demanding it? If the old demands it, then it is part of the old, therefore it has no relationship with the other. I don’t know if you see the beauty of this. The old has no relationship with freedom, with love, with this dimension. But that new dimension, love, can have a relationship with the old, but not the other way round. Do you see it, Sirs?

So the next step then is: what is the action in daily life, when the old has no relationship with the new, but the new is establishing relationship as it moves in life. The mind has discovered something new. How is the new going to operate in the field of the known, in which functions the old brain with all its activities?

When the old brain sees that it can never understand what freedom is; when it sees that it is incapable of discovering something new, that very perception is the seed of intelligence, isn’t if? That is intelligence: “I cannot do.” I thought I could do a lot of things, and I can, in a certain direction, but in a totally new direction I cannot do anything. The discovery of that is intelligence, obviously.

Now what is the relationship of that intelligence to the other? Is the other part of this extraordinary sense of intelligence? I want to find out what we mean by that word “intelligence”; the mind must not be caught by words. Obviously the old brain, all these centuries, thought it could have its God, its freedom, it could do everything it wanted. And suddenly it discovers that any movement of the old brain is still part of the old; therefore intelligence is the understanding that it can only function within the field of the known. The discovery of that is intelligence, we say. Now what is that intelligence? What is its relationship to life, to a dimension which the old brain does not know?

You see, intelligence is not personal, is not the outcome of argument, belief, opinion or reason. Intelligence comes into being when the brain discovers its fallibility, when it discovers what it is capable of, and what not. Now what is the relationship of that intelligence with this new dimension? I would rather not use the word “relationship.”

The different dimension can only operate through intelligence; if there is not that intelligence it cannot operate. So in daily life it can only operate where intelligence is functioning. Intelligence cannot function when the old brain is active, when there is any form of belief and adherence to any particular fragment of the brain. All that is lack of intelligence. The man who believes in God, the man who says, “There is only one Saviour”, is not intelligent. When one discovers the limitation of the old, the very discovery of that is intelligence, and only when that intelligence is functioning can the new dimension operate through it. Full stop. Have you got it?

“Life is like a river, never still, always moving, always alive and rich…”

“The river curves majestically as it flows east past the villages, town and deep woods, but here, just below the town and the bridge, the river and its opposite bank is the essence of all river banks; every river has its own song, its own delight and mischief, but here, out of the very silence, it contains the earth and the heavens. It is a sacred river, as all rivers are, but again here, a part of the long, winding river, there is a gentleness of immense depth and destruction.”

J. Krishnamurti

Krishnamurti’s quotes above speak about and are most evident at Rajghat, the Krishnamurti Centre in Varanasi, northern India. I was fortunate enough to travel there in February 2009, a majestic place where the Ganges River meets the Varuna River. The Centre is an oasis from the rest of Varanasi, a spiritual and bustling city, and comprises over 300 acres that houses the Rajghat Besant School, the Vasanta College for Women, Vasantashrama (women’s dormitory), the Krishnamurti Study Centre and Retreat and the Rural Centre. There is a beautiful, lively walk around the perimeter of the property where one can view and observe the timelessness and life of Ganges and Varuna. Hema Ras runs the K Study and Retreat Centre and was incredibly hospitable and compassionate when we visited. We dropped into the Centre without prior notice and Hema welcomed us openly and in the present moment, offering us tea, dialogue and peacefulness. At tea there was a diverse group of people of different backgrounds, origins and ages. We learned about each other and ourselves, as well as the rivers, vegetation and nature that surrounded us. If ever I return to India I will spend more time at Rajghat and continue to observe and learn from the rivers and people who are there. “With the students Krishnamurti was gentle and affectionate. He talked about fear and unravelled with immense patience the many ways in which parents, teachers, the society at large and religion use fear to mould their minds. He pointed out in different ways how habit, imitation and conformity destroys minds and hearts. And he shocked the elders who were present by awakening the students to the ‘violence of obedience’. Krishnamurti was impressed by the children of Rajghat, by their ability to sit quietly and to listen, by their sense of wonder. ‘Where in the world would you find such innocence?”, he once remarked. And students felt free in his presence to ask all kinds of questions.” Krishnamurti Foundation India. Krishnamurti at Rajghat

– Sara Mimick

There is something in K’s writing that seems to be missing – at times, there is an unbearable heaviness or depression about him which weighs one down and seems to go contrary to his message of joy and freedom…I can see it turning young people off…it is very twentieth century…it is very Existentialist and shares certain commonalities with other famous writers of this period. Perhaps, it was the devastation and tyranny of that century which weighed so heavily upon his shoulders like a great mantle of sadness he could never quite shake off. There can be no doubt that the last century was the bloodiest and most brutal in all of human history and anyone having experienced both World Wars (as K. did) must have had their faith in humanity completely shattered…

But, now, the relevant question seems to be “Can we move on in a more positive direction in the 21st century, or, is there no hope for humanity?” I think those of us who knew K, personally, are convinced that he had touched the source of joy and freedom of which he spoke and that he had partaken of that new way of living despite this “weightiness” he displayed upon occasion. So, it seems it is that living legacy of his that we must carry forward if humankind is to survive, while dropping the cloak of sadness of the past century. We must stop living in the shadow of two world wars and myriads more and reject war altogether; we can do this as one world, for wars need funding and sponsors. If a generation arises who negates all this, we have the capacity to end the madness we have inherited…it has happened before during Golden Ages the globe over.

However, as K points out, we need to go even further this time. We must leave behind violence as a possible solution to our problems and renounce our self-destructive ways in order to ensure the future of the planet. We must create a new culture that is constructive for everyone and drop our airs of superiority and feelings of division once and for all…this may be our only chance of survival as a species.

What is the real knowledge and what is the difference between to be skilful and to be knowledgeable? Knowledge of all sciences is not a real knowledge. To distinguish a good horse from the bad one, to know the various classes of animals, to have knowledge of all the kinds of birds is not a real knowledge. To know the various metals, to know the various coins, to know the various jewels is not a real knowledge. To know the various kinds of seeds, to know the various kinds of flowers, to know the various kinds of fruits is not a real knowledge. To speak straight away, to have ready wit, to compose poetry extempore, is not a real knowledge. To know the art of singing, to know the art dancing, is not a real knowledge. To know various kinds of pictures, to know various kinds of instruments, to know various kinds of arts including music, painting, sculpturing is not a real knowledge.

All this is only skilfulness and not knowledge. It looks as if knowledge, but real knowledge, is different from these. To know what is going on in other mind is considered knowledge but it is only a skill. That knowledge by which man attains liberation is of a different kind altogether.

Krishnamurti points out to what we are made of and what is not real in us. We sit and let emotions and thought rise and fall by themselves while we are merely aware of them. This is a state of immanence and is pointed out by Krishnamurti. This leads to self knowledge by way of direct perception.

The other state is the state of transcendence, but it is a state of becoming, a state of conscience, caught up in the past and is a process of thought. While a state of immanence is due to an Insight and is a State of Being or To Be, which operates when there is no conscience and is always in the present and never in the past. Thought is necessary to bring us to this point but the jump is due to Insight, is instantaneous and is a quantum jump.

If we watch ourselves we will find that the Movement of Life is independent of us, we just witness it. In the state of Immanence one begins almost in a state of non-duality. As mentioned by Krishnamurti ‘The First Step is The Last Step’.

There is no difference between the meditator, or inquirer, or witness, and the contents of his consciousness. The observer is the observed. There is only pure non-dual, non-conscious awareness. When that state happens there is spontaneous integration within the Consciousness.

– Naftaly Ramrajkar

Berta was born Sep. 6, 1913 in the village of Neuhofen, Lower Austria. Her father died when she was still a child and she and her mother then moved to the nearby town of Waidhofen. There they came into contact with a residential community of local intellectuals and artisans keen on exploring new ways of living and thinking, and who were attracted to the ideals and ideas of the Theosophical Society that, at the time, had a large international following and had declared Krishnamurti (or K) to be the vehicle for the World Teacher.

Berta, from age 10-16, grew up in this environment and also spent some time in Vienna in the care of John Cordes, then secretary of the Austrian Theosophical Society. Her and her mother’s first contact with this community had been through a relative who was himself a deacon in the Liberal Catholic Church, a theosophical offshoot of the Catholic Church and who later became a leading figure in the International Vegetarian Union.

Krishnamurti himself attended the 1923 International Congress of the Theosophical Society in Vienna and then was invited by John Cordes to spend some time at the house of a friend of his in Ehrwald, a village in the Austrian Alps. Berta’s mother had volunteered to help with the food preparation and Berta accompanied her. There she first met K in person, an experience that had a great impact on her. In fact, one of the most fascinating stories Berta told a KECC Director was about how she had gone alone on a hike during her stay there and got hopelessly lost. Suddenly, K. seemed to come out of nowhere appearing before her on the same path. He walked with her down to the train station and made sure that she got on. Once on the train, she looked out the open window to thank him, but he had mysteriously disappeared!

In later years she, with her brother Tony, would several times attend the Ommen camp talks in Holland where she, after the talks, would be invited to join K and others at mealtimes and social events. She also spent time in England to attend classes by Maria Montessori and completed her Montessori training. After WWII she attended K’s talks as often as she could, mainly in Saanen (Switzerland), but also in Brockwood (England) and Ojai (California).

In 1955 Berta emigrated to Canada with her son Ralph and became a teacher in Montreal. Following her deep interest in K’s teaching, she became actively involved in the Krishnamurti Information Centre of Montreal during the ‘70s and helped organize regular video showings at Concordia University. In 1979, she met Dr. David Bohm, a world-renowned theoretical physicist, while he was on a lecture-tour of Canadian Universities. He embarked upon this tour at the specific request of K. who wanted him to spread the teachings across Canada like a prairie-fire. Dr. Bohm was also accompanied by his wife, Saral, and one of the Directors, Sarjit Siddoo. The tour included Malaspina College in Nanaimo, UBC in Vancouver, Red Dear College in Alberta, UM in Winnipeg, an interview with Dr. David Suzuki in Toronto, and CU in Montreal. Berta was one of the prominent organizers of events in Montreal which included a week-end seminar at Lacolle House in Concordia University.

In 1982 she moved to Victoria, B.C. where Ralph and his new wife were living at the time. Continuing her passion for K’s teaching, which she had found invaluable in her own life, she played an active role in supporting and helping administer the school’s successor, the Swanwick Centre in Metchosin, until a stroke in 1989 partially disabled her. She died 10 years later in Victoria, on May 2, 1999 and a tree in her memory has been planted at the Centre.

I first came across K’s teaching at age 15 in our home in the Austrian Alps. It came in the form of a K book (in German) that my mother had brought from one of her trips to Saanen. The words had a uniquely powerful ‘ring of truth’ that resonated strongly with me and left a lasting impression.

Subsequently, while living in Europe and later in Canada, I attended numerous K gatherings in Saanen, Brockwood, Ojai and New York, as well as the then K Foundation for Latin America in Puerto Rico. In 1966, when I first heard about plans to start a school in England, I had the opportunity to meet with K privately in New York, indicating my interest in his teaching and offering my help. Eventually, after Brockwood Park School opened, I worked there for one summer as volunteer in the early seventies.

In 1969 I completed my post-graduate studies at McGill University in Montreal and then taught in community colleges there. During that time, I participated in the activities of the Krishnamurti Informational Centre in Montreal and its video showings. This ended in 1975 when I left for development related work in Latin America with CUSO and then UNICEF, including a stint at its New York Head Office.

On returning to Montreal 4 years later, the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada (KECC) was urgently looking for teachers and support staff for its newly established Wolf Lake School in Victoria. Accepting an offer to work there, I arrived in late 1979. I helped with tutoring and administration, but a main activity became organizing and maintaining a national outreach program for the KECC by organizing and hosting K video showings in Vancouver and Victoria and by supporting local groups across Canada. Eventually Hillary Rodrigues, a teacher and colleague, and I were asked by the owners to be in charge of the school in their absence until it was closed in 1981.

In 1983 I returned to Latin America to work in community and rural development programs in Honduras and Peru for another ten years. On my return to Victoria I established a holistic health practice and, during that time, also attended some video showings and dialogues at the Centre, which had become a K Study Centre for adults.

Since 2007 I have had the opportunity to become more actively involved in its program and promotion, hosting K video showings and dialogues, and hosting weekend retreats based on K’s teachings, as well as for the first time also including some contemporary teachings aligned with it (together with my wife Madelaine and friend David Bruneau, who was also a teacher at Wolfe Lake School). Now as program manager, I feel inspired by the Swanwick Centre’s vision as an international centre for spiritual inquiry and the wonderful opportunity to help make this vision reality.

Krishnamurti (K) DVDs were shown, monthly on Sunday afternoons, from March 15 until November 8. The videos included short introductions to K’s life and teachings followed be a selection from “The Real Revolution” series filmed in 1966, the first time K had allowed his talks to be recorded on film. Each video was followed by a dialogue of about 1 ½ to 2 hours. The sessions were facilitated by Ralph Tiller and David Bruneau. Participants were a mix of those who have been interested in K for many years and complete newcomers, and generally it was felt that the afternoons were interesting and beneficial. When the weather allowed we were able to sit outdoors and enjoy the inspiring setting: the trees, birds, ocean, and snow-capped mountains in the distance. It is hard to imagine an environment more beautiful and conducive to deep reflection.

Three K weekend retreats were held over the summer (July to September), again comprised of a combination of videos and dialogues facilitated by David and Ralph; about ten people were present for each. The first retreat featured discussions between K and Alan Anderson; the second between K, David Bohm, and the psychiatrist David Shainberg. This second retreat was attended by six persons active in K events in Vancouver and provided a great opportunity to connect and exchange experiences.

The third retreat was to have been facilitated by Mark Lee from Ojai, California, but Mark was unable to attend for health reasons; so Ralph and David were asked to step in as organizers and hosts. Canadians were outnumbered by Americans on this international weekend. Material from the Alan Anderson series was again used, with some changes from the first retreat. The participants had almost all been studying K for some time, which set the tone for a perhaps deeper investigation than previously. The retreat was valued highly by all involved and, again, the beautiful setting inspired self-exploration.

Retreats presenting other, contemporary teachings aligned with those of K were also included this year. In May and October two retreats were hosted by Ralph and Madelaine Tiller based on the teaching of Eckhart Tolle, author of “The Power of Now”. They included two of his retreats on DVD, namely “Freedom from the World” and “The Art of Presence”, guided meditations on CD by his partner Kim Eng and guided qigong movements. Eckhart’s insights and gentle humour were much appreciated by participants. The May retreat was attended by 18 residential and day participants, while the October retreat had much fewer participants, due in part to cancellations for health reasons, as well as public interest in attending the Vancouver Peace Conference with the Dalai Lama and Eckhart Tolle which was taking place at about the same time.

In June a retreat based on DVDs of Adyashanti, a teacher from California, was also hosted by Ralph and Madelaine. It was attended by altogether 10 participants. The DVDs covered his most recent ‘satsangs’, a combination of talk and dialogue about the nature of truth, meditative self-inquiry and the journey of awakening. They were complemented with guided meditations by Adyashanti as well as an illuminating DVD with him on the journey after awakening. Participants enjoyed his engaging approach and the interactive format of the sessions.

On the Labour Day weekend in September a retreat was held to explore the perspectives of the Jamaican advaita teacher Mooji. DVDs recorded at a silent retreat in Tiruvannamalai, India, in December, 2008, were the focus material along with a couple of guided meditations with Mooji on CD. Twelve people attended the weekend. The highlight of the retreat was a live skype session with Mooji, who was in New York at the time, in which participants could interact directly with him. This was greatly appreciated by all. The weekend was permeated by a sense of harmony and joy in coming together around the self-inquiry pointed to by Mooji.

To allow for a deeper immersion, parts of these retreats were held in silence, which allowed for deeper immersion in the teachings and was widely appreciated, leaving ample time for nature walks, silent contemplation, and silent sitting.

The feedback from retreat participants indicates a demand for these types of gatherings and an interest in continuing them. The dialogue ‘process’ undergoes continuous refinement as it is engaged in and proves to be an environment of learning and discovery for those who give it their passionate attention. It is an environment where understanding and insight can arise and be shared with others as a part of an ongoing meditation on life.

“This is an excellent place for the discovery of our nature – I hope it flowers and grows again.”

Why are there people in the world who enjoy destroying things of beauty? Are they so insensitive and devoid of joy in their own lives that they cannot bear to see any sign of spontaneity around them? Or, as soon as they see it, do they have an impulse to stamp it out or squelch it? Perhaps, the world was too jealous of your joy, Gigi, and as you fly to heaven on angel wings, may you find a better place!

I can still remember that first Halloween when you turned up on the doorstep and we enticed you, our new feline friend, into the Main House with a saucer of milk. The abandonment of a child or pet is such a terrible thing…and, yet, you let us into your heart and made a new home for yourself at Swanwick in the barn. I can still see you sitting outside by the coral-coloured gladioli under the full moon.

No matter how small your contribution, it helps to keep our doors open to the public and keep providing great retreats with facilitators from around the world. Thank you for doing your part in supporting us.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

The Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada was incorporated in 1975 and is a registered charitable foundation in Canada. J. Krishnamurti selected the name for the foundation and was Honorary President for many years. It operates the Swanwick Centre in Victoria.

VICTORIA:

Swanwick Centre

538 Swanwick Road

Victoria, BC V9C 3Y8

Tel: (250) 474 – 1488  Fax: (250) 474 – 1104

E-mail: admin@krishnamurti-canada.ca

QUEBEC

MONTREAL:

K Information Centre of Montreal

a/c Mary Kowalchuk

Case Postale 543, Succ B.

Montreal, QC H3B 3K3 Tel: (514) 521 – 0176 in French

Tel: (514) 937 – 8869 in English

RIMOUSKI:

Pierre Groulx

Tel: (418) 775 – 0170

E-mail: pierregens@globetrotter.net

ONTARIO

OTTAWA

Raj Thakkur

4E – 260 Metcalfe Street

Ottawa, ON K2P 1R6

Tel: (613) 233 – 6644

TORONTO

Hermann Janzen

#204 – 159 Russell Hill Road

Toronto, ON M4V 2S9

Bramdean, Hampshire, UK SO24 0LQ

Tel: (416) 962 – 9046

E-mail: heja@intelog.com