The Intelligence of the Heart with Hilary Rodrigues, August 28-30, 2020

The Intelligence of the Heart

August 28 – 30, 2020

With Prof. Hilary Rodrigues, online

This was at least the ninth annual retreat with Prof. Hilary Rodrigues sponsored by the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada in Metchosin, BC. This retreat was, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, held online. Hilary is a professor of Eastern religious traditions at the University of Lethbridge and a former teacher and administrator at the Krishnamurti school that once existed at the site of the KECC. He has published books and articles on aspects of Krishnamurti’s thought, including the book Krishnamurti’s Insight, and has given presentations on K’s teachings in New York, New Delhi, Victoria, and Ojai, California.

The Friday evening session was attended by 13 people in all, which continued with some slight variation through the weekend meetings held from 4 to 5:30 pm each of the three days. Hilary made it clear from the beginning that he was not just going to give lectures and answer questions, but was going to encourage an active sharing and inquiry involving all participants. He invited one of the participants, who had asked at the end of the previous retreat for more focus on “the heart”, to open with some comments about what the heart means to her. This then led to further offerings by other group members related to the question “What is the heart?” along with a quote by Krishnamurti emphasizing the importance of the heart in the act of observing and listening with our whole being. The weekend proceeded with guidance from Hilary and contributions by others as we explored such topics as sensitivity, looking and listening vs. thinking and analysis, learning and knowledge, the nature of intelligence, the question of “getting it” and “not getting it”, and many aspects of the inquiry into the awakening of love and wisdom. At the close of each session Hillary responded skillfully to requests to share some final thoughts about what had transpired and what might be said in conclusion. As part of Hilary’s summing up, he pointed to the fact that Krishnamurti does not ask us to come to conclusions but, rather, to stay with open questions and explore them with moment-to-moment attention.

As always, it was a pleasure to be with Hilary, even if only virtually, and we hope to continue the tradition in the future (while at the same time being in the now)

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