To Be Human with Javier Rodriguez, July 10, 2022
To Be Human, session 1, with Javier Rodriguez
Sunday, July 10, 2022
Zoom online
Towards the end of his life, J. Krishnamurti produced a summary of his teachings which was published in booklet form entitled The Core of the Teachings. Javier will explore the booklet in six instalments over the next six months; this first presentation was labelled “Truth is a Pathless Land”. There were 17 participants in total in attendance.
Javier began by questioning the meaning of the word “truth” and the value we give it. Truth and falseness are necessary distinctions in many ways in our ordinary lives and also in the philosophical domain. How is the truth of any idea established, and is it anything more than a belief? Javier pointed out that Krishnamurti was not asserting any absolute truth. There may be truth, but it cannot be conceptualised or found in the religious domain. In K’s world truth is a rather strange creature not found through analysis or knowledge. The focus on the known must be relinquished for the truth of the unknown to be realized. It is not a fixed point and it can only be “found” in the “mirror of relationship”. Through this mirror one must understand or see clearly the contents of one’s own mind as they are revealed in relationship with others and with oneself. The mind is the seat of illusion, and illusion must be understood for truth to come into our awareness. The tendency to escape from the facts of what we are must be put aside, at which point love will begin to flow through us as the truth of what we are.
After a presentation of about forty-five minutes Javier opened the meeting to questions from the participants. A process of exchanging ideas took place within the group for the remainder of the meeting, another forty-five minutes, and involved inquiry into a number of issues such as our tendency to deceive ourselves when we bring in our past experiences when considering the truth of any concept or idea. We must be aware of how we “lie” to ourselves. Group members were invited to share their questions and insights or comments, which stimulated discussion of topics such as awareness, love, stopping of thoughts, belief systems, right relationship, and the mystery of life and relationship. It was a lively sharing of inquiry and insights and will no doubt be interesting as the series of presentations unfolds over the next six months. The session was guided with skill and intelligence by Javier and promises to be continued in that manner.
