Reading evokes a myriad of emotions in me; and sometimes it is a deeply intellectual exercise. But it rarely happens that a book proves to be a combination of the two. The Impossible Question by J Krishnamurti is one such rarity.
I moved to Bangalore in July 2020, and it turned out to be a tiring affair. The change was overwhelming; and I was obsessively trying to set things in order. During this time, I picked The Impossible Question—a series of talks and dialogues by J Krishnamurti—for intermittent reading. I soon realised that what I had picked on a whim in July 2020 was delivered by J Krishnamurti the very same month fifty years ago.
He has spoken on a range of topics—everything from religion to thought, and education to relationships. When I sat down to make sense of what he said in the talks back then, I fully appreciated the fluidity of thought; and how it is a reflection of the fluidity of life itself.
Krishnamurti spent his entire life travelling around the world giving talks and lectures, and technology captured his wisdom for posterity. J Krishnamurti’s teachings are preserved in video, audio and text format by the Krishnamurti Foundation around the world. This in itself is a monumental task, and is carried out in India by the Krishnamurti Foundation India. I spoke with Mr. Kandaswamy, Secretary of Krishnamurti Foundation India, to learn more about their work.
ANAM: Can you tell me a little about yourself and your work with the Krishnamurti Foundation?
KANDASWAMY: My name is Kandaswamy. I am the Secretary of the Krishnamurti Foundation India. I stay at the Krishnamurti Foundation Headquarters in Chennai, but right now I am near Coimbatore, in my village home. There are two main areas KFI works in, first is the dissemination of the Teachings of J Krishnamurti through various publications, and second is the effective running of the various institutions founded by him in India. Those are the two objectives of the India Foundation. My job as the Secretary is to facilitate and co-ordinate the work so that our two objectives are met.
ANAM: When I began reading Krishnamurti, I realised that he talks on a number of vastly different topics. He discourages following strict methods; neither is he prescriptive in the religious sense. In fact, he says there is no ‘one method’, which he sums up in the statement that TRUTH IS A PATHLESS LAND. Still, Krishnamurti Foundation works towards bringing together all his teachings in one place. Is it challenging?
KANDASWAMY: We have a vast collection of his talks, both in the audio and video formats. We have about eighty to eighty-five titles in English, which comprise his public talks and dialogues and interviews. A lot of material is still in the archives, and is yet to be published.
Most of his talks are in English, and so far as I understand, these have been translated in about fifty-five languages all over the world. In India, we have translated them to about twelve to fourteen Indian languages, and we have given a lot of importance to translation in regional languages, which
is not limited to print, but includes video and audio format, so that people who are not proficient in English can follow what he speaks.The main challenge is to find qualified translators of regional languages, who are proficient in both English and the regional language, so they understand first what he said and then convey without distortion his talks in regional languages. We try to find people who are interested in his teachings and are familiar in both English and the local language, and once we receive a language sample from them and have ensured the quality of translation, we take the work forward. In our educational institutions, the main challenge is to find committed teachers who are deeply interested in his vision of education, and those who can work with our students on the same.
ANAM: This is most interesting to me because I have been a teacher myself, and in some capacity I continue to be one. I understand that the schools follow the Studio Learning Approach, which focuses more on free thinking and is a more student-led methodology. Children are given a project, and they take charge of their learning. Is that correct?
KANDASWAMY: Oh yes, absolutely! Our students take a lot of initiatives. But our teachers also play a significant role. Our approach is not competitive. We discourage comparison of one child with another. Instead we work on bringing out the best within each individual child. So, that is our approach to education in these schools.
ANAM: Do you also run programmes on similar lines for adults?
KANDASWAMY: Yes! One of our objectives, like I said earlier, is to disseminate his teachings to a larger public. We try to establish that connection through our Retreat Centres or Study Centres. We have about six main Centres spread all over India. And within these main Centres, we have what we call the Retreat Centres. All information related to his teachings is present in these Centres. We have libraries where people can watch and listen to his talks and dialogues, and read his books. Almost every month, our centres are in exploration of a theme. This goes on all year round. In addition to this, every year, we also have a big gathering of people—about 300 people who assemble for four days. We call this the Annual Gathering. During this time, people stay at the centre, and we have group talks, video discussions, lectures by people who are well-versed in Krishnamurti’s teachings. So, this is something that happens every year.
ANAM: I was also reading about J Krishnamurti’s childhood, and I learnt that he was groomed to be a messiah, but he renounced that role quite early. He repeats quite often that one needs to free one’s mind. How does Krishnamurti Foundation take this free-thinking forward? You know…
KANDASWAMY: …I understand your question. Our focus has never been on the teacher, but his teachings. For example, we don’t expect people to put up his photograph; we generally discourage that unless any photographs are to be used for any publication as a part of his teachings. The focus is always on what he talked about. And this is a big challenge in today’s time where there is a great
deal of “worshipping the individual”. That does not mean we don’t talk about what he was and how he lived his life but the focus is on what he spoke about.
ANAM: In continuation of what you just spoke about, do you ever find yourself, and the organisation, at odds with the world… or is it something that doesn’t even cross your mind?
KANDASWAMY: Well… one does look at the world, and one does have a sense of what it is right now and what one may be looking for, but that doesn’t mean that it fills one with frustration or cynicism, or remorse, or angst. Whatever the world may be, we have to live in it and live with all the relationships that come with it. And that is both an individual and collective challenge—to understand the beauty of his teachings in the midst of all that is currently happening in the world, and to be able to see clearly even in these times.
ANAM: Talking about the current state of the world, how has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your functioning, given that gatherings are now not possible?
KANDASWAMY: We are not having our usual gatherings and discussions in person, but there are several other things we are doing. A few days ago we published a booklet that is available on the website. It is a collection of extracts from Krishnamurti’s teachings about what is the real crisis that man faces. It is a profound extract of about forty paragraphs of his teachings in a digital format. He talks about the mother of all crisis, which is the crisis in consciousness. That is what he points out in these extracts, and these are profound statements. You must go to our website, and read this booklet.
ANAM: I will, definitely. Thank you so much for your time.
The Impossible Question is a series of talks and dialogues, given by J Krishnamurti in the months of July and August, 1970. The talks include Q & A on several topics like religion, thought, fear, pleasure etc.