Outlook, Thursday.Jan 8, 2004
Article 1
Wake up early in the morning. Take a shower. Grab breakfast, sip coffee. Drive to the office. Work. Lunch. Drive home. Exercise. Dinner. Bath. Watch television. Go to bed.

Get up the next day, and do the whole thing again. Day after day. Break up the routine with a bit of hanging out, or nightlife, or a movie, or travel, until that also becomes part of the routine.

"Is that all there is? Eat, work, die? It's so mean-ingless," said Warunee, a professional woman in her mid -30s who once tried to end her life to escape feelings of emptiness and void.

After years and years of this, Warunee said she began to feel that her life had become mechanical and boring. "Success, money, the convenience of modern life - it didn't give me any peace of mind, a sense of meaning. I was confused and isolated."

In a bid to reclaim her life and to understand the meaning of her own existence, Warunee tried several soul-searching workshops ranging from alternative education to holistic health, as well as Buddhist meditation retreats, before turning to the late Indian sage J. Krishnamurti (1895-1986), whose thought--provoking, non-religious teachings still attract questioning minds all over the world.

In Thailand, a spiritual community called the Anveekshana has been formed to allow "questioning minds" the opportunity to study the late philosopher's thoughts as well as to help each other explore more deeply into their concerns about career, relationship, security, fear and life itself.

Their latest dialogue took place on a tranquil island far away from the hustle and bustle of city life, and was attended by some 40 people from 20 to 60 years in age, both Thais and foreigners.

"Krishnamurti offered no answers. He only pointed to questions to get our minds moving. The answers we have to find for ourselves," said Vikram Parchure, the foundation's administrator and one of the facilitators.

Krishnamurti, he said, asked us to examine our thoughts, beliefs and traditions, and said that if we explored them to the very core, we might become capable of dropping them altogether.

"One has to turn the world upside down," Vikram said. "We live a mediocre, habituated life and never challenge ourselves. This reflects a lack of passion in life."

Apart from direct observation of "what is", he said, Krishnamurti offered a means of dialogue (see facing page) as a way to help one understand life's issues and to zero in on the truth. During his time, he engaged in a series of impromptu dialogues with people. Many of his writings are in the form of question-and-answer, covering various issues.

Participants at the island get-together were asked to pose and debate questions among themselves. Through this sort of dialogue, they could reflect on the some of the issues brought up in their discussions - on that day, they were issues like security, fear, freedom and questions about right action.

"What is security? What is it that makes me feel safe and why?" one participant asked.
"I feel free and I choose what I do, but sometimes my decisions are influenced by friends, work, society. Can we really choose? Do we really have a choice????
Is this real freedom'?" asked another.

"Why can't we do the things that we feel are right? What holds us back?"
"I wonder if what I am doing in life is the right thing. There are many sets of thoughts that we can choose to apply to life in certain situations - how can we know which to choose? What is right action anyway?"

These questions, and more, brought forth no easy answers, and at times, only produced more questions.

Vikram said we could spend a lifetime thinking about these questions. Even so, we should start asking them now so that we can become more aware of life and make more conscious choices concerning it.
"Don't be too hasty to give answers. Some questions are best left hanging for awhile so that the mind is kept stimulated and alert," said Raman Patel, a consultant for the foundation and coordinator of Krishnamurti-inspired groups across the world.

"Sadly, our mainstream education gives ready--made answers that block imagination and discourage inquiring minds to search for real answers. Questions, like paths, probe deeper and deeper into the mind. If you pose the right questions, you will get to the core without having to search for answers," Raman said. "Questions will challenge us to look at our conditioned thoughts and preconceptions."

Many find that Krishnamurti's teachings on self-observation - "the understanding of what is in oneself, aware of what is going on" - are quite harmonious with Buddhist teachings on mindfulness.
Yet Chai, an executive in his mid-30s, said he felt more comfortable with Krishnamurti's self-questioning methods.

"Thai Buddhism today is so wrapped up in faith and rituals which have strayed from the core of the Lord Buddha's teachings, which emphasise the individual quest for truth and having an inquiring mind. Organised Buddhism has become monolithic, out of touch with our daily lives. They talk a lot about the sacred realms or otherworldly concerns like karma, sin, hell or heaven, none of which is concerned with my daily living, my problems and experi-ences," he said.

Added a middle-aged housewife: "I like Krishnamurti's teachings. There are no rules, no dress code, no methodical techniques. I feel more relaxed. There are no strict rules or mandates that create a sense of fear or guilt. He talked about daily life, the things that I encounter each and every day."
Perhaps it was his spirit of individuality and the non-authoritative figure that he cut that made Krishnamurti so appealing to middle-class urbanites.

"You don't feel a sense of authority from him. He did not make himself out as someone who knew better. That helped people to relax, and to understand that the truth wasn't something they could get out of him, but something that had to come from themselves," said Chamrass Bamrungrat, a former Theravada Buddhist monk and one of the co-founders of the foundation.

Some participants said they also felt turned off by sermons loaded with ancient words which they could not understand. "Reading Krishnamurti, however, is like talking to a wise, understanding friend," said Chai.

Most of Krishnamurti's teachings concern life, how to know oneself and how to live with oneself in peace.

"People are lost in organised religions, which stress doctrines. People try to understand words and doctrines but they don't do the basic thing - understanding oneself," said Raman???

Especially now, as conventional religions are increasingly taken over by bigotry - making
them sources of divisiveness and violence -Krishnamurti's questioning of power in organised religions speaks more to people who yearn for peace???

That Krishnamurti defied the institutional-isation and sanctification of thoughts or beliefs - including his own - has prevented his school of thought from turning into a New Age cult.

That his thoughts are open to all, regardless of race or religion, makes the gathering of Krishnamurti readers a melting pot of Buddhists, Muslims and Christians.

Is it only a fad? One may assign the interest in Krishnamurti's non-mainstream, philosophical thoughts as part of the New Age phenomenon caused by the middle-class's struggles to make sense of the modern lifestyle, which has failed to fulfil them. The emptiness of modern life has led many young professionals to quit the rat race so that they can search for real meaning in life.

Take Jirayu as an example. A former advertising professional, she retired from a well-paying job to be a full-time homemaker and to find herself through spiritual workshops, yoga, spiritual walks, enneagram, holistic health practices and more???

"I used to be in the mainstream - getting a job after graduation, working in the system, like a machine in a factory society. But is that all there is to life? Can I choose to live the way I want? So I quit my job at 38. Life is about choice. I choose to do what I want," the mother of two said.
She said that, when she was young, she did not have the chance or the guts to explore herself, her own likings and inspirations. "I was so influenced by what people said, and by society's dictates. There was neither choice nor freedom."

Krishnamurti's messages and approach to life, she added, had given her a fresh outlook.

Mary, a 21-year-old Finnish woman, has been on two gap years, searching for passion and meaning in life. Traveling through Asia, she has learned about holistic health, massage, and Eastern philosophies, Krishnamurti's included.

"I don't want to go to college without knowing what I want to learn. I don't like the idea of studying to pass exams and then go to work. That's too robotic. I want to learn things that are practical, like massage," she said.

For Raman, however, Krishnamurti is more than a fad. "His messages speak to people in all times. It so happens that it rings a bell with people today because they are suffering. Tech-nology, though it has created wealth, has also created a deep sense of isolation."

Outlook, Thursday,Jan 8, 2004
Article 2: Dialogue for truth
Krishnamurti's concept of dialogue involves self-awareness, the art of listening, seeing and learning, and the necessity of being free from attachment, so the process of inquiry to free oneself can take place.

According to the Anveekshana, Krishnamurti believes that intellectualisation and knowledge-gathering cannot help you to understand your predicament and the complex psychological processes that created it.

``Opinions will lead us nowhere and indulging in mere intellectual cleverness will have very little meaning, because truth is not to be found through the exchange of opinions or of ideas,'' said Krishnamurti.

Dialogue, for him, means to ``converse together, talk over things together, no authority, or judgment against judgment ...''

To join the dialogue, therefore, there is no need for an agenda or a discussion leader. It suffices to have shared interests, he says.

``The purpose of gathering is to explore the questions. Each of us can help share and enlighten one another about issues or questions we may have never thought about before.

``Posing questions is important. It needs a free mind to inquire into questions. It's important not to be conclusive but observant to our feelings,'' said one of the facilitators, Vikram Parchure.

Questions, and how to ask the right ones and to understand them, are key to understanding the issues of life, rather than a dire search for absolute answers.

``Seeking something implies that we know what we are seeking for. Do we? It would be better to work on something we already have - questions and how to understand them,'' said Raman Patel, consultant to the Anveekshana, who used to talk with Krishnamurti himself.

Questioning, without seeking for answers or being intellectually critical and analytical, leads naturally to understanding and answers.

``It's a dialogue; you ask a question, and the speaker replies to that question. Then you respond to that question. You ask a question, the speaker then responds to your question, then you respond to the speaker's response, and you keep this going till only the question remains and not the persons,''

Krishnamurti once said, explaining the nature of dialogue.

Giving full attention to what is being said is important. No judgment of any kind should be passed.

A facilitator, which could be anyone, helps formulate the questions, encouraging participants to probe deeper into issues and feelings. If participants resort to vague theories or philosophies, the facilitators are trained to say: ``That's not relevant to your life. If you want to understand life, you have to talk about it.''

SELF-QUESTIONING IN A DIALOGUE
The following stems from a discussion among 10 people engaged in a Krishnamurti-inspired dialogue on security:

Facilitator: ``We are searching for security, but have we ever asked, what is security? Or is it necessary? Why are we seeking security? Searching for something implies we do not have it at the moment, and know what it is we are looking for. Are we not secure? Why aren't we? What makes us insecure?''

``We are afraid so we look for things or persons who can give us a sense of protection, like having a job, being in love.''

``Security becomes an issue when we think about the future. We want things unchanged; that would be security. Changes are associated with insecurities because we don't know what will come to us. Facing changes disturbs us.''

``But changes are part of our lives, aren't they? So is there any security? Can we really have it?''

``What is fear or security? Are they the projection of our mind from past experiences and assumptions about the future? Fear comes from our expectation of results. Also, comparison creates fear. Our mind manufactures fear.''

``If that is so, then if we are aware of what is going in our mind, like fearing, there would there be no room for fear? We do not fear when we are aware of fear.''

``Can the human mind be completely free from fear? Or is it that fear is one of the most common things in our life, our being?''

``Why do we dislike fear so much? Is it something bad? Can we live with it?''

``I think we need to understand pleasure too, so as to understand fear. I think they are two sides of a coin. Thoughts create fear and sustain pleasure.''

``Is it something that we fear that has to do with ourselves? Is fear a movement away from `what is'? Are we trying to run away from something and find solace in another? Why can't we feel secure without clinging to something, someone, some kind of status, or some activities?''

``Perhaps, deep down I feel utterly alone, lonely and empty, like who I am, what is `I' or `me'. So I attach my sense of identity and being to things and persons I am involved with. And without those signifiers, I feel I am nothing, and that scares me.''

``Are we innately lonely? Or is loneliness an idea imposed by society?''

``Perhaps life is de facto vulnerable and insecure. Why do we want to escape from this fact? I wonder if we can accept fear and live with it, can that state of mind produce or be called security?''

KRISHNAMURTI ON DIALOGUE
``... Dialogue is a conversation between people who are seriously interested in understanding certain problems; and dialecticism is the discovery or the examination through opinion of what is true. And opinion means, judgment based on a belief, a prejudice or on a preconceived idea. So it is none of these that we are going to do; neither discussion _ the root meaning of that is `to shake' _ nor a dialogue, nor an opinion or offering opinions and investigating those opinions to find out if they have any value. But what we are trying to do is to expose certain problems, which one may have and understand those problems by looking at them, not offering an opinion, a judgment and your criticism, exposing them. In the very exposure one discovers what is the truth, what is the meaning ...''