Aug 16

Understanding Krishnamurti: An Inquiry into the Nature of Thought

Date and Time

August 16 - 25 2021 PDT

Location

Online event

Co-ordinator

Kristy Lee
More Information

About This Event

Understanding Krishnamurti: An Inquiry into the Nature of Thought
Krishnamurti's teachings are extremely comprehensive, and they challenge us to examine the whole of life.  In a somewhat similar manner, can we examine the teachings themselves as a whole, as a totality?  We will explore this question by looking at five "dimensions" of the man and his message:  the psychological teachings, the religious teachings, the nature teachings, the personal dimension and the public dimension.  This workshop examines each of these aspects or elements of Krishnamurti and his work.
We will be using a common text as a basis for our explorations.  Krishnamurti in America:  New Perspectives on the Man and his Message is a complete biography that also includes attention to the content of the teachings and their development through the decades.
  1. The psychological dimension:  Here we will examine the most essential themes of Krishnamurti's public talks, including the nature of thought, observation, conflict, time, and individual identity.
  2. The religious dimension:  This element includes Krishnamurti's approach to meditation, a quiet mind, and the exploration into what is sacred and timeless.
  3. The nature dimension:  Krishnamurti included rich and vivid descriptions of scenes from nature in many of his books, including Commentaries on Living, The Only Revolution, and each of his three journals.  These descriptions are not merely supplements, but vital, essential elements of the teachings.
  4. The personal dimension:  Here we will examine some of the issues and events in Krishnamurti's personal life, including his private relationships, and the peculiar phenomenon known as his "process."
  5. The public dimension:  Krishnamurti was proclaimed at an early age by the Theosophical Society to be the "world teacher," and even today he is sometimes described in that manner.  Nevertheless, he insisted he was not a guru or any kind of authority figure.  Was he really the world teacher, and if so, what does that mean?  What was his actual relationship to his audience and to the public at large?
We will meet 5 days for a 2-hour session that will include but not be limited to discussion/dialogue, some short video clips and short excerpts from texts.
*Please note that all participants must have access to the book Krishnamurti in America:  New Perspectives on the Man and his Message.  The book is available worldwide from Amazon.
Daily online sessions
2:00pm-4:00pm US PACIFIC TIME

Facilitator
David Edmund Moody, Ph.D., is the author of three books about Krishnamurti.  His most recent book is Krishnamurti in America:  New Perspectives on the Man and his Message (Alpha Centauri Press, 2020). This book represents a full-scale biography of Krishnamurti's life, with special attention to the events in America that have not been covered well in previous biographies.  In addition, this biography follows closely the evolution and development of Krishnamurti's philosophy, decade by decade, from the 1930's until his death in 1986.  This research enables Moody to present his philosophy in a new and more accurate light, one that emphasizes the psychological elements of his teaching.
Moody's previous book was An Uncommon Collaboration:  David Bohm and J. Krishnamurti (Alpha Centauri Press, 2017).  This book reviews the entire course of the career of theoretical physicist David Bohm, with extensive attention to his interactions and relationship with Krishnamurti.  The publication of this book led to Moody's participation as one of the interviewees in the recent biographical film about Bohm, Infinite Potential.
Moody was the first teacher hired when Krishnamurti founded the Oak Grove School in Ojai, California, in 1975.  He subsequently served as educational director of the school, and as director, the position he held at the time of Krishnamurti's death in 1986.  He later took his Ph.D. in science education (UCLA, 1991) with a focus on student misconceptions in the study of biological evolution.