Page 38 - EducationWorld June 2022_Neat

Cover Story

WHY ALL EDUCATORS SHOULD

REVISIT J. KRISHNAMURTI

As the country’s education institutions begin to regain
post-pandemic momentum in a fractious era of religious
and communal discord while suffering ravages of climate
change, government and private educators would do well
to revisit the education philosophy and teachings of this
extraordinary visionary sage

Dilip Thakore

T HE 127TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF ularly known) repeatedly emphasised that the message

rather than the messenger was important.
J
philosopher, seer and educationist .
u rti (1895-1986) came
K ris h n a m
“What is said, is important, not the person. It is like if
you have a telephone, you don’t give importance to it, you
and went on May 11 with muted, if
any, celebrations. Even on the tran-
keep it clean, but what is said through the telephone be-
quil, verdant six-acre Vasant Vihar
campus of the Krishnamurti Foun-
here is not at all important. I would like to point this out
dation India (KFI) in Chennai, and comes all important. Similarly, the person who is speaking
over and over again,” said Krishanmurti, who during his
presumably in Krishnamurti foundations established in lifetime consistently discouraged ardent followers to raise
Britain, USA and Spain. him to the status of a guru or cult figure.
Nor was the birth anniversary of this visionary sage The trustees of the Krishnamurti Foundation India (reg-
celebrated in any of the six centres and high-ranked pri- std.1928) have assiduously respected the philosopher’s
mary-secondary schools with an aggregate enrolment of wish. Although KFI’s arboreal Vasant Vihar campus sited
2,000 students mentored by 270 highly qualified teach- in Chennai’s upscale Adyar suburb hosts the administra-
ers established by KFI countrywide. That’s because during tive office of KFI-cum-study centre where JK delivered dis-
his long life span in which he delivered public discourses, courses on education, living and spiritualism for over half
engaged in discussions with teachers, students, Vedantists, a century, a book shop and JK’s carefully preserved bed-
Buddhists and other religious seekers, and gave press and room sporting sepia photographs, statues and sculptures
radio interviews and his own writings which were edited in his form and shape are conspicuously absent. A single
and compressed into 80 books and 17-volumes covering rock formation in the central garden marks the spot where
philosophy, education and art of living, JK (as he was pop- Krishnamurti delivered discourses for over half a century.

38 EDUCATIONWORLD JUNE 2022