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Africa AG - Personal Profile

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Africa AG: Female, 51 yrs. old, healthcare professional; London, Greater London, United Kingdom; Birthday: January 1; Member since: Fri, 19 Jun 2009, 7:11pm; Last visited 18 days ago

Member Statement

After being a Theosophist for many years, I took the trouble of actually reading K. It was 'Freedom from the known'. I abandoned my esoteric pursuits and never looked back.
My fundamental interest revolves around the epistemological issue of what is attention and in what terms true learning takes place.
I used to participate in various dialogue-meetings that regularly take place in London. Unfortunately, that sort of intellectual exercise, however stimulating, rarely brings true understanding: it is "nice" to be in contact with other people interested in K, but it is also a dangerous sanctioning of inaction and mediocrity.
At present, I would be interested in maintaining contact with those seriously experimenting with the teachings, beyond a purely mental enquiry. If you are one of those, do not hesitate to contact me.
I wish you have better success than me in solving K's aporia.

Interests and Recommendations

Books

David Bohm and F. David Peat (1987): Science, order and creativity.

Movies

Home (http://www.youtube.com/homeproject) (en español: http://www.youtube.com/user/homeprojectES)

Music

W. A. Mozart (1787), Don Giovanni

Interview Answers

Do you think it advisable to introduce Krishnamurti to people you know? Have you ever done it and if yes, what are your experiences?

The premises and the implications of a mind operating without a centre are difficult to grasp. Yet, that is a fundamental tenet in K?s proposals. Trying to introduce K to someone unfamiliar with ?philosophical? thinking is a tricky business. I have done it, and I am not sure of the outcome.
One of the models for healthcare promotion talks about people being: not ready; motivated but not ready; and motivated and ready. May be this could apply when 'promoting' K's teachings?

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How do you personally go about exploring the Krishnamurti's teachings (through personal study, dialogues, dvds)?

Apart from conventional ways (personal study with DVDs and books), I play around...

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How important do you consider group dialogue to be in understanding the more subtle points of Krishnamurti's message?

In theory, dialogues would have been an excellent way to explore subtleties, ambiguities and contradictions present in the teachings. In practice, well, I have already answered this in my member statement.

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Do you think Krishnamurti was exceptional, or is the transformation he spoke of universally accessible?

I do not know.

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Does the phrase "living the teachings" have any meaning to you?

It seems that trying to implement K's teachings in one's life, thus 'living them', may bring utter desperation, constant sorrow and a deadly impasse. Through observation it is possible to reach a point where the 'self' is shown at large, but nothing else happens, no 'promised' transformation takes place. When the enquiry is rooted in the slightlest desire to achieve anything, even understanding, the whole process is corrupted. The teachings cannot 'be lived' in the sense of applying them to oneself; K (1955) asked a questioner: "Are you experimenting with my teachings ... or with yourself? I hope you see the difference." The whole point is knowing oneself, and each of us are somehow different --sharing a 'self' notwithstanding. One has to be careful with what K describes as part of knowing oneself; if one tries to 'reproduce' his findings, the result can be disastrous.

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Do you ever feel that you have been conditioned by Krishnamurti's teachings?

Unless the mind is in a state in which no further conditioning takes place, all interactions with the external and the internal environment (other people, things, experiences, reflections, etc.) seem to bring with them some degree of conditioning; in that respect, K's teachings would not be an exception. May be exploring what exactly is 'conditioning' would be needed to ascertain whether conditioning is at all avoidable.

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What future do you foresee for Krishnamurti's works? Do you think they will grow in importance or will they just gradually die away?

I actually do not foresee anything about the future of the teachings (nor I see the point of the question, I am afraid).

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Do you think it is possible to make Krishnamurti more "practicable" than what he himself seems to have allowed for?

Perhaps. However, I do not see how that can be achieved without creating some kind of method (a technique with an end in view) or path (a temporal sequence with gradual goals or steps).
I know of an attempt in that direction, initiated by someone claiming to do what he does under the direct request from K. The result is mediocre at its best.

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Can dialogue - in the sense of sincere inquiry - be organized or can it only come about spontaneously, unprompted?

I guess both, in principle. And yet dialogue, not only as a sincere enquiry but as true communication amongst people interested in K, does not happen. We meet, we talk, we have a lovely time, and we exchange ideas, opinions and 'insights' --or so we call them. But the depth of our dialogues is always within safe limits (and when it is not, we encounter a poor soul who uses the opportunity for some sort of therapy-in-the-group). May be there is no much more depth in any of us... Dialogues carried out in Brockwood Park and Ojai are as intense and meaningful as those taking place in Theosophical groups; only the subject varies.

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Are there any aspects of Krishnamurti's teaching that you find implausible or difficult to accept?

K contradicts himself. Diachronically and in the very same book.That is irritating, very irritating, for a mind who craves for consistency and coherence.
Also, he has a talent for catch 22 descriptions: in order to have A you need B, which in turn requires C, which can only happen when there is A.
Tough.
He played it well, his attempt to unhook the reader's mind from the teachings and foster her/his individual enquiry.

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Has coming into contact with Krishnamurti and his teachings had any perceptible effect on your life and/or relationships?

If I were to write my biography, it would be divided in before and after reading K.

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