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JIDDU KRISHNAMURTHI’S PERSPECTIVE ON EDUCATION AND ITS CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE

DR. INDUKURI JOHN MOHAN RAZU PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL ETHICS

RESOURCE PERSON (HON) FOR THE DOCTORAL PROGRAMME ACTS ACADEMY OF HIGHER EDUCATION, KORAMANGALA, BANGALORE

INTRODUCTION

Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) a composite scholar and a complete persona whose quest stretches beyond the narrow divide of disciplines and fields of study. He consciously made attempts to fuse diverse disciplines/areas of study into one integrated whole. His exploration covers a number of fields of study such as philosophy, education, social sciences, religion and other areas as well. In this sense, we cannot put Jiddu Krishnamurth into a particular slot by stating and claiming that this is the field he belongs to by drawing a straight line or prescribing a straight jacketed approach. On the other, he falls along with a different category of scholars who viewed and strived for an integral approach. He, in particular, delved into the depths of human personality, in particular, human mind and thought by unraveling its intricacies and complexities. To know him fully and completely one should go all out by entering into his works engaging in conversation with him, so that we would understand him comprehensively at least to get a grasp of what he is saying and arguing about. Krishnamurti culls every thing from his life experience and does not belong to any school of thought. “His is the very voice of life itself, undivided within itself, flowing eternally.”1 He being a versatile organic scholar who cannot be compressed or compartmentalized within a limited time and space, because the way in which he viewed at humanity, the problems that confronts them, the way they were addressed and responded are indicative of the veracity of know-how he is endowed with. His reasoning and inquiring capacity covers a whole body of systems with which Krishnamurti interacted and explored with. So, this paper aims at: First, to probe into the basic premises and grapples with Jiddu Krishnamurti’s postulates on diverse fields through which he develops and connects his perspective on education. In order to deliberate on that I will be drawing inferences from others and their perceptions of Jiddu Krishnamurti by interfacing, so that a comprehensive view will be arrived at. Second, to delve into some pertinent areas that Jiddu Krishnamurti weaved as integrated education. Third, to ponder over, whether his philosophy and perspective on education would be of any value or useful or relevant to our contemporary settings or not? 1 Let me start with one of the most fascinating explication Krishnamurti makes while responding to a question that “Teach the child from the very beginning that its goal is happiness and

1 Robert Powell, “An Approach to Krishnamurti”, in Luis S.R. Vas (ed.), The Mind of J. Krishnamurti, Bangalore: Jaico

Publishing House, 1971, p. 32.

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freedom, and that the manner of attainment is through the harmony of all the bodies—mind, emotion and the physical body.”2 What does he mean by that? The statement he utters could be perceived and understood in many ways. But, he is clear and concise in his understanding. “What to Krishnamurti himself, is a living unity, immediately apprehended and fusing all the teachings into an organic whole, has now to be displayed as an intellectual interdependence. In a word, what is needed just that framework of order and system, with which he, being what he is, can dispense.”3 In conjunction that statement, “In him I find a synthesis, which, like every true synthesis, is essentially different from the two poles of the opposition: Western-Eastern; philosophical-psychological, mystical-mental; social-individual; masculine-feminine. His word is paradoxical, because it belongs to a state of being which does not yet exist and which our language cannot express.”4 He being an organic persona enters into the depths of different dimensions that a human being engages and struggles to find meaning in life. What he is saying by that is we do not have sufficient words and language to express all that we undergo. Often we are caught up in a state of loss of words and thus enter into negation. Hence, Krishnamurti tries to show to us that negation is good. For example, let us assume that we have negated desire despite the fact that there is a place for desire. Therefore through negation positive is arisen. What we normally do is by positing the positive we get into all sorts of problems leading to the negative. He urges us to begin with doubt or employing theory of suspicion. By employing total doubt would eventually lead to stopping or ending up certainty. While on the other, if we begin with doubt and dwell in complete uncertainty, then there is all the possibility of ending with certainty leading to avoidance of uncertainty and chaos. So, in negation the positive is born. How does that happen? According to Krishnamurti one cannot go through reality to come to truth because there are limitations in the realms of reality, which itself is the whole process of thought. For example,

What we must all be very concerned with what is going on in the world. The disintegration, the violence, the brutality, the wars and the dishonesty in high political places. In the face of this disintegration what is correct action? What is one to do to survive freedom and be totally religious? We are using the word “religious” and not in the orthodox sense, which is not religious. The meaning of that word is: gathering together all energy to find out what is the place of thought and where are its limitations and to go beyond it. That is the true significance and the meaning of that world “religious”. So what is one to do in this disintegrating, corrupt, immoral world, as a human being—not an individual, because there is no such thing as the individual, we are the result of various collective influences, forces, conditioning and so on.5

2 Leopold Stokowski, “The World Tomorrow”, in Ibid, p. 87.

3 E.A. Wodehouse, “Man, Nature, Reality in the teachings of Krishnamurti”, in Ibid, p. 102.

4 H.V. Methorst, “What Krishna has meant to Me”, in Ibid, p. 155.

5 J. Krishnamurti, Truth and Actuality, Chennai: Krishnamurti Foundation Trust Ltd, 1977, p. 55.

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Irrespective of the country to which we belong, all the countries are going through terrible times. We are all concerned as to what can be done and how to intervene, and what is right, and right action? And, how do we discern whether our action is right? So, we are caught up with dilemmas wondering how to go about. “Is there an action that is total, whole, not fragmented, that is both correct and accurate, that is compassionate, religious in the sense we are using the word?6 It has nothing to do with religious belief, dogma, ritual, political system, ideology, doctrine and host of others. So, “To find an answer, not imaginary, fictious or pretended, to find the true, the right answer one must enquire into the whole movement of thought. Because all our conditioning, all our activity, all our political, economic, social, moral and religious life is based on thought. Thought has been our chief instrument in all the fields of life, in the areas, religious, moral, political, economic, social, and in personal relationships.”7 Krishnamurti has in fact states that action that is whole, and not fragmentary which is not caught up in the movement of time and space, nor traditional mode, is therefore, not mechanical. For him, we do actually realize freedom when we move away or move beyond from anxiety, pain and pathos, constant battle and suffering, shame and humiliation in a world of conflicts, oppression, exploitation, injustices and tyranny. For all these, according to him is the “thought” that has created these distinctions and binaries in us. This leads us to become increasingly primitive, vulgar, cruel, brutal, selfish and violent with a thought process of controlling the environment. Hence,

Can thought, which is a material, a chemical process, a thing, which has created all this structure, can that very thought solve our problems? One must very carefully, diligently, find out what are the limitations of thought … Thought has created the technological world, and thought has also created the division between “you” and “me”. Thought has created the image of you and the “me” and these images separate each one of us. Thought can only function in duality, in opposites, and therefore all reaction is a divisive process, a separative process. And thought has created division between human beings, nationalities, religious beliefs, dogmas, political differences, opinions, conclusions, all that is the result of thought. Thought has also created the division between you and me as form and name; and thought has created the centre which is the “me” as opposed to you, and therefore there is a division between you and me. Thought has created this whole structure of social behavior, which is essentially based on tradition, which is mechanical. Thought has also created the religious world, the Christian, the Buddhist, the Hindu, the Muslim. With all the divisions, all the practices, all the innumerable gurus that are springing up like mushrooms. And thought has created what it considers is love. Is compassion the result of “love”, the result of thought? That is our problem, those are all our problems.”8

6 J. Krishnamurti, Truth and Actuality, Ibid, p. 55.

7 Ibid, p. 56.

8 Ibid, p. 59.

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For Krishnamurti thought is always limited. Even while talking about scientific knowledge we keep adding up or accumulating domains of knowledge which is limited. No one could ever say that knowledge is complete because it always goes with a shadow of ignorance. Krishnamurti considers knowledge is of the past. So for him any thought born of knowledge must inevitably be fragmentary, limited and finite. Thought could also invent something immeasurable, going beyond, and infinite, but still considered as movement of thought. The notion of god could also be a human invention because many feel safe and secured and also a necessity. So,god is a product of thought which is limited. Whoever it may be either a philosopher or a scientist or a theologian thought is always bound by certain limitations, inadequacies, and human frailties. We see our limitedness in our thought process in politics, religions, and between human beings. In our efforts to solving problems we have been multiplying the problems by entering into wars, conflicts, and all sorts of evil designs. Hence, “Thought is a material process because it is held in the very brain cells themselves … When thought creates god, it is still a material process. Thought is not sacred … then we can ask, is there a new instrument? – not higher consciousness or lower consciousness, that is another invention of thought.”9 Our thoughts are narrow, fragmented, and finite, insulated with our weaknesses, biases, and prejudices. Apparently, all these create religious, ethnic, national, economic, doctrinal and social fragmentation. Is it possible to go beyond these fragmentations and divisiveness? The brain is endowed with extraordinary capacity to innovate and explore many things that goes beyond our comprehensions as we look around the technological world that we are living. However, what we have done is we have progressed just in one direction only by highly compartmentalizing vis-à-vis the doctor, the surgeon, the mathematician, the computer expert, and so on.10 All these have further escalated and furthered our problems. So, there is a need for a new instrument which is neither tampered by thought nor the result of time nor caught in the process of evolution i.e. thought. Krishnamurti candidly states that “You have to have a mind that is really global, not a petty little mind concerned with one’s little problems. In the greater, the lesser disappears. In the greater humanity, the few little human problems dissolve. Without understanding the vast complexity of the human brain and mind and heart, you will never solve any problem.”11 II In his own way Jiddu Krishnamurti enters into a discourse with Dr. Anderson on responsibility and responsible action. He makes a clear distinction between responsible for and being responsible. Being responsible for implies direction, a directed will. But, the feeling of responsibility implies the responsibility for everything, and not just a particular area such as education, politics, environment and host of others. Your responsibility covers all the areas that demands action. This means the feeling of responsibility or responsible self expresses itself in

9 J. Krishnamurti, Mind without Measure, Chennai: Krishnamurti Foundation Trust Ltd, 1984, pp. 44-45.

10 Ibid.

11 Ibid.

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politics, religion, education, business and the whole of life that determines a wider life and total behavior. In this, one is responsible for his/her action in accordance to the idea that pre-supposes action. Krishnamurti illustrates this point in comprehensive manner. For example,

If you feel totally responsible you are responsible from the moment it is born until the moment it dies. The right kind of education, not education to make the child conform, the worship of success, and the division of nationalities which brings about war. You follow, you are responsible for all that, not just in a particular direction. Even if you are responsible in a particular direction, and can say: ‘I’ m responsible for my action,‘ what is your action based on? How can you be responsible, when you, your action is the result of a formula that has been handed down to you?12

The above quotation clearly shows the parental responsibility towards their children right from birth to death; the type of education they are going to get; and what would they eventually become in a society they live in. Jiddu Krishnamurti raises a set of questions that are comprehensive in nature and vital to our contemporary settings. He furthers goes deep by raising a series of questions that unpacks many assumptions and pre-suppositions:

… What is the meaning of this education that people receive? Apparently they don’t understand a thing about life, they don’t understand fear, pleasure, … Is it that we have become so utterly materialistic that we are concerned only with good jobs, money, pleasure and superficial entertainment, whether it be of a religious nature or football? Is it that our whole nature and structure has become so utterly meaningless? And when we are educated in that way, to suddenly face something real is terrifying. … we are not educated to look at ourselves, we are not educated to understand the whole business of living, we are not educated to look and see what happens if we face death. Religion has become not only a divisive process but also utterly meaningless. After maybe 2,000 years of Christianity or 5,000, 3,000 years of Hinduism or Buddhism and so on, it has lost its substance. And we never inquire into what religion is, what education is, what living is, what dying is, the whole business of it. We never ask: what is it all about? And when we do ask we say, well, life has very little meaning; and it has very little meaning as we live it, and so we escape into all kinds of fantastic, romantic nonsense, which we can’t discuss or logically inquire into, but which is mere escape from this utter emptiness of the life that one leads.13

His critique on the rise and development of human civilization, culture, the purpose and meaning of life points out the travesty and trivialities, rather than freedom and creativity. He raises a pertinent question: what have we gained and achieved after having successfully conquered nature and having complete dominion over it? We have destroyed it and adding all sorts of pollution. In the name of democracy, freedom, and basic rights a nation or a group of nations goes to war against another nation; ethnic, caste, and class conflicts that are unleashed against humanity. Humans have evolved institutions and organizations assuming that they

12 J. Jrishnamurti, A Wholly Different Way of Living, Chennai: Krishnamurti Foundation India, 2000, p. 55.

13 Ibid, pp. 209-210.

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would govern judiciously with equity and justice. But they all repeat the same by oppressing and exploiting the people. Hence, “The history of man includes its culture; it is the story of the human being who has gone through all kinds of suffering, through various diseases, through wars, through religious beliefs and dogmas, persecution, inquisition, torture in the name of god, in the name of peace, in the names of ideals.”14 He is more concerned about all these happenings. “And how is all that to be taught to the young? It is the story of mankind, the story of human beings, then both the educators and the young are the human beings; it is their story, not merely the story of kings and wars, it is the story of themselves. How can the educator help the student to understand the story of himself, which is the story of the past, of which he is the result? That is the problem.”15 Jiddu Krishnamurti by posing these questions he is entering into the root of the problem by pointing to the educators that how are we helping the students to help the whole nature and the structure of oneself i.e., herself or himself being the whole of humanity. Further, the brain cells that has evolved as a result of many million years embedded with violence, competition, the aggressiveness, the brutality, the cruelty, the fear, the pleasure and occasional joy and that slight ray of love. As pedagogues, how are we going to enable the students to understand the intricacies and complexities of life? All these according to Krishnamurti pre-suppose that the educators must understand about them first so that they would enable the students to understand themselves. This process involves both the teachers and students. “It is not the teacher or the educator must first understand himself and then teach – that would take the rest of his life, perhaps – but that in the relationship between the educator and the person to be educated, there is a relationship of mutual investigation.”16 For him the conventional education has instilled values that are-- money, position, prestige, and power. The society wants you to fit into this pattern of values which it has created and revolves around. On the contrary, education should make us to think, to observe, to learn, not from books, but by watching, listening to everything around, so that we would grow as different human beings with affection by caring and loving others. This would certainly make us to be different from others, and certainly in that we do find a truly religious life. These dimensions would make our students to have different perceptions about nature viz., tress, birds, the sun, the moon, sky, colors on the leaves, beauty of the land, the rich earth and so on. In the absence of these, we tend to ravage and plunder the mother Earth with brute force, violence, and ugliness to satiate our greed and avarice. Again and again the basic question that revolves around is: What is the point of being educated? Is it for the sake of passing examinations and getting degrees? Or, to get married, get a job, and settle down in life like many others do? Is that the purpose of education or

14 J. Krishnamurti, Questions and Answers, Hampshire: Krishnamurti Foundation Trust Ltd, 1982, p. 12.

15 Ibid.

16 Ibid, p. 13.

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something else? The whole world is asking this question, which for him is serious and a starting point of his inquiry. What then is education? According to Krishnamurti,

Human being throughout the world … are being educated to conform, to fit into society and into their culture, to fit into the stream of social and economic activity; to be sucked into the stream of social and economic activity; to be sucked into the vast stream that has been flowing for thousands of years … Can education see to it that the human mind is not drawn into that vast stream and so destroyed; see that with such a mind, you can be an entirely different human being with a different quality to life.17

Krishnamurti clearly distinguishes between the traditional mode of education that wants us to be part of the main stream or some one who thinks differently and acts differently. In the traditional mode, our parents thought as per the dictates of society and wanted us to be part of that stream without any critical thinking and deviation. Most of us are indoctrinated with that stereo-typical paradigm that it is for the sake living. But, education is not only for living, it is much more than that. So,

Real education means that a human mind … not only capable of being excellent in mathematics, geography and history, but also can never, under any circumstances, be drawn into the stream of society. Because that stream which we call living, is very corrupt, is immoral, is violent, is greedy. That stream is our culture. So, the question is how to bring about the right kind of education so that the mind can withstand all temptations, all influences … and this culture. We have come to a point in history where we have to create a new culture, a totally different kind of existence, not based on consumerism and industrialization, but a culture based upon a real quality of religion. Now, how does one bring about, through education, a mind that is entirely different, a mind that is not greedy, not envious? How does one create a mind that is not ambitious, that is extraordinarily active, efficient; that has a real perception of what is true in daily life, which is after all religion?18

For him education does not mean just transference of information of subjects such as mathematics, history, geography or some other subjects. The real objective of education is to bring about change in students’ mind, meaning critical awareness. “We have to find out what it means never to conform and what it means to live without fear. This is your life, and nobody is going to teach you … you have to learn from yourself … It is an endless things, it is a fascinating thing … out of that learning wisdom comes. Then you can live a most extraordinary, happy, beautiful life.”19 The purpose of education is to enable and equip students to create a world wherein everyone together build their lives purposive and directive. Students have come and gone. Civilizations and cultures have come and gone. People lived and gone. We continue to live with worries, corruption, violence, brutality, indifference, callousness, worked up, married

17 Krishnamurti, On Education, Chennai: Krishnamurti Foundation India, 1974, P. 10.

18 Ibid, pp. 10-11.

19 Ibid, pp. 11-12.

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and die. The cycle goes on and on. Krishnamurti categorizes those who go through this cycle as ordinary because they had nothing new to offer, devoid of fresh ideas, led life without joy, curiosity and passion, not imbued with exploring mind and just conformed to the dictates of this world. Those who fall within this category are considered as those living and leading a mechanical, a routine and boredom life. It is against this back drop, in a coherent and logical way Krishnamurti carefully treads into two major attitudes: 1. Religious spirit, and 2. scientific mind. For him, these are the only two states of mind: a) life-enhancing and b) life-negating, leading to a great deal of misery, confusion and sorrow. Science is indeed factual, conclusive, real and perceptive. But the scientific discoveries and inventions usually are controlled and appropriated by the greedy capitalists and nation-states for their vested interests and gains. Likewise, religions are also usurped by cultic groups, fanatics and also by the organized institutions and organizations such as church, temples and so on. The religious mind that Krishnamurti is talking about goes beyond the Hindu mind, Muslim mind, Christian mind that propels us to go to temples, mosques and churches. It is not bound by dogmas, beliefs, traditions. It is beyond defined horizons or boundaries or limits. “It is explosive, new, young, fresh, innocent. The innocent mind, the young mind, the mind that is extraordinarily pliable, subtle, has no anchor. It is only such a mind that can experience that which you call God, that which is not measurable.”20 He assumed that a human being becomes a true human being only when the scientific spirit and the true religious spirit go together. Then the emergence of a better world is possible without capitalists, communists, Brahmins, Roman Catholics and so on. This factor is undergirded by the emergence of new human being who is also harmonious without any contradiction within. For him, “… the purpose of education is to create this new mind, which is explosive, and does not conform to a pattern which society has set.”21 Elaborating further, Krishnamurti say that “A religious mind is a creative mind. It has not only to finish with the past but also to explode in the present. And this mind—not the interpreting mind of books, of the Gita, the Upanishads, the Bible—which is capable of investigating, is also capable of creating an explosive reality.”22 It is extraordinarily difficult to be religious coupled with scientific mind that goes beyond insecurity, fear, and petty human prejudices. Similarly, one cannot have a religious mind without knowing about self, body, mind, emotions, and the way mind and thought functions. He emphatically reiterates that one must approach it with a scientific mind which is precise, clear, objective, and goes beyond the human created barriers and divides as well as narrow cleavages. Only with that mind one can become a cultured human being who knows

20 Ibid, P. 17.

21 Ibid.

22 Ibid, P. 18.

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compassion. Only those having the combination of these do know what life is and how to live and lead a meaning life. Jiddu Krishnamurti as a philosopher of integral education weaves into religious and scientific dimensions in such a way that,

How does one bring this about? For it is imperative to help the student to be scientific, To think very clearly, precisely, to be sharp, as well as to help him uncover the depths of his mind, to go beyond wors, his various labels as the Hindu, Muslim, Christian. Is it possible to educate the student to go beyond all labels and find out, experience that something which is not measured by the mind, which no books contains, to which no guru can lead you? If such an education is possible in a school like this, it is remarkable. You must all see that it is worthwhile to create such a school … We have talked of a great many things—about authority, about discipline, how to teach, what to teach, what listening is, what education is, what culture is … It is also part of life to sit still and look at yourself, to have insight, to see. It is also necessary to observe how to think, what to think, and why you are thinking. It is also part of life to look at b birds, to watch the village people, their squalor—which each one of us has brought about, which society maintains. All this is part of education.23

III Jiddu Krishnamurti integrates many dimensions into education. Hence, his insights on education are radical, profound, appropriate and relevant. In a world of consumerist culture and technological advancements, more and more people are being sucked to materialist values and commodity fetishism This is where his insights on education carries more value because our educational institutions are preparing more people to succeed in such a secularizing world. As a result, the modern education is failing to solve the world’s problems because of the fact that it has failed to prepare the students to face the fundamental challenges of living. The students are not taught either to address as well as to solve these problems. When they enter into the world of challenges and opportunities they get perplexed and do not know how to co-up in their every day life. For Jiddu Krishnamurti, education is a religious activity. What he suggests and offers is a combination of values that insulates secular and sacred. His approach to education combines these factors: what is religious or religiousness or religiosity; the nature of human beings; and the nature of education. While doing so, Krishnamurti digs little deep and thus moves beyond conventional understanding or juxtapositions in such a way that we should transcend beyond our fixations on sacred or truly religious because they revolve around and operate on conditionalties, culture-specifics, and time-bound. Further, religions are subjected to their creedal, confessional, and belief systems. They are authoritative, hierarchical, creedal and tradition-bound.

23 Ibid, pp. 18-19.

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His approach to religiousness means free of religion that concerns with the challenges of values in today’s pluralistic context. Sacred for Krishnamurti is the foundation of all things that lies at the origin and core of all things. And so, it is irreducible or cannot be broken into fundamental elements. He ardently believes that all things are parts of a unity or integrated whole, and that integrates the whole is sacred. What he means by that all things are constituent parts or components that make up the whole and it is the whole. His perspective on education concerns with the whole person that includes all parts of the persons, not just sharpening the intellect and adding more knowledge and assemblage of parts. Hence, education implies preparing a person within a whole, so that he or she becomes a part of society, humanity and nature. The basic function of education is not preparing students for jobs, but to prepare for the whole of life, and to equip them to the deepest aspect of living. For all these, our intentions of education should be clear; physical location and nature of places in which educational activities are carried out; the participants (students and staff) in education in the educational centres. His critique of religion and education is that both effectively function on the notion of fear. For example, “… when there is fear, you cease to learn … the function of education to eliminate fear … In this process of competition, you conform, and gradually you destroy the subtlety, the freshness, the youth of the brain.”24 The purpose of education is to bring about freedom, love, common good and complete transformation in society. It is not for preparing young people to succeed materially in society. Freedom is more inner character than it connotes and means in politics. First and the foremost there should be inner transformation and liberation of human being so that society could be transformed. Superficial societal transformation from outside according to him fails in the long-run. The purpose of education is to make people truly religious. Education is not to just appropriating material goals, but to realize life in all its fullness. Conventional education makes independent thinking extremely difficult. It always restricts students’ creative and critical thinking. It makes pupils’ to conform to curriculum or syllabi thereby leading to mediocrity. Krishnamurti is of the view that education is not merely acquiring knowledge, gathering and correlating facts. It is for life and should enable the students’ to see the significance of life as a whole. The whole cannot be approached through the parts—from the organized religion, schools and others. The function of education is to create human beings who are integrated, and therefore, intelligent. It is an irony that the present education is making students subservient, mechanical and deeply non-reflective and critical. As a result, the students are left in the lurch. The purpose of education for him is not to produce mere scholars and job hunters but integrated men and women who enjoy freedom and enduring peace.

24 Ibid, P. 42.

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Those who were skeptical and critical of Jiddu Krishnamurti’s approach kept saying that his approach was not pragmatic and feasible. He responded to them in such a way that,

IT IS our intention in places like Rishi Valley in the South and Rajghat in the North to create an environment, a climate, where one can bring about, if it is at all possible, a new human being … They have been running for thirty years or more. The purpose, the aim and drive of these schools is to equip the child with the most excellent technological efficiency in the modern world, and far more important to create the right climate so that the child may develop fully as a complete human being. This means giving him the opportunity to flower in goodness so that he is rightly related to people, things and ideas, to the whole of life. To live is to be related. There is no right relationship to anything if there is not the right feeling for beauty, a response to nature, to music and art, a highly developed aesthetic sense.25

In a world of cut throat competition, professionalism, individualism, specialization and ongoing technological advancements, the schools and institutions make the students to conform, fit, and adjust to the dictates of the market. The present structures and systems use the students in such a way that they give back what the system wants from them. Our educational system is purely job-driven and ‘success-oriented’ (material). Here, Krishnamurti opens up the innate contradictions of our educational system.

He wants to be successful in life and he also wants to be a peaceful man. His whole life is a contradiction. The greater the contradiction, the greater the tension … when there is suppression in contradiction, there is a greater outward activity. You give the student a technique and at the same time develop in his this extraordinary imbalance, this extreme contradiction which leads to frustration and despair … You are educating him to have a technique which is going to lead to his despair. So the question is, can you help him not to drift into contradiction. He will drift into it if you do not help him to love the thing which he is doing.26

The above quotation rips open the fallacy of our educational system. More and more we continue to widen the contradictions. Our philosophy of education, foci, purposes and objectives have fallen apart. We do not know what kind of society we want and what type of human beings we are producing. We are producing more and more technological human being. What do we get back in return, if our system of education believes in examination, grades, proficiency, loading of information, acquisition of knowledge and so on? In return we get one-sided human being, and certainly not a total human being. “When we talk about a total human being with inward understanding, with a capacity to explore, to examine his inward being, his inward state and the capacity of going beyond it, but also someone who is good in what he does outwardly. The two must go together. That is the real issue in education.”27

25 Ibid, P. 73.

26 Ibid, P. 75.

27 Ibid, PP. 75-76.

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For him society means composition of individuals. A technologically grounded society would suffer because the people living out there will always contradict in their social relationship. Technology cannot on its own moderate, and so there is all the possibility of inequity and inequality, which means the social order would not maintain the equilibrium, and always be lopsided. Therefore, he categorically emphasizes that both the inner and outside should go together. Both should be seen as two sides of the same coin, dialectic, a process, and as one movement.

CONCLUSION According to Jiddu Krishnamurti, human beings are the sum total endowed with different facets such as intellect, emotions, appetites, etc. However, the whole of which that includes aspects are also important. Over and above, Krishnamurti categorically asserts that humans have minds that are capable of perceiving what is religious—the integrated whole. And for him coming to fruition or the ultimate purpose is that of culmination or flowering of human beings. In order to bring the mind to this level education plays the most crucial role of directing or shaping the mind. The task that the brain plays in this whole process is important. The brain needs to learn to stop the fragmenting process when it is not necessary. Obviously, the human have the capacity to unite both from the particular to general and vice versa. Hence, religion and science will have to enter into a process of integration, so that integral whole is possible. Therefore, for Jiddu Krishnamurti education was first and foremost a religious activity. As a composite scholar and an organic pedagogue, Jiddu Krishnamurti’s works could perhaps be synthesized in the following two quotations, said in 1912 and 1953 respectively: “If the unity of life and the oneness of its purpose could be clearly taught to the young in schools, how much brighter would be our hopes for the future! Forty one years later, he reflected his journey in the following way: “If one becomes aware that there can be peace and harmony for man only through education, then one will naturally gives one’s whole life and interest to it”. And that exactly he did in his life time.

__________________________________***__________________________________ References

1. Krishnamurti, J, The Wholeness of Life, London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1978. 2. ___________, Questions and Answers, Hampshire: Krishnamurti Foundation Trust, Ltd,

1982. 3. ___________, Truth and Actuality, Chennai: Krishnamurti Foundation Trust Ltd, 1995. 4. ___________, On Education, _______________________________________, 2000. 5. ___________, Mind Without Measure, ________________________________, 2000. 6. ___________, The Book of Life, New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2001.

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7. ___________, A Wholly Different Way of Living, Chennai: Krishnamurti Foundation Trust Ltd, 2002.

8. Vas, S.R. Luis, ed., The Mind of J. Krishnamurti, New Delhi: Jaico Publishing House, 1971. ______________________________________***__________________________________ Paper presented at a Joint Seminar organized by Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, and ACTS Academy of Higher Education, Bangalore, at Visakhapatnam 13-14, February, 2012.

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