For Part 2, 3, and 4 to this series in podcast (audio) form click on the links below. For the written version of this essay (Part 1) refer here. For the written version to any of these essays the link is included within the podcast post. Cynthia Chung is the President of the
Thanks for the workup on Huxley and his relationship with J Krishnamurti (K). I spent some time in Ojai and did some work with the Krishnamurti Foundation of America (KFA) as a consultant. When I hear that enlightenment is obtained without effort which K and others have said- I have a sense of comfort and willingness to explore what exactly that means to me in my life. What struck me on a deep level was K's use of questions when communicating with people- one in particular goes something like this: Are you living in the present or are you using a mental model, past experience, family, bias, or running some video or memory to guide your life?. This type of question is of extreme importance since it is simply asking are you here with an open mind and heart, listening and acting without some preconceived notion.
Further K's thing- that no effort is required resonates with me- since it does not require some formula, 5 to 12 steps, or so-called holy passages written (primarily) by men and used to conquer most of the world. Talk about the occult- what has organized religion done for the world and in particular tribal people. Think about all the death, genocide and destruction of the earth done in the name of some god or gods or some book. This to me is hell on earth. When I was a teenager my parent took us on a summer vacation to Yosemite. We entered the valley through a tunnel from Fresno. There is a turnout- and there you see 5 magnificent waterfalls, half dome, El Capitan and the valley. My thought was "this is heaven- it is alive." The Modoc tribe to this day revere this place and believe that their responsibility is to care for this place (their home land).
Back to K and KFA- I came across Annie Besant and the Theosophical Society but it was not openly talked about and never the main theme of any workshop on dialogue. However, I did find that people working with the foundation were in a mental rut and would not speak up or talk about issues facing the organization. After leading a mixed group of people for over a year they refused to complete a scenario planning project and were not willing to present their findings to the board. We repeatedly told them at this was not an attack on the board but merely a presentation of findings that may help in their planning process! They refused to move and one person said I could never present this to the board...I found these same type of behavioral responses from another non-profit school (elementary)- the group I worked with was composed on staff, board members and parents. In fact in both organization there was behavior the was routinely loud and devious. Board of Directors for the KFA are not held accountable for their action and not required to bring any skills and abilities to the group- all holding on to K's apron strings!
Occult- there are things that we experience that are out of the ordinary and some might become frightened- but why? There is more to this life then many people think- heck try farming organically for a year and you will experience the magic and the intelligence of the universe and know that you are just along the ride and are not some omnipresent being. A seed, dirt, water, sun, etc. do all the work when accordance to their own plan and really you don't control much!
With regard to drugs and other methods for mind expansion- nothing was never offered, used or suggested in any venue... Concerning enlightenment- I think K talked about this state being temporary and to date that has been my experience.
Another thing that has been a challenge for me as you mentioned is the notion of effort and maybe this what keeps many of K's followers in a static state- they only want to push his works! I think we live karma to karma- each action leads to the next. Being a practioneer of sorts I have integrated various concepts and ideas from others into my work- and of course sometimes things work but most of the time changes and rework is necessary. For me it's been about finding a passion and then going completely into it...Low and behold as life goes on doors open and we choose whether or not to enter.
cātuḥ-varṇyam — the four divisions of human society; mayā — by Me; sṛṣṭam — created; guṇa — of quality; karma — and work; vibhāgaśaḥ — in terms of division; tasya — of that; kartāram — the father; api — although; mām — Me; viddhi — you may know; akartāram — as the nondoer; avyayam — unchangeable.
Translation
According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me. And although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the nondoer, being unchangeable.
Purport
The Lord is the creator of everything. Everything is born of Him, everything is sustained by Him, and everything, after annihilation, rests in Him. He is therefore the creator of the four divisions of the social order, beginning with the intelligent class of men, technically called brāhmaṇas due to their being situated in the mode of goodness. Next is the administrative class, technically called the kṣatriyas due to their being situated in the mode of passion. The mercantile men, called the vaiśyas, are situated in the mixed modes of passion and ignorance, and the śūdras, or laborer class, are situated in the ignorant mode of material nature. In spite of His creating the four divisions of human society, Lord Kṛṣṇa does not belong to any of these divisions, because He is not one of the conditioned souls, a section of whom form human society. Human society is similar to any other animal society, but to elevate men from the animal status, the above-mentioned divisions are created by the Lord for the systematic development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The tendency of a particular man toward work is determined by the modes of material nature which he has acquired. Such symptoms of life, according to the different modes of material nature, are described in the Eighteenth Chapter of this book. A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, is above even the brāhmaṇas. Although brāhmaṇas by quality are supposed to know about Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth, most of them approach only the impersonal Brahman manifestation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. But a man who transcends the limited knowledge of a brāhmaṇa and reaches the knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, becomes a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness – or, in other words, a Vaiṣṇava. Kṛṣṇa consciousness includes knowledge of all different plenary expansions of Kṛṣṇa, namely Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha, etc. And as Kṛṣṇa is transcendental to this system of the four divisions of human society, a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is also transcendental to all divisions of human society, whether we consider the divisions of community, nation or species.
The original system, known properly as VarnAshram Dharma, is (was) based on qualities & work (guna & karma), Not by birth (janma). It is my personal suspicion that this little addition (birthright) was added by ...'guess who'?
Excellent, Cynthia! Until you, I had no idea Huxley and Wells were such nefarious men, though I had read their fictions. Thank you!
It would be great to have a link to the other parts linked to this piece.
Very nice work! Appreciated!
Cynthia,
Thanks for the workup on Huxley and his relationship with J Krishnamurti (K). I spent some time in Ojai and did some work with the Krishnamurti Foundation of America (KFA) as a consultant. When I hear that enlightenment is obtained without effort which K and others have said- I have a sense of comfort and willingness to explore what exactly that means to me in my life. What struck me on a deep level was K's use of questions when communicating with people- one in particular goes something like this: Are you living in the present or are you using a mental model, past experience, family, bias, or running some video or memory to guide your life?. This type of question is of extreme importance since it is simply asking are you here with an open mind and heart, listening and acting without some preconceived notion.
Further K's thing- that no effort is required resonates with me- since it does not require some formula, 5 to 12 steps, or so-called holy passages written (primarily) by men and used to conquer most of the world. Talk about the occult- what has organized religion done for the world and in particular tribal people. Think about all the death, genocide and destruction of the earth done in the name of some god or gods or some book. This to me is hell on earth. When I was a teenager my parent took us on a summer vacation to Yosemite. We entered the valley through a tunnel from Fresno. There is a turnout- and there you see 5 magnificent waterfalls, half dome, El Capitan and the valley. My thought was "this is heaven- it is alive." The Modoc tribe to this day revere this place and believe that their responsibility is to care for this place (their home land).
Back to K and KFA- I came across Annie Besant and the Theosophical Society but it was not openly talked about and never the main theme of any workshop on dialogue. However, I did find that people working with the foundation were in a mental rut and would not speak up or talk about issues facing the organization. After leading a mixed group of people for over a year they refused to complete a scenario planning project and were not willing to present their findings to the board. We repeatedly told them at this was not an attack on the board but merely a presentation of findings that may help in their planning process! They refused to move and one person said I could never present this to the board...I found these same type of behavioral responses from another non-profit school (elementary)- the group I worked with was composed on staff, board members and parents. In fact in both organization there was behavior the was routinely loud and devious. Board of Directors for the KFA are not held accountable for their action and not required to bring any skills and abilities to the group- all holding on to K's apron strings!
Occult- there are things that we experience that are out of the ordinary and some might become frightened- but why? There is more to this life then many people think- heck try farming organically for a year and you will experience the magic and the intelligence of the universe and know that you are just along the ride and are not some omnipresent being. A seed, dirt, water, sun, etc. do all the work when accordance to their own plan and really you don't control much!
With regard to drugs and other methods for mind expansion- nothing was never offered, used or suggested in any venue... Concerning enlightenment- I think K talked about this state being temporary and to date that has been my experience.
Another thing that has been a challenge for me as you mentioned is the notion of effort and maybe this what keeps many of K's followers in a static state- they only want to push his works! I think we live karma to karma- each action leads to the next. Being a practioneer of sorts I have integrated various concepts and ideas from others into my work- and of course sometimes things work but most of the time changes and rework is necessary. For me it's been about finding a passion and then going completely into it...Low and behold as life goes on doors open and we choose whether or not to enter.
cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ
guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ
tasya kartāram api māṁ
viddhy akartāram avyayam
Synonyms
cātuḥ-varṇyam — the four divisions of human society; mayā — by Me; sṛṣṭam — created; guṇa — of quality; karma — and work; vibhāgaśaḥ — in terms of division; tasya — of that; kartāram — the father; api — although; mām — Me; viddhi — you may know; akartāram — as the nondoer; avyayam — unchangeable.
Translation
According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me. And although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the nondoer, being unchangeable.
Purport
The Lord is the creator of everything. Everything is born of Him, everything is sustained by Him, and everything, after annihilation, rests in Him. He is therefore the creator of the four divisions of the social order, beginning with the intelligent class of men, technically called brāhmaṇas due to their being situated in the mode of goodness. Next is the administrative class, technically called the kṣatriyas due to their being situated in the mode of passion. The mercantile men, called the vaiśyas, are situated in the mixed modes of passion and ignorance, and the śūdras, or laborer class, are situated in the ignorant mode of material nature. In spite of His creating the four divisions of human society, Lord Kṛṣṇa does not belong to any of these divisions, because He is not one of the conditioned souls, a section of whom form human society. Human society is similar to any other animal society, but to elevate men from the animal status, the above-mentioned divisions are created by the Lord for the systematic development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The tendency of a particular man toward work is determined by the modes of material nature which he has acquired. Such symptoms of life, according to the different modes of material nature, are described in the Eighteenth Chapter of this book. A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, is above even the brāhmaṇas. Although brāhmaṇas by quality are supposed to know about Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth, most of them approach only the impersonal Brahman manifestation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. But a man who transcends the limited knowledge of a brāhmaṇa and reaches the knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, becomes a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness – or, in other words, a Vaiṣṇava. Kṛṣṇa consciousness includes knowledge of all different plenary expansions of Kṛṣṇa, namely Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha, etc. And as Kṛṣṇa is transcendental to this system of the four divisions of human society, a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is also transcendental to all divisions of human society, whether we consider the divisions of community, nation or species.
The original system, known properly as VarnAshram Dharma, is (was) based on qualities & work (guna & karma), Not by birth (janma). It is my personal suspicion that this little addition (birthright) was added by ...'guess who'?