One in the south (the fourth parable)

One in the south (the fourth parable)

by Raj Arumugam (Director, www.ttscourses.com.au )

Another stops one as one passes through the south, and the another says, I know all about J.Krishnamurti.

One nods.

This, says another one meets in the south, is exactly what we have said. J.Krishnamurti says what we have always known from our beginnings; he says what our great leaders always say and what our Founder said.

One nods.

Therefore take this, another says, pushing packets and boxes towards one, you will see how we say it even better.

One nods. One says, I am just passing through, and one moves on.

One in the west (the third parable)

One in the west (the third parable)

by Raj Arumugam (Director, www.ttscourses.com.au )

One goes west.
And one is received by a delegation of another.

They welcome one and have one seated at a table.
We are pleased to present you, says the delegation of another, this book which has all the answers. Everything that is anywhere else is in here; and all things that are not anywhere else are all here. So this is complete.

And the delegation of another pauses for dramatic effect.
 

All things have been worked out. The plan; the system; what you must do; how many times things have to be done. All things. There is no need for anything else.
And again the delegation pauses.
And read it. And then listen to our talks; and then our Guides and our Leader will make all things certain. Everything is done for you. All our contact details are in there. Take it.

One gently pushes the book back to the delegation. One stands up, bows and departs.

You are a fool! the delegation shouts. Everything is done for you, and offered to you on a silver platter, and yet you refuse! You are a fool!

One in the north (the second parable)

One in the north (the second parable)

by Raj Arumugam (Director, www.ttscourses.com.au )

And one goes north.
One meets another.

Another looks pleased. Another is happy to see one.

Ah, another says. It is good to see you.
One nods.
It is good to see a friend in J.Krishnamurti, says another.
One nods.

Another paraphrases his knowledge:

You know how he speaks against religions. How he speaks against authority. I love it when he criticizes them. When he says how hollow they are. How violent they are. How hypocritical… How one should not and need not belong to an organization. Shows how organizations are corrupt. How bad they are…

One says:
Is that an inner revolution are you simply using your knowledge in an ongoing rebellion against your mum and dad?

One in the east (the first parable)

One in the east  (the first parable)

by Raj Arumugam (Director, www.ttscourses.com.au )

And one goes east.
And one meets another.

Another says, I have no guru.
One nods.
Another says, I am free.
One nods.
Another says, You know, in Lecture 2228AXK, J.Krishnamurti says…
One nods.

Another continues, He is the greatest philosopher who has lived in recent history…
One nods.
Another says, He speaks of the stream and time…
One nods.
Another says, And also J.Krishnamurti says…
One nods.

Another continues:
And in Lecture 235SRF, J.Krishnamurti says…
And he also said this…and this he did…

Tell me, says one to another. I thought you said you have no guru. But you speak like you do. 

The magician: a parable

The magician: a parable

by Raj Arumugam (Director, www.ttscourses.com.au )

So this magician comes to this one and says: Would you like to play?

Yes, says one.

We’ll play chimera, says the magician. I’ll huff and puff, and you’ll change and change.

Sounds fun, says one.

And so the magician huffs and puffs.

And the one becomes Michael.

And then the magician huffs and puffs.

And the one becomes Susan.

And then the magician huffs and puffs again.

And one becomes Chinese. And later one becomes French. One becomes Italian. One becomes Russian. One becomes this. And that.

And the games goes on as the magician huffs and puffs and the one seems to change and change with every huff and puff: now the one is Indian; and then German; and then black and then white, and then one seems to exist in different worlds and in different forms and with different names, and so the game goes on.

STOP! says one . I’m tired of this. Enough. What’s all this about? What am I? What’s my real name?

I’ll explain, said the magician.

No, says the one. I’ve had enough of you. I’ll do it myself. It’s not the explanation I want – I want to see for myself.

And the magician does his last trick – he disappears.

And the one observes without any word. The one sees for oneself.

Game over.

The Primordial Leviathan: a parable

The Primordial Leviathan: a parable
Raj Arumugam (Director – TTS )
www.ttscourses.com.au

There is one before us.
Can you see this one?

See, one crawls and grows on all fours.
One only sees now the ground, the grass before one, and the pebbles within one’s view.
One crawls and grows. One also crawls and growls.

One stands on two now. One looks around. One’s view is expanded. One looks around farther and one looks up.

There before one is the unwieldy mass – gargantuan, spectacular; frightening, seductive, layer upon layer and thick… a mammoth pile, like the carcass of the largest dinosaur one can envision…the carcass still warm.

One sees its immense expanse; its profound depth; no one can carry or lift it, but any one can sense its immense weight. Its depths seem infinite…it seems to stretch on forever and forever… Where does one start to view it? Where does it end?

One stands before it and it seems to move. It is never static: it moves, and it changes its shapes. In one section it appears magnificent, beautiful and then from another angle it is haggard and ugly. In one section it appears to be benevolent and yet, viewing it from another corner, one sees its depravity, its ugliness.

It is forever changing.
Then one spots a sort of peephole. One places one’s eyes close to the leviathan, one eye at the peephole, and one sees all manner of peoples, all customs and protocol, and all rituals and procedures. There are all languages and all manner of magic and miracles. One places one’s ears at the softer section of the leviathan’s belly and one hears music and singing, and a grand chorus; and yet comes the cacophony of men and women in anguish and pain, and there are screams and vulgarity, and harshness and barbarity.

Everything is there that one can see and hear. That one can feel and imagine.
And one crawls before the gargantuan.
It changes form, it changes its shapes; it changes dimensions if one stands to see it; it is different if one sits to see it – and yet again, altogether something else if one crawls to view it.

And then one sees others sitting in their sofas, sitting comfortably like a family in their living room, complacent, happy and feeling satisfied after dinner, watching their favourite TV show. In their sacred time.

And they are all happy. But the one we see is not.
One does not understand. But they seem to have got it.
They seem to understand it all. There is no contradiction. Their smiles say it. There is no violence. Their contented looks say it. There are no questions. Their relaxed countenances express it all. They understand; they know it all. They are satisfied.

But one does not know. One is confused.
Again one explores the gargantuan mass. One turns round and round its bends and then comes to a corner.
There is a sort of side to this weighty and mystical body.
There is a label.
It says…no, it is an ancient label and its words are faded…but one tries hard to read it and it says: MADE IN…But one cannot read the last word. It is completely blackened out with the soot of time.
One cannot read that last word.

MADE IN…

But it could have been made anywhere. It could have been made in China. In the ancient savannahs and caves. It could have been made in Mesopotamia. In Ur. It could have been created in England. It could have been engineered in Germany. It could have been made in Japan. In India…one can’t tell…It could have been made anywhere.

And as one ponders this, as one thinks about that last word, one thinks to oneself: Perhaps this was deliberate. It could have been made anywhere.One then understands this gargantuan.
One moves back.
Then one pulls at the label.
Just pulls at it.
It comes off like a band-aid on an infected finger.
The mass loses shape. Like a balloon losing all its air. The leviathan loses its weight. It loses all its immensity. Its depth and its history. It loses all its space and time, and its past and its images, and all its immensity and pomposity. Like a deflated balloon below a tree in a park. Punctured and useless.
One understands. One has seen it now.
One does not crawl anymore. One does not groan anymore. One sees.

Raj Arumugam ( Director, TTS)
www.ttscourses.com.au

Being with the emotion – no opposites

Raj Arumugam (Director – TTS )
www.ttscourses.com.au

2 July 2007

Recently I read online an interesting article entitled GIVING VOICE TO ANGER (theage.com.au (22 June 2007)). It has a very interesting relationship to observing what is, which we have spoken of time and again in this blog.

Let me provide a summary of the article before we discuss its implications:

The brief REUTERS report speaks about an experiment conducted by Matthew Lieberman, and other brain researchers, presumably in Chicago, USA. Participants in the experiment were shown pictures of faces with strong emotions. They were then asked to categorize the feelings with words like angry, sad, etc. Or they could simply choose between two gender-specific names like Tom and Sally – whichever each participant felt matched the face.

And what were the findings? At least two are mentioned in the report:

Putting feelings into words makes sadness and anger less intense…

…talking about negative feelings activates a part of the brain responsible for impulse control.

The main idea seems to be that when participants chose an emotion word rather than a name word, the emotion seems to become less intense. This, it would seem from this short report, is the work of the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, part of the brain that controls impulses.  

---

This idea, it appears to me – and I’d certainly like to be corrected, if I’m wrong, by visitors to the blog – is quite contrary to what J.Krishnamurti proposes.Let’s look into this in the context of observing what is.First, in everyday life, we know that talking about our strong feelings like our grief or anger can help make these emotions less intense, as the researchers found. This is a common practice.But in observing what is (and Buddhists may very well point out it is the same in Buddhist practices of mindfulness) one does not categorize the emotion. One does not label what is. One observes the emotion, one stays with the emotion to see the structure of that feeling. There is no judgment; there are no labels. (Please, I’m quite earnest when I say that I’d certainly like to be corrected if I’m wrong.)There is another significant difference between the two – between observing what is and the method of the researchers (or the common practice of talking about our emotions to a friend or to a therapist). In observing what is there is no impulse control; there is no putting on the brakes as the report suggests is a result of the method used by the brain researchers. In observing, there is no conflict. One simply is with the emotion, one simply observes the emotion, as one might simply observe the sky or the ocean. There is no restraining mechanism that comes into play and there is no conflict.

Visitors will recall that one also does not replace hate with love, or violence with non-violence. One simply observes what is. The strong emotion therefore does not simply become less intense, but as in the examples of the Buddha and J.Krishnamurti, by all accounts, these strong emotions have no longer any hold on one. The last seven words may not constitute an apt phrase, but, it appears, that such emotions have no longer any hold on one is the direct consequence in observing what is. After all, can you imagine or think of the Tathagata (the Buddha) or J.Krishnamurti in anger or in grief? Or perhaps in less intense states of anger or grief?

Raj Arumugam ( Director, TTS)
www.ttscourses.com.au

A mind so full

Raj Arumugam (Director – TTS www.ttsworld.com.au )

1-9 June 2007

It’s a mind so full all these days, so preoccupied with the demands of the world at work, one can only catch glimpses of the order J.Krishnamurti speaks of.
One can ensure there is organization and order at work and in the schedules and agendas and tasks, but work and things as they turn out with the all the challenges and surprises and twists can be so consuming one can almost have no energy left for order, the order of the observing mind, Krishnamurti’s order.

There are glimpses:

*
There is a moment of rest as one waits. One sits in a couch. Arms gently on the armrests. There is a slowing down. A deliberate slowing down. Slow down, one whispers. Slow…A quiet.
There is a clamour in the mind. The clamour of ideas. The chaos of scheduled tasks. The shout of urgency. And impatience. Just observe. After all, things are on schedule. Everything within control and planned for. Slow. Quiet…There is a clarity. Just the breath. Slow. In and out. Thoughts exit. Quiet. There is a clarity…Just being there…just observing…

*
It’s evening. One returns after a regular brisk walk. The sun sets. Thick dark clouds hang directly before one and in the distance there are still crimson rays of the sun. Without much movement, without jerkiness, one observes. The clouds…the darkness. The light behind those clouds…the shape of the clouds…just observing…no comment on its beauty or grandeur…just observing… hunger stirs…one goes, nothing registered…

Working hard

Raj Arumugam (Director – TTS www.ttsworld.com.au )

9-14 May

It has been a busy week of meetings and deadlines – and while one can do one’s work effectively and well enough, the mind does get crowded with thoughts and it has been difficult to sit, to be still inwardly and outwardly – and just observe.

Wednesday, 10 May

There have been two attempts to just observe, as one sits or walks. There is a clamor of thoughts, and even though one can have all things organized, the sheer speed at which things can happen and the urgency at which the workaday details can ricochet within one seems to prevent stillness. One observes, thoughts subside, one focuses on just observing, without judgment or history – but almost as swiftly as lightning, the intensity of happenings strikes at the quiet and stillness.

Thursday –Sunday, 11-13 May

There are more days and occasions when the stillness cannot be maintained.

Some of the intensity subsides though, as one persists and observes. Various thoughts and the urgency and intensity stand before one’s mind and one understands their nature. If not completely, some parts of it at least.

J.Krishnamurti and Methods for meditation

Are there methods for meditation? A system perhaps?

Raj Arumugam (Director – TTS www.ttsworld.com.au )

Even someone new to J.Krishnamurti’s ideas will know that J.Krishnamurti does not advocate the idea of a formula or a method in meditation.
For example, he says:
If you deliberately take an attitude, a posture, in order to meditate, then it becomes a plaything, a toy of the mind.

J.Krishnamurti is very clear about developing a method or system or even a practice: he does not think they lead to the freedom he is talking about. Why? Because, as J.Krishnamurti says:

The purpose and meaning of meditation given by thought becomes a time-binding bondage

And of course, we know, anything that is time-binding creates pain and sorrow.

So one is almost driven to despair:
So I agree with these ideas of J.Krishnamurti. This is what I have been thinking about all the while and what I have been feeling deep inside me. I understand his point about treating the situation with a sense of urgency. As one might be if caught inside a burning house. And so what do I do? Just observe?

But one need not despair.
Scattered throughout J.Krishnamurti’s writing are hints and instructions on what one could do.
So really there is no need to despair. But at the outset one must remind oneself – and I remind myself very often – that one must not make a path, a method of this; one must not let this evolve into a rigid personal method.

Every meditation – if it is possible to demarcate one from the other – must be fresh, new, living. One does not link one to the other.
With this warning to myself and to the reader, here is one hint or idea that J.Krishnamurti offers to a visitor who has come to seek clarification about silence:

Sit, sometime, on the bank of a river and look into the water. Don’t be hypnotized by the movement of the water, by the light, the clarity and the depth of the stream. Look at it without any movement of thought. The silence is all round you, in you, in the river, and in those trees that are utterly still. You can’t take it back home, hold it in your mind or your hand and think you have achieved some extraordinary state. If you have, then it is not silence; then it is merely a memory, an imagining, a romantic escape from the daily noise of life.
- The Only Revolution, J.Krishnamurti

One may argue that this is something that creative people like artists and musicians and poets might already have used – and continue to use. One may point to William Wordsworth, for example. But one should read again carefully what J.Krishanmurti warns about not taking it home and consider what William Wordsworth did with the silence that he seems to have had a glimpse of.

But really, I think, one should not be driven into so much nervousness about J.Krishnamurti’s warning that one does not dare try it.
Just try it.