J Krishnamurti And Educational Practice

First in the series on Education and Society in South Asia, this volume focuses on the educational thought of a world-renowned teacher, thinker, and writer—Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986). This edited volume examines Krishnamurti’s work and explores his contemporary relevance in educational endeavours and practices in different parts of the country. The contributors to the volume argue that Krishnamurti sought to change the way education is perceived, from the mere teaching of curriculum into a life-changing experience of learning from relationships and life. Through a range of essays that address diverse issues and themes, the contributors seek to uncover the practices and processes at some of the institutions that Krishnamurti established in different parts of rural and urban India. These include essays on curriculum building, inclusive education, pedagogy, debates on educational philosophy and practice, and teacher education. They help bring out the barriers and breakthroughs in the educational processes as practiced in these schools and how they may further be applied to other educational institutions.

Teacher, thinker, writer, and speaker, J. Krishnamurti (1895–1986) was an Indian educationist, spiritual leader, and key figure in world philosophy. He raised significant questions about the state of the world, about our tendency to remain passive, conditioned, and in a state of overwhelming confusion about how we relate to the world. Through talks and writings spread over many decades and geographical locations, he articulated an unconditioned, reflective approach which emphasised self-inquiry. This volume provides an understanding of Krishnamurti’s views on the human predicament in a disintegrating world, marked by conflict, divisions, wars, and climate change. It also examines his educational thought and its enormous potential for change. Krishnamurti argued that our minds are so conditioned that we are unable to look, listen, or learn without our prior knowledge that foregrounds the role of memory and time. He highlighted the need to work with young children, with a special focus on the school as the centrepiece of his perception for psychological development and educational excellence. It is within an educational setting that Krishnamurti hoped that the seeds for individual and social change will be catalysed. An introspective look at the life and legacy of an eminent twentieth century thinker, this volume will be of great interest to students and researchers of philosophy, education, religion and spirituality, South Asia studies, modern history, and the social sciences.

Insights into Education presents the educational philosophy of J. Krishnamurti in an easy to use, topic-based format. It is a practical handbook that comes alive when used as an introduction to group investigation and dialogue. What it offers to teachers everywhere is an inroad into the many matters of concern with which they are faced on a daily basis. That we cannot continue as we have been doing, with rote-learning, fact-finding, and a modicum of analysis as the building blocks of education, is obvious to anyone who is at all concerned with teaching and learning in a world with accelerating technological advancement, alienation, and despair. It is these very issues that are tackled here, sometimes implicitly but always at depth. What Krishnamurti proposes, and here discloses, is a different approach to learning altogether, one that distinguishes itself radically from what we normally understand by that term: the accumulation of knowledge, with its application and testing. By narrowing down our understanding to the pragmatic and the measurable, we forfeit the opportunity to probe deeply and to awaken intelligence in our students and in ourselves. What is meant by intelligence in this context is not the capacity to memorize and measure, but that subtler ability to see the whole which comes alive in a human being when he/she sees the limits of the measurable. To awaken this intelligence is the goal of education. When KrishnamurtiÕs Notebook first became available in 1976, it was soon realized that it was a spiritually unique document giving his perceptions and experiences and describing his states of consciousness. It is a kind of diary but one that is little concerned with the day to day process of living, though very much aware of the natural world.

Krishnamurti portrays education as the tool created to help a person become happy. Yet, such a tool doesn't function as it is used by modern society inappropriately. The author encourages the reader to think whether education should have purely materialistic goals, such as earning one's living, or it needs to help the young person understand the whole life process. The author supports the second variant and provides deep and comprehensive reasoning for his views. He concludes that getting the education only building a career and fit into the traditional model of social roles does not bring happiness to a person.

Among the most famous visionaries of our times, J. Krishnamurti (1895–1986) continues to transform thought, lifestyles, and education across continents more than three decades after his death. In this new biography, tracing the nine long decades of his life, from his growing-up years, his relationships to his writings and talks, Roshen Dalal provides a much-needed corrective – an objective and balanced view of his legacy. Adopted by Theosophists at the age of fourteen, and proclaimed a world teacher and messiah, in 1929, Krishnamurti dissolved the Order of the Star created for him and went on to develop his own philosophy. What is it about his ideas that draws the following of generations of people? Delivered to a divided world then, what makes his message so relevant now? While his ideas on education are idealistic, why do they continue to be everlasting in their contribution and appeal? Krishnamurti’s vision is of a world without boundaries or wars, a world where compassion and goodness predominate, and his message is that such a world can be arrived at only through individual transformation.B24 There is no direct path to transformation, yet through intense perception and understanding, it is possible to achieve this goal. Carefully reconstructing the events and extracting the essence of his talks, Dalal dispels several myths, explains his teachings, and reveals the underlying theosophical and occult influence in Krishnamurti’s life. Here is the most complete biography yet, of one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century.

Not long ago a world renowned sage sought to revolutionize the world of education. He brought insight to many of the intractable problems that continue to plague our institutions of learning. From the outset, his ideas were at odds with the prevailing educational values and practices. His books and talks stirred debate. However, after his death in 1986 his work was largely ignored and the full impact of his contribution was left unrealized. This controversial sage was one J. Krishnamurti; an uncompromising, iconoclast whose educational vision awaits rediscovery. With the book; Revolutionary Minds, The Educational Vision of J. Krishnamurti and Its Practice, that wait is over. Revolutionary Minds lays out the core of Krishnamurti's educational approach and offers a path to implementation. Written for teachers, parents and student of education, Revolutionary Minds explores Krishnamurti's central assertion that education is a matter of "awakening intelligence" and that such an awakening can only come about when the process of inquiry is valued above all else. The book spells out the conditions for nurturing a deeply inquisitive mind, a mind that's capable of not just academic excellence, but self-discovery and ultimately the creation of a new kind of society. Revolutionary Minds is a combination of pedagogical theory, research in the cognitive sciences and a firsthand understanding of Krishnamurti's educational vision. The result is both a critique of our current approach to education as well as a bold re-framing of the meaning and practice of teaching.

The teacher probes the Western problems of conformity and loss of personal values while offering a fresh approach to self-understanding and the meaning of personal freedom and mature love.