Editorial
Education as Awareness: The Educational Philosophy of J. Krishnamurti
Pages: 1-10
I am delighted to present this special issue on Jiddu Krishnamurti for the readers of the Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning.
Ashwani Kumar
Krishnamurti and Transforming the World’s Mind
Pages: 11-29
Abstract:
For this article, I have adapted a talk I gave for an online conference centering around Jiddu Krishnamurti’s scholarship to address the theme of “a world in crisis.” I share a narrative of my experience discovering Krishnamurti’s work by way of introducing the idea of innate human intelligence as distinct from the mind-led intellect. This distinction is critical to our understanding of how we perceive the world, demonstrating that there are two ways of knowing: one is conceptual, and one is actual, we could say, or beyond concepts.
Kathryn Jefferies, PhD
Mutual Futures: A Conversation Between Krishnamurti and Deloria
Pages: 30-60
Abstract:
In this article, the author offers a reading of selected works by Jiddu Krishnamurti and Vine Deloria Jr., discussing their intersections and tensions. Both Krishnamurti and Deloria were public intellectuals fundamentally concerned with human liberation, but they approached that liberation in ways that might be perceived as mutually exclusive. This perceived mutual exclusivity, however, is often based in readings of Indigenous sovereignty as a project of recognition by settler states rather than as a project of refusing those same settler states. When sovereignty is understood as emanating from a relational Indigenous worldview, there is alignment within the thinking of Krishnamurti and Deloria and, more broadly, the possibility for a future of mutuality between Indigenous and diasporic peoples.
Adrian M. Downey
Learning from “What-is”: Resonances with Krishnamurti’s Pedagogy
Pages: 61-93
Abstract:
Using a personal life narrative, I present how my approach to education developed. Although I have had many influences, here I highlight how aspects of my insights align with the teachings of Jiddu Krishnamurti. These are not incidental, because I once worked at a Krishnamurti school and conducted academic studies of Krishnamurti’s teachings. Therefore, resonances between such life experiences and how I approach education are inevitable. In synchronicity with Krishnamurti’s approach is my understanding that life is the universal teacher, the world itself the ultimate school, and we are perennially students. However, if one can realize that the nexus for all these is the reality of the present moment, the “what-is,” learning is optimized. Dropping our attachments to what we have already learned, or what we might achieve, offers us the freedom to explore what is unfolding around and within us at each moment.
Hillary Rodrigues
Book Review: The Future of Humanity
Pages: 94-104
Abstract:
If one is wondering how to really create change in the world, then The Future of Humanity (1986) is a great place to start. It showcases two dialogues between Indian educator and philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti and theoretical physicist David Bohm. In the review of this book, the author explores why this tiny, short book is so powerful, especially for those with questions and concerns about formal education systems as they exist today, and the future of the world itself.
Laurie Cook