It is interesting to read what people have to say about alternative, progressive, creative and holistic education. Discursive inquiry sustains children‘s interest in many questions raised by individuals and society.

For me the challenge posed by Krishnaji's inquiry was to observe the impact of labels and conditioning on the mind. He indicated that words and labels are pointers directing us where to observe. This made it evident that observation transcends words. This observation is open to the whole of life, which is fully manifest in the world and under no obligation to fit into the context of the self.

I came upon a sense of self in the movement of thought after Krishnaji asked "Who is this I?" Everyone implied that I had an authentic self, but in trying to pin it down I could find little more than a memory to hang that label on. I was just seven years old, but from this insight I realized that the movement of thought could be observed, which was fascinating.

By reflecting and thinking things through, the brain begins to appreciate the merit of being attentive. It learns to keep track of the habit of subscribing to the authority of the known in order to make sense of things. But why make sense of anything, when one can sense it? I can still recall the feeling of independence when I first shrugged off the demand to make sense of things. In observing the impact of labels on the mind, we may see that life is unfolding and observable from moment to moment and does not have to conform to our ideas or descriptions of it.

This kind of inquiry leads to an awareness of there being a pressure to get things right by accommodating all information within the context of what is already known. This becomes an intense preoccupation that keeps getting in the way of intelligence, of simply seeing things wholly and directly. As I understand it, this loss of the capacity to see is the impact of conditioning which Krishnaji was asking us to investigate together.

"Surely what is, far outweighs what was!" This was an insight I had at the age of nine. Consequently, knowledge and imagination became the subject of an inquisitive and tireless scrutiny. Such an orientation towards learning is based on the fact that awareness precedes interpretation. This frees the brain from the innate compulsion to uphold what is known. It sets it free to relate empathically and authentically with what is. This is the radical awakening that is facilitated by holistic education.

Holistic education points to the fact that what is can be observed. Life exists. Why recall life in order to verify existence? Why uphold truth when we can behold it? This undermines the authority of the known and liberates intelligence. The brain does not feel obligated to jump to the defense of self-centered existence and begins to perceive the great merit of acting on behalf of life as a whole. The individual falls into place and the whole community benefits.

Krishnamurti's experiment with holistic education proves that it is up to the community to educate children to live creatively by exercising their intelligence, rather than making children subservient to the content and structures created by thought and secured by institutions. He initiated us to a process of inquiry which looks beyond labels, blasts the center and enables the brain to appreciate its capacity for intelligence as a whole!

In my posts I will continue to explore the role of discursive enquiry in listing the mind towards learning rather than merely being satisfied with knowing from the early years.