Wrestling News

Last week I read about half of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - and it's not often you can say that! I was struck by what a powerful literary and philosophical work it is.

Take for example the great debate of the sages in Chapter III, where Yajynavalkya drives away the cows offered to the wisest sage, and then says, "I bow to whoever is the wisest; I wanted the cows". The other Brahmins then interrogate Yajnyavalkya, each testing him to see whether he knows about their particular brand of knowledge. Some get a direct answer; some questions are refused an answer; in one fascinating exchange Yajnyavalkya admits that he does not know the answer, and invites the questioner to accompany him outside to discuss it. Shakalya, evidently a stalking-horse for the traditionalist, pursues Yajnyavalkya endlessly. Yajnyavalkya asks him whether the Vedic priests intend him to be their fire-tongs - a tool to handle the dangerous philosopher. The implication is that the priest is getting himself burnt. It's a clash of cultures and philosophies, a fight to the death.

Without telling you what happens, I'd like to encourage anyone interested in philosophical "wrestling matches" to read it for themselves. Also the discussion between Gargya and Ajatashastru. For good measure, the conversation between Janaka and Yajnyavalkya (Chapter IV.i) in which the latter dismisses the knowledge of all Janaka's teachers as merely conventional. Janaka is continually delighted with Yajnyavalkya's teaching, and offers him fabulous wealth, but every time he replies, "My father was of the opinion that one should not accept wealth from a disciple without fully instructing him". Even at the end of the discussion, Yajnyavalkya repeats this.

These dialogues were written by someone who knew not only philosophy, but life and humanity. They are works of art. Such a thing could be written today, but not in a vacuum. The Brihadaranyaka must have appeared in a time when philosophical discussion and speculation was at its height. If we could re-create that atmosphere, original and relevant modern philosophy would follow.

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Change of Title

This is the third version of this blog. Originally it was to be narrated by Shantananda from the afterlife. I thought that I'd heard once that he had taken a sankalpa that the School would reach realization, and that therefore we should "Free His Holiness" by understanding his teaching better. He would be unable to merge with the Absolute until we did. Later I found the source of that (1982), and it turned out that Mr MacLaren had taken the resolution, while His Holiness offered his support as a man of nisankalpa. Which of course makes more sense.

So the title now is "Free the Teaching".

Free it from the bonds of our preconceptions - let it go free and free the School from the past. Let us find, as Adi Shankara says, "a just and honest relation with and in the world".

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Wrasslin'

Among the many hints dropped by His Holiness about how a spiritual organization should be run, one of the clearest is his analogy of the wrestlers. I'd like to quote it in full, but can't find my copy of 1965 at the moment - I think that's the source of it.

The essence is that in India, there are men who take part in wrestling matches. When they get to a certain age, they are too old for wrestling, so they retire from that and take up training others and organising the bouts. When they are too old for even that, they just enjoy watching the bouts.

How should this be applied to a School - as His Holiness intends us to do? It seems to speak in some way of the progress of an individual on the path. There are spiritual activities suited to the young; to the middle-aged; and to the old. All of them relate to the spiritual path, but they are different. (In the case of someone who is self-realised, presumably the rules don't apply, but since no-one in the School seems to come into that category, it's not an issue.)

In any organization, generational change can be positive or negative. If it is a wise organization, the change will be managed wisely, so that the vigour of the young is harnessed to the general good, the experience of the middle-aged is available, and the wisdom of the old is respected.

The present difficulties St James is suffering are a way of looking at this to see whether we have applied it in practice. There is a strong generational divide that exists between the complainants (now in their 20s and 30s) and the Governors and teachers. Had the Governors seen fit to involve people who were at school with the complainants, many of the problems would have been avoided altogether. Why? Because those people know what happened. No-one in a truly responsible position at St James attended the schools themselves.

So there we have it: the wrestling is still being done by the middle aged, and even the old, while the young sit and watch, increasingly unimpressed. Creaking bodies and shaky reasoning continue to be upheld as the ideal.

If you think about it, if the School's claims to strengthen reason and foster philosophy are true, then those that received its benefits from the beginning (and are now pushing 40) should now be running the organization. On the other hand, those that came to it at a more advanced age should be glad to hand over the responsbility. This has not happened. The old have hung on to their old parts, long after some of them ought to have retired.

That is not to say, of course, that all the younger people in the School have to be put in charge. No. What we need are traditional wrestling matches, in which reason is allowed to play. It may or may not be the young who turn out to be the wisest. But we will never know unless we try. At the moment, every formal School gathering is designed such that the person in the chair is the source of wisdom. It's as if we have turned our wrestling into theatre, with the outcome decided in advance. That, I would submit, is not traditional. It is not philosophical. It is not reasonable.

It's just WWF wrestling, without the tights and capes.

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It's too complicated!

Some people have commented that the technical barriers to posting here are a problem.

OK, you can either:

- log in, and add a COMMENT (click on the "comment" link below)
- OR, click on "View my complete profile" on the right, and click on "Email" to send Vayukesha a mail

I will happily add your post to the blog, or if you prefer will add on a comment for you. You can stay anonymous or you can use your real name, as you prefer.

That's it.

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The Eden Project

It's not often that you come across anything truly special. Usually, it's old, because it doesn't happen often and when it does people do everything they can to preserve it. Sometimes a new thing appears that's special - like the Globe Theatre. Of course, it's a recreation of something old; but the theatrical productions there are fresher than anything I've seen elsewhere. The Eden Project is both new and special. I'm not sure I can do it justice, but this picture gives a sense of what it physically looks like. Everything about the place is artistic, imaginative and compelling.

I mention this not to persuade you to make a trip to Cornwall (although you should), but because when I was there this week, I kept being struck by what a model of education the place is. This makes it relevant to the question at hand. This is the statement posted up outside:

if you believe there should be a place ...

That celebrates life and puts champagne in the veins
Is all about education but doesn't feel like school
To hold conversations that might just go somewhere
Where research isn't just white coats in secret but shared exploration to help us all.
That's a sanctuary for all those who think the future too precious to leave to politics ... because it belongs to us

Then welcome

That's why we built this place and that's where the money goes.

Well - what about that as a statement? Now that's a School. If we were to make a similar statement, what would it be?

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The 'Via Negativa'

There are traditionally two ways to reach God in the Western tradition, known as the via negativa and via positiva. The latter proceeds by praising the qualities of the Lord, and corresponds to a devotional path. The former works with the denial of all qualities, and corresponds to the intellectual path. These two ways are reflected in the Indian system of Bhakti and Jnana Yoga; the third way of Karma Yoga is not considered here.

There is an interesting point to make here about the negative way of knowledge, which is that it is characterised more by denial than by affirmation. Therefore, a School of Philosophy (which will have a natural bent towards knowledge) will often be making negative statements about things. This may sound rather mystical, but really it's simple enough. When His Holiness speaks about things, he generally states not only what they are, but also what they are not.

So, for example, when he describes the Way of Love, he makes the startling and unsettling remark that "love cannot see reason. And it never will"; and that "the establishment of truth is not essential on the way of love". This kind of statement can only be made by someone who really knows. It's easy to make positive remarks that sound kinda right; but it takes wisdom to state the negative.

The familiar story of the ten travellers whose boat is upset in mid stream relates to this. It is usually interpreted as a comment on the intangible nature of one's Self - we notice everyone else, but forget the Self. But what kind of Self is it we have forgotten? After all, one would normally feel highly conscious of oneself, and forget others. Clearly, the story is not about the ahankara. What it is about is self-examination. We examine others - that's easy - but we forget to look at ourselves. The point is brought home in an unusual retelling by His Holiness - quoted in the material given to the Senior groups of late - in which he interprets it as being about the ten philosophies.

Traditionally, in India, there are ten philosophies, ranging from the "Philosophy of the World" to Advaita Vedanta. But the point His Holiness makes here is not that one philosophy is more superior than any other, but that the proponents of each see only the flaws and weaknesses in all the others, and forget to look at their own assumptions. The true philosopher may have a 'point of view' - "Darshana" or 'view' is the word for philosophy - but he or she will be aware of having a point of view. The immature philosopher, on the other hand, believes that his or her philosophy is "The Truth", and so never looks critically at it.

Is this heretical? To some, perhaps it has that appearance. But to real philosophy, the only heresy is the inability to question limited knowledge. All philosophy that can be understood by a human mind is of necessity limited. That is what the via negativa tells us. To speak of "The Truth" is all right for the devotional person, but let us not forget, for the devotional person, truth is not really important.

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Vayukesha is Away

I'm on holiday this week and so the conversation will have to go on in my absence ...

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Ubuntu Speaks

I, too, have been posting for some time on the whyaretheydead site with the aim of dissolving some of the anger and forging an understanding of common humanity. To the extent that former St Vedast and St James pupils respond in civilised terms is one measure of success.

It's tempting - but fatal - to adopt any kind of position, or to lay out one's stall (as some School members have done) because it will soon get knocked down and the contributor then retires bruised and bewildered. Rather more helpful is a willingness to abandon preconceived ideas about former pupils and to meet their concerns with a loving sympathy and occasional firmness.

These children - now adults - were undoubtedly injured by their school experiences and it ill behoves School members to hide their heads in the sand. Like you, I feel contrition even though, like you, I can't remember any instance when I mistreated a child.

I contributed to the Townend inquiry and the following quote is from my subsequent letter to the governors.

'At the beginning I said that my aim in contributing to the bulletin board was to seek recognition of our common humanity and thus a possibility of reconciliation. But there’s a further reason. Quite recently, a friend told me of going into no.90 (this was years ago) and hearing an abusive tirade directed against a group of boys by a lady teacher. I asked him if he’d done anything about it and he said no. On searching my conscience, I realised that I wouldn’t have done anything either. That’s what comes of obeying position rather than principle.'

And that is why reconciliation is necessary for every School member. Whether or not we personally took part in any of this is immaterial - if we're one body in the School then, as a body and also personally, we have a duty to atone for what has been done. Denial and justification is no longer on the menu.

What purpose do denial and justification serve? They are the chief blocks towards cleansing. Yes, there will be sacrifices along the way but the story of the Good Samaritan should be enough to convince us of the rightness of this work.

Along the way there will be some soul-searching - but better by far to put one's hand to the task than turn away.

Until this is done there's really no hope of discarding the baggage of the past. - Ubuntu

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On Silence, Stillness and Being Cool

What is the sound of one hand clapping? Whatever it is, it's not much like a conversation.

The School's understanding of stillness is, I believe, one of its main stumbling blocks. Having said that, it certainly seems to have a support in the words of Shantananda. Didn't he say that one's little store of sattva is worth all of the rajas and tamas in the world? Didn't he say that to control the mind one must let go of its habitual attachments and movements, and rest "with mind intent on Me"? Didn't he say that the wise man, who appears to do nothing, is more effective than many active men?

He said all these things and more. But before I pack my bags, let's consider some things from our own tradition of philosophy. Let's take the example of Socrates, as we find him in the early dialogues. Socrates characterises himself as a gadfly, an irritant on the rump of his society, goading it to think and reflect. He was so annoying, in fact, that he managed to get himself executed. Was Socrates a rajasic pest? No. He had a purpose. When it came to it, he proved himself to be that rare thing, a philosopher who was prepared to die for philosophy.

One of my favourite cartoons has a man standing in the clouds, looking haggard and unshaven, dressed in a white shift. He says to another man, holding a harp and looking surprised, "I never thought hell would be this bad!" The poet Robert Burns expressed a similar sentiment in one of his epitaphs:

Here lies Bogheid amang the deid
In hopes to gain salvation
But if such as he in heaven may be
Then welcome, hell damnation!

Indeed, scripture speaks of this. There is a story from the Mahabharata (at least, in the film version!) After the great battle, Yuddhisthira makes his final journey, and finds himself in heaven. All around him are his enemies - Duryodhana and all the rest. He wonders where his brothers are, and he is told that they are roasting in the pit of hell. Yuddhisthira says that he would rather be in hell with his friends than in heaven with his enemies, and takes his leave.

All of which is merely to say that there is more to heaven than meets the eye at first blink. As the Gita has it, that which seems like nectar turns out to be poison; while that which seems like poison turns out to be nectar. There is a false stillness, which is poison to philosophy. Jesus reserved his special anger for the Pharisees, the "whited sepulchres", who look beautiful from the outside but are dead within.

His Holiness makes a similar point, though if I may say more beautifully, when he speaks of oranges and melons. Some people, he says, are like oranges: from the outside they seem unified, but within they are all divided. Others are like melons. Some melons look from the outside as if they are segmented; some look unified. But all melons are single within. What he is saying is that we should not worry about appearing still or agitated, but about what is within. The stillness of the heart is the true stillness. If Socrates teaches us anything, it's that we may cause a lot of agitation around us in the philosophical life. That is not our concern. Beneath the apparent poison is the nectar of truth.

The story cuts both ways, of course. The appearance of agitation might mask real agitation. Something that looks poisonous may indeed be poison. How can we tell the difference? Discussion and conversation. Until someone speaks it's almost impossible to tell what lies beneath. On the Internet, anyway.

We in the School love stillness and silence ... they are part of our 'thing'. The School Cool is a way to be that says, "Hey, I'm a dude with no attitude". Well, dude - how confident are you of that? Unless you speak up, you'll never really know.

Dozens of people are reading this blog, silently. Including YOU!

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To Ubuntu and roguepandit

I've been thinking about your contributions to the blog (for which thank you again - I love you guys!) and this has been helping me to refine my view of what this it's all about. It seems to me that the most efficient thing is not to duplicate what our friend Mike Gormez of the Loyal Opposition has been doing. Complaints about the School and political questions have a natural home on his site. Apparently, there might soon be a web site promoting the glorious virtues of the School. No doubt those two sites will each have their dedicated fans, and they may not be entirely separate groups.

This, on the other hand, is a place to imagine how the School should be. It is OUR School, and its future is in our hands. Provided, that is, we are prepared to make the effort.

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Walking With Penguins

This is inspired by na's post.

A few weeks ago I visited the dreaded cult-buster site once again. A couple of years before I'd been posting on it for a while, and had to quit. Too stressful. Also, the Inquiry was getting under way, and so things were happening. But then the Report was published and ... nothing. So I returned to the site, and started to post once more.

Some opening comments met with a mixed response. Some were welcoming, others suspicious. One or two were openly hostile. I almost threw in the towel again, but kept on with it. Measuring every word, taking care to say nothing that would rub salt into open wounds. Some of the aggressive responses melted away when met with humour. Others became friendly. One or two shadowy figures seemed more sinister, but I learned how to see them off. It became a kind of obsession, a ritual of contrition. Oddly enough, it was contrition for sins I had never, so far as I knew, committed.

After a fortnight of this, I was sitting at my computer one morning writing a personal message to one of the regulars when I was overcome with the sadness of the whole situation. For the children of St James and St Vedast, for the staff who had been led into error, for the School and everyone in it. I started to weep silently. My daughter came in and a few minutes later I had to drive her to school. I was feeling very tender towards her, and towards everything. As she got out of the car I wanted to say something, "Goodbye, darling." For me, this is unusual - I don't find terms of endearment easy. She flashed a beautiful smile at me - and it struck me how unusual that is too.

I felt strangely cleansed all that day. Everything and everyone seemed precious, and demanded my loving attention. There was that quiet, calm feeling that sometimes prevails at the end of a particularly challenging philosophy week. Perhaps this is a way for all of us to address our personal hard-heartedness.

There must be a way for us to make atonement. What with Easter being so soon.

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From Ubuntu

The Townend Report was published three months ago but so far we have heard nothing from the School in response to this. And yet the School set up St James Schools and continues its support and interest in them. Why the silence? Is there nothing to say? - Ubuntu

Without getting into the politics, the view seems to have shifted. Donald Lambie has said that we need to address these issues now, as we did not 20 years ago. - Vayukesha

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All Together Now ...

A biographical note ...

Wife and I went along to a folk club last week. I'm not sure what I expected, but this wasn't it. "Folk" in my book is Clannad, Planxty, the Chieftains, Robert Burns songs, Woody Guthrie, early Bob Dylan. Earthy, moving, intelligent, engaged with the reality of ordinary life.

The 'warm-up' act is two men and a woman, all in the "third age" of life, performing on two squeeze-boxes and a mandolin-like instrument that sounded like a small Cornishman falling down a flight of bamboo stairs. Worryingly, they seem to know everyone else in the room, except for us. We are the youngest people present by at least 30 years. Even more worrying, the MC mentions that we are in for "an evening of Mirth and Merriment" (audible capital letters). One of them then gets up to sing a song called "William Taylor", regarding a man who was press-ganged into the navy by 20 sailors, seriously impeding his marriage plans. The chorus is reproduced below in full:

20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4 and 2!
19, 17, 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, 5, 3 and 1!

Gritting our teeth into what we hope to be appreciative grins, we sit it out for the main act: Judy Cook, Appalachian songstress who counts Peggy Seeger among her fans. Judy gets up on her hind legs in an embroidered waistcoat of the kind worn by people who want to be thought of as "young at heart". In a matching garment, her 'roadie', sporting a bushy white beard. Before opening her mouth, Judy bangs a little tuning fork on a table. She sings a capella, in a manner that would really be more than acceptable if she'd come round to your house for a party.

It turns out that Judy gathers songs from all over America - from the redwood forests to the New York islands, as it were - as a way of preserving the nation's vocal heritage. This is a Very Laudable Aim, but when she kicks off with not one but TWO lumberjack songs, I start to break out in a cold sweat. None of the ditties so painstakingly preserved from obscurity has any obvious merit, except possibly as children's entertainment. Ersatz ballads, unrelenting dirges and sappy-clappy singalongs. Everyone is having a great time.

At half time we slink out, smiling painfully at the folkies. We realise that these people are in what is termed second childhood. They don't want any more challenges or surprises in life. They don't want to be troubled with thoughts or questions. They don't even want wonderful music. They want to sing children's songs.

I'm glad I went. It was an experience.

Now, if only I could forget the chorus of 'William Taylor'...

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Alms For An Old Ex-Leper?

There's a story in one of the more ancient parts of the Upanishads which TS Eliot used as the basis for part of The Waste Land, called What the Thunder Said.

The Gods, the devils and men approach Prajapati for teaching. Speaking out of a thunder cloud Prajapati says "Da". Each of the three hear this in their own way. The Gods hear "Dama" which means that they should control themselves, because they indulge in pleasure too much. The devils hear "Dayadhvam" which means that they should have compassion, because they are cruel. The men hear "Datta" which means that they should give alms, because they are naturally mean.

Shankara explains that this refers to three types of men, but it is hard not to feel that stinginess is a particularly human quality, and that spiritual progress depends on avoiding its clutches.

The way the School is arranged does help with this, in that we have the "second-line" - work for others. But it seems that too often "work for others" means just "work for the School". Once, it was easy to understand why - there were so many needs within the School. It was a matter of survival. Now, however, it can easily become too much like feathering the nest. The School is like our extended family, and so "work for the School" is "work for me and mine".

One of the principal reasons the School is vulnerable to criticism is that it does relatively little for others. From that alone, it is easy to see that we are not really at the cutting edge, because everyone knows that spiritual people have more to give than others. The discipline of “Datta” – giving to others – should be enshrined in our hearts.

Meanness is self-defeating, because people instinctively do not care about an organisation that takes care of itself first. Charitable donations have, in the Treasurer's words, "fallen off a cliff". About seven years ago, when St James started to raise its fees to commercial levels, I can well remember a wealthy non-School parent saying, "well, if that's their attitude, I'm not going to spend my free time decorating their buildings".

At the same time, the London School has itself has become inadvertently wealthy, due to the efforts of our fellow Londoners (see Henry George on why Sarum Chase was worth £10m – no, not the beeswax polish! Try again!). How, may I ask, are we going to return these dubiously-gotten gains?

Suggestions on a postcard, please.

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From JDoe23 Once More

Looking over the penguin adorned site I noticed a lot of selective quoting which can change the apparent meaning of a statement, and is a dishonest way to conduct an argument. Possibly a similar editing philosophy may have been employed by Channel 4 news. I think following rigorous fair practice in arguing a point is a very helpful discipline. - JDoe23 (by email)

It is a fair point. Having said that, I'm not sure whether the penguin people are really much worse than anyone else in this regard. I think there was something in the Bible about beams, eyes and motes and which order to remove them ... it's all a bit hazy.

I've written to write to David Boddy to ask him about Channel 4, as Donald Lambie suggested. - Vayukesha

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From na

na posted a comment which I thought people should read ...

Hi there

I hope I won't write a long piece, because these things can be quite addictive and I am meant to be working! But I would like to say that I have recently for the first time had a spring in my step and a tingle of excitment about the School. That may seem surpirsing - and it is to me as well. Only a few weeks ago I felt a kind of fear in relation to all the events with the website and the enquiry, though it was only there vaguely in the background at times. I have been wondering what this fear was and it was partly a fear of exposure and a fear of being personally attacked for some reason.

But anyway, now, after some days feeling that uncomfortable feeling where you realise things you had assumed to be true were thrown into question, and after an extremely moving and very useful meeting with Mr Lambie which our level had, I feel that what is happening is hugely positive.

It is time to separate the things which are true from those which are not - which is a very philosophical activity in itself.

On a personal level I find I have been feeling very free, though I had not seen that I felt bound before. Over the last few days I have voluntarily told many friends who only knew a little bit about the School everything that has been happening, the good, the bad, and the Channel 4 News Story. For the first time I have not felt the need to hide the slightly strange things the School does and make it sound more like a Buddhist retreat/ health-farm thing which I let them assume it was. I could tell them anything. And better friends we were at the end of it.

It seems crazy that I felt I couldn't be open about absolutely everything before, but what I think has happened is that through the serious questioning process that has been going on within myself over the past few weeks, something more truthful has been distilled out of all the swirling ideas!

On a more general level, the feeling of excitment I have been feeling is that at last the School is changing. There have always been things I have disagreed with about the School, but I keep coming because what I find of value in it far outweighs these things. But change has been at the pace of a glacier. But now it feels like things aren't just set in stone - the "if you don't agree it's because you don't understand yet" idea is quickly disappearing. The idea that we can all search for the truth and learn through our own experience - truly - is very exciting.

I am now willing to question, willing to be proved wrong, because I would rather find the truth (whatever it is) than have a feeling of being right. Through these weeks of upheaval I have had found that the only things which I feel I can trust completely are my self, and my own experience. These are things which we have already spend time looking at in the School so it's not been completely alien - just a shift.

So in a way I would like to thank the forces that have made this happen.

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A Learning Curve

Note on blog etiquette. I've been taking lessons from JSmith68 (as I like to call her or him) and propose the following:

- I won't publish any private emails on here (Vayukesha is just a part in the play)
- anonymity on this blog is the default, unless of course you want to violate your own privacy.
- if you would like me to put a separate post on here, email it to me. There's an email link you can use.

As this is Vayukesha's blog, he will of course reserve the right not to publish.



A picture does so
brighten up
one's web-page!

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From JDoe23

The following was sent as a private email but JDoe23 subsequently agreed to allow it to be published in full. Vayukesha's response is below (Feedback)

What an interesting idea! Full marks for effort.

I hope the following is helpful:

I am a bit concerned about the way you have put some (most) things. For example, the bit about the limited understanding of what Advaita means comes over rather negatively. It could be put the other way up: you could say that we have been offered the opportunity to learn and understand the philosophy of Adviata, and a full understanding of this could be of enormous benefit to all, but it has to be understood fully and deeply for this to work, and perhaps we need to realize that real study and self examination is needed to each this level of understanding, not a cursory flick through the subject and interpretation to suit our own ideas. It is our failure to realize and pursue this that leads to frustration and lack of progress. Maybe I have watered down your message here, but a negative tone will draw negative responses and probably have negative consequenses. We need to find a way of facing the issues, and getting others to face them, but at all costs avoiding stirring up ne gative reactions which could deprive many people for years to come of the benefits which could be available.

I would say that your opening posts will set the tone for the site and subsequent posts will reflect this tone. With a positive tone this project could be an enormous force for change and progress. With a negative tone you could just get people venting their frustrations without making positive contributions. This would provide ammunition for the negative contributors to the other websites.

I think that your intentions are very positive, but that more of a negative tone than you intend has crept into your posts. Could I be so bold as to urge you to edit your opening posts, making all the same points but without a hint of criticism or negativity. What a challenge !

I hope this is helpful. Let me know what you think. Happy to discuss or meet anytime.

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Anonymity

Is this blog yours?
If so, my first impressions
I whole-heartedly agree in the value of Philosophy as a conversation

If it's your blog, I don't understand how you can talk about open conversation
but shroud your identity...
from JSmith68

“Shroud your identity” … you make me sound like the mysterious ‘hardened activists’ that the Governors of St James are so concerned about. Funnily enough we had a (non-School) house guest this weekend whose husband works with Tom Grubb, one of the leading protagonists. She knew about St James etc and the message she had got was that there had been a court case and that they had won ...

It’s not a matter of what I think, but of discussing the arguments. If I had wanted to hide who I was, I’d hardly have sent it to so many in a personal email. I could have used a yahoo address. I sent it to people that I trust not to misinterpret it. Others can find their own way here, I hope.

Apologies once again for publishing someone's private communication*, but I promise never to reveal JSmith68's identity, either here or anywhere else. I feel that we need to have this discussion openly. Anonymity is a way of making that easier. But anyone who wants to send comments under their own name is most welcome to do so.

* and I won't do it any more. Bad Vayukesha.

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Feedback

There have been quite a few e-mail responses to this blog, but I regret that people have not so far posted comments publicly, with the honourable exception of roguepandit (see 'Reason' below) and JDoe23 (see above).

One of the problems we have in the School is that we have public discussions in which we say what we feel is acceptable, and private ones in which we say what we feel and think. My belief is that this is anti-philosophical.

It is always flattering to receive criticism, because it means that the person delivering it thinks one is worth attacking. So thank you, JDoe23.

There are a number of points here, including a concern that negativity will (a) put people off from participating and (b) give ammunition to critics of the School. These are of course considerations, but one of the things I believe is that the 'friends' and the 'enemies' of the School need to find a common language and understanding. This will only come by plain speaking.

The main thrust of JDoe23's argument is that this blog would be better if I expressed myself in terms such as s/he uses in the first paragraph. I put it to all of you that the most tamasic member of the School imaginable would find nothing to disturb his sleep in what JDoe23 says. This is, after all, our customary sleeping pill: "We have been offered an opportunity ... we need to work harder to understand and to put it into practice ... and then we might just start to get a glimpse of what this pesky thing unity really means". Take twice daily before meditation ... zzzzzzzzzz

Why does that idea send us to sleep? Because the subtext is: someone else knows these things.

I'm not saying that JDoe23 believes that, but that we need to shake up our thinking, and that his or her suggested approach to this isn't going to get it done. There is no-one else who is going to do our philosophy for us. There is no-one else who has a magical understanding of philosophy 'out there', whether in India or anywhere else. We are responsible for the School. We are responsible for the society in which we live. We need to stop worrying about ourselves and start the work.

This morning I read a passage from the 1982 Conversations in which HH mentioned being "the mind-tool of the Absolute". That phrase gives me shivers: not because of what Shantananda is saying, but because of how the School has understood it in the past. We worry about the 'mind-tool' part, thinking "that doesn't sound like me. If I were more like Mr X, THEN I might know what the Absolute means". By giving so much of our energy and attention to this negative criticism of ourselves, we ensure that we remain bound. What Shantananda means is not that we should become a kind of honed chisel; but that we can conform our thoughts to the universal.

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In Memoriam

Robbie became unwell about 6 PM this evening. By 8.30 he was no more. The 11-12 year old demographic reported sadness tinged with happiness that his suffering was short. Messages of condolence are appreciated.

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Want To Make A Comment? Here's How

Leaving a comment on the blog is easy. Just click on the 'Comments' link at the bottom of the post. You'll be asked to create an account the first time round. It costs nothing, and you can remain anonymous. Alternatively, send me an email.

Robbie the Rabbit Update:
Things are looking a mite doubtful for Robbie two days in. At about 5 PM he got chilled and his heart stopped. Fortunately, heart massage managed to get the ticker moving again. Phew!

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More on Reason

The Indian Sufi, Hazrat Inayat Khan, has some interesting things to say about reason.

“Everyone has their reason,” he says. He relates it to the three gunas. The tamasic reason is that of the thief, who says, “It’s raining, and I need a coat,” and he takes the first one he can lay his hand on. The rajasic reason is that of the honest person, who says, “Even if I get soaking wet, I ought not to take that coat”. This is the reason of the world. The sattvic reason is that of “the poets, the mystics and the sages”. It lifts us into a new reality, previously unimaginable. So, for example, Gandhi came up with the idea of satyagraha – what is called passive resistance but means holding fast to the true. The British had no answer to that. His example inspired the US Civil Rights movement and the Anti-Apartheid struggle. The famous Truth and Reconciliation process apparently has its roots in ancient African traditions, but if so it has a lot of affinities with Gandhian ethics. It is sattvic reason in action.

So far, the St James Truth and Reconciliation process hasn’t managed to emulate Gandhi or Tutu. This isn't necessarily anyone's fault, as I'll discuss below. The great courage required for the process is that the perpetrators have to hear what they are accused of in public. On the other hand, the complainant has to accept that there will be no revenge or punishment. Everyone has to agree to tell the truth. The Inquiry differs from South African T & R in a number of ways – it’s not public, the most serious allegations remain private, and the results are adjudicated by some of the people whose independence the Report calls into question (“the Governors were MacLaren’s Men”).

The Inquiry has to operate within an environment of British law, and this is the bottom line. It’s not possible to be open if there is no guarantee of immunity from prosecution. It’s not possible for a complainant to make public allegations that lays him or her open to libel charges.

What this means is that to reach the sattvic reason the schools now have to work twice as hard to prove their sincerity. It won’t be a short or easy process. It will need apologies from the remaining teachers implicated. It will require courage and sacrifice on the part of the complainants. If it fails, we are back to the hard realities of rajas, and just desserts.

Sackings, multiple resignations, legal action, collateral damage to many innocents.

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Robbie the Rabbit

It seems to me that a blog is a kind of diary for our times. Most people seem to share their experiences as well as their thoughts, and so I’d like to tell you about Robbie the Rabbit.

I was out for a walk the night before last, taking the dog out along the reach, which is a kind of canalised stream surrounded by marshland and fed by drainage ditches. On my way back I found something lying in the path that I immediately thought was a mole. Closer inspection revealed it to be a baby something-or-other. There was no obvious nest or burrow that it could have rolled out of. The path at that spot is raised several feet above the land on the left and the stream on the right – there used to be a little railway in Victorian times. It hadn’t been there more than ten minutes. Instinctively I picked it up and brought it home.

It was obviously newly-born – no more than 48 hours old to judge by the remnants of the umbilical cord. At first we thought it was a tiny puppy. It looks a bit like a miniature pit bull, with a short tail and a large head and protuberant eyes. But after a few minutes we realise it’s a wild rabbit kitten. Ever since we’ve been feeding it, first on diluted milk and sugar, then with puppy milk that I got in town. We were using a glass pipette but have moved on to a 1 ml syringe with a bit of thin plastic tube attached. He usually has 1 – 2 ml every two hours, but at least half of that is washing down his body. It takes about 20 minutes to give him a feed. He lives in the airing cupboard in a shoe box, wrapped in a furry hot water bottle cover. Every time I open the box I’m half expecting him to be dead. Veronica over the road once nursed five rabbit kittens and there was only one survivor. The odds are against him, but I have to say he seems very lively and up for the challenge.

I’ve been talking about reason and sentimentality, and here I am, a meat-eater (last week we had rabbit casserole) trying my best to keep this tiny thing alive. I can’t pretend that makes sense.

Updates on Robbie’s progress to follow.

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Reason

The shock of 1983/84 had a profound effect on the School. There were moves for greater openness, a more gentle approach, and less of the grinding discipline. But like a supertanker it has taken a long time to turn the ship. The process continues, but what the present crisis teaches us is that there is further to go.

The means to do this is a familiar one - reason. In my view, this is not something we know enough about. Although we think of the School as being thoroughly reasonable, we are as an organization unable to look as critically at ourselves as we are at others. This means that our reason has some sentimentality in it. So let's look at it another way. What we need in order to be constructively self-critical is a solid understanding of the great tradition of philosophy. Without that, we cannot go forward.

This great tradition has a number of aspects to it. For the first time in history it's possible to gather the fruits of the world's philosophy together. We can learn from China the art of living with each other. We can learn from Europe the glory of reason and science. And from India, we can meet with the great metaphysical questions, about spirit. The School is grounded in Europe, but it has Indian philosophy as its reference point. Who can say what will come from a real meeting of these two traditions, until it has happened.

The starting point has to be knowledge. And in this, we are sorely deficient. Ask any hundred senior members of the School to write a short paragraph on Advaita Vedanta, and fewer than fifty would be able to do it. Fewer than ten would have any insight as to its relation to the wider traditions of India, or to the philosophical and religious traditions of Europe. This may be what is called in the Upanishads "lower knowledge", granted. But without the lower knowledge, can there be higher knowledge?

If all of those hundred members of the School were to have a real understanding of the basics of philosophy, they would be much better fitted to take the School forward. Indeed, if any hundred students were brought to a good level of understanding, the School would be transformed. What we have at the moment is a School that has not taught people to think, but to let others think on their behalf. We have created a School that very ably brings people through the introductory stages of philosophy, but has no vision of what should come next.

This is not only inadequate, it is against the great tradition of teaching. The tradition, at least as it is in India, is that the teacher gives the student two things: rahasya and sankalpa. Rahasya means the secret teaching. Sankalpa means the ability to decide things for oneself. It means that the faithful student who has learned the teaching diligently is then able to stand alone. He or she is independent and free. The teacher has done the work, and stands back.

The School has not understood this aspect of the tradition, because it has provided no way for its students to gain their independence. It is not aiming at giving them their freedom, but at keeping hold of them. This is not due to bad intentions, but to bad philosophy. Any education system that has no concept of rendering itself unnecessary, and no concept of allowing the student to come up with a better form of knowledge, will sooner or later become a burden to its students. The fresh knowledge that is always rising in the student, once he or she has absorbed the early lessons, will atrophy and turn in on itself, if it is not allowed to flourish fully.

This is not a call for the abolition of the School and its traditions, but for a transcendence of old concepts. The world needs a philosophy School. Whether the School of Economic Science can fulfill that role is yet to be seen.

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Friends of Philosophy

It seems like dark days for the School of Economic Science. The old scandals of The Secret Cult have come back to haunt us, the Inquiry has failed to stem the tide of protest, and with Channel 4 behind us we apparently have ITV to come ... this time the "deny it all / say nothing" approach won't work.

Although we all know that big lessons were learned, still we seem to be surrounded by enemies intent on our destruction. There are whispers of mystery wealthy backers (who may or may not be former governors of St James!), pending class-action suits, Dutch internet cult-busters, and the prospect of endless bad press interfering with the schools and the School, condemning us all to some kind of cult ghetto along with the Scientologists and the Jehovah's Witnesses.

But are things really that bad?

I will argue that they're not. If Advaita philosophy has taught us anything, it ought to be that where there is apparent duality and opposition, we can find unity, truth and reconciliation. It seems that many have already given up this struggle, but why? The battle here is not to defeat an enemy, or to hush things up, but to show the way forward. Talk of there being conspiracies against us is no more than giving in to fear. If there are conspirators, people who are in Mr Townend's words "negatively inspired"*, then we have to face up to them; but until they show themselves we should follow the philosophical way, and go forward with the assumption that we can find common cause with all reasonable people. There is no justification for worrying about the bogeyman. At this moment, the School's dedication to unity and truth is being tested. Whether we will come through depends entirely on how we conduct ourselves.

There is no dignity in hiding, or pretending that someone else will deal with the problem; even less in lashing out in anger. We are a School of Philosophy. It is time we started to behave like one.

The fear is that the people who have had a bad experience at St James or St Vedast or in the School have turned against the truth. Shantananda did once mention this phenomenon. But we must remember that we had a very different version of the truth in those times. It was influenced by Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, and even 20 years after the first Conversation with His Holiness we had not really adopted his message wholeheartedly. He said there was to be no pressure. We used pressure. He spoke of devotion as the "royal way"; but we refused to listen, saying that we were on the way of knowledge. He said "tender advice, showers of love, and a little hard discipline" was the way to teach. Let's look at that sentence, and at the three nouns in it. Advice should be tender; discipline, though hard, should be little; but love ... should be showered plentifully. For His Holiness, only love comes without qualification.

This was the message we could not hear in 1965.

We have been a somewhat immature organization in the past and we still have some way to go. Therefore, those who have turned away from the School may not reasonably be assumed to be the enemies of philosophy: many may be its friends.

* If you have not read the Townend Report, visit http://www.iirep.com

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