Holistic philosophies of education for modern academic life

The constantly changing nature of modern academic life, including demands for maintaining current and updated knowledge in our fields, has been compounded by the rapid transition to the world of online learning. On top of this, there are many daily micro-interruptions to our online work lives such as the ceaseless echoing notification bell of emails arriving to our inboxes demanding our near constant attention, blurring the boundaries between work and home life. (I have muted my own email notification bell, but I find it amusing when it resurrects itself via video calls with colleagues who have not). The screen’s incessant demand for attention, bringing with it unceasing information, coupled with COVID anxiety and general anxiety, has brought heightened levels of stress, minimizing our ability to sustain inner attentional focus.

These rapid and chaotic changes can also, however, remind us of our flexibility, our ability for quick adaptation and creativity as humans. It also reminds us of our social, emotional and psychological needs for connection and community – thereby highlighting the significance of a holistic way of life. As an Indigenous educator, holistic education lies at the core of my values, and holistic education incorporates social emotional learning. According to Thapan (2021) “Social emotional learning is the acquisition and application of personal and collective knowledge, skills and healthy attitudes to manage one’s emotions and achieve one’s goals. […] It can be taught, modeled and practiced, leading to positive student outcomes that are important for school and life” (31:00).

I was reminded of all of this while attending an international conference that took place on February 19-21 and Feb 26-28, 2021. It shed light on various elements of holistic philosophies such as inner and outer learning and development, particularly as it pertains to the field of education. The conference, titled J. Krishnamurti and the Contemporary World Crises International Online Conference, helped bring greater awareness of the complicated relationship between what we experience as crises and how these can be responded to from a place of holistic wellbeing.

The conference was organized by Dr. Ashwani Kumar (Program Director) of Mount Saint Vincent University in collaboration with Dr. Nayha Acharya (Team Member) of the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, with the support of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute’s Program Development Grant. In this conference, a group of Canadian and Indian scholars, educators, professionals, and students came together to discuss the relevance of J. Krishnamurti’s philosophical ideas in today’s world. Jiddu Krishnamurti was a world-renowned Indian philosopher who shared wisdom that focused on the transformative potential of holistic education and of cultivating greater self-awareness and self-knowledge in schooling. The online conference featured 22 speakers from a range of disciplines including psychology, law, religious studies, philosophy, and education. The speakers engaged in panel discussions and question/answer sessions with attendees in six two-hour sessions throughout the two weekends of the conference. There were over 370 registrants. Every daily session resulted in rich expressions of the panellists’ personal, scholarly, and professional journeys with the work of J. Krishnamurti, and engaging dialogues with attendees. It brought together a vast number of like-minded individuals, resulting in a cross-cultural and inter-disciplinary community of people concerned with societal and individual betterment, and who have seen how the wisdom of J. Krishnamurti may further those goals in their own unique contexts.

One of the keynote speakers, Dr. Meenakshi Thapan, had the greatest impact on me. She shared her interpretation of Krishnamurti’s ideas in the context of school teaching: “self-inquiry into one’s consciousness, thought-feelings, the stream of consciousness as thought-feeling, are the guiding principles that creates possibilities, enriching our learning, paying attention to emotions, recognizing them, being aware of them. Dealing with them becomes an important component of pedagogy.” (Thapan, 2021, 32:00). She continued by sharing more of his practical suggestions that can be applied in education:

As a means to self-knowledge, one should write down every thought feeling,

pleasant and unpleasant, one becomes aware of the whole content of consciousness, private thoughts, secret motives, intentions and bondages. […] Without self-knowledge there can be no understanding. The source of understanding is within oneself, there is no comprehension of the world and our relationship to it without deep self-knowledge. Self-awareness becomes self-knowledge which brings about right thinking, the source of understanding is within oneself (Krishnamurti, quoted by Thapan, 2021, 32:39).

While listening to the sessions at the conference, there was an immediate palpable shift within me from my anxiety-ridden thinking mind to an expanded sense of openness, presence and consciousness. I was inspired as speakers shared how meeting Krishnamurti altered their life because they were motivated by his life and work on holistic education. The immediate shift into a heart opening learning space is very reflective of Krishnamurti’s teachings and influence.

As a life-long learner myself, I have always strived for a particular kind of education that acts as a guiding process toward deeper existential truths into my own humanity and more broadly the universal suffering of humanity. This kind of deep learning requires more than mental thinking that is often disconnected from our other forms of intelligent faculties such as the heart space. Drawing on the deep well of heart space in our learning relationships can mean mindfully reconnecting to our own bodies, to the present moment through our breath, and grounding oneself within that awareness. This can occur in tandem with regular self-reminders to create meaningful intentions of compassion for both ourselves and others. Deeper learning requires an openness of the heart, like what I experienced while listening to many of the speakers at the conference.

Dr. Thapan continued by sharing her own experiences of seeking a deep-rooted sense of meaning through education:

This quality of being able to focus on the potential of human beings to inquire into themselves, to understand their feelings, their thoughts, their relationships, […] is a unique way of understanding the promise that education holds out to us. […] In the current context where divisiveness, violence and hatred seem to define human consciousness, his work is even more relevant. Krishnamurti has raised significant questions,[…] that emphasize self-inquiry. That is what really appeals to me. This is what may lead to a transformation in our relationship to people, nature, objects and ideas (2021, 24:10).

With these reflective and contemplative streams of thought and words, I am left wondering: if our educational focus in our universities were not only on academic knowledge but on knowing oneself, what kind of society would we have? Perhaps we may have a society that is more aligned with values of cultivating self-awareness, connection and belonging. I leave readers with some thoughts on what this may mean for designing learning spaces that are conducive to holistic learning that incorporates social emotional learning.

Social-emotional learning can include building:

School cultures that are more than just academic cultures alone, are attentive to how we show up to our learning spaces, attentive to social-emotional affect and values time for play, creativity and leisure.

Relationships that are also processes of generating dialogue. They create open spaces for receiving feedback on how our approach and content may be impacting learners while also affirming students that they have been heard (Thapan, 2021).

When our focus is on academic knowledge alone, education is incomplete, says Krishnamurti. One of the limitations of our current Western-oriented education system is one that focuses on our preparedness to participate in a global economy where external and outward skillsets are highly valued, often leaving us imbalanced. Within each of us however is a great potential for inner transformation brought about by self-knowledge and self-inquiry. This is a path I feel we are being called to walk in education.

References

Thapan, M. (2021, February 19). Welcome Remarks and Keynote Panel. [Conference Presentation]. J. Krishnamurti and the Contemporary World Crises Conference. Accessed:

For the video proceedings of the conference, see:

Keynote Panel  J. Krishnamurti and the Contemporary World Crises

Practitioners' Panel Mukesh Gupta and Dr. Ashutosh Kalsi

Scholars' Panel I  Dr. Jack Miller, Dr. Kathryn Jefferies, and Morgan Selvanathan

Scholars' Panel II Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Dr. Nayha Acharya, and Dr. Vikas Baniwal

Teachers' Panel Shailesh Shirali, Anantha Jyothi, Vaishnavi Narayanan, Michael Cosgrove, Kristen Amiro, and Carolyn Prest

Alumni Panel Aashrita Kamath, Chinmay Tumbe, Jyotsna Sara George, Kartik Srinivasan, and Tara Brahme