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.

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.

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.

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.

Against the Nation invites readers to explore South Asia as a place and as an idea with a sense of reflection and nuance rather than submitting to conventional understanding of the region merely in geopolitical terms. The authors take the readers across a vast terrain of prospects like visual culture, music, film, knowledge systems and classrooms, myth and history as well as forms of politics that offer possibilities for reading South Asia as a collective enterprise that has historical precedents as well as untapped ideological potential for the future.

Education and Society: Themes, Perspectives, Practices concerns itself with the social issues and contexts that underpin education and learning in India. It begins with a focus on the possibilities opened up by education, whether these concern the individual, society, or the world at large. Through an excellent selection of essays arranged in six thematic sections, this volume provides an overview of the major underlying concepts in the sociology of education, as well as of the processes and practices that explicate education in contemporary India. Most essays are grounded on empirical research and use ethnography in seeking to understand education from the perspective of students, teachers, as well as the institutional and non-institutional settings within which educational practices occur. The rich and panoramic introduction provides a broad canvas to the essays, which are intentionally both an academic work and a pedagogical aid, since education is both an intellectual discipline, and also a profession.