Current Issue
Issue 29 || 2026
‘And if you are interested in teaching, and also in what I am saying, then you will find out the method of teaching… You want me to lay down the principles; I cannot do it. But you will find out for yourself how to work, how to draw the principles out of what I have been saying, if you are interested as teachers. For teachers, it is not a peculiar profession. I do not think it is a specialist profession: it is a human profession; you need not be scientists who are specially drawn. You are human beings, and from that you are to approach it — your teaching and everything else.’
—J. Krishnamurti – Varanasi, 1933
The Art of Listening
Written by J.Krishnamurti
So, if you will this morning apply the art, the art of listening. We rarely listen to anybody. We are so full of our own conclusions, our own experiences, our own problems, our own judgements, so we have no space in which to listen.
What is Compassion?
Written by J.Krishnamurti
What is compassion? Is it emotion, something romantic? Does it expend itself in some kind of social work? One has to find out what compassion is, what love is. Is love desire? Is love pleasure? And can there be love where there is ambition?
Editorial
Written By Jayashree Nambiar
The twenty-ninth issue of the Journal of Krishnamurti Schools, as with the previous twenty-eight issues, continues to explore, grapple with and seek clarity around this very human profession of teaching.
The Only Journey is the One Within
Written by O R Rao
All living beings, from plants to unicellular organisms and sea anemones, from butterflies and glow worms to hummingbirds, from alligators to dolphins, from cats, dogs and horses to apes and human beings wish to continue living, and to flourish.
Education as Preparation: Observing the Mind That Fear Organises
Written By Govind Krishnamoorthy
There is a question that is asked of those of us who were educated in Krishnamurti schools. Family members ask it when they notice we do not rush to compete. Employers ask it if they expect urgency or desperation from us.
The Freedom of Living and Learning
Written by Aaron Gardner
When I began teaching at Oak Grove nine years ago, I was already a seasoned teacher with fifteen years under my belt, and I thought I had it all figured out. If you had asked me back then why I teach, I would have said that teaching is all about enabling children to find their voice.
A Foundation for Learning Possibilities in Primary Education
Written By Jessica Kokkebaeker
Look, Akka!’ said Priya, ‘this leaning tree could be an “A” with the branch and me bending this way.’ ‘Look, Akka, this caterpillar is making a “C”,’ said Sumit. ‘Oh, now it’s making an “I”.’
The Living Laboratory: Teaching Biology Through Relationship to Land
Written by Vidya Premkumar
At Good Earth School in Naduveerapattu, biology classes rarely begin with a diagram; they begin with the land. A class may walk out towards the paddy fields in the early part of the day, when the light is still soft and the soil holds the memory of water.
The World as Our Classroom: Learning the Forest Way
Written By V Arun
While most of us engage with the world through our five senses, centuries of living in increasingly urban settings have dimmed our sense perceptions. For forest-dwelling humans, not being fully alive with all their senses could cost them their lives; staying alert is a way of life for them.
The Pause and the Proof: Reclaiming the Crucible of Learning
Written by Harpreet Hura
In the quiet of a high school physics classroom, a student hovered over the diagram of a projectile, pencil tip wavering just above the paper. In my old life as a quantum scientist, I would have described her as being in a state of cognitive superposition—considering three or four different paths to a solution and as yet uncertain about them all.
Befriending the Ancient: A Direct Approach to Engaging with History
Written By Ashwin Prabhu
‘Look…not with your mind but with your eyes’—Krishnamurti uses this pithy line towards the very end of a talk with Rishi Valley students, during the course of which he makes a rare concession with regard to ‘how to’ and guides them in a step-by-step observation exercise:
Understanding the World and Oneself through Language Learning
Written by Bhaveen Sawlani
Language learning presents opportunities for understanding the world and oneself. Language is the medium through which we gain knowledge and which we use to understand and make sense of the world we live in.
Exploring Culturally Diverse Picture Books for the Young: My Personal Journey as a Teacher
Written By Keerthi L Mukunda
I was reading the picture book, A Day’s Work, by Eve Bunting, which tells the story of an immigrant boy from Mexico and his grandfather who live in the USA. When the narrative begins, they are waiting by the side of the road to find some work. As the story unfolds, the child who can speak English helps his grandfather communicate with would be employers.
Turning Points: A Tapestry of Reflections from Teachers
Excerpts from a session at the KFI teachers’ conference 2025 held at The Valley School, Bangalore.
Building Intrinsic Motivation in College Students
Written by Proteep Mallik
The students sat quietly in the classroom, looking apprehensive yet excited. Their fresh faces eager to learn what lay ahead of them in the next four years at university. I could feel the weight of their expectations of me as I stood before them. It was the first day of what would be a month-long summer programme for a fresh batch of undergraduate students.
The Imperative of Climate Education
Written by Pallavi Phatak
Schooling is designed around futures that are collapsing. And yet, if you ask anyone what they think is wrong with the education system, you can easily guess the typical answers. What if I were to tell you that fixing any of those issues will still not prepare the children of today for the present climate-altered reality? This is a challenge that they will feel more acutely in the future. This is because the design and content of formal schooling are largely built on a blueprint that serves the very economic paradigms that have put us in the global mess that we have today.
Aloneness in Relationship
Written by Rajiv V
The boy continued, ‘Because I am a nerd…!’ The teacher looked at him incredulously and said, ‘But you are not. You are fine!’ She was surprised by her own quick and heartfelt response. The child’s nonchalant acceptance of the way he was being addressed by his classmates irked her. What had once been a distressing remark had now lost its sting, and he no longer seemed affected by it. After all, he had been listening to these comments every day.
On Being a Teacher in a Small School
Written by Sharad Jain
The role of a teacher in a small school based on Krishnamurti’s teachings is difficult to define. This is not because all the big and small tasks required of the teacher are impossible to list; but more so because many of these tasks are ever emerging as fresh situations present themselves. I would liken this most to living together in a large joint family where one is responsible for everything.
Listening Beyond the Noise
Written by Krithika Thandapani
When I began writing reports for my students, I found myself pausing — not because I lacked words, but because I was held back by a question that I could not frame. I was thinking of a seven-year-old child in my class, a child who fidgeted constantly, filed the edge of his scale repeatedly until one end had become triangular in shape, and rarely sat still.
Where Every Child Belongs: Stories from an Inclusive Classroom
Written by Saranya Rengarajan
Inclusion in schools is often talked about as a set of rules or practices. In the classroom it feels more like a natural part of the day. It shows up in moments that are easy to miss. I noticed it when a child stopped at the door, looked around the room and another child scooted over to make space for her on the bench without being asked.
Social and Emotional Well-being: Engaging the Inner Lives of Students
Written by Rina Raphael
Education, as Krishnamurti envisioned, is not a preparation for life but the process of understanding life itself. As educators, we ought to thus ponder over what education truly means. Is our intent merely to endow our students with knowledge and explicit skills? Or is it also about leading them towards being mindful of themselves, becoming aware of their doings and emotions, and how their actions affect themselves, others and the world around them?
Rooms that Breathe: Musings on Living and Learning
Written by Vivek Mishra
There are two rooms in the house where I live. One is closely surrounded, almost on all sides, by the other buildings nearby. The other room has a building only on one side, while one side is more open. Interestingly, the room that is encircled by other buildings gets quite warm, and I often find myself moving into the other room, which remains surprisingly cool even though it catches a lot of sunlight during the day.
When Things Don’t Fit in Neat Boxes
Written by Shikha Dutt
Most learning in school fits into neat little boxes — boxes for subjects, timetables, learning objectives and outcomes. A label says: ‘learning happened in bounded slots, assigned to subjects, moved toward outcomes’. Mathematics from 9.00 am to 10.00 am. Science from 10.00 am to 11.00 am. Even art and music get boxes — bounded, assessed, concluded.
Meditation and Inquiry in the Field of Education
Stephen Smith In Conversation With Alok Mathur
Steve: It seems to me, increasingly, that we are only touching the surface of our ever-mounting problems: the roots of our unhappiness lie much deeper. And nothing we are doing in the contemporary world — the prodigious advances in technology, for instance — does anything to alleviate — indeed, it exacerbates — the isolation both existential and immediate that hangs about us like a cloud.