The Unconditioned Mind

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When the Oak Grove School opened its doors in 1975 in Ojai, California, I was the first teacher hired.  The school began with just half a dozen elementary students, but within a few years it had nearly 100 students in grades K through 12.  In 1980, Krishnamurti appointed me Educational Director of the school, responsible for curriculum, instruction, and the welfare of the teachers.  In 1984, he appointed me Director of the school, the position I held at the time of his death in 1986. 

Krishnamurti was closely involved in every facet of the school’s development, from expressing the deep objectives of the school to overseeing the design of the school buildings.  He composed a document of some five hundred words called The Intent of the Oak Grove School, in which he described the need for a school to serve as a beacon of light in a dark and destructive world.  The aim of the school was to “uncondition” the minds of the students through a process of self-understanding and the awakening of intelligence. 

The first decade of the school was sometimes difficult and turbulent, as competing factions of parents, teachers, and trustees of the Krishnamurti Foundation tried to grasp the essential meaning of his message and implement it in the school.  The conflicts and controversies helped illuminate his philosophy and ultimately contributed to the stable and thriving school as it exists today. 

The Unconditioned Mind:  J. Krishnamurti and the Oak Grove School tells the complete story of the school’s development, with special attention to Krishnamurti’s role and his personal involvement in it.  It is a dramatic saga centered around a unique, original, and profound educational philosophy. 

Krishnamurti in America

An Uncommon Collaboration

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