Krishnamurti Center – 12/14/14

                As a mini stay-cation in Banaras, our group decided to go to the Krishnamurti Center, an education center dedicated to the life and works of a man named, you guessed it, Krishnamurti. It was pitched to us a place of peace and quiet removed from the hustle, bustle, and grime of the rest of the city. The center is located in Raj Ghat, the first ghat of Banaras, which is about as far away as you can get from Assi Ghat, the last ghat of Banaras, while still being in the city. When we arrived we were certainly happy to see grass and trees, but, unfortunately, there was a wedding going on right next door that was blasting music late into the night. Luckily, the wedding only lasted one day and the rest of our time at the center was really pleasant.

The first evening (Friday) we all had time to just chill in our rooms and read or write or sleep. After breakfast the next morning, we had a lecture of sorts on the philosophy of Krishnamurti and saw an hour long movie about his life. Fundamentally I share a lot of the same values as the philosophy of Krishnamurti who says that you should look at and listen to things with as little prejudice as possible, but the other people who we met there seemed to take it to a whole new level with metaphysical discussion on thought and mind. After that meeting we had lunch and then Alex and I went to see the archeological site of the old city (it was burned to the ground when the Moguls invaded) as well as the giant bridge that passes over the Ganges. Upon returning from that, we had even more time to read and write or whatever before six when we met as a group to have a check-in about our feelings/thoughts/aspirations/etc. now that 40% of the program has passed (the halfway mark happens either during our trip to Rajasthan or soon after). Next, dinner and then group bonding where we went through all of our pictures and showed everyone the particularly ugly ones (and a few nice ones). Finally, the last day was dedicated to more writing (people in our group really need a lot of time to write their group updates for Princeton) and relaxing.

Overall, the entire weekend was a really nice retreat (even if we still couldn’t fully escape the noises of the city). I got to take two baths with hot water in a row, used toilet paper, and slept more soundly than I have in months. I am really excited for the coming weeks with Open House at the South Point School (I’ll write a blog about that later) and Christmas and Rajasthan. It’s weird being here and not really feeling the same holiday spirit that grips the U.S. following Thanksgiving, but I still get happy butterflies in my stomach when I think of the coming holiday (especially since our group is doing a Secret Santa exchange).