Rajesh Dalal (1953-2014)
In his last email dated the 17th
of February - K's death anniversary and little more than a week before he
himself passed away - Rajesh Dalal sent three questions he wanted KFI Trustees
to address:
‘1. Are we capable of meeting and
exploring the teachings, completely putting aside all reference to K and KFI?
What are the implications of the above, both when we are able to so forget and
when we can't?
2. What is the teaching according to
me? Have I defined it in some way? How do I hold my understanding? Am I
resisting others' definition? Am I trying to live by my definition/expecting
others to live by it? What actually is happening to me and my friends in this
most important domain?
3. How can a group of people explore
TOGETHER? What comes in the way of such exploration? What factors assist it?’
Rajesh’s challenge to the Trustees, covered by the
questions he posed, was to simultaneously examine their relationship with
Krishnamurti and to their own authentic selves; they emerged from a
consciousness that had internalized fundamental aspects of Krishnaji's teaching
and echoed Krishnamurti’s own demands of his Trustees. Unfortunately, he did
not live to see the inquiry that might have emerged from his demand.
Rajesh Dalal's tenure as a member of the Foundation
was longer than any other individual member’s today, even though he counted among
the youngest in age. His encounter with
Krishnamurti ‘s writings in his student days had made a deep and immediate
impact on him and as soon as he finished his engineering degree at IIT Kanpur in
1976 he joined the school at Rajghat. His first meeting with Krishnamurti and his
many subsequent conversations and travels with him fully shaped the direction
of his life and work. He was invited to become a member of the Foundation while
still in his twenties. He remained a passionate inquirer into the teachings
throughout his life, and sought no other options.
At Rajghat, Rajesh was given charge of a house with a
set of young boys. He took on the responsibility of living with them, educating
them in academic subjects, while also nurturing in them deeper values. His
earnestness blending naturally with an unusual and wonderful playfulness made
him a brilliant and successful teacher.
His students were introduced to life questions and complex thinking
skills. They were also captivated by the magic tricks, puzzles, tongue twisters
and riddles that he so much enjoyed sharing with them.
In 1980, at Krishnaji’s behest, Rajesh moved to Rishi Valley
to head the Junior School. Many of the
boys in his charge at Rajghat accompanied him to Rishi Valley. Apart from expending
much creative energy in making the junior school a more vibrant space for its teachers
and students, he played a crucial role in the new Management Team that was
formed to administer Rishi Valley School. He was instrumental in giving shape
to the concept of a ‘middle school’ at Rishi Valley, a structure that was later
adopted by many of the KFI schools.
After eight years at Rishi Valley Rajesh moved on to
the KFI headquarters at Vasant Vihar, where he helped build the Study Centre.
He gave talks on Krishnamurti at various educational institutions in the city
and invited school students and young people to engage with life questions at
Vasant Vihar. He also initiated with his wife, Saraswati, a long-term project
of bringing up and educating a small group of young boys from Ladakh.
In 1996, Rajesh, along with Saraswati, was invited to move
with these boys to a new site in the Bhagirathi valley, near Uttarkashi, in
order to revive a small KFI school that had been established for rural
Himalayan children. With a small team of dedicated individuals who gathered
here, they together developed a wonderfully creative educational project,
renamed Nachiket. Though the school had to eventually be closed down, many of the
children, who had grown up in its closely-tended and vital atmosphere,
travelled with Saraswati to other locations in India and have continued with their
unique education, with full support from Rajesh.
During this period, Rajesh was also requested to
return to the Rajghat Education Centre as its Rector. This was a huge challenge
that he grappled with for 5 years, even as the Nachiket project continued to
function actively in the hills.
In 2007 Rajesh decided to shed further organizational
responsibilities within the KFI, and took to travelling and meeting with new
groups of persons interested in self-inquiry.
Over several decades, Rajesh had committed himself to
primarily one challenge -- transformation of consciousness through inviting,
asking, nurturing and deepening fundamental questions of human existence. He was
invited to international conferences and gatherings as special guest or keynote
speaker and traveled widely throughout India, parts of Europe, the United
States and Russia. During the last phase
of his life he reached out to increasingly diverse kinds of audiences hungry
for a deeper understanding of the human predicament in the 21st
century. He shared with them, as a ‘co-traveler’, his insights and discussed
the possible resolution of complex human issues. Some of his most impressive
talks are now available on YouTube.
All through this time Rajesh remained closely
connected with friends and associates in the KFI, bringing whatever impetus he
could to deepening the dialogue among trustees, as also among principals and
teachers of KFI schools. He remained deeply concerned about the possibility
that persons and places Krishnamurti had nurtured in his life-time may grow into
centres of light in a darkening world.
Rajesh Dalal through youth, middle age and the
beginnings of old age never lost the boyishness innate to his being. The secret of his being, if one may be
allowed to venture a guess of this kind, was an unshakeable faith in human
nature and a total absence of malice.
Radhika Herzberger
Alok Mathur
