Notes
from a recent visit to Ojai and a KFA gathering and related items:
http://home.datacomm.ch/rezamusic/kfa_blues_and_oranges.html
KFA
has gone through a hard time. They lost millions in speculative
investments. I heard from a source quoting an ex-Trustee that K
specifically asked them not to make speculative investments and one of
the Trustees whom I knew when she was alive even asked K that this
should be documented in writing and apparently it was. I have not seen
it with my own eyes but the source seems reliable, and it does not come
as a surprise since the foundation is non-profit and needs to be
conservative in managing its assets.
So there was a big
restructuring at the KFA from top to bottom. The top director laid off
a lot of people, and now he has a different role, and at the top there
is a financial advisor. They all have a keen interest in K’s work. They
have some new trustees including one of Friedrich Grohe’s staff, and
the core of the great trustees are still there, such as Frode Steen,
Evelyn Blau, Tom Haagestaad, Derek Dodds, Karen Hesli, and Michael
Mendizza.
At times, Krishnamurti did not have kind words for the
KFA. He reportedly called it an idiotic foundation. I don’t know if he
was fond of any of the organizations which were set up around him. He
almost dissolved the Indian foundation. The foundations have come a
long way and done some great work including the complete works project,
ongoing digitization, and other things in line with the purpose of
preservation and dissemination which they were set up to do. On the
subject of dissemination it is noteworthy that living something is the
best way of disseminating it.
For many years, KFA has hosted a
brief gathering every May – a free event – where there were speakers
and audio and/or video showing, and lunch available for purchase. A
fairly simple gathering but a good one, and an opportunity for
like-minded people to come together, for old friends to meet, and for
new friendships to form around the important questions of living. At
some point we started having a talent show, a participatory
entertainment evening. It happened almost spontaneously one year and
the following years it was a bit more organized, and it became a
tradition. The ex-trustee and friend Erna Lillifelt recalled back then
that many many years ago they used to have such entertainment evenings
as well during the gatherings. I’ve played in these events numerous
times alone and with other musicians. In this year’s gathering they
were going to have an accomplished pianist give a concert.
On 6
March 2010 I wrote to the KFA pointing out the apparent contradiction
and disarray in their organization of the May 2010 gathering. Here are
some extracts from the letter.
“I
am writing to you (and by copy to some other KFA trustees) in your
position related to management, communications, and public relations of
KFA. In my last 28 years of relating with KFA I've never seen a
situation like this:
KFA
sends a mass mail on 26 Jan 2010 announcing the May Gathering with
details of the two days. Reservations were to be taken beginning March
(though it was not clear if the reservations are for lunch or the
event), according to the mailing.
A
couple of weeks later, in February, KFA cancels this event on the
website. A couple of weeks later, the event is still marked as canceled
on the website but plans are in place to have part of the event go on
and a lot of people are expected. KFA didn't do everything perfectly
before but I've never seen such chaotic handling of an event.
The
cancellation notice on the website states "The 2010 KFA gathering will
be postponed to allow us more time to plan and implement a really good
event." The
notice is not sent out to the general mailing so based on the January
mailing people could still be making plans to come to a gathering which
is technically canceled…
I
don't know how many months it takes to "plan and implement a really
good event". This could not have been the reason as stated. The reason
has also been indicated as financial. That you did not have enough
reservations. This just adds to the confusion. You did not give it more
than two weeks to cancel the event so how could you have expected
reservations by mid-February when you announced that people could
register starting March (as per your January 26 mailing).
What
has gone wrong? Why not have this event? Why financing the event is
such a big deal? Why would you ever want to pay any speakers? Did K
charge to speak? I don't think Dr. Krishna charges to speak either, and
many would be happy to speak there without a charge, and the main point
of the gathering is not to come to listen to a paid speaker anyway.
…”
KFA’s
been short on resources so that could explain what one insightful
person put it as “very bad planning – they did not think it through”,
but from the point of view of a professional project manager whose had
to regularly deal with resource and time constraints, this appears
purely as a management shortcoming. And then the explanations they were
giving contradicted with each other a number of time. It was cancelled
because two speakers cancelled. It was cancelled because people had not
registered. It was cancelled in coordination with X while X was
surprised it was cancelled :) talk about confusion… It also seems that
a fully smooth transition from the past to the present administration
had not yet occurred but I am sure it will.
While the gathering
was marked as cancelled, on the same planned day, part of the events of
the gathering were re-scheduled to happen. I think a week before the
gathering KFA sent out a notice to people that there was an event that
day, and the place was packed – I counted at least 80 people. So all
the concerns about lack of reservations, fear of budgetary impacts of
low attendance, lack of budget for speakers, and so on were unfounded.
The
event happened and included Dr. K’s talk and Evelyne’s videos, and a
“high tea” which I didn’t go (in the past they served unhealthy
sweets). After Dr. K’s talk there was a Q&A session and then a few
people talked about fund raising and money. Money, the new world’s God
which has turned its back on KFA was cited as the reason for having
cancelled the gathering. So I asked how much it costs to organize
something like this. The response was, around $10,000. Why? Well, we
have to rent chairs, pay for speakers’ travel, advertise. One of the
key insiders wrote later:
“i
liked your comment at the end of the thing in pine cottage about why it
cost 10000 to put on the gathering... That is only if you don't know
how to do things cheaply...”
I am happy there are a number of very trustworthy trustees in KFA now and they’ve got their fingers on that pulse!
On
a couple of occasions, e.g. at lunch, people were calculating how much
it would really cost to do this gathering, because people really care
for it, it’s a really beautiful event, a gathering of friends, and a
place to meet new friends, and many found it a pity that it was
cancelled for financial reasons, and some were asking, how much
donations are needed to get it going again. So the chairs cost a few
hundred, the advertising would cost very little as it’s done mainly
through an email blast and KFA’s website, and most importantly, the
staff required to manage parking and so on could be done by volunteer,
like it was done during K’s time.
Back then we were all
volunteers. I worked in parking, watering the dust off, and so on. And
there is no reason to fly speakers from far away distances, or to have
paid speakers. There are several insightful folks locally who could do
perfectly well, or it can even be done without speakers – in the past
they played audios of K for example. A simple low-budget gathering
would do.
And then they say: “we need one year to plan” the two
day gathering. I could not believe my ears :) 10,000 and 1 year. This
job can be organized within one or two months max with at most ½ of
that budget, and this is a professional estimate!
The New Library
I
was welcomed to the new library (Mary Z’s old house) by James Paul’s
dog who jumped on me. James was on duty, as a volunteer I suppose, busy
preparing something in the kitchen.
The library is
beautiful. I had been there a number of times visiting Mary Z when she
was alive. There’s a special quality of silence there. The original
building was build in 1895. K’s bedroom and library are turned into a
quiet room. But it does not have the same degree of aloofness which the
quiet room at Brockwood Park has. At Brockwood the visitor is
encouraged not to go in the quiet room to become quiet but to take
quietness there with one…
The Closed Door
Outside,
the air was filled with drunkening smell of orange blossoms on a cold
April day. KFA used to have an open door. Now they have a closed door.
Before, a visitor could walk in any time during business hours. Now the
door was locked. We rang and the new director spoke with us through the
half opened door. Things have changed. The place has had to downsize a
lot. But they’re trying and doing their best which is what counts.
Outsiders
Should People Outside the Foundations Make Comments About the Work of the Foundation?
The
obvious answer is yes -- KFA is a public entity and the public have the
right to express opinions about it. Even if it was a private entity
that right would still exist. At least one person within the foundation
thinks differently. One of the people who worked closely around K (and
some of those think they own K), had very strong feelings around a
number of subjects which had led to his anger -- which is not something
new as I had seen him angry many times before around different people
and different subjects and in dialogues. I asked him to meet to at
least communicate what was bothering him – that communication is
essential otherwise we can make things up in our minds and assume
they’re true (exactly as in this case) – and if there is attachment to
those conclusions that by itself prohibits communications because the
light of truth might dispel darkness, the light of understanding may
dispel images, conclusions, and the egocentric predicament which was
very much at work in this case. I asked a mutual friend to attend in
order to facilitate and ensure it's a civil dialogue.
It turned
out there were a number of illusory assumptions, egocentric conclusions
and image that were made that if he had communicated them before, had
sought to understand the other’s point of view, they'd gotten clarified
a long time ago.
It is easy to wrongly assume things about other
people based on not knowing certain facts that shape people's
attitudes. For example, a man wanted to have sex with me but I am not
homosexual and it was hard for him to understand how a straight person
is not attracted to the same sex.
Sometimes the facts that shape
people’s behaviors are the result of politicizing of situation by a
sometimes highly political organization. Politicizing means to cause to
become political in character, and in this case, as related to
governance, possessiveness, and power play.
In writing these
circulars I try to take the approach the foundation has at times failed
to take: to seek truth vs. collective ignorance which is common
in any organization, including those set up around K.
Enlightenment
A
highlight of the trip was the soccer games at Oak Grove School. It is
the most “spiritually” enlightening experience in Ojai ;-)
The trip ended with a nice jam session with friends including a trustee and teacher. Thanks for the invitation.
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