Seeking - A new beginning

by Suma Varughese

An interview with Krishna, founder of One World Academy, a breakaway group from the humongous Oneness organisation

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A few months ago the spiritual world was rocked by news of a massive split in the Oneness organisation, founded by Amma and Bhagavan in Vardiapalem (see cover story, Life Positive, September 2006). Krishna, the son of the founders, along with the three principal teachers (called acharyas in their lexicon), and about 20 teachers had quit the organisation. The controversy raged on Facebook, Twitter and in real life. Confused followers expressed their disquiet and anxiety to each other and to the organisation. Like all splits much heat was generated. And then followed silence. Evidently a creative silence for out of it was born One World Academy. The whole process invited some interesting questions. How can an organisation whose founders all belonged to an earlier one, be much different from the one they emerged from? Would the approach be original or reactive? And for an organisation focused on supporting the individual to transcend conflict, how were they dealing with the conflict they had generated when they opted out? To answer these questions and a few more, a skype interview was set up with Krishna. Affable, good looking and absurdly young, Krishna came across as candid and direct.

It is part of the lore of Oneness that the whole phenomenon began when Bhagavan ran a residential school called Jivashram in Andhra Pradesh. At one point Krishna confided to him about seeing a golden man seated in his heart. Bhagawan asked the boy to place his hands on the head of others and soon most of the children were in a state of altered consciousness. That was the beginning of the Oneness movement, and in that sense, it was spawned by Krishna. The three former acharyas who have followed him to OWA, Samadarshini, Anandgiri and Vimalakirti were also products of Jivashram and belong to his age group.


The One World Academy team It would be a safe bet to infer that there is no one in that group of roughly 25 people who are older than 35. Perhaps that is why it emanates freshness.

In the website of OWA, Krishna spells out his manifesto: “The longer I live, the more I realise the importance of the word ‘right’. Life is not about doing what I want or what someone else wants; it is about doing what is ‘right’. Life is not about doing what is believed to be ‘good’ or avoiding what is accepted to be ‘bad’. It is about doing what is ‘right’. Right thought followed by right action, performed in awareness is growth, is joy”.

Excerpts from the interview:

What is the mission of One World Academy (OWA)?

The mission of One World Academy is to help the individual move from conflict to joy.

By joy, do you mean enlightenment?

We would rather not call that state enlightenment.

What is your view on 2012, which according to Oneness, is the harbinger of a higher world consciousness?

Basically, I am not convinced about it. Because I don’t believe in a date and a time when man will make it into a particular state. If it happens I would be very happy. I strongly believe that for millions of years the universe has been evolving and it will continue to evolve. If there is no growth, then there is death. If we say there is an end point, then there is no growth beyond that. This is an area (in which)I strongly disagree with Bhagavan’s view.

Doesn’t the focus on the date also create a hurry that is actually counter-productive?

In fact, a sense of urgency is the opposite of the spirit of enlightenment or wisdom.

The birth of OWA is not something that happened on the basis of a fight. I had a series of discussions with my father, presented to him many options in which we could run the movement. But he did not agree to that.

He said, “In Oneness there can’t be divisions. You believe in something and I in something else. So found something and do it on your own. I have no objections to it.”

How different will the courses offered by OWA be from those offered by Oneness?

The problems that all of us face aremuch the same. They aren’t very different. The solutions we are working for through these courses are also the same. We all are looking for love, happiness, awareness. but the ways the various courses go about them are different. Unlike Oneness, I believe there’s a place for human effort in one’s spiritual growth. There is a need for action. You can’t simply do nothing and expect divine grace to do everything for you. Yes, divine grace is part of our programme too and we teach people how to connect to it, but that is not all.

But Oneness also spoke about effort, didn’t it?

Probably that message went out only in the Breakthru programme. Elsewhere the message is clearly sent out that human effort plays no role at all. However, instead of effort, I would like to use the word right action.

Right action is born of right thought. And right thought is born of awareness. Action that is not born after a process of selfinquiry could be unintelligent effort also.

So, the process that OWA offers is very simple. Ideas, opinions, views, beliefs, ideologies – all of these are our mind. And these ideas and ideals control us and take away our freedom. That is the reason for our unhappiness.

If we find that any of these ideas or ideals are causing us trouble then we need to go through a process of enquiry. Once we see the origin or the root of it and also realise that these mental structures are only meanings we have given and that there is nothing real to them, they can no more control us or hurt us. For instance, at one of our programmes a man was governed by his idea of discipline. To him it meant staying away from all pleasures and on insisting that his family follow his rules. He faced a lot of conflict in the family because of this.

Our programme will also help you to use your ideals and ideas and act or also have the freedom to act differently from them. Your actions don’t always come from the past.

Isn’t that the definition of dharma? Appropriate action?

Yes, that is what we are focused on. Right thought + right action + flexibility or intelligence. That is the formula.

Our focus is on helping people get over their problems as much as possible in the programme itself. Right there and then.

How feasible is it to solve a problem right there and then?

It seems to be feasible. In the last close encounter two months we have conducted 22 programmes. Each programme has had approximately 30 people. On an average at least five to six participants have had a major breakthrough in the programme itself. They had fundamental shifts in relationships and could also make right decisions for their profession also. They are also taught self-inquiry so they could apply it to any life situations thereafter.

Awareness is such a difficult thing. How much can actually be communicated in two days?

What we mean by awareness is to bring conscious attention to life. We are not referring to an irreversible state that will stay with you independent of any causes.

To move on to a different tack, I was told that OWA is not interested in followers.

That is true. I am not a guru; none of us are gurus. We are an academy, an institution that focuses on helping people move from conflict to joy. People who attend our programmes can go anywhere; learn from anyone. We do not ask for allegiance.

Organisations by nature are structured, based on ideals and ideologies. They stifle freedom. How will you be able to prevent such a thing from happening to you?

Through awareness we can see to it that our ideas and ideologies do not make use of us. While in the external world we will use these structures to help us follow the norms of civilised society, internally we will not allow them to divide us or create conflict in us.

This danger can happen only if we are unaware. As an organisation we are focused on creating a culture of awareness. If a division does happen, I think it will come from a place of self-inquiry. If any of the faculty feels they have other needs they can make the choice. I don’t think it will come from a place of conflict, where we are mutually blaming each other.

Do you think OWA will succeed?

I feel OWA will succeed, because we are addressing practical problems; we are also using contemporary language to teach eternal spiritual insights.

What do you think is the fundamental human problem?

Fundamentally I think people’s problem is conflict.

For a spiritual seeker, it is conflict around enlightenment. A divide between where they are and where they want to go. For an entrepreneur or professional it is conflict born of competition. But underlying it all is division and conflict. Conflict at various levels is also the cause of war between nations. That is why we want to teach self-inquiry to people so they can move from conflict to joy. It can give them great fruits even if they can use it in moments of conflict only.

How do you face the conflict generated by your shift from Oneness?

With complete patience. We all are focused on the good we have received from Bhagawan all these years. We are deriving our strength and calm from gratitude.

What lies ahead for OWA?

Our first programme is called A New Beginning. We want to help people have new beginnings in their lives. We have New Beginning programmes for corporations, for schools and universities, for parents, teachers and seekers.

We will have these five courses ready by the end of this month. By the end of the year we should have our campus ready near Mahabalipuram, Chennai. It will be on the sea. We have already started construction.

There we will be offering a six-day advanced programme for seekers. It will be deeply contemplative and help people live happily, in the now.

The more I hear about the course, the more I feel J. Krishnamurthi has influenced it a lot.

Yes, Krishnamurti has influenced us a lot. So have the Upanishads, Buddhism, Taoism. Bhagawan too has influenced us to a great extent. Most importantly, it is our own life experience. We have seen that it is these teachings and processes that have helped us come through very turbulent times.

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