The First Day of School, 1975

A Remembrance by David Moody

School began at 8:30 on the upper portion of the back lawn at Arya Vihara, in the east end of the valley. There were eight or ten of us that first day, sitting cross-legged in a circle on the grass. There were three elementary students, two teachers, the director, the chef, and a couple of visitors.

The day was bright, with sharp shadows, but not yet too warm. Mark Lee, the director, had recently planted two trees near where we were sitting to commemorate the event. He spoke briefly about the significance of the day and the underlying intent of the school. One of the students got a bit restless, but the atmosphere was cheerful, as if the day were pregnant with possibilities.

During that first year, classes were conducted in a long rectangular room immediately adjacent to Krishnamurti’s cottage. That room no longer exists, as it was replaced by Mary Zimbalist’s residence (now the Krishnamurti library), which was constructed in 1979. But when it was our classroom, our space actually shared a wall with Krishnamurti’s living quarters. This was a little disconcerting when he was in town. I always wondered how much of our conversation and activities he could overhear.

I looked on in admiration that first morning as Mark Lee conducted a lesson in which he had the students taste various items without first identifying them. It was a marvelous exercise in basic awareness. I attempted some reading and math instruction with the students, who varied widely in ability. At the end of the morning, Mark read to us from the first chapter of Kinship with All Life.

A vegetarian lunch was prepared for everyone by Michael Krohnen, always a friendly presence. In the afternoon, the students had art class with Elaine Needham, and then games, then an end-of-day gathering-together we called Wrap Up.

None of us had the faintest conception of what the school would become. If you had shown us a video of the school fifty years in the future, we would have looked on in astonishment.

It is a remarkable achievement to establish a school that not only survives for half a century but also grows, develops, and thrives in every dimension. This is a credit to each teacher, student, parent, and administrator who has participated in this endeavor.

It is also a credit to the philosophy on which a school is built. It is a philosophy rooted in fundamental truths about human nature and relationships. Together, all of these elements have created the living, breathing organism that is Oak Grove School today.

David Moody served as director of the Oak Grove School from 1984-1987, the position he held at the time of Krishnamurti’s death. Previously, he was the first teacher hired at the school in 1975, and he served as educational director from 1980 to 1984. After he left the school, he earned his PhD in education from the University of California at Los Angeles.

About David Moody

Moody is the author of Krishnamurti in America, a complete biography that gives special attention to the crucial events in Krishnamurti’s life that occurred in the United States. Previously, he wrote An Uncommon Collaboration, a study of Krishnamurti’s work with theoretical physicist David Bohm; and The Unconditioned Mind: J. Krishnamurti and the Oak Grove School, which examines Krishnamurti’s direct involvement in the school from 1975 until his death in 1986.

David’s website is DavidEdmundMoody.com.