Francis Answers - 221 - I was a pupil many years ago of John Levy, we did no Yoga or meditation but worked in a group, have you anything like this?

Dear Hilary,

I was a pupil many years ago of John Levy, we did no Yoga or meditation but worked in a group ,have you anything like this?

Different traditions and different teachers within a given tradition teach in different ways. That which matters is the Truth, the authenticity of the teaching, the honesty and sincerity of the teacher and, most importantly, the intensity of the desire for the Truth in the student. I didn’t know John Levy, nor his way of teaching. I have great respect for the teachings of his guru, Atmananda (Krishna Menon).

If by group you mean a sanga, a spiritual family of friends, yes, there is such a group, and the sanga is one of the three pillars of the teaching. However the dharma, the way the teaching is imparted, is different here, with an equal emphasis on meditation and on the investigation into the true nature of our human experience, an inquiry which involves the three realms of thoughts, bodily sensations and external sense perceptions. One commonality you may find is the importance attributed to beauty and art in the teachings. John Levy was a good pianist and, as such, a student of beauty.

With love,

Francis