Nevertheless, for the rest of his life, K continued to speak around the world, explain his philosophy in numerous books and audio tapes, and visit Ojai - the place where he believed he had been filled with the Holy Spirit - on an almost annual basis until his death here, in 1986.
The early presence of Theosophists, and Krishnamurti's regular gatherings beneath the oaks of Ojai, between 1922 and 1985, formed the foundation of the town's cultic milieu. Subsequently, the exploration of alternative spiritual paths, the practice of alternative health modalities of body and mind, as well as a long-established connection to L.A.'s film industry creatives, have built upon this foundation. Within this cultic milieu, there also remains a connection to the indigenous people through a continuation of local shamanic traditions, echoes of the effulgent hippie era, and the presence of Chumash tribal members in the valley.
Magic requires a supportive environment in which to do its work. Despite the strong proclivity towards enchantment shown by the sub-set of Ojai's population that forms its cultic milieu, residual magic that might linger in the valley is vitiated under the oppressive weight of modernity. This condition was diagnosed by Max Weber in 1917, when he suggested, "The fate of our times is characterized by rationalization and intellectualization and, above all, by the disenchantment of the world." The 'Disenchantment of the Modern World' now constitutes a significant academic trope.
Michael Salen, in Modernity and Enchantment, 2006, suggests that "pre-modern wonders and marvels have been demystified by science, spirituality has been supplanted by secularism, spontaneity has been replaced by bureaucratization, and imagination has been supplanted by instrumental reason." Ojai, like much of the world, is now entirely removed from those 'wonders and marvels' which were found embedded in occasions of communal transcendence that characterized societies in the West prior to the Enlightenment - the era that initiated modernity.
The wonder of California is that it remained in a pristine pre-modern condition until 1769, when it was first sundered by the arrival of the Spanish, despite earlier coastal incursions initiated in the sixteenth century, in voyages led by Cortes and Cabrillo and by the British sea-captain, Francis Drake. But four decades of Franciscan assault, backed by squads of Spanish soldiers marshalled under Governor Don Pedro Fages, then the arrival of Californios (civilian settlers of Spanish and Mexican descent) and finally, the American takeover of California, finally led to its destruction.
Most of the three hundred thousand men who had arrived in Northern California for the Gold Rush quickly fanned out across the State, wildly seeking profit, after production collapsed in the early 1850's. Lacking community, and unconstrained by ritual, ceremony, reverence, or regard for life beyond their own, these pioneers of the 31st state exulted in their destruction of California's web of indigenous people, flora, and fauna. For the next several decades, this violence blossomed across the land and all but extinguished the magic inherent in our Valley.
It is Ojai's cultic milieu that now holds space for its eventual return.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
2
2
1
