I have always wanted to make a this thread to introduce the ideas of one man, who has saved my life from depression through his words, and I guess this is the time for it. "What, Sea?!! Have you gotten so bad as to follow some sort of cult?! What a pathetic loser!" No, sirs, it's the opposite. This man, who was known as Jiddu Krishnamurti, enabled me to stop following anyone, any authority. He is not my personal Jesus and he wished nobody would consider him as such. I don't follow him. I want to understand him and I wish to see my friends understanding him.
If you think this thread is inappropriate, please delete it at any moment you like.
Let me borrow the words of the renowned writer Henry Miller to open his story:
"There is a name I have withheld which stands out in contrast to all that is secret, suspect, confusing, bookish and enslaving: Krishnamurti. Here is one man of our time who may be said to be a master of reality. He stands alone. He has renounced more than any man I can think of; except the Christ. Fundamentally he is so simple to understand that it is easy to comprehend the confusion which his clear, direct words and deeds have entailed. Men are reluctant to accept what is easy to grasp. Out of a perversity deeper than all Satan's wiles, man refuses to acknowledge his own God-given rights: he demands deliverance or salvation by and through an intermediary; he seeks guides, counsellors, leaders, systems, rituals. He looks for solutions which are in his own breast. He puts learning above wisdom, power above the art of in-discrimination. But above all, he refuses to work for his own liberation, pretending that first "the world" must be liberated. Yet, as Krishnamurti has pointed out time and again, the world problem is bound up with the problem of the individual. Truth is ever present, Eternity is here and now. And salvation? What is it, 0 man, that you wish to save? Your petty ego? Your soul? Your identity? Lose it and you will find yourself. Do not worry about God – God knows how to take care of Himself. Cultivate your doubts, embrace every kind of experience, keep on desiring, strive neither to forget nor to remember, but assimilate and integrate what you have experienced.
Roughly, this is Krishnamurti's way of speaking. It must be revolting at times to answer all the petty, stupid questions which people are forever putting to him. Emancipate yourself! he urges. No one else will, because no one else can. This voice from the wilderness is, of course, the voice of a leader. But Krishnamurti has renounced that role too."
Selected biography:
[hide]
Krishnamurti was born in May 12, 1895 into a Telugu Brahmin family in what was then colonial India. When he was 14 years old, he was 'discovered' by the high-ranking theosophist Charles Webster Leadbeater in the grounds of the Theosophical Society headquarters at Adyar in Madras (now Chennai), who was amazed by the "most wonderful aura he had ever seen, without a particle of selfishness in it." Krishnaji was subsequently raised under the tutelage of Annie Besant and Leadbeater, leaders of the Society at the time, who believed him to be a "vehicle" for an expected World Teacher. He and his brother suffered under their strict education and as a result his brother died, which affected Krishnaji immensely. "His belief in the Masters and the hierarchy had undergone a total revolution."; the news "broke him completely." ,but twelve days after his brother's death he was "immensely quiet, radiant, and free of all sentiment and emotion"; "there was not a shadow … to show what he had been through". The experience of his brother's death seems to have shattered any remaining illusions, and a "new vision" was now "coming into being."
To their surprise, as Krishnamurti grew up he dissolved the worldwide organization (the Order of the Star of the East) that was established to support him. At Ommen, the Netherlands, on 3 August 1929. He stated that he had made his decision after "careful consideration" during the previous two years, and that:
"I maintain that truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my point of view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or coerce people along a particular path. ... This is no magnificent deed, because I do not want followers, and I mean this. The moment you follow someone you cease to follow Truth. I am not concerned whether you pay attention to what I say or not. I want to do a certain thing in the world and I am going to do it with unwavering concentration. I am concerning myself with only one essential thing: to set man free. I desire to free him from all cages, from all fears, and not to found religions, new sects, nor to establish new theories and new philosophies."
He claimed allegiance to no nationality, caste, religion, or philosophy, and spent the rest of his life traveling the world, speaking to large and small groups and individuals. He authored many books, among them The First and Last Freedom, The Only Revolution, and Krishnamurti's Notebook. Many of his talks and discussions have been published. His last public talk was in Madras, India, in January 1986, a month before his death at his home in Ojai, California.
A few days before his death, in a final statement, he emphatically declared that "nobody"–among his associates, or the general public–had understood what had happened to him (as the conduit of the teaching), nor had they understood the teaching itself. He added that the "immense energy" operating in his lifetime would be gone with his death, again implying the impossibility of successors. However, he offered hope by stating that people could approach that energy and gain a measure of understanding "...if they live the teachings". In prior discussions he had compared himself with Thomas Edison, implying that he did the hard work, and now all was needed by others was a flick of the switch. In another instance he talked of Columbus going through an arduous journey to discover the New World, whereas now, it could easily be reached by jet; the ultimate implication being that even if Krishnamurti was in some way "special," in order to arrive at his level of understanding, others didn't need to be.
Krishnamurti died of pancreatic cancer on February 17, 1986, at the age of 90. His remains were cremated and scattered by friends and former associates in the three countries where he had spent most of his life: India, England, and the United States of America.[/hide]
Krishnamurti would often refer to the totality of his work as the teachings and not as my teachings. His concern was always about "the teachings"; the teacher had no importance, and all authority, especially psychological authority, was denounced:
"All authority of any kind, especially in the field of thought and understanding, is the most destructive, evil thing. Leaders destroy the followers and followers destroy the leaders. You have to be your own teacher and your own disciple. You have to question everything that man has accepted as valuable, as necessary."
The core of Krishnamurti's teaching: http://www.prahlad.org/gallery/krishnamurti.htm
Useful insights on his his uncompromising way of teaching the Truth: http://www.buddhanet.net/khrisna.htm
The following are opinions of famous people on him.
! George Bernard Shaw called Krishnamurti "a religious figure of the greatest distinction" and added, 'He is the most beautiful human being I have ever seen."
The Dalai Lama: "Krishnamurti is one of the greatest thinkers of the age"
! Aldous Huxley, after attending one of Krishnamurti's talks, confided in a letter, "… the most impressive thing I have listened to. It was like listening to a discourse of the Buddha - such power, such intrinsic authority... "; " The reader will find a clear contemporary statement of the fundamental human problem, together with an invitation to solve it in the only way in which it can be solved - by and for himself."
! Time Magazine named Krishnamurti as "one of the five saints of the 20th century".
! Khalil Gibran: "When he entered my room I said to myself, 'Surely the lord of love has come'."
! Publishers Weekly, as quoted on the jacket of To Be Human (2000) by Jiddu Krishnamurti: "Few modern thinkers have integrated psychology, philosophy, and religion so seamlessly as Krishnamurti."
! Professor David Bohm (associate of Einstein), after meeting Krishnamurti said: “The sky is different; it’s bigger.”
! Pepe Romero: "He was the essence of love."
! Franz Beckenbauer: "I keep a copy of 'Freedom From The Known' by my bedside… you should also read that book."
! Henry Miller wrote, "There is no man I would consider it a greater privelege to meet". "I know of no living man whose thought is more inspiring." ;"[His] language is naked, revelatory and inspiring… Instead of an obstacle race or a rat trap, it makes of daily life a joyous pursuit. There is something about Krishnamurti's utterances which makes the reading of books seem utterly superfluous."
! "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Benares, January 1910". - Episode in Emmy Award winning American television series created by George Lucas. The series explores the childhood and youth of the fictional character Indiana Jones, and in this episode, "old Indy attempts to enlighten a down on his luck trucker by telling him about the most extraordinary person he ever met: Krishnamurti."
! Times (London), Literary Supplement: "There is nothing vague about Krishnamurti's teaching. It is precise and penetrating."
! Van Morrison: "I feel the meaning of Krishnamurti for our time is that one has to think for oneself and not be swayed by any outside religious or spiritual authorities."
! Joseph Campbell: "…I can scarcely think of anything but the beauty and wisdom of my friend(Krishnamurti)…"
! Deepak Chopra: "Krishnamurti influenced me profoundly and helped me personally break through the confines of my own self-imposed restrictions to my freedom." ; "My first encounter with Krishnamurti was in the mid 1980s. He was giving a lecture at the Felt Forum in Madison Square Garden. lt was a cold wintery morning, there was sleet and snow and a thousand people were waitin9 outside. I was one of them. Krishnamurti spoke for two hours. He was direct, profound and ruthlessly honest. When I walked out the sleet and snow had stopped and there was bright sunshine. For some reason I was feelin9 that the sun was bright and warm because I was feelin9 bright and warm inside. I never met Krishnamurti personal1y although I have been close to many who were close to him and I see the remarkabIe effect this man had on their lives. In my own life Krishnamurti influenced me profound1y and helped me personal1y break through the confines of my own se1f-imposed restrictions to my freedom."
! Angelo Gilardino: He taught freely, he taught freedom - he taught lovely, he taught love - he taught beatifully, he taught beauty - he taught simply, he taught simplicity. He was a gift of heavens for humanity.
! Joe Lewis, a world Karate champion and student of Bruce Lee said that two of his favorite books are Talking about Think On These Things, and A dialogue with K. He said that Bruce Lee applied a great deal of K’s teachings to both martial arts and acting.
! Atlantic Constitution: "The author's reasoning is so clear, so straightforward, that the reader feels a challenge on every page."
! Alan Watts: "A strong ally who awakened responsive chords in me by the freshness of a way of thinking that was quite outside the usual ruts of moral and spiritual teaching."
! Richmond News-Leader: "Mr. Krishnamurti has written a most revolutionary book. With a sweep as wide as Gibran's The Prophet, he investigates such universals as 'The Individual and Society,' 'Self-Knowledge,' 'Fear,' 'Simplicity,' 'Awareness' and 'Self-Deception.' "
! Anne Morrow Lindberg: "Krishnamurti's observations and explorations of modern man's estate are penetrating and profund, yet given with a disarming simplicity and directness. To listen to him or to read his thoughts is to face oneself and the world with an astonishing morning freshness."
! The Personalist: "A thought-provoking book, Life Ahead represents a first-hand account of the struggle to transcend human limitations. In its wider context it is an attempt to answer man's gnawing recognition of his own fear and his personal inadequacy."
! Fairfield Osborn "His word, 'Education and the Significance of Life' expresses clear and untrammeled thinking regarding some of the profound cultural problems of our people."
! Margueritte Harmon Bro: "Here is the work of a free mind curiously intent on truth without self-interest."
! Francis Hackett: "Krishnamurti is no other than he seems, a free man, one of the first quality, growing older as diamonds do but the gem-like flame not dating, and alive in these Commentaries (On Living). It is a treasure."
! Rollo May: "These calm searching thoughts of an eastern thinker pierce to the roots of our western problems. A profound and fresh approach to self-understanding and deeper insights into the meaning of personal freedom and mature love."
! Reza Ganjavi: "I've read the works of all major Western and Eastern philosophers and in my humble opinion Krishnamurti is the greatest philosopher who ever walked the earth. " ; "He was just a freelancer, didn’t belong to any organization, ideology…, just a very intelligent human looking at the problems of living and he had amazing insights into the nature of the mind."
List of works on Jiddy Krishnamurti: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_works_about_Jiddu_Krishnamurti
A chapter on Krishnamurti from Henry Miller's book:
http://www.jkrishnamurti.org.cn/archiver/?tid-624.html
I don't claim to have completely understood his ideas, but I have dug deep. If you have any trouble in understanding him, I will try my best to explain. I can only show you the way to the river. Whether you can go there and drink the water is your own choice.
