
Jiddu Krishnamurti was born on 11 May 1895 in Madanapalle, a small town in south India. He and his brother were adopted in their youth by Dr Annie Besant, then president of the Theosophical Society. Dr Besant and others proclaimed that Krishnamurti was to be a world teacher whose coming the Theosophists had predicted. To prepare the world for this coming, a world-wide organization called the Order of the Star in the East was formed and the young Krishnamurti was made its head. In 1929, however, Krishnamurti renounced the role that he was expected to play, dissolved the Order with its huge following, and returned all the money and property that had been donated for this work. From then, for nearly sixty years until his death on 17 February 1986, he travelled throughout the world talking to large audiences and to individuals about the need for a radical change in humankind. Krishnamurti is regarded globally as one of the greatest thinkers and religious teachers of all time. He did not expound any philosophy or religion, but rather talked of the things that concern all of us in our everyday lives, of the problems of living in modern society with its violence and corruption, of the individual's search for security and happiness, and the need for humankind to free itself from inner burdens of fear, anger, hurt, and sorrow. He explained with great precision the subtle workings of the human mind, and pointed to the need for bringing to our daily life a deeply meditative and spiritual quality. Krishnamurti belonged to no religious organization, sect or country, nor did he subscribe to any school of political or ideological thought. On the contrary, he maintained that these are the very factors that divide human beings and bring about conflict and war. He reminded his listeners again and again that we are all human beings first and not Hindus, Muslims or Christians, that we are like the rest of humanity and are not different from one another. He asked that we tread lightly on this earth without destroying ourselves or the environment. He communicated to his listeners a deep sense of respect for nature. His teachings transcend belief systems, nationalistic sentiment and sectarianism. At the same time, they give new meaning and direction to humankind's search for truth. His teaching, besides being relevant to the modern age, is timeless and universal. Krishnamurti spoke not as a guru but as a friend, and his talks and discussions are based not on tradition-based knowledge but on his own insights into the human mind and his vision of the sacred, so he always communicates a sense of freshness and directness although the essence of his message remained unchanged over the years. When he addressed large audiences, people felt that Krishnamurti was talking to each of them personally, addressing his or her particular problem. In his private interviews, he was a compassionate teacher, listening attentively to the man or woman who came to him in sorrow, and encouraging them to heal themselves through their own understanding. Religious scholars found that his words threw new light on traditional concepts. Krishnamurti took on the challenge of modern scientists and psychologists and went with them step by step, discussed their theories and sometimes enabled them to discern the limitations of those theories. Krishnamurti left a large body of literature in the form of public talks, writings, discussions with teachers and students, with scientists and religious figures, conversations with individuals, television and radio interviews, and letters. Many of these have been published as books, and audio and video recordings. This author also writes under: Jiddu Krishnamurti
by J. Krishnamurti
Rating: 4.3 ⭐
• 5 recommendations ❤️
365 daily meditations on freedom, personal transformation, living fully, and much more, from the man the Dalai Lama described as "one of the greatest thinkers of the age."
‘The material contained in this volume was originally presented in the form of talks to students, teachers and parents in India, but its keen penetration and lucid simplicity will be deeply meaningful to thoughtful people everywhere, of all ages, and in every walk of life. Krishnamurti examines with characteristic objectivity and insight the expressions of what we are pleased to call our culture, our education, religion, politics and tradition; and he throws much light on such basic emotions as ambition, greed and envy, the desire for security and the lust for power – all of which he shows to be deteriorating factors in human society.’ From the Editor’s Note‘Krishnamurti’s observations and explorations of modern man’s estate are penetrating and profound, 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.’ -- Anne Marrow Lindbergh
Counted among his admirers are Jonas Salk, Aldous Huxley, David Hockney, and Van Morrison, along with countless other philosophers, artist, writers and students of the spiritual path. Now the trustees of Krishnamurti’s work have gathered his very best and most illuminating writings and talks to present in one volume the truly essential ideas of this great spiritual thinker.Total Freedom includes selections from Krishnamurti’s early works, his ‘Commentaries on Living’, and his discourses on life, the self, meditation, sex and love. These writings reveal Krishnamuri’s core teachings in their full eloquence and power: the nature of personal freedom; the mysteries of life and death; and the ‘pathless land’, the personal search for truth and peace. Warning readers away from blind obedience to creeds or teachers – including himself – Krishnamurti celebrated the individual quest for truth, and thus became on of the most influential guides for independent-minded seekers of the twentieth century – and beyond.
This comprehensive record of Krishnamurti’s teachings is an excellent, wide-ranging introduction to the great philosopher’s thought. With among others, Jacob Needleman, Alain Naude, and Swami Venkatasananda, Krishnamurti examines such issues as the role of the teacher and tradition; the need for awareness of ‘cosmic consciousness; the problem of good and evil; and traditional Vedanta methods of help for different levels of seekers.
Krishnamurti shows how people can free themselves radically and immediately from the tyranny of the expected, no matter what their age--opening the door to transforming society and their relationships.
by J. Krishnamurti
Rating: 4.4 ⭐
• 2 recommendations ❤️
In this series of 8 talks, given in Ojai, California in 1955, Krishnamurti confronts the confusion, habits, and assumptions of the human mind, and claims these lie at the root of all violence and suffering in the world. While these reflections were offered over 50 years ago, their meaning is as fresh and as relevant heard today. Krishnamurti discusses a world in which booming productivity and scientific advancement promise a happy future, but don't provide it. He points to the ongoing escalation of war, competition, envy and territoriality despite gains in education, religious ecumenism and the technologies of self-improvement. Ultimately and throughout, he asks his listeners to consider that all apparent progress of the self is not progress toward freedom, but a treadmill of illusion. Knowing one's mind, he asserts, through diligent self-observation, is the only way to freedom.
Krishnamurti is a leading spiritual teacher of our century. In The First and Last Freedom he cuts away symbols and false associations in the search for pure truth and perfect freedom. Through discussions on suffering, fear, gossip, sex and other topics, Krishnamurti’s quest becomes the readers, an undertaking of tremendous significance.
What are you?Who are you?What do you want from life?Life hurts us all, but rarely are we taught how to deal with these shocks. Jiddu Krishnamurti offers an introduction to many of life’s themes from relationships and love, to fear and loneliness. He asks questions such as ‘What is the significance of life?’ and ‘What is the purpose of life?’ He argues that we ask these questions when there is chaos and uncertainty within. And ultimately it is our responsibility to the choices we make and how we choose to live our lives.
The teacher probes the Western problems of conformity and loss of personal values while offering a fresh approach to self-understanding and the meaning of personal freedom and mature love.
In 1950 Krishnamurti "It is only when the mind is not escaping in any form that it is possible to be in direct communion with that thing we call lonliness, the alone, and to have communion with that thing, there must be affection, there must be love." On Love and Lonliness is a compelling investigation of our intimate relationships with ourselves, others, and society. Krishnamurti suggests that "true relationship" can come into being only when there is self-knowledge of the conditions which divide and islolate individuals and groups. Only by renouncing the self can we understand the problem of lonliness, and truly love.
On Fear is a collection of Krishnamurti's most profound observations and thoughts on how fear and dependence affect our lives and prevent us from seeing our true selves. Among the many questions Krishnamurti addresses in these remarkable teachings How can a mind that is afraid love? And what can a mind that depends on attachment know of joy? He points out that the voice of fear makes the mind dull and insensitive, and argues that the roots of hidden fears, which limit us and from which we constantly seek escape, cannot be discovered through analysis of the past. Questioning whether the exercise of will can eliminate the debilitating effects of fear, he suggests, instead, that only a fundamental realization of the root of all fear can free our minds.
The privilege is given to me, as an elder, to pen a word of introduction to this little book, the first written by a younger Brother, young in body verily, but not in Soul. The teachings contained in it were given to him by his Master in preparing him for Initiation, and were written down by him from memory - slowly and laboriously, for his English last year was far less fluent than it is now. The greater part is a reproduction of the Master's own words; that which is not such a verbal reproduction is the Master's thought clothed in His pupil's words. Two omitted sentences were supplied by the Master. In two other cases an omitted word has been added. Beyond this, it is entirely Alcyone's own, his first gift to the world. May it help others as the spoken teachings helped him - such is the hope with which he gives it. But the teaching can only be fruitful if it is lived, as he has lived it, since it fell from the Master's lips. If the example be followed as well as the precept, then for the reader, as for the writer, shall the great Portal swing open, and his feet be set on the Path. Annie Besant.
This very important work offers penetrating dialogues between the great spiritual leader and the renowned physicist that shed light on the fundamental nature of existence. Krishnamurti and David Bohm probe such questions as ‘why has humanity made thought so important in every aspect of life? How does one cleanse the mind of the ‘accumulation of time’ and break the ‘pattern of ego -centered activity’? The Ending of Time concludes by referring to the wrong turn humanity has taken, but does not see this as something from which there is no escape. There is an insistence that mankind can change fundamentally; but this requires going from one’s narrow and particular interests toward the general, and ultimately moving still deeper into that purity of compassion, love and intelligence that originates beyond thought, time, or even emptiness.
Krishnamurti's essential message is that, to find truth, we must go beyond the limits of ordinary thought. In public talks worldwide, he strove to free listeners from conventional beliefs and psychological mind-sets in order to understand what is. This 3-volume series records his meetings with individual seekers from all walks of life, during which he comments on the struggles common to those who work to break the boundaries of personality and self-limitation. In the first volume Krishnamurti discusses many topics, including knowledge, belief, simplicity of the heart, love in relationship, ambition, and clarity in action.
Regarded as one of the great spiritual teachers of the twentieth century, Krishnamurti delivered his radical insights with a disarming simplicity. Here, in records of talks and dialogues in London, Paris, Amsterdam and Saanen, Switzerland, he speaks on freedom, fragmentation, radical change and more.
When KrishnamurtiOs Notebook first became available in 1976, it was soon realized that it was a spiritually unique document giving his perceptions and experiences and describing his states of consciousness. It is a kind of diary but one that is little concerned with the day to day process of living, though very much aware of the natural world.
A leading spiritual teacher of the twentieth century presents meditation as a tool for better understanding not just ourselves but the world around us These selections present the core of Krishnamurti's teaching on meditation, taken from discussions with small groups, as well as from public talks to large audiences. His main theme is the essential need to look inward, to know ourselves, in order really to understand our own—and the world's—conflicts. We are the world, says Krishnamurti, and it is our individual chaos that creates social disorder. He offers timeless insights into the source of true freedom and wisdom.
Described by the Dalai Lama as "one of the greatest thinkers of the age", Jiddu Krishnamurti has influenced millions throughout the 20th century, including Aldous Huxley, Bertrand Russell, Henry Miller and Joseph Campbell. Born of middle-class Brahmin parents in 1895, Krishnamurti was recognised at age fourteen by theosophists Annie Besant and C W Leadbetter as an anticipated world teacher and proclaimed to be the vehicle for the reincarnation of Christ in the West and of Buddha in the East. In 1929 he repudiated these claims and travelled the world, sharing his philosophical insights and establishing schools and foundations. Because Krishnamurti had no interest in presenting theories, his thought is far removed from academic philosophy in the analytic tradition, yet his insights remain extremely relevant to contemporary philosophical theories and to those interested in understanding themselves and the world. Rather than a theorist, Krishnamurti is regarded as a seer and a teacher. He perceived inherent distorting psychological structures that bring about a division in the individual's consciousness between "the observer" and "the observed". He believed this division was a potent source of conflict, both within the individual and externally for society as a whole, and offered a way to transcend these harmful structures through a radical transformation in human consciousness. This is a collection of Krishnamurti's writings and lectures about the individual in relation to society. He examines the importance of inquiry, the role of the emotions, the relation between experience and the self, the observer/observed distinction, the nature of freedom, and other philosophical ideas.
Life Ahead presents lessons that move far beyond the traditional forms of education taught in most schools and colleges. Drawn from transcripts of talks given to Indian students, the book covers a wide range of universal topics. In short, accessible chapters, Krishnamurti explores the danger of competition, the value of solitude, the need to understand both the conscious and the unconscious mind, and the critical difference between concentration and attention, and between knowledge and learning. Krishnamurti exposes the roots of fear and eradicates deeply entrenched habits of tradition, limitation, and prejudice. The life he holds forth requires a complete change of thought, even a revolution, one that begins “not with theory and ideation,” he writes, “but with a radical transformation in the mind itself.” He explains how such transformation occurs only through an education that concentrates on the total development of the human being, an education carefully described in this simple yet powerful book.
Krishnamurti's essential message is that to find truth, we must go beyond the limits of ordinary thought. In public talks worldwide, he strove to free listeners from conventional beliefs and psychological mind-sets in order to understand what is. This 3-volume series records his meetings with individual seekers from all walks of life, during which he comments on the struggles common to those who work to break the boundaries of personality and self-limitation. This second volume of the 3-part series includes discussions of creative happiness, devotion, worship, the fear of death, karma and an experience of bliss.
In 1950, Krishnamurti "If we are concerned with our own lives, if we understand our relationship with others, we will have created a new society; otherwise, we will but perpetuate the present chaotic mess and confusion." Providing a far-reaching basis for solving many of the world's crises, On Relationship brings together Krishnamurti's most essential teachings on the individual's relationship to other people and institutions. The renowned teacher makes clear that the way we handle personal crises and relationships links us to the problems of all people and has a larger, global meaning. Ending the causes of war, for instance, cannot truly begin until we perform simple, but often ignored, tasks such as reconciling with estranged family members, keeping our homes in order, and respecting others.
Krishnamurti (1895–1986) went from his origins in a small south Indian village to become one of the great spiritual teachers of the twentieth century. He taught that the only way to peace on earth is the transformation of the human psyche—and that there is no path to this transformation, no method for achieving it, no gurus or spiritual authorities who can help. The transformation is a truth each of us must discover within ourselves.This classic collection of brief excerpts from Krishnamurti's books and talks presents the essence of his teaching on meditation—a state of attention, beyond thought, which brings total freedom from authority and ambition, fears and separateness. This doubly expanded edition features even more of the great teacher's wisdom than the original version, and also includes some never-before-published material.
A recapitulation of 12 talks & discussions that Jiddu Krishnamurti, the world-renowned spiritual teacher & prolific author, has given in American universities.
To Be Human presents Krishnamurti's radical vision of life in a new way. At the heart of this extraordinary collection are passages from the great teacher's talks that amplify and clarify the nature of truth and those obstacles that often prevent us from seeing it. Most of these core teachings have not been available in print until now. Besides presenting the core of Krishnamurti's message, the book alerts the reader to his innovative use of language, the ways in which he would use "old words with new interpretations," then gives practical examples, showing that we can clarify our understanding of life itself—and act on this new understanding. The splendid introduction by David Skitt discusses Krishnamurti's philosophy as a guide to knowledge and experience, the roles knowledge and experience should play in our lives, and the times when it is best to cast them aside and "look and act anew." The book's source notes will aid the inquisitive reader who wishes a deeper understanding of this great teacher's message.
Krishnamurti's last journal, spoken into a tape recorder at his home, Pine Cottage, in the Ojai Valley, brings the reader close to this renowned spiritual teacher. Dictated in the mornings, from his bed, undisturbed, Krishnamurti's observations are captured here in all their immediacy and candor, from personal reflections to poetic musings on nature and a serene meditation on death.Reflecting the culmination of a life of spiritual exploration, these remarkable final teachings engage and enlighten.
In On God, J. Krishnamurti talks about our quest for the sacred, exploring the futility of pursuing knowledge of the ‘unknowable’. He explains that only by relinquishing the pursuit with our intellects can we achieve true liberation, enabling us to experience reality, truth, and bliss in their purest forms. Krishnamurti presents ‘the religious mind’ as one that directly apprehends the sacred rather than adhering to religious dogma.According to Krishnamurti, in order to discover God, we must comprehend the process of thought—the process of self-discovery. He dispels common misconceptions about God and religion, paving the way for original thought.In this transformative exploration, readers are invited to embark on a journey toward genuine wisdom, where the constraints of belief dissolve, and the essence of reality and divinity is unveiled in all its raw splendour.
J. Krishnamurti was one of the most influential and widely known spiritual teachers of the twentieth century. Here, he inquires with the reader into how remembering and dwelling on past events, both pleasurable and painful, give us a false sense of continuity, causing us to suffer. His instruction is to be attentive and clear in our perceptions and to meet the challenges of life directly in each new moment.
J. Krishnamurti was renowned for the penetrating insight and immediacy of his spiritual teachings. Radical in his day for seeking truth beyond the boundaries of religion, ideology, or tradition, he declared that "Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever." He traveled and lectured throughout the world, calling for a new approach to life and spirituality.In this compilation of Krishnamurti's most essential teachings, he explores what he calls "the art of living." The topics addressed include such perennial human concerns living life without conflict and confusion, how to act with skill and clarity, the significance of meditation, death and dying, true freedom, and bringing the sacred into everyday life. These timeless teachings guide us to live our lives simply, intelligently, and with great love—free from the bonds of sorrow and fear.
Krishnamurti's essential message is that to find truth, we must go beyond the limits of ordinary thought. In public talks worldwide, he strove to free listeners from conventional beliefs and psychological mind-sets in order to understand what is. The essential message of J. Krishnamurti, revered philosopher and spiritual teacher to millions, challenges the limits of ordinary thought. In talks and teachings to audiences worldwide, he extricated his listeners from the tangled net of ideas, organizational beliefs and psychological mind-sets and pointed them to the bliss of truth. In the final volume of this series, conversations with individual seekers explore many topics, including the cultivation of sensitivity, the problem of search, the importance of change, and "What is life all about?"