J. Krishnamurti’s philosophy
Krishnamurti is not the kind of philosopher whose teaching can be put into a system, the reason being that he himself abhorred all systems of thought, philosophical as well as religious. His point was that they take you away from life as it is here and now, and they are the roots of countless conflicts between people. Organised religion and rituals were heavily criticised by Krishnamurti, and the same criticism hit the worship of gurus and other individuals who seem to believe that they are sent by God to lead people to enlightenment or salvation. Such views inevitably bring him in opposition to the societies we know and have known so far, but one should not mistake him for being irreligious, rather he revalues the meaning of the word religious. To some people this will be refreshing, to others a cold shower.
The issues taken up by Krishnamurti in his many talks and books are focused on the fundamental conditions of life such as death, love, time and consciousness. The mind as it is with most human beings is limited, but also, in a way, illusory. However, there is another state of mind which is without limits and eternal. The so-called normal state of mind is merely regarded as bad programming and a set of malfunctions.
Meditation is also viewed from a different perspective from what we are used to. The issue is not to reach higher states of consciousness. Meditation is rather a form of pure awareness, in which one refrains from all techniques and efforts to obtain a goal, in accordance with the words of truth being a pathless land. This awareness he often characterises as a peculiar state of mind in which all phenomena are dealt with in what he calls an “inquiry” without prejudice. It is not, however, an analytical thought process, where definitive answers to definitive questions are looked for, rather it is a form of mind presence, in which all questions eventually disappear and leave the mind in a state of creative emptiness.
One of the most obvious features of Krishnamurti is that he completely rejects all authorities: Man is left to himself in existence, a fact which need not be terrifying as there is always the possibility of freedom and insight. At a deeper level we are not alone anyway, according to Krishnamurti. To him it is a fact that humanity is closely connected through a common consciousness regardless of all cultural and ethnic differences.
A practical consequence of Krishnamurti’s teachings has been the establishment of centres and schools in a number of countries, in which Krishnamurti’s thoughts of an entirely different way of living can be freely developed. Krishnamurti very much emphasised a holistic approach to schools and educational institutions, where the acquisition of knowledge should only be a part of the whole and more important process of constant inquiry and questioning all aspects of life. In young people the gradual conditioning and fossilisation of the mind have not yet progressed to such an extent that meeting new things becomes painful or impossible.
In the course of his long life Krishnamurti significantly influenced quite a number of people through his many talks. Among the more well known people who felt strongly inspired by the teachings of Krishnamurti were Aldous Huxley, Henry Miller, Iris Murdoch and George Bernhard Shaw, to mention just a few. In his later years Krishnamurti had a series of thought provoking dialogues with prominent research workers in science and philosophy, notably the talks with the physicist David Bohm and the philosopher Alan Anderson. The meetings with Bohm were particularly interesting, because they are a rare example of a bridge between the most advanced branches within the empirical sciences such as quantum physics and cosmology and an entirely intuitively founded knowledge. The talks have been published in video and audio formats, and as a book entitled “The Ending of Time”.
The life and work of Krishnamurti are well documented, as almost everything he said in large or small gatherings is accessible in one form or the other, as verbatim reports or as audio or video tapes. Apart from the fact that he was a prolific writer himself, the people around him were always very keen on taking notes about virtually everything, which has resulted in several comprehensive biographies.
The collected works of Krishnamurti have been published in English in book form, and as a CD-ROM, which contains material amounting to 200 printed volumes. On top of that there are videos, even biographical films, which all together gives a pretty good picture of the man Krishnamurti and his life.
For a summary of Krishnamurti’s teachings in his own words, please take a look at what is called The Core Of The Teachings
at kfa.org/coreofteachings.php
Regards,
jbji