CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

In this thesis we examine J.Krishnamurti philosophy of human freedom. In

order to properly understand the teachings of J.Krishnamurti and to rightly appreciate

his personality and his work, it is quite necessary, to study the important events of his

life and the main currents of thought that have contributed to turn him into what he is,

and are mainly responsible for what he thinks. So we discuss the early life and

Philosophy of J.Krishnamurti in very systematic and critical approach.

1.1 EARLY LIFE OF J.KRISHNAMURTI:

J.Krishnamurti was born on the 11th of May 1895 in Madanapalle a small

town, district Chitoor in Madrass state. His family name is Jiddu that‘s why he is

known as Jiddu Krishnamurti. A society named Theosophical Society, whose goal is

the unification of major world religions and to established world teacher through

whom revolutionary spiritual teaching will come into being. One of the society leader,

Leadbeater had noticed J.Krishnamurti, on the Society's beach on the Adyar river, and

was amazed that a boy without a particle of selfishness in it, which he had never seen.

In 1911, the fifteen-year-old boy brought to England, where he was privately educated

under the guidance of Annie Besant in preparation for the coming World Teacher. In

1924 during a stay in California, J.Krishnamurti undergoes a deep and revealing a

spiritual experience, which completely transformed him. In 1929, J.Krishnamurti gave

a shocking speech in Ommen, Holland where he rejected organized religion, the

theosophical society and dissolved ‗the Order of the Star‘. In his speech

J.Krishnamurti develop the notion that Truth being infinite, unconditioned, it cannot

be organized. He proclaimed that ―Truth is a pathless land we cannot approached it by

any path, whatever by any religion or by any sect‖.1

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 After that, J.Krishnamurti, for nearly sixty years until his death on 17 February

1986, he traveled throughout the world talking to large audiences and to individuals

about the need for a radical change in mankind. His main purpose was to set human

mind absolutely and unconditionally free from conflict, division, sorrow and freedom

from the known, traditional and the conditioned mind that comes with the knowledge

of the self or absolute reality. So from 1929 and the rest of his life, J.Krishnamurti

went on solitary crusade throughout the world and developing various themes of his

own teachings, like Freedom from Known, Choiceless Awareness, Psychological

Revolution, Conditioned mind and Awakening of Intelligence. The theme of Freedom

is established as the essence of J.Krishanmurti‘s whole teachings.

1.2PHILOSOPHICAL PRESPECTIVE OF J.KRISHNAMURTI:

J.Krishnamurti was an experiential thinker. He advocates whatever he

experienced in his life. He rejected all the belief systems- the gurus, the religions,

sects, thoughts and propounding doctrines. So he completely opposes the approach of

theosophical society and dissolves ‗The Order of Star‘. He was right from his own

point of view that if we humans have wings, then we can fly without any one‘s help.

We just have to spread our wings. But the first momentum is needed. Then the role of

a trainer can‘t be ignored. But once we fly, it really becomes a pathless land. His

teachings are the outcome of his direct perception of truth, or an expression of the

truth that he realized. To him, truth is beyond speculative theories or doctrines, and it

cannot be comprehended through a system of concepts. Therefore it is not correct to

say that J.Krishnamurti developed a system of philosophy. He describes the word

philosophy in its etymological sense, which means love of wisdom. J.Krishnamurti

says:

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 Philosophy means love of truth or life. Truth is the nothingness of

the mind; it is beyond the grasp of intellect. Truth means the life

which is undetermined by thought. Philosophy is living life

independently of systems, images, ideals and beliefs. It is living

from moment to moment in the total freedom of the mind. You have

to find out for yourself where reality is and that reality cannot

become truth. You cannot go through reality to come to truth. You

must understand the limitations of reality which is the whole

process of thought2.

1.3 INTRODUCTION:

In this thesis, we discuss J.Krishnamurti‘s very fundamental concept i.e.

Freedom. It is the central concept in the teachings of J.Krishnamurti. Freedom is a

very mysterious and perplexing concept. In today‘s world everyone wants to be free

from the authority of others. So the problem of freedom is one of the most important

philosophical concepts. It has been one of the fundamental questions for the

philosophers. According to Kant, the three great problems of philosophy are God,

freedom and immortality. Among these, is the freedom of the will is one of the

permanent problems in philosophy and it is the one most accessible to reason. The

problem of freedom is as old as man himself. It has been debated by various scholars

of different ages.

J.Krishnamurti was also one of the renowned philosophers; whose life and

teaching period cover the greater part of the twentieth century is regarded by many as

one who has had the deepest impact on human consciousness in modern times. He

saw a world that was rapidly degenerating and disintegrating, where there is no sense

15
of morality, where nothing is sacred, and where people do not respect each other. He

sought to explain the nature of thought that created this condition. J.Krishnamurti

pointed to the continuing threats of war and ecological destruction and stated:

You cannot any more think as Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, and

Moslems. We are facing a tremendous crisis which the politicians

can never solve because they are programmed to think in a

particular way. Nor can scientists understand or solve the crisis; nor

yet the business world, the world of money. The turning point, the

perceptive decision, the challenge, is not in politics, in religion, in

the scientific world. It is in our consciousness.3

J.Krishnamurti was subsequently raised under the guidance of Annie Besant

and Lead Beater, leaders of the Theosophical Society at the time, who believed him to

be a ―vehicle‖ for an expected World Teacher. He is regarded globally as one of the

greatest thinkers and religious teachers of all time. He is regarded as one of the

greatest philosophical and spiritual figures of the twentieth century. He claimed no

allegiance to any caste, nationality or religion and was bound by no tradition. His aim

was to set humanity free. He maintained that the individual is freed by becoming

aware of his/her own psychological conditioning, and that this awakening will enable

him/her to give love to another. ―If you want to spread these teachings, he went on to

say, live them, and by your life you will be spreading them‖.4

So his main purpose was to set humankind absolutely and unconditionally free

from the conflict, division, sorrow and destructive limitations of conditioned mind. 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

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with its violence and corruption, of the individual's search for security and happiness,

and the need for mankind to free itself from inner burdens of fear, anger, hurt, and

sorrow. He explained with great accuracy the subtle workings of the human mind, and

pointed to the need for bringing to our daily life a deeply meditative and spiritual

quality.

J.Krishnamurti was a writer and speaker on philosophical and spiritual issues

including psychological freedom. He illumined the lives of millions the world over–

intellectuals and laymen, young and old. Breaking away from all organized religions

and denying his role as a Guru, he spelt out his mission: to set man absolutely and

unconditionally free. J.Krishnamurti‘s entire life was focused on realizing and

explaining the human quest. For six decades, until his death in 1986 at the age of

ninety, he traveled the world bringing the thoughts to those who would listen.

Millions did. His popularity sometimes flickers, but J.Krishnamurti persisted in his

efforts to ―set man absolutely, unconditionally free.‖5

The concept of freedom is the central concept of J.Krishnamurti‘s teachings.

The freedom he is talking about is psychological freedom, not political, physical or

economical freedom. His subject matter included: psychological revolution, the nature

of the mind, meditation, human relationships, and bringing about positive change in

society. The aim of his philosophy is total freedom and he says that this freedom only

comes from within because it is a psychological revolution i.e. psychological

transformation. He constantly stressed the need for a revolution in the psyche of every

human being and emphasized that such revolution cannot be brought about by any

external entity, be it religious, political, or social. When he talks of bringing a

revolution, he is not out merely to alter the existing socio-economic order of society;

he is calling for the total transformation of human consciousness, through the

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individual comprehension of the significance of subservience to authority, the

psychological structure of the mind that worship authority in any form and the factor

of causation that necessitate it. J.Krishnamurti says, ―to cease to worship authority is

to be intelligent, to be integrated, to be in the state of complete freedom and love, and

in this sense, J.Krishnamurti is a true revolutionary‖.6

It is established why a revolution is necessary and what the true significance

of a revolution is. Now the question is how to bring about the revolution. This is most

important question in the context of, what, to J.Krishnamurti signifies a revolution

and what it does not. J.Krishnamurti poses this question in his own characteristic way:

There must be a radical, fundamental revolution sociologically. The

whole thing has to be transformed. Now will a technique transform

it, technique being a method, a way? Or must there be individuals,

you and I, who understand the problem and who in themselves are

in the state of revolution? Therefore their action upon society is

revolutionary, they are not merely learning a technique of

revolution, and they themselves are in revolution.7

A method or technique implies an end to be achieved which, according to

J.Krishnamurti, is a reaction of thought, an idea projected by the mind as an ideal.

This whole process of the achievement of an ideal implies action based on idea. Thus

the psychological revolution can only be thought about by the voluntary and

intelligent action of those individuals who are themselves free from the authority of

the self, the center and who are themselves in love with life, with the whole.

According to J.Krishnamurti, it‘s not easy to rise the flag of psychological revolution,

neither can this revolution be organized by leaders and followers related in the game

18
of mutual exploitation. Only a religious mind, in the true sense of the word, can

initiate action for bringing about the total transformation of the psyche, for he alone

can act from the infinity of love and transcendental understanding.

As J.Krishnamurti points out:

It is only the religious mind that is truly a revolutionary mind, there

is no other revolutionary mind, there is no other revolutionary mind,

whether calling itself revolutionary from the extreme left, or centre

is only dealing with a fragment of the totality and is even breaking

that fragment into various others parts, it is not a truly revolutionary

mind at all.8

According to J.Krishnamurti, to be religious is not merely a question of going to the

temple, performing some ritual, lighting a lamp or bathing in the Ganga. These things

are easy to do, anybody can do them and after doing it, one can feel that one is

religious without being religious. So he pointed out the danger of such feeling that

one is virtuous without actually coming upon virtue. You cannot come upon virtue

except through self-knowledge, through a deep understanding of the working of your

own consciousness, of your own mind, which is the quest for truth. To him religion

was such a quest for truth.

J.Krishnamurti again stated:

The economist and the politician are never revolutionary. It is the

only the true religious person that is revolutionary, the man who is

seeking reality, God are what you will. Those who merely believe,

who follow a pattern, who belong to a particular society, sect or

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 group—they are not seekers, therefore they are not real

revolutionary. We can bring about a transformation within ourselves

only when we understand the process of our own thinking.9

According to J.Krishnamurti, religion required a vast inner free space to be true. He

regarded this space as endangered by any form of organized religion. He even went so

far as to place true religion-being re-logia in its original form—nearer to science,

because to him this seemed to be a supporter for freedom.

J.Krishnamurti points out:

Religion is a form of science. That is, to know and to go beyond all

knowledge, to comprehend the nature and immensity of the

universe, not through a telescope, but the vastness of the mind and

the heart. And this immensity has nothing whatsoever to do with

any organized religion.10

From this radical point of view it did not seem necessary to him to evaluate the

reformist approaches of the different religions. Therefore, when he was criticized for

not supporting Gandhi‘s initiative to permit the caste-less people, the untouchables, to

enter the temples, he responded by saying that he believed the whole dispute was

senseless because ―God is not to be found inside four stone walls‖.11

According to J.Krishnamurti, there are two aspects of freedom-the negative

and the positive. The negative aspect comes first as we have to remove the hindrances

in our way to freedom. These hindrances are in the form of conditioning, that we have

since our childhood-the past, the known, the authority, the tradition. All these restrict

our thinking. To be free of all authority, of your own and that of another, is to die to

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everything of yesterday, so that your mind is always fresh, always young, innocent,

full of energy and patient. According to J.Krishnamurti it is only in this state that you

learn and observe, and for this great deal of awareness is required, actual awareness of

what is going on inside yourself, without correcting or telling it what it should be or

should not be, because the moment you correct it you have established another

authority, or a censor. The awareness of which J.Krishnamurti talks about is

choiceless awareness. Choicelessness is the mind‘s equalent of the silence out of

which intelligible utterance arises. This choiceless awareness is very crucial, which

dissolves every problem effortlessly. It is essential that the mind, as the creator of the

problems, must cease to be in order that true intelligence and intuition come into

being. He always focuses his attention on the silence of mind as the solution of the

problem of existence. J.Krishnamurti says, ―By the silence of mind what he means is

the cessation of choice, the freeing of attention from concentration on the opposites,

freedom from fear and from self complete thought‖.12

He observes that, the mind is always busy, chattering, wanting identifying,

occupied with becoming this or that; and this preoccupation of the mind with the

ideal, with what should be is a positive hindrance to the perception of truth; so

thought cannot solve our problems.

As he says:

Thought has not solved our problem, and I do not think it ever will.

We have relied on the intellect to show us the way out of our

complexity. The more cunning, the more hideous, the more subtle

the intellect is, the greater the variety of systems, of theories, of

ideas. And ideas do not solve any of our human problems; they

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 never had and they never will. The mind is not the solution; the way

of thought is obviously not the way of out of our difficulty. And it

seems to me that we should first understand this process of thinking,

and then perhaps be able to go beyond, for when thought ceases,

perhaps we shall be able to find a way which will help us to find our

problems, not only the individual, but also the collective.13

According to J.Krishnamurti, cessation of thoughts brings about the silence of

mind, and in that silence there is a direct and simple perception of the whole problem.

He wants to say that, unless the mind is really quite, it is not able to receive or to

comprehend but a mind that is occupied with its own answers that is caught up in the

search for a result is never quite and such a mind is incapable of full attention. So I

think it is important to listen with full attention, not just to what is being said, but to

everything in life, for only then is the mind free to discover what is true and find out if

there is something beyond its own inventions. So J.Krishnamurti says that ―This truth

that we are seeking is a pathless land and we cannot approach it by any path whatever,

by any religion, by any sect‖.14

This is the central view of J.Krishnamurti, that truth, being limitless,

unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatever, cannot be organized; not

should be any organization be found to lead or coerce people along with any

particular path. J.Krishnamurti introduces love into his terminology, though of course

what he is saying is more than just words. ―Where there is freedom there is

love. This freedom and love show you when to co-operate and when not to co-

operate. This is not an act of choice, because choice is the result of confusion‖.15

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 He bear in mind that where there is choice, there is misery, and choice is not

when clarity is. Freedom, love, clarity allow choiceless action – action without an

actor, a center, which chooses based on conditioning. The shedding of the past all the

time you see yourself is the freedom from the past. ―This self-knowledge is, strictly

speaking, not knowledge but self-understanding, and this understanding is lighting

itself all the time‖. 16 To act without choice, to act freely, this is right action. To act

from the state of ―intelligence, innocence, love,‖ from understanding, is to have inside

you that light that has no beginning and no ending, that is not lit by your desire, that is

not yours or someone else‘s.

Thus according to J.Krishnamurti, right action, correct action, is of course an

important point to go into. The unconditioned act is spontaneous, pure, and must

come from a state or ―space‖ of understanding or clarity. We see clearly that this or

that is the correct action, the only action. In fact, there is no image in this state, nor is

there any seeing of the action as good or bad, correct or incorrect – there is no seeing

of the action before it is undertaken, either, for there is no choice; there is only the

action, and there is consciousness of the action. J.Krishnamurti says, ―when the actor,

the observer, has ceased, only the actor remains, and the state of awareness one is in is

quite remarkably different from normal states of consciousness someone else‘s‖.17

He observes that when the mind ceases to have a center then its activity is not

self-centered or centered at all but is free: the mind functions in freedom. Action

from the center is not choiceless, for there is will, which is violence.

To quote J.Krishnamurti:

The source of violence is the ‗me‘, the ego, the self, which

expresses itself in so many ways in division, in trying to became or

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 be somebody which divides itself as the ‗me‘ and the not me, as the

unconscious and the conscious; the ―me‖ that identifies with the

family or not with the family, with the community or not with the

community and so on. It is like a stone dropped in a lake the waves

spread and spread at the centre is the ―me‖. As long as the ―me‖

services in any forms, very subtly or grossly, there must be

violence.18

So J.Krishnamurti explains that, the center is not intelligence, being

fragmentary, and fragmentary understanding is the most dangerous and destructive

thing because of its fragmenting activity. Learning is only possible without the center:

this learning is observation-to observe without accumulation, to observe in

freedom. For, remember, accumulation is what produces the center. Learning is only

possible when there is freedom – complete and total freedom. To learn is to be

sensitive, intelligence, and one must be free to learn. The freedom from the known,

from the past, from the center formed by thought. The center breeds division and is

division, and division is conflict, and conflict is pain and unhappiness and

suffering. ―A life of conflict is not a religious life. A religious life is only possible
19
when we deeply understand conflict. This understanding is intelligence‖.

Intelligence allows us to act rightly. As ―we‖ are not, only intelligence acts. This

action of seeing choicelessly is the action of love. The religious life is the action, and

all living is this action, and the religious mind is this action. So religion, and the

mind, and life, and love, are one. So J.Krishnamurti points out that proper relationship

can prosper only by gaining freedom from the known. The known is like a cage. It

restricts our vision. When we are free, when we are not seeking our personal security,

when we are free from the known, the desires, then only one can have a meaningful

24
relationship with others. The flower of love can flourish only here and now. Love

does not divide neither there is any expectation nor any sense of duty or

responsibility. In other words, love is possible when the sense of ‗me‘ is gone, when,

you are not seeking, not waiting, not pursuing, there is no centre at all, then there is

love, there is freedom.

1.4 CONCLUDING REMARKS:

In this chapter, we concluded that J.Krishnamurti‘s main approach to set

humanity free. Thus he wants to set humankind absolutely and unconditionally free

from the destructive limitations of conditioned mind. He always says that there is the

need for mankind to free itself from inner burdens of fear, anger, hurt, and sorrow. He

claimed no allegiance to any caste, nationality or religion and was bound by no

tradition. The freedom he is talking about is psychological freedom, not political,

physical or economical freedom. The aim of his philosophy is total freedom and he

says that this freedom only comes from within because it is a psychological revolution

i.e. psychological transformation. Only a religious mind, in the true sense of the word,

can initiate action for bringing about the total transformation of the psyche, for he

alone can act from the infinity of love and transcendental understanding. So we can

conclude that J.Krishnamurti says that, this truth that we are seeking is a ―pathless

land‖ and we cannot approach it by any path, i.e. whatever by any religion, by any

sect, any caste or any method. So we can get freedom only when we do not follow

any method or pattern and always do action with complete attention, without any

choice. So this choiceless awareness and complete attention is the crucible, which

dissolves every human problem effortlessly.

25
1.5. REFRENCES:

1.Krishnamurti, Jiddu, Total Freedom the Essential J.Krishnamurti, J.Krishnamurti

foundation of India, The Indicom Press 393 Velachery Main Road Vijay Nagar,

Chennai, 2002, , p. 12.

2. Krishnamurti, Jiddu, Truth and Actuality, Krishnamurti Foundation Of

India, Madras, 1992, p.60.

3. Krishnamurti, Jiddu, Life in Freedom, The Star Publishing Trust, Copyright 1928,

p.2.

4. Krishnamurti, Jiddu, Life in Freedom, The Star Publishing Trust, Copyright 1928,

p.6.

5. Krishnamurti, Jiddu, Total Freedom the Essential J.Krishnamurti, J.Krishnamurti

foundation of India, The Indicom Press 393 Velachery Main Road Vijay Nagar,

Chennai, 2002, p.6.

6. Shringy, Dr. R.K, Philosophy of J. J.Krishnamurti: A systematic Study, Munshiram

Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Jhansi road New Delhi, 1977, p.318.

7.Krishnamurti, Jiddu, Talks and Dialogues, Saanen, 1968, J.Krishnamurti

Foundation Bulletin 27, 1968, p.9.

8. Krishnamurti, Jiddu, Talks, Ojai, 1952, J.Krishnamurti Foundation Bulletin 27,

1952, p.17.

9. Krishnamurti, Jiddu, Talks, Paris, 1950, J.Krishnamurti Foundation Bulletin 27,

1950, p.6.

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10. Krishnamurti, Jiddu, J.Krishnamurti to Himself, J.Krishnamurti Foundation Of

India, Chennai, p.127.

11.Michel, Peter, J.Krishnamurti Love and Freedom, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers

Private Limted New Delhi, Ist Ed.1996, p.96.

12.Shringy, Dr. R.K, Philosophy of J. J.Krishnamurti: A systematic Study, Munshiram

Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Jhansi road New Delhi, 1977, p.157.

13.Krishnamurti, Jiddu, Talks, London, 1952, J.Krishnamurti Foundation Bulletin 27,

Winter 1952 p.3.

14.Krishnamurti, Jiddu, Total Freedom the Essential J.Krishnamurti, J.Krishnamurti

foundation of India, The Indcom Press 393 Velachery Main Road Vijay Nagar,

Chennai, 2002, p.12.

15.Krishnamurti, Jiddu, Talk at Brockwood Park, September 6, 1975. J.Krishnamurti

Foundation Bulletin 27, winter 1975, p.72.

16.Krishnamurti, Jiddu, Talk at Brockwood Park, J.Krishnamurti

Foundation Bulletin 27, Winter 1975, p.84

17.Krishnamurti, Jiddu, Talk at Brockwood Park, September 6, 1975. J.Krishnamurti

Foundation Bulletin 27 Winter, 1975, p.2.

18. Krishnamurti, Jiddu, Beyond Violence, BL publications, Pvt. Ltd. Head office 54

Janpath, New Delhi, reprinted 1986, p.74.

19. Krishnamurti, Jiddu, From a talk at Brockwood Park, September 6, 1975.

J.Krishnamurti Foundation Bulletin 27, winter 1975, p.40.

27