Arabella Weir
British comedian, actress, writer
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Indian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
Jiddu Krishnamurti was an influential Indian philosopher, speaker, and spiritual figure who rejected the role of World Teacher that he was groomed for as a child. He spent his life speaking and writing about topics like choiceless awareness, psychological inquiry, and freedom from conditioning, emphasizing that ‘truth is a pathless land’ and that no doctrine, discipline, or authority should be followed.
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About the Jiddu Krishnamurti
Jiddu Krishnamurtiwas an Indian philosopher, speaker, writer, and spiritual figure. Adopted by members of the Theosophical tradition as a child, he was raised to fill the advanced role of World Teacher, but in adulthood he rejected this mantle and distanced himself from the related religious movement. He spent the rest of his life speaking to groups and individuals around the world; many of these talks have been published. He also wrote many books, among them The First and Last Freedomand Commentaries on Living (1956-60). His last public talk was in January 1986, a month before his death at his home in Ojai, California.
Krishnamurti asserted that “truth is a pathless land” and advised against following any doctrine, discipline, teacher, guru, or authority, including himself. He emphasized topics such as choiceless awareness, psychological inquiry, and freedom from religious, spiritual, and cultural conditioning. His supporters — working through non-profit foundations in India, Britain, and the United States — oversee several independent schools based on his views on education, and continue to distribute his thousands of talks, group and individual discussions, and writings in a variety of media formats and languages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Jiddu Krishnamurti was an Indian philosopher, speaker, writer, and spiritual figure who was adopted by the Theosophical tradition as a child and groomed to be the World Teacher, but later rejected this role and spent the rest of his life sharing his unique perspectives on topics like choiceless awareness and freedom from conditioning.
Jiddu Krishnamurti believed that ,truth is a pathless land, and advised against following any doctrine, discipline, teacher, guru, or authority, including himself. He emphasized the importance of topics like choiceless awareness, psychological inquiry, and freedom from religious, spiritual, and cultural conditioning.
Jiddu Krishnamurti was born on May 11, 1895 and died on February 17, 1986. He spent much of his life traveling and speaking to groups around the world, and his last public talk was in January 1986, a month before his death at his home in Ojai, California.
Jiddu Krishnamurti wrote many books, including The First and Last Freedom (1954) and Commentaries on Living (1956–60). Many of his talks and discussions have also been published, and his supporters continue to distribute his work in a variety of media formats and languages.
Jiddu Krishnamurti’s supporters have established several independent schools based on his views on education, which emphasize topics like choiceless awareness and freedom from conditioning. These schools continue to promote Krishnamurti’s teachings and ideas about the role of education in personal and societal transformation.
24 Quotes by Jiddu Krishnamurti
- 1.
I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 2.
There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 3.
If we can really understand the problem, the answer will come out of it, because the answer is not separate from the problem.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 4.
It’s no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 5.
What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means, watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 6.
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 7.
There is no need to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 8.
All ideologies are idiotic, whether religious or political, for it is conceptual thinking, the conceptual word, which has so unfortunately divided man.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 9.
When we talk about understanding, surely it takes place only when the mind listens completely – the mind being your heart, your nerves, your ears- when you give your whole attention to it.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 10.
Tradition becomes our security, and when the mind is secure it is in decay.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 11.
The constant assertion of belief is an indication of fear.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 12.
A man who is not afraid is not aggressive, a man who has no sense of fear of any kind is really a free, a peaceful man.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 13.
Religion is the frozen thought of man out of which they build temples.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 14.
Hitler and Mussolini were only the primary spokesmen for the attitude of domination and craving for power that are in the heart of almost everyone. Until the source is cleared, there will always be confusion and hate, wars and class antagonisms.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 15.
So when you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words, but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole of it, not part of it.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 16.
In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open, except yourself.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 17.
Freedom from the desire for an answer is essential to the understanding of a problem.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 18.
The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that for you the world is transformed.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 19.
Your belief in God is merely an escape from your monotonous, stupid and cruel life.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 20.
You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems and suffer and understand, for all that is life.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 21.
A consistent thinker is a thoughtless person, because he conforms to a pattern; he repeats phrases and thinks in a groove.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 22.
We all want to be famous people, and the moment we want to be something we are no longer free.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 23.
The end is the beginning of all things, Suppressed and hidden, Awaiting to be released through the rhythm Of pain and pleasure.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)
- 24.
The flowering of love is meditation.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiIndian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895-1986)