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A Dialogue with Oneself
- GenresPhilosophy
30 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1977
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About the author
J. Krishnamurti
1,328 books4,262 followersJiddu 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 26, 2014
This book contains within it the 1st Public Dialogue at Brockwood Park on 30th August 1977.
There were some ideas within it which I found potent and hence the 4 stars.
This is how the last Q&A goes like..
K:...
So through negation of what is not love the other thing is. I don't have to ask what is love. I don't have to run after it. If I run after it, it is not love, it is a reward. So I have ended in that enquiry, slowly, carefully, without distortion, without illusion, I have negated everything that it is not - the other is.
Now, I have had a good dialogue with myself.
Q: May I ask a question? Maybe I didn't get it. Would you say that loneliness is created by experiencing loneliness?
K: I have explained all this Madam. Not that I have explained, I have had a
dialogue with myself. If you have listened to it then you have got it.
Hmmm...
There were some ideas within it which I found potent and hence the 4 stars.
This is how the last Q&A goes like..
K:...
So through negation of what is not love the other thing is. I don't have to ask what is love. I don't have to run after it. If I run after it, it is not love, it is a reward. So I have ended in that enquiry, slowly, carefully, without distortion, without illusion, I have negated everything that it is not - the other is.
Now, I have had a good dialogue with myself.
Q: May I ask a question? Maybe I didn't get it. Would you say that loneliness is created by experiencing loneliness?
K: I have explained all this Madam. Not that I have explained, I have had a
dialogue with myself. If you have listened to it then you have got it.
Hmmm...
April 27, 2020
Talks about love and how it just can't be where there's jealousy, fear and attachment; about the sense of loneliness and how it is created by thought -which is quite personified in this dialogue- and therefore may not even exist, but that thought realizes it is limited and therefore that I am limited (or is it I the other way around?) and so cannot solve the problem of loneliness. It also talks about the desire for comfort and security in ideas and one's deadly attachment to them, and just basically what you'd want to read about on a beautiful school-free morning.
August 31, 2020
5*s .Only JK can explain the unfathomable topic on human attachment using a laid-back language, in a handful of pages!
Read
June 22, 2025I am not rating this book, because one cannot judge the philosophy of self enquiry. It either resonates or not. But I would like to also read Thich Nhat Hanh’s Teachings on Love and see how these two philosophers converge and diverge on their thoughts about Love.
What is important to remember from JK’s words is that his core philosophy is Observing Oneself, and when one does that you peel off the layers of thought leading to attachment, motive, loneliness etc to reach that place which is love. And Love is realised by what it is not rather than by defining what it is.
What is important to remember from JK’s words is that his core philosophy is Observing Oneself, and when one does that you peel off the layers of thought leading to attachment, motive, loneliness etc to reach that place which is love. And Love is realised by what it is not rather than by defining what it is.
January 17, 2019
Complex, radical, interesting.
June 26, 2021
Krishnamurti takes one through his mind. His logical deduction of what is not love intrigued me. The main point I got from the short read is that love is not attachment.
July 23, 2014
Profound, complex, controversial and yet an eye opener...
September 7, 2015
Intellectual dialogue :)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews