Krishnamurti for Beginners

Writers & Readers Documentary Comic Book #84

by Juan Carlos Kreimer, J. Krishnamurti, Martin Arvallo (Illustrator)

Until his death in 1986 at the age of 90, Krishnamurti traveled the world speaking and teaching people to free themselves. Krishnamurti for Beginners explores the theories of the great philosopher. In witty text and illustration, the book explains key principles of Krishnamurti's doctrine, detailing his legacy of nonviolence and his continued resistance to dogmatic thinking of all kinds.

Genres: Philosophy

Paperback

First published August 28, 1998

Reviews

[Jimmy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book starts off with Madame Blavatsky. Never been a fan of hers, so already I am starting on the wrong foot. Her connection is to the Theosophical Society. Krishnamurti will later be a leader in that group. Could we call it a cult?

On Page 16, I get talk about receiving "instructions from the astral plane." There are a few interesting thoughts along the way in this book, but astral plane? As if it were real?

One story that Krishnamurti tells is about the devil seeing someone pick something up. Devil calls it a fragment of the truth. The devil like it because he knows now the man must organise the truth. And it cannot be organised. Now that I write that down it sounds really stupid.

I try to be a "real world" person. So it is very hard for me to appreciate much about Krishnamurti.

I would have to say that calling Krishnamurti a philosopher is an insult to philosophy.

[Dafne Medina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course, reading Krishnamurti requieres a little knowledge on the esoteric things, on the spiritual world, on the non material world. I love this book because it shows why Krishnamurti was like that, why he was so confrontational with ALL the pre conceived ideas in the world.

[Marcus Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

KRISHNAMURTI FOR BEGINNERS
JUAN CARLOS KREIMER

I'd like to write a detailed review of this book but I'd have to go through it page by page, analyzing each sentence. All I can say after finishing it, is that most of the book was too esoteric for me. I found it hard to understand, hard to grasp Krishnamurti's concepts. Some make sense, but there was a lot of talk about the truth. Truth? What is the truth? To who? When? It can change as we change, it is many-sided. So what does he mean. He says: "The truth is not the known." OK but that doesn't help me much. I would not say that Krishnamurti was at fault, but that his teachings were not for me at this period in my life.

All the same I found the history of the Theosophical Society interesting, and how Krishnamurti turned down the role of Messiah. He was an interesting person, but not one who can help me at this stage. This book was written in an easy form, with sketches on each page, quotes, explanations, it was a good way to tackle Krishnamurti, for he is not always easy to understand. The intention of this book was to make Krishnamurti's ideas accessible, but it did not work for me.

More new age books

[Alvaro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hace tiempo quería conocer uno de estos libros "para principiantes" y justo encontré este que satisfacía la curiosidad que me produjo una nota sobre Krishnamurti que leí un día, donde me cayó muy bien que él haya disuelto el culto alrededor suyo a corta edad y luego haya seguido por libre.

Me parece que la información se trata de manera seria y rigurosa, entendiendo que es un resumen, además la lectura es amena, apta para no cansar a los "no-lectores" (aunque las ilustraciones y el diseño son muy básicos).

[Colleen Wainwright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Krishnamurti, but his philosophies can be a little impenetrable. This seemed like a good summary, that also very helpfully placed everything into the context of his fascinating life. Which, as it happens, I'd learned a little of thanks to a musical on his life (long story) (well, maybe not), but turning things into comix makes them easier to grok.

[Jacqueline · Rating 2 out of 5]

The enjoyed Krishnamurti. Some of his work is simple to understand. However, other concepts are very complex. Many of his quotes are highly complicated.