العنوان الأصلي: The network of thought ترجمة يارا البرازي، مراجعة أكرم أنطاكي مجموعة أحاديث ألقيت في سنان، سويسرا تموز 1981 وأمستردام، هولندا أيلول من نفس السنة الغلاف الخارجي "ماالذي سيحوق بالبشرية، بنا جميعا. عندما يتفوق الحاسوب على الإنسان بدقته وسرعته-كما يتنبأ خبراء التقانة العالية؟ فمع تطور الروبوتات قد يعمل الإنسان ساعتين ربما يوميا. قد يتحققهذا في المستقبل القريب. وعندها، ماذا سيفعل الإنسان؟ هل سيغرق في مجال التسلية؟ هذا مايحصل الآن، إذ تزداد مع الوقت أهمية الرياضة، وكذلك مشاهدة التلفاز، والترفيه الديني المنتشر، أم أن الإنسان سيرتدُّ داخلياً، وهذا ليس ترفيهاً أو ترفاً، بل هو أمر يحتاج إلى قدرة هائلة على الملاحظة والدراسةوالإدراك اللاشخصي؟ هذان هما الاحتمالان الممكنان. يتضمن المحتوى الأساسي للوعي الإنساني السعي إلى تحقيق السعادة ومحاولة تفادي المخاوف. لذا، هل ستنغمس البشرية أكثر في مجال التسلية؟ يأمل المرء أن لاتكون هذه التجمعات نوعا من التسلية."
Jiddu 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 was my first foray into the realm of Krishnamurti, and I was not disappointed. I would recommend it to anyone who's a student of Eastern philosophy (surprisingly, Pirsig's books provide a good prequel to this discussion); Krishnamurti elucidates a lot of key concepts with a high level of clarity. Some topics discussed are: - nature of human consciousness - deconstructing the notion of self - thought in relation to reality; reality itself - delving into emotions - the nature of institutions, religion
Really, this short volume was packed with a ton of insight, with the caveat that as a standalone work, its value might diminish, but as a companion work to "way of liberation" texts (zen/tao/vedanta/etc.) it is very instructive in bringing some ideas full-circle.
Το βιβλίο αυτό το ξεκίνησα δυο χρόνια πριν. Το σταμάτησα μετά από είκοσι σελίδες διότι αυτά που διάβαζα ήταν borderline ακαταλαβίστικα. Τι άλλαξε μέσα σε αυτά τα δυο χρόνια ; Λίγο ο διαλογισμός, λίγο ο κόσμος της αυτό βελτίωσης μου έδωσαν περισσότερη σαφήνεια. Αποφάσισα ότι θα το διαβάζω κάθε χρόνο - ελπίζω κάποια στιγμή να βγάλω 100% νόημα . Σήμερα είμαι στο 50-60%.
In this short book, Krishnamurti covers “the whole field of life.” He notes all the world woes, which he attributes to our having been programmed (wrong thought). He dismisses conventional thinking (too specialized) and religion (too controlling), and religious gurus from India (too quacky).
As an alternative, Krishnamurti offers wholeness and a “pure perception” where there is “no time,” where freedom is a “total silence of the mind,” which is achieved through meditation (non-thought, non-time), and “an attention that has no centre” and thus, a “complete attention.” Death, he says, is the end of “me” (of individual consciousness and, thus, illusion), and of “pain, sorrow, anxiety” (and the other ills). When one breaks through the limitation of individual consciousness, “then death has a totally different meaning” because, “where you end something love is. When you end attachment completely then love is” (love is without motive). Freedom comes when you have “forgotten yourself.”
Krishnamurti says that he is “not trying to persuade [us] to accept a particular part of view.” “To observe clearly,” he encourages us, “one must be free to look.” His role is to point out something “we are examining together.” Still, Krishnamurti points us in a certain direction, with the implication that if we see life differently, it’s because we’ve been programmed to think wrongly.
Krishnamurti’s argument can be flipped over. He opts for a non-material reality that, itself, might be said to be an illusion. Sure, nothing can be asserted with certainty about ultimate reality and choices have to be made about which version (science- or faith-based belief in something other) resonates best. But if one takes his counsel seriously (“one must be free to look”), there are three problems with these Krishnamurti lectures: First, it’s at odds with what is known about who we are as evolutionarily-derived beings, with animal passions that generate division and conflict, that uses mind as an instrument for adaptation (including cooperation as well as conflict), and a life that seeks to survive and live well. Second, just as Krishnamurti critiques wrong thinking, it’s fair to speculate about the reasons for his own thinking. A by-product of a mind that was designed to be instrumentally adaptive, is a mind that can also stray by imagining an illusionary reality that eliminates conflict and suffering, substituting harmony (oneness) and perfection (no woes) in its place. This is not to say that there cannot be a “this-world” benefit to meditation, but it does say that if one sees only negatively then we may be yearning for a better place. Third, with all of the real world problems, what might possess one to not buck up and deal with them, as opposed to immersing ourselves in what, ironically, might be seen as a highly self-oriented retreat, getting right with oneself while the world burns.
In this book, JK shoots at you the most important and bravest questions that can be asked to a human brain. This book threw me into a zone for many months that followed which was very new and revealing to me. I never imagined that my brain was this and could or was capable to think like this until I have read this book. It was a brilliant experience everyone I think should go through