What do you think?
Rate this book
Commentaries on Living #1
Commentaries on Living: First Series
Krishnamurti's essential message is that, to find truth, we must go beyond the limits of ordinary thought. In public talks worldwide, he strove to free listeners from conventional beliefs and psychological mind-sets in order to understand what is. This 3-volume series records his meetings with individual seekers from all walks of life, during which he comments on the struggles common to those who work to break the boundaries of personality and self-limitation. In the first volume Krishnamurti discusses many topics, including knowledge, belief, simplicity of the heart, love in relationship, ambition, and clarity in action.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
154 people are currently reading
1605 people want to read
About the author
J. Krishnamurti
1,150 books4,257 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
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
April 3, 2014
I first read Krishnamurti when I was in my twenties. For some, reading him is tedious. For others, life changing.
I don't recommend him as the greatest literature (but it's not bad, either); that's not his concern. One suspects he wrote these meditations for himself.
When I was younger, I would take the bus downtown in summer, sit on a bench, and observe, and write. I wanted to be Krishnamurti.
He's someone who questioned education, self-discipline, great ideas, every religion, every grand human preoccupation.
I had never heard the like before.
But, let's face it, even Krishnamurti was creating a marketable image. I know that sounds unspiritual, slightly depressing, particularly for anyone who returns to these Commentaries as a kind of daily devotional, as I did.
Isn't it curious how many of us seem to need to do that, create infallible Persons?
Krishnamurti never mentions last night's sex. He does, however, say that sex is necessary for health, which, even today (and no longer twenty--far from it!), I think is a pretty cool thing to say, for a Great Teacher.
Researching whether Krishnamurti had really fathered a child, I ran across a wonderful quote attributed to him:
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."
No, the Krishnamurti of the Commentaries is a cool observer, as if he didn't pick up pen and paper until he'd meditated for at least an hour.
That's why, for me, he's so wonderful to read.
I don't recommend him as the greatest literature (but it's not bad, either); that's not his concern. One suspects he wrote these meditations for himself.
When I was younger, I would take the bus downtown in summer, sit on a bench, and observe, and write. I wanted to be Krishnamurti.
He's someone who questioned education, self-discipline, great ideas, every religion, every grand human preoccupation.
I had never heard the like before.
But, let's face it, even Krishnamurti was creating a marketable image. I know that sounds unspiritual, slightly depressing, particularly for anyone who returns to these Commentaries as a kind of daily devotional, as I did.
Isn't it curious how many of us seem to need to do that, create infallible Persons?
Krishnamurti never mentions last night's sex. He does, however, say that sex is necessary for health, which, even today (and no longer twenty--far from it!), I think is a pretty cool thing to say, for a Great Teacher.
Researching whether Krishnamurti had really fathered a child, I ran across a wonderful quote attributed to him:
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."
No, the Krishnamurti of the Commentaries is a cool observer, as if he didn't pick up pen and paper until he'd meditated for at least an hour.
That's why, for me, he's so wonderful to read.
August 28, 2020
The most thought-bending book I have read so far.
I had never looked at things from the perspective that JK talks about. For instance, I’d always thought of self-discipline, chanting, meditation, etc. as noble things. Even though there’s nothing “wrong” about these things, they can never lead one to the Truth. Such things put the mind in a pattern, to sleep. In order to realize the Truth, the mind needs to be passively alert, which a sleeping mind cannot be.
JK essentially says that there’s no path to the Truth, to What is. Following a set path to it is to deny the existence of it, for the Known is always a self-projection, which is never new.
A lot of what I have read in this is still sinking in. But at any rate, I’ll recommend reading this book.
I had never looked at things from the perspective that JK talks about. For instance, I’d always thought of self-discipline, chanting, meditation, etc. as noble things. Even though there’s nothing “wrong” about these things, they can never lead one to the Truth. Such things put the mind in a pattern, to sleep. In order to realize the Truth, the mind needs to be passively alert, which a sleeping mind cannot be.
JK essentially says that there’s no path to the Truth, to What is. Following a set path to it is to deny the existence of it, for the Known is always a self-projection, which is never new.
A lot of what I have read in this is still sinking in. But at any rate, I’ll recommend reading this book.
November 13, 2020
I remember being recommended the "Commentaries on Living" trilogy as Jiddu Krishnamurti's best books by Brad Warner on his blog. Unfortunately, my local library only had the first two volumes, but both impressed me quite a bit.
Most of Krishnamurti's recorded and transcribed discussions with other people are with academics in different disciplines (eg David Bohm), hence being rather abstract and theoretical. Both this and the sequel Commentary on Living: Second Series are very very different: Here, Krishnamurti talks with ordinary working-class or middle-class people struggling with very mundane materialistic problems. Krishnamurti does includes several chapters examining the lives of upper-crust people who have ended up living extremely dissatisfying lives precisely on account of hanging up so much of their own identities upon success in their careers within academia, business, politics - something Krishnamurti uses as a launchpad to examine how much the individual self is an artificial construct shaped in part by the prejudices and expectations indoctrinated into us by the societies we grew up in. One of his main points, but it is made very vividly here precisely because he discusses specific individual cases.
There are a couple other subjects that Krishnamurti talks more about here than in most of his other books. For example partisan politics and the involved culture wars, which becomes an opportunity to deconstruct the ways in which most people think about not just politics but problem-solving on a large scale - as largely a matter of projecting your own preferred interpretations of the past according to subjective personal preferences unto the future and how the world functions as large. Other chapters explore the differences between accumulated academic knowledge and practical life wisdom, and how to distinguish the two. Most interesting is that in this book Krishnamurti starts addressing the following he had attracted and how uncomfortable he was at becoming a revered religious figure, even after having rejected the position of the Theosophical Society's "world teacher".
It should be mentioned that throughout the "Commentaries on Living" books Krishnamurti writes in a much less dry, stiff and formal style than usual. This includes some absolutely breathtaking colourful and poetic description of local village life, complicated modern cities and awe-inspiring nature scenes that make me speculate that he could have become an extremely gifted poet or novelist had a few things in his life gone differently. The result is probably the most literary and accessible of the four books by Krishnamurti that I have read so far. The 2nd volume of "Commentaries on Living" continues in this style, but with somewhat different subject matter.
Most of Krishnamurti's recorded and transcribed discussions with other people are with academics in different disciplines (eg David Bohm), hence being rather abstract and theoretical. Both this and the sequel Commentary on Living: Second Series are very very different: Here, Krishnamurti talks with ordinary working-class or middle-class people struggling with very mundane materialistic problems. Krishnamurti does includes several chapters examining the lives of upper-crust people who have ended up living extremely dissatisfying lives precisely on account of hanging up so much of their own identities upon success in their careers within academia, business, politics - something Krishnamurti uses as a launchpad to examine how much the individual self is an artificial construct shaped in part by the prejudices and expectations indoctrinated into us by the societies we grew up in. One of his main points, but it is made very vividly here precisely because he discusses specific individual cases.
There are a couple other subjects that Krishnamurti talks more about here than in most of his other books. For example partisan politics and the involved culture wars, which becomes an opportunity to deconstruct the ways in which most people think about not just politics but problem-solving on a large scale - as largely a matter of projecting your own preferred interpretations of the past according to subjective personal preferences unto the future and how the world functions as large. Other chapters explore the differences between accumulated academic knowledge and practical life wisdom, and how to distinguish the two. Most interesting is that in this book Krishnamurti starts addressing the following he had attracted and how uncomfortable he was at becoming a revered religious figure, even after having rejected the position of the Theosophical Society's "world teacher".
It should be mentioned that throughout the "Commentaries on Living" books Krishnamurti writes in a much less dry, stiff and formal style than usual. This includes some absolutely breathtaking colourful and poetic description of local village life, complicated modern cities and awe-inspiring nature scenes that make me speculate that he could have become an extremely gifted poet or novelist had a few things in his life gone differently. The result is probably the most literary and accessible of the four books by Krishnamurti that I have read so far. The 2nd volume of "Commentaries on Living" continues in this style, but with somewhat different subject matter.
October 28, 2008
I almost always read one of his Commentaries early in the morning.
Beautiful written. Deep. Very deep...
Beautiful written. Deep. Very deep...
December 29, 2014
Those who are seriously into spirituality will love this tour through the notebooks of Jiddu Krishnamurti. Each of the 88 topics e.g. Time, Virtue, Sleep, Silence and Work is given around 3 pages of explanation split into 3 sections: a description of the scenery of the day, a description of the person that the subject addresses and an explanation of the correct way to see the subject.
Jiddu comes over as very deep and wise and rather argumentative, always returning to his favourite point of view. The last couple of sentences in each chapter are usually the spiritual 'punch-line' so if you want to get the essence of this very good book quickly, then read these.
Now - back to the Zombie Books!
Jiddu comes over as very deep and wise and rather argumentative, always returning to his favourite point of view. The last couple of sentences in each chapter are usually the spiritual 'punch-line' so if you want to get the essence of this very good book quickly, then read these.
Now - back to the Zombie Books!
June 20, 2014
This book was as I expected. It is a series of anecdotes, almost like parables, as they follow a structure. In each anecdote is a person who has come to the master for help. There is a description of some kind of idyllic scenery to set the stage, and then dialogue between the master and the person who is in need of enlightenment, almost always ending with the latter acknowledging all the wrong they've done or seen or not understood, and finding solutions to move forward in their lives.
It was a predictable formula, but it was useful and practical, even if the master's advice conflicted from time to time. This is reality, right? Good to think that it's dependent on context. :)
It was a predictable formula, but it was useful and practical, even if the master's advice conflicted from time to time. This is reality, right? Good to think that it's dependent on context. :)
April 1, 2014
A bit repetitive, but incredibly insightful on human psychology and motivation.
Read
May 4, 2009I love this man
February 11, 2014
Worth reading in slow pace.
Deep philosophy.
Deep philosophy.
January 8, 2016
A new dimension indeed..
Read
May 4, 2025Melhores trechos: "...Existia o passado, dizia, mas sempre em relação com o futuro; o presente não era senão uma passagem para o futuro, e o hoje só era interessante por causa do amanhã. Se não houvesse amanhã, perguntava, para que fazer qualquer esforço? Melhor fora vegetar, ou levar a plácida existência de uma vaca... A mente tem pavor a este desconhecido e por esta razão foge para o saber, para as teorias, as esperanças, a imaginação; e justamente este saber constitui um obstáculo à compreensão do desconhecido. Pôr de parte o saber é abrir a porta ao medo; negar a mente, o único instrumento de compreensão que possuímos, é tornar-se acessível ao sofrimento e à alegria. Mas não é fácil pôr de parte o saber. Ser ignorante não é ser destituído de saber. A ignorância é falta de autopercebimento; e o saber é ignorância, quando não há compreensão das atividades do eu. A compreensão do eu é a libertação das prisões do saber... O desejo de repetição de uma experiência, quer nossa, quer de outrem, leva à insensibilidade, à morte. A repeti ção de uma verdade é mentira. A verdade não pode ser repetida, não pode ser propagada nem usada. O que se pode usar e repetir não tem vida em si, é mecânico, automático... Procura-se o esquecimento de si mesmo, interior e exteriormente: uns, na religião, outros, no trabalho e na atividade. Mas não há possibilidade de se esquecer o eu. O barulho que se faz, interior ou exteriormente, poderá abafar a voz do eu; este, porém, não tarda a ressurgir, sob forma diferente, com outra máscara; pois tudo o que se reprime tem de achar um meio de libertar-se. O esquecimento de si mesmo pela bebida ou pelo sexo, pela devoção ou pelo saber, leva à dependência, e tudo de que dependemos cria um problema... Se não pode achar uma conclusão satisfatória, a mente consciente desiste da busca e toma-se quieta; e nessa mente superficial, agora tranqüila, o inconsciente faz surgir, subitamente, uma solução. A mente superficial e a mente mais profunda não são dissimilares; ambas se constituem de conclusões, memórias, e são, uma e outra, produto do passado. Podem fornecer uma solução, uma conclusão, mas são incapazes de dissolver o problema. Este só se dissolve quando tanto a mente consciente como a inconsciente estão em silêncio, não mais projetando conclusões positivas ou negativas. Só há libertação do problema quando a mente está totalmente quieta, cônscia do problema, sem fazer escolha alguma; porque só então deixa de existir o criador do problema... O ciúme é uma das maneiras de se prender o homem ou a mulher, não é verdade? Quanto mais ciumentos somos, tanto maior o nosso sentimento de posse. Possuir uma coisa faz-nos felizes; chamarmos qualquer coisa, até um cachorro, exclusivamente nossa, aquece-nos e conforta-nos. A posse exclusiva faz-nos confiantes e seguros. Ser dono de uma coisa faz-nos importantes; a esta importância é que nos apegamos. E pensar que possuímos, não um lápis ou uma casa, mas um ente humano, nos faz sentir fortes e extraordinariamente satisfeitos. O ciúme não é por causa do outro, mas por causa do valor e da importância de nós mesmos... O medo é a incerteza, buscando a certeza... É difícil não condenar, porque o nosso condicionamento está baseado na rejeição, na justificação, na comparação, e na re núncia. Este é o nosso fundo (background), o condicionamento com que nos abeiramos de todos os problemas. Este próprio condicionamento cria o problema, o conflito..."
September 14, 2024
KRISHNAMURTI EXPOUNDS ON A WIDE VARIETY OF TOPICS
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) was singled out by Charles W. Leadbeater, a leader of the Theosophical Society, as the coming "World Teacher"; and he was groomed for this role by Leadbeater and fellow TS head Annie Besant, who formed an organization, the Order of the Star, to support him in this role. However, in 1929 he famously rejected this role, and became an independent spiritual teacher for the rest of his life, writing many books such as ['Krishnamurti Reader: No. 1,' 'You are the World,' etc.
This 1956 book contains about eighty chapters on a wide variety of subjects, such as "Gossip and Worry"; "Pupil and Master"; "Knowledge"; "Politics"; "Love in Relationship"; "The Search for Truth"; "The Self"; "Meditation"; "Awareness"; "Loneliness"; "The Spiritual Leader"; "Self-Esteem"; "the Desire for Bliss"; "Beauty"; "Ambition"; "Suffering"; "Work," etc.
He states, "Truth is not an end, a result, a goal; it cannot be invited, for it is not a thing of the mind." (Pg. 25) He states that "the radio seems to alter so little the course of life. It may make some things a little more convenient; we may have global news more quickly and hear murders described most vividly; but information is not going to make us intelligent. The thin layer of information about the horrors of atomic bombing, about international alliances, research into chlorophyll, and so on, does not seem to make any fundamental difference in our lives." (Pg. 63-64)
He observes, "It is an odd fact that followers like to be bullied and directed, whether softly or harshly. They think the harsh treatment is part of their training---training in spiritual success... this mutual degradation of the leader and the follower is the outcome of the desire for sensation. It is because you want greater sensation that you follow and so create a leader, a guru... All this is part of mutual exploitation, it has nothing whatever to do with reality and will never lead to happiness." (Pg. 119) He suggests, "To be in communion is to love. Without love, you cannot wipe out the past; with love, there is no past. Love, and time is not." (Pg. 146)
He asserts, "It is odd what importance we give to the printed word, to so-called sacred books. The scholars, as the laymen, are gramophones; they go on repeating, however often the records may be changed. They are concerned with knowledge, and not with experiencing. Knowledge is an impediment to experiencing... Knowledge is an addiction, as drink; knowledge does not bring understanding. Knowledge can be taught, but not wisdom; there must be freedom from knowledge for the coming of wisdom." (Pg. 169)
The diversity (and compact nature of treatment of each topic) of this book make it one of Krishnamurti's most interesting.
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) was singled out by Charles W. Leadbeater, a leader of the Theosophical Society, as the coming "World Teacher"; and he was groomed for this role by Leadbeater and fellow TS head Annie Besant, who formed an organization, the Order of the Star, to support him in this role. However, in 1929 he famously rejected this role, and became an independent spiritual teacher for the rest of his life, writing many books such as ['Krishnamurti Reader: No. 1,' 'You are the World,' etc.
This 1956 book contains about eighty chapters on a wide variety of subjects, such as "Gossip and Worry"; "Pupil and Master"; "Knowledge"; "Politics"; "Love in Relationship"; "The Search for Truth"; "The Self"; "Meditation"; "Awareness"; "Loneliness"; "The Spiritual Leader"; "Self-Esteem"; "the Desire for Bliss"; "Beauty"; "Ambition"; "Suffering"; "Work," etc.
He states, "Truth is not an end, a result, a goal; it cannot be invited, for it is not a thing of the mind." (Pg. 25) He states that "the radio seems to alter so little the course of life. It may make some things a little more convenient; we may have global news more quickly and hear murders described most vividly; but information is not going to make us intelligent. The thin layer of information about the horrors of atomic bombing, about international alliances, research into chlorophyll, and so on, does not seem to make any fundamental difference in our lives." (Pg. 63-64)
He observes, "It is an odd fact that followers like to be bullied and directed, whether softly or harshly. They think the harsh treatment is part of their training---training in spiritual success... this mutual degradation of the leader and the follower is the outcome of the desire for sensation. It is because you want greater sensation that you follow and so create a leader, a guru... All this is part of mutual exploitation, it has nothing whatever to do with reality and will never lead to happiness." (Pg. 119) He suggests, "To be in communion is to love. Without love, you cannot wipe out the past; with love, there is no past. Love, and time is not." (Pg. 146)
He asserts, "It is odd what importance we give to the printed word, to so-called sacred books. The scholars, as the laymen, are gramophones; they go on repeating, however often the records may be changed. They are concerned with knowledge, and not with experiencing. Knowledge is an impediment to experiencing... Knowledge is an addiction, as drink; knowledge does not bring understanding. Knowledge can be taught, but not wisdom; there must be freedom from knowledge for the coming of wisdom." (Pg. 169)
The diversity (and compact nature of treatment of each topic) of this book make it one of Krishnamurti's most interesting.
November 14, 2022
Starlit clarity is what I felt when I finished this. It's mostly a treatise on 'how to lead your life' with some insights into many spheres of life. Krishnamurti defines objectively, and gives respect to feelings, and most of all, freedom.
Education thrives in such an atmosphere, which is often seen in the Krishnamurti schools and alternative educations.
So much to read, so little time!
Education thrives in such an atmosphere, which is often seen in the Krishnamurti schools and alternative educations.
So much to read, so little time!
July 25, 2021
All commentaries come back to one central idea: Understand what is. If you have a problem, don't solve it. Understand it, and then the problem will dissolve. To understand it requires become aware of what is. The source. Rise above the mind.
May 9, 2017
Türkçesi Yaşam Üzerine Yorumlamalar - I
Her zaman okunulabilir bir kitap...
You can always read...
Her zaman okunulabilir bir kitap...
You can always read...
December 5, 2017
p98 about answers vs problems
81 is great. would be interestedi see how das responds to it.
81 is great. would be interestedi see how das responds to it.
January 12, 2020
A beautiful book..the book brings the author to a state of solitude, peace and clarity regarding the ways of living...A must read book for everyone...🥰
July 10, 2021
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️, read it once and read again, this seris is like mantra , every time i re read i found something new and profound
March 9, 2024
Excellent, well done. A log book with invaluable teachings and shared knowledge🌍✨
October 24, 2024
A portal to mind-expansion. 🩷
November 15, 2024
spooky red trees on the cover man
birdy num num
partially-read
June 11, 2010This book came to me very highly recommended as one of the most sophisticated books on the philosophy of life. It's a collection of essays, so I randomly sampled a few of them, and I don't think I have even completed a single essay. The prose is beautifully written, but the content hadn't resonated with me. Most of the philosophical points he makes are based on word play. I'm too pragmatic to get lost in a philosophy derived from word play. I have seen many self proclaimed spiritual Gurus use this technique to charm over the confused masses. These gurus generally don't add to the understanding of life or reality through their talks. From what I have heard Krishnamurti definitely doesn't belong to this category of fake gurus. However his commentaries on living seem to be at the same level of intellectual gibberish. Any philosophy that deals with such complex subjects as life has to base its axioms on reality to make any sense to me. It can't just use clever word play to draw its conclusions. How does it matter what the word 'truth' or 'life' mean? you can't make profound statements on life based on esoteric constructs of human language.
I have read very little from this book and there is a high chance that I have made my judgment too quickly.
[through Shivam:]
I have read very little from this book and there is a high chance that I have made my judgment too quickly.
[through Shivam:]
January 5, 2009
This book is broken up into many topics that Jiddu Krishnamurti as lectured about. It's not a book about one topic but many that will only go on about 3 pages per topic.
Each topic starts out by describing his surroundings visually that last for one paragraph that relates to the topic of discussion. I found my self halfway though the book wanting to skip to a topic I was most interested in.
I've read a couple of other books by him and it seems to cherry pick from his other books.
The book has a lot of value to deeply think about the "conflicts of consciousness" and focuses on the understanding of self. (which I do love)
I would give it three stars, but I am bias for J.Krishnamurti and see more value of what he is trying to teach.
Each topic starts out by describing his surroundings visually that last for one paragraph that relates to the topic of discussion. I found my self halfway though the book wanting to skip to a topic I was most interested in.
I've read a couple of other books by him and it seems to cherry pick from his other books.
The book has a lot of value to deeply think about the "conflicts of consciousness" and focuses on the understanding of self. (which I do love)
I would give it three stars, but I am bias for J.Krishnamurti and see more value of what he is trying to teach.
November 28, 2020
This book can change YOU
This is one of the best books, problems discussed in this book are even relevant today and it will be relevant for any time. best part of this book is it is conversation kind of writing where somebody discuss a problem with JK. Many times we will be able to relate to our own problem and the words in the pages go deep in to us and it creates a change in us, best book to read all the three parts.
This is one of the best books, problems discussed in this book are even relevant today and it will be relevant for any time. best part of this book is it is conversation kind of writing where somebody discuss a problem with JK. Many times we will be able to relate to our own problem and the words in the pages go deep in to us and it creates a change in us, best book to read all the three parts.
April 27, 2011
It's almost impossible not to reflect on the nature of your own thoughts while reading Krishnamurti's commentaries. I suspect a continuous inquiry into your own thinking as you read these commentaries may be beneficial while reading, which I suppose means long pauses, embracing the tranquil silence between thoughts.
May 30, 2023
When language has been corrupted by power it's impossible to communicate clearly anymore. Jiddu does the best he can which leaves the reader often irritated and frustrated but occasionally profoundly enlightened.
February 1, 2008
I really enjoy his prose. He takes esoteric subjects and makes them almost poetic to read.
Read
May 25, 2008Life changing
December 11, 2008
This book is an absolute treasure. If I were to be stranded on a dessert island and could bring one book, this would be it. It's poetic, incisive and absolutely thought-provoking.
April 11, 2017
Krishnamurti blends prose, religion and philosophy into a sublime commentary on how to live in the present. I read this repeatedly and it never loses its power.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews