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Thought Is Dead: Moving Beyond Spiritual Materialism
Thought Is Dead is a unique selection of mostly unpublished and rare transcripts of U.G. Krishnamurti in dialogue, including a particularly rare discussion with renowned physicist David Bohm. U.G. explains how our desire for spiritual enlightenment is a greed, like any other, and that we are operating as a complex set of machinery. In addition U.G. details, in a step-by-step account, the mysterious process by which his consciousness underwent a complete transformation.
- GenresPhilosophy
180 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2010
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About the author
U.G. Krishnamurti
66 books141 followersUppaluri Gopala Krishnamurti also known as U.G. Krishnamurti, was an Indian thinker who said that there is no "enlightenment". Although necessary for day to day functioning of the individual, in terms of the Ultimate Reality or Truth he rejected the very basis of thought and in doing so negated all systems of thought and knowledge in reference to It.
U.G was born on July 9, 1918 in Machilipatnam, a town in coastal Andhra Pradesh, India, and raised in the nearby town of Gudivada. His mother died seven days after he was born, and he was brought up by his maternal grandfather, a wealthy Brahmin lawyer, who was also involved in the Theosophical Society. U.G. also became a member of the Theosophical Society during his teenage years.
During the same period of his life, U.G. reportedly practiced all kinds of austerities and apparently sought moksha or spiritual enlightenment. To that end, between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one, he undertook all kinds of spiritual exercise, determined to find out whether moksha was possible. Wanting to achieve that state, he had also resolved to prove that if there were people who have thus "realized" themselves, they could not be hypocritical.As part of this endeavor, he searched for a person who was an embodiment of such "realization".
U.G. emphasized the impossibility and non-necessity of any human change, radical or mundane. These assertions, he stated, cannot be considered as a "teaching", that is, something intended to be used to bring about a change. He insisted that the body and its actions are already perfect, and he considered attempts to change or mold the body as violations of the peace and the harmony that is already there. The psyche or self or mind, an entity which he denied as having any being, is composed of nothing but the "demand" to bring about change in the world, in itself, or in both. Furthermore, human self-consciousness is not a thing, but a movement, one characterized by "perpetual malcontent" and a "fascist insistence" on its own importance and survival.
U.G. denied the existence of an individual mind. However, he accepted the concept of a world mind, which according to him contained the accumulation of the totality of man's knowledge and experience. He also used 'thought sphere'(atmosphere of thoughts) synonymously with the term 'world mind'. He stated that human beings inhabit this thought realm or thought sphere and that the human brain acts like an antenna, picking and choosing thoughts according to its needs. U.G. held all human experience to be the result of this process of thought. The self-consciousness or 'I' in human beings is born out the need to give oneself continuity through the constant utilization of thought. When this continuity is broken, even for a split second, its hold on the body is broken and the body falls into its natural rhythm. Thought also falls into its natural place – then it can no longer interfere or influence the working of the human body. In the absence of any continuity the arising thoughts combust.He stated that we inhabit a thought realm. When the continuity of thought is broken, even for a split second, its hold on the body is broken and the body falls into its natural rhythm. Thought also falls into its natural place – then it can no longer interfere or influence the working of the human body. In the absence of any continuity the arising thoughts combust.
In its natural state, the senses of the body take on independent existences (uncoordinated by any 'inner self') and the ductless glands (that correspond to the locations of the Hindu chakras) become reactivated. UG described how it is the pineal gland (Ajna Chakra) that takes over the functioning of the body in the natural state, as opposed to thought.
U.G. also maintained that the reason people came to him (and to gurus), was in order to find solutions for their everyday real problems, and/or for solutions to a fabricated problem, namely, the search for spirituality
U.G was born on July 9, 1918 in Machilipatnam, a town in coastal Andhra Pradesh, India, and raised in the nearby town of Gudivada. His mother died seven days after he was born, and he was brought up by his maternal grandfather, a wealthy Brahmin lawyer, who was also involved in the Theosophical Society. U.G. also became a member of the Theosophical Society during his teenage years.
During the same period of his life, U.G. reportedly practiced all kinds of austerities and apparently sought moksha or spiritual enlightenment. To that end, between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one, he undertook all kinds of spiritual exercise, determined to find out whether moksha was possible. Wanting to achieve that state, he had also resolved to prove that if there were people who have thus "realized" themselves, they could not be hypocritical.As part of this endeavor, he searched for a person who was an embodiment of such "realization".
U.G. emphasized the impossibility and non-necessity of any human change, radical or mundane. These assertions, he stated, cannot be considered as a "teaching", that is, something intended to be used to bring about a change. He insisted that the body and its actions are already perfect, and he considered attempts to change or mold the body as violations of the peace and the harmony that is already there. The psyche or self or mind, an entity which he denied as having any being, is composed of nothing but the "demand" to bring about change in the world, in itself, or in both. Furthermore, human self-consciousness is not a thing, but a movement, one characterized by "perpetual malcontent" and a "fascist insistence" on its own importance and survival.
U.G. denied the existence of an individual mind. However, he accepted the concept of a world mind, which according to him contained the accumulation of the totality of man's knowledge and experience. He also used 'thought sphere'(atmosphere of thoughts) synonymously with the term 'world mind'. He stated that human beings inhabit this thought realm or thought sphere and that the human brain acts like an antenna, picking and choosing thoughts according to its needs. U.G. held all human experience to be the result of this process of thought. The self-consciousness or 'I' in human beings is born out the need to give oneself continuity through the constant utilization of thought. When this continuity is broken, even for a split second, its hold on the body is broken and the body falls into its natural rhythm. Thought also falls into its natural place – then it can no longer interfere or influence the working of the human body. In the absence of any continuity the arising thoughts combust.He stated that we inhabit a thought realm. When the continuity of thought is broken, even for a split second, its hold on the body is broken and the body falls into its natural rhythm. Thought also falls into its natural place – then it can no longer interfere or influence the working of the human body. In the absence of any continuity the arising thoughts combust.
In its natural state, the senses of the body take on independent existences (uncoordinated by any 'inner self') and the ductless glands (that correspond to the locations of the Hindu chakras) become reactivated. UG described how it is the pineal gland (Ajna Chakra) that takes over the functioning of the body in the natural state, as opposed to thought.
U.G. also maintained that the reason people came to him (and to gurus), was in order to find solutions for their everyday real problems, and/or for solutions to a fabricated problem, namely, the search for spirituality
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 23, 2024
“The fact of the matter is that when…the material needs are taken care of, naturally the question that arises is, “Is that all?”
It seems as though I live to avoid the answer to this question. My body knows the answer. It knows there’s nothing else. But tv, social media, billboards, ads, and the internet tell me there’s always something else. Something else to strive for. Something else to become. And so, I suffer. I want something other than who I am. I want something other than what is.
What’s also interesting is the idea that I may not be suffering at all! The Labelers have decided that this feeling is “suffering,” and when I feel this feeling, it’s wrong and I should want to get rid of it. But is it even suffering at all?? Is there anything to get rid of? Or is it the mind’s next attempt to find something else to do because material needs are met? Of course, I already know the answer.
“One basic demand of us all is that we believe. The need to believe things is exploited by the spiritual teachers, past, present, and probably the teachers to be born.“
It seems as though I live to avoid the answer to this question. My body knows the answer. It knows there’s nothing else. But tv, social media, billboards, ads, and the internet tell me there’s always something else. Something else to strive for. Something else to become. And so, I suffer. I want something other than who I am. I want something other than what is.
What’s also interesting is the idea that I may not be suffering at all! The Labelers have decided that this feeling is “suffering,” and when I feel this feeling, it’s wrong and I should want to get rid of it. But is it even suffering at all?? Is there anything to get rid of? Or is it the mind’s next attempt to find something else to do because material needs are met? Of course, I already know the answer.
“One basic demand of us all is that we believe. The need to believe things is exploited by the spiritual teachers, past, present, and probably the teachers to be born.“
January 27, 2021
Mind blowing dialogues with a man called UG. He destroys conventional wisdom of all times. If you come across this book when you are stuck on a spiritual path, take it as a sign to stop and change direction. This doesn’t mean to embrace a new belief or philosophy but rather to stand alone as UG many times said “find out for yourself and by yourself” the truth that cannot be spoken or comprehended by thoughts and intuition. A book that I enjoyed a lot and will definitely read many times.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews