10. The First and Last Freedom

In May 1954, K gave six talks in New York, which were well received. This was partly due to his recently published book The First and Last Freedom, which was a hit with readers and critics alike. The Observer said that "for those who wish to listen, this book will have a value beyond words".

The book provides a comprehensive overview of the themes covered in Krishnamurti's talks during this period. Topics include self-knowledge, faith, aspiration, simplicity, awareness, and conflict, action versus idea, time versus change, power versus insight, and desire versus self-deception.

The first part consists of 21 extracts from the talks, while the second part contains K's answers to 38 questions. One reason for its commercial success is the inspiring foreword written by Aldous Huxley, author of the landmark science fiction novel Brave New World.

Double Life in the Shadow of Symbols

In his foreword, Huxley states that humans are amphibious creatures who live simultaneously in two worlds: the world of matter and the world of symbols; the given and the homemade.

While symbols are indispensable in art, science and law, but they can also be fatal in a world in which nationalistic idealists possess atomic bombs. They then become instruments of mass murder and collective suicide.

In the context of religion and politics, words are not regarded as standing for things and events; but rather, things and events are regarded as particular illustrations of words. Not only have we used symbols unrealistically, we have also used them idolatrously, even insanely. We become idealists and imperialists, transforming "the animal's intermittent love of bullying into Stalinism or the Spanish Inquisition, the animal's intermittent kindliness into lifelong charity, or devotion into reasoned and persistent co-operation".

We know that even the best cookery book is no substitute for even the worst dinner, yet we constantly mistake purely verbal constructions as being somehow more real than the things they represent.

"In every religion and at every period of history, the problem has been repeatedly solved by individual men and women. They created no systems for they knew that every system is a standing temptation to take symbols too seriously, to pay more attention to words that to the realities for which the words are supposed to stand. Their aim was to induce people to diagnose and cure their own ills."

Hope Is in People

Logicians and semanticists have carried out a thorough analysis of the symbols. This is far from enough. What we need are people who can make others deeply aware of the situation and its consequences, and encourage them to act differently.

For Huxley, Krishnamurti is one such person. In his book, K presents "a clear contemporary statement of the fundamental human problem, together with an invitation to solve it in the only way it can be solved – for and by himself".

Clarity does not result from verbal assertion, but from intense self-awareness and right thinking. Right thinking is not the outcome of cultivating the intellect or conforming to a pattern, however worthy or noble. It comes from self-knowledge; without it, there is no basis for thought.

Our hope lies in people, not in systems that offer us only repeated lies. Belief unites people within a group, but inevitably separates them from others. We react to things according to the thought patterns we have adopted. These patterns separate us from each other and create the world we live in.

Huxley illustrates the alternative offered by Krishnamurti by listing some things what he does not offer: not a new system of belief, a catalogue of dogmas, mediation, spiritual direction, rituals, not a church or a code, not uplift or inspirational twaddle. Nor is it self-discipline, prayer, meditation or yoga. All of these involve concentration and prevent the essential: liberation from the self and the notion of duality, and the attainment of indiscriminate awareness of all layers of consciousness in all situations.

Love and understanding stem from this, and they are the only effective forms of meditation.

Methods based on self-discipline either lead to blind thinking or to a state of self-delusion. Only choiceless awareness can lead to alert passivity and non-duality.

Liberation is not a gift; it must be discovered and experienced. This creativity may not seek outward manifestation, nor is it a talent. You don't need to be a great artist to be creative.

Creative reality underlies both our destructive make-believes and our tranquil wisdom. Knowledge is a matter of symbols and is all too often a hindrance to wisdom and to the self being uncovered moment by moment.

"A mind that has come to the stillness of wisdom shall know being, shall know what it is to love. Love is neither personal nor impersonal. Love is love, not to be defined or described by the mind as exclusive or inclusive. Love is its own eternity; it is the real, the supreme, the immeasurable", concludes Huxley.

Wisdom Flows from Freedom

K begins the book by saying that communication is extremely difficult because words have different meanings for different people. Understanding requires meeting on the same level at the same time. This, in turn, requires real affection between people.

There is an art of listening. It requires us to abandon and put aside all prejudices and pre-formulations. Although we can easily listen when our undivided attention is focused on something, we tend to listen through a screen of resistance. This is why we only listen to our own noise and not to what is being said. Understanding involves reaching beyond the verbal expression.

Listening is the way to discover the truth, but only if you can hear things that contradict your beliefs. Direct perception is necessary to discover the truth. We must be aware of what is. When we start
interpreting or translating our experiences, we miss the truth.

Awareness of the facts is the beginning of wisdom, which frees us from time. A mind tethered to belief and knowledge cannot keep up with the swift movement of what is.

Life is not static, and following its endless movement requires both an astute mind and an extraordinarily pliable heart. We are aware of the collective chaos that exists in all countries. It is not only national, but global.

The frightening thing is that we have become accustomed to being outsiders and spectators rather than participants.

The state of the world does not concern the well-off enough for them to seek seriously a solution. The most dangerous thing is when sects offer us a particular system. Humanity is forgotten, and people are ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of an ideal.

The world is in such a poor state because we live and work in a world of sensual values. To grasp the truth, the mind must be silent and in a state of passive awareness. In that state, one understands oneself exactly as one is.

This understanding is not a matter of time; it will never happen tomorrow. If things don't change now, they never will. Once we reach a state of understanding, we are beyond the wave of destruction.

The Sad Search for Happiness

Most people want some kind of happiness and peace of mind. In seeking them, we follow one leader or organisation after another. While it is easy to find inner peace by dedicating oneself to an idea or an ideology, isolation will not solve the world's problems.

Can peace and happiness even be sought and found? Do we even know what we are looking for, or are we just wandering? Most people seek for pleasure and gratification, wanting to experience a sense of fulfilment at the end of their search.

However, most ways of seeking happiness are disappointing. Is there even such a thing as lasting happiness? To answer this question, you must understand the seeker – yourself. Without self-knowledge, any search is utterly futile.

As K points out, "happiness is derivative; it is a by-product of something else".

The search must start with the self and be explored in action, which is relationship. Self-examination is an endless river. By understanding yourself deeply, you can find peace and bliss. When the mind is still and motionless, it is one with reality.

What We Are, the World is

In the third chapter, K discusses the relationship between the individual and society. Is the individual merely an instrument

of society, or does the state exist for the people? Is the individual the ultimate purpose of society, or merely a puppet to be taught, exploited, butchered in war?

Neither option is good. If individuals exist only for the state, then we must abandon individuality and work for society. However, if society's purpose is not to force individuals to conform to any pattern, but rather to give them the feel and the urge of freedom, then everyone is free to act as they please.

K concludes with a good compromise: we created society together. What we are, the world is. Society is crystallised in the individual, and fuses the individual into itself. A creative revolution cannot happen outside of us; it must always begin with the individual, as a psychological transformation.

As we are not creative, society is in chaos. We imitate and conform to patterns learned from others. This is why we have ceased to be real individuals. Our reactions are conditioned, not creative. We worship authority, and have become repetitive machines with certain conditioned responses. This imitation is the fundamental cause of society's disintegration.

A Simple Solution

Changing society requires self-knowledge, a topic that will be explored in chapter four. To solve the world's complex problems, we must approach them in a very simple and direct manner.

According to K, the solution lies with the creator of the problem. All problems are our own fault because we are the world, not separate from it.

We try to pass the blame onto others because our minds are so sluggish. It is our responsibility to change our attitude and bring about a radical revolution. Change in the individual changes the world.

However, there is no method or system for knowing oneself. By following a method, we shape our mind to a set pattern, but that is not understanding oneself. Most of us are like gramophone records, repeatedly playing the same songs based on our conclusions and memories. Repetition is not a creative being.

We avoid examining ourselves either because we are afraid of what we might find or because we are unhappy with what we are.

The little man wants to be a big man; the unvirtuous want to be virtuous; and the weak and obscure crave power, position, and authority.

"If we can understand ourselves as we are from moment to moment without the process of accumulation, then we shall see how there comes a tranquillity that is not a product of the mind, a tranquillity that is neither imagined nor cultivated; and only in that state of tranquillity can there be creativeness."

The Momentum

Chapter five looks at the theme of action and idea. This may sound philosophical, but it is a subject that is truly essential to life.

Life is a series of actions; without action, there would be no life, no experience, or no thought. Even thought is a form of action: it is a reaction of consciousness to what is happening in the outside world or inside us.

Action creates the actor. The actor comes into being when action has a result, an end in view. Where there is will, there is also someone who wants. Will gives action some purpose and direction.

All our conscious actions have an actor and a goal. Without these, things would be very different. In all experiences, there is an experiencer who evaluates what is being experienced.

In the moment of experiencing, we are not aware of ourselves as the experiencer apart from the experience. When we are angry, for example, we simply experience the anger. A moment later, the experiencer reacts in one way or another; it either regrets, defends, or tries to control itself.

It is important to understand whether thought creates the action or the action generates thought. If we act on thoughts, they limit us.

Thought process is the response of memory. Without memory, we would have no thoughts. Memory has no life of its own; it is activated when we react to something. All memory is conditioned.

But is there any spontaneous action that is not based on experience or ideation?

"Of course there is", says K, "the action of love is not based on memory or experience."

Love is not memory; it cannot be produced by thought. You can think about the person or thing you love, but the symbol that we call thought is not love.

There is no gap between love and action as there is between thoughts and deeds. Love is the only thing that frees us.

Ideas are not truth. Truth is not an experience to be desired. When we go beyond our preconceived notions, thought is completely silent. Then we know what truth is.

Life through a Screen

In chapter six, we ask whether it is possible to live without belief, to be completely free from all conclusions and assertions, and to meet life anew each minute.

Belief acts as a screen through which we look at ourselves. It hinders our understanding of ourselves. What is left if we remove our beliefs? Can the mind be freed from belief without seeking a substitute?

The right answers can be found by examining our relationship with belief. Why do we believe, and why do we feel the need to believe?

K suggests that fear is a major factor in belief. When we are afraid, we use beliefs to cover up our fear: the fear of being really nothing, of being empty.

Another concept closely related to belief is the so-called 'inner knowledge'. Our knowledge of ourselves is based on experience and is as limited as our beliefs.

This knowledge builds a wall of separation, and we hide behind it. The more knowledge the mind is burdened with, the less able it is to understand what is truly true.

Knowledge and belief play an extraordinarily important role in our lives. We worship knowledge, even when it limits our view. A mind burdened with knowledge can never understand that which is real and cannot be measured.

Why Do We Want More than We Need?

In the next chapter, we will take a look at effort.

It is hard to imagine an activity without volition, without effort. Even our spiritual life is a series of efforts that culminate in a certain result.

According to K, all effort is a self-centred activity that produces more conflict and more confusion, both inwardly and outwardly. The self is the centre that regulates and gives meaning to our lives.

However, it can be difficult to identify the cause of effort. This raises three questions: Why do we want more than we have? Why do we want more than we need? Why are we not satisfied with what we have?

Effort distracts us from what is. We strive to change facts into what we wish them to be. In other words, we try to avoid facing what is.

When we realise that we are incomplete, empty, and poor inside, we strive to become something else. Filling that inner void becomes the purpose of our existence. We run away from, avoid or try to cover up this emptiness.

But what if we didn't run away? We would enter a creative space and experience the unique tranquillity that comes with understanding what is.

The Conflicting Goals

Contradiction is the theme of chapter eight. This arises when we have an enduring desire or cling to a craving. In our search for lasting satisfaction, there's not much difference between God and drink.

Contradiction gives us an impetus to live. The effort gives us a sense of vitality. This is why we love wars and enjoy battles of frustration.

The very nature of our thinking is contradictory. When we think in terms of the past or the future, we are not fully aware of the present. Direct awareness breaks down this pattern, enabling us to see what is. There is no contradiction, and the ultimate reality can emerge.

A Dog Chasing Its Tail

Chapter nine asks: What is the self, the 'I'? We recognise how it manifests itself to us, but not what it means, how it comes into being, or what keeps it alive. This theme is explored in several subsequent chapters.

The activities of the self are separative and isolating. However, we may also experience extraordinary moments when the self is absent, with no sense of effort or endeavour.

All experiences strengthen the self. The more one experiences, the stronger the self becomes. Is it possible for the mind not to reflect? Or can we desire experience? Can we be completely selfless? This can only happen in complete silence.

It is important to realise that the projected self is all there is. There is no entity that can look at the self and dissolve it.

What happens when we realise that our mind is moving in circles, trapped in a cage of its own making, and we allow it to stop? The same thing happens to a dog that stops chasing its tail.

When Fear Ends, Joy Flows

Fear is the subject of the next chapter. K stresses that what matters is not the causes and objects of fear, but fear as a phenomenon. To be free of all fear, it is essential to be free of the self.

Fear exists as long as the mind isolates itself from reality and collects or seeks experiences.

There is also a fear of pain. We must free ourselves from fear as a whole, not just its individual manifestations or certain kinds of fear.

When desire ends, fear also ends, and extraordinary joy emerges.

Humility is Simplicity

Without being simple, we cannot be sensitive – to the trees, to the birds, to the mountains, to the wind, and all the things which are going on around us. We will solve our problems only by experiencing things directly. This requires simplicity and sensitivity, which are the themes of chapter eleven.

We are not simple because we do not see things clearly. Thoughts and emotions clutter our minds. We think too much and can't distinguish between real and nonsense. Our minds are numbed by too much knowledge and too many experiences.

The life we have lived and the knowledge we have gathered colour everything we look at. Our self-image is an odd mixture of reality and dreams.

A simple person does not try to become anything other than what he is. For an excited mind, it is not easy to avoid striving, seeking, and groping.

A happy person does not want to become something else. It is from such simplicity that humility arises. Humility cannot be cultivated or made habitual. With humility, we can deal with life's distressing phenomena correctly, because we no longer think of ourselves as important and can see things clearly. When you approach a problem with sincere humility, you can solve it.

The Awakened Mind

Chapter twelve ponders one of the central questions in K's teachings: what is awareness, and when are we aware?

One can only be aware when there is no identification, comparison, or condemnation. Then the object of observation reveals itself. Observation is passive, moment-to-moment scrutiny. You must be as sensitive as a photographic plate. This must be tested by everyone; an explanation will not make it clear.

There are two ways of looking at a tree, a person, or any object. One way is to be actively aware of the object and how it makes you feel.

What matters is how we deal with our own reaction. It is very difficult to observe and learn from our reactions intelligently. This is passive awareness, with no volition either way.

This kind of awareness transforms the way the mind functions, making it alert and clear. In this state, the conscious mind does not interpret, collect, select, or seek. It does not draw conclusions, but it can act if necessary.

According to K, it is important to understand that awareness is neither a skill nor a capacity that can be developed. You either are aware or you are not. It is not possible to become aware because awareness is not a process.

This is in sharp contrast to the view that awareness can be developed through various exercises and methods. Cultivated awareness is relative and involves thinking, evaluation, and comparison. It is conditioned and therefore always more or less distorted.

The Truth Silences the Self

The following chapters explain desire, relationship, and thinking. These themes will also be revisited in the questions posed to K during the talks.

As long as our consciousness is preoccupied with the self, we will continue to move from one problem to another. If you really want to understand something, your mind must be silent.

When you listen to music and are totally absorbed in it, your mind is silent; it does not wander. When the mind is neither looking for an answer, nor resisting or evading, it can perceive what is true. This truth frees the mind from illusions.

Truth is not static; it has no fixed abode. It is living, dynamic, alert, and alive. If truth were fixed, it would then be just another opinion. Truth is the unknown, so a mind seeking truth will never find it, because our understanding is based on the known, the past.

When the mind seeks truth, it is actually seeking its own self-projections, not truth. Truth cannot be sought; it comes to us. It is in every leaf, in every tear; it must be known from moment to moment. It is in the cessation of the self that eternity comes into being.

To discover truth, we must enter the uncharted sea. A mind filled with the known impedes the new and that which is timeless.

The Bliss of Silence

Winter in India included only two talks in Madras in December 1954, but this was followed by a busy year. K gave 42 talks on four continents: six in Benares in January, eight immediately afterwards in Bombay, five in Amsterdam in May, six in London in June, eight in Ojai in August, six in Sydney in November, and three in Benares, India, to conclude the tour.

In Amsterdam, K began by asserting that he did not represent either an oriental or occidental mind. He said that a well-functioning mind would never be able to solve the immediate challenge facing every human being, wherever they live. We look at the world with a mind that is brutally conditioned by circumstances and our experiences.

If we want to find out for ourselves whether the mind can free itself from the enormous weight placed upon us by books and leaders, we must first get to know ourselves in a new way.

Our fundamental questions cannot be answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no'. We must engage with the issues without even expecting to get an answer. This requires an open mind that assumes nothing and takes no position for or against.

We fail to recognise that our position stems from the circumstances in which we grew up. There is nothing personal or individual about it. Nor is it true. Our position remains the same even when reality changes.

If we stuck to the facts, there would be no problems. It is only when we interpret things according to our own minds that we create conflict. When we realise this, our mind becomes quiet.

Hard to Give Up

In his third talk, K emphasised that very few people are content with a superficial life. Many people naturally ask deep questions, but when we cannot find the answers ourselves, we adopt someone else's views.

Once we have adopted a position, we don't easily give it up, even when it leads to foolish actions and endless suffering.

In the final talk, someone in the audience asked what K meant by awareness.

He responded by saying that comparison, judgement, and evaluation prevent awareness. If you constantly take sides when reading something, you are not aware of what you are reading. However, if you are aware, however, you see both what you are reading and your own reactions to it.

What is generally considered to be consciousness is a reaction produced by memory, which leads to duality. Memory usually reacts so quickly that we don't have time to do anything about it. We think we are aware of a fact, but actually, we are only aware of our own position on the matter. By naming it, we give it a form and a meaning in our minds.

When we realise this inner process, the mind is quiet. We connect with things in a new way, without interpretation. This kind of direct awareness has no experiencer.

Silence Is Not an Experience

In London in June 1955, K began by saying that every human being probably knows that there is something beyond their own thoughts. Although we may experience this state of mind, this powerful experience leaves a trace in our memory, and we cling to it, interpreting it according to our own beliefs.

Only a fresh and innocent mind can understand what is true and real. Such a mind is able to listen and hear more than its own noise.

In the fifth talk, someone asked what happens when the mind is silent. K responded that it is impossible to enter that state or to know when you are in it. Nor can you explain what happens then. When there is no experiencer, silence is not an experience to remember. You must die to each experience and stop accumulating them.

Someone in the audience then asked how we can know that such a state exists. K repeated that we cannot know, but why should we? The important thing is not to recognise a silent state of mind, but to live without contradiction.

See More at the Top

K began the Ojai series by saying that we do not want fundamental change, but rather to improve our situation slightly, and "have a better conditioning". When an old belief no longer suits us, we acquire a new one. Few people wonder why we believe in the first place, or whether all beliefs can be done away with.

In the sixth talk, K asks if there is anything sacred or permanent, and how we can know if there is. If we want to know what's at the top of a mountain, we have to climb it ourself; we can't just believe what others tell us.

Hate Is Hate Everywhere

A man thinks that K represents an oriental view. K asks him: "Would you think the same if I looked American?"

People's problems are the same, whether they live in India, China, or America. Hate is hate, and sorrow is sorrow, everywhere. Food, traditions, and beliefs may differ, but K is not interested in cultural differences. He is interested in freeing humanity from the nuisances caused by conditioning, which only highlight superficial differences.

To K, it is absurd to emphasise one's individual uniqueness in terms of taste, appearance, abilities, values, or beliefs. We make a big mistake when we isolate ourselves from the rest of the world.

We are just a small link in the long history of humanity. Although it may seem that we choose our own ideas, in fact, we have actually only absorbed them from what we have heard and read.

The awareness of this will revolutionise our mind and the way we think about things. We no longer think of ourselves as individuals.

During the last talk, a member of the audience said that he had experimented with K's teachings for a number of years and had become fully aware of the parasitic nature of self-consciousness. He had lost all self-confidence and motivation and asked what he should do.

K asked whether he had experimented with his teachings or with himself. The difference is essential. When we experiment with what K is saying, we are trying to gain something from it that we feel is missing from our lives.

If we do this to get that, it's a trade-off. It either works or it doesn't. Usually, it doesn't. When it doesn't work, we become frustrated and lose hope.

However, if you observe your own mind without motive or hope of reward, then you cannot fail. You simply explore and learn. The mind never gets tired or reaches the finish line; it simply observes reality and will see astonishing things emerging.

You Cannot Do Much Alone

The year changed again in India. In three months, K gave sixteen talks: the first five in Madras in January, then three in Madanapalle in February, and eight in Bombay in March.

In his first talk in Madras, K summarised the need for transformation at the highest level. Patchwork reforms and economic development are not enough. The mind is our main tool, and unless we change it, all progress will be partial.

Society and its structures are man-made and have evolved over a long period of time. Our entire long collective history is stored in the memory of humanity and influences everything we do and experience. This can be understood either superficially or profoundly.

When faced with major problems, we may feel powerless as individuals because we cannot solve any of them alone. Therefore, we join like-minded people and embrace a solution together.

However, once we have adopted a position, we tend to close our eyes to everything else. We begin to see the world as conforming to our adopted ideology. We may tolerate those who think differently, but we still think that they are wrong to some extent.

It is important to understand what is happening in our minds. It is even more important to understand why we do the things we do.

In Madanapalle, K was asked why he does not spend more time in his native country and village, where he is needed.

K wondered why people attach so much importance to where someone is born or what they end up believing. The world is divided because everyone worships the products of their limited thinking.

No One Knows the Unknown

In Bombay in March 1956, K began his talk by saying that he was not trying to teach anything because he knew nothing. The unknown cannot be known, and the knowing mind has ceased to inquire. He also refused to answer questions because there really are no real answers. A mind that seeks answers may find one, but it will never find reality.

Someone in the audience asked if it was possible to listen to K too much. He replied that what matters is why and how one listens. If you translate what you hear into information in your mind and store it in your memory, you are listening to accumulate, not to learn.

Listening is an art. Once you know how to do it properly, you don't just hear the words; you listen much more deeply, and you can never do it too much.

In Bombay, someone asked his opinion on the two methods of stopping thought mentioned in Hindu scriptures.

K replied that it is a big mistake to take books at face value. You should always find out the true state of affairs for yourself.

Another person said that he had done everything he could to free himself from the past, but his memories still haunted him.

K replied that the 'I' can never be free from the past because there is no 'I' separate from memories. Therefore, the starting point is wrong. The 'I' cannot free itself from its shadow. It can be aware, but it cannot do anything else. As a result of this awareness, the past ceases to dominate the mind, so nothing needs to be done.

Someone asked why it is so difficult to love, despite it being the core commandment of all religions.

K wondered why people find it hard to see that we choose the object of our love for selfish reasons. We don't love people we dislike for some odd reason.

All the so-called holy books call for acts of love, yet people remain prisoners of their hatred. It is hard to admit this to oneself. We say we will try, but nothing really changes.

We don't really love. We may go to a temple or church for comfort, but our daily lives remain unchanged.

Another person asked how one could practise what K talks about.

K replied that it is impossible because he offers no formula to follow. All practice stupefies the mind. An alert mind does not submit to formulas and does not need them.

A third person asked if there was anything new in K's teachings.

K said that everything he says is new to him. If you compare what you hear with what you have heard before, you will find nothing new. It's all been said before. The real is a living thing and it should not be approached with the old knowledge.

Can Emotions Be Isolated?

In May 1956, K began his talk in Stockholm by saying that, although people in different parts of the world have different habits and ideas, they have the same problems. Unfortunately, we do not know how
to approach problems in the right way.

We should understand ourselves rather than looking for solutions. We don't understand because we only use one part of our mind. When the mind is free, it has no problems.

The first person to ask a question said that Swedes want to deal with life's problems without unnecessary emotion. K asked whether emotions can be separated from the mind. The bigger problem is that we are confused without realising it.

A Flower Needs No Reason to Glow

Someone asked why Krishnamurti goes around talking.

He replied that there is no answer. After all, a flower has no particular reason to glow in the sunshine.

Clearly, he is not speaking for himself or even to help others. He believes that helping is not enough; only total understanding matters. We all want to be helped; we want leaders and guides, someone to follow. This leads to exploitation and dependence, a totalitarian spirit.

When asked about reincarnation, K said that death is an undeniable fact, but that our thoughts about what happens after death are in a very uncertain territory. Everyone chooses whichever of the prevailing beliefs they like. Why do we give beliefs such huge importance?

The Hook for Happiness

Speaking in Brussels in July, K began by saying that everyone seeks happiness, although the ways in which we try to achieve it vary. Many people do not know themselves because they have never been able to look at themselves directly. This can be explained by three things.

Firstly, our thoughts and beliefs prevent us from observing ourselves directly. Secondly, we judge our actions by our own or others' standards. Thirdly, we only use our conscious mind for self-evaluation.

In the next talk, someone asked if real happiness exists.

K believes that those who pursue happiness end up living a very shallow life. Happiness is a by-product; it does not come from actively pursuing it. In fact, it eludes those who seek it. If your goal
is to be happy, you might also achieve it by taking drugs.

In the third talk, someone asked K to explain the difference between a materialistic and a religious concept of life.

There is no fundamental difference, K replied. Both are invented by the mind. You may find it easier to free yourself from your car or coat than from your thoughts or bad habits. We become attached to and addicted to them all.

Whose Brains Are You Using?

In Hamburg in September 1956, K was asked what is wrong with authority.

He replied that we humans create authorities because we want power and security. By letting tyrants lead us, we become part of something greater than ourselves.

In the third talk, K said that people in our modern world tend to start thinking in the same way. We are brought up to be obedient.

Religions and state authorities do everything in their power to make us conform to a certain way of thinking. Nobody wants people to use their own brains.