2. The Thrill of Freedom

Although this book focuses on Krishnamurti's teachings, a brief introduction to his life is perhaps necessary, given that he was an exceptional figure in human history.

Born in India in May 1895, Krishnamurti spent most of his life travelling the world and delivering talks. He was 'discovered' on the shores of Adyar in spring 1909. Charles W. Leadbeater, a prominent figure in the Theosophical Society, believed that the 13-year-old boy's aura was so extraordinary that he might be the next World Teacher, who would open a new spiritual reality for humanity.

Leadbeater convinced Annie Besant, the president of the Theosophical Society, of this, and Krishnamurti was educated in the Theosophical teachings in preparation for his future role.

In 1911, K was taken to England and then to California, where he had a profound spiritual experience in August 1922. This culminated in a feeling of deep ecstasy. After this, he began to distance himself from the theosophists, and ultimately left the movement with a dramatic speech on 3 August 1929, at the Ommen camp. This speech was broadcast live on the radio to an audience of 3,000 society members.

In it, K said that he wanted to free people from all spiritual cages they had voluntarily imposed on themselves. Over the following years, he toured India, Europe, and California. However, he felt that his career did not actually begin until Annie Besant had died in the summer of 1933.

A Mutation in the Mind

There are two distinct periods in Krishnamurti's life. One lasted until 1968, while the other began in 1961. K spent the period in between in Europe and India.

For over 30 years, Krishnamurti was managed by Desikachar Rajagopal, an Indian who organised his speaking tours and edited his talks before publication.

The two men parted ways in the spring of 1957, after which they were estranged for ten years. This ended when Krishnamurti established three foundations bearing his name to organise his public activities: one based in England, one in the United States, and one in India.

The dispute between the two men continued in court and was not resolved until 1974. By that time, the Krishnamurti Foundations had become active in organising events on three continents and had published a large number of books.

While the content of K's teachings did not change much over the years, a new concept emerged in 1961.

In his diary, Krishnamurti's Notebook, he discusses the mutation of the mind and uses this term until his death to refer to a profound change in brain function. Other key concepts of his were insight, direct perception, intelligence, and meditation, all of which he considered to be of particular importance.

The Thinker Is Thought

In his final decade, especially, Krishnamurti spoke at length about thinking, summing it up as merely a reaction of memory. This may sound like an odd simplification, but there is more than a grain of truth in it.

For Krishnamurti, thinking is not something we humans actively do. Rather, it is something that happens automatically in our minds when we react to things. These reactions are based on memory—that is, on previous experiences—and are therefore limited.

This means that it is impossible to change one's mind through willpower alone. Memory does not ask for our permission to act, nor can it be forcibly prevented. We must therefore resort to another tactic.

It is important to note that, for Krishnamurti, thoughts also encompass what we refer to as emotions. Feelings of sadness, fear, anger, and pleasure are recognised by thinking about them and naming them.

This 'namer' is an inner figure we call the self. For K, the self is not separate from thought. For him, the thinker is a concept created by thought and found only in the world of thoughts – not in the real world in which we all live.

According to Krishnamurti, the self is a bubble that bursts when we realise that it is a thought. This requires insight, which is completely absent from thinking.

Consciousness Is a Storehouse

It is also important to understand that, contrary to how the word is generally understood today, Krishnamurti did not use the word consciousness to refer to awareness, but rather as a kind of mental storehouse. However, consciousness not only stores information; it also plays a significant role in perception. There is now strong scientific evidence for this.

The content of consciousness refers to everything a person has stored in their mind during their lifetime. Some of this content is unconscious, yet it still influences our thoughts and, consequently, our behaviour.

Krishnamurti made a clear distinction between the mind and the brain. The brain is the instrument that produces thoughts, but the mind encompasses much more. For K, there was no such thing as an individual mind.

The World Is Indivisible

Krishnamurti often began his series of talks by stating that the state of the world is a result of the way we humans divide it into parts. He said that we are literally the world, not separate from it. Our sense of individuality is merely a myth created by the mind. The world is actually one indivisible entity, and we are an inseparable part of the energy of the indivisible universe.

He emphasised that this statement was not just his opinion or his imagination, but a truth that is available to anyone who is willing to see the world as it actually is. Invisible bonds connect us not only to other human beings, but also to animals, nature, the stars, and the cosmos as a whole.

Krishnamurti felt that the myth of separateness originates in the brain, which mistakes itself for the centre of the cosmos. Our sense of self is real, yet it is based on our imagination, as well as on information and experiences gathered by our brains. We build our worldview on these things, and this worldview is both false and dangerous. It threatens to destroy civilisation on Earth.

Krishnamurti identified a fundamental flaw in the world we have created with our brains. To correct it, a mutation in the brain cells is required. This would be a functional rather than genetic change to the way our minds process perceptions.

The brain registers and stores perceptions of the external and internal worlds in memory. We learn words and skills to help us cope with our everyday life. We recognise ourselves in the mirror and know where we live. We can also recall where we have been and remember our passwords. Without memory, we would end up in a nursing home.

Problems arise when our brain operates in the psychological realm. This is where fears, sadness, anxiety, shame, joy, and the many other emotions that are part of our lives are generated. It is not the emotions in themselves that are the problem, but rather how they affect our lives and control our behaviour.

Thinking Prevents Direct Perception

One of Krishnamurti's key insights concerns the role of thinking in our lives. It is widely considered to be the most important human function through which we navigate our life.

However, according to K, thinking is the root of all our problems. Thinking does not solve our problems; it causes most of them and prevents them from being solved.

Thinking can be helpful in solving technical problems, but when it comes to mental problems, it is the cause of our difficulties. It is important to understand the fundamental difference between these two types of problems. Understanding the mind requires direct perception, which causes a mutation in the brain.

The challenge is that nobody can help another person see directly, and most people don't even want to see in this way. The obstacle is the mind's program, which turns all perceptions into concepts so quickly that we don't have time to react and prevent it.

Krishnamurti also emphasised the difference between words and objects. A word is not the object it describes. Not all words have a counterpart in reality; they are products of our imagination. Yet we react to them as if they were concrete objects.

Goodbye to All Cages!

Perhaps the most significant decision in Krishnamurti's life was to dissolve the Order of the Star organisation. Rumours of this had been circulating since the early summer of 1929, but in August, at Ommen, Krishnamurti announced his intention to dissolve the organisation that had been set up for him.

"I desire to free man from all cages, from all fears, and not to found religions, new sects, not to establish new theories, new philosophies. I want to make this clear, because I don't want these childish discussions year after year. My only concern is to set man absolutely, unconditionally free."

Following the meeting, Krishnamurti resigned from the Theosophical Society. Outwardly, his life did not change much, and most of his listeners remained loyal. From then on, all events were open to anyone interested.

In November 1929, Krishnamurti held a convention with Annie Besant in Benares. The following month, he held another in Adyar and Guindy, near Madras. In early 1930, he toured northern of India, returning to Ojai in March. This camp attracted 2,000 people.

In July 1930, a camp was held in Ommen that was attended by people who were interested in what K had to say rather than in what he was supposed to become.

In autumn 1930, K did not go to India, but toured Europe: France in October, Switzerland in November, and Athens in December. While in Bucharest, he met Queen Marie at her palace.

The new year, 1931, began with talks in Yugoslavia and Hungary. The last Eerde camp took place over five days in early February.

During his second talk in London in March, K spoke about a completeness that could not progress because it was absolute.

"Truth lies only through elimination; then there is a timeless understanding. Then you liberate the mind and heart, and know harmony, which is completeness."

In a letter to his friend Lady Emily Lutyens that same month, he wrote that he was trying to build a bridge to help others realise the abundance of life.

"You have no idea how difficult it is to express the inexpressible, and what is expressed is not truth."

The Dead Don't Listen

The European tour continued to Edinburgh, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Vienna. After the Ommen camps in July and August, K returned to Ojai for a six-month break.

Throughout the spring, he gave talks in Ojai every Sunday. After the Ojai camp in June 1932, K toured America for four months.

In November, he travelled to India, touring the country throughout the following spring. The reception he received varied, and he bluntly stated, "Adyar is lovely, but the people are dead."

In May 1933, Krishnamurti met Annie Besant, who had lost her memory. This was the last time they met; Besant passed away on 20 September 1933, aged 86. Among her motherly advice to K was the suggestion that he must drink grape juice to get stronger.

Following Besant's death, K did not return to the Theosophical Society's headquarters for 47 years. On his next trip to India, he stayed at Vasanta Vihar, which became his new residence in Adyar.

A new phase began in Krishnamurti's life.