7. The Human Problem

In October 1947, Krishnamurti flew to India, where he stayed for a year and a half. He first gave twelve talks in Madras, followed by a further twelve in Bombay. He then delivered talks in Bangalore in July and August, in Poona in September, in New Delhi in November, and finally in Benares in January 1949.

While in Madras, K was asked why he had not joined Mahatma Gandhi and other 'men of goodwill' in fighting the present crisis.

He replied that, although many people are good at heart, they often disagree about the means. K says that he does not believe in leadership, as the idea of leading someone is anti-social and anti-spiritual. Each individual should be their own light and not depend on the light of others.

Many men of goodwill are conditioned to act on their own beliefs. The world's primary issues can only be solved by being free of ideals, no matter how lofty they may be.

Focus on the Essential

Another person asked why K criticises the Brahmins, despite the important role they have played in Indian culture.

K said that underlining the merits of any group is detrimental to society. It is akin to hereditary pride. Why is such importance placed on past achievements even when they evidently cause acute problems in society?

People also asked about Krishnamurti's views on unrest in India. He wondered why people are more interested in other people's opinions than in finding out what they themselves think.

By agreeing or disagreeing, we become embroiled in disputes. Is that what we want, or do we want to live in a world without conflict?

During the last talk, someone said that they wanted to spread Krishnamurti's teachings and asked what the best way to do so was.

K replied that mere repetition without understanding is not truth. Propaganda is a lie. We can only repeat a lie.

"You can spread even a tiny part of what I have been talking about only as you live it. It is by your life you communicate profoundly, not through words. So, if you want to spread these teachings, live them and by your life you will be spreading them. Free yourself and hence give love to another."

Hear Your Noise

In January 1948, Krishnamurti met Pupul Jayakar, who became a leading figure in the Krishnamurti Foundation in India.

Jayakar wrote the highly acclaimed biography, simply called Krishnamurti - A Biography, published after his death in 1986.

In January 1948, K began his talks in Bombay by saying that communication is difficult, even between friends, let alone between strangers. Although he speaks English, the words may have a different meaning to his listeners than they do to him. To understand someone, you must meet them on the same level at the same time. This requires the art of listening.

The other person should not be listened to through a screen of resistance. If our mind is preoccupied with daily worries, we really listen to our own noise rather than to what is being said.

Truth can be grasped instantly and directly – it is the only way to understand anything. Realisation of truth happens now or never. We must not wait for time to pass.

Wisdom begins when we become aware of what is true. If the mind is a slave to time, knowledge, and belief, it cannot keep up with the constant movement of what is. Being is not static, stationary; it is constantly moving and undergoing a transformation.

Words and books have lost their value. By merely repeating what we have learned, we try to hide our confusion. We are lost. We have become mere spectators because we fail to recognise our own role in creating the world's problems.

Who Is to Blame?

We renounce the chaos that we ourselves create all the time. We shirk our responsibility through lies. The most dangerous thing of all is the emergence of sects that offer a system to eliminate religious, economic, or political chaos.

People are prepared to sacrifice the whole of humanity for the sake of ideals. The system becomes more important than people. Leaders of 'isms' are ready to condemn and sacrifice those who disagree with them.

The collapse of moral and spiritual values has led to the worship of sensual values. We cling to material possessions and the creations of our mind and hands in order to have some kind of experiences.

We should all seriously ask ourselves if this cycle of misery can be broken. Despite the efforts of great teachers, people's minds have not changed, resulting in chaos in the world. This necessary change cannot be postponed; otherwise, we will have to live in chaos forever.

In the face of all these problems, it is our duty to seek a solution. According to Krishnamurti, this is the wrong approach. Understanding the problem is far more important than finding a solution. When you can see clearly, you know how to act in each situation.

Cannot Catch the Truth

In the third talk, K was asked what the real reason was for Gandhi's untimely and violent death. He replied that we are all responsible and guilty for everything that happens in the world, including every war and murder, because we are nationalistic and hostile. We accept mass murder in war, yet we are horrified by the killing of one person.

In the fourth talk, someone asked whether it is possible to love truth without loving people, or to love people without loving truth. Which comes first?

Without hesitation, K replied: "Love comes first."

To love truth, you must know it. However, you cannot know it. Without love, one cannot seek truth or recognise it if one encounters it.

Truth is not bound by time: as soon as you recognise something, it ceases to be true. An empty heart cannot know the truth. You must be completely open to it and not want to experience the truth. It cannot be invited. Truth eludes us if we try to pursue it.

Someone did not believe that K and his followers would succeed in changing the world, given that other great teachers have not succeeded either.

In his lengthy response, K pointed out that the problem must first be understood. Is it a case of a few individuals trying to rescue others from a burning building while the rest are doomed to burn in the flames? Or is it not possible for everyone to step out of time at any moment? If you think you will become free from chaos, you will never be free.

We must put an end to becoming and halt the movement of time. Can we step out of time immediately? That is the only way.

A Shortcut to Happiness

In the fifth talk, K asked why we strive to succeed in life. Why are feelings of happiness so rare? Why are we not satisfied with what we are, yet we want to evolve into something else?

We have begun to believe that we must strive for happiness. We assume that happiness comes with certain conditions that must be met. But what if these conditions are just excuses? What if experiencing happiness simply requires us to be aware of things as they are? Then the sleepy mind awakens and enters a state of ecstasy.

Someone asked why K says the present crisis is without precedent. In what way is it exceptional?

Before answering, K hoped that people would not see him as the speaker and themselves as listeners, but would ask themselves the same question. In football or cricket, some play and others watch; at concerts, some perform and others observe. Here, however, the situation is different, because it's all about how you see things.

This crisis is unique because it is not about money or tangible things, but ideas. We argue about ideals and justify murder because we are fighting for what we perceive as a righteous cause.

"The implication is that a wrong means will produce a right end, and you justify the wrong means through ideation."

In the old days, evil was considered evil, and murder was murder. Now, however, ideas justify our actions, and murder becomes a means to achieve a noble result.

Secondly, sensate values have become predominant. We judge and ruthlessly classify people according to what they own, what they can do, how they look, and their social standing.

The crisis is unprecedented, so unprecedented action is required. This action must take place now, not tomorrow.

"We are nearing the edge of a precipice; every action is leading us there, every political, every economic action is dragging us into this chaotic, confusing abyss."

Prayer Is Self-produced Serenity

The sixth talk asks if the longing expressed in prayer is a path to God.

According to K, in prayer, a person asks for or demands guidance or a reward. We want someone else to sort out our mess and take away our sorrow. We ask for light and joy for ourselves, and sometimes our prayers are answered because prayer puts us in a receptive mode.

However, the voice we hear in prayer does not come from God; it is our own inner voice. By claiming that the message is from God, we give it a greater significance than it deserves.

Prayer and meditation can produce a certain stillness, but K believes this to be a state of dullness rather than awareness. Just as a pool becomes peaceful and quiet in the evening when there is no wind, so too the mind can also naturally become still. Then, that which is immeasurable comes into being.

K was asked why his teachings focus purely on psychology and neglect cosmology, theology, ethics, aesthetics, sociology, and even hygiene. Why does he concentrate on the mind and its workings?

K says the reason is very simple: understanding the thinker solves all problems. Our mind causes all problems, and therein lies the solution.

Enjoy Listening!

At the beginning of his seventh talk, K reminded his audience of the art of listening without making an effort. We should listen to everything as we would to our favourite music. Melodies enter and fill our minds when we tune in with every cell of our being.

A continuous sound is not music. It is the silence between the notes that creates the melody. Similarly, it is the silence between words that

gives meaning to the thought. It is important to listen with enjoyment.

Observing our own consciousness can be fascinating, but this is not something we can learn from books. When we study and experiment on our own, we are both teacher and pupil, and can make amazing discoveries. We discover that if we observe a sensation without giving it a name, it ends.

Freedom Does Not Need Instructions

Someone in the audience asked, How would the world change if we changed.

For K, the question is wrong because the world and the individual are not two separate entities. The group and the individual depend on each other and are therefore inseparable. We cannot change the whole world, and the world has no referent.

However, individuals can change, and when they do, the world changes with them. Individual perfection can lead to isolation and segregation.

In the eighth talk, K was asked what should be done when war breaks out. He replied that, rather giving advice does not necessarily solve the problem. In moments of crisis, we act according to our inner state.

War offers a release to our criminal instincts and to be openly violent. If you have resolved your own inner conflicts, you will know how to act in a war situation. A free man does not need instructions from others.

Cannon Fodder?

The ninth talk was attended by educators and teachers.

K began by stating that educators need to be educated. A pupil is like a tender plant that needs guidance. If the helper is incapable, narrow-minded, or bigoted, the pupil will be moulded in the same way. The maturity of the educator is more important than the methods he uses.

To K, the fact that the world has recently experienced two of the most horrific wars is evidence of a failure in education. The next war will probably bring an end to Western civilisation as we know it.

The problem with teachers is that many of them have stopped learning. They are not interested in cultivating their own lives; they merely share knowledge, and such a person cannot be called an educator.

School teaches you what to think, but not how to think. Children are encouraged to accept what they are taught in school without questioning it. This is because independent thinking is perceived as dangerous. Education is a means by which those in power can control people.

K was also asked what he thinks about military drills in education.

He said it is marvellous for those who wish to be cannon fodder. However, if the aim is to teach young men how to live, military training is not the right approach. It is also the wrong approach
if we want peace. Fighting cannot be something we live for?

When asked about the perfect teacher, K wittily replied that certainly not someone who has ideals. The perfect teacher is inwardly rich, and their wisdom is not found in books.

Experience Without the Experiencer

In his tenth talk, K asked whether there is such a thing as acting without an actor. Whenever an action has a purpose or a goal, there is also an actor.

Our life is constant striving, a never-ending struggle. I am something now, but I want to become something else. When there is nothing left to aspire to, there is no actor.

During an intense experience, we do not feel that we are the experiencer. However, as soon as we want to intervene in some way, the experiencer emerges. We give the experience a form in our mind. For example, we say that we are angry, but only when we notice it.

This may seem complicated, but it's quite simple. There is no point in trying to understand it rationally. We must test it out. At the moment of perception, there is only perception, without words or reaction.

At the moment of experience, there is no experiencer. Thought creates a thinker, but that thinker is imaginary.