8. The Real Revolution

After returning to Ojai in April 1949, Krishnamurti organised a camp in July and August. The theme was self-knowledge, which was covered in most of the fourteen talks. This was the first time a complete series had been recorded, and it is available to listen to for free on YouTube.

He began by examining the nature of the search for happiness and inner peace. We all seek them, each in our own way. K said that happiness can easily be found by devoting oneself to doing something meaningful. However, this does not solve our problems. We remain vaguely anxious and can easily find reasons for this, either in ourselves or in others.

If we look a little deeper, we can see that our view of life is very narrow and self-centred. No matter how good things are, we think they could be better. Although we are grateful for what we have, we still manage to find many things to distress us. If we don't notice this ourselves, someone else will remind us.

We are rarely, if ever, completely satisfied. No matter how miserable we are, we can always dream of better things to keep ourselves going.

Unfortunately, our problems do not end with us. The world is full of troubles that we cannot ignore. The more sensitive a person is, the more she is affected by the world.

Go to the Source

It is impossible to solve the world's problems one by one. According to K, the only way is to address the root cause of these problems.

Reason and emotion do not help us to understand the root of the problems. Many people have thought about it, but we have not found a solution; so instead, we try to solve each problem as it arises.

When we notice something is wrong, we try to think of a solution. This is a hopeless approach: as soon as we solve one problem, hundreds of unsolved ones await us.

We could, of course, detach ourselves from the world's problems and focus on ourselves, but that wouldn't solve anything. Closing our eyes doesn't make the problems disappear either.

The only solution is to understand ourselves.

We don't understand ourselves because we compare ourselves to others, creating duality. It is comparison that creates time and separation. When we view the world in terms of opposites, we cannot solve any problem.

Our minds are numbed by misperception, leading us to mistakenly believe that the source of all evil lies outside ourselves. We hypocritically renounce the world's problems while chaos rages inside us as much as outside.

By exaggerating intelligence or emotions, we reject facts. We are unable to think simply. One of the most difficult facts to accept is that the thinker is not separate from thought. The mind plays this dirty trick on us in order to deceive us and maintain duality.

We Are the Problem!

In October 1949, K gave five talks in London. He began with the idea that life has become a problem for us because we are internally contradictory. Rather than solving problems, we should eliminate the root cause.

We usually think that we have some problems to solve. However, we don't realise that we are the problem. This difference is significant. As long as we think that we are separate from the problem, we will continue to look for a solution. Once we realise that we are the problem, we approach the issue differently.

In the third talk, K was asked which was true: what he said some years ago or what he is saying now.

He replied that his earlier talks about Masters had been convenient, perhaps even comforting or inspiring, but they were self-projected ideas. What he is now saying is not based on wishful thinking.

He said that each person has to work out for themselves what is true. This can feel scary because we can no longer rely on someone else to help us; we have to cope alone.

Most people do not want to hear or experience the truth; we seek momentary relief from life's sorrows. We fear life and death, both

the present moment and the future. We are afraid of losing things and of our own disappearance. That's why we need distractions. Because we are inwardly miserable, we want to hear and think beautiful things.

Clinging to the Self

The truth about ourselves can be so distressing that we don't want to hear it. So, we try to fill our emptiness with possessions, information, and comforting lies. We do everything we can to avoid facing the truth. We seek out experiences that will lift us from the depths of anxiety. Mysticism, religion, and sex may offer temporary relief, but these are not long-term solutions.

If we understand this deeply, we will no longer seek escape routes. We will simply accept what is. The problems will stop bothering us. Time will lose its meaning. The door to reality will open, allowing the mind to find peace.

In this state, the mind is no longer self-centred or acting on its own behalf. We will have a living relationship with everyone and everything. Without labelling things, the mind sees things as they are and knows exactly how to act in any situation. When we stop endlessly naming and labelling things, life flows through us without leaving a trace.

The mind is unable to solve internal problems. We should do nothing but face whatever life brings.

Running away will only make things worse. Finding the culprits will not help. There is no help to be found from priests or psychologists, and definitely not from politicians. It is easy to mislead the distressed. Once we know ourselves, we won't need help.

From London, K travelled to India, where he gave three talks in Rajahmundry and one in Madras. At Christmas, he flew to Ceylon, where he gave five talks and appeared on the radio twice.

People asked him if eggs were part of his diet (they are), if receiving an answer to prayer was proof of God's existence (it is not), and why he was wasting his time talking instead of doing something practical.

In reply to the last question, K said that he would be wasting his time if he presented a new ideology, a way of thinking based on ideas. All ideas prevent us from doing the right thing.

Stop Collecting

K returned to India, where he gave two talks in Madras and six in Bombay in the winter of 1950. He then flew to Paris in April, New York in June, and Seattle in July, where he gave five talks in each city.

In Paris, K said that it is essential to understand the cause of life's problems, and that this can only be achieved in relationship, not in isolation. Our attention must focus on the centre of the mind, which is quite adept at creating problems.

When we react to events, we should realise that every action we take is based on what we have learned in life. By doing so, we are not solving problems; we are adding to them.

Our real challenge is to face life as it is now, not as it was in the past. K assures us that this is possible for anyone – even for an ordinary person.

We find it difficult to be self-aware because we do not see ourselves as we are, but also as others think we should be. We carry a heavy burden that we have accumulated throughout our lives. Analysing the past will never get us very far; by examining ourselves in the present moment is always the right approach.

Everything essential is happening right before our eyes, but this is not enough for most of us. We want both more of some things and less of others. The self is born when we want something. Hunger gives rise to the hungry, and seeing makes the seer.

When desire ceases, wisdom begins. Then the mind is spontaneously silent.

The Truth Cannot Be Harnessed

In New York, K began by stating that most people only listen to what they want to hear. This selective listening means that we do not learn to understand life or ourselves. Instead, we remain prisoners of our own assumptions.

Once we have learned this approach, we apply it whenever life knocks us down. When we can't find the answer ourselves, we seek guidance from others, but we only listen selectively to those who offer us comfort.

Consequently, we never truly understand ourselves because we never see the full picture. When we define life so narrowly, its full meaning remains hidden from us.

In Sydney, K was asked how many centuries it would take to bring about a fundamental transformation in the world. He replied that it is completely irrelevant. What matters is that we understand why change is necessary and urgent, and that we actually change deeply.

When we deeply experience the world's confusion and starvation, we don't think about how long it will take to change the world or what the benefits of changing individuals are.

Truth cannot be harnessed for any purpose, especially not for utilitarian ones. The transformation of the world begins with the liberation of the individual. It makes no difference how long it takes others to change.

The only people who ask for a timetable for change are those who want to change the world to suit their own agenda. Ideologies create more problems than they solve. They cause people to argue and prevent them from reaching an agreement about what is good for everyone.

Conflicts of interest cause people to pursue their own interests. This is precisely what is happening in the world, both on a large and small scale, at the individual and societal levels. Hardly anyone is interested in the big picture anymore.

Someone asked K what the best way to help people would be. He replied that those who really want to help never ask how. While there are many ways to help, to what extent can you really help others, and why do you want to do so? If the motive is selfish, the action is selfish too.

Open Heart Fills with Joy

Krishnamurti took another break in the Ojai Valley. This period began in August 1950 and ended sixteen months later, when he travelled to India with Rajagopal.

In January 1952, a series of twelve talks in Madras was the only programme on that trip.

The first question was about retreats: what is their significance?

K suggested that everyone should take a retreat to reflect on their lives, as well as to let go of their beliefs, experiences, dependencies, and other commitments. They would see what would happen if they let go and allowed their minds to be filled with something new.

When the heart is open, it is filled with joy. K urged us to try this approach, assuring us that we would never regret it.

He also asked people not to take notes while listening, as it distracts from the listening. Listening is also hindered if we assume we know what the other person is saying. Knowledge and belief prevent fresh insight and block the way to deep layers of consciousness.

We only understand the mind through the knowledge it manifests, and we seek refuge in it. When that security is threatened, we become upset because we feel threatened.

Love, Explore, and Act

The root of all evil is the self that thinks it is separate from others. This feeling arises from our inability to see ourselves correctly.

In order to understand ourselves, we must first love what we are studying and be in direct contact with it. We must not resist, fear, judge, or interpret what we see according to our own assumptions.

The mind must dare to step outside itself and not cling to words. Secondly, we must stop relying on time and abandon the idea that we will understand tomorrow.

Understanding also requires sensitivity. This means being interested not only in what is nice and beautiful, but also in acknowledging the ugliness and evil in the world.

Selective awareness leads to a mind that shrinks and degenerates. It makes us react mechanically. We act like machines.

If we don't recognise a problem, we won't do anything about it – we won't even try. We are so numbed that we can't think of any other option. We just repeat what we have experienced and learned before.

Ideals Create Conflicts

The mind is our only instrument for understanding life, but we have misused it. Cherishing the idea of a separate self leads to constant collisions with the world and other people.

Whenever we encounter a problem, we automatically start trying to solve it, assuming that there is a solution. Because we don't understand our own part in creating the problem, we bang our heads against the wall, not knowing how to stop. We perpetuate the cycle of conflict by creating an ideal or a goal – a dream that we strive to achieve.

We use the same approach in our minds as when travelling: we define our destination, choose the route, and set off.

However, this logic does not work when the problem is self-created. Problems are solved when they are not kept alive. We solve them by giving them our undivided attention and observing them closely, as if they were a snake or the night sky.

When we realise that our thoughts are empty bubbles, we stop identifying with the contents of our consciousness. The mind then undergoes a transformation. We see things exactly as they are, without interpreting them.

We are quite clever, but not necessarily very smart. We have the answers and we have the means to achieve anything, but not the understanding. We are blinded by words. When the self is absent, the whole truth is revealed.

Will Is Selfish

K flew from Madras to London, where he gave six talks at the Friends Meeting House in April 1952. He then travelled to New York and on to Ojai, where he gave ten talks in August.

There, K asked how many listeners wanted to find a way to make a fundamental change in themselves. Most people are slaves to their ways of thinking and do not want to change. Even if they manage to acquire more good qualities and prune away their bad habits, that is not enough.

However, change requires a silent mind. Whatever we try to do, it happens inside the mind. One activity of the mind is desire, but
desire cannot help the mind reach beyond its limits. Wanting is a self-centred act, even when it seems to be directed at others.

We have relied on thinking, imagining that it would solve our problems. It hasn't worked. We have looked for solutions, but they only provide temporary relief.

K is certain that a fundamental psychological change is necessary and that this will lead to external changes. However, many people do not want to change, especially if they have their affairs are more or less in order.

Real change requires a new mindset. The mind can renew itself by becoming aware of its own activity at a deeper level.

Consider your state of mind when you ask yourself how to stop your mind from chattering incessantly. If you really think about it, you will realise that there is no answer.