Krishnamurti's still-pervading presence

J. Krishnamurti, the renowned Indian sage, is no more. But everytime I listen to his talks and read his writings, I feel his still-pervading presence. This may not be the case with some people who have never heard of Krishnamurti or appreciated his teachings. Once I asked one of my colleagues whether he had read Krishnamurti.

He blurted out, "In the first place, he doesn't appeal to me because I can't understand what he says". When pressed for a clarification, he said that Krishnamurti didn't offer any set of rules to follow. I think, here lies the crux of the matter.

I would invite anyone who does not understand Krishmamurti to read "The First and Last Freedom" published by the Krishmamurti Foundation in India. Fortunately, the book is available at the Krishnamurti Centre, Sri Lanka Inc., 310, High Level Road, Colombo 6. The book was originally published by a British publisher way back in 1954 in response to demands from people who did not understand his teachings.

The book is divided into two parts: Krishnamurti's reflections on life and his answers to questions put to him by his listeners. It covers a wide spectrum of subjects such as self-knowledge, belief, fear, desire, self-deception, power and realisation, nationalism, loneliness, suffering, war, gossip, belief in God, sex, love and death. It covers so many other topics as well.

The value of the book has been enhanced by a Foreword written by Aldous Huxley who himself was an intellectual of the first order. Huxley says that the reader will find a clear contemporary statement of the fundamental human problem in the book.

According to him and Krishnamurti collective solutions are never adequate to solve our problems. There are no ready-made solutions to our ever-increasing problems. We must first have clarity in ourselves through right thinking.

Let us take an example. Men love women and vice versa. Similarly jilted lovers hate each other. Then what is love and what is hate? Western thinkers believe that love or sexual passion is a force which is capable of driving men and women into actions against their will, often ending in tragedy. The Greeks attributed it to the working of the goddess Aphordite. Uncontrollable passions could bring madness and destruction to anyone. But love or passion is not a negative or immoral force.

Once a person in the audience asked Krishnamurti, "What do you mean by love?" Krishnamurti said, "When we love somebody we mean we possess that person. From that possession arises jealousy, because if I lose him or her what happens? I feel empty, lost. Surely such possession is not love".

Then what is love?

Krishnamurti explains that to be full of emotion is obviously not love, because a sentimental person can be cruel when his sentiments are not responded to, when his feelings have no outlet. An emotional person can be stirred to hatred, to war, to butchery.

Most of the pressing problems in the world are due to lack of love. We tend to respect and love our superiors because we can get something from them. However, we do not extend the same degree of love to our subordinates and others doing menial work. Then conflict arises, man rising against man; nation waging war against another nation.

Let us deal with another problem: spiritual quest and spiritual teachers. Unlike animals all human beings struggle to find the light in the midst of darkness. The story of Dr. Faustus is a mythic metaphor in this connection.

Even Prince Siddhartha first attempts to find the answers to his questions through espousing conventionally accepted doctrines. This is the way many spiritual quests begin. Finally he finds answers by himself through self realisation.

Krishnamurti says the same thing. He says, "We need a guru because we are confused ... he will help us through his greater experience ... if you were profoundly happy, if there were no problems, if you understood life completely, you would not go to any guru".

Many of us living in this world want to enjoy a bit of power over the others. At a basic level, father is the head of the family. He earns money and runs the family exercising his authority over his wife and children.

Then teachers exercise power over their students, doctors over their patients and politicians over their community. When you wish to exercise power without compunction, you become a tyrant like Idi Amin or Pol Pot. Human history is full of such people.

Let us listen to Krishnamurti who waxes eloquently on power: "We know the way of power - power through domination, power through discipline, power through compulsion.

Through political power we hope to change fundamentally; but such power only breeds darkness, disintegration, evil, the strengthening of the "me".