Picture of author.

J. Krishnamurti (1895–1986)

Author of Freedom from the Known

670+ Works 9,205 Members 311 Reviews 33 Favorited

About the Author

Jiddu Krishnamurti was born on May 11, 1895 in Madanapalle, India. As children, he and his brother were adopted by Dr. Annie Besant, then president of the Theosophical Society. She and others proclaimed that Krishnamurti was to be a world teacher whose coming the Theosophists had predicted. To show more prepare the world for this coming, a world-wide organization called the Order of the Star in the East was formed and Krishnamurti was made its head. In 1929, he renounced the role that he was expected to play, dissolved the Order, and returned all the money and property that had been donated for this work. From then until his death, he traveled the world speaking to large audiences and to individuals about the need for a radical change in mankind. He belonged to no religious organization, sect or country, nor did he subscribe to any school of political or ideological thought. On the contrary, he maintained that these are the factors that divide human beings and bring about conflict and war, and that we are all human beings first. He was a philosopher whose teachings of more than 20,000,000 words are published in more than 75 books, 700 audiocassettes, and 1200 videocassettes. He died of pancreatic cancer on February 17, 1986 at the age of 90. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ggbain-38863

Series

Works by J. Krishnamurti

Freedom from the Known (1969) 741 copies
Think on These Things (1964) 653 copies
The First and Last Freedom (1954) 500 copies
At the Feet of the Master (1911) 173 copies
Flight of the Eagle (1971) 170 copies
On Love and Loneliness (1993) 166 copies
Krishnamurti's Notebook (1976) 152 copies
Meditations (1969) 139 copies
On Fear (1994) 125 copies
The Krishnamurti Reader (1970) 120 copies
This Light in Oneself (1999) 118 copies
Beyond Violence (1839) 102 copies
The Impossible Question (1972) 85 copies
To Be Human (2000) 80 copies
On Relationship (1992) 77 copies
The Only Revolution (1970) 76 copies
Flame of Attention (1983) 74 copies
Beginnings of Learning (1975) 71 copies
Krishnamurti on Education (1974) 69 copies
Krishnamurti Reader: No. 2 (1973) 69 copies
On God (1992) 68 copies
Krishnamurti's Journal (1982) 68 copies
On Living and Dying (1992) 68 copies
Network of Thought (1982) 65 copies
Truth and Actuality (1977) 64 copies
The Wholeness of Life (1978) 62 copies
Freedom, Love and Action (1994) 42 copies
Urgency of Change (1971) 42 copies
Tradition and Revolution (1972) 40 copies
Exploration into Insight (1979) 38 copies
On Right Livelihood (1992) 37 copies
Questioning Krishnamurti (1996) 35 copies
On Freedom (1991) 32 copies
On Truth (1994) 31 copies
On Learning and Knowledge (1994) 29 copies
Last Talks at Saanen, 1985 (1901) 29 copies
All The Marvelous Earth (2008) 25 copies
On Mind and Thought (1994) 25 copies
La ricerca della felicità (1997) 23 copies
On Conflict (1994) 22 copies
Where Can Peace Be Found? (2011) 22 copies
Choiceless Awareness (1991) 21 copies
Truth Is a Pathless Land (1988) 19 copies
Le sens du bonheur (2006) 19 copies
Letters to schools (1981) 19 copies
Questions and Answers (1982) 16 copies
A Flame of Learning (1993) 15 copies
Education as service (2010) 15 copies
El reino de la felicidad (1992) 14 copies
Letters to a Young Friend (2004) 12 copies
The song of life (1988) 12 copies
The immortal friend (1990) 12 copies
De la connaissance de soi (1998) 11 copies
Talks in Europe 1968 (1969) 11 copies
The Pool of Wisdom (1927) 11 copies
Mens zijn zonder maatstaf (1984) 10 copies
Washington D.C. Talks 1985 (1899) 10 copies
The Revolution from Within (2001) 10 copies
Leven in vrijheid (1928) 10 copies
Eight Conversations (1969) 9 copies
Aantekeningen (1981) 9 copies
Individual and Society (2000) 7 copies
Liberte-se do Passado (2001) 7 copies
Ervaring en gedrag (1987) 7 copies
The Search 7 copies
Five conversations (1968) 7 copies
Au seuil du silence (1992) 6 copies
Diario (Spanish Edition) (1983) 6 copies
What Is It To Care (2004) 6 copies
L'esprit et la pensée (2001) 6 copies
Cartas a Las Escuelas II (1996) 6 copies
Talks in Europe 1967 (1969) 6 copies
Diario I (1990) 5 copies
Life the goal 5 copies
Inward Flowering (1977) 5 copies
La visione profonda (1982) 5 copies
XIV WORKS OF KRISHNAMURTI (1992) 5 copies
The Quotable Krishnamurti (2011) 5 copies
Limpia tu mente (1999) 5 copies
Pedagogía de la libertad (1996) 5 copies
The path (1920) 5 copies
Usted es el mundo (1983) 5 copies
Face à soi-même (2012) 5 copies
On the Nature of Love (1990) 5 copies
What does freedom mean? (2004) 5 copies
Mind in Meditation (2009) 4 copies
La mente que no mide (1992) 4 copies
Vrijheid en meditatie (1977) 4 copies
Dernier journal (1997) 4 copies
La nature de la pensée (2006) 4 copies
Le changement créateur (1990) 4 copies
Principios del aprender (1983) 4 copies
The way of intelligence (1899) 4 copies
Descubrir lo inmensurable (2013) 4 copies
Sobre el conflicto (1995) 3 copies
Pregunta imposible, La (1998) 3 copies
Ser Humano (2003) 3 copies
Dentro de la mente (2001) 3 copies
CAMINO DE LA LIBERACION (2007) 3 copies
Renaître chaque jour (2015) 3 copies
Nature Of The New Mind (2007) 3 copies
Kijken in de spiegel (1981) 3 copies
Oivalluskyky herää 1 (1977) 3 copies
Action: A Study Guide (2000) 3 copies
De kunst van de liefde (2002) 3 copies
Als twee vrienden (1981) 3 copies
Krishnamurti en questions (2005) 3 copies
Antología básica (1997) 3 copies
Dialogue with Oneself (1977) 3 copies
TU VIDA FUTURA (1998) 3 copies
On Relationship (2000) 3 copies
Poems and Parables (1980) 3 copies
Jaget och tiden (1992) 2 copies
Las relaciones humanas (1997) 2 copies
Geborgenheid in vrijheid (1982) 2 copies
Sulla paura (1998) 2 copies
Living in an Insane World (1989) 2 copies
Leben. (1977) 2 copies
Adyar 2 copies
Frihed i nuet (1972) 2 copies
El último diario (1989) 2 copies
Cartas a las escuelas (1984) 2 copies
The Little Book on Living (2000) 2 copies
The Last Talks (1989) 2 copies
Oivalluskyky herää. 2 (1978) 2 copies
Sayings of Krishnamurti (1996) 2 copies
Vrijheid van het bekende (1981) 2 copies
What Are You Looking For? (2001) 2 copies
Reflexiones Sobre El Yo (2015) 2 copies
Pour devenir disciple (1994) 2 copies
Bunları Düşün (2009) 2 copies
Découvrir l'illimité (2016) 1 copy
Das Notizbuch (2009) 1 copy
Journal (1994) 1 copy
Mettre fin au conflit (2016) 1 copy
Niet in tempels (2011) 1 copy
Que recherchez-vous ? (2022) 1 copy
Riflessioni sull'io (2009) 1 copy
Sulla verità (2002) 1 copy
Sul rapporto (2000) 1 copy
Das Tor zu Neuem Leben (2000) 1 copy
Diálogos Sobre a Vida (1992) 1 copy
Wandel durch Einsicht (1995) 1 copy
La vie libérée (1998) 1 copy
L'esprit de création (2015) 1 copy
El sendero (1990) 1 copy
Capire se stessi (2020) 1 copy
L origine de la pensEe (2016) 1 copy
La Beauté de l'amour (2019) 1 copy
s ja ainus vabadus (2009) 1 copy
Sul conflitto (2000) 1 copy
Dem Leben begegnen (2000) 1 copy
Jane Hoye Ton Azadi (2010) 1 copy
The Search 1927 (2004) 1 copy
Icsel Devrim (2010) 1 copy
Sobre Relacionamentos (2003) 1 copy
Nada es un problema (2015) 1 copy
Puheita 1940 1 copy
O sentido da liberdade (2007) 1 copy
Kendimize Dair (2011) 1 copy
On Learning (1958) 1 copy
Toespraken 1 copy
On trobar la pau (2013) 1 copy
Rozmowy 1 copy
Sobre O Medo - On Fear (2000) 1 copy
Mente en silencio (2023) 1 copy
What is Meditation? (2023) 1 copy
Can Conflict End? (2023) 1 copy
Catisma Uzerine (2002) 1 copy
Ozgurluk Uzerine (2002) 1 copy

Associated Works

Jiddu Krishnamurti; a Bibliographical Guide (1982) — Associated Name — 8 copies
Krishnamurti : with a silent mind (1989, documentary) (1984) — Named Person — 3 copies

Tagged

1. ROSACRUZ HISTORIA (97) awareness (28) Buddhism (34) CA autor (50) conduct of life (24) consciousness (49) death (27) Eastern (28) eastern philosophy (55) ebook (36) education (54) essay (25) ethics (43) fear (30) freedom (33) GBC (24) General (30) Hinduism (53) India (78) Indian philosophy (48) K (155) Krishnamurti (643) life (25) love (34) meditation (121) mind (30) non-fiction (268) owned (34) PDF (26) philosophy (921) psychology (106) relationships (24) religion (253) spiritual (64) spiritual life (29) spiritual philosophy (24) spirituality (502) Theosophy (83) thought (24) to-read (245)

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

very interesting but poor audio book diction.. these are dialogues where you often miss who is asking to K’s responses. The content is weird and interesting…
 
Flagged
yates9 | 1 other review | Feb 28, 2024 |
Kur njeriu është i ri, ai duhet të jetë revolucionar, jo thjesht në revoltë...dhe të jesh revolucionar psikologjikisht do të thotë të mos pranosh asnjë lloj modeli.
 
Flagged
BibliotekaFeniks | Dec 1, 2023 |
This book, alternately titled (in the United Kingdom) 1CThis Matter of Culture, 1D had a seminal effect on me when I read it more than thirty years ago. I was in ideological flux at the time, considering myself a liberal Democrat but very unsatisfied with the label. I was also deeply interested in spirituality in general and Eastern religions in particular. At the same time, I was volunteering as a telephone crisis counselor, so I was interested in a deeper understanding of psychology. This book spoke to all of those interests simultaneously, and consequently had a profound and more or less lasting effect on my thinking. (Not to say that I think the same way I did after reading this book, but rather that the subsequent development of my thought could not be conceived of without reference to it.)

Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) is one of many intriguing figures who have fascinated me over the years. He had a long and active life with several stages each of which often ended with a radical break from the earlier stage. This book is a transcript of talks with subsequent question and answer sessions. These were given in the 1950s and 1960s, and they provide a snapshot of the last stage of his life. He was in the middle of it here, and probably at the height of his mental powers. He was trotting around the world, which he continued to do until shortly before his death. He gave lectures to both students and adults. (I heard him speak once in San Francisco in about 1985.) Fluent in English and French, he lectured at universities and public halls, but he also founded a couple of secondary schools that he left in the hands of others for day-to-day administration, only showing up once or twice a year to speak.

Krishnamurti 19s style was Socratic. He would begin each talk by posing a question such as 1CWhat is love? 1D 1CWhat is mind? 1D 1CWhat is education? 1D 1CWhat is awareness? 1D or 1CWhat is fear? 1D-questions that interested him a great deal. Then he would dissect the question, exploring his own reactions and reflections. Ultimately, he would usually end by concluding that through self-examination we can achieve lives where we might experience fear but not have to be governed by it. Often this means not behaving the way the rest of a fear-ridden society expects us to behave. His conclusions could be startlingly iconoclastic, throwing over socially expected attitudes and, with them, conventional behaviors.

1CK 1D as he was often called, was influenced early on by his Hindu upbringing near Madras, India, where his father worked for the Theosophical Society. In his teens and twenties, however, K was profoundly influenced by Theosophy, but you would hardly realize any of this from reading 1CThink On These Things 1D; he made a more or less clean break with Theosophy in his early thirties. Similarly, you also would not see much of a Hindu influence in his talks. The reader who expects an ethnic Hindu to preach a conventionally religious message is bound to be frustrated. If anything, K 19s message becomes more susceptible to pigeonholing once one learns from sources outside of this book, that, as a young man in Paris, he audited classes on existentialism at the Sorbonne. In a way, K was more of a humanist than most humanists.

His train of thought is not always easy to follow, but when it is, one recognizes that K is closely connecting the steps in his own thought process as he explores an idea or feeling such as fear. In short, he does not appeal to God or faith, but rather appeals to the human capacity to deal with life 19s tough issues by stepping back and thinking about feelings rather than merely reacting along lines dictated by instinct or culture (hence the alternative title of this book).

One of the most memorable passages in the book occurs during a Q and A after a lecture in which he has typically concluded that if we overcome our fears about what others expect of us and follow our deepest inclinations, we will find we can achieve more creativity, energy, and happiness. Someone in the audience asks, if everyone lives the way you suggest, won 19t there be chaos? In reply, K begins by entreating the questioner to look at the world around us. Are there not wars, hatreds, poverty, hunger, and miseries of every kind? Is not the world already in chaos? By succumbing to fear and insecurity, haven 19t we created this? How can we make the situation worse by engaging in a self-examination that ends in the elimination of fear and insecurity? (I believe that this reasoning contributed to my becoming a philosophical anarchist and ultimately led to my pre-existing libertarian tendencies becoming more conscious and active.)

Of course, there are many individuals who are so damaged genetically or socially, that if they followed their inner dictates they would become drunks or murderers, but this is often because such people are not being honest with themselves about the difference between their truest desires and their programmed impulses; they do not examine the sources of their desires and honestly face the consequences to which their impulsive desires will lead. Many people seem incapable 14whether because of the dictates of genetics or culture 14of the kind of genuine self-examination that K advocated as the necessary step toward true fulfillment. For most people, however, an ameliorative self-examination seems to be more often possible but less often practiced. (In a biography I later read, K noted that this was how it was for him, and if he was different from other human beings in a way that made the things that worked for him inapplicable to others, then his career had been a waste of time, but he trusted that all or at least most humans have the same mental potential.)

In the course of reading biographies of K, I later learned that he was a man who had failings and, yes, fears that had governed his behavior. While some might assume that a man 19s faults negate his virtues, I would demure; how else could K speak with any authority about the corrupting power of insecurity if he had not experienced it himself? He also subtracted from his talks many aspects of his experience that would have been interesting but also would have only told his listeners about things that they could not readily experience for themselves. For example, in his later career, he avoided talking about his experiences with the Theosophical movement or its belief system to which he had once actively subscribed. Likewise, he spoke to Westerners neither about his renewed involvement in his native Indian society nor his interest in such things as spiritual healing. Because his approach was to ask people to concentrate and try to follow his train of thought to see if it made sense to them, there is hardly anyway of doing that with a topic like faith healing. K rejected the strategy of telling people what to think.

In his talks, he did field the almost inevitable questions about meditation. 1CWhat is meditation? 1D he would say, characteristically turning a question that was often laden with extraneous assumptions into a more basic one. K advocated a very stripped down, no-frills, deceptively simple meditation that consisted of attention to one 19s own mental process. Don 19t try to do anything, except watch your mind do what it does; and whatever it does, just keep coming back to watching the process. If you can, follow thought itself to its source. This raises some interesting questions: Where does thought (or where do thoughts) come from in our mental landscape? Can we experience them arising and can we experience the source itself? What happens to us if we can do this? What do we experience? Can this experience be sustained or is it over the instant we become aware of it? Does prolonged practice of this non-practice change our experience? Do the changes that occur in this meditative experience change our experience of life?

Think on these things.
… (more)
 
Flagged
MilesFowler | 5 other reviews | Jul 16, 2023 |
Given to my mother from Bill Shinhofen
 
Flagged
Eurekas | 1 other review | May 1, 2023 |

Lists

Awards

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

Statistics

Works
670
Also by
3
Members
9,205
Popularity
#2,606
Rating
4.1
Reviews
311
ISBNs
1,091
Languages
24
Favorited
33

Charts & Graphs