59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Are you ready?, November 26, 2004
"Some of you believe in the idea of reincarnation. You come and ask me what I believe, whether reincarnation is a fact or not, whether I remember my past lives, and so on. Now, why do you ask me? Why do you want to know what I think about it? You want a further confirmation of your own belief, which you call a fact, a law, because it gives you a hope, a purpose in life. Thus, belief becomes to you a fact, a law, and you go about seeking confirmation of your hope. Even though I may confirm it, it cannot be of vital importance to you. Whatever it may be to me, real or false, what is important for you is that you should discern for yourself these conceptions through action, through living, and not accept any assertions." - krishnamurti
I cannot recommend this book high enough. This book is one of the most comprehensive and accessible of Krishnamurti's work. It is a collection of talks given at various parts of the world. In each series of talk Krishnamurti leads the listener to look into serious topics like Operation of thought, conflict , The art of seeing, freedom, the energy needed for freedom, do we need a teacher, etc. There is a huge difference between looking into an issue and "thinking" about an issue. Thinking involves thought, and simply looking is mere observation. And krishnamurti says that if this observation, the seeing is done with total attention without the interference of thought, then the intelligence operates.
Many a times while reading this book, my mind will come to a complete stop and I would be taken to deep and spontaneous meditation. Krishnamurti is highly skillful in sparking our insights and allows us to see what he sees. He never says "This is right or this is wrong", he doesn't even want us to agree or disagree to what is being said, because he doesn't offer any theories. He just tells us to look without judment, prejudice or opinions. He asks us to listen "completely". He says that people ask questions for two reasons, one is to confirm what they already beleive in, and the other is to "really" find out the truth. The first way of asking will never lead to an answer, because we are unwilling to listen to the "truth"; We only want a confirmation for the false, and only the false needs confirmations. This book is for sincere seekers of truth who really want to know the truth. He says that when we look at the false as false, what remains is truth. Health is the absence of diseases, and so it truth the total negation of false. The ability to discern the true from the false is what intelligence is. I have observed that reading one talk per session in regular periods helps tremondously in awakening "intellingence", not "my" intelligence but just intelligence.
"As I was saying, the importance in asking a question is not to find the answer but to understand the problem because there is only the problem and not the answer. To ask a question is easy; but to go into the problem is extremely difficult because once you know what the problem is, the very seeing of the problem is the understanding of the problem. The moment I can state the problem very clearly, simply, the answer is there, I do not have to look beyond. But most of us do not know what the problem is. We are confused about the problem and so naturally we look, in our confusion, for answers; and that will only produce further confusion. " -krishnamurti
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wake Up, March 10, 2000
Read this book and wake up to the fears, misery and conflict that prevades your life. Whether you admit it or not it is there, and Jiddu Krishnamurti will not only point it out to you but show you the way to "change". This is not a "self-help" book or for those looking for a step-by-step instruction guide to finding happiness or intelligence. Instead, this book is a wake-up call. He has a simple message that is conveyed in various, entertaining ways.
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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
invaluable collection, June 4, 2000
Krishnamurti provided a difficult antidote for the Western tendency toward conceptual clutter: cut through to the heart of that clutter and sit with it until it silences itself. Be prepared to do the work of LOOKING if you buy this book, whose thesis is that where awareness operates and thought comes to an end, perhaps there can flower a different kind of intelligence that has nothing to do with intellect; an intelligence open to love.
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