Great Thoughts of Krishnamurti – Advocate of a refined spiritualism that repudiates the vulgar sacerdotal practices that parade as religion in today’s world.
Posted on July 5th, 2013
R Chandrasoma
Jeddu Krishnamurti (May 1895 ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” February 17, 1986) was acclaimed as a sage and mystic in both his homeland – India – and in the West where his mastery of the deep meditative trance was viewed with awe and reverence. That he had a world-wide following among the cognoscenti comes as no surprise as he appeared to be genuinely ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”linkedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to the divine and numinous in moments of spiritual exaltation. He dismissed religious scholars, priests and pietists not as charlatans but as in the grip of self-induced delusions. On these matters his own words are luminously clear and are quoted below ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”
I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. Religion is the frozen thought of man out of which they build temples. Tradition becomes our security, and when the mind is secure it is in decay. The constant assertion of belief is an indication of fear.
Here by ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”TruthƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ he means the sublime vision of the divinity that underlies all. These great words must be studied and re-studied by religious zealots of all denominations. Today we see religions being ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”defendedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ by ardent believers who fear the eclipse or erasure of the belief-systems that they loyally embrace. Teachers and traditions are pitted one against the other – but this is a phony war. The real war must be within oneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s own mind or soul to clear the fog of ignorance that obscures the truth. This begins with the practice of an intellectual honesty that is summed up in the saying ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”to thine own self be trueƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. What we see in in many parts of the world today – this includes Sri Lanka – is a battle to preserve institutions, entrenched practices and belief systems that have little to do with the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”truthƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ as envisioned by Krishnamurti. One cannot deny the political and social dimensions of the strife between believers but this isƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ extra-religious in the strictest sense of that term. Our existential predicament is such that we battle alone to achieve that spiritual transcendence that is the summum bonum of the earnest religious seeker.
Given this primacy of the personal struggle, is it not sad to see the flourishing of a species of ersatz religiosity that gives a foremost place to ritual and performance within religio-cultural boundaries while the Truth (as Krishnamurti identifies it) is sadly neglected. Must we not also remind the defenders of sacerdotal orthodoxy that the the greater struggle is not with external enemies but with the allurements and failings of a specious self.
July 5th, 2013 at 5:05 pm
“Must we not also remind the defenders of sacerdotal orthodoxy that the the greater struggle is not with external enemies but with the allurements and failings of a specious self.”
What qualifications Chandrasoma has to remind others ?
Chandrasoma should remind himself that the greater struggle is not with external enemies but with the allurements and failings of a specious self.
This is the basic problem of the modern day hollow pundits and professors, who try to criticize great teachers but who are disable to compare their own lifestyle with the theirs.
July 7th, 2013 at 7:30 am
Meditation is the main Key to Self Realisation. Buddhist Meditation and Hindu Raj Yoga both address the Key to Self Realisation.
July 8th, 2013 at 11:17 am
We recall Mr Krishnamoorthi’s visit to Colombo some time in the 1980’s. He spoke to a packed hall at the Lionel Wendt. He was a convincing and powerful speaker. I recall him saying many times “look within, look within”. As a Buddhist, I guessed he meant meditation, but did not then have the means to ‘look within’ in a meaningful manner – not having a proper teacher at that time, though some understanding was there of what he meant and what I should do. It was only after finding a teacher that I found new meaning in Mr Krishnamoorthi’s words.
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