Collected Works of J. Krishnamurti

Krishnamurti delivered these Talks at Rajghat - Banaras, on the banks of the river Ganga, during the month of December 1952, to boys and girls, of the ages of 9 to 20. Krishnamurti begins by putting forth the following questions to the students: "Why you are learning history, mathematics, geography? Have you ever thought why you go to schools and colleges? Is it not very important to find out why you are crammed with information, with so-called knowledge? What is all this so-called education? Your parents send you here because they have taken certain degrees and have passed certain examinations. Have you ever asked yourselves why you are here, and have the teachers themselves asked you why you are here? Do the teachers themselves know why they are here?" An extensive compendium of Krishnamurti's talks and discussions in the USA, Europe, India, New Zealand, and South Africa from 1933 to 1967-the Collected Works have been carefully authenticated against existing transcripts and tapes. Each volume includes a frontispiece photograph of Krishnamurti , with question and subject indexes at the end.

In these talks, given in Europe and India, Krishnamurti goes into the importance of going into problems openly, without conclusions. ". . because we approach our problems partially, through all these various forms of conditioning, it seems to me that we are thereby not understanding them. I feel that the approach to any problem is of much more significance than the problem itself, and that if we could approach our many difficulties without any particular form of conditioning or prejudice, then perhaps we would come to a fundamental understanding of them. "An extensive compendium of Krishnamurti's talks and discussions in the USA, Europe, India, New Zealand, and South Africa from 1933 to 1967-the Collected Works have been carefully authenticated against existing transcripts and tapes. Each volume includes a frontispiece photograph of Krishnamurti, with question and subject indexes at the end. The content of each volume is not limited to the subject of the title, but rather offers a unique view of Krishnamurti's extraordinary teachings in selected years. The Collected Works offers the reader the opportunity to explore the early writings and dialogues in their most complete and authentic form.

Krishnamurti posits that if the politicians and scientists wanted to end starvation in the world it could be done-food, clothing, and shelter for everyone. 'It could be done, but they are not going to do it as long as their thinking is based on nationalism, on motives of their own personal profit. And even if this far-reaching outward change were brought about, it seems to me that the problem is much deeper. The problem is not merely starvation, war, the brutality of man to man; it is the crisis in our own consciousness. Fundamentally the problem lies within.' In this volume, Krishnamurti takes great care to elucidate this necessity of a revolution within our consciousness-where the problem lies-before we expect any kind of revolutionary change outside of ourselves.

In these talks given in New Delhi, Bombay, London, Saanen, Paris and Madras, Krishnamurti begins by defining what he means by the word discussion and what it means to go beyond thought. "I think, before we begin, it should be made clear what we mean by discussion. To me it is a process of discovery through exposing oneself to the fact. That is, in discussing I discover myself, the habit of my thought, the way I proceed to think, my reactions, the way I reason, not only intellectually but inwardly. It is really exposing oneself not merely verbally but actually, so that the discussion becomes a thing worthwhile, to discover for ourselves how we think. Because, I feel if we could be serious enough for an hour or a little more and really fathom and delve into ourselves as much as we can, we shall be able to release, not through any action of will, a certain sense of energy which is all the time awake, which is beyond thought." An extensive compendium of Krishnamurti's talks and discussions in the USA, Europe, India, New Zealand, and South Africa from 1933 to 1967-the Collected Works have been carefully authenticated against existing transcripts and tapes. Each volume includes a frontispiece photograph of Krishnamurti , with question and subject indexes at the end.

The psychological revolution that Krishnamurti refers to is not only in the conscious mind, but also in the unconscious. He states, 'This is one of our difficulties, perhaps our major difficulty: to be free of the whole content of the unconscious.' This hidden part of our consciousness is the result of 'many thousands of years of man's endeavor; we are the sum total of his struggles, his hopes, his despairs, his everlasting search for something beyond, and this piling up of experience is still going on within us. To be aware of that conditioning, and to be free of it, demands a great deal of attention.'

In these Talks, given in India and Saanen, Krishnamurti speaks to the necessity for a new way of looking, thinking and being in the world. "What is the effect or value of an individual changing? How will that transform the whole current of human existence? What can an individual do?... there is no such thing as an individual consciousness; there is only consciousness of which we are a part. You might segregate yourself and build a wall of a particular space called the `me'. But that `me' is related to the whole, that `me' is not separate. And in transforming that particular section, that particular part, we will affect the whole of consciousness. And I think this is very important to realize: that we are not talking about individual salvation or individual reformation, but about being aware of the particular in relation to, the total. Then out of that realization comes action which will affect the whole."