An Overview of Krishnamurtis Life and Work Jiddu Krishnamurti was born on 11 May 1895 in Madanapalle, a small town in south

India. He and his brother were adopted in their youth by Dr Annie Besant, then president of the Theosophical Society. Dr Besant and others proclaimed that Krishnamurti was to be a world teacher whose coming the Theosophists had predicted. To prepare the world for this coming, a world-wide organization called the Order of the Star in the East was formed and the young Krishnamurti was made its head. In 1929, however, Krishnamurti renounced the role that he was expected to play, dissolved the Order with its huge following, and returned all the money and property that had been donated for this work. From then, for nearly sixty years until his death on 17 February 1986, he travelled throughout the world talking to large audiences and to individuals about the need for a radical change in mankind.

Krishnamurti is regarded globally as one of the greatest thinkers and religious teachers of all time. He did not expound any philosophy or religion, but rather talked of the things that concern all of us in our everyday lives, of the problems of living in modern society with its violence and corruption, of the individual's search for security and happiness, and the need for mankind to free itself from inner burdens of fear, anger, hurt, and sorrow. He explained with great precision the subtle workings of the human mind, and pointed to the need for bringing to our daily life a deeply meditative and spiritual quality. Krishnamurti 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 very factors that divide human beings and bring about conflict and war. He reminded his listeners again and again that we are all human beings first and not Hindus, Muslims or Christians, that we are like the rest of humanity and are not different from one another. He asked that we tread

lightly on this earth without destroying ourselves or the environment. He communicated to his listeners a deep sense of respect for nature. His teachings transcend man-made belief systems, nationalistic sentiment and sectarianism. At the same time, they give new meaning and direction to mankind's search for truth. His teaching, besides being relevant to the modern age, is timeless and universal. Krishnamurti spoke not as a guru but as a friend, and his talks and discussions are based not on tradition-based knowledge but on his own insights into the human mind and his vision of the sacred, so he always communicates a sense of freshness and directness although the essence of his message remained unchanged over the years. When he addressed large audiences, people felt that Krishnamurti was talking to each of them personally, addressing his or her particular problem. In his private interviews, he was a compassionate teacher, listening attentively to the man or woman who came to him in sorrow, and encouraging them to heal themselves through their own understanding.

Religious scholars found that his words threw new light on traditional concepts. Krishnamurti took on the challenge of modern scientists and psychologists and went with them step by step, discussed their theories and sometimes enabled them to discern the limitations of those theories. Krishnamurti left a large body of literature in the form of public talks, writings, discussions with teachers and students, with scientists and religious figures, conversations with individuals, television and radio interviews, and letters. Many of these have been published as books, and audio and video recordings.

EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY
The work of J. Krishnamurti (1895-1986) has been of particular relevance to the teachers of the school both in their own lives and in their concerns about education. In his writings and talks to audiences all over the world, Krishnamurti emphasized the need for a fundamental transformation in human consciousness. The turmoil in our relationships and in the world is a reflection of our self-centredness and our confused attempts to escape pain and suffering. Without this transformation, he felt that there was no possibility of lasting peace and freedom for the individual or for society. Krishnamurti was probably unique among seers in his unequivocal rejection of religious and spiritual authority. He refused to be cast as the guru, demanding instead that each one of us be a light unto oneself. He rejected

method and practice, pointing out that these implied psychological time and a false sense of becoming. He spoke of the possibility of a choiceless awareness in the present that makes no effort to change or transform. Krishnamurti felt that education has a central role to play in nurturing a living awareness in the student and the teacher. The Krishnamurti Foundations set up many schools in India, America, and the U.K. and the teachings have been the inspiration for many others over the decades.

The Core of the Teachings Written by Krishnamurti in 1980 at the request of his biographer Mary Lutyens. The core of Krishnamurtis teaching is contained in the statement he made in 1929 when he said, Truth is a pathless land. Man cannot come to it through any organization, through any creed, through any dogma, priest or ritual, not through any philosophical knowledge or psychological technique. He has to find it through the mirror of relationship, through the understanding of the contents of his own mind, through observation and not through intellectual analysis or introspective dissection.

Man has built in himself images as a fence of securityreligious, political, personal. These manifest as symbols, ideas, beliefs. The burden of these images dominates mans thinking, his relationships, and his daily life. These images are the causes of our problems for they divide man from man. His perception of life is shaped by the concepts already established in his mind. The content of his consciousness is his entire existence. The individuality is the name, the form and superficial culture he acquires from tradition and environment. The uniqueness of man does not lie in the superficial but in complete freedom from the content of his consciousness, which is common to all humanity. So he is not an individual. Freedom is not a reaction; freedom is not choice. It is mans pretence that because he has choice he is free. Freedom is pure observation without direction, without fear of punishment and reward. Freedom is without motive; freedom is not at the end of the evolution of man but lies in the first step of his existence. In observation one begins to

discover the lack of freedom. Freedom is found in the choiceless awareness of our daily existence and activity. Thought is time. Thought is born of experience and knowledge, which are inseparable from time and the past. Time is the psychological enemy of man. Our action is based on knowledge and therefore time, so man is always a slave to the past. Thought is ever limited and so we live in constant conflict and struggle. There is no psychological evolution. When man becomes aware of the movement of his own thoughts, he will see the division between the thinker and thought, the observer and the observed, the experiencer and the experience. He will discover that this division is an illusion. Then only is there pure observation which is insight without any shadow of the past or of time. This timeless insight brings about a deep, radical mutation in the mind. Total negation is the essence of the positive. When there is negation of all those things that thought has brought about psychologically,

only then is there love, which is compassion and intelligence. A Brief Introduction to Krishnamurti's teachings by Professor David Bohm (formerly of Birkbeck College, University of London) My first acquaintance with Krishnamurtis work was in 1959 when I read his book The First and Last Freedom. What particularly aroused my interest was his deep insight into the question of the observer and the observed. This question had long been close to the centre of my own work as a theoretical physicist who was primarily interested in the meaning of the quantum theory. In this theory, for the first time in the development of physics, the notion that these two cannot be separated has been put forth as necessary for the understanding of the fundamental laws of matter in general. Because of this as well as because the book contained many other deep insights, I felt that it was urgent for me to talk with Krishnamurti

directly and personally as soon as possible. And when I first met him on one of his visits to London, I was struck by the great ease of communication with him, which was made possible by the intense energy with which he listened and by the freedom from selfprotective reservations and barriers with which he responded to what I had to say. As a person who works in science, I felt completely at home with this sort of response, because it was in essence of the same quality as that which I had made in contacts with those other scientist with whom there had been a very close meeting of minds. And here, I think especially of Einstein who showed a similar intensity and absence of barriers in a number of discussions that took place between him and me. After this I began to meet Krishnamurti regularly and to discuss with him whenever he came to London. . . . Krishnamurtis work is permeated by what may be called the essence of the scientific approach, when this is considered in its very highest and purest form. Thus, he begins from a fact like the nature of our thought processes. This fact is established through

close attention, involving careful listening to the process of consciousness, and observing it assiduously. In this, one is constantly learning, and out of this learning comes insight into the overall or general nature of the process of thought. This insight is then tested. First, one sees whether it holds together in a rational order. And then one sees whether it leads to order and coherence in what flows out of it in life as a whole. Krishnamurti constantly emphasizes that he is in no sense an authority. He has made certain discoveries, and he is simply doing his best to make these discoveries accessible to all those who are able to listen. His work does not contain a body of doctrine, nor does he offer techniques or methods for obtaining a silent mind. He is not aiming to set up any new system of religious belief. Rather, it is up to each human being to see if he can discover for himself that to which Krishnamurti is calling attention, and to go on from there to make new discoveries on his own.

FAMOUS QUOTES BY J.KRISHNAMURTI

 The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that for you the world is transformed. There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning. You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems and suffer and understand, for all that is life.

A man who is not afraid is not aggressive, a man who has no sense of fear of any kind is really a free, a peaceful man

 Your belief in God is merely an escape from your monotonous, stupid and cruel life.

I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect.

If we can really understand the problem, the answer will come out of it, because the answer is not separate from the problem. In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open, except yourself. It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

 All ideologies are idiotic, whether religious or political, for it is conceptual thinking, the conceptual word, which has so unfortunately divided man. We all want to be famous people, and the moment we want to be something we are no longer free.

REVIEWS ABOUT HIS FAMOUS BOOKS

In Awakening of Intelligence, Krishnamurti repeats the same message that he has always stated: The past, which is the known, keeps us bound. The mind is conditioned by patterns of thought, operating through grooves in the mind that result from clinging to experiences. By repeating and reinforcing these same patterns, a perception is solidified and reality is, consequently, fragmented.

This book helped me a couple of years ago by serving as an introduction to perceptual, empirical conditioning. Krishnamurti's works served as a theoretical springboard to jump into, and fully realize, the pith of his message.

Education and the Significance of Life by Jiddu Krishnamurti

I genuinely enjoyed the journey of reading this book by this great intellect Krishnamurti.The book talks about the significance of life and education which is obvious as it's the title of the book. It emphasizes on the fact that we mustn't just focus on education as a mean for livelihood and way to learn certain techniques . That we must have this integrated outlook in life and learn for the sake of the science not for a coming or

anticipated result. To get life through knowing ourselves and be aware of our psychological needs , that it's the only way to know what we want out of life. And to raise our kids with these fundamental meanings , to teach them to understand life fully and be integrated , not to be just skilled technicians. Choosing the right educators for them , those who are passionate , genuine and integrated in the process of teaching . We must fundamentally transform ourselves first before we start revolting , reaction breeds opposition he says . Even if we revolt against a system or another we then join another group or system

,thus creating a pattern of though which we will again have to revolt against. Anyways I really feel enriched after reading this book .It definitely changed something in me and had me thinking deeply about many ideologies in life that we pass by everyday thinking it has no big of an effect