reading

COLLECTED WORKS VOLUME 5

Photo: J. Krishnamurti, ca 1945

Website: www.kfa.org

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 13: 9781934989388
ISBN: 193498938X
eBook ISBN: 978-1-62112-689-8

Contents

Preface

Talks in Bangalore, India

First Talk, July 4, 1948

Second Talk, July 11, 1948

Third Talk, July 18, 1948

Fourth Talk, July 25, 1948

Fifth Talk, August 1, 1948

Sixth Talk, August 8, 1948

Seventh Talk, August 15, 1948

Talks in Poona, India

First Talk, September 1, 1948

Second Talk, September 5, 1948

Third Talk, September 12, 1948

Fourth Talk, September 19, 1948

Fifth Talk, September 26, 1948

Sixth Talk, October 3, 1948

Seventh Talk, October 10, 1948

Eighth Talk, October 17, 1948

Talks in New Delhi, India

Radio Talk, November 6, 1948

First Talk, November 14, 1948

Second Talk, November 28, 1948

Third Talk, December 19, 1948

Talks in Banaras, India

First Talk at Rajghat, January 16, 1949

Second Talk, January 23, 1949

Third Talk, February 6, 1949

Fourth Talk, February 13, 1949

Fifth Talk, February 20, 1949

Talks in Ojai, California

First Talk, July 16, 1949

Second Talk, July 17, 1949

Third Talk, July 23, 1949

Fourth Talk, July 24, 1949

Fifth Talk, July 30, 1949

Sixth Talk, July 31, 1949

Seventh Talk, August 6, 1949

Eighth Talk, August 7, 1949

Ninth Talk, August 13, 1949

Tenth Talk, August 14, 1949

Eleventh Talk, August 20, 1949

Twelfth Talk, August 21, 1949

Thirteenth Talk, August 27, 1949

Fourteenth Talk, August 28, 1949

Talks in London, England

First Talk, October 2, 1949

Second Talk, October 9, 1949

Third Talk, October 16, 1949

Fourth Talk, October 23, 1949

Fifth Talk, October 30, 1949

Questions

Preface

Jiddu Krishnamurti was born in 1895 of Brahmin parents in south India. At the age of fourteen he was proclaimed the coming World Teacher by Annie Besant, then president of the Theosophical Society, an international organization that emphasized the unity of world religions. Mrs. Besant adopted the boy and took him to England, where he was educated and prepared for his coming role. In 1911 a new worldwide organization was formed with Krishnamurti as its head, solely to prepare its members for his advent as World Teacher. In 1929, after many years of questioning himself and the destiny imposed upon him, Krishnamurti disbanded this organization, saying:

Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or to coerce people along any particular path. My only concern is to set men absolutely, unconditionally free.

Until the end of his life at the age of ninety, Krishnamurti traveled the world speaking as a private person. The rejection of all spiritual and psychological authority, including his own, is a fundamental theme. A major concern is the social structure and how it conditions the individual. The emphasis in his talks and writings is on the psychological barriers that prevent clarity of perception. In the mirror of relationship, each of us can come to understand the content of his own consciousness, which is common to all humanity. We can do this, not analytically, but directly in a manner Krishnamurti describes at length. In observing this content we discover within ourselves the division of the observer and what is observed. He points out that this division, which prevents direct perception, is the root of human conflict.

His central vision did not waver after 1929, but Krishnamurti strove for the rest of his life to make his language even more simple and clear. There is a development in his exposition. From year to year he used new terms and new approaches to his subject, with different nuances.

Because his subject is all-embracing, the Collected Works are of compelling interest. Within his talks in any one year, Krishnamurti was not able to cover the whole range of his vision, but broad amplifications of particular themes are found throughout these volumes. In them he lays the foundations of many of the concepts he used in later years.

The Collected Works contain Krishnamurti’s previously published talks, discussions, answers to specific questions, and writings for the years 1933 through 1967. They are an authentic record of his teachings, taken from transcripts of verbatim shorthand reports and tape recordings.

The Krishnamurti Foundation of America, a California charitable trust, has among its purposes the publication and distribution of Krishnamurti books, videocassettes, films, and tape recordings. The production of the Collected Works is one of these activities.