Krishnamurti - Magnitude of the Mind: Talks in Sri Lanka 1980

Magnitude of the Mind: Talks in Sri Lanka 1980

Copyright 2010 Krishnamurti Foundation Trust Ltd

MAGNITUDE

OF THE

MIND

TALKS IN SRI LANKA 1980

J. KRISHNAMURTI

Contents

8th November 1980

9th November 1980

15th November 1980

16th November 1980

L IFE IS R ELATIONSHIP IN A CTION

First of all I would like to point out how difficult it is to communicate to another whose culture, whose background may be totally different. And if one may point out we are not talking about any philosophy, any theories, any new set of ideas or ideals. We are going to talk over together, as two friends, the problem of our daily living. To go into that very carefully, hesitantly and wisely, one must look around what is actually going on in the world, not only in this island, but also in Europe, America, China, Russia and India. There is great chaos in the world, disorder. Society is corrupt, immoral; there is a great deal of injustice; there is poverty. All the nations are preparing for war, ready to kill each other in the name of religion, in the name of economics, in the name of their own national survival; they are willing to kill others for their own particular security. There is religious division in this country. You have the Hinayana and the Mahayana. In India there are innumerable gods and divisions, in Christianity also there are a great many divisions: the Catholics, the Protestants and the various other sects. There are national, religious, economic divisions all over the world. There is inflation, overpopulation, poverty, and all kinds of horrible things are happening in the world; nationalism with its technology is going to destroy man. These are facts. These are not the speakers opinions or ideas. But they are the facts right in front of us, if you are willing to look, listen.

And knowing all this, outwardly, what is the condition of mannot man in abstraction, not as an abstract idea, but man, you and I and anotherwhat is our condition? I think it is important to understand our relationship between man and society. Society as it exists now, which is corrupt, there is a great deal of injustice, we are not properly governed. This society is created by man, by you, by us, by the many, by our great grandfathers and so on. This society is man-made and so it cam be altered, completely, radically. That alteration in society has always been a dream of man. There have been philosophers who have talked about it a great deal, written volumes of what society should be, from the ancient times to modern times. There have been revolutions in the Westthe French, and the Communist revolution in Russia. They have all longed and striven, worked for a revolution to bring about an environmental change. The communists are doing it, the socialists and other leftists and in their own way the rightists are doing it, and this physical revolution has not produced any great change. These again are facts. They have brought a new set of hierarchy, a new set of rich people, a new set of powerful, dominant, tyrannical people. But the pattern of society has somewhat changed, but essentially it has been as it has always been through millennia.

In observing all theseand we are doing it together, please bear in mind if I might point out throughout these talks that we are thinking, looking, observing together. The speaker is not pointing out for you to listen, or not to listen, to pay attention or to disregard, but together you, each one of you and the speaker, together we are going to investigate, explore, why we live the way we are living, why human beings have deteriorated: there are a great deal of drugs, alcoholism, violence, every form of immoral activity going on. And together, please bear in mind, Ill repeat it many, many, many times that you are not listening to a talk by some strange man from another country, but together as two human beings, quietly, reasonably, sanely, examining, exploring together why man is in such a stateman includes naturally woman.

So we are not talking about theories, beliefs, dogmas, and all that nonsense. To me, to the speaker, they have no basis for nationality. Together we are going to look at the society in which we live, and what to do about it. So the speaker, in talking about it, is talking about you. He is not talking about something else; he is talking about a human being which is you, why such a human being who has lived through millennia after millennia, who has evolved through a great deal of experience, has acquired a great deal of knowledgeboth technological and psychological knowledgewhy we human beings are reduced to this present condition of chaos, misery, confusion. I hope that is very clear; that we are talking not about any theory, or doing any kind of propaganda, but we are talking over together about you; you being the rest of mankind. Mankind suffers, every human being in the world, wherever he lives suffers, goes through a great deal of anxiety, great uncertainty, constant striving, not only within himself, but also outwardly. He has great fears, depression, uncertainty, like you. So we are humanity, you are humanity. Please follow this, if you will kindly listen to it.

You know, listening is a great art. It is one of the great arts we have not cultivated: to listen completely to another. When you listen so completely to another, as I hope you are doing it now, you are also listening to yourself, listening to your own problems, to your own uncertainties, to your own misery, confusion, your desire for security, the gradual degradation of the mind, which is becoming more and more mechanical. We are talking over together what human beings are, which is you. So you psychologically are the world and the world is you. You may have dark hair, somewhat brown faces, others may be taller, fairer with eyes slanting, but wherever they live, in whatever climate, in whatever circumstances, affluent or not, every human being, like you, goes through all this turmoil, the noise of life without any beauty, never seeing the splendour in the grass, or the glory in the flower. So you and I and the others are the world, because you suffer, your neighbour suffers; whether that neighbour be ten thousand miles away, he is similar to you. Your culture may be different, your language may be different, but basically, inwardly, deeply, you are like another. And thats a fact. This is not a theory, this is not something that you have to believe. It is a fact. And so you are the world and the world is you. I hope you are listening to it. As we said, we have lost the art of listening. To listen to a statement of that kind that you are the world and the world is you, probably you have never heard this before, and so it might sound very strange, illogical or unreal. So you partially listen and wish that I would go on talking more about other things; so you never actually listen to the truth of anything. If I may request you, please kindly listen not only to the speaker, but also listen to yourself, listen to what is happening, in your mind, in your heart, in your responses and so on. Listen to all that. Listen to the birds, listen to the car going by so that you become sensitive, alive, active. So if you will kindly so listen, we can then proceed.

Man has evolved from the ape and so on, according to the scientists, for many, many million years. Our brain is the result of many, many millennia of time. That brain, that human mind, is now so conditioned with fear, with anxiety, with national pride, with linguistic limitations, and so on. So the question then is, to bring about a different society in the world; you, as a human being who is the rest of mankind, must radically change. That is the real issue, not how to prevent wars. Thats also an issue, how to have peace in the world, that is secondary; all these are peripheral, secondary issues. The fundamental issue is: is it possible for the human mindwhich is your mind, your heart, your conditionis it possible for it to be totally, fundamentally, deeply transformed? Otherwise we are going to destroy each other, through our national pride, through our linguistic limitations, through our nationalismwhich the politicians maintain for their own benefitand so on.