Krishnamurti - The World of Peace

The World of Peace

Copyright 1985 Krishnamurti Foundation Trust Ltd.

J. KRISHNAMURTI

THE WORLD OF PEACE

(Meetings at Brockwood Park)

CONTENTS

: 27 August 1983

: 28 August 1983

: 3 September 1983

: 4 September 1983

: 30 August 1983

: 1 September 1983

First of all, if one can remind you, this is not an amusement. It is not an intellectual feast, or intellectual stimulation. We are, in these four talks, going to deal with the very, very complex problem of living together in this world, this world that has gone almost mad. There is such chaos and misery and the constant threat of war; and religions have played very little part in preventing all this in the world or in our daily life. We ought to go into these matters together.

You must listen very carefully, not only to what is being said, but also listen to your own reactions to what is being saidyour reactions of approval or disapproval, your sense of restriction, your resistances, your fears, and all the complexities of your reactions to any form of stimulation. The act of listening is very important if we are going to explore the whole problem of our present-day existence.

Most of us are unaware that we are very circumscribed, limited. Our brains have been programmed and conditioned, and most of us are unaware of this. We are conditioned by language; we are conditioned, shaped, moulded by the environment, by tradition, by religion, by the solitude of our own illusions, our imaginations, the solitude of our aspirations. So our brains, through this long process of evolution, are very, very limited. Only a very small part of the brain acts or thinks or lives; the rest stays in abeyance. That is what some of the specialists who have studied the quality of the brain and the workings of the brain have said. But can you see for yourself, without relying on the experts, that your life is very small?

We are so concerned with ourselves, with our success, with our miseries, and all the turmoil of our own limited lifethe sorrow, the pain, the anxiety, the various forms of reaction which arise from our prejudices, our bias, our tendences: all this conditions the brain, so we never have the awareness of the whole of life, the whole of existence which is vast, immeasurable and tremendously potent.

Can we this morning enquire, easily and happily, into the quality of our own life, into the nature of our behaviour, into the process of our thought? And not only enquire, but through that very enquiry, apply. Enquiry by itself has very little meaning. So let us first enquire into ourselves, into the way of our thinking, why we think this way, why human beings, who have lived on this beautiful earth for so many millions of years, are still unhappy, violent, ready to kill each other for some idiotic reasons. If we could go together into all thistogether along this road which has no end and no beginningthen perhaps our meeting here will be worthwhile.

But merely to listen or read year after year and not apply is a waste of time and energy. So could we this morning be serious enough to look at this whole world in which we live, the world we have created? The society is the result of our own complex life. We are conditioned by health, by environment, by our culture, by nationalism, and so on. Unless we break through all this conditioning, we will go on as we have been going on for thousands of years. So violence will go on, corruption, each one seeking his own fulfilment and pursuing his own ambitionsisolated. And where there is isolation, there must be conflict. Could we this morning go into all this? We are asking this seriously because you have taken the trouble to come here and it is no good merely talking about the ideas, the expressions, the reactionswe must go into this with tremendous energy, vitality, and see if it is possible to break down this conditioning so that the brain will no longer be limited but will have immense capacity.

It has capacity now, extraordinary capacity, in the technological world, the world of computers, biological chemistry, genetic engineering and the various other activities which are attempts from the outside to affect the brain. Scientists in the various disciplines are trying desperately to bring about a change in man. They are trying to change the very genes themselves so that the human being may become something entirely different. And the computer is taking over a great many of our activitiesbut all this is from the outside. The Communists have also tried to control and change man by changing the environment, through authority, through discipline, through complete obedience, and they have not succeeded.

Now we are asking a most fundamental question, whether it is possible not to be affected from the outside. I hope you understand when I use the word outsidethe outside may be God, music, art, or the external laws that are established by governments, and so on. All these outside agencies are in various ways trying to force man to conform, to bring about a radical change in his behaviour so that he can live without wars. But at the same time man is preparing for war. Every government throughout the world is armed, ready to kill and be killed. I am sure you all are aware of this.

Religions have tried to chain man, to tame him through promises and fear, heaven and hell. They have not succeeded either. These are facts. This is what is going on in the world around us, affecting us through propaganda, through various forms of chemical engineering, trying in one way or another to change man. And the propagandists and scientists have not succeeded, and they never will succeed, because the psyche, the ego, is far too strong, far too cunning, and extraordinarily capable. So we are asking a totally different question. We are askingI am not asking, you are askingthis question: Since all outside influences, including the idea of God and ideologies and various forms of historical dialectical conclusions, have not changed man, is it possible for human beings to change radically, fundamentally, without any external influence at all? You understand? What is important and essential to ask is whether each one of us, whether we are intellectuals, scientists, artists or engaged in any activitywhether we are capable, fundamentally, deeply, of bringing about a mutation in the very brain cells themselves. Have I made this question clear?

I hope you are putting this question to yourselves. What is your answer? Are you serious and earnest and passionate enough to put this question? What is your answer? Either you will say, It is not possible, and so close the door to further enquiry, or you will say, I really dont know; is it possible?

We are not closing the door by saying it is impossible. How can a man whose brain has been so conditioned for thousands and thousands of years, through vast knowledge, vast experiencehow can that brain transform itself? If you answer, It is not possiblethen you have closed completely the avenue to enquiry. But if you are open you can ask: Can the brain, which has such extraordinary capacity in one direction, and is so utterly limited, circumscribed, conditioned, programmed in another, can that brain be changed? Can that brain be totally free? Not free to do what you like. You are doing that anyhow, pursuing your own pleasures, your own solitary ambitions, your own salvation if your are religiously minded, your own isolated illusions. You do that every day of your life. That is a common way of life for all of humanity, and that is called freedom. Surely that is not freedom. Freedom requires a great deal of discipline. Freedom implies great humility, innate inward discipline and work.

Most of us are very arrogant because we rely so much on our knowledge. We are so certain. Our beliefs, our conclusions and desires are so strong that we have lost all sense of deep, natural humility. Again this is a fact. With what pride a Frenchman says, Im a Frenchman, or you say, Im Britishthe God-given race. And everyone feels this in every country.