Krishnamurti - Washington D.C. Talks 1985

Washington D.C. Talks 1985

Copyright 1988 Krishnamurti Foundation Trust Ltd

Washington D.C.

Talks 1985

J. Krishnamurti

Contents

20th April 1985

21st April 1985

F OREWORD

In spite of his many years of giving public talks in the United States, Krishnamurti had not spoken in Washington, D.C. When he agreed to do so in April 1985, it was in a sense to a new audience, one to which in the compression of only two talks he wished to convey as much of his teaching as possible.

On both days the hall was filled with a varied, seriously-interested audience and as Krishnamurti spoke there seemed an intangible response, a quality in which the listeners joined in his communication. Krishnamurti felt it and although there were to be other talks before his death ten months later, on those two days in April 1985, at the age of ninety, Krishnamurti spoke from the summit of his life and teaching.

Mary Zimbalist

I N THE P RESENT I S THE W HOLE OF T IME

This is not a lecture on any particular subject according to certain disciplines, scientific or philosophical. Lectures are meant to inform on a particular subject or instruct, but we are not going to do that. So this is not a lecture, nor is it a form of entertainment. In this country especially, one is greatly accustomed to being entertained, amused. Rather in these talks, this afternoon and tomorrow morning, we are going to talk together about the whole of our existence from the moment we are born until we die.

In that period of time, whether it be fifty years, ninety years or a hundred years, we go through all kinds of problems and difficulties. We have economic, social, religious problems; problems of personal relationship, problems of individual fulfilment, wanting to find ones roots in some place or other; and we have innumerable psychological wounds, fears, pleasures, sensations. There is a great deal of fear in all human beings, a great deal of anxiety, uncertainty, and a pursuit of pleasure, and also all human beings on this beautiful earth suffer a great deal of pain, loneliness. We are going to talk about all that together. And about what place religion has in modern life. We are also going to talk over together the question of death; and what is a religious mind and what is meditation; is there anything that is beyond thought and is there anything sacred in life, or is everything matter so that we lead a materialistic life?

So, as we said, this is not a lecture. This is a conversation between you and the speaker, a conversation in which there is no implication of conversion, making propagandathat would be too terribleor introducing new theories, ideas and exotic nonsense. We are going to, if you will kindly, talk over together our problems as two friends. Though we dont know each other, we are going to talk, discuss, have a conversation, which is much more important than being lectured at or being told what to do, what to believe, what to have faith in, and so on. On the contrary, we are going to observe dispassionately, impersonally, not anchored to any particular problem or theory, what mankind has done to the world and what we have done to each other. We are going to take a very long, complex journey together, for it is your responsibility, as well as that of the speaker, that we walk together, investigate together, look together at the world we have created.

The society in which we live is put together by man. Each one of us has contributed to it. And if you are willingand apparently you must be willing because you are here and I am herewe will take this long complex journey. Life is very complex. We like to look at complexity and get more and more complex. We never look at anything simply with our brains, with our hearts, with our whole being. So let us take the journey together. The speaker is putting into words what is happening, objectively, clearly, and totally dispassionately.

We have lived on this earth for many millennia. And during those long periods of time mankind has suffered loneliness, despair, uncertainty, confusion, multiple choices and therefore multiple complexities; and there have been warsnot only physical bloody wars but also psychological wars. And mankind has asked if there can be peace on earth. But apparently this has not been possible. There are about forty wars going on at the present time, ideological, theoretical, economic, social. During historical times, perhaps about five thousand to six thousand years, there have been wars practically every year. And also we are preparing for wars now. Two ideologiesthe Communist and the so-called democraticat war over what kind of implements we should use, control of armaments and all the rest of it. War seems to be the common lot of mankind. One observes all over the world the piling up of armaments, from the tiny little nation or tribe to the highly sophisticated affluent society like yours. How can we have peace on earth? Is it at all possible?

It has been said that there is no peace on earth, only in heaven. This is repeated in different ways, both in the East and the West. Christians have killed more than anybody else on earth. We are observing these facts, these actualities, not taking sides. And then there are the different religions: in Buddhism there is no god; in Hinduism somebody calculated there are about three hundred thousand gods. Thats rather fun, you can choose whichever god you like. In Christianity and Islam there is only one god, based on two booksthe Bible and the Koran. So religions have divided man, just as nationalism, which is a form of glorified tribalism, has divided mannationalism, patriotism, religious ardour. And fundamentalists, both in India, here and in Europe, are reviving their religious traditions. I wonder if you have ever looked at the word reviving? You can only revive something that is dead or dying. You cant revive a living thing.

Man has always been in conflict, as everyone in this world goes through all kinds of misery, all kinds of sorrow, pain, desperate loneliness; and we long to escape from all that. So we are going to observe together this extraordinary phenomenon: how man, after these thousands of years, still remains a barbariancruel, vulgar, full of anxiety and hatred. And violence is increasing in the world. So one asks, can there be peace on this earth? Because without peace, inwardly, psychologically first, the brain cannot flower, human beings cannot live completely, holistically.

So why are we, after this long evolutionduring a period in which we have gathered immense experience, knowledge, a great deal of informationwhy are we as human beings perpetually in conflict? Thats the real question. Because when there is no conflict there is naturally peace. And manthat includes the woman, please; when I use the word man I am not shutting out the woman; dont get excited about it. And, if one may point out, dont get angry, irritated with what we are investigating together. Its your responsibility to enquire, not merely intellectually, verbally, but with your heart, with your brain, with all your being, and find out why we are what we are.

We have tried various religions, various economic and social systems, and yet we live in conflict. Can this conflict in each one of us end completely, not partially, not occasionally? Its a very serious question. It demands a serious answer. Not say its possible or not possible, but enquire very deeply why human beings, including you, and the speaker perhaps, live in perpetual conflict, with problems and divisionswhy we have divided the world into nationalities, religious groups, social behaviours and all the rest of it? Can we seriously this afternoon enquire whether its possible to end conflict? First psychologically, inwardly, because if there is a certain quality of freedom inwardly, then we shall produce a society in which there will be no conflict. So it is our responsibility as human beings, as so-called individualities, to seriously put our brains, our energy, our passion into discovering for ourselves, not according to any philosopher, or some psychiatrist, but find out for ourselves whether this conflict between human beings can end.