Life 30 (Jun 18 - Oct 18)

[winston]

The chattering mind

You know, to perceive something is an astonishing experience. I don’t know if you have ever really perceived anything; if you have ever perceived a flower or a face or the sky, or the sea.

Of course, you see these things as you pass by in a bus or a car; but I wonder whether you have ever taken the trouble actually to look at a flower?

And when you do look at a flower, what happens? You immediately name the flower, you are concerned with what species it belongs to, or you say, “What lovely colors it has. I would like to grow it in my garden; I would like to give it to my wife, or put it in my buttonhole,” and so on.

In other words, the moment you look at a flower, your mind begins chattering about it; therefore, you never perceive the flower.

You perceive something only when your mind is silent, when there is no chattering of any kind. If you can look at the evening star over the sea without a movement of the mind, then you really perceive the extraordinary beauty of it; and when you perceive beauty, do you not also experience the state of love?

Surely, beauty and love are the same. Without love there is no beauty, and without beauty there is no love. Beauty is in form, beauty is in speech, beauty is in conduct.

If there is no love, conduct is empty; it is merely the product of society, of a particular culture, and what is produced is mechanical, lifeless. But when the mind perceives without the slightest flutter, then it is capable of looking into the total depth of itself; and such perception is really timeless.

You don’t have to do something to bring it about; there is no discipline, no practice, no method by which you can learn to perceive.

The Book of Life, October 13, Harper San Francisco, 1995

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

The root of all fear

The craving to become causes fears; to be, to achieve, and so to depend engenders fear.

The state of the non-fear is not negation, it is not the opposite of fear nor is it courage.

In understanding the cause of fear, there is its cessation, not the becoming courageous, for in all becoming there is the seed of fear.

Dependence on things, on people, or on ideas breeds fear; dependence arises from ignorance, from the lack of self- knowledge, from inward poverty;

Fear causes uncertainty of mind-heart, preventing communication and understanding. Through self-awareness we begin to discover and so comprehend the cause of fear, not only the superficial but the deep casual and accumulative fears.

Fear is both inborn and acquired; it is related to the past, and to free thought-feeling from it, the past must be comprehended through the present.

The past is ever wanting to give birth to the present which becomes the identifying memory of the “me” and the “mine,” the “I.” The self is the root of all fear.

The Book of Life, March 31, Harper San Francisco, 1995

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

What is the one thing which every true devotee should cultivate?

The human birth is precious. Sanctify it by leading righteous lives. Do not fritter it away.

Whatever you practise any spiritual discipline or not, cultivate love for all. Offer that love as a divine offering to all.

Only through love, can world unity be promoted. It is because of the absence of love that all kinds of differences arise.

Love is Divine. Live in Love. Make this the ruling principle of your life.

Be considerate to everyone. Embodiments of Divine Love! Remember always that the Divine permeates everything in the cosmos.

Everything you experience is Divine. Everything you see is Divine. What you eat is Divine.

The air you breathe is Divine. You cannot see the air, nor can you grasp it. Likewise you cannot grasp the Divine.

The eyes cannot see Him. He can only be experienced in the heart. He is beyond the mind.

- Divine Discourse, Mar 24, 1989.

Know that the purpose of human birth is to reach the Divine through worship.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

At times we have a fantasy about a change of place that will really help us achieve peace. Is that accurate? What should we do to secure peace and happiness?

When the tree of life, sends its roots into the eternal reality which is the unchanging, eternal, universal and the immanent entity of which the individual is but a spark, it will flourish grandly, yielding fragrant blossoms of loving service, and sweet and nourishing fruits of joy to all;

The sweetness of virtue will render every bite and chew delightful. This does not mean that you have to renounce hearth and home and flee to solitude or the forest.

There is no guarantee that the hearth and home will not follow you into the silence and solitude of the forest; for, if your mind clings to worldly desires, you cannot escape them by simply putting some distance between you and them.

You may be in the jungle, but your mind may wander in the marketplace. Similarly you may be in the marketplace, but by Sadhana (spiritual practices), you can still secure a patch of peace in the heart in the midst of the busiest thoroughfare.

- Divine Discourse, Mar 28, 1967.

All knowledge and scholarship are of no avail if there is no practice of virtue.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Full heart, empty mind

There is no path to truth, it must come to you.

Truth can come to you only when your mind and heart are simple, clear, and there is love in your heart; not if your heart is filled with the things of the mind.

When there is love in your heart, you do not talk about organizing for brotherhood; you do not talk about belief, you do not talk about division or the powers that create division, you need not seek reconciliation. Then you are simply a human being without a label, without a country.

This means that you must strip yourself of all those things and allow truth to come into being; and it can come only when the mind is empty, when the mind ceases to create.

Then it will come without your invitation. Then it will come as swiftly as the wind and unbeknown. It comes obscurely, not when you are watching, wanting.

It is there as sudden as sunlight, as pure as the night; but to receive it, the heart must be full and the mind empty. Now you have the mind full and your heart empty.

The Book of Life, August 1, Harper San Francisco, 1995

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

Happiness vs. gratification

What is it that most of us are seeking? What is it that each one of us wants? Especially in this restless world, where everybody is trying to find some kind of peace, some kind of happiness, a refuge, surely it is important to find out, isn’t it?, what it is that we are trying to seek, what it is that we are trying to discover?

Probably most of us are seeking some kind of happiness, some kind of peace; in a world that is ridden with turmoil, wars, contention, strife, we want a refuge where there can be some peace.

I think that is what most of us want. So we pursue, go from one leader to another, from one religious organization to another, from one teacher to another.

Now, is it that we are seeking happiness or is it that we are seeking gratification of some kind from which we hope to derive happiness?

There is a difference between happiness and gratification. Can you seek happiness? Perhaps you can find gratification but surely you cannot find happiness.

Happiness is derivative; it is a by-product of something else. So, before we give our minds and hearts to something which demands a great deal of earnestness, attention, thought, care, we must find out, must we not?, what it is that we are seeking; whether it is happiness, or gratification?

The Book of Life, July 1, Harper San Francisco, 1995

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

Most people are attracted to devotional singing. But how should we really take to this Spirtitual Practice?

When you sing devotional songs, dwell also on the meanings of the songs, and the message of each Name and Form of the Divine you sing.

Know the purpose of the devotional songs and devote yourself wholeheartedly to it; derive the maximum benefit from the years allotted to you.

Do not waste time singing devotional songs as a routine, purposelessly; instead let every moment of your life be a true adoration!

- Divine Discourse, Mar 28, 1967.

If you really crave for the Divine, repeat His name.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

At times we are happy and there are days we are unhappy or angry. How should we treat each passing day?

You can sail safe on the sea of worldly life (Samsara) if there are no leaks in the boat; but through the leaks of lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride and envy, the waters of worldliness will enter your boat and sink it, drowning you beyond redemption.

To not allow water into the boat, fix all leaks. Then, you need not fear!

You can benefit from all the chances Samsara gives to train the senses, widen your affection, deepen your experiences, and strengthen detachment.

Do not fall in love with the world so much that your false attachment brings you back into this delusive amalgam of joy and grief.

Unless you stand back a little, away from entanglement with the world, knowing that it is all a play whose director is the Divine, you are in danger of being too closely involved.

Use the world as a training ground for sacrifice, service, expansion of heart, and cleansing of emotions.

- Divine Discourse, Mar 28, 1967.

You live but once, so live that you are not born again

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Being related

Without relationship, there is no existence: to be is to be related...

Most of us do not seem to realize this—that the world is my relationship with others, whether one or many.

My problem is that of relationship. What I am, that I project; and obviously, if I do not understand myself, the whole of relationship is one of confusion in ever-widening circles.

So, relationship becomes of extraordinary importance, not with the so-called mass, the crowd, but in the world of my family and friends, however small that may be—my relationship with my wife, my children, my neighbor. In a world of vast organizations, vast mobilizations of people, mass movements, we are afraid to act on a small scale; we are afraid to be little people clearing up our own patch.

We say to ourselves, “What can I personally do? I must join a mass movement in order to reform.” On the contrary, real revolution takes place not through mass movements but through the inward revaluation of relationship—that alone is real reformation, a radical, continuous revolution.

We are afraid to begin on a small scale. Because the problem is so vast, we think we must meet it with large numbers of people, with a great organization, with mass movements.

Surely, we must begin to tackle the problem on a small scale, and the small scale is the “me” and the “you.”

When I understand myself, I understand you, and out of that understanding comes love. Love is the missing factor; there is a lack of affection, of warmth in relationship; and because we lack that love, that tenderness, that generosity, that mercy in relationship, we escape into mass action which produces further confusion, further misery.

We fill our hearts with blueprints for world reform and do not look to that one resolving factor which is love.

The Book of Life, March 19, Harper San Francisco, 1995

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com

[winston]

What we believe

Does belief give enthusiasm? Can enthusiasm sustain itself without a belief, and is enthusiasm at all necessary, or is a different kind of energy needed, a different kind of vitality, drive?

Most of us have enthusiasm for something or other. We are very keen, very enthusiastic about concerts, about physical exercise, or going to a picnic.

Unless it is nourished all the time by something or other, it fades away and we have a new enthusiasm for other things.

Is there a self-sustaining force, energy, which doesn’t depend on a belief?

The other question is: Do we need a belief of any kind, and if we do, why is it necessary? That’s one of the problems involved.

We don’t need a belief that there is sunshine, the mountains, the rivers. We don’t need a belief that we and our wives quarrel.

We don’t have to have a belief that life is a terrible misery with its anguish, conflict, and constant ambition; it is a fact. But we demand a belief when we want to escape from a fact into an unreality.

The Book of Life, February 9, Harper San Francisco, 1995

Source: jkrishnamurthi.com