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All that we have invented,

the symbols in the church,

the rituals,

they are all put
there by thought.

Thought has invented
these things,

invented the savior,

invented the temples in India
and the contents of the temples.

Thought has invented
all these things called sacred.

You can’t deny that.

So thought in itself is not sacred.

And when thought invents God,
God is not sacred.

So – what is sacred?

That can only be...

understood or happen...

when there is
complete freedom...

from fear,

from sorrow,

and when there is
this sense of love...

and compassion
with its own intelligence.

Then, when the mind
is utterly still,

that which is sacred
can take place.

It was a late summer afternoon.

Near the shore, a group
of children were playing.

One of the boys, though
ragged and undernourished,

stood apart from the others.

He was described
as having a special radiance.

A pure and shining atmosphere
surrounded him.

Because of these qualities
the child was singled out...

and chosen to be the vehicle
for the coming ‘World Teacher’.

This discovery
was not an isolated revelation...

for it was believed that humanity
was entering a new age...

an age that would bring with it
a new Messiah.

During the early decades
of the 19th century...

science was beginning to replace
religion as the savior of humanity.

As the monolithic
church splintered,

new organizations emerged...

offering a balance
between science and religion.

One of the many new groups,
the Theosophical Society,

spread rapidly
throughout the world.

Founded by Russian born
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky...

and the American
Henry Steel Olcott,

its objectives
were to seek truth...

of the ancient religions
of the East,

to investigate the unexplained
laws of nature...

and to promote
universal brotherhood.

So attractive were these ideals
that by 1881...

the Society had become
a worldwide institution...

with over 100,000
enthusiastic members.

Helena Blavatsky was a deep
student of metaphysical lore...

and was sought after...

by those who believed her
to possess psychic powers.

Derided by some as a charlatan,

she was, however,
a serious writer...

and in 1888
published her greatest work:

two tremendous volumes entitled
‘The Secret Doctrine’.

Annie Besant, a young journalist,

was asked to analyse the work
for London’s Review of Reviews.

Turning the pages, she was
“dazzled by what she read”.

To her, disjointed facts
were now seen...

as parts of a mighty whole...

and the puzzles, riddles
and problems of her life...

seemed to disappear.

Within weeks...

Annie Besant made a life
long commitment to Theosophy.

This sudden step was
not out of character...

for the impetuous
Mrs. Besant.

She was already well known
to Victorian England...

as an orator, educator,
energetic feminist...

and a pioneer on behalf
of the emerging labor movement.

She organized a
strike of match girls

at Bryant and Mays factory.

Her sense of social
justice...

led her to become
a Fabian Socialist...

along with Sidney Webb,
George Bernard Shaw...

and Ramsey McDonald.

After Blavatsky’s death,

Annie Besant became
head of the Society...

and the most influential force
for the theosophical ideal.

It was she who forged Blavatsky’s
unwieldy philosophy...

into a popular movement.

Many of the world’s religions
speak of a hero or savior...

who appears in a time of crisis
to help mankind.

In “The Secret Doctrine”
Blavatsky described...

how such a teacher
would define truth...

in terms suitable
for a new civilization.

Over the years this theme had been
developing in Besant’s mind.

By 1900 she was convinced
that time had come...

for the reappearance
of a great spiritual leader.

Even now she was lecturing in India,
Europe and the United States...

on the coming of a World Teacher.

Expectations were spreading
throughout the Society...

and thousands thronged
to hear her lectures.

Charles Webster Leadbeater...

was another leading
member of the society.

He and Besant
worked closely together...

and seemed to compliment
each other...

as Olcott and Blavatsky
had done years earlier.

The year was 1909.

C. W. Leadbeater had moved
to India...

and was now living at Adyar,

the Theosophical headquarters
near Madras.

Each day, he would stroll
with a group of friends...

along the beach
on the Bay of Bengal.

It was there, that the young
Jiddu Krishnamurti was discovered.

In spite of the child’s thin,
uncared-for appearance,

Leadbeater saw a quality
so remarkable...

that he announced,
that this Brahmin boy...

would fulfill
the long awaited prophecy.

Krishnamurti...

was to be prepared as the
vehicle for the world teacher.

The child’s mother, Sanjeevamma,
had died some years earlier...

and the 14-year-old
boy had come to live...

with his father
and three brothers...

just outside
the Society’s compound.

The dreamy boy suffered
from malaria,

and illness often kept him
from school.

He was unassuming...

and yielded easily to
the suggestions of others.

He seemed to live in another world.

Often oblivious to what
was going on around him.

There was a curious emptiness.

Krishnamurti and his younger
brother, Nityananda,

were especially close.

And when told of the opportunity of
being prepared for great things,

he refused unless
Nitya could be with him.

On November 27, 1909,

Annie Besant
returned to India...

and met the brothers
for the first time.

An affectionate bond
was formed,

and she became to the
shy Krishnamurti...

a mother, teacher, and friend.

To Annie Besant the responsibility
for guiding the boy’s future...

became a sacred trust.

It was decided that...

the time had come to introduce
Krishnamurti to the world.

For this purpose the Order of
the Star in the East was formed.

With Krishnamurti
as its nominal head...

and under the guidance
of Annie Besant,

the Order hoped
to prepare its members...

to accept the world teacher
and his message.

During the theosophical convention
held in Benares that year...

nearly 400 new members
joined the Order of the Star.

A glorious future
was foreseen...

as members spoke
of ‘the Second Coming’.

In a wave of emotion the new members
fell at the boy’s feet.

And Mrs. Besant publicly announced
that Krishnamurti...

was to indeed become
the vehicle for the world teacher.

At the end of 1911
the mould had been cast...

and the destiny of the young boy
seemed assured.

Narianiah, the boys’ father,
was not as easily convinced.

This deification might make him
the laughing stock of India...

and he threatened to deprive
Mrs. Besant of their custody.

She quickly intervened...

by describing the advantages
of an English education...

and stressed the
special advantage...

of his sons becoming
Oxford graduates.

On January 19, 1912,
Narianiah signed a document...

allowing Krishnamurti and Nitya
to be taken to England.

He was unaware that
it would be 10 years...

and involve a lengthy lawsuit...

before his sons were to return.

In England, news of their
arrival spread quickly...

and a large crowd
was on hand...

to greet the party at
Charing Cross Station.

An English Theosophist described
Krishnamurti on arrival as...

“an odd figure with long black hair
falling almost to his shoulders...

and enormous dark eyes
which had a vacant look in them.”

When I went to Europe
for the first time...

I lived among people who were
wealthy and well educated,

who held positions
of social authority.

I walked about the streets,
watching the faces of people.

I went to theatres.

I saw how people amused themselves
trying to forget their unhappiness.

I saw people with political,
social or religious power.

I watched the amusements
of the young people.

I saw people who desire to serve...

going into those quarters
where the poor and degraded live.

They desired to help...

but were themselves helpless.

How can you cure another of disease
if you are yourself a victim...

of that disease?

I questioned everything...

because I wanted to find out
for myself.

Annie Besant gave 3
stirring lectures...

at the Queen’s Hall
in London.

The movement was gathering force.

When she returned to India...

the boy’s education began
under a series of tutors.

The young man was constantly...

surrounded by teachers
and attentive followers.

Never allowed to be alone,
he longed for a more normal life.

He grew dissatisfied...

and lost all interest in the role
he was being prepared for.

In the summer of 1914,
England plunged into the Great War.

Communications collapsed
and the boy’s seclusion intensified.

Krishnamurti became
more and more restless.

Annie Besant wrote and
reminded him as she often did,

that his happiness would lie
only in the work ahead.

Though he felt a deep love
and loyalty for Mrs. Besant,

inwardly a quiet revolution
was unfolding.

I have long been in revolt
from all things.

From the authority of others.
From the instruction of others.

From the knowledge of others.

I would not accept
anything as truth...

until I found
the truth for myself.

I never opposed the
ideas of others...

but I would not
accept their authority...

or their theory of life.

Until I was in that
state of revolt,

until I became dissatisfied
with everything,

with every creed,
with every dogma and belief,

I was not able to find the truth.

The boys worked hard to pass
their college entrance examinations.

Nitya had little difficulty,

but Krishnamurti was a slow
and indifferent student.

To everyone’s disappointment
it became clear...

that he would not be accepted
by either Oxford or Cambridge.

The close of the war in 1918...

brought increased activity
among Theosophists.

In India, Annie Besant
was deeply absorbed...

in problems of education
and political action.

She was in the forefront of the
struggle for Indian independence...

along with Gandhi and others.

But in her lectures
she continued to proclaim...

the importance of
the world teacher...

and his message for humanity.

Krishnamurti was maturing slowly...

and after a ten-year absence
from his native country,

it was decided that
his work would begin at Adyar.

In late December the brothers
arrived in Bombay.

For Mrs. Besant, the long
awaited day had finally come...

as the two brothers,
who “left as boys,

returned as men.”

When I came to India
I saw that the people there...

were deluding
themselves equally,

carrying on the same
old traditions,

treating women cruelly.

At the same time they called
themselves very religious...

and painted their faces
with ashes.

In India, they may have the most
sacred books in the world,

they may have
the greatest philosophies,

they may have constructed
wonderful temples in the past,

but none of these was able
to give me what I wanted.

As head of the Order of the Star...

the shy young man
plunged into his work.

He wrote numerous books
and articles for Star publications.

There were lectures to give
and meetings to attend.

The brothers undertook
a heavy schedule...

speaking in India, England,
Australia and Europe.

These travels became
a heavy strain on Nitya.

He became ill and was diagnosed
as having tuberculosis.

California was
suggested as having...

a healthful climate
for consumptives...

and an ideal place for recovery.

In the summer of 1922,

the loan of a small
cottage in the Ojai Valley...

brought the young men
to America for the first time.

Writing to Mrs. Besant,

Nitya described their
new surroundings:

“In a long narrow valley
of apricot orchards...

and orange groves,
is our home.

And the hot sun shines day after day
to remind us of Adyar.

The Indians call our valley
the Ojai, or the nest.

And for centuries they must
have sought it as a refuge.”

For a time Nitya seemed to recover.

But perhaps best of all,
they were alone.

Privacy had been a luxury
denied them since childhood.

But now in the silence
of the valley...

Krishnamurti had an opportunity
to be with himself.

He walked alone in the hills,

climbing through orange
groves and scrub brush.

As the days passed,
a strange uneasiness seized him.

He became ill and complained of
intense pain and suffocating heat.

There were periods
of unconsciousness...

as the strange process
reached its peak.

Agitated and feverish,
he insisted on walking alone...

but was urged instead...

to rest under a young pepper tree
that stood near the cottage.

It was there,
in the stillness of the night,

that a transcendent event
took place...

that shook his life
to its foundations.

I could feel the wind
passing through the trees,

and the little ant
on the blade of grass.

I could feel the birds,

the dust.

And every noise was a part of me.

I was in everything.

Or rather everything...

was in me.

I was supremely happy...

for I had seen.

Nothing could ever be the same.

I have drunk at the clear and
pure waters of the fountain of life.

And my thirst was appeased.

Never more could I be thirsty.

Never more could I be
in utter darkness.

I have touched the compassion,

which heals
all sorrow and suffering.

It is not for myself...

but for the world.

To describe his new perceptions...

Krishnamurti embarked
on a world wide speaking tour.

The change was unmistakable.

Everywhere, among all people,

there is a search
for something hidden.

For some realization...

which will give
greater knowledge,

greater vision,

greater understanding.

And this the people call ‘truth’.

They think that truth lies hidden
in some distant place,

away from life,

away from joy,

away from sorrow.

But truth is life itself.

And with an understanding of life,

there is born
an understanding of truth.

While traveling,
a sudden hemorrhage...

brought back fears
for Nitya’s health.

He was weak, in high fever
and racked with coughing.

It was decided that the brothers
should again return...

to the dry climate
of the Ojai Valley.

Once in California
Nitya seemed to improve.

And when Mrs. Besant
cabled asking...

that Krishnamurti
come to India...

for Theosophy’s
Jubilee Convention,

he reluctantly agreed.

The bond between the brothers
had grown stronger than ever.

There was unquestioning
faith that...

Nitya was essential
to the work ahead...

and because of this,
his life would be spared.

While enroute, a cable arrived
saying that Nitya had influenza.

A later wire read, “Flu rather
more serious, pray for me.”

On the 13th of November,

as the ship entered
the Suez Canal,

a telegram arrived
announcing Nitya’s death.

The news broke Krishnamurti
completely.

It did more.
His entire philosophy of life,

the implicit faith
in the future...

and Nitya’s
vital part in it all,

appeared to be shattered
at that moment.

An old dream...

is dead...

and a new one is being born.

A new vision is coming into being.

And a new consciousness
is being unfolded.

I know now, with greater certainty
than ever before,

that there is
real beauty in life.

Real happiness...

that cannot be shattered
by any physical happening.

A great strength...

which cannot be weakened
by any passing events.

And a great love,

which is permanent,

imperishable...

and unconquerable.

By the time he reached Madras...

his face was quiet and radiant.

The Jubilee Convention of 1925...

celebrated 50 years in the
life of the Theosophical Society.

Thousands attended
the four-day gatherings...

and the events were
eagerly reported...

by newspapers
around the world.

A Star Congress
followed the convention.

By this time the Order of the Star
had grown to over 45,000 members.

Under the branches of
Adyar’s enormous banyan tree...

Krishnamurti spoke
of the world teacher.

His face was powerful
and stern at the twilight,

his eyes half veiled,
as if looking inward.

As he spoke, a deep silence
spread through the audience.

Some thought
they saw a light envelope him.

And many believed that
they were in the presence...

of the Messiah himself.

The young man was becoming
the focus of deep divisions.

While thousands accepted him
as the World Teacher...

others were disturbed by the
adoration and attention given him.

In the Netherlands,
some years earlier,

the Baron Phillip van Pallandt
had given his ancestral home,

the Castle Eerde,
to the Order of the Star.

5.000 wooded acres surrounded
the 18th century buildings.

The castle had been transformed...

into a meeting place where
small groups gathered yearly.

The change that was
taking place in Krishnamurti...

was to intensify
the following week...

at the Ommen
Star camp of 1926.

Close to the Castle Eerde,

the Ommen Camp attracted over
2,000 people of every nationality.

There were huge tents
for meetings and for meals.

Lectures were given.

And every evening...

Krishnamurti lit a bonfire
and spoke to the gathering.

In order to be happy,
need we have religions?

In order to love,

need we build temples?

Truth cannot be found in the
dark sanctuary of temples...

nor in the well-lit halls
of organized societies.

Neither can it be found in books
nor in ceremonies.

Go down to the sea
where the breezes are blowing...

and the waves are breaking
over each other.

You want to gather and
bind all that beauty

into a narrow temple?

Do not allow your mind
or your heart...

to be bound by anything...

or anyone.

If you do...

you will establish
another religion,

another temple.

You must not create little gods...

and worship at little shrines.

Who wants to worship
by the light of one candle,

when you can have the sun?

It was increasingly
difficult to reconcile...

Krishnamurti‘s
vision of truth...

with the forms and structures
not only of Theosophy,

but all organized religions.

His rejection of spiritual authority
was a threat...

to the Society
and its life long members.

There was open hostility,
as the organization...

seemed to be pulling apart.

Lines were drawn,
as some stood firmly with him,

while others clung
to their cherished beliefs.

Lady Emily Lutyens,

who had been close to
Krishnamurti since 1911,

shared the bewilderment
that many felt.

“How strange it seems,”
she said,

“that for 17 years we have
expected a World Teacher...

and now when he speaks
we are hurt or angry.

He is making us
do our own work...

and that is the last thing
we expected of him.”

In May of 1928,
the First Ojai Star Camp was held...

under the evergreen oak trees
of Southern California.

But with each new talk,
each meeting,

the divisions
became more apparent.

In failing health,
Annie Besant...

was forced to cancel
her public engagements.

Yet she still tried desperately
to reconcile theosophy...

with what
Krishnamurti was saying.

She quoted ancient Hindu scriptures
saying...

all paths lead to the
same spiritual goal.

But in spite of her efforts
the divisions widened.

There were no gentle platitudes.

There was to be no uniting
of existing religions.

Ceremonies and organized religions,
he said, were a hindrance,

a distraction from the truth.

He offered no method.

There were no steps to follow...

no system that ensured
spiritual progress.

His vision of truth
was absolute.

In the Netherlands,
on August 3rd, 1929,

at the Ommen Gathering,

in the presence of Mrs. Besant
and over 3,000 Star members,

Krishnamurti dissolved
the Order of The Star,

freeing himself from all claims
made for him.

I maintain that truth...

is a pathless land.

and you cannot approach it
by any path...

whatsoever,

by any religion,

by any sect.

That is my point of view.

And I adhere to that absolutely...

and unconditionally.

Truth,

being limitless,

unconditioned,

is unapproachable
by any path whatsoever.

It cannot be organized.

Nor should any organization
be formed...

to lead or coerce people
along any particular path.

If an organization be created
for this purpose...

it becomes a crutch,

a weakness, a bondage...

and must cripple
the individual...

and prevent him
from the discovery...

of that absolute
unconditioned truth.

You can form other organizations
and expect someone else.

With that I am not concerned.

My only concern...

is to set man...

absolutely...

and unconditionally...

free.

All religions...

have always said
there is only our path,

our saviour,

our system,

our belief,

our rituals,

and only through those
you will find salvation.

This has been the constant...

song...

of all religions.

And I happen to have said...

many, many years ago,
which is...

which is so,

which has so,

true,

that there is no path to truth.

Truth according to them
is a fixed point.

And if it is a fixed point
you can have a path...

as many paths as you like.

But if it is not a fixed point,
it’s a living thing, moving,

– movement in the sense,
in the world...

of no time, which is
a different matter –

naturally there is no path to it.

But you see,

we don’t want
such a dangerous...

outlook.

We want everything fixed.

We want every object to be final.

I would like to go
into the question...

of what does it mean,

that a human being,

should bring about...

a deep,
profound change in himself.

We are asking, is it possible...

to bring about...

a fundamental,
psychological revolution?

A deep, abiding,

irrevocable change,

transformation.

One has lived as a limited,

contained,

narrow,

individual.

And it is very, very difficult...

to see the truth...

that you are the rest of mankind.

That in you...

is the whole of man.

That is,

you as a human being...

are part of the world.

You are the world.

Not an idea,

not something
that intellectually,

has been put together by reason,
and says "yes, quite right".

But the reality of
the truth of it,

that you represent, as a human
being, the rest of humanity.

You suffer.

You are anxious.

You are uncertain, confused,

miserable,

fearful,

hurt,
everything.

And every human being has this.

So your consciousness...

is the consciousness of mankind.

Now, it is possible...

for sorrow to end.

If there is the ending of sorrow
in one human being...

who is the representative
of all humanity,

that ending affects
the whole of consciousness of man.

Don‘t accept
what we are talking about.

Find out.
Test it.

That means you have to be free
to observe.

To observe without any wish,

any longing, any pressure
— you know.

To observe as you
observe a lovely flower.

I wonder why...

human beings throughout the world
don’t see this simple fact,

that you cannot possibly
have peace on earth...

if you are
nationalistically divided.

We want order outside,

in the world.

Politically, religiously,

economically, socially.

In our relationship with each other,
we want order.

We want some peace.

We want some understanding.

And...

if the inward psychological
state is orderly,

not conflicting,

not contradicting,

if that state in consciousness
is quiet,

steady,

clear...

then you can bring about order
in the world.

Now what we are trying to do...

is try to bring order...

legislatively,

nationally,

and so on.

Order out there...

in the world.

Which has been proved
over and over again...

that it totally brings about
disorder.

That is why we are saying,

the speaker – I am saying,

that...

without inward order,

that is, inward...

order in consciousness,

which is in a mess,

which is in a contradiction,

without bringing about
order inwardly, psychologically,

you cannot possibly
have order outwardly.

And the crisis is there.

We think the crisis is,

national,

economic, social, and so on.

The crisis is not out there.

The crisis is really inward.

And we are unwilling to face that.

It is our...

education, way of living,
and tradition and so on,

that something can be given
to somebody else.

Jesus can give you salvation.

Or a guru can save you.

Or your wife can help you.

That may be an old...

worn out tradition to
which we are clinging.

It may be a wrong approach
all together.

You have understanding...

and I haven’t got it.

And you are conditioned...

– excuse me –

You are conditioned...

in the idea
that you can give it to me.

Right?

That may not be the fact at all.

Psychologically, inwardly,
do you depend on somebody?

You say, please help me
to be free of my arrogance.

Or in your relationship...

you see the arrogance in you.

It‘s gone.

In our relationship with each other,

and I am observing myself.

And in that observation I discover
that I am arrogant...

in our relationship.

So I am not dependent for you
to point out to me my arrogance.

I am already aware of it.

This is tremendously important sir.

Nobody can give me intensity,

the sense of beauty.

I’m taking [that].

Then...

I am on my own,
you follow?

Not isolated and all that.

Then I have to work to find out.

Then in the very working of it
I have got the intensity.

When I discard the tradition,

in which I have been brought up...

that is to depend on somebody...

and when I discarded it,
I have to work at it,

or I go down the drain,
either way.

If I’m...

If I discard that,

I have already got the sense of...

energy, intensity.

Then I am not dependent
on anybody.

Can I observe myself...

through relationship?

Can I know myself...

fundamentally, basically,

all the reactions, all the...

the nuances, the subtleties...

of myself,

in relationship?

Now, one’s relationship
with another...

is based on memory.

Right?

Would you accept it?

On the various images, pictures,
conclusions I have drawn...

about you and you
have drawn about me.

The various images
that I have about you,

wife, husband, girl or boy
or friend and so on.

So there is always image making.

Right?

This is simple, this is normal,
this actually goes on.

When one is married,
or lives with a girl or a boy...

every incident, every word,
every action creates an image.

No?

Are we clear on this point?

Don’t agree with me please.

I am not trying to
persuade you to anything.

But actually you can
see it for yourself.

A word is registered.

If it is pleasant you purr.
It is nice.

If it is unpleasant,
you'll immediately shrink from it.

And that creates an image.

The pleasure creates an image.

The shrinking, the withdrawal
creates an image.

So, our actual relationship
with each other...

is based on the...

on various subtle forms...

of pictures, images and
conclusions.

So when there is an image like that,

she has and you have,

then in that there is division.

And then the whole conflict begins.

Right?

Where there is division
between two images,

there must be conflict, right?

The Jew, the Arab,
the Hindu, the Muslim,

the Christian, the Communist,

it is the same phenomenon.

It is a basic law,

where there is division between
people there must be conflict.

Can all this image making,

tradition...

all that end,

without a single conflict.

You understand my question?

Are you interested in this?

What will you pay for it?

That's all you can do.

By paying something
you think you will get it.

Now how can this...

mechanism of...

image making...

– not just image making, the desire
for certainty, the tradition,

the whole structure of that –

can that end?

Right?

Are you asking that question?

Who is there to tell you
what to do?

See this,

when you are children,
the parents tell you what to do.

That same mentality is cultivated
right through life.

In school you are told
what to do,

in college you are told
what to do,

in university.

Right through life...

somebody tells you...

this is right, this is wrong,
this should be done,

that should not be done.

Which means what?

There is no...

self-investigation.

There is no saying
I am really the rest of mankind.

Which you are!

Because every human being
right through the world,

goes through a great deal
of suffering,

a great deal of pain,
a great deal of anxiety,

uncertain, confused,

insecure,

like you,
like the rest of the world.

We don’t accept that.

We think,

my suffering is totally separate
from other people’s suffering.

And so...

we have this mentality...

that...

I must have somebody
to tell me what to do.

Right from the Pope,
down to the poor Parish Priest.

Really one should ask a question,
“Why human beings...

– though they have
extraordinary knowledge –

and yet nobody is willing to change.
Why?”

Is it that they find security in...

in the habit, in the pattern?

Your pattern, my pattern,

the Christian pattern,
the Hindu pattern, the Buddhist.

They are all patterns,
a way of thinking.

So,

patterns may be
dangerous altogether,

because they divide people.

And religions have divided people.

Their rituals,

their beliefs,
their faith, their saviors.

Now, to break away
from all that...

requires intelligence,

requires investigation, study.

Nobody is willing to do that.

From childhood...

we are taught comparison.

We say "you must be
as clever as your brother".

Or in school you better get
better marks than somebody else.

So you are always being compared.

And you learn to compare.

Don’t you?

I say, don’t compare...

yourself with anybody.

Right?

You heard that?

Right?

Now,

why do you compare?

To find out who is better.

To find out if you are better.

That is, you compare yourself
with her.

She is much more intelligent,

more bright, more clever,

and so
in comparing yourself with her...

you become dull.

But if you don’t compare,
are you dull?

No. It just...

Just listen, listen,
listen carefully.

In examinations in schools,
all through life they are comparing.

Tell your teacher, don’t compare.

The relationship between
the teacher and you...

she knows more
than you do, right?

Academically.

Academically!

By Jove!

Academically
you know more than he does.

Now, she is teaching you
about biology...

and...

she is giving you marks,

right,

and gradually helping you
to pass that examination.

Now, can she teach you
without the idea of examination?

How do you test yourself, sir?

– In what?
– Without examination.

How do you test yourself,
without examination?

You mean to say that an examination
is going to tell you...

how you have learned?

– Maybe, sir.
– Listen, you are too quick.

Find out.

You are all so used
to examinations.

That is your tradition.

That is your habit.

And when you question
that, you say...

“Yes, what shall I do?”,
you get nervous,

frightened.

When I was learning,
when I was at school in England,

I never passed one examination.

Right?

I went through all the examinations
but I couldn’t...

I sat in the hall
without writing a thing.

Are you interested in all this?

What do you consider is life?

Your life, what is your life?

What is that life
that you daily live?

Dependence, attachment, pain,

annoyance, anger,
irritation, sorrow.

You know all this don’t you?
This is your daily life.

Going to the temple...

and doing some kind of noise
with the bell,

and doing puja,

doing yoga.

That we say, that is our life.

Then what do you mean
by a religious life?

You tell me.

What does religion mean to you?

The word.

The word religion...

means:
to gather all your energy.

That's all it means.

Do you understand sir?

To gather all your energy...

to enquire, to find.

Right?

Not all the nonsense
of temples, rituals, and...

all this either, sir,
what you put on your head.

You see how you all agree?

The meaning of the word,

that means gathering...

every...

particle of energy that you have,

to enquire into...

what is truth
and what is reality.

To enquire into
what is meditation.

To enquire into why human beings
live the way we are living.

To enquire
if there is an end to sorrow.

To enquire into what is love.

Whether one can live
without any effort...

and control.

All that is implied in that word.

A religious life...

implies...

being a light to yourself.

Which means...

no outside authority.

We are talking about...

having no spiritual authority.

Including me, the speaker.

Have you any authority,

spiritual authority?

You have had various gurus,
Mahatma Gandhi, Mr. Gandhi,

and so on, all
the way from the 6th,

5th, 4th, 3rd century...

down to the present.

And where are you,
having been led,

for these thousands years?

Where are you?

Or you want to be still led?

So I am asking,

we are asking you...

courteously,

if you have thrown away
your traditions?

Traditions being
nationality,

your caste,

your beliefs,

your...

rituals,

going to the temples.

All that.

Have you thrown it away?

No?

No.

Then how can you find out
what a religious life is...

when you are blind?

So you want to find out
what a religious life is...

and yet won‘t leave
your little enclosure.

Right?

You are tied to your tradition.

And you want to enquire into
something, that demands...

a mind that is capable,

a heart that can really love.

Without that,

freeing yourself from...

your tradition, your culture,
your belief,

how can you find out anything?

You can repeat
what The Gita said...

or the Upanishads
or some other book.

What value has it?

I was told the other day–

some of the gurus
now give lectures...

or talks on the Gita.

Is that right?

And there are hundreds and
thousands who go and listen to it.

What value has it?

What are we all playing at sirs?

Apparently one doesn’t see
one’s own tragedy.

Right, sir?

Psychologically, why should I accept
what somebody else says...

when I realize...

that I am the rest of mankind?

Mankind is me.

The ‘me’ is the history of mankind,
the book of mankind.

If I know how to read it...

I don’t depend on anybody.

So, can I,

without distortion,

without prejudice,

without choice,

be aware of the content
of this book,

which is me?

To read it very carefully,

never...

distorting it,

requires a great deal
of attention,

a great deal of energy,

intensity,

immediacy.

And we are not willing
to do all that because...

we think
that is too tiresome.

“Tell me quickly what to do
and I will do it.”

Or I may not do it.

Generally, I may not do it.

And I personally think that...

this psychological guidance
by another,

whether it is the
religious guidance,

or the guidance
of the psychologist,

is totally wrong.

Because then you are making
humanity into children,

who have to be guided,
told, encouraged.

We are all grown up human beings
after...

5 or 10 million years.

Through negation...

of what is not,

the positive exists.

That is,

love is not desire.

Love is not pleasure.

Love is not a remembrance.

It is as strong as death,

as vital as life.

And you see,

love can only exist
when there is no suffering.

Suffering is personal.

Suffering is also global.

Man has suffered endlessly.

And he tries
to combine that suffering...

with what he calls love.

And so there is always
this contradiction,

this duality.

Whereas if you deny all that...

that which is not love,

then the other thing
has its immense beauty,

great strength,
and vitality of its own.

Then why do you have to
learn mathematics...?

Because part of Mathematics...

is order.

2 + 2 + 2 make 6.

That's order.

Right?

In sequence, it must be.

So mathematics, much more
complicated and all that,

is a series of...

sequences and order.

Right?

Are we...

aware of our responsibility
to another?

If one has a family,

wife, children,

are you responsible
for those children?

That you care.

That you have love for them.

Are you concerned...

that they become...

healthy good citizens?

If you have children, do you
feel responsible for those children?

To see that they have
right education...

so that they won’t be killed
in a war?

They won’t become...

mediocre.

Or you have no time at all for them.

Because you have to go out
and earn money,

as the man, and the mother
and the father,

as they do now, and have
very little time for the children.

That is a fact.

So where is your responsibility?

Oh, you are not interested
in all this.

So one asks,

what are you interested in?

I think that is
a legitimate question.

You can talk about love, freedom
and the beauty of the sky,

but it is only an outside interest.

But basically...

what are we interested in?

Ourselves

That’s right.

You are interested in yourself.

Right?

Wait sir, perfectly right.

Each one is interested in himself.

On that...

our society, culture, religion
is based.

Right?

Each one...

interested...

in himself.

His progress,

– all the rest of it.

Do you, as a human being,
realize...

that we are all one...

basically?

Not as an idea,

but as a fact.

Because when you go to India...

you see the misery,
the confusion, the anxiety,

the despair of people...

running to their petty little gods,
whom they have created.

You come to Europe,
it's exactly the same thing.

They've got their Jesus, their Christ.
You follow?

You come here
it is exactly the same.

You understand sir?

First to realize,

not verbally...

but in your heart, in your blood,
in your whole thinking,

that human beings
right through the world,

go through the same agonies
that one goes through.

The loneliness, the despair,
the depressions,

the extraordinary uncertainty,

insecurity,

whether they live...

10,000 miles away
or 2,000 miles or here.

They are all psychologically
bound together.

If one realizes that...

profoundly...

in your guts, in your blood,
in your heart, in your mind...

then you are responsible.

You have heard all this,
you as a human being.

Why don’t you change?

What prevents you?

If each one of us
asked that question,

not...

verbally,

or merely intellectually,
as an entertainment,

but asked that question
most seriously and deeply,

what's your answer?

What's your answer
to this problem...

that human beings
have lived this way...

for millennia upon millennia?

Why haven’t they changed?

Why haven’t you,
who are listening now,

why haven’t you changed?

You know if you don‘t change
what the consequences are.

You will be national,
nationalistic.

You will be tribal, insular,

isolated and therefore...

having no relationship
globally.

Fighting, fighting, fighting.

Building up more and more armaments
to destroy each other.

Now...

why don’t you, if you are
at all serious in this matter,

why don’t you ask yourself
that question?

Why am I,

a human being...

who has been through all this,

why haven’t I changed?

What would be your answer?

After all,

life is one.

One global
unitary movement.

So in the same way...

our consciousness
is common to all mankind.

Now, if I radically change,

surely it affects the rest
of the consciousness of man.

Now,
why don’t you change?