The Mind of J. Krishnamurti

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The Mind of J. Krishnamurti is a must read for those who want to know the brilliant mind of J. Krishnamurti. Call him what you like, a philosopher, theosophist, psychologist, spiritualist or a teacher he has carved a place among the greats. The book contains a collection of commentaries, reviews and evaluations of his thoughts. It is a compendium perceived and understood by his many admirers among who were Aldous Huxley and Henry Miller.

Luis S.R.Vas has authored over a dozen books on self-development including alternative therapies and some 500 articles during his decades long career in feature writing publishing and corporate communications

"What makes an apparently ordinary human being, unfavoured by either heredity or environment, suddenly achieve greatness?" Here is a question that has occupied the attention of many an eminent mind, and has elicited a variety of answers. A more fascinating question seldom asked is "What makes a great man, tutored from birth in the ways of greatness; relinquish all his claims at the climax of his career to return to ordinary living?"

The present volume is a study of this rare phenomenon as reflected in the life and thoughts of one man who had greatness thrust upon him early on in life and who later achieved a different kind of greatness, only to give it all up: J. Krishnamurti. It is a strange story, now almost forgotten largely due to Krishnamurti's own efforts. And it uncovers a strange mind, still very imperfectly understood.

It should be stressed at the very outset that, by Krishnamurti's own admission, there is nothing 'super natural' about this mind; nothing belongs to it that does not or cannot belong to the mind of every other human being sufficiently aware of his condition. We hope to open that mind to a wider audience.

There are several volumes of Krishnamurti's writings available.

To those acquainted with them and to those who have attended Krishnamurti's talks, this volume may serve as a refresher course. Krishnamurti's thinking is too elusive for those unaccustomed to logical reasoning as well as for those obsessed by it. For the former it is too abstruse. For the latter it is perhaps a pack of contra- dictions. To understand Krishnamurti it is necessary above all to have an open mind, unfettered by past experiences, ready to learn, ready to unlearn. For, what Krishnamurti does all the time is akin to describing the beauty of colours to a man who insists on keeping his eyes tightly shut?

Krishnamurti's goal, in his talks, in his books, in his living, is aiding self-knowledge, a process as deceptively simple as opening one's eyes. But most of us have forgotten the use of our eyelids. As Aldous Huxley, one of Krishnamurti's more famous admirers, defined it, "Self-knowledge is always an awareness of first-order experiences - of events below the level of words, of mysteries of existence before we have conceptualised them into a specious intelligibility (and paradoxically) it is through words that we are made aware of the subtler form of non-verbal experience" - hence this book.

Those having difficulty in grasping Krishnamurti's own phraseology which oscillates between vague and pithy, may ?le~ more from others' transcriptions of his words. No preparation IS necessary to read this material. It is written on the whole in non- technical, clear and simple English. Conversations with Krishnamurti, the most readable and rewarding section, should be able to stimulate even a child's thinking. Here then, is an excellent introduction to Krishnarnurti's mind. For those who have not yet read Krishnarnurti in the original, a sample talk is provided in 'What is the Religious Mind.'

"Comparisons breed envy, not love", Krishnarnurti has said. And comparing Krishnarnurti's 'teachings' with those of other selected thinkers may be regarded as unwarranted, if not meaningless. I disagree, and hope that the section on comparative studies included here may foster some understanding.

'The Dissolution of the Order of the Star' is a speech of historical interest, one of the most eloquent speeches of the century. Besides, it is a document which reflects that uncompromising integrity that has become Krishnarnurti's ever since.

Second Edition

The generally favourable reception accorded to the first edition of The Mind of J. Krishnamurti, and some of the criticism, have encouraged me to revise it slightly. A more extensive revision was probably called for, but a writer and even an editor usually hates to tinker with his published work. I have, therefore, confined myself to dropping three chapters and adding new ones. For practical reasons, I could not replace. I could not add to the number of pages. So, some chapters had to go, through no fault of theirs.

The additions are: Henry Miller's J. Krishnamurti - Master of Reality, Aldous Huxley's The Art of Spiritual Insight, and my own reassessment of Krishnamurti - 'HAS Krishnamurti Failed?' All the three chapters are included at the end, just before the Appendix. I must express my debt to Mr. S. Weeraperuma who very kindly sent me from London, a copy of Henry Miller's chapter on Krishnamurti from the book Books in My Life.

Photographs have been added this time and the cover has been changed. For the latter I must thank my friend Diwan, who took infinite pains to make it a work of art.

Interest in Krishnamurti has obviously grown since this book was published though not as a result of its publication! I should like to hear from readers their honest reaction to both Krishnamurti and this book.