Report on J. Krishnamurti’s talk at
the United Nations, in U.N. Secretariat “News”, May 16, 1984.Jiddu Krishnamurti, teacher and philosopher, was the guest speaker of the Pacem in Terris Society on 17 April, in the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium. The following are excerpts from his talk:
“There have been many organizations including this one to bring about peace in the world, but there has been no peace for various obvious reasons: nationalism, tribalism, opposing religions, divisions of classes, races, and so on …
One sees the Israelis and the Arabs, the Hindus and the Moslems, the Americans and the Russians, ideas against ideas….Why is it that after all these millions of years human beings don’t live in peace?
Do we realize that we are responsible for this horror that is going on in the world? Every form of violence, terrorism, wars – we are responsible for it. War is not in Beirut. It is in our hearts and minds. We have created this society in which we live. We are this society. And until each one of us radically transforms himself, we will have perpetual wars.
Man is conditioned… brains have been moulded according to a particular tradition, religion… Is it possible for human beings to be free of their conditioning, the conditioning as an American, as a European, Hindu… Why are human beings so conditioned? Is it because we want security – both external and inward? Is there any kind of security inwardly? If we are not sure about that, we try to seek security outwardly, externally through nations, through religious organizations… it seems that we should talk over together now, and discover for ourselves, if there is security in our relationships with each other, however intimate it may be. If there is security, why is there such contention between man and woman, such conflict in their relationship - each one pursuing his own ambitions, his own fulfillment, his own desires and so on. To go very far we must begin very near, and the nearest is man and woman, wife and husband. In that relationship, if there is conflict, as there is now, then that conflict is spread - ultimately war. We have never given thought to this, that as our house is burning - which is society is burning, degenerating - are we also degenerating? If we don’t alter our lives, how can we bring about peace on earth? Seems so logical, so rational, sane, but we don’t do that. Unless the psychological world is quiet, sane, peaceful, that psychological state will always overcome every kind of organization. The psyche’s far more important than the external legislation, governments and so on.
We have been conditioned from the beginning by religions, by society, by culture that each one is separate, individual, and therefore he must seek his own salvation, his own expression, his own fulfillment. And this so-called separate individuality is creating havoc in the world - which does not mean that we should all become the same, turn out
in the same mould. On the contrary. Freedom is the highest form of existence. It’s the greatest art to live free. But we are not free. One thinks one is free to do what one likes. Especially in this country, each individual thinks he is supreme to do what he wants. But …when you travel around and observe very closely, every human being, whether he has great position, a great deal of money, status, power, he’s like the rest of the world psychologically. He goes through great, great pain, desperate loneliness and all the rest of the psychological world of uncertainty, confusion. And we are the rest of humanity. We are not Africans and Europeans and all that nonsense. We are humanity.
Unless we deeply realize that one major fact in our life, that psychologically we are one, we are going to be eternally in conflict. And no organization in the world is going to change that fact.
So what is a human being to do if you are serious, concerned with the world, with your own life? Form another group, another religion, another institution? Or, as a human being become aware of his condition, be concerned with his condition and free the brain from that condition…radically change, bring about a deep mutation. Otherwise, there will be no peace on earth in spite of all the religions, in spite of every institution. It must begin with us, not with somebody else out there. We have done the most incredible things externally, technologically, but inwardly we are pretty poor specimens. We are fighting each other even in our most intimate relationships. How can one have external peace in the world if one is not peaceful in one’s self? We never answer that question. We are always trying to bring changes in the outer. We never seem to realize, unless each one of us fundamentally changes radically, there will be no peace on earth. So it behoves us, each one of us, to find out why we live this way and whether it is possible to radically change our whole psyche. If there is no revolution there, mere outward revolutions have very little meaning. We have had communist revolution, French revolution, other forms of revolutions throughout the world and we remain what we are – self centered, cruel and all the rest of it.”
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895 - 1986): born on 11 May, 1895, at Madanapalle, a small village in south India, Jiddu Krishnamurti was brought to England by Annie Besant (President of the Theosophist Society) and educated by her. She proclaimed him the Messiah and set up an organization (The Order of the Star in the East) to promote his teaching. In 1929, after experiencing considerable doubts about the role allotted to him, Jiddu Krishnamurti disbanded the organisation saying: Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organisation be formed to lead or to coerce people along any particular path. (from The Krishnamurti Foundation Trust). From then until his death in February 1986, he travelled round the world speaking as a private person, teaching - giving talks and having discussions.
|
