For more than two decades, renowned theoretical physicist David Bohm engaged in a close collaboration with psychological philosopher J. Krishnamurti. The two men participated together in 144 recorded dialogues and many unrecorded conversations, and the transcripts of their discussions appear in several published volumes. Their mutual interests encompassed the whole of human consciousness, its nature and structure, and the sources of illusion and conflict in the individual and in society. An Uncommon Collaboration: David Bohm and J. Krishnamurti describes the course of their relationship from beginning to end, including the substance of their dialogues as well as the uneven quality of their personal interactions. Author David Edmund Moody worked with both men for more than a decade, and his observations of them inform and supplement his description of their relationship.
Bohm’s background as a physicist was characterized by his close associations with Oppenheimer and Einstein, his revolutionary contributions to the foundations of quantum mechanics, and his clash with the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities, an event which ultimately deprived him of his American citizenship. Krishnamurti’s background was notable for his break with the Theosophical Society, which had nurtured him as a youth and hailed him as the World Teacher. He developed his own independent philosophy, one which offered penetrating insights into the human condition and emphasized freedom from all authority in psychological and religious matters.
An Uncommon Collaboration: David Bohm and J. Krishnamurti describes the life stories of the two men individually as well as the nature and quality of their relationship. The book concludes with a critical assessment of each man’s contribution to the work they were engaged in, their mutual accomplishments, and the issues that remain unresolved. Moody’s work with Bohm featured several recorded dialogues that examined Bohm’s views on Krishnamurti’s philosophy and his personality. Complete transcripts of these conversations provide a rich, illuminating supplement to the text.
Jiddu Krishnamurti lived from 1895 to 1986, and is regarded as one of the greatest philosophical and spiritual figures of the twentieth century. Krishnamurti claimed no allegiance to any caste, nationality or religion and was bound by no tradition. His purpose was to set humankind unconditionally free from the destructive limitations of conditioned mind. For nearly sixty years he traveled the world and spoke spontaneously to large audiences until the end of his life in 1986 at the age of ninety. He had no permanent home, but when not traveling, he often stayed in Ojai, California, Brockwood Park, England, and in Chennai, India. In his talks, he pointed out to people the need to transform themselves through self knowledge, by being aware of the subtleties of their thoughts and feelings in daily life, and how this movement can be observed through the mirror of relationship.
