Krishnamurti’s talks in Ojai, California in 1966 are made available in entirety for the first time in this new ten-disc CD series.
Here, he penetrates deeply into a variety of subjects, challenging the listener to investigate intelligently, without motive or preconception, into the “vast field of life”.
Ten Disc Set
Disc 1: Fundamental Questions
“First of all, sir, let us clear all the obvious things that bring about a conflict in man. War, nationalities, religious prejudices, racial prejudices. The aggressive, competitive urge to be better than somebody else, the position, prestige, and all the rest of it. Let's remove all that psychologically, inwardly. Then you'll find out for yourself whether there is such a state of mind which is really peaceful. Really clear. But to remove all the impediments requires tremendous awareness.” -J. Krishnamurti Ojai, California 1966, first Talk at Thacher School.
Disc 2: The Inner Urgency
“Freedom comes not through revolt. It comes naturally when there is the intention, when there is the urgency and attention in examining the social, psychological structure of what we are, examining as human beings what we are. Because we are the result of a social structure. The society is you and you are the society.” -J. Krishnamurti Ojai, California 1966, first talk at the oak grove.
Disc 3: The Totality of Consciousness
“Is it possible for the conscious mind to look at the unconscious? … When the conscious mind looks at the unconscious, the conscious mind is already conditioned, already has its own desires, its own purposes, its own motives, its own anxieties, securities, and with that it looks; and what it looks at is its own self. Therefore the question is: Is it possible to look at something which is hidden, which cannot be perceived by a conscious mind?” -J. Krishnamurti Ojai, California 1966, second Talk at the oak grove.
Disc 4: The Ideal of Non-Violence is not a Fact
Q: "Sir, it's obvious we are violent. What is the point that we know we are not violent?"
K: "Because, sir, to bring about a radical change, a complete mutation of a mind, of a human being that has been nurtured in violence, aggression for centuries upon centuries, one must approach it differently; and that's what we're trying to do. If we want to change violence totally, and if you make an effort to change it, it is still part of violence. So is it possible to bring about a total cessation of violence without effort? That's one of the issues; you understand? Because if I make effort, I'm part of that. I'm moving in the field of violence. So I have to understand this whole problem, I have to go into it."
-J. Krishnamurti Ojai, California 1966, first discussion at the oak grove.
Disc 5: Passion without Motive
“We are concerned with seeing the totality of pleasure, what is involved in it: the pain, the frustration, the agony, the remorse, the ache of loneliness when all pleasure is denied. And naturally we try to escape from all that through various forms, which again is the continuation of pleasure. A mind that is caught, that is conditioned by this principle of pleasure, obviously cannot see what is true; it cannot think clearly, and therefore it has no passion. It translates passion as sexual, or achieving some fragmentary activity and fulfillment in that fragment. Where there is no understanding of pleasure, there is only enthusiasm, sentimentality, which evokes brutality and callousness, and all the rest of it.”
-J. Krishnamurti Ojai, California 1966, third Talk at the oak grove.
Disc 6: The End of Fear
“Effort exists only when there is contradiction – contradiction within, though there is contradiction without which can be understood, tolerated, and perhaps gone beyond. But there is this inward contradiction of various competing, contradictory desires; and it is these contradictory desires that bring about conflict – the wanting and not - wanting, what is and ‘what should be’; the what is trying to conform to a pattern of ‘what should be’, and so there is always conflict. And apparently that's part of our daily existence, from getting up in the morning, going to the office, struggling till we go back to bed, and from the moment we are born till we die.” -J. Krishnamurti Ojai, CA 1966, fourth Talk at the oak grove.
Disc 7: Most of Us Are Second Hand People
In this discussion Krishnamurti explores love, creativity, and meditation. Krishnamurti expresses the limitations of conditioning, "We are the product of the society in which we live, the experience, the knowledge, and all the rest of it, and there is nothing original." He continues, "One doesn’t have the energy, the patience or the interest, because this is non-profitable, it doesn’t bring you any profit."
Disc 8: Discipline Leads to Dullness
In this talk Krishnamurti leads the listener through the image making process and points out the failure of disciplined meditation in freeing the mind. Seeking, Krishnamurti suggests, lies at the root of the problem and he goes on to say, “it is only the dull confused mind that’s always seeking and hoping to find—what it finds is the result of its own confusion.”
Disc 9: Why are we Discontent?
Krishnamurti examines discontentment, proposing questions to unravel the riddle of this deep seated emotion. He speaks about the psychological pull between what is and what should be pointing towards awareness as the gatekeeper to understanding, he states, “. . . bringing about a total revolution in what is, one must have an extraordinary sense of awareness.” K continues his talk walking us through the mine field of thought, suggesting
that a mind uncluttered by thought combined with self knowledge prepares one for the possibility of freedom. Krishnamurti ends this talk with his perennial wisdom, “. . . the knowing of oneself is the beginning and the end of all misery.”
Disc 10: What is a Shallow Mind?
In this discussion Krishnamurti examines the comparative movements of thought and engages the participants in a dialogue surrounding this central issue. He goes on to say that a comparative mind is a shallow mind and he asks the participants to examine the movements of thought, he continues, “ . . . as long as I use the instrument which has created shallowness, it will also create depth . . . can I realize that the activity of thought creates both the depth and the shallowness?” He suggests that this observation is extraordinarily important in understanding comparison and the limitations of thought.
Customer Reviews
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.