Jiddu Krishnamurti Quotes
Jiddu Krishnamurti was an Indian-born philosopher and spiritual teacher whose lectures, dialogues, and writings challenged organized religion and the very category of the guru. Discovered as a boy by leaders of the Theosophical Society and groomed to be the World Teacher, he dissolved the order founded around him in 1929 and devoted the remainder of a long life to teaching that truth is a pathless land. The quotes below are attributed to Jiddu Krishnamurti, organized by topic.
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Jiddu Krishnamurti on God
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“There are many for whom the Qualification of Desirelessness is a difficult one, for they feel that they are their desires — that if their distinctive desires, their likings and dislikings, are taken away from them, there will be no self left. But these are only they who have not seen the Master; in the light of His holy Presence all desire dies, but the desire to be like Him.”
§ II
Jiddu Krishnamurti on Knowledge
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“Hold back your mind from pride , for pride comes only from ignorance . The man who does not know thinks that he is great, that he has done this or that great thing; the wise man knows that only God is great , that all good work is done by God alone.”
§ III -
“And as we are — the world is. That is, if we are greedy , envious , competitive , our society will be competitive, envious, greedy, which brings misery and war . The State is what we are. To bring about order and peace, we must begin with ourselves and not with society, not with the State, for the world is ourselves … If we would bring about a sane and happy society we must begin with ourselves an”
Second Public Talk at Ojai (21 May 1944) J.Krishnamurti Online , JKO Serial No. 440521, published in Authentic Report of Ten Talks, Ojai, 1944 (1945), p. 7, OCLC 67727800 -
“What brings understanding is love . When your heart is full, then you will listen to the teacher , to the beggar, to the laughter of children , to the rainbow , and to the sorrow of man. Under every stone and leaf, that which is eternal exists. But we do not know how to look for it. Our minds and hearts are filled with other things than understanding of "what is". Love and mercy, kindliness and ge”
Ninth Talk in Bombay, (14 March 1948) , J.Krishnamurti Online , JKO Serial No. BO48Q1, published in The Collected Works , Vol. IV, p. 200 -
“New Delhi India 1st Public Talk (14 November 1948)”
So, a man who is really earnest must begin with himself, he must be passively aware of all his thoughts, feelings and actions. Again, this is not a matter of time. There is no end to self-knowledge. Self-knowledge is only from moment to moment, and therefore there is a creative happiness from moment to moment. -
“It seems to me that the real problem is the mind itself, and not the problem which the mind has created and tries to solve. If the mind is petty, small, narrow, limited, however great and complex the problem may be, the mind approaches that problem in terms of its own pettiness. If I have a little mind and I think of God, the God of my thinking will be a little God, though I may clothe him with gr”
Sixth Talk in New Delhi (31 October 1956) , J.Krishnamurti Online , JKO Serial No. 561031, Vol. X, p. 155
Jiddu Krishnamurti on Life
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Attributed to Jiddu Krishnamurti:
“To understand life is to understand ourselves.”
Jiddu Krishnamurti on Mind
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Attributed to Jiddu Krishnamurti:
“The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.”
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Attributed to Jiddu Krishnamurti:
“The constant assertion of belief is an indication of fear.”
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“You are the world.”
Part V, Ch. 3 : 3rd Public Talk Madras 14th January 1968 "The Sacred -
Attributed to Jiddu Krishnamurti:
“Tradition becomes our security, and when the mind is secure it is in decay.”
Jiddu Krishnamurti on Nature
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“Waiting the word of the Master, Watching the Hidden Light; Listening to his orders In the very midst of the fight; Seeing His slightest signal Across the heads of the throng; Hearing His faintest whisper Above earth's loudest song.”
Closing poem -
“I do not want to belong to any organization of a spiritual kind, please understand this. I would make use of an organization which would take me to London, for example; this is quite a different kind of organization, merely mechanical, like the post or the telegraph. I would use a motor car or a steamship to travel, these are only physical mechanisms which have nothing whatever to do with spirituality. Again, I maintain that no organization can lead man to spirituality.”
Wikiquote
Jiddu Krishnamurti on Politics
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“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
As quoted in The Eden Express (1975) by Mark Vonnegut, p. 208 -
“And as we are — the world is. That is, if we are greedy , envious , competitive , our society will be competitive, envious, greedy, which brings misery and war . The State is what we are. To bring about order and peace, we must begin with ourselves and not with society, not with the State, for the world is ourselves … If we would bring about a sane and happy society we must begin with ourselves and not with another, not outside of ourselves, but with ourselves.”
Second Public Talk at Ojai (21 May 1944) J.Krishnamurti Online , JKO Serial No. 440521, published in Authentic Report of Ten Talks, Ojai, 1944 (1945), p. 7, OCLC 67727800
Jiddu Krishnamurti on Time
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“So, a man who is really earnest must begin with himself, he must be passively aware of all his thoughts, feelings and actions. Again, this is not a matter of time. There is no end to self-knowledge. Self-knowledge is only from moment to moment, and therefore there is a creative happiness from moment to moment.”
New Delhi India 1st Public Talk (14 November 1948)
Jiddu Krishnamurti on Truth
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Attributed to Jiddu Krishnamurti:
“Truth is a pathless land.”