The World within (Paperback) | Released: 01 Jun 2015

During the Second World War (1939-1945) Krishnamurti did not speak publicly in the United States but lived quietly in Ojai, CA. People sought him out and came to dialogue with him on many issues of the times or their own personal dilemmas. Their problems were universal human problems and each made true his statement "You are the world". As Krishnamurti unwound the tight threads of their thinking and feeling the core or source of a concern was revealed unadorned and without blame or guilt. Krishnamurti's recollection and documentation of these dialogues were gathered from his notebooks and compiled in this book. "There is only reality, the supreme without a second. There is only one humanity and one righteousness, and the way to its realization does not lie through any other path, through any other person save through yourself. Seek your own deliverance, and then you will deliver the world from its confusion and conflict, its sorrow and antagonism. For you are the world, and your problem is the world's problem. If you are clinging to your beliefs, to your petty gods, to your nationality, to your possessions, to your leaders, then you will create a world of confusion and conflict, of sects, of racial and religious prejudices, of economic and ideological frontiers, ever leading to separation, breeding ill will, multiplying catastrophes. One has to put aside these superficial things, these distractions, these self-deluding indulgences, and cultivate right thinking. Right thinking comes through self-knowledge. Self-knowledge is not based on any formula; but through constant awareness of our thoughts and feelings, of actions and reactions, and of all the opposites that lie within us, comes self-knowledge, from which arises right thinking, right understanding[...] In understanding oneself, there is the comprehension of the whole." - J. Krishnamurti
About the Author: Jiddu Krishnamurti is regarded globally as one of the greatest thinkers and religious teachers of all time. He did not expound any philosophy or religion, but rather talked of the things that concern all of us in our everyday lives, of the problems of living in modern society with its violence and corruption, of the individual's search for security and happiness, and the need for mankind to free itself from inner burdens of fear, anger, hurt, and sorrow. He explained with great precision the subtle workings of the human mind, and pointed to the need for bringing to our daily life a deeply meditative and spiritual quality. Krishnamurti belonged to no religious organization, sect or country, nor did he subscribe to any school of political or ideological thought. On the contrary, he maintained that these are the very factors that divide human beings and bring about conflict and war. He reminded his listeners again and again that we are all human beings first and not Hindus, Muslims or Christians, that we are like the rest of humanity and are not different from one another. He asked that we tread lightly on this earth without destroying ourselves or the environment. He communicated to his listeners a deep sense of respect for nature. His teachings transcend man-made belief systems, nationalistic sentiment and sectarianism. Krishnamurti spoke not as a guru but as a friend, and his talks and discussions are based not on tradition-based knowledge but on his own insights into the human mind and his vision of the sacred. When he addressed large audiences, people felt that Krishnamurti was talking to each of them personally, addressing his or her particular problem. In his private interviews, he was a compassionate teacher, listening attentively to the man or woman who came to him in sorrow, and encouraging them to heal themselves through their own understanding. Religious scholars found that his words threw new light on traditional concepts. Krishnamurti took on the challenge of modern scientists and psychologists and went with them step by step, discussed their theories and sometimes enabled them to discern the limitations of those theories. Krishnamurti left a large body of literature in the form of public talks, writings, discussions with teachers and students, with scientists and religious figures, conversations with individuals, television and radio interviews, and letters. Many of these have been published as books, and audio and video recordings.