An unusual mixture of descriptions of nature and the psychological problems which constitute the essence of the human condition, in brief two- or three-page chapters. The three-book series is among the easiest of Krishnamurti's books to read. A few of the many subjects discussed include: ambition, the nature of wisdom, fear, and what is true action.
Publisher: Quest Books
Author/Editor: J. Krishnamurti
254 pp
From the book:
Gossip is the very antithesis of intensity and earnestness. To talk about another, pleasantly or viciously, is an escape from oneself, and escape is the cause of restlessness. Escape in its very nature is restless. Concern over the affairs of others seems to occupy most people, and this concern shows itself in the reading of innumerable magazines and newspapers with their gossip columns, their accounts of murders, divorces and so on.
As we are concerned with what others think of us, so we are anxious to know all about them; and from this arise the crude and subtle forms of snobbishness and the worship of authority. Thus we become more and more externalized and inwardly empty. The more externalized we are, the more sensations and distractions there must be, and this gives rise to a mind that is never quiet, that is not capable of deep search and discovery.
READ MOREGossip is an expression of a restless mind; but merely to be silent does not indicate a tranquil mind. Tranquility does not come into being with abstinence or denial; it comes with the understanding of what is. To understand what is needs swift awareness, for what is is not static. If we did not worry, most of us would feel that we were not alive; to be struggling with a problem is for the majority of us an indication of existence. We cannot imagine life without a problem; and the more we are occupied with a problem, the more alert we think we are. The constant tension over a problem which thought itself has created only dulls the mind, making it insensitive and weary.
COLLAPSE★★★★★
All three books are magnificent and written as day-to-day observations of life with exceptional clarity and love. If read properly, they could help immensely to bring the right questions or stop running from them.