Commentaries on Living, Second Series

Book Cover: Commentaries on Living, Second Series
Editions:Paperback
Pages: 242

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
242 pp - Paper

Reviews:Stephen Dedalus on Amazon.com wrote:

★★★★★
When I first got this book I had absolutely no idea who the man Krishnamurti was or what his life was like. I was simply intrigued by the title of the book. After reading the first two commentaries I began to realize that this wouldn't be like anything I've ever read before. I was reading it through the haze of my own conditioning and I would have dropped the book right there, as nothing was making sense. But something made me want to just read on - I don't know if it is the sheer lyrical beauty of the descriptions in his book or the lure of something that is really true. Whatever the reason, I just could not keep my hands off it after I went on.

It can really be a tumultous experience to suddenly realize that the basis of everything that you have believed in and taken support or refuge in is all false. But once you are over that, you then start looking at life very differently. You just stop running with the mad crowd and you stand aside and ask yourself "What have I been doing with my life so far?" Thats the kind of effect that this book had on me and I cannot imagine that a serious reader will go through this book without wanting to change his life after that.

Customer on Amazon.com wrote:

★★★★★
Krishnamurti writes simpler, more descriptive prose than Hemingway; he dispenses more nondual wisdom in more depth than a score of Zen masters combined; he dissects the armour of the personality more quickly, more gently, more accurately than any psychologist ever has. These are not exaggerations. These Commentaries are, along with his journals and notebook, the only major works in print (at least that I am aware of, and I am aware of most) that he actually wrote himself; the rest of his books are, of course, compilations of talks and conversations. Only a man of such surpassing conscious mastery could write so perfectly with so little effort; if there is any justice in the universe these books will stay in print for a thousand years. If you like Krishnamurti you need these.