The First and Last Freedom has sold more copies than any other Krishnamurti publication. Aldous Huxley, a dear friend of Krishnamurti, wrote the forword to this wondrous book. Aldous Huxley states in the first paragraph of the foreword, “Man is an amphibian who lives simultaneously in two worlds—the given and the home-made, the world of matter, life and consciousness and the world of symbols.” Huxley continues, “Only choiceless awareness can lead to non-duality, to the reconciliation of opposites in a total understanding and a total love.”
Huxley ends his ten-page foreword with Krishnamurti’s powerfully insightful words, “Love is love, not to be defined or described by the mind as exclusive or inclusive. Love is its own eternity: it is the real, the supreme, the immeasurable.”
Publisher: Harper Collins
Author/Editor: J. Krishnamurti
288 pp
To be fully aware of the present is an extraordinarily difficult task because the mind is incapable of facing a fact directly without deception. Thought is the product of the past and therefore it can only think in terms of the past or the future; it cannot be completely aware of a fact in the present. So long as thought, which is the product of the past, tries to eliminate contradiction and all the problems that it creates, it is merely pursuing a result, trying to achieve an end, and such thinking only creates more contradiction and hence conflict, misery and confusion in us and, therefore, about us.
Spirit Seeker on Amazon.com wrote:★★★★★
Krishnamurti should be taught in all the schools as an example of how to think clearly. The effect would be astonishing. This is an excellent introduction to his methods, and you will be well-rewarded if you read this book and take it to heart. If you were to break with tradition and attempt to explain Zen in logical terms, this book could be yours. K's robust sanity is a symbol of hope for an ego-ridden humanity.
★★★★★
Anyone wanting to discover themselves will want this book as permanent part of their library. Krishnamurti guides you to find your truth and not the truth of others. It will stimulate your quest for life's meaning. It provides discussion on why there are no authorities on life. It is powerfully insightful and will ignite your quest personal growth. As a comparison to this expanded and open philosophy, I recommend reading Eric Hoffer's "The True Believer", then you determine your truth.