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COLLECTED WORKS VOLUME 17

Photo: J. Krishnamurti, ca 1972 by Mark Edwards © Krishnamurti Foundation Trust, Ltd.

Website: www.kfa.org

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Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 13: 9781934989500
ISBN: 1934989509
eBook ISBN: 978-1-62110-196-3

Contents

Preface

Talks in New York City, New York

First Talk, September 26, 1966

Second Talk, September 28, 1966

Third Talk, September 30, 1966

Fourth Talk, October 3, 1966

Fifth Talk, October 5, 1966

Sixth Talk, October 7, 1966

Talks in The Oak Grove, Ojai, California

First Talk, October 29, 1966

Second Talk, October 30, 1966

Third Talk, November 5, 1966

Fourth Talk, November 6, 1966

Fifth Talk, November 12, 1966

Sixth Talk, November 13, 1966

Talks in New Delhi, India

First Talk, December 15, 1966

Second Talk, December 18, 1966

Third Talk, December 22, 1966

Fourth Talk, December 25, 1966

Talks in Madras, India

First Talk, January 15, 1967

Second Talk, January 18, 1967

Third Talk, January 22, 1967

Fourth Talk, January 25, 1967

Talks in Bombay, India

First Talk, February 19, 1967

Second Talk, February 22, 1967

Third Talk, February 26, 1967

Fourth Talk, March 1, 1967

Talks in Rishi Valley, India

Talk to Students, October 30, 1967

First Talk, November 4, 1967

Second Talk, November 8, 1967

Third Talk, November 11, 1967

Talks in New Delhi, India

First Talk, November 19, 1967

Second Talk, November 23, 1967

Third Talk, November 26, 1967

Fourth Talk, November 30, 1967

Fifth Talk, December 3, 1967

Talks at Rajghat School, Banaras, India

First Talk, December 10, 1967

Second Talk, December 14, 1967

Third Talk, December 17, 1967

Questions

Preface

Jiddu Krishnamurti was born in 1895 of Brahmin parents in south India. At the age of fourteen he was proclaimed the coming World Teacher by Annie Besant, then president of the Theosophical Society, an international organization that emphasized the unity of world religions. Mrs. Besant adopted the boy and took him to England, where he was educated and prepared for his coming role. In 1911 a new worldwide organization was formed with Krishnamurti as its head, solely to prepare its members for his advent as World Teacher. In 1929, after many years of questioning himself and the destiny imposed upon him, Krishnamurti disbanded this organization, saying:

Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or to coerce people along any particular path. My only concern is to set men absolutely, unconditionally free.

Until the end of his life at the age of ninety, Krishnamurti traveled the world speaking as a private person. The rejection of all spiritual and psychological authority, including his own, is a fundamental theme. A major concern is the social structure and how it conditions the individual. The emphasis in his talks and writings is on the psychological barriers that prevent clarity of perception. In the mirror of relationship, each of us can come to understand the content of his own consciousness, which is common to all humanity. We can do this, not analytically, but directly in a manner Krishnamurti describes at length. In observing this content we discover within ourselves the division of the observer and what is observed. He points out that this division, which prevents direct perception, is the root of human conflict.

His central vision did not waver after 1929, but Krishnamurti strove for the rest of his life to make his language even more simple and clear. There is a development in his exposition. From year to year he used new terms and new approaches to his subject, with different nuances.

Because his subject is all-embracing, the Collected Works are of compelling interest. Within his talks in any one year, Krishnamurti was not able to cover the whole range of his vision, but broad applications of particular themes are found throughout these volumes. In them he lays the foundations of many of the concepts he used in later years.

The Collected Works contain Krishnamurti’s previously published talks, discussions, answers to specific questions, and writings for the years 1933 through 1967. They are an authentic record of his teachings, taken from transcripts of verbatim shorthand reports and tape recordings.

The Krishnamurti Foundation of America, a California charitable trust, has among its purposes the publication and distribution of Krishnamurti books, videocassettes, films and tape recordings. The production of the Collected Works is one of these activities.