Krishnamurti

Press, Volume C, Issue 29524, 27 May 1961, Page 3

Krishnamurti

Commentaries on Living: Third Series: From the Notebooks of J. Krishnamurti. Edited by D. Rajagopal. Gollancz. 312 pp. i Krishnamurti is a remark- ■ able man by any standards. His gifts as a potential spiriptual leader were recognised ■ as a boy when he was taken ■ to England for hi? education. Two years later, Annie Besant announced publicly, : the spiritual greatness latent in the youth and thousands of Theosophists all over the ’ world banded together in an ' organisation, “The Order of the Star of the East,” to ,! prepare for the work which •Krishnamurti was expected to do when mature. Soon after his public ministry be■’gan. however, Krishnamurti ! developed the view that all ’ organisations for spiritual ’ purposes create a barrier to the individual’s search for ‘ truth and create distinctions which lead to spiritual domi ination and exclusiveness. > Instead of accepting the Mes- ; sianic role prepared for him, : he dissolved- “The Order of • the Star of the East” instead. Krishnamurti has travelled ! widely and listened deeply as people have discussed ■with him the immensely , varied problems with which ■ they have wrestled. From . time to time Krishnamurti . has apparently written an account of these coh versa- , tions and related them with great artistry to the natural . surroundings. It was from I the resulting notebooks that . these ’’Commentaries on Living” were drawn. The repudiation of author- . ity in spiritual matters is f central to Krishnamurti’s teaching. The human pro- . blems which afflict the ini

dividual can be solved in one way only—for and by the individual himself. As a result of this. Krishnamurti’s role in the various conversations is relatively non-directive. His part is on- of clarification, to assist the questioner himself to gain insight into his problems. He does not provide authoritative answers to perplexing questions nor does he make decisions on the questioner’s behalf. Those who want these things will find the writer exasperating. Those who are prepared to sit in on the conversations and to explore for themselves the writing problem raised may well find Krishnamurti’s writing helpful.