In The Problem Is The Solution

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Item Code: NAD483
Author: J. Krishnamurti
Publisher: Krishnamuriti Foundation India
Edition: 2008
ISBN: 9788187326694
Pages: 193
Cover: Paperback
Other Details 9.0 inch x 6.0 inch
Weight 320 gm
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Shipped to 153 countries
Shipped to 153 countries
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More than 1M+ customers worldwide
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100% Made in India
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23 years in business
Book Description
About The Book

In the problem is the solution consists of the fourteen question and answer meeting that J. Krishnamurti (1895-1986) held in India between 1981 in Madras, Bombay, and Varanasi. The questions themselves are impressive in the range of themes they cover: the outward problems of poverty, corruption, and the decline of values in India: and the individual and collective apathy towards these; the conflicts prevailing in all societies; the general degeneration of man despite his technological progress; the absence of true relationship at various levels; the deep inner turmoils arising from psychological wounds, loneliness, fear, sorrow, and lack of love; and the eternal questions about God, rebirth, miracles and so on. Then there are the inevitable questions prompted by Krishnamurti’s own radical insights. These questions, as also Krishnamurti’s elucidation and clarification, make this book specially relevant for those who are familiar with his teachings but wish to go deeper into it. Besides the quality of Krishnmurthi’s relationship with and responses to his listeners sometimes intimate sometimes stern, but always uncompromising comes through powerfully in this book.

 

Introduction

When Krishnamurti came to India every winter, he gave public talks in Madras, Bombay, New Delhi, and Varanasi, besides holding dialogues with the teachers and students of the schools he had founded. The talks were always held in the evenings of Saturdays and Sundays, over two or three week-ends, and were interspersed with morning meetings where his listeners would get an opportunity to put questions.

Till the late 1970s, Krishnamurti engaged his audiences in free- wheeling discussions. However, as the crowds swelled, and more and more people sought to join the discussions, these meetings often tended to get diffused and lose focus. This must have prompted Krishnamurti in the 1980s to change the format from free-wheeling discussions to what came to be called 'Question and Answer Meetings', where he answered written questions handed over to him at the start of each meeting. (The questions would have been collected, collated, and typed out the previous day by his associates.) Though each session ran to nearly an hour and a half, it was possible for him to answer only half a dozen questions or less, and that again depended on the nature of the questions. At times, Krishnamurti's replies themselves evoked further questions from the audience.

Before taking up the first question and reading it out, Krishnamurti would set the tone by himself posing certain questions which created a broad framework for what was to follow and laid down the fundamental principles underlying the human mind's attempts to seek an answer to any question or to find a solution to any problem. 'Why do you put questions? And from whom do you expect the answers? Is not your motive in asking a question the desire to find a comforting answer? Does the answer to a question lie outside the question or in the very question itself? What is a problem? Can you meet a problem with a brain that is free to solve problems and not with a brain that is conditioned to solve problems?' These questions, which are profound insights in themselves, illumine Krishnamurti's approach in dealing with specific human issues, superficial or serious, mundane or philosophical. The originality of this approach to the various questions about life emerges with great clarity in this book.

The questions in this book are themselves impressive in the range of themes they cover-the outward problems of poverty, corruption, and the decline of values in India; and the individual and collective apathy towards these; the divisions and conflicts prevailing in all societies; the general degeneration of man despite his technological progress; the absence of true relationship at various levels; the deep inner turmoils arising from psychological wounds, loneliness, fear, sorrow, and lack of love; and the eternal questions about God, rebirth, miracles, and so on.

Then there are the inevitable questions prompted by Krishnamurti's own radical insights--questions that reflect the genuine doubts and difficulties encountered by his audiences. These questions, as also Krishnamurti's elucidation and clarification, make this book especially relevant for those who are familiar with his teachings but wish to go deeper into it. Besides, the quality of Krishnamurti's relationship with and responses to his listeners-sometimes intimate, sometimes stern, but always uncompromising-comes through powerfully in this book, which contains his answers to seventy-five questions spread over fourteen Question and Answer Meetings he held in Madras, Bombay, and Varanasi between the years 1981 and 1985.

 

Contents

 

Introduction IX
I 1
During your first talk here, your appeal to stand up against the corrupt and immoral society, like a rock protrudingfrom the mid-stream ofa river, confuses me deeply. You see, sir, the rock means being an outsider. Such an outsider is his own light and does not need to stand up against anything or anybody. Your clarification and answer are very important to me.
You often switch over from mind to brain. Is there any difference between them? If so, what is the mind?
I am a student of chartered accountancy. Even though I understand each and every word of JK, the message remains vague. What should I do to understand his message fully?
Is there really such a thing as transformation? What is it to he transformed?

I think the saints created ideals and stories to teach man how 10 lead a good and correct life. How can you call it nonsense?
You say that if one individual changes, he can transform the world. May I submit that in spite of your sincerity, love, and truthful statements, and that power which cannot he described, the world has gone from had to worse? Sir, is there such a thing as destiny?
Is it possible for an ideal teacher to discharge his duties in the classroom of a school without making use of reward and punishment? Can a teacher inculcate decent behaviour in poverty-stricken children who are in need 0/ true education? Kindly give your answer with special reference to poor children and the problem cf a teacher who is working in poverty-stricken areas.
What is the source of thought? How does one go to the very source of thought so that there is a possibility of silencing the thinking process itself?

 
II 15
We are students of a medical college. Why is it that we never notice things the way you do? Why are we not serious enough to change ourselves?
I have been recently hurt, and I heard you say, 'When you tread on the image you have created for yourself, can you not record the hurt?' Can we get rid of the image? How can this be done?
When I love someone, I find myself deeply attached. When I really love someone, I am intensely concerned and deeply interested in the person, which always involves attachment. How can we be so intensely concerned and vet not he attached?
What is your stand with regard to miracles? We are told that even you have performed what would normally be called miracles. Do you deny this fact?
You say that one should look at things totally and not fragmentarily and that such observation is possible only when the brain is completely attentive. What should I do to make the brain behave rightly?
Is there any survival after death? When a man dies full of sorrow, attachments, and regrets, what happens to this residue?
 
   
III 27
What does it mean to inquire? Is inquiry itself a process of thought?
You have said, 'Let's think together. ' Does it mean collective thinking? If it is not, how can two people of different backgrounds think together?
What is the nature of evil? Do you think it is possible to live in the present- day world without compromising with evil in some form or another?
For living beyond the shadow of time we must discard psychological memory. Yet it is necessary to have memory of our skills for daily living. The two types of memory are the contents of the same brain, and each has close association with the other. How is it possible then to retain the essential memory and discard the psychological?
In the West, children are brought up to be separate, independent individuals, and this makes them less affectionate. In the East, they are brought up to share everything with the family. They are more affectionate, but this makes them more dependent, more attached. Which of these is a healthier, more natural way of bringing up a child?
You warn us that the practice of a technique of meditation makes the mind dull and mechanical, but it appears to me that you’re teaching of listening and seeing and learning also involves a struggle in the mind to drop its activities. May I request you to enlighten me on this question?
You often say thought is a material process. What does this mean?
You urge people to look inward and ask fundamental questions. Don't you think yoga, meditation, and so on prepare one's mind to look within?
What is the basis for your getting pessimistic about the growth of computers?
 
IV 42
Without conflict or struggle in the sense of a desire to improve, how can there be any progress, material or social, in the world? The desire to change supplies the motive force for work towards achievement and progress. If you accept what is, then how can there be any kind of progress?
Does this transformation take place through the will of thought or through some other energy?
Are you not an outside agency to help us?
I am a student of engineering. I find this volcano of hurt burning deep within me every moment of my life. Competition has apparently been the root cause of all human development. Is it possible to be competitive and yet not hurt?
Tell us, sir, what should be done seriously to help the country and the countrymen? For, no philosophy, no books, no talks can solve this problem.
What is sorrow?
What is the nature of freedom? Why does it happen?
 
V 53
We live in a corrupt and unjust society. Is there no place in your teachings to fight on behalf of the victims of injustice?
We see what you say and accept what you say but, all the same, is there no way by which we can also contribute towards the building of a reasonably just society?
You mean to say, sir, that I cannot create a just society even by my own personal behaviour, through cooperation with a large number of people? Can I not through a community create a sense of justice amongst the people?
What is the place of right action in one's quest for self-knowledge?
Even though I am able to bring about order within myself, the disorder and pressure of the world around me constantly affect my daily life. Is it possible to remain unaffected?
You have once said, 'Give your life to understand life. ' What does it mean?
I am a 12-year-old boy. I am constantly afraid of death. How shall I be rid of this fear?
Kindly give a straight reply. Does God exist or not? Yes or no? If yes, how best to realize him in this life?
 
VI 67
In your first talk, you said that thought is responsible for all our problems, and you also said that thought has failed to resolve those conflicts. And you asked if there is any other instrument to resolve our conflicts. Please explain.  
VII 84
The Indian mind has for centuries probed into the nature of the self and of the cosmos. In spite of this, today it is completely materialistic. What has happened to the ancient wisdom of that mind?
The body ages, but is the ageing of the mind inevitable?
Can thought be separated from sensory perceptions?
 
VIII 94
If there are no ideals, one cannot deal adequately with the psychological crises and the resultant social conflicts. How can mere individual change affect the whole?
Is mutation purely a psychological happening? Is there any 'chemistry' involved in the happening? Is there a psychological change in the brain cells themselves? What is it that perceives the truth? Who is the perceiver?
You claim to have love and compassion. What have you done about poverty?
 
IX 108
For the last seven years, whatever work 1 have attempted to undertake, psychologically or externally in the fields of business, finance, education, family, and so on, has ended in failure. Anything I have touched has turned to ashes. What is the cause of this state of affairs, and what is the remedy?
We are unable to see the crisis in our lives with all our senses, as you put it; consequently, we are in endless misery. How can we gather our entire energy to see what is?
 
X 118
What is beauty, and why is it that we like things that are beautiful?
Is the perception of the actual possible without the intervention of thought?
How can one live with a husband who does not care?
Is it necessary to marry in life? What is the physical relationship between man and woman?
What is the difference between the brain and the mind?
What is faith?
If human consciousness is one, how is it that one person is happy and the other, unhappy? Also you say, 'Thought is me. ' Please show me how.
If the great religions of the world are not true religions, what then is religion?
 
XI 130
1 want to get at what you are saying, without any stress, strain, or effort. How can one do this?
What is myself, the 'me', the self, and what is its relationship to the cosmos?
Is not psychological time a fact? While there may be no gradation for the attainment of truth, how can you question the usefulness of self-preparation for establishing the right kind of body-mind barmony. Surely this must be a gradual process.
 
XII 143
You have shown that thought is limited, but what other instrument of inquiry is available to man?
Silence is the pivotal point in all your teachings for the transformation of man. To your closer circle you have advocated the need for 'sitting still '--in quotes-and 'staying in silence'--in quotes-for short periods during the day to bring about this mutation in the brain. Please teach us the practical steps to this transformation.
Can humanity survive without a universal code of morality which is true for all times and in all climates? Can an earnest man discover this way of life by his own reason and goodwill?
When sorrow is common for all, why can't love be common for all?
 
XIII 155
In spite of all my love, care, and attention, 1 don't know where 1 lack in bringing up my daughter. Can you throw some light on the best way of educating a child?
Why is it that we are not capable of sustaining attention for more than a couple of minutes?
I have a question. You said that when we are talking to somebody or when we are relating to somebody, we can know who we are. But when we are alone, is it not possible to know who we are?
Do suffering and enjoyment have any bearing on the preuious life and the deeds of the present We?
Is it possible to be aware with all your senses-eyes, ears, brain, nerves- simultaneously?
Why is every sensation or every reaction of the brain always in terms of thought? Why does every sensation turn into thought?
Can we come out of this world of thought by effort?
I don't follow the doctrines and commandments of divine souls. So 1 fear they may do something wrong to me. 1 always feel uneasy and live in fear. Please guide and advise me.
 
XIV 169
You often tell us to exercise our brains, and you also suggest that we merely listen without acting upon what we listen. These two statements appear contradictory. Kindly explain.
Sir, I want a clarification about what you said just now. You talked of true or false statements. What is true and what is false?
Since you say there is no such thing as God, and you also condemn idol worship, the question of how we are horn and how nature came into existence comes into the picture. Kindly explain.
What is the mind? Is it ever possible for it to know, to look at itself without the perceiver? It doesn't seem to be so simple as looking at a flower without the centre.
For the understanding of human problems such as fear, loneliness, and sorrow, your statement 'Tbe observer is the observed' seems to be all- important. However, the logic of that statement doesn't seem to go beyond the intellectual level. Why is it that certain facts remain mere concepts?
 
Index 180

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