Page 115 - JOURNAL OF THE KRISHNAMURTI SCHOOLS

Why I Value Krishnamurti’s Teachings

religious teachers. I am sure that Krishnamurti’s words bolstered
my decisions to avoid joining those captivating groups. For that,
among other things, I am grateful. I honestly can say that I was
not following Krishnamurti’s teachings, because I don’t recall him
providing any method to follow. However, my observations had
made it painfully clear to me that I was in the grip of a relentlessly
thinking mind. So, thereafter, his encouragement to truly find out
if thought could end became the only option that made any sense
to me in my desperate search.
Years later, I worked at a Krishnamurti school, and eventually
returned to university to pursue graduate degrees in the study of
religion. But these activities were no longer part of my search. I did
not and do not conduct research and write about Krishnamurti’s
teachings in order to one day discover some hidden secret to the
truth to which he points deeply embedded within them. To me,
his message is plain to see, everywhere in his words, and verifi-
able for oneself. In a lifelong career spent studying the religions of
humanity, I continue to regard Krishnamurti’s teachings as among
the most relentless and beneficial pointers to what I have found
most valuable in life. My academic writings are simply efforts to
share my reflections on his teachings, as honestly and accurately
as I can. These contributions take different forms. They may ana-
lyze the teachings to reveal internal structures. They may try to
explain seemingly paradoxical perspectives. They may draw com-
parisons to or find contrasts with other similar teachings. They are
mostly written for the benefit of those who, like myself, appreci-
ate academic analyses. There is a part of me that hopes this work
might inspire some readers in their own searches for a pivotal and
radically transformative insight into the nature of thought. But I
also know that they can have the unintended effect of encouraging
more thinking about Krishnamurti and the analysis of his teach-
ings, enhancing the focus on him rather than on oneself in rela-
tionship with the world.

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