What do you think?
Rate this book
التأمل
حقل التجربة الإنسانية غير محدود، وفي وسع الوعي الإنساني أن يتسامى إلى ما لا نهاية، أو بالأصح، أن يحقق جوهره المطلق وينعتق من القيود التي تكبله كلها. إن إمكان تحقيق خبرة الانعتاق هذه كامن في كل إنسان؛ لكن موهبة تحقيقها الكامل وإيصالها إلى الآخرين معطاة لقلة مباركة من بني البشر. وقد كان كريشنا مورتي من أصحاب هذه الموهبة في أجلى معانيها، فاستطاع بسبره العميق لطبيعة الإشراطات التي تحول دون الإنسان وتحقيق تجربة الانعتاق، أن يكشف لنا، في عمق الكائن البشري، عن ينبوع من المحبة والفطنة والإبداع لا ينضب. وتعتبر تعاليمه اليوم واحة حقيقة وسط صحراء المادية المتفاقمة، من جهة، والمثالية العاجزة عن تحقيق ذاتها من جهة أخرى، الأمر الذي يجعلها تستحق بحق ، تبوأ منزلة رفيعة في التراث الروحي والفلسفي للإنسانية قاطبة.
119 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
92 people are currently reading
834 people want to read
About the author
J. Krishnamurti
1,334 books4,266 followersJiddu Krishnamurti was born on 11 May 1895 in Madanapalle, a small town in south India. He and his brother were adopted in their youth by Dr Annie Besant, then president of the Theosophical Society. Dr Besant and others proclaimed that Krishnamurti was to be a world teacher whose coming the Theosophists had predicted. To prepare the world for this coming, a world-wide organization called the Order of the Star in the East was formed and the young Krishnamurti was made its head.
In 1929, however, Krishnamurti renounced the role that he was expected to play, dissolved the Order with its huge following, and returned all the money and property that had been donated for this work.
From then, for nearly sixty years until his death on 17 February 1986, he travelled throughout the world talking to large audiences and to individuals about the need for a radical change in humankind.
Krishnamurti is regarded globally as one of the greatest thinkers and religious teachers of all time. He did not expound any philosophy or religion, but rather talked of the things that concern all of us in our everyday lives, of the problems of living in modern society with its violence and corruption, of the individual's search for security and happiness, and the need for humankind to free itself from inner burdens of fear, anger, hurt, and sorrow. He explained with great precision the subtle workings of the human mind, and pointed to the need for bringing to our daily life a deeply meditative and spiritual quality.
Krishnamurti belonged to no religious organization, sect or country, nor did he subscribe to any school of political or ideological thought. On the contrary, he maintained that these are the very factors that divide human beings and bring about conflict and war. He reminded his listeners again and again that we are all human beings first and not Hindus, Muslims or Christians, that we are like the rest of humanity and are not different from one another. He asked that we tread lightly on this earth without destroying ourselves or the environment. He communicated to his listeners a deep sense of respect for nature. His teachings transcend belief systems, nationalistic sentiment and sectarianism. At the same time, they give new meaning and direction to humankind's search for truth. His teaching, besides being relevant to the modern age, is timeless and universal.
Krishnamurti spoke not as a guru but as a friend, and his talks and discussions are based not on tradition-based knowledge but on his own insights into the human mind and his vision of the sacred, so he always communicates a sense of freshness and directness although the essence of his message remained unchanged over the years. When he addressed large audiences, people felt that Krishnamurti was talking to each of them personally, addressing his or her particular problem. In his private interviews, he was a compassionate teacher, listening attentively to the man or woman who came to him in sorrow, and encouraging them to heal themselves through their own understanding. Religious scholars found that his words threw new light on traditional concepts. Krishnamurti took on the challenge of modern scientists and psychologists and went with them step by step, discussed their theories and sometimes enabled them to discern the limitations of those theories. Krishnamurti left a large body of literature in the form of public talks, writings, discussions with teachers and students, with scientists and religious figures, conversations with individuals, television and radio interviews, and letters. Many of these have been published as books, and audio and video recordings.
This author also writes under: Jiddu Krishnamurti
In 1929, however, Krishnamurti renounced the role that he was expected to play, dissolved the Order with its huge following, and returned all the money and property that had been donated for this work.
From then, for nearly sixty years until his death on 17 February 1986, he travelled throughout the world talking to large audiences and to individuals about the need for a radical change in humankind.
Krishnamurti is regarded globally as one of the greatest thinkers and religious teachers of all time. He did not expound any philosophy or religion, but rather talked of the things that concern all of us in our everyday lives, of the problems of living in modern society with its violence and corruption, of the individual's search for security and happiness, and the need for humankind to free itself from inner burdens of fear, anger, hurt, and sorrow. He explained with great precision the subtle workings of the human mind, and pointed to the need for bringing to our daily life a deeply meditative and spiritual quality.
Krishnamurti belonged to no religious organization, sect or country, nor did he subscribe to any school of political or ideological thought. On the contrary, he maintained that these are the very factors that divide human beings and bring about conflict and war. He reminded his listeners again and again that we are all human beings first and not Hindus, Muslims or Christians, that we are like the rest of humanity and are not different from one another. He asked that we tread lightly on this earth without destroying ourselves or the environment. He communicated to his listeners a deep sense of respect for nature. His teachings transcend belief systems, nationalistic sentiment and sectarianism. At the same time, they give new meaning and direction to humankind's search for truth. His teaching, besides being relevant to the modern age, is timeless and universal.
Krishnamurti spoke not as a guru but as a friend, and his talks and discussions are based not on tradition-based knowledge but on his own insights into the human mind and his vision of the sacred, so he always communicates a sense of freshness and directness although the essence of his message remained unchanged over the years. When he addressed large audiences, people felt that Krishnamurti was talking to each of them personally, addressing his or her particular problem. In his private interviews, he was a compassionate teacher, listening attentively to the man or woman who came to him in sorrow, and encouraging them to heal themselves through their own understanding. Religious scholars found that his words threw new light on traditional concepts. Krishnamurti took on the challenge of modern scientists and psychologists and went with them step by step, discussed their theories and sometimes enabled them to discern the limitations of those theories. Krishnamurti left a large body of literature in the form of public talks, writings, discussions with teachers and students, with scientists and religious figures, conversations with individuals, television and radio interviews, and letters. Many of these have been published as books, and audio and video recordings.
This author also writes under: Jiddu Krishnamurti
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
December 28, 2018
J.Krishnamurti would be extremely mad if he knows that this book is exist. Extremely repetitive tone for the same simple idea, which has been vigorously cut out of the context . I recommend watching videos for him talking rather than reading a distorted book.
March 13, 2023
Picked up this glorious little copy from a local bookstore yesterday evening. The title was a single worded "Meditations". When I opened it, my fingers led me to page 28, where I read these insightful lines;
"To meditate is to be innocent of time."
Felt my lips upturn into a smile. Not because I found Krishnamurthi being humorous,(not that he isn't) but because in that single sentence one realises that every effort and zeal to meditate and to introspect is not in vain. The very concept of time and how one lives on this so called borrowed temporality began to evolve itself in my mind. That one needn't fear 'time,' but that one can create and go beyond time. It's something that I have begun to realise now, despite the highly materialistic, fast paced mundane-ness around. That the presence of awareness in one's life can translate into into a life of great value.
Highly recommend this read. Krishnamurthi is so reassuring. Little lines of insight on every page and I am almost finishing it. Bringing a Krishnamurthy home is like opening new a door to insight every time.
"To meditate is to be innocent of time."
Felt my lips upturn into a smile. Not because I found Krishnamurthi being humorous,(not that he isn't) but because in that single sentence one realises that every effort and zeal to meditate and to introspect is not in vain. The very concept of time and how one lives on this so called borrowed temporality began to evolve itself in my mind. That one needn't fear 'time,' but that one can create and go beyond time. It's something that I have begun to realise now, despite the highly materialistic, fast paced mundane-ness around. That the presence of awareness in one's life can translate into into a life of great value.
Highly recommend this read. Krishnamurthi is so reassuring. Little lines of insight on every page and I am almost finishing it. Bringing a Krishnamurthy home is like opening new a door to insight every time.
November 15, 2019
vai prāts, kas ir laika un evolūcijas rezultāts, spēj būt brīvs no pagātnes? tas nozīmē mirt. tikai prāts, kas to zina, spēj nonākt līdz tam, ko sauc par meditāciju
tādas mierīgas ne-klātbūtnes emocijas, kas šķietami liek būt tagad un reizē rada sarežģītas pretrunas (ne-rimstoši ne-rimstošajā prātā)
meditāciju nevar iemācīties. tā nav filozofija. tā nav sistēma. tā nav reliģija. tā ir dzīve, tā ir atbrīvošanās, tā ir katram sava individuālā esamība, bet pāri domām, laikam un telpai -
pašreizējais posms ir diezgan sarežģīts priekš manis. vēl neesmu spējis tā atslēgties no pagātnes, no nākotnes un patiesi - manas pašreizējās meditācija bijušas vienkārši pasakainas fantāzijas bez satura jeb trulas, jo patiesībā - viss ir tik ļoti vienkārši - tikai esam iemācījušies pat šo sarežģīt līdz galam...
bet ir mierīgs vakars. ir novembris. ir tiešām laiks. - atslēgties.
tā svētā mierā - atslēgties.
tādas mierīgas ne-klātbūtnes emocijas, kas šķietami liek būt tagad un reizē rada sarežģītas pretrunas (ne-rimstoši ne-rimstošajā prātā)
meditāciju nevar iemācīties. tā nav filozofija. tā nav sistēma. tā nav reliģija. tā ir dzīve, tā ir atbrīvošanās, tā ir katram sava individuālā esamība, bet pāri domām, laikam un telpai -
pašreizējais posms ir diezgan sarežģīts priekš manis. vēl neesmu spējis tā atslēgties no pagātnes, no nākotnes un patiesi - manas pašreizējās meditācija bijušas vienkārši pasakainas fantāzijas bez satura jeb trulas, jo patiesībā - viss ir tik ļoti vienkārši - tikai esam iemācījušies pat šo sarežģīt līdz galam...
bet ir mierīgs vakars. ir novembris. ir tiešām laiks. - atslēgties.
tā svētā mierā - atslēgties.
May 29, 2012
A life-altering book. Beware, this book contains too many ideas that we humans refuse to accept due to our conditioned mind that has made us to choose to embrace the dull mind instead of to wake up the inquisitive mind, the meditative mind.
June 7, 2018
It's actually a book describing "beingness" untouched by mind rather a place of no mind but it does it by using mind i.e thoughts and words ......the whole situation is very paradoxical & funny
Krishnamurti as always, being precise with godly lucidity
Krishnamurti as always, being precise with godly lucidity
August 24, 2017
An assortment of meditations on the nature of enlightenment...
May 10, 2022
სუ ერთი და იგივე რაღაცეებს ლაპარაკობს და მოსაწყენია ჯიდუ.
October 20, 2024
محاضرتين وعدة شذرات عن التأمل
December 31, 2024
Quero um dia ler novamente, talvez o entenda de outra forma.
September 3, 2025
This book redefines meditation, stripping away the idea of it as a practice, method, or pursuit. Instead, meditation is shown as pure awareness: watching thoughts and feelings without judgment, allowing silence and order to emerge naturally.
The writing is filled with striking metaphors — a raindrop holding spring, rivers and oceans, the stillness of dawn, and the emptiness from which love arises. What stayed with me most was the line:
“Such a mind acts totally, not fragmentarily, because it acts out of complete stillness.”
It’s a reminder that meditation is not separate from life but part of living fully, attentively, and freely. A deeply thought-provoking read.
The writing is filled with striking metaphors — a raindrop holding spring, rivers and oceans, the stillness of dawn, and the emptiness from which love arises. What stayed with me most was the line:
“Such a mind acts totally, not fragmentarily, because it acts out of complete stillness.”
It’s a reminder that meditation is not separate from life but part of living fully, attentively, and freely. A deeply thought-provoking read.
July 6, 2021
A very short read regarding what is meditation.
Was only about 20 to read.
Was only about 20 to read.
January 18, 2025
scurtă, directă, compilație de texte din alte cărți ale lui
April 27, 2023
Meditations is an archetypical work for philosopher Krishnamurti. And a gem.
What I mean by that, is that it is unassuming, the book knows very well what it is: not a self-help book, nor a precise guide into meditation. Rather, it is a booklet designed to break open existing beliefs on the topic, in order for you to reconnect those mental wires in different ways.
K. alternates between suggestions on how to free the mind and descriptions of scenes that piqued his interest.
A book to return to often. The challenge here is to challenge your own beliefs (thus: suppress the ego) and find ways of shutting out the world in all its abrasiveness, and let a calm wash over you. Something I still struggle with on a daily basis.
What I mean by that, is that it is unassuming, the book knows very well what it is: not a self-help book, nor a precise guide into meditation. Rather, it is a booklet designed to break open existing beliefs on the topic, in order for you to reconnect those mental wires in different ways.
K. alternates between suggestions on how to free the mind and descriptions of scenes that piqued his interest.
A book to return to often. The challenge here is to challenge your own beliefs (thus: suppress the ego) and find ways of shutting out the world in all its abrasiveness, and let a calm wash over you. Something I still struggle with on a daily basis.
April 2, 2015
Its a beautiful little book on Meditation. Krishnamurti is one of the few thinkers who persuaded his followers to actually not be his followers, but rather follow one's own journey within.I haven't read a book on meditation, so simple, before this. This one doesn't give any technique but rather instructs us to free the mind from all the techniques, to not control the mind, but rather go with the flow inside.
Through the ideas and examples, he tries to make it clear that the meditator should attach himself to the One, the Supreme Power, the one great God, who is without end and without beginning. For God, is the beginning and the end, the eternal truth. The true meaning of Meditation is not to become quiet or anything which is perceived to be its purpose. Meditation means connecting oneself to the source of all good things within you. The heart is where this source is, the lord is. It is the kingdom of heaven within us.
Hence when the heart enters the mind, the mind has a different quality. This quality cannot be described in our limited language. It is only to be experienced and once experienced it is like experiencing heaven on earth. Our finite self then meets the infinite and we become Infinite beings which we already are but only a few of us have realized this.This realization truly is ending of all conflicts and the beginning of a new meaning of life.
Through the ideas and examples, he tries to make it clear that the meditator should attach himself to the One, the Supreme Power, the one great God, who is without end and without beginning. For God, is the beginning and the end, the eternal truth. The true meaning of Meditation is not to become quiet or anything which is perceived to be its purpose. Meditation means connecting oneself to the source of all good things within you. The heart is where this source is, the lord is. It is the kingdom of heaven within us.
Hence when the heart enters the mind, the mind has a different quality. This quality cannot be described in our limited language. It is only to be experienced and once experienced it is like experiencing heaven on earth. Our finite self then meets the infinite and we become Infinite beings which we already are but only a few of us have realized this.This realization truly is ending of all conflicts and the beginning of a new meaning of life.
November 13, 2018
I'd be impressed to find another book as monotonously repetitive.
January 12, 2021
WORDS, THOUGHTS, IMAGES, HOPES AND VANITIES COME TO AN END, EASILY, WITHOUT EFFORT AND CHOICE, IN THE FLAME OF AWARENESS.
A MEDITATIVE MIND IS SILENT.
Meditation is one of the greatest arts in life and one cannot possible learn it from anybody.
You cannot force your brain to be quiet. The moment you force you have duality. But if you begin to inquire, observe, listen to all the movements of through then you will see that the brain becomes extraordinarily quiet; that quietness is not sleep but is tremendously active and therefore quiet.
Silence and spaciousness go together.
Without laying the foundation of a righteous life, mediation becomes and escape and therefore has no value whatsoever. A righteous life is the freedom from envy, greed and the search for power - which all breed enmity.
Maturity in meditation is the freeing of the mind from knowledge, for knowledge shapes and controls all experiences.
The beauty of a sound is felt only when you and the sound are not separate, when you are part of it. Meditation is the end of the separation, but not by any action of will or desire.
Understanding is now or never; it is a destructive flash, not a tame affair; it is this shattering that one is afraid of and so one avoids it, knowingly or unknowingly.
Meditate alone. Get lost. And dont try and remember where you have been. If you try and remember it, then it will be something that is dead. And if you hold onto the memory of it you will never be alone again.
Meditate in the very secret recesses of your heart and mind, where you have never been before.
Prayer is born on self-pity. Self-pity is the root of separation.
Thought is memory, and the experience in that memory is as dead as the leaf of last autumn.
When thought is silent, there is emptiness which is order.
Meditation is the endless space where thought cannot enter.
Belief is so unnecessary, as are ideals. Both dissipate energy that is needed to follow the unfolding of the fact. The 'what is'. Beliefs, like ideals, are escapes from the fact and in escape there is no end to sorrow.
The ending of sorrow (suffering) is the understanding of the fact from moment to moment.
You are so still that your body becomes completely part of the earth, part of everything that is still.
The meditation of a mind that is utterly silent is the benediction that man is seeking.
But this essence is not experienceable; experiencing must cease, for experience only strengthens the known. The known is never the essence.
In meditation there is no repetition, a continuity of habit; there is death of everything known and the flowering of the unknown.
Meditation is a state of mind that looks at everything with complete attention.
Only a mind that is completely attentive has the total energy to observe, because you need tremendous energy to observe.
The meditative mind is seeing, watching, listening, without a word , without comment, without opinion, attentive to the movements of life in all its relationships throughout the day.
Meditation means awareness. Out of this awareness comes attention. Then there is the freedom to see all things as they actually are, without distortion.
There is no actual division between the organism and the world. The brain, the nervous system, and the thing we call the mind are all one, indivisable. Its the natural act of meditation that beings about the harmonious movement of the whole.
In meditation the first thing to realise is that it is no use to seek; for what is sought is predetermined by what you wish.
When you are completely attentive there is no self, there is no limitation.
There is no path to truth. The following of any path leads to what thought has already been formulated and, however pleasant or satisfying, it is not the truth.
There is no meditator in meditation. If there is, it is not meditation.
Meditation is emptying the mind of the known. The known is the past. What has been is emptied only in the present, not by thought but by action, by the doing of " what is".
All our life is based on thought that is measureable. So unnecessarily we live in a world of measurement, and with that we want to enter into a world in which there is no measurement at all. Meditation is the seeing of 'what is' and going beyond it.
Meditation is the emptying of the mind of all thought because thought and feeling dissipate energy.
The continuous seeing of 'what is', without any distortion naturally empties the mind of all thought, and yet that very mind can use thought when its necessary.
Truth is something that is new all the time.
The empty mind cannot be purchased at the altar of demand; it comes into being when thought is aware of its own activities - not the thinker being ware of his thought.
A MEDITATIVE MIND IS SILENT.
Meditation is one of the greatest arts in life and one cannot possible learn it from anybody.
You cannot force your brain to be quiet. The moment you force you have duality. But if you begin to inquire, observe, listen to all the movements of through then you will see that the brain becomes extraordinarily quiet; that quietness is not sleep but is tremendously active and therefore quiet.
Silence and spaciousness go together.
Without laying the foundation of a righteous life, mediation becomes and escape and therefore has no value whatsoever. A righteous life is the freedom from envy, greed and the search for power - which all breed enmity.
Maturity in meditation is the freeing of the mind from knowledge, for knowledge shapes and controls all experiences.
The beauty of a sound is felt only when you and the sound are not separate, when you are part of it. Meditation is the end of the separation, but not by any action of will or desire.
Understanding is now or never; it is a destructive flash, not a tame affair; it is this shattering that one is afraid of and so one avoids it, knowingly or unknowingly.
Meditate alone. Get lost. And dont try and remember where you have been. If you try and remember it, then it will be something that is dead. And if you hold onto the memory of it you will never be alone again.
Meditate in the very secret recesses of your heart and mind, where you have never been before.
Prayer is born on self-pity. Self-pity is the root of separation.
Thought is memory, and the experience in that memory is as dead as the leaf of last autumn.
When thought is silent, there is emptiness which is order.
Meditation is the endless space where thought cannot enter.
Belief is so unnecessary, as are ideals. Both dissipate energy that is needed to follow the unfolding of the fact. The 'what is'. Beliefs, like ideals, are escapes from the fact and in escape there is no end to sorrow.
The ending of sorrow (suffering) is the understanding of the fact from moment to moment.
You are so still that your body becomes completely part of the earth, part of everything that is still.
The meditation of a mind that is utterly silent is the benediction that man is seeking.
But this essence is not experienceable; experiencing must cease, for experience only strengthens the known. The known is never the essence.
In meditation there is no repetition, a continuity of habit; there is death of everything known and the flowering of the unknown.
Meditation is a state of mind that looks at everything with complete attention.
Only a mind that is completely attentive has the total energy to observe, because you need tremendous energy to observe.
The meditative mind is seeing, watching, listening, without a word , without comment, without opinion, attentive to the movements of life in all its relationships throughout the day.
Meditation means awareness. Out of this awareness comes attention. Then there is the freedom to see all things as they actually are, without distortion.
There is no actual division between the organism and the world. The brain, the nervous system, and the thing we call the mind are all one, indivisable. Its the natural act of meditation that beings about the harmonious movement of the whole.
In meditation the first thing to realise is that it is no use to seek; for what is sought is predetermined by what you wish.
When you are completely attentive there is no self, there is no limitation.
There is no path to truth. The following of any path leads to what thought has already been formulated and, however pleasant or satisfying, it is not the truth.
There is no meditator in meditation. If there is, it is not meditation.
Meditation is emptying the mind of the known. The known is the past. What has been is emptied only in the present, not by thought but by action, by the doing of " what is".
All our life is based on thought that is measureable. So unnecessarily we live in a world of measurement, and with that we want to enter into a world in which there is no measurement at all. Meditation is the seeing of 'what is' and going beyond it.
Meditation is the emptying of the mind of all thought because thought and feeling dissipate energy.
The continuous seeing of 'what is', without any distortion naturally empties the mind of all thought, and yet that very mind can use thought when its necessary.
Truth is something that is new all the time.
The empty mind cannot be purchased at the altar of demand; it comes into being when thought is aware of its own activities - not the thinker being ware of his thought.
April 1, 2021
A collection of thoughts on meditation from Jiddu Krishnamurti.
When we use the word ‘Meditation’, we do not mean something that is practised. We have no method. Meditation means awareness: to be aware what you are doing, what you are thinking, what you are feeling, aware of your conditioning, to observe, to learn. Then there is freedom to see things as they actually are: without distortion. The mind becomes I confused, clear, sensitive. If we follow a particular system, however worked out by the greatest guru, that system makes you mechanical, that is not free. Meditation is to be aware of every thought and of every feeling, never to say it is right or wrong but just to watch it and move with it. Meditation is emptying of the mind; but the emptying of the mind is not an activity of thought or an intellectual process. Truth is not in the things of thought or in what thought has put together and calls truth. The complete negation of this whole structure of thought is the positive of meditation. Man, in order to escape his conflicts has invented many forms of meditation. All effort to meditate is the denial of meditation. Meditation is one of the great arts in life. One cannot possibly learn it from anybody. That is the beauty of it. It has no technique and therefore no authority. When you learn about yourself, watch yourself, watch the way you eat, what you say - if you are aware of all that in yourself, without any choice, that is part of meditation. Without laying the foundation of a righteous life, meditation becomes an escape and has no value. A righteous life is not the following of social morality, but the freedom from envy, greed and the search for power. The freedom from these does not come through the activity of will, but by being aware of them through self -knowing. Meditation is not an escape from the world; it is not an isolating, self-enclosing activity, but rather the comprehension of the world and its ways.
Meditation is the flowering of understanding. Understanding is a destructive flash. It can be so shattering that one is afraid of it and avoids it, knowingly or unknowingly. Understanding may alter the course of one’s life. Without understanding, sorrow will continue. Sorrow ends only through self-knowing, the awareness of every thought and feeling, every movement of the conscious and of that which is hidden. You should meditate only in solitude, in the quiet of the night or in the still early morning. You must be completely alone, not following a system, a method, repeating words, pursuing thought or shaping thought according to your desire.
One finds this strange emptiness when the root of all problems withers away. This root is thought, the thought that divides and holds.
We don’t realise how important it is to be free of the nagging pleasures and their pains, so that the mind remains alone.
Meditation is really very simple. We complicate it. We weave a web of ideas around it; what it is and what it is not. But it is none of these things. Because it is so very simple it escapes us, because our minds are so complicated, so timeworn and time-based. The ecstasy of solitude comes when you are not frightened to be alone, no longer belonging to the world or attached to anything.
Thought is perversion, for it is the product of yesterday. It is caught in the toils of centuries and so is confused, unclear. Do what you will,
The known cannot reach out for the unknown. Meditation is the dying of the known.
When we use the word ‘Meditation’, we do not mean something that is practised. We have no method. Meditation means awareness: to be aware what you are doing, what you are thinking, what you are feeling, aware of your conditioning, to observe, to learn. Then there is freedom to see things as they actually are: without distortion. The mind becomes I confused, clear, sensitive. If we follow a particular system, however worked out by the greatest guru, that system makes you mechanical, that is not free. Meditation is to be aware of every thought and of every feeling, never to say it is right or wrong but just to watch it and move with it. Meditation is emptying of the mind; but the emptying of the mind is not an activity of thought or an intellectual process. Truth is not in the things of thought or in what thought has put together and calls truth. The complete negation of this whole structure of thought is the positive of meditation. Man, in order to escape his conflicts has invented many forms of meditation. All effort to meditate is the denial of meditation. Meditation is one of the great arts in life. One cannot possibly learn it from anybody. That is the beauty of it. It has no technique and therefore no authority. When you learn about yourself, watch yourself, watch the way you eat, what you say - if you are aware of all that in yourself, without any choice, that is part of meditation. Without laying the foundation of a righteous life, meditation becomes an escape and has no value. A righteous life is not the following of social morality, but the freedom from envy, greed and the search for power. The freedom from these does not come through the activity of will, but by being aware of them through self -knowing. Meditation is not an escape from the world; it is not an isolating, self-enclosing activity, but rather the comprehension of the world and its ways.
Meditation is the flowering of understanding. Understanding is a destructive flash. It can be so shattering that one is afraid of it and avoids it, knowingly or unknowingly. Understanding may alter the course of one’s life. Without understanding, sorrow will continue. Sorrow ends only through self-knowing, the awareness of every thought and feeling, every movement of the conscious and of that which is hidden. You should meditate only in solitude, in the quiet of the night or in the still early morning. You must be completely alone, not following a system, a method, repeating words, pursuing thought or shaping thought according to your desire.
One finds this strange emptiness when the root of all problems withers away. This root is thought, the thought that divides and holds.
We don’t realise how important it is to be free of the nagging pleasures and their pains, so that the mind remains alone.
Meditation is really very simple. We complicate it. We weave a web of ideas around it; what it is and what it is not. But it is none of these things. Because it is so very simple it escapes us, because our minds are so complicated, so timeworn and time-based. The ecstasy of solitude comes when you are not frightened to be alone, no longer belonging to the world or attached to anything.
Thought is perversion, for it is the product of yesterday. It is caught in the toils of centuries and so is confused, unclear. Do what you will,
The known cannot reach out for the unknown. Meditation is the dying of the known.
December 23, 2016
Tra i tanti libri che costruiscono la biblioteca di un bibliomane ce n’è uno che per misura e grandezza non supera gli 11x 8 cm e le 90 pagine. Formato più che tascabile, quindi. Un mini-book edito nel 1991 dalle edizioni Shambala, Boston & London. Il libretto, che vedete riprodotto qui a fianco, è un gioiello del pensiero orientale.
Contiene una selezione di scritti di un grande filosofo di quella parte del mondo, ma occidentalizzato abbastanza per essere essere apprezzato anche da questa parte del pianeta. Mi riferisco a J. Krishnamurti. Le sue sono “Meditazioni” che in più di una occasione mi hanno aiutato a riflettere sulla condizione umana. Qui di seguito, tradotti dall’inglese, una serie di brani più significativi su questo tipo di esercizio che tutti dovremmo conoscere e praticare per migliorare la qualità della vita interiore di ognuno di noi. Vita interiore che diventa vita comunitaria nella misura in cui ognuno da “isola” esistenziale è prescelto a diventare parte del “continente” della vita. L’uomo, per sfuggire ai suoi conflitti, ha inventato diversi tipi di meditazione.
Molti la basano sul suo desiderio, sulla spinta e sulla necessità di conquistarla e sono destinati solamente a provare delusioni e sofferenze per un fallimento sicuro. Questa scelta consapevole e deliberata si muove sempre entro i limiti di una mente condizionata e senza libertà. Qualunque sforzo viene fatto per acquisire la corretta meditazione significa la fine stessa della meditazione. Questa ultima la si ottiene solo con la sospensione del pensiero e soltanto quando si raggiunge una diversa dimensione oltre il tempo.
Una mente che medita è una mente silenziosa. Non è il silenzio che genera il pensiero, il silenzio di una serata tranquilla. E’ il silenzio pensato quando il pensiero, con tutte le sue immagini, parole e percezioni, è cessato completamente. La mente che medita è una mente religiosa, una religione che non è toccata dalla chiesa, dai canti o dalle preghiere.
La mente che medita è un’esplosione di amore. E’ l’amore che non conosce separazione. Per esso, la lontananza significa vicinanza. Non è uno o molti, ma piuttosto quella condizione dell’amore nella quale ogni divisione non ha ragione d’esistere. Come la bellezza, non lo misura con le parole. E’ soltanto da questo tipo di silenzio che nasce una mente che medita.
La meditazione è una delle più grandi arti della vita, forse la più grande, e non la si può apprendere da nessuno. Questa la sua bellezza. Non ha una tecnica e pertanto non possiede autorità. Quando si conosce se stessi, si osserva se stessi, il modo in cui si cammina, si parla, si mangia, ciò che si dice, come si odia, come si diventa gelosi, si diventa consapevoli di tutto ciò che è dentro di noi, senza una scelta, allora quella è meditazione. Essa può avere luogo anche stando seduti in un bus o mentre si cammina nei boschi pieni di luce o mentre si ascolta il canto degli uccelli e si guarda in faccia la propria donna o il proprio figlio.
E’ strano come la meditazione diventa completa. Essa non ha un principio né una fine. E’ come una goccia d’acqua. In quella goccia ci sono tutti i corsi d’acqua, i grandi fiumi, i mari e le cascate. Quella goccia nutre la terra e l’uomo, senza di essa la terra sarebbe un deserto. Senza la meditazione il cuore diventa una terra incognita. Meditare significa scoprire se il proprio cervello, con tutte le sue attività, può essere assolutamente tranquillo e silenzioso. Senza alcuna forzatura, perché se c’è forzatura c’è dualismo.
L’entità che dice “Desidero avere esperienze meravigliose, perciò devo costringere il mio cervello ad essere silenzioso” non potrà mai arrivare alla meditazione. Ma se si comincia ad indagare, osservare, ascoltare tutti i movimenti del pensiero, i suoi condizionamenti, i suoi scopi, le sue paure, i piaceri, osservare come si comporta il cervello, allora si comincerà a vedere come il cervello sa stare tranquillo e silenzioso. Un silenzio che non è sonno, ma grande attività e quindi tranquillità. Una grande dinamo che funziona alla perfezione non produce alcun rumore. Solamente quando c’è frizione c’è rumore. Silenzio e spazio vanno insieme. L’immensità del silenzio è l’immensità della mente in cui il centro non esiste.
La meditazione implica un duro lavoro per acquisirla. Richiede un’alta forma di disciplina, che non è conformismo, imitazione, obbedienza, ma disciplina che deriva da una costante consapevolezza non solo delle cose interne, ma anche di quelle esterne. La meditazione non è un’attività svolta in isolamento ma è azione quotidiana che richiede cooperazione, sensibilità e intelligenza.
Senza gettare le basi di una corretta esistenza, la meditazione è solo una fuga e pertanto non ha alcun valore. Una vita giusta non la si ottiene seguendo una qualsiasi forma di moralità sociale, ma con la libertà dall’invidia, dall’inimicizia, dall’avidità. La libertà da questi sentimenti non la si ottiene con l’esercizio della mente bensì prendendo coscienza di essi tramite l’auto-conoscenza. Se non si conoscono le attività del proprio io, la meditazione diventa solo una specie di eccitazione sensuale e quindi di poca importanza.
La meditazione non è un mezzo per raggiungere un fine, è entrambi le cose, un mezzo ed un fine. La percezione senza le parole, cioè senza il pensiero, è uno dei fenomeni più strani. Essa è più acuta, non solo con il cervello, ma anche con tutti i sensi. Una percezione di questo tipo non è la frammentaria percezione dell’intelletto, né tanto meno delle emozioni. Essa può essere chiamata una percezione totale che è parte della meditazione. Una percezione acquisita senza che sia avvertita da chi fa meditazione, è simile ad una comunione con le vette e le profondità dell’immensità.
Questo tipo di percezione è cosa del tutto diversa dal vedere un oggetto senza chi lo vede, perché nella percezione della meditazione non c’è nessun oggetto e quindi nessuna esperienza. La meditazione può, pertanto, avere luogo quando gli occhi sono aperti e siamo circondati da oggetti di ogni tipo. Ma questi non hanno alcuna importanza. Li vediamo ma non li riconosciamo perché non ne abbiamo esperienza.
Che significato ha questo tipo di meditazione? Non ha nessun significato, perché non ha nessuna utilità. Ma in questo tipo di meditazione c’è un movimento di grande estasi che non va confusa col piacere. E’ l’estasi che dà all’occhio, al cervello e al cuore la qualità dell’innocenza. Se non vediamo la vita come qualcosa di interamente nuovo, è sempre la stessa routine, la stessa noia, una cosa senza senso. La meditazione ha una grande importanza, essa apre la porta a tutto ciò che non può essere misurato e calcolato.
Contiene una selezione di scritti di un grande filosofo di quella parte del mondo, ma occidentalizzato abbastanza per essere essere apprezzato anche da questa parte del pianeta. Mi riferisco a J. Krishnamurti. Le sue sono “Meditazioni” che in più di una occasione mi hanno aiutato a riflettere sulla condizione umana. Qui di seguito, tradotti dall’inglese, una serie di brani più significativi su questo tipo di esercizio che tutti dovremmo conoscere e praticare per migliorare la qualità della vita interiore di ognuno di noi. Vita interiore che diventa vita comunitaria nella misura in cui ognuno da “isola” esistenziale è prescelto a diventare parte del “continente” della vita. L’uomo, per sfuggire ai suoi conflitti, ha inventato diversi tipi di meditazione.
Molti la basano sul suo desiderio, sulla spinta e sulla necessità di conquistarla e sono destinati solamente a provare delusioni e sofferenze per un fallimento sicuro. Questa scelta consapevole e deliberata si muove sempre entro i limiti di una mente condizionata e senza libertà. Qualunque sforzo viene fatto per acquisire la corretta meditazione significa la fine stessa della meditazione. Questa ultima la si ottiene solo con la sospensione del pensiero e soltanto quando si raggiunge una diversa dimensione oltre il tempo.
Una mente che medita è una mente silenziosa. Non è il silenzio che genera il pensiero, il silenzio di una serata tranquilla. E’ il silenzio pensato quando il pensiero, con tutte le sue immagini, parole e percezioni, è cessato completamente. La mente che medita è una mente religiosa, una religione che non è toccata dalla chiesa, dai canti o dalle preghiere.
La mente che medita è un’esplosione di amore. E’ l’amore che non conosce separazione. Per esso, la lontananza significa vicinanza. Non è uno o molti, ma piuttosto quella condizione dell’amore nella quale ogni divisione non ha ragione d’esistere. Come la bellezza, non lo misura con le parole. E’ soltanto da questo tipo di silenzio che nasce una mente che medita.
La meditazione è una delle più grandi arti della vita, forse la più grande, e non la si può apprendere da nessuno. Questa la sua bellezza. Non ha una tecnica e pertanto non possiede autorità. Quando si conosce se stessi, si osserva se stessi, il modo in cui si cammina, si parla, si mangia, ciò che si dice, come si odia, come si diventa gelosi, si diventa consapevoli di tutto ciò che è dentro di noi, senza una scelta, allora quella è meditazione. Essa può avere luogo anche stando seduti in un bus o mentre si cammina nei boschi pieni di luce o mentre si ascolta il canto degli uccelli e si guarda in faccia la propria donna o il proprio figlio.
E’ strano come la meditazione diventa completa. Essa non ha un principio né una fine. E’ come una goccia d’acqua. In quella goccia ci sono tutti i corsi d’acqua, i grandi fiumi, i mari e le cascate. Quella goccia nutre la terra e l’uomo, senza di essa la terra sarebbe un deserto. Senza la meditazione il cuore diventa una terra incognita. Meditare significa scoprire se il proprio cervello, con tutte le sue attività, può essere assolutamente tranquillo e silenzioso. Senza alcuna forzatura, perché se c’è forzatura c’è dualismo.
L’entità che dice “Desidero avere esperienze meravigliose, perciò devo costringere il mio cervello ad essere silenzioso” non potrà mai arrivare alla meditazione. Ma se si comincia ad indagare, osservare, ascoltare tutti i movimenti del pensiero, i suoi condizionamenti, i suoi scopi, le sue paure, i piaceri, osservare come si comporta il cervello, allora si comincerà a vedere come il cervello sa stare tranquillo e silenzioso. Un silenzio che non è sonno, ma grande attività e quindi tranquillità. Una grande dinamo che funziona alla perfezione non produce alcun rumore. Solamente quando c’è frizione c’è rumore. Silenzio e spazio vanno insieme. L’immensità del silenzio è l’immensità della mente in cui il centro non esiste.
La meditazione implica un duro lavoro per acquisirla. Richiede un’alta forma di disciplina, che non è conformismo, imitazione, obbedienza, ma disciplina che deriva da una costante consapevolezza non solo delle cose interne, ma anche di quelle esterne. La meditazione non è un’attività svolta in isolamento ma è azione quotidiana che richiede cooperazione, sensibilità e intelligenza.
Senza gettare le basi di una corretta esistenza, la meditazione è solo una fuga e pertanto non ha alcun valore. Una vita giusta non la si ottiene seguendo una qualsiasi forma di moralità sociale, ma con la libertà dall’invidia, dall’inimicizia, dall’avidità. La libertà da questi sentimenti non la si ottiene con l’esercizio della mente bensì prendendo coscienza di essi tramite l’auto-conoscenza. Se non si conoscono le attività del proprio io, la meditazione diventa solo una specie di eccitazione sensuale e quindi di poca importanza.
La meditazione non è un mezzo per raggiungere un fine, è entrambi le cose, un mezzo ed un fine. La percezione senza le parole, cioè senza il pensiero, è uno dei fenomeni più strani. Essa è più acuta, non solo con il cervello, ma anche con tutti i sensi. Una percezione di questo tipo non è la frammentaria percezione dell’intelletto, né tanto meno delle emozioni. Essa può essere chiamata una percezione totale che è parte della meditazione. Una percezione acquisita senza che sia avvertita da chi fa meditazione, è simile ad una comunione con le vette e le profondità dell’immensità.
Questo tipo di percezione è cosa del tutto diversa dal vedere un oggetto senza chi lo vede, perché nella percezione della meditazione non c’è nessun oggetto e quindi nessuna esperienza. La meditazione può, pertanto, avere luogo quando gli occhi sono aperti e siamo circondati da oggetti di ogni tipo. Ma questi non hanno alcuna importanza. Li vediamo ma non li riconosciamo perché non ne abbiamo esperienza.
Che significato ha questo tipo di meditazione? Non ha nessun significato, perché non ha nessuna utilità. Ma in questo tipo di meditazione c’è un movimento di grande estasi che non va confusa col piacere. E’ l’estasi che dà all’occhio, al cervello e al cuore la qualità dell’innocenza. Se non vediamo la vita come qualcosa di interamente nuovo, è sempre la stessa routine, la stessa noia, una cosa senza senso. La meditazione ha una grande importanza, essa apre la porta a tutto ciò che non può essere misurato e calcolato.
August 3, 2021
“Meditation is not a means to an end. It is both the means and the end.”
Drafted by Evelyne Blau, the book ‘Meditations’ is the collection of brief excerpts from *J.Krishnamurti*’s talks and writings.The radical text presents an unconventional perspective on the term *meditation*. In every page, the author discards the famous notion of meditation as a practice, an experience. It is the ending of all experiences, he says.
All his words revolve around the idea of nothingness and freedom showcasing itself in contrasting forms. It is like a masterful teacher trying to teach a curious kid in every engagingly subtle way. The reader is basically unarmed, it is a fantastic journey through every intricate definition and possible perspective. We couldn't help but just let the eyes glide through every line after which it is just a job of our imagination and his words. A must-experience book.
Drafted by Evelyne Blau, the book ‘Meditations’ is the collection of brief excerpts from *J.Krishnamurti*’s talks and writings.The radical text presents an unconventional perspective on the term *meditation*. In every page, the author discards the famous notion of meditation as a practice, an experience. It is the ending of all experiences, he says.
All his words revolve around the idea of nothingness and freedom showcasing itself in contrasting forms. It is like a masterful teacher trying to teach a curious kid in every engagingly subtle way. The reader is basically unarmed, it is a fantastic journey through every intricate definition and possible perspective. We couldn't help but just let the eyes glide through every line after which it is just a job of our imagination and his words. A must-experience book.
September 14, 2021
Das Buch bietet eine Auswahl aus den Schriften Krishnamurtis. Da ich mich wohl mit Meditation und vielen Themen der Spiritualität, aber bisher nicht mit den Gedanken Krishnamurtis befasst habe, hat mir das Buch nicht so sehr gefallen.
Es schien leider etwas repetitiv mit einigen kleineren Widersprüchen, die nicht weiter erforscht wurden… ich finde die Worte Krishnamurtis deutlich besser übertragen in einem Video von einem seiner Vorträge als in diesem
Buch.
Die Gedanken sind trotzdem sehr interessant und zum Teil auch definitiv zutreffend, momentan bin ich aber noch an einem anderen Punkt und konnte mich mit den „radikaleren“ Aussagen nicht so gut identifizieren. Alles in allem sicherlich ein interessantes Buch, aber es braucht den rechten Moment dafür und doch einiges an Vorwissen um es gut lesen zu können. Deshalb auch nur eingeschränkt empfehlenswert.
Es schien leider etwas repetitiv mit einigen kleineren Widersprüchen, die nicht weiter erforscht wurden… ich finde die Worte Krishnamurtis deutlich besser übertragen in einem Video von einem seiner Vorträge als in diesem
Buch.
Die Gedanken sind trotzdem sehr interessant und zum Teil auch definitiv zutreffend, momentan bin ich aber noch an einem anderen Punkt und konnte mich mit den „radikaleren“ Aussagen nicht so gut identifizieren. Alles in allem sicherlich ein interessantes Buch, aber es braucht den rechten Moment dafür und doch einiges an Vorwissen um es gut lesen zu können. Deshalb auch nur eingeschränkt empfehlenswert.
May 8, 2018
I kept this book on my desk at work as it provided for some reflection before and at the end of the day. I was hoping for more actual meditation prompts throughout the text though - there were more snippets and quotes from other works by the author. Informative, but sometimes hard to understand without the larger context from the original piece.
January 11, 2021
To achieve ultimate inner peace one must Meditate.
Meditation isn't that easy, it's a Habit. It takes time and patience to enjoy every bit of it.
Mind is everything you need to learn how to harness your mind and only then you get control of your body.
I found this book very helpful. It has some basics for practicing meditation and the impact of it!
Meditation is a real bliss!!
Meditation isn't that easy, it's a Habit. It takes time and patience to enjoy every bit of it.
Mind is everything you need to learn how to harness your mind and only then you get control of your body.
I found this book very helpful. It has some basics for practicing meditation and the impact of it!
Meditation is a real bliss!!
February 5, 2023
Excerpts from many writing and speeches on meditation. I was reading it after I read through Meditation and it's methods by Swami Vivekananda. Some of the thoughts are very different between JK and Vivekanada. However the very aim of awareness, lack of thoughts and silence is the meditation, tells both the books.
January 23, 2020
Interesting read, I felt it was a very similar style to Osho. It's roughly 130 pages of individual thoughts about meditation, what it is, what it isn't, how it's natural and not mechanical. I recommend.
September 26, 2021
It’s a bit repetitive, but I loved it. Filled with such simplicity and gentle wisdom, yet the concept still felt so complex and eloquent, one that you dig into continuously. This is one to reread across the years for sure.
February 11, 2022
ധ്യാനത്തിന്റെ അർത്ഥവും സൗന്ദര്യവും നിങ്ങൾക്ക് മനസ്സിലാക്കാൻ കഴിയുന്നില്ലെങ്കിൽ, നിങ്ങൾ ജീവിതത്തെക്കുറിച്ചും അജ്ഞരാണ്. ധ്യാനം എന്താണെന്നും എങ്ങനെയൊക്കെ ചെയ്യാമെന്നും തത്വചിന്താപരമായ എഴുതിയിരിക്കുന്ന കുറിപ്പുകളുടെ സമാഹാരമാണിത്.
January 4, 2024
يمكن قول تعمق في البساطة و في تبسيط العمق .. اي عدم الفعل هو فعل و أهم فعل على الإطلاق .. روعة حقا هذا العنوان ايضا .. و سره يكمن في اكتشاف أن التأمل هو عدم محاولة الإكتشاف !
و الترجمة كانت موفقة و سلسة و مريحة جدا بحيث تلتقط المفهوم خاصة في موضوع مثل هذه التي تناولها الكتاب .
و الترجمة كانت موفقة و سلسة و مريحة جدا بحيث تلتقط المفهوم خاصة في موضوع مثل هذه التي تناولها الكتاب .
May 2, 2018
I love these little quote books.
They are the perfect size and uncluttered in presentation of the quotes.
They are the perfect size and uncluttered in presentation of the quotes.
December 2, 2019
I am into mindfulness authors such as Eckhart Tolle, Ram Dass, Nhat Thich Hanh, and Pema Chodron, and this fits well on that shelf. I found the articulations quite calming and helpful in adding to a mindset that can mitigate suffering. I bought this from a bookstore in Wexford (Ireland) when I wanted something small and nourishing to read in my last days there and on the plane. I ended up finishing it in the States. I feel this is a book I can go back to and muse upon. They are like mantras you will never tire of because such a perspective takes practice and reminding. I'm glad to add this to my collection.
January 5, 2022
A nice idea but a bit disappointing. It works well for some quote's/excerpts but most didn't work well out of context
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews