Awakening of Intelligence (The Collected Works of J. Krishnamurti Book 1)

by J. Krishnamurti

What do you think is maturity? Does it depend on age, time? Swamiji: No. KRISHNAJI: So we can remove that. Time, age is not an indication of maturity. Then there is the maturity of the very learned man, the man who is highly, intellectually capable. Swamiji: No, he may twist and turn the words. KRISHNAJI: So, we will eliminate that. Whom would you consider as a mature, ripe man? Swamiji: The man who is able to observe. KRISHNAJI: Wait. Obviously the man who goes to churches, to temples, to mosques is out; so is the intellectual, the religious and the emotional. We should say, if we eliminate all that, maturity consists in being not self-centred—not “me” first and everybody else second, or my emotions first. So maturity implies the absence of the “me”.