3. Needs of the Study

According to Krishnamurti, the present world crisis is of an extraordinary nature. He said that, there had been probably few such catastrophes in the past. This present crisis is not the usual kind of disaster that occurs so often in the life of men.

This chaos, he said, is worldwide and it is not Indian or European but stretching into every corner of the world.

‘Few seems to realize the extraordinary character of this world crisis, how profound and how vastly disturbing. Some, realizing the confusion, are active in rearranging the pattern of life on the edge of the precipice, and being themselves confused, are only bringing more confusion. Others try to solve the problem through a particular formula or a system of the extreme left or of the right, or through formulas that lie between the extremes.’^[1]

Krishnamurti hold that, to understand and to resolve those problems, one must approach them in a very simple and direct manner.

‘The solution is not to be found through conferences, blueprints, or through the substitution of a new leader for old, and so on. The solution obviously lies in the creator of that problem, in the creator of the mischief, of the hate and of the innermost misunderstanding that exists between human being. The creator of this mischief and problem is the individual, you and I, not the world as we think of it. The world is our relationship with another. The world is not something separate from you and me; the world, society, is the relationship that we establish or seek to establish between each other.’^[2]

‘So you and I are the problem, and not the world, because the world is the projection of ourselves and to understand the world we must understand ourselves. The world is not separate from us; we are the world, and our problems are the world problems.’^[3]

According to Krishnamurti,

‘we are so sluggish in our mentality that we think the world’s problems are not one’s business that they have to be resolved by the United Nation or by substituting new leaders for the old. It is a very dull mentality that thinks like that, because we are responsible for this frightful misery and confusion in the world, this ever impending war. To transform the world, we must begin with ourselves; and what is important in beginning with ourselves is the intention. It is important to understand that this is our responsibility, yours and mine; because, however small may be the world we live in, if we can transform ourselves, then perhaps we shall affect the world at large, the extended relationship with others.’^[4]

Thus, according to Krishnamurti, the main problem of the world disorder is because of ourselves. The lack of understanding in oneself, that is, self-knowledge is the main reason of the world problems. So, self-knowledge is the biggest issue in the philosophy of Krishnamurti. The present study would deal with the importance, meaning and implication of self-knowledge in mitigating world disorder according to Krishnamurti. The study would focus in details the implication of the Self and Self-knowledge as found in the writings of Krishnamurti. Finally, the study tries to find out the relevance of self-knowledge in the present world context and thereby point out the suitability in applying the philosophy of self-knowledge as found in the writings of Krishnamurti.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Krishnamurti, J. (2006). ‘On Self-Knowledge.’ Chennai: Krishnamurti Foundation India, p.1

[2]:

Krishnamurti, J. (2008). ‘The First and Last Freedom.’ Chennai: Krishnamurti Foundation India, p.30

[3]:

Krishnamurti, J. (2008). ‘The First and Last Freedom.’ Chennai: Krishnamurti Foundation India, p-30

[4]:

Krishnamurti, J. (2008). ‘The First and Last Freedom.’ Chennai: Krishnamurti Foundation India, pp. 30-31