Krishnamurti Quotes & Sayings

The day you teach the child the name of the bird, the child will never see that bird again. — Krishnamurti

The young... are full of hope and discontent... And the old are those who were once discontented, but who have successfully smothered that flame and have found security and comfort in various ways. — Krishnamurti

... it must be a complete harmonious whole that is attentive. That is attention. Does the mind attend with such complete attention to the activity of the monkey? - not condemning it, not saying 'This is right or wrong', just watching the tricks of the monkey. In this watching there is no analysis...The moment it analyses one of the fragments, the monkey is in operation. — Krishnamurti

... it is because we have acquired technical knowledge without understanding the total process of life that technology has become a means of destroying ourselves — Krishnamurti

So what is it that you are doing - seeking security in your restlessness? The desire to be secure is one of the most curious things. And that security must be recognized by the world; I don't know whether you see this. I write a book and in the book I find my security. But that book must be recognized by the world, otherwise there is no security. So look what I've done - my security lies in the opinion of the world!...So it means I am deceiving myself constantly. — Krishnamurti

If you see that you are a bundle of memories and words, the restless monkey comes to an end. — Krishnamurti

The right kind of education consists in understanding the child as he is without imposing upon him an ideal of what we think he should be. To enclose him in the framework of an ideal is to encourage him to conform, which breeds fear and produces in him a constant conflict between what he is and what he should be; and all inward conflicts have their outward manifestations in society. — Krishnamurti

If we are going to inquire into that, (religion, i.e. a life in which there is no fragmentation whatsoever) we must not only be free of all belief, but also we must be very clear about the distorting factor of all effort, direction and purpose. — Krishnamurti

Systems, whether educational or political, are not changed mysteriously; they are transformed when there is a fundamental change in ourselves. — Krishnamurti

Meditation is to find out whether the brain, with all its activities, all its experiences, can be absolutely quiet. Not forced, because the moment you force, there again is duality, the entity that says, 'I would like to have marvellous experiences, therefore I must force my brain to be quiet' - you will never do it. But if you begin to inquire, watch, observe, listen to all the movements of thought, its conditioning, its pursuits, its fears, its pleasures, watch how the brain operates, then you will see that the brain becomes extraordinarily quiet; that quietness is not sleep but is tremendously active and therefore quiet. — Krishnamurti