Commentaries on living Series
Clive Elwell
Commentaries on living
Very few of Krishnamurti's books were actually written by him. Most of them consistent of transcripts of talks that he gave in various parts of the world in 1930s – 1980s, and of dialogues that he engaged in. However, the series entitled “Commentaries on Living” were actually penned by his own hand in the 1940s and early 50s.
Hundreds of men and women met with him and discussed the innumerable personal problems of their varied lives. Krishnamurti noted down these recollected conversations and the Commentaries on Living series was compiled from his notebooks. Some of those he met with were simple, ordinary people, others famous figures of their times, although their identities are never revealed.
A feature of the
books are descriptions of the natural world, and of ordinary events
that Krishnamurti observed . These were included at the suggestion
of his friend the writer Aldous Huxley. Nothing was imagined or
invented: he wrote down simply and truly what happened.
As it says
in the front piece of the book:
“The range of subjects Krishnamurti deals with is wide and his discussions with individuals are the expressions of intensely emotional experiences,not merely philosophical inquiries or the intellectual,speculative search for solutions”.
Perhaps it is not inappropriate to call the discussions in these books 'counselling'. However, as always, there is one central fact of all Krishnamurti's teaching which these immensely varied conversations bring out: that for each individual the central human problem can be solved in only one way - by and for oneself.
There are three books in the series, and here are the titles of some of the sections:
The rich and the poor
Love in relationship
The individual and society
The radio and music
Jealousy
Life in a city
Occupation of the mind
The fear of inner solitude
What is making you dull?
To be vulnerable is to live, to withdraw is to die
The family and the desire for security
The fire of discontent
The competitive way of life
Conditioning and the urge to be free
Deterioration of the mind
The fragmentation of man is making him sick
Probably all human problems are between the covers of these books.
Books that are in a somewhat similar vein are:
“The only Revolution”
“The Urgency of Change”
which were published in the 1970s.
All these books, and many more, are available for loan from the Krishnamurti-nz postal lending library. See:
http://krishnamurti-nz.org/libraries.htm
We also have some new and second hand books for sale.
Clive Elwell