Lecture 4 of 14: Listening to Jiddu Krishnamurti
Today, I finished listening to Lecture 4: Simplicity and Impulses.
I’m doing something differently this time. Instead of writing a long post here, I’m doing a shorter version—showing only my reflection. My journal now contains most of my thoughts and notes I gleaned from the audiobooks of the lecture series.
My Reflection:
True simplicity is internal, not external. Krishnamurti emphasizes that simplicity isn’t about owning fewer things. It emerges when one is inwardly free, without search, desire, or compulsion. This inner simplicity, rather than external minimalism, enables true clarity and resolves life’s problems.
Search breeds duality and blocks understanding. Seeking or rejecting something creates psychological division (duality), which leads to influence and compulsion. This prevents authentic comprehension of reality.
Awareness dissolves impulse-driven motives. Through deep, non-judgmental awareness of thought and emotion—including impulses—one can uncover and dissolve hidden influences. This allows intelligence and insight to emerge naturally.
Self-knowledge (not will) deepens through passive awareness. When we pursue understanding with effort or will, the mind becomes self-conscious, thus blocking insight. Only in a state of calm, passive attention, which is free from deliberate intention, can self-knowledge expand widely and deeply.
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From today until the end of September, I plan to listen to a series of lectures given by Jiddu Krishnamurti in 1949 to an audience in Ojai, California. These lectures—14 of them—are digitally remastered recordings available in an audiobook collection from NLB.
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