Bedrock On Which We All Stand
by J. Krishnamurti
[Listen to Audio!]
 Do you realize, sir, that you are the world and the world is you? The world is not separate from you and me. There is a common thread of relationship weaving us all together. Deep down we are all totally connected. Superficially things appear separate. Separate species, separate races, separate cultures and colours, separate nationalities and religions and politics.
If you look closely, you will immediately see that we are all part of a tapestry of life. When we can see ourselves as part of this glorious pattern of relationships then conflicts between nations, religions and political systems can come to an end. Conflicts are born of ignorance. When we are ignorant of the fact that all life is inter-connected, then we try to control each other. When there is no understanding that relationship is the basis of our existence, then there is only disintegration in society. Relationship is the bedrock upon which we all stand.
[I asked, "You say that religion, politics and ideologies have wounded humanity. How can we heal these wounds? How can we return to the state of relatedness?"]
The problem goes much deeper than religion or politics. It starts in our minds, in our habits, in our lives. There is a constant conditioning which has gone on and on for centuries. We are subjected to conditioning and we participate in our own conditioning. Judging, prejudice, likes and dislikes, they are all part of the same problem. We have been conditioned to believe that the observer is separate from the observed, the thinker is separate from the thought. This dualism, this compartmentalization, is the mother of all conflicts, basis of all pain and suffering. Do you understand me, Sir? It is very important.
["I hope I do. However, how do we go from dualism to wholeness?" I pursued my inquiry.]
For healing to take place, we have to go beyond theories, formulas, and ready-made answers. We have to be silent and pay attention. Silence and attention provide the ground for meditation. Meditation is a process of healing the wounds of fragmentation. In meditation, divisions end and wholeness emerges. Then there is no longer a division between `I’ and ‘you’, between ‘us’ and ‘them’, between ‘good’ and ‘evil’.
When there is no ego, no vanity, no fear, no isolation, no insecurity, no ignorance, then there is healing, and wholeness.
About the Author: J. Krishnamuti was a great Indian philosopher and sage. The excerpt above is from his dialogues with Satish Kumar, as archived in ‘You Are, Therefore I Am.‘
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Bedrock On Which We All Stand
How do you relate to the need to go much deeper than religion or politics to arrive at how we participate in our own conditioning? Can you share a personal story of a time you were able to go beyond your own prejudice, no matter how noble it felt, and be in relationship? What helps you see beyond division and arrive at wholeness? |
| Vinod Eshwer wrote: When the ego is still and silent, eco emerges. Only nature remains. There is nothing else. … |
| Susan wrote: I have been living in a new country now for two years. I am wowed at how many things though different, are the same. I am from the San Francisco Bay Area and I am living in another ‘bay a… |
| Rajesh wrote: This is a beautiful passage. Really resonate with the statement “Meditation is a process of healing the wounds of fragmentation”. Indeed, our life’s work is to ‘stay with’ our fragmentation and… |
| David Doane wrote: I love what Krisnamurti wrote in this essay. Religion and politics have gotten very caught up in dualistic separatist thinking, so we need to get beyond where they are to get to unitive thinkin… |
| Jagdish P Dave wrote: How can we end our separateness, divisiveness, conflicts, and suffering caused by igonrance? This has been a Big Question for all of us in our everyday living.According to my understandin… |
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