To Be Human

How does one rate a philosophy book. What one can find stupid and repelling, some other can find interesting and thought provoking. And after all, for which philosophical doctrine can be said that it is irrevocably false. So, my rating of five stars doesen't really mean a thing. Rather to say something about book. Though I'm a 'fan' of western philosophy, lead by JS Mill, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Schopenhauer, Schelling, I find Krishnamurti's thoughts rather interesting. By neglecting possibility of freedom while conditioned by past, Krishnamurti is very close to orthodox nihilists of western philosophy. Originated from Greeks, it was widely ackonwledged, that there is no life posible outside of the community, thus the laws, ethics and such, Krishnamurti tries to deconstruct (though this sounds rather harsh) such 'trivialness' of thought, saying that ones life is lead in oneself. You may find his thoughts repelling, or you may like it, there is no easy guideline here...

To Be Human is an outstanding collection of previously unpublished writings and talks by J. Krishnamurti's (1895-1986) . One of the 20th century's most important and influential spiritual teachers, Krishnamurti's core message is showcased in a gifted and innovative use of language. An informative introduction by David Skitt discusses Krishnamurti's philosophy as a guide to knowledge and experience, the roles knowledge and experience should play in our lives, and the times when it is best to cast them aside and re-examine life and ourselves with a fresh perspective. To Be Human is extraordinary and highly recommended reading for students of Eastern Philosophy as well as multicultural and metaphysical spirituality.

TO BE HUMAN is a collection of the "core" teachings of Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986). As such, it offers a "neat and tidy" introduction to his enlightening integration of philosophy, religion, science and psychology. Editor David Skitt begins this book with Krishnamurti's own one-page summary of his "core" teachings. Selections representative of those teachings then follow. Krishnamurti "urged his listeners to abandon all authority, including that of one's own experience, when observing oneself, others, and life" (p. xxiii). He also encouraged his listeners to "doubt, question, challenge" his message, and to test him through practice (xxiv).As an introduction to Krishnamurti, this book quickly goes right to the heart of his teachings. "Truth is a pathless land," Krishnamurti said in 1929. A man cannot arrive at truth "through any organization, through any creed, through any dogma, priest, or ritual, nor through any philosophical knowledge or psychological technique. He has to find it through the mirror of relationship, through the understanding of the content of his own mind, through observation and not through intellectual analysis or introspective dissection. Man has built in himself images as a fence of security--religious, political, and personal. These manifest as symbols, ideas, beliefs. The burden of these images dominates man's thinking, his relationships, his daily life. These images are the causes of our problems, for they divide man from man" (p. 5).Like a goat tied to a stake, we are limited by "yesterday's knowledge" (p. 139). Krishnamurti says, "life has to be discovered from moment to moment, from day to day. It has to be discovered. It cannot be taken for granted. If you take it for granted that you know life, then you are not living. Three meals a day, clothing, shelter, sex, your job, your amusement, and your thinking process--that dull, repetitive process is not life" (p. 8) This book was my first encounter with Krishnamurti. It deeply explores the obstacles we encounter as humans, which prevent us from living our lives with passion and meaning. Reading Krishnamurti will challenge you to find something new in every moment, to know yourself, and to experience life. Reading this book will challenge you "to be human."G. Merritt

Editor Skitt has written a seventeen-page Introduction to this volume of Krishnamurti's writings and talks that addresses many issues you may have wanted to raise but had no one to ask. Except perhaps for Aldous Huxley's Introduction to THE FIRST AND LAST FREEDOM, there is no other introduction to a Krishnamurti book that so completely shows his relevance for the modern mind. It makes Krishnamurti the true philosopher for the 21st Century.The CORE OF THE TEACHINGS, a short prose outline written by Krishnamurti to describe his teachings, is used as the structure for this new book. Skitt has taken each major aspect of the teachings and given extensive quotations from Krishnamurti to give a fuller insight into such themes as, "Is there such a thing as truth apart from personal opinion?"; "In observation one begins to discover the lack of freedom"; "This division between the observer and the observed is an illusion"; among others. Of particular note is the section on Words and Meanings where Skitt has Krishnamurti explain in his own words how he used "old" words in new ways in order to convey what he has to say-where Krishnamurti's usage departs significantly from the dictionary definitions.TO BE HUMAN is a fresh, scholarly, but lively compilation of Krishnamurti's most important teachings. It penetrates and elucidates the truth in life and where it can be found.