Facing a World in Crisis: What Life Teaches Us in Challenging Times by Jiddu Krishnamurti

Author:Jiddu Krishnamurti [Krishnamurti, Jiddu]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Religion, General, Philosophy, Eastern, Spiritual, Self-Help, Personal Growth
ISBN: 9781590302033
Google: Fk5pTdqvHREC
Amazon: 1590302036
Publisher: Shambhala
Published: 2005-03-07T23:00:00+00:00

7. LIVING RELIGIOUSLY

We have talked about so many things during the last six talks, and I would like now, if I may, to talk with you on the question of religion, what is meditation, and try to come upon something that may be not of a visionary nature, not therefore visions or “experiences,” but an actual dimension that thought cannot possibly enter.

I do not know if you have noticed that most of our lives are rather boring, tiresome, with very little meaning in themselves. We try to give meaning, intellectual meaning, to our existence, but that too has very little significance. And we may try to enrich our lives by studying or inquiring into occultism or witchcraft—that I believe is the fashion now, which is as old as the hills, and not very serious either—or by indulging in various forms of distraction. Because the way our lives are lived is rather narrow, repetitious, tiresome, fearful, anxious, and so on. So when we talk about religion, it becomes an escape rather than an actuality. So if we can this morning, we should share together an inquiry into what actually is religion, a religious life, a religious mind, a religious way of existence.

Obviously, we should, if we can, put aside all the organized religions with their beliefs and dogmas, with their priests, their structure that thought has put together, because in themselves they have no validity, except for what man has invented, except for what a few have experienced, and assert that this is so or that is not.

What is a religious mind? What is a religious way of living? I think we should go into this, because it is a vital question, like love, like death, sorrow, and human relationship; it is as important as, perhaps, if not more important than all of these to find out for oneself what it is to live a life that is truly and deeply religious. The word religion means—I looked it up the other day in the dictionary—“tie together.” And the word yoga—perhaps most of you know that word—also means “joined together,” like two yoked oxen. So in the ordinary dictionary meaning, religion and yoga imply the same thing, that is, bring together, tie together, yoke the higher part to the lower part, the spirit and matter, and so on.

First of all, that implies division. When you say bring together, join together, tie together, this implies that there is a division in existence. Why is it that we have divided life into a religious and nonreligious life, spirit and matter, the higher and the lower; why is there such fragmentation in our existence? There is the mind, the heart, and the body. And this division has existed throughout the ages. We don’t treat existence as a whole. We treat it as a thing that is divided and must be brought together. The bringing together implies, doesn’t it, an outside agency or an agency in yourself. Please follow this a little, if you’re interested in it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.