What Is Meditation?
The Understanding of Space & the Nature of Silence
“There are two things which are absolutely necessary to find out about: the understanding of space, and the nature of silence. It is a most interesting thing to find out what space means. We are not talking of the distance between the earth and the moon, but psychological space, the space within. A mind that has no space is a shoddy, little mind, a petty mind; it is caught in a trap and the movement in the trap it calls living.
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You can observe how little space you have inwardly; we are overcrowded with noise, chattering, endless memories, images, symbols, opinions, knowledge, crammed full of secondhand things. There is no space there at all; therefore there is no freedom. And without this space, in which there is no boundary, the mind is incapable of finding out, of coming upon that immeasurable reality.
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Then also one must understand what silence is. You know, we are never silent; either we are having a dialogue with ourselves, or with somebody else. The machinery of thought is incessantly active, projecting itself, what it should do, it must not do, how it has been – endlessly chattering; or conforming, accepting, comparing judging, condemning, imitating, obeying. Knowing this, there are various forms of meditation which tell you how to control thought. But controlling thought is not meditation at all; anybody can concentrate, from the schoolboy to the higher general preparing for war. And it is only a silent mind that can perceive, that can actually see; not a chattering mind, not a controlled mind, not a mind that is tortured, suppressed – nor yielding, indulging. It is only a very silent mind that can actually see.
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Meditation is one of the greatest arts of life – perhaps the greatest art. Because in the understanding of meditation there is love, and love is not the product of systems, of habits, of following a method. Love cannot be cultivated by thought. Love can perhaps come into being when there is complete silence. And the mind can only be silent when it understands the nature of its own movement, as thought and feeling.
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So meditation can take place when you are sitting in a bus, or walking in the woods full of light and shadows, or listening to the singing birds, or looking at the face of your wife or husband. Meditation is not something apart; it is the understanding of the totality of life in which every form of fragmentation of life has ceased.
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When one has totally denied the psychological world which man has created for himself, and has denied the psychological structure of society of which we are: the greed, the envy, the brutality, the violence, the jealousies, the hatred; then when you totally deny, you have space and silence. And it is only such a mind that is the religious mind, not belonging to any organized, propagandist religion – it is only such a mind that can see what is the immeasurable. And such a mind is a light to itself.”
Excerpts from 5th Public Talk in Amsterdam, 1967
by Krishnamurti
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Thank you… I need all the help I can get in freeing myself from worry and fear. My beloved wife of 30 yr marriage has cancer. She is undergoing chemo therapy and all her hair has fallen out. I pray every night for her well being and will try to digest the true meaning of meditation.
To be with your life partner, unconditionally, there in itself is TRUE relationship. Relationship which does not contradict or what it should be or shouldn’t be, is A “true” relationship. To be with her, with your entire being, unconditionally, in itself lies meditation. Journey of what “peace” factually means, has to start with understanding ourselves first, hence accept who we are unconditionally, as is, at all given times, allows to create the inner space within us. This space is where “absolute silence” exist, which is not born of time nor a product of a thought. It exist on its own, undisturbed or any perturbation that a thought might create. It is at “absolute peace” at all given times.
This flowering of space within, has its own capacity to accept the world outside us, as is, unconditionally. All this eventually becomes a meditative journey by itself because we are at all given times, observing ourselves and world around of us. Peace within brings Peace outside, which would put your dear wife at extreme peace because of the smile on your face is all that she needs in such moments.
A few years ago I found myself in the most desperate of situations. I discovered Vipassana and it saved my life.
Yes I highly recommend Vipassana as taught by S. N. Goenka for understanding what meditation is. Krishnamurti apparently once took a course himself and said, “this is not a technique,” meaning, it is meditation: pure awareness, understanding, wisdom – even though it is described as ‘a meditation technique’ by S. N. Goenka.
It shall be well
Bless you & your wife!!!
Good work. Very beautiful video. Thanks.
Thank you
Words of Pure wisdom, only a quite mind where there is only silence, which has no boundaries. Only such a mind can persive the Wholeness of humanity. The oneness of Mankind not separate self ????☘️?????
Thank you. I was shaken by hearing his voice again. It has been a long time?
Beauty.
well explained, A KEY TO MEDITATION
One of the most beautiful but inspirational talk in meditation!
Thanks !
To know the reality silence is must, and this is the meaning of silence
So Grateful for this message and that is was shared with the Universe. We need more messages like this for a global change of love, understanding, compassion and caring, now ,and always.
Namaste
I am not looking for God, because I am painfull. Neverthless I like to hear Krishnamurti´speeches becuse He is a light to my sorrow. Thanks for remmember-me
An ageless true,
More than anytime humanity hungry for well captured true like this!
Krishnamurti is a true meditator and understands the mind in its pure and raw form and brings it to us so powerfully. Thank you for this video.
Thanks from Ukraine
Fresh cool breeze in a stuffy day-to-day life. I took a deep breath in Krishnamurti’s cool fresh words. A late Thankyou for posting this video ?!
Truly profound, simple, and direct. So authentic an essence that it pierces through the heart cleansing up one’s psychological system at the moment of listening.
Meditation is medication; silence is living.
Real meditation is pure wisdom and understanding the WHAT IS.
Thanks the I’m org.
“Pero aquellos que desean comprender, que tratan de descubrir lo que es eterno, sin principio ni fin, marcharán juntos con mayor intensidad y serán un peligro para todo lo que no es esencial,para las irrealidades, para las sombras.
Y ellos se reunirán y se volverán la llama. Un cuerpo así es el que deberemos crear, y tal es mi propósito. Porque gracias a esa verdadera amistad… habrá verdadera cooperación de parte de cada uno. Y esto no será por causa de la autoridad.”
Krishnamurti .”El futuro es hoy” pag. 10 Editorial Edhasa.
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“But those who desire to understand, who are looking to find that which is eternal, without beginning and end, will walk together with grater intensity,
will be a danger to everything which is unessential, to unrealities, to shadows. And they will concentrate, they will become the flame, because they understand. Such a body we must create, and that is my purpose. Because of that true friendship… there will be real cooperation on thepart of each one. And this not because of authority.”
Krishnamurrti- “The future is now” Harper & Row peg. 10
Love, Serve, Meditate and Realize.
Always great.
All your news letter are a beautiful dialogue
Thanks you very much
??
Krishnaji’s message is a massage for the aching soul, thirsty for knowledge leading to wisdom. There is a video on what is meditation by Krishnaji, dialog with a theologist and Physicist (Dr. Boehm, worth watching as complementary to this Video. Thanks for reading.
Great message on meditation.
Many many thanks for the same.