Discover The Immeasurable

Book excerpt: For nearly sixty years, J. Krishnamurti, one of the most distinguished voices of modern times, tirelessly traveled the world lecturing on the need to know the mind, and earned the respect of countless people. Dozens of books document his talks both in the US and in Europe. Discover the Immeasureable contains a series of six lectures given by J. Krishnamurti in the Fall of 1956. It includes the original questions from his listeners, together with his insightful and practical answers. These lectures, as all of the great philosopher’s work, are based on the need for radical change in understanding our own minds. With the term “immeasurable,” Krishnamurti is urging us to explore “what is beyond the beliefs and theories, beyond the sentimental hopes and intellectual assertions [and] mere projections of the mind” that determine our lives. He calls us to passionate action in experiencing life directly, since “only direct experience has validity.” To directly experience what is immeasurable will have an extraordinary significance in our lives, even to the point of realizing what is God, or what is truth. The practice of knowing oneself is not an esoteric one, the author asserts. What we discover, with focused attention, is that truth is revealed in every relationship and at every moment. Krishnamurti advocates the practice of meditation not as some otherworldly transport, but as the method for initiating self-knowledge. Through meditation the mind becomes stilled, without demands. In this state, he speculates, “that which is not measurable comes into being.” Attachment to any belief undermines the search for truth. A book for seekers of wisdom & truth from any tradition ... or no tradition. For readers of J. Krishnamurti’s previous books, and for bookstores and libraries—university & public—everywhere.