Total Freedom: The Essential Krishnamurti

by J. Krishnamurti

Book Overview

Counted among his admirers are Jonas Salk, Aldous Huxley, David Hockney, and Van Morrison, along with countless other philosophers, artist, writers and students of the spiritual path. Now the trustees of Krishnamurti's work have gathered his very best and most illuminating writings and talks to present in one volume the truly essential ideas of this great spiritual thinker.Total Freedom includes selections from Krishnamurti's early works, his 'Commentaries...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060648805
• ISBN13: 9780060648800
• Release Date: August 1996
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Difficult to read but Impossible to stay away from.

I have been reading this book for almost 7 years many times over. It has been one of the most difficult books I have read. But why don't I just stop reading? Because I can't. K challenges every bit of our thinking about the truth. After quite a while, I realised why he does not provide answers but just swirls our heads around with questions. He keeps telling us what one is NOT instead of what one IS. He is trying to help us know the "unknowable". He is trying to help us conceive the "inconceivable". He is trying to make us understand why any attempt at organizing the truth only produces an effect to the contrary. How would one explain that in words? I could never do that. But K does that brilliantly. It just takes some effort on the reader's part to follow his words and give them their due moment. This was my first of a few Krishnamurti books... and I cherish it. What one gains from the book depends on where the reader is on the path of understanding. My experience with this book has proven that the book (it's effect on me) evolves as I evolve. I can only guess what his words will bring me when I read it 10 years from now.

A Spiritual Pearl

One of the gratest spiritual book. This is a life changing book and you will start observing with every aspect of life with new angle after reading this book. It covers the spiritual journey of K from 1929 to 1985. One will find it difficult to give off the concepts of nationalism and religion from their lives,particularly in such a hostile environment where social and religious conflicts are present in almost every continent,but if those barriers are overcome,world will certainly be a better place to live.Very insightful and thought provoking book.

Extraordinary!

This book is an exceptional book for people for are in search for an authentic self. Krishnamurti never directly provides answers for vital questions in life because he understands that answers to vital questions are never meaningful when they come from the outside. He knows that for our answers to be meaningful they must come from within. He understands that his job is to guide us so that we approach the problem in a way that leads to our own answers from within. Although not all of us are ready, I think we all have much to learn from thinkers like him. If you are ready, this book will be wonderful for you. If you are not, you will find it meaningless. Although you find it meaningless now, keep it on your shelf and read it five or ten years later and see if it makes sense then. If you'd like a book using a more concrete approach to this topic, I strongly suggest "The Ever-transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. It is a fabulous book that explains how many Western and Eastern theories relate to essential matters of the heart.

Essential Reading for those in search of truth

This presentation of Krishnamurti is the most complete to date. It contains four parts that are entitled:Early Works, Insights into Everyday Life, Life's Questions, and You are the World. The most important insight that the reader will gain is... a person does not have to become a member of any religious sect in order to gain peace of mind. J.K. asks us why we have certain fears, why are some of us so depended upon others for fulfillment?The insights presented within the book are not "teachings" in the sense of providing a system for the reader to follow. Instead, Krishnamurti asks us to question tradition and certain forms of dogmatism. I think the best analogy that could be used in describing this book would be to compare it to a mirror in which a person has to take a good hard look at his or her life, thoughts, fears, traditions, and habits. The reader is directed to look for the truth within, through observation, without any rigorous vows or monastic practices. Essential reading indeed.