J. Krishnamurti was an Brahimin Indian born in 1895 and groomed by the Theosophical society to be a world-wide spiritual leader. In 1929 he disavowed the promotion of the society and disbanded his followers. He told them that enlightenment could be had only by following one’s own self. I find some of his thoughts elusive to hold — at first I think I understand them and then, upon reflection, I wonder if I do.

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.

I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect.

All ideologies are idiotic, whether religious or political, for it is conceptual thinking, the conceptual word, which has so unfortunately divided man.

The constant assertion of belief is an indication of fear.

A man who is not afraid is not aggressive, a man who has no sense of fear of any kind is really a free, a peaceful man.

One is never afraid of the unknown; one is afraid of the known coming to an end.

We never look deeply into the quality of a tree; we never really touch it, feel its solidity, its rough bark, and hear the sound that is part of the tree. Not the sound of wind through the leaves, not the breeze of a morning that flutters the leaves, but its own sound, the sound of the trunk and the silent sound of the roots.

If you begin to understand what you are without trying to change it, then what you are undergoes a transformation.

We all want to be famous people, and the moment we want to be something we are no longer free.

Freedom from the desire for an answer is essential to the understanding of a problem.