19 April

J.Krishnamurti’s Last Talk: 4 January 1986 

Krishnamurti In India: The Last Decade

Madras 1985 / 1986 – 3rd   Public Talk

15    So, what is becoming of a human being? What’s becoming of you? And we have also to enquire – this is a very serious subject, don’t agree or disagree, just listen, you can’t, probably you can’t take part in it – what is creation? You understand my question? You understand my question at least – creation. Not the creation of a baby, that’s very simple, or the creation of a new something or other. Invention is totally different from creation. Invention is based on knowledge. Right? I can improve, the engineers can improve the jet. The improvement is based on knowledge and the invention is also based on knowledge. So we must separate invention from creation. Will you? No, no, sir, don’t agree. This requires your total energy, your capacity to penetrate, not just say yes, yes. The difference between creation and invention, you understand the difference? Invention is essentially based on knowledge. Right? I improve the clock; I have a new gadget, because the old gadgets I have used, I have found something new and I invent something else. So all invention is based on knowledge – right? – on experience. Inventions are inevitably limited because they’re based on knowledge. Oh, god’s sake, somebody wake up. So, knowledge being ever limited, inventions must always be limited. In the future they may have no jets, but something else and that will go from Delhi to Los Angeles in two hours. That’s an invention based on previous knowledge which has been improved step by step by step, but that’s not creation. Right? I get rather fed up looking at those faces which say nothing.

16    So what is creation? So what is life? You understand? Life in the tree, life in the little grass, life in the scientist – life, not what they invent, what they do, but the beginning of life. I don’t know if you understand. Life, the thing that lives. You may kill it but it’s still there in the other.

17    So, we’re asking, don’t agree or disagree, don’t nod your head, but see we are enquiring into what is the origin of life. C’est d’accord? Vous etes comme moi? I’m sorry, I’ll stop. So, we are going to enquire into the absolute – something that’s really marvellous. Not a reward. You can’t take it home and say, ‘I’ll use it’.

18    What is meditation to you? Would you kindly tell me. What is meditation to you? You meditate, some of you, don’t you? No? Oh, god, what? Some of you do, don’t you? What is meditation? The word, it’s common language in the dictionary, means ‘to ponder over, to think over’ and ‘to concentrate’, to learn to concentrate on something, not let your brain wander all over the place. Right? Right? Is that what you call meditation? Be simple, sir, be honest. That is what? Giving every day a certain period and you go to a room quietly, sit down for ten minutes, quarter of an hour, meditate. Right? Right? Do you agree with that, sir? No? Then what is meditation to you? Concentration? Thinking about something very noble? You can’t answer all these questions.