Change
There have been rules since the first day we were born. Firstly your parents had to decide on a name with a time frame set by the local authorities and register your name with the local birth and death registry. I know of people whose birthdates have been changed for official use because their parents could not do it within the one-month period. We are law-abiding so we will not be penalized. Increasingly more rules are being implemented in the name of safety for all. Despite increasing number of rules and regulations, we read about appalling things happening around the world that is invariably becoming very efficient with technology advances. Is the world becoming more fragmented, chaotic and broken despite all the different religions in the world that teach us to be kind and compassionate? Perhaps we are not seeing things for what they are whether inwardly or outwardly. We label our feelings and express our thoughts as we try to understand the happenings in our lives. We draw conclusions, we perceive things the way we have been told and what we have been taught. Perhaps we should just see things for they are, it is what it is and not strive to explain or justify what is happening.
In the words of Jiddhu Krishnamurti:
‘The religious mind is a state of mind in which there is no fear and therefore no belief whatsoever but only what is- what actually is.’
The thinker also said:
‘ That state of mind which is no longer capable of striving is the true religious mind, and in that state of mind you may come upon this thing called truth or reality or bliss or God or beauty or love.’
There are too many conflicts and frictions between people and often these conflicts come about from within each one of us. We need a revolution in the psyche itself. Most of us feel entrapped with our desires and familiar expectations. We waste much energy in dealing with conflicts within ourselves and also conflicts in our relationships and interactions with others. We care much about what others may think of us , we need affirmation and confirmation that we are doing OK. If only we could be totally present so that the ‘I’ does not exist and the energy will flow without limitations.
Here is a passage from Chapter XVI Freedom from the Known by J. Krishnamurti:
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‘Time is not the way. Whether we are old or young it is now that the whole process of life can be brought into a different dimension. Seeking the opposite of what we are is not the way either, nor is the artificial discipline imposed by a system, a teacher, a philosopher or priest — all that is so very childish. When we realise this, we ask ourselves is it possible to break through this heavy conditioning of centuries immediately and not enter into another conditioning — to be free, so that the mind can be altogether new, sensitive, alive, aware, intense , capable? That is our problem. There is no other problem because when the mind is made new it can tackle any problem. That is the only question we have to ask ourselves’
We prefer to be told how and what to think but only we ourselves can know our own mind and bring about possible change. Growing up , we have been told what to vie for and we constantly strive for stability and security when we must know that nothing remains permanent and change is the only constant. We cannot see clarity based on yesterday’s knowledge and experience.
‘ If one wants to see a thing very clearly, one’s mind must be very quiet, without all the prejudices, the chattering, the dialogue, the images, the pictures — all that must be put aside to look. And it is only in silence that you can observe the beginning of thought -not when you are searching, asking questions, waiting for a reply. So it is only when you are completely quiet, right through your being , having put that question, ‘ What is the beginning of thought?’, that you will begin to see, out of that silence ,how thought takes shape.’
— Chapter XIII Freedom from the Known by J. Krishnamurti
When we pay attention and become aware of the coming and going for our thoughts, we may begin to understand ourselves and change in us and our relationship with the world will be possible. J. Krishnamurti is reminding us that we are the observer and we are also the observed. If we want the world to be a better place, we must begin with each one of us and know our mind thereby we may understand the nature and structure of our relationship with the world.
Le Petit Prince written by Antoine de Saint- Exupéry is a timeless allegory. The following quote from The Little Prince remains my favourite.
On ne voit bien qu’avec le coeur ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
One can see clearly only with the heart.
