The Talks on Freedom - Site Background and Bibliography

            This website is about dissemination of the talks, amongst other things. It is founded upon a great deal of reading over the years and
                     for that, due acknowledgements are in order. In addition to the bibliography listed below, many websites have also been consulted
                      (a comprehensive list can be found on the Links page).

    Full acknowledgements for the quotations used are gratefully extended to the following principal organizations:

§ K Publications - Publishing J. Krishnamurti Worldwide, based in Ojai, California (Online);
§ The Krishnamurti Foundation of America (KFA), based in Ojai, California, US (Books, Quotations, Online) - Ojai Area Map;
§ The Krishnamurti Foundation Trust (KFT), based at Brockwood Park, UK (Books, Daily Quotations, Online);
§ Krishnamurti Foundation India (KFI), based in Mumbai, India (Booklets, Online);
§ The Krishnamurti Information Network (Kinfonet), based in Hawaii, US (Online);
§ Krishnamurti Link International: The Link Magazine (KLI), based in The Netherlands;
§ The Krishnamurti Text Collection (tchl) (Online).

(As an aside, it is noted here that the website author is an outsider, not affiliated in any way with these Foundations, Schools, Centers, Websites and
   national Committees; nor is he a member of, or involved in any capacity with, any other philosophical, secular, spiritual, or religious organization.)

Daily Quotations:
The author also acknowledges and thanks those behind the compilation of the daily quotations pages on the J. Krishnamurti Teachings International (jkrishnamurti.org) website (abbreviated in this site to JKTI), which is a joint venture of Krishnamurti Foundations worldwide. Also freely referred to are the daily quotations of the Kinfonet site and the KFA website’s Book of Life Daily Meditations web pages, which have been extensively consulted over recent years (for copyright permission regarding the use of quotations, see Notes on Copyright).

   Site title, photographs & design:
* The site title is a contraction; it is drawn from the full statement: 'Beyond the mind, as we know it'. Implied in it is the possibility of an entirely new mind, not corrupted by self-entrenched thought.
* Most webpage panoramic banner photos are courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, which is a public domain license that enables these photographs to be copied. Grateful acknowledgments are extended to Wikimedia for the public availability of these photographs. Some photos are also courtesy of freestockphotos.com and FreeNaturePictures.com and these are so marked. Note that most of the photographs have been resized from the original.
* The Home page photograph is courtesy of Microsoft Clip Art.
* The design of this site is through BlueVoda. Note that the site is best viewed through the Internet Explorer browser, as there are some unfortunate and unresolved page display (repositioning) issues, as well as poor rendering of bold fonts, if viewed through Firefox.
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This is a serious website devoted to an ongoing investigation of the talks and it is grounded in many years of reading and reflection. The writer is unimportant. It is the clarity of what is presented, and the depth or otherwise of the understanding, that is the only issue. It is clear that the talks present a mirror to the entire contents and structure of the human mind per se. The key to it all is to directly perceive the facts presented through this mirror, not through an interpretational or past, self-interested and prejudicial distortion of it.

The original intent in setting up a new website based entirely on the talks occurred over six years ago, though little was done at that time beyond extensive reading. Then, four years ago, due to a confluence of life events, a question of intensity arose in the mind: What is it all actually about? This was coupled with an acute awareness of a complete lack of self-knowledge, despite years of familiarity with the man’s life and his talks. The current website, the actual preliminary construction of which began in early 2007, presents a shared understanding through the persistent and unwavering pursuit of this question, which may (or may not, as the case may be) prove to be of value to others. It is a life commitment.

During this journey of understanding (a journey in the chronological sense, with no psychological arrival, goal or destination, as there is
no such thing) there have been three surprising discoveries:

The first is a fundamental one and simply cannot be overstated: One will not understand the talks on a first reading. They are too
subtle, too nuanced, too interconnected, too challenging to the entire structure of one’s accustomed thinking processes. The mind will resist much of what is said, carefully stream it out; it is only on subsequent readings that this resistance appears to break down. So it is only when one re-reads passages of the talks that one has read days, weeks, or even months before (and has forgotten), that one sees clearly in these passages aspects or flashes of understanding that were not apparent originally. It is as if one were each day viewing a diamond: different facets of the thing comes to light depending on the day and the angle at which it is viewed.

This may have something to do with the workings and perception of the unconscious mind; indeed, it is as if there is some sort of foundation of understanding being laid down in the unconscious, which then comes into being when passages are re-read. This occurred to the writer without exception (and was a continual surprise) on everything that was read; but of course, this will only happen when one is really interested in what one is reading (it may in fact be directly related to the question held in the mind). It is also necessary to extensively reflect on one’s level of understanding - to, as it were, ‘think it through’ (this is not a paradox, despite first appearances, see Are the talks clear?).

The second discovery, allied to the first, is that there is such a thing as an expansion of awareness/understanding. One starts to be aware of the total process of thought, the self and all the ideas one has about everything (these ideas are all wrong; there are not good ideas and bad ideas). The ideas prevent this thing called the alert passivity of awareness. This expansion of awareness obviously occurs over chronological time. However, the series of ‘breakthroughs’ in understanding that have occurred in only the last six months do not occur through accumulated knowledge gained from the past. Each breakthrough has appeared as new, unpremeditated and unsought.

The third discovery is that all the passages in all the talks are intricately, subtly and irrevocably interconnected. This is especially true of the differing terminology that was employed over time. Sometimes, a number of terms are used to convey exactly the same thing but have been expressed differently according to the differing approach adopted on each day. The primary example here is of course awareness, which is synonymous with attention, observation and watching. However, although the terminology changes over the years and although the central issues are approached from a myriad of differing angles, the essence of the talks always remains the same.
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There is no end to learning, no destination, no arrival point. The outlining of this understanding does not preclude further learning, in fact the contrary has proved to be the case. The talks are truly vast in their scope, as they encompass the entire human condition. This site has focused on what is perceived to be the central themes, comprising the essence of it all; it is not a complete look at all the issues raised in the talks. It is a work in understanding and must not be regarded as an authority in any way on either the talks or the themes that are pointed out - there is simply no authority, one must see the truth for oneself.

There is a further understanding at the base of all this: all the words and explanations in this site are not the real thing, in fact one must be free of all words and their associations. There is only perception. The discussions contained herein are therefore only talking about these issues in order to communicate; as such they may be, in parts, interpretational, though every care has been taken to eliminate subjectivity. It is the overarching contention of this site that all these subjects need a fresh airing and a new evaluation and consideration.

May you therefore find in this, somewhere, something of value.
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                                                      Site Bibliography

The Transformation of Man: The Wholeness of Life - Krishnamurti Foundation India, KFT edition, 2004; [© KFT, 1978]
Krishnamurti’s Notebook - Hampshire, England: Krishnamurti Foundation Trust Ltd (KFT), Full text edition, 2003; [1976]
The Impossible Question - London: Orion Books Ltd, Reprinted, 2003; [© KFT, 1972]
On God - San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1992; [© KFT, KFA]
Krishnamurti: The Years of Fulfilment (Volume 2) - Mary Lutyens. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Inc., 1983.
Krishnamurti: A Biography - Pupul Jayakar, New York: Harper & Row, 1986.

Commentaries on Living: First Series; From the Notebooks of J. Krishnamurti - Edited by D. Rajagopal, Theosophical Publishing House, 1956.
The Ending of Time - Conversations with Professor David Bohm in April, 1980.
The Future of Humanity - Full transcript of conversations with Professor David Bohm, in 1983, on the Krishnamurti Text Collection website.
The Awakening of Intelligence - Harper Collins, 1987.
Unconditionally Free: Introduction to the life and work of J. Krishnamurti (1895-1986) - Booklet, © KFA, KFI and the KFT Ltd, 1995.
J. Krishnamurti Speaking with the International Committees at Saanen, 1981 to 1985 - Booklet, Revised edition, 2003.
Exploration Into Insight - Gollancz, 1979,
Krishnamurti: Reflections on the Self - Edited by Raymond Martin, Open Court Publishing, 1997.
A Wholly Different Way of Living - Conversations with Professor Allan W. Anderson, Gollancz, 1991.
Questioning Krishnamurti: In Dialogue - Harper Collins, 1996.
Beginnings of Learning - Orton, 2003.
Education and the Significance of Life - Harper Collins, 1992.
On Living and Dying - Harper Collins, 1992.
On Relationship - Harper, 1992.
The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti - Harper Collins, 1995 (Online webpage daily quotes courtesy the KFA Website).

Biographies/Reminiscences/Memoirs:

Krishnamurti: 100 Years - Evelyne Blau, Stewart, Tabori and Chang; Reprint edition, 1997.
Star In The East: Krishnamurti: The Invention of a Messiah - Roland Vernon, Sentient Publications, 2002.
A Vision of the Sacred: My Personal Journey with Krishnamurti - Sunanda Patwardhan, South Asia Books; 2nd edition, 1999.
The Kitchen Chronicles: 1001 Lunches with Krishnamurti - Michael Krohnen, Edwin House Publishing, 1997.
Krishnamurti: The Reluctant Messiah - Sidney Field, Paragon House Publishers; 1st edition, 1989.
The Beauty of the Mountain: Memories of Krishnamurti - Friedrich Grohe, The Krishnamurti Foundation Trust, 2001.
Truth Is A Pathless Land: A Journey with Krishnamurti - Ingram Smith, Theosophical Publishing House; 1st edition, 1989.
One Thousand Moons: Krishnamurti at Eighty-Five - Asit Chandmal, 1980.
As The River Joins The Ocean: Reflections about J. Krishnamurti - Giddu Narayan, Edwin House, 1999.
Krishnamurti: The Years of Awakening (Vol 1) - Mary Lutyens, Farrar Straus and Giroux, Inc., 1981.
J. Krishnamurti: The Open Door (Vol 3) - Mary Lutyens, 1988.
The Life and Death of Krishnamurti (Vol 4) - Mary Lutyens, 1990.
Krishnamurti and the Rajagopals - Mary Lutyens, 1996.
Krishnamurti: World Philosopher (1895-1986) His Life and Thoughts - Dr. C. V. Williams, 2004 (Google Books).
Candles in the Sun - Lady Emily Lutyens, London: R. Hart-Davis, 1957.
Krishnamurti: Two Birds on One Wire - Ravi Bavindra, Theosophical Publishing House, 1995.
The Inner Life of Krishnamurti: Private Passion and Perennial Wisdom - Aryel Sanat, Quest Books, 2000.
J. Krishnamurti and the Nameless Experience: A comprehensive discussion of J. Krishnamurti's approach to life - Rohit Mehta, 1989.
Infinite Potential: The Life and Times of David Bohm - F. David Peat, Addison Wesley Publishing Company, 1997.

[Bibliographic Note: The books of course do not contain the truth, only pointers to it. It is physically impossible to read all the works, but there are some that comprehensively encapsulate the essential, central points. Hence the content of this website’s discussions is essentially grounded in the top 6 works - all of which, without exception, have been read more than once. The editing of the three compilation works in this brief list is excellent, as they encompass a series of talks over consecutive days and thus give an overall view of the content of the talks themselves. The writer has not read the Radha Sloss book, for reasons given in the It's the words, not the speaker page. What has been read is the Lutyens refutation of it, as well as some excerpts drawn from it. All the other major biographies have been read per the bibliographic list above; this was done prior to the central understanding that the man himself is unimportant, only what he says is. Nearly all of the above-mentioned books may be purchased through the Krishnamurti book and video/dvd sales website at www.pathless.com]
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Krishnamurti Monograph Series:
Preserving the Teachings: The Historical Importance of Krishnamurti - Professor S. Lloyd Williams, Krishnamurti Foundation America (KFA), 2001.
The Nature and Implications of J. Krishnamurti’s Teachings on Transformation - Professor Hillary Rodrigues, Ph.D, Krishnamurti Foundation America, 1995. (Here is a listing of all the published Monographs.)

Videos/Other Sources:
The Link   (From Issue #14 - Spring/Summer 1998, to #22 - Spring/Summer 2006: Full text available of all these issues on the Kinfonet website)
Krishnamurti Foundation Trust Bulletins (Numbers: 50, 53, 63, 80-86: From 2001 to 2005)
Krishnamurti Foundation India Bulletin (Volume No 2, Issue 3, July-October 2005)
The Krishnamurti Text Collection (Comprehensive online transcription of most of the works) - www.tchl.freeweb.hu
Thirty-nine videos of various dialogues and talks, including dialogues with Bohm, Shainberg, Anderson, Sheldrake, Jayakar, Zimbalist, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Dr. Wilkins, Huston Smith, Iris Murdoch et al., available in the Video/DVD archives at the Krishnamurti Centre in Brockwood Park, England; also available for sale at www.pathless.com
Listing of Krishnamurti books (by and about) available on Amazon
Selection of online videos on the J. Krishnamurti Teachings International site.
Various videos available for public viewing on YouTube - Videos on Krishnamurti