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Krishnamurti to Himself

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Krishnamurti to Himself
dust jacket of first US edition with a photo portrait of Krishnamurti
First US edition
AuthorJiddu Krishnamurti
LanguageEnglish
SubjectAutobiography, philosophy
PublisherGollancz (UK)
Harper & Row (US)
Publication date
1987
Publication placeUnited Kingdom and United States
Media typePrint (hardcover, paperback)
Pages134 pp (first edition)
ISBN978-0-575-04060-1 (UK)
978-0-06-064877-0 (US)

Krishnamurti to Himself, subtitled His Last Journal, is a book based on a spoken diary of 20th century Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986). It discusses favorite issues he tackled throughout his long career, and like previous diaries includes observations of nature remarked for their originality and nuance; it is however unique in being the only one of his works in this format. Originally recorded in 1983–84, it was first published in print in 1987.

About the work

The text was transcribed from audiotape recordings made by Krishnamurti at his home in Ojai, California.[1] He recorded the monologues while alone, at irregular intervals but often in batches of consecutive days, between 25 February 1983 and 30 March 1984. In print, the recordings are organized in twenty-eight dated sections; in a few cases there are consecutive recordings on a single date, each published in its own section. The transcription was minimally edited by Mary Lutyens, an authorized Krishnamurti biographer and longtime friend.

The work was reputedly prompted by the success of the previously published diary Krishnamurti's Journal.[2] Due to his advanced age, Krishnamurti opted to dictate the new diary instead of writing it, using a portable tape recorder.[2] Alternating between second-person and third-person narratives, and occasionally with the help of an imaginary conversation partner,[2] he delves on subjects that were common concerns during his long speaking career. Among them, the importance of right relationship, the unhealthy desire for identification, the significance of meditation, the dangers of conditioned thinking, and "the extraordinary simplicity of dying".[3]

Mary Lutyens stated in foreword, "The reader gets very close to Krishnamurti in these pieces – almost, it seems at moments, into his very consciousness. ... The gist of Krishnamurti's teaching is here, and the descriptions of nature with which he begins most of the pieces may for many, who regard him as a poet as well as a philosopher, quieten their whole being so that they become intuitively receptive to what follows."[2]

Publication history

The book was originally published in June 1987 by Gollancz in the UK, and by Harper & Row in the US. A trade paperback edition was published in the US in January 1993 by HarperOne (see § Select editions). Copyright was held by the Krishnamurti Foundation Trust, a UK entity. As of 2021, publishing rights were managed by K Publications, the global distributor of Krishnamurti works; the book was listed in their online trade catalog as available in several languages and dialects.[4]

Select editions

Reception

Soon after initial publication the work was noted by journals on philosophy and current affairs;[5] additionally, Krishnamurti's approach to choiceless awareness and to insight, as presented in this diary, has been commented upon in psychotherapy journals.[6] The book was mentioned in newspaper articles discussing Krishnamurti's worldwide influence on education,[7] and has been a designated text in college-level courses on education and ecology.[8] Entries from the diary have appeared in the popular press,[9] while some readers of the work have remarked on its perceived soothing quality.[10]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Lutyens 1988, p. 75. One exception is the entry of 31 May 1983, which was recorded while at Brockwood Park in Hampshire, UK; J. Krishnamurti 1993, pp. 17–19. The first part of the entry for 11 March 1983 – to listen to a segment of the original audio see § External links.
  2. ^ a b c d Lutyens 1987.
  3. ^ J. Krishnamurti 1993, p. 140.
  4. ^ Krishnamurti Publications, "Krishnamurti to Himself: His Last Journal". Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  5. ^ Critical Inquiry 1988, p. 898; The Philosophical Review 1988, p. 457.
  6. ^ Twemlow 2001.
  7. ^ Rao 2005. By the Dean of Education at the University of Hong Kong.
  8. ^ Boxley 2010, "Week 9: Krishnamurti on education and nature". The book was one of the reading materials for the academic year 2010–11.
  9. ^ Tribune India 2001. Part of the entry of 26 April 1983 is quoted here.
  10. ^ Kawauchi 2021, p. 16. "As I flip through, peace returns to my scattered, noisy heart, and I’m able to find my center again."

References

  • "The roots of heaven are in deep abiding silence" – From Urgency of Change: The Krishnamurti Podcast, as published at the Krishnamurti Foundation Trust YouTube channel. This excerpt is part of the original Krishnamurti recording for the first diary entry of Friday, 11 March 1983; it is included in "Episode 100: Krishnamurti on Silence" (published August 2021), at time 52:12 to 1:00:15.
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