Beyond the noise of words by Jiddu Krishnamurti
Photo credit Dawid Zawila
So, when you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words, but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole of it, not part of it.
—Jiddu Krishnamurti
Beyond the noise of words
Listening is an art not easily come by, but in it, there is beauty and great understanding. We listen with the various depths of our being, but our listening is always with a preconception or from a particular point of view. We do not listen simply; there is always the intervening screen of our own thoughts, conclusions, and prejudices.
To listen there must be an inward quietness, a freedom from the strain of acquiring, a relaxed attention. This alert yet passive state is able to hear what is beyond the verbal conclusion. Words confuse; they are only the outward means of communication; but to commune beyond the noise of words, there must be in listening an alert passivity.
Those who love may listen; but it is extremely rare to find a listener. Most of us are after results, achieving goals; we are forever overcoming and conquering, and so there is no listening. It is only in listening that one hears the song of the words.
– J. Krishnamurti
Excerpt from The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti
Goodness only flowers in freedom
J. Krishnamurti in conversation with Rev. Eugene Schallert, San Diego 1972
About J. KRISHNAMURTI
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895 to 1986) is regarded as one of the greatest philosophical and spiritual figures of the twentieth century. He claimed no allegiance to any caste, nationality or religion and was bound by no tradition.
Krishnamurti and his purpose was to set humankind unconditionally free from the destructive limitations of conditioned mind. For nearly sixty years he traveled the world and spoke spontaneously to large audiences until the end of his life in 1986 at the age of ninety.
Krishnamurti is regarded globally as one of the greatest thinkers and religious teachers of all time. He did not expound any philosophy or religion but rather talked of the things that concern all of us in our everyday lives, of the problems of living in modern society with its violence and corruption, of the individual’s search for security and happiness, and the need for mankind to free itself from inner burdens of fear, anger, hurt, and sorrow. He explained with great precision the subtle workings of the human mind and pointed to the need for bringing to our daily life a deeply meditative and spiritual quality.