Centred Self Without Being Self-Centred – Remembering Krishnamurti

"I was particularly moved by the scope, insight, and intimacy of this. I think you say things about Krishnamurti that are very true but not generally understood. I also think you go a long way to dispel some of the inevitable mythology that accrues, in time, to any teacher, mentor, or charismatic 'religious' figure. This is especially important as regards Krishnamurti. I realize how much there is in this and how truly wonderful it is." -- Alan Kishbaugh, the Executive Director of the Krishnamurti Foundation of America from 1998-2002 Excerpt: As Krishnamurti often emphasized, only a still mind can be attentive. There is a quality of attention and seeing which can bring about an action in oneself so that a radical change can take place naturally, from the inside. I once asked Krishnamurti about the nature of this attention, what he himself called total attention. I said to him, "What I find in myself is the fluctuation of attention." He said with emphasis, "What fluctuates is not attention. Only inattention fluctuates." For him, there was never a compromise with half-measures; it was a matter of total commitment to truth, or nothing at all. As long as one does not have a centered self, one is fragmented and agitated. Then one is inevitably self-centered because vastness, freedom and compassion cannot be available to a fragmented and disordered self. When one is centered, one naturally sees the limitation of the personal or selfish perspective. Then one naturally wishes to be free of the prison of selfishness. Until then, the notion or effort to be free of the self is merely an idea and a fantasy. When one has awakened senses, a clear heart and an alert mind, one can go beyond thought to an intelligence which is not so personal or self-bound.