Four Weeks with Krishnamurti and another look

 July 2026

Four Weeks with Krishnamurti

I recently came across some of J. Krishnamurti’s talks by accident on YouTube. I had explored his material about six months earlier quite in-depth, but this renewed my interest. Perhaps I had missed something. I began slowly, listening intently to one of his talks each morning while having my coffee.

For about a month, I found the experience genuinely absorbing. Krishnamurti was an exceptional speaker. His reasoning was sharp, his questions were penetrating, and his approach to nonduality strongly resonated with me. He had a rare ability to take an audience deeply into a subject and encourage real inquiry in the moment rather than simply handing out beliefs or conclusions.

After several weeks, however, I began to feel that I had reached a point of “enough”.

His repeated advice to observe or “look at yourself” gradually became more frustrating than useful. The field of observation was often extremely broad: thoughts, emotions, reactions, motives, relationships, other people’s behaviour, society, nature and almost everything occurring inwardly or outwardly. Yet there was little structure for how someone might actually develop the attention required to do this without becoming overwhelmed.

The same difficulty applied to his instruction to remain with “what is”. It is powerful advice in principle, but many listeners may lack the emotional regulation, concentration, bodily awareness or practical skills needed to apply it. Krishnamurti occasionally mentioned diet, exercise and physical health, but physiology seemed to receive far less attention than it deserved.

Some of his wider opinions also felt too sweeping. His criticisms of gurus, spiritual organisations, education and society often contained important truths, but he sometimes appeared to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Structure, teachers and methods can become limiting, but they can also be useful, particularly for beginners.

At times, his talks also drifted extensively into wars, politics and global disorder. These subjects were understandable given the period in which he spoke, but they sometimes felt removed from the practical inner questions that had initially drawn me to his work. He appeared to expect a great deal from his audience, while also expressing frustration that they did not fully understand him.

Despite these criticisms, I gained a lot from the experience. His insights into human nature could be remarkably clear. His talks were often enthralling, intellectually serious and capable of opening up questions that ordinary spiritual discussions barely touch.

I will probably return to Krishnamurti again, but after four weeks of listening to hours of talks, it felt right to pause.

For anyone new to his work, I would strongly recommend Freedom from the Known. It is short, accessible and covers most of his essential ideas. It is particularly helpful for understanding his statement that “the observer is the observed”, an idea that can otherwise sound confusing or overly abstract. As an introduction to Krishnamurti, it is an excellent primer.