The Avatar Who Despises the Practice of Thinking
Carlos Cardoso
Aveline
J. Krishnamurti (left) never studied the great sages
of all times; he ignored in his
writings the existence of the Law of Karma, and never
read Helena Blavatsky (right)
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The
following text reproduces Chapter Sixteen of
the
book “The Fire and Light of Theosophical
Literature”,
by Carlos Cardoso Aveline, The
Aquarian
Theosophist, Portugal, 255 pp., 2013.
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What is the true significance of Jiddu Krishnamurti’s
thought and writings?
The question is relevant, since Krishnamurti is still seen as a source
of inspiration for many a good-willing theosophist around the world. As a new
age thinker, he is rather popular. However, an objective examination of his
writings and oral teachings shows that:
1) Krishnamurti ignores the existence of the Law of Karma;
2) He does not know or does not mention the existence of the Law of
Reincarnation and Cycles;
3) He ignores the existence of Discipleship;
4) He doesn’t see a Path to be walked through by the pilgrims, along
which they must make progress by their own merit and on the basis of
self-devised efforts;
5) Krishnamurti ignores the existence of Masters of Wisdom or Initiates
in Esoteric Science;
6) He does not
believe in the existence of an accurate Esoteric Science or Philosophy;
7) He ignores and
tends to deny the existence of a Higher Self or Immortal Soul which guides as
much as possible the lower self of each human being;
8) He does not know
the importance of studying the scriptures of ancient religions or the works of
classical philosophers, Eastern and Western;
9) He ignores the
importance of the modern theosophical movement;
10) He denies the
role played by Reason and reasoning in human evolution, and prefers to describe
human thought as something negative in itself;
11) Krishnamurti
never read any book by Helena Blavatsky, and showed no strong interest in
reading books in general, theosophical or not;
12) While
discussing in his lectures and writings the problems faced by our humanity, he
does not seem to appreciate some basic factors in human evolution, such as
Democracy, Ethics, Human Rights or the Organization of the United Nations. On
the other hand, he shows a fine perception of the unity of life in Nature.
In spite of a few
points in common with Theosophy, Jiddu Krishnamurti actively ignores most of
the theosophical teachings, and openly contradicts many of them.
He is the
surprising “avatar” who despises thought and the work of the brain. How could
one understand such an attitude from a theosophical point of view?
Krishnamurti is an
adversary to mechanical forms of thought and emotions based on personal memory.
In this he seems to be right. The lower self thinking which Krishnamurti
denounces is cold and astute. It is governed by attachment and rejection. It
has scarce ethics and cannot intensely relate to noble feelings. Selfish
thinking is often soul-less and seems
to dominate the surface of life in our civilization. Egotistic mind operations generate an
instinctive rejection in citizens of good-will. Some individuals, then,
convince themselves that the very act of thinking is false, wrong and
despicable in itself, and try to deny the legitimacy of each and every form of
thinking. All mental activities are considered by them as worse than useless.
Such an inaccurate
and pessimistic criticism is more than self-defeating. It is less innocent than
it looks.
By labeling the
process of thought in itself as inherently bad, some “Krishnamurtians” may
unconsciously give themselves a sort of
license to think along selfish lines, and thus blindly oscillate in their
lives between egotistic thoughts, on one hand, and a “mystical negation of all
thought”, on the other hand. If they would accept the fact that human beings
can indeed think in correct ways, they would have to make an effort in that
direction. They prefer to avoid that.
Jiddu Krishnamurti
fell in the illusion that thought is bad, and began to proclaim and promulgate
it. Teaching an apparently easy path - that of mystical laziness at the mental
plane - his books have taken thousands of readers to the occult trap which consists
in despising reason. Many of his followers get caught in the blind alley of the
cult to thoughtlessness.
What then should
citizens of good-will do, who want to live up to the next step in human
evolution? They must choose a more difficult path, which goes upward, in the
direction opposite to the thoughtless road recommended by Krishnamurti.
One must expand,
not reduce, the relationship between one’s thoughts, emotions and actions.
Despising the process of thought would only cause harm to Antahkarana, that
sacred bridge that links the higher self and the lower one. It is by
establishing a stronger correspondence between ideas, feelings and acts that a
human being provokes an intense presence of his higher self in daily life.
One must love that
which one thinks. One must rationally understand that which one loves. Right
thought needs sincere emotions. Truth is perceived by the highest levels of
thought. Correct thinking flows in
harmony with inner silence, and from this harmony right action emerges.
Although
meditational states of mind transcend thought, they do not deny it. Theosophy
stimulates correct mental operations. One must learn each lesson fully, before
passing on to the next level of challenge. It is right thought that allows one to transcend and to go beyond the
thinking principle.
In order for the
pilgrim to learn lasting lessons, seven
levels or principles of consciousness must be valued and understood as much as
possible. As wisdom starts to emerge in one’s life, the physical body, the
emotions and thoughts are gradually purified. Little by little they are freed
from the dross of accumulated ignorance and start being adequately used by the
soul, within the grid of karmic situations. No aspect of human life must be
despised, therefore, and Reason is the defining factor in human realm. Thought
is essentially a divine operation. Human understanding of life is rational, as
long as it is human, and it can be improved by every self-responsible
individual through the constant practice of right thought. That, of course,
does not include tampering with esoteric books. [1]
NOTE:
[1] An initial version of the above Chapter was published in
Portuguese language in February 2013 under the title of “Krishnamurti e a
Teosofia”. It was also published in English in the February 2013 edition of
“The Aquarian Theosophist”, pp. 1-3.
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In September 2016, after
a careful analysis of the state of the esoteric movement worldwide, a group of students
decided to form the Independent Lodge of
Theosophists, whose priorities include the building of a better future in
the different dimensions of life.
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