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#3200 - Tuesday, June 17, 2008 - Editor: Jerry Katz
Nonduality Highlights - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NDhighlights
THE PENGUIN U.G.
KRISHNAMURTI READER
edited by Mukunda Rao
Reviewed by Rodney Stevens
Rao, a devoted friend and admirer of U.G. (who died on March 22,
2007, at the age of eight-nine), gives us a praiseworthy
gathering of selections from both the sage's books and books
about the sage. The sources range from The Mystique of
Enlightenment (reviewed in #3102 of NH: http://nonduality.com/hl3102.htm) and Mind is a Myth to Stopped In Our
Tracks: Stories of U.G. In India and U.G. Krishnamurti: A
Life (by Indian filmmaker, Mahest Bhatt).
Laudable, too, is Rao's thirty-two page biographical
introduction. Yes, we've heard many of the particulars before
(U.G.'s deep friendship with Valentine de Kerven, the Swiss woman
who was seventeen years his senior; his antagonistic relationship
with the more popular Jiddu Krishnamurti; and his unforgettable
meeting with Ramana Maharshi). But Rao's perspective is engaging,
even when some of his remembrances of U.G. are far from
flattering.
The editor/biograher does confer a few little-known disclosers
about the itinerate sage. For instance, in the last few years of
his life, U.G. grew weary of answering questions. If a seeker
queried him, he would "curtly yet simply say, 'Becoming
something other than what you are is the cause of your
misery...You will remain a man of violence as long as you follow
some idea of becoming...You can't divide these things into
two.'" Further, what he really loved to do during
this physically waning time was to get together with friends (not
followers) and converse, sing, share jokes, and dance!
This compilation does what a "reader" is supposed to
do: Provide a broad--but not necessarily deep--selection of
material from the author's oeuvre and entice the peruser to
purchase the writer's books. Apropos, no one deeply interested in
U.G. should be without The Mystique of Enlightenment and Mind
is a Myth. Then save up your pennies or Euros for The
Courage to Stand Alone: Conversations with U.G. Krishnamurti,
transcribed and edited by Ellen J. Chrystal.
Many powerful pointers to awareness can be found in this Peguin
title. I'll let you ferret them out for yourself. What I would
like to highlight and end this review on is something that is not
often mentioned about U.G.: His eloquence. Here is his heartfelt
(and dead-on) reflection on presence/ awareness: "This state
is a state of not knowing...All there is inside is wonderment. It
is a state of wonder because I just don't know what I am looking
at. The knowledge about it, all that I have learned, is held in
the background unless there is a demand. When required it comes
out quickly like an arrow, then I am back in the state of not
knowing, of wonder."
THE PENGUIN U.G. KRISHNAMURTI READER can be ordered
directly from the Indian publisher (http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/Bookdetail.aspx?bookId=6706) or at the following Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Penguin-U-G-Krishnamurti-Reader/dp/0143101021/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212577754&sr=1-10
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rodney Stevens--who lives in South Carolina and who awakened
through the writings of John Wheeler--can be contacted for talks
and workshops at: writerguy@fastmail.fm
I am this because of that.
I am that because of this.
I am in that. This is in me.
I am in this. That is in me.
My mind is in that. This is my mind.
My body is in that. This is my body.
When this body dies, I am in that.
When that body dies, I am in this.
When this mind dies, that mind does not.
I am not that if I am not also this.
This is not me if that is not me.
I am not, if you are not.
I am you and you are me.
We are not this if we are not also that.
We are in me, and we are in you.
I am us and you are us.
I am thou.
--Dennis Landi
|
Yes, yes, yes! Of all the words, I think ‘yes’ is one of the most beautiful. How wonderful to utter that word when finally, something dawns within—within the heart of us—and we say, ‘Yes!’ Oh, but that word covers the whole gamut of human existence. “Will you be my friend?” someone asks. “Yes!” And then we call someone we love: “Are you there?” “Yes,” we hear the reply. Or we ask the question: “Will you go with me?” “Yes.” “Will you hold my hand?” “Yes.” We hear a child ask, “Is that you, Dad?” “Yes.” “Hey, Mom, is that you?” “Yes, yes.” “Are the flowers blooming?” “Yes.” “Is the sunshine bright?” “Yes.” Yes—sweet word of acquiescence, gentle word of tenderness, isn’t it? Soft word of love. Yes—yes is an exuberant word, too—of enthusiasm, gladness. Yes, like a dandelion alone in a sea of grass, like a yellow burst of spring upon a daffodil. Yes, yes, everything is all right in the world—despite hostages and despite the abortive attempts to rescue them, despite the fear that everywhere prevails. Everything is all right, and fearlessness is made plain!
Transcribed Audio
Woodsong Series
By William Samuel
Tape
#7
Transcription provided by Rose Burrows
Graphic: Cartoon. Source: Weekend Australian,
May 31 - June 1, 2008 Artist: Jon Kudelka
With grins and gratitude to you - Louisa