Jiddu Krishnamurti Quotes

Powerful Jiddu Krishnamurti for Daily Growth

About Jiddu Krishnamurti

Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) was a renowned philosopher, speaker, and spiritual teacher of Indian origin who significantly influenced the world with his unique perspective on life, truth, and human consciousness. Born in Madanapalle, British India (present-day Andhra Pradesh, India), he grew up in a conventional Brahmin family. However, destiny had other plans when at the tender age of 11, Krishnamurti was selected by Theosophists Charles Leadbeater and Annie Besant as the World Teacher who would usher in a new era of spiritual understanding. In 1922, Krishnamurti renounced his role as the World Teacher and parted ways with the Theosophical Society, seeking to share his insights independently. He traveled extensively across the world, delivering lectures on psychology, philosophy, and the nature of reality. His thought-provoking discussions, characterized by simplicity, clarity, and profound depth, attracted a diverse audience that included intellectuals, artists, and spiritual seekers. Krishnamurti's major works include "The First and Last Freedom," "Know Yourself," "Think on These Things," and "The Urgency of Change." He emphasized the importance of self-awareness, questioning conventional beliefs and encouraging individuals to awaken their dormant potentialities. His teachings have had a lasting impact on contemporary philosophy, psychology, and spirituality, influencing figures like Alan Watts and Eckhart Tolle. Throughout his life, Krishnamurti lived simply, avoiding any form of institutionalization for his teachings. He passed away in Ojai, California, leaving behind a rich legacy that continues to inspire seekers worldwide seeking wisdom, understanding, and the path to personal liberation.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The only important thing is this moment."

This quote emphasizes the significance of the present moment, suggesting that it's the only time that truly matters. The implication is that we should focus our attention, energy, and actions on the here and now, as it forms the foundation for all future moments. By cherishing and fully experiencing the present, we can cultivate a more mindful, engaged, and meaningful life.


"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."

This quote suggests that merely conforming to, or being comfortable within, a deeply flawed or unhealthy society does not indicate personal well-being or psychological health. Instead, it highlights the importance of questioning societal norms, fostering self-awareness, and striving for personal growth despite societal pressures or expectations. It implies that one should not blindly accept the status quo, but rather, seek to understand its flaws, and aspire to contribute positively towards a more enlightened and compassionate society.


"The more you seek, the more you become lost; and the more you withdraw, the more you will find."

This quote by Jiddu Krishnamurti suggests that constant pursuit or 'seeking' for something external (such as knowledge, enlightenment, or happiness) may lead to a state of confusion or loss. Instead, one should retreat inwardly and withdraw from the external distractions to find inner peace, wisdom, and understanding. In essence, he is advocating for introspection over external pursuit, suggesting that true discovery lies within oneself rather than in seeking it elsewhere.


"Truth is a pathless land."

Jiddu Krishnamurti's quote, "Truth is a pathless land," suggests that truth cannot be reached by following a specific set of rules, dogmas, or religious beliefs. Instead, it implies an individual's direct, intuitive, and profound understanding of reality that transcends traditional paths, beliefs, or ideologies. In essence, each person must discover their own truth independently, as there is no single path to the ultimate understanding of life or existence. This quote encourages personal exploration, introspection, and self-realization in one's quest for meaning and wisdom.


"Education cannot be effective unless the teacher is himself still learning."

This quote emphasizes the importance of lifelong learning for educators. For education to have a significant impact, teachers should continuously learn and grow, rather than stagnate in their knowledge and methods. This way, they can inspire curiosity and foster an environment conducive to learning among their students. In other words, effective teaching is not just about sharing knowledge, but also about being open-minded, adaptable, and committed to self-improvement.


We all want to be famous people, and the moment we want to be something we are no longer free.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Free, Want, Longer, Famous

There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Learning, Process, Die, Education

All of us have been trained by education and environment to seek personal gain and security and to fight for ourselves. Though we cover it over with pleasant phrases, we have been educated for various professions within a system which is based on exploitation and acquisitive fear.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Education, Over It, Been, Though

Die to everything of yesterday so that your mind is always fresh, always young, innocent, full of vigor and passion.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Mind, Die, Always, Innocent

Love is the missing factor; there is a lack of affection, of warmth in relationship; and because we lack that love, that tenderness, that generosity, that mercy in relationship, we escape into mass action, which produces further confusion, further misery.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Love, Tenderness, Which, Warmth

A consistent thinker is a thoughtless person, because he conforms to a pattern; he repeats phrases and thinks in a groove.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Person, Pattern, Repeats, Groove

When you draw or paint a tree, you do not imitate the tree; you do not copy it exactly as it is, which would be mere photography. To be free to paint a tree or a flower or a sunset, you have to feel what it conveys to you: the significance, the meaning of it.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Tree, Paint, Which, Photography

Freedom from the desire for an answer is essential to the understanding of a problem.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Freedom, Desire, Problem, Answer

Life cannot be without relationship, but we have made it so agonizing and hideous by basing it on personal and possessive love. Can one love and yet not possess? You will find the true answer not in escape, ideals, beliefs but through the understanding of the causes of dependence and possessiveness.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Love, Life, Through, Answer

The question of whether or not there is a God or truth or reality or whatever you like to call it, can never be answered by books, by priests, philosopher's or saviours. Nobody and nothing can answer the question but you yourself, and that is why you must know yourself - Immaturity lies only in total ignorance of self.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Know Yourself, Immaturity, Answer

If you begin to understand what you are without trying to change it, then what you are undergoes a transformation.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Change, Trying, Understand, Transformation

Have you ever asked yourselves what you are going to do when you grow up? In all likelihood you will get married, and before you know where you are, you will be mothers and fathers; and you will then be tied to a job, or to the kitchen, in which you will gradually wither away. Is that all that your life is going to be?

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Away, Before, Fathers, Asked

If we can really understand the problem, the answer will come out of it, because the answer is not separate from the problem.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Problem, Will, Separate, Answer

You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems and suffer and understand, for all that is life.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Understand, Part, Read, Write

You may be able to read Bernard Shaw's plays, you may be able to quote Shakespeare or Voltaire or some new philosopher; but if you in yourself are not intelligent, if you are not creative, what is the point of this education?

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

New, Some, Bernard, Voltaire

One is never afraid of the unknown; one is afraid of the known coming to an end.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Never, Afraid, Known, Unknown

Can the mind see the truth of its own incapacity to know the unknown? Surely if I see very clearly that my mind cannot know the unknown, there is absolute quietness.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Mind, Very, Surely, Unknown

The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that for you the world is transformed.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Love, Discover, Will, Depth

Is it not important to find out how to listen not only to what is being said but to everything - to the noise in the streets, to the chatter of birds, to the noise of the tramcar, to the restless sea, to the voice of your husband, to your wife, to your friends, to the cry of a baby?

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Voice, Restless, Streets, Chatter

Man has throughout the ages been seeking something beyond himself, beyond material welfare - something we call truth or God or reality, a timeless state - something that cannot be disturbed by circumstances, by thought or by human corruption.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Thought, Circumstances, Been, Corruption

What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means, watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Fear, Other, Away, Directly

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

Listening, Words, Part, Conveyed

Meditation is not following any system; it is not constant repetition and imitation. Meditation is not concentration.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Meditation, System, Constant, Imitation

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Health, Sick Society, Adjusted

In this constant battle which we call living, we try to set a code of conduct according to the society in which we are brought up, whether it be a Communist society or a so-called free society; we accept a standard of behaviour as part of our tradition as Hindus or Muslims or Christians or whatever we happen to be.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Communist, Code, Standard, Hindus

When one travels around the world, one notices to what an extraordinary degree human nature is the same, whether in India or America, in Europe or Australia.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Nature, Australia, Degree, Notices

We never look deeply into the quality of a tree; we never really touch it, feel its solidity, its rough bark, and hear the sound that is part of the tree. Not the sound of wind through the leaves, not the breeze of a morning that flutters the leaves, but its own sound, the sound of the trunk and the silent sound of the roots.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Sound, Through, Rough, Hear

It is violence when we use a sharp word, when we make a gesture to brush away a person. So violence isn't merely organized butchery in the name of God, in the name of society or country. Violence is much more subtle, much deeper.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Country, Away, Brush, Sharp

Have you not noticed that love is silence? It may be while holding the hand of another, or looking lovingly at a child, or taking in the beauty of an evening. Love has no past or future, and so it is with this extraordinary state of silence.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Love, Beauty, May, Love Is

If we depend for our happiness on another, on society or on environment, they become essential to us; we cling to them, and any alteration of these we violently oppose because we depend upon them for our psychological security and comfort.

- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Violently, Psychological, Alteration

If you're searching for quotes on a different topic, feel free to browse our Topics page or explore a diverse collection of quotes from various Authors to find inspiration.