Image source: Instagram - Uncle JK
In the list of books that I've absolutely adored every time I've picked them up, these two marvellous ones by Jiddu Krishnamurti will always make the cut - The first and last freedom and Think on these things.
Both these books are not books per-se, they are a collection of lectures given by Uncle JK (that's my nickname for him) followed by his conversations with the attendees in a question-answer format. In one of my previous blogs (Books I love - Out of your mind (Alan Watts)), I talked about Alan Watts and how I've always preferred to listen to him instead of reading him. Well, I consider our dear uncle JK to be Alan's exact opposite in this regard in that I have always relished reading him rather than listening to what he had to say.
JK had a very unique style of approaching his explanation of philosophical inquiries - he'd never really answer any such question directly. He'd always ask the questioner to go into it deeply with him and not just hear his words or accept his authority on the answer. And he'd almost always answer in the negative. He would say many a times in his lectures, "Out of total negation, the positive is born". For example, if you were to ask him "What is truth?", he'd give a bunch of explanations all centred around the idea of what is not the truth, and just leave it at that. The idea in a nutshell being that if you can assert enough what isn't true, whatever remains is.
In both these books, he touches upon the fundamental questions of human experience and does not answer them, rather talks about how one can go about answering them. You might take some time getting used to his style of talking, but it's nothing short of fascinating once you grasp it. More than anything, his books always centred around the idea of 'how to think' rather than 'what to think'. And that is a rare gem in a world full of people and books pushing the latter invariably.
One of my favourite quotes from JK goes, "There is hope in men, not in systems, religions, governments, economies; But in us - you and me."
<More book recommendations - Books I love>
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