Freedom from the Known Book

My friend died while I was reading this - he killed himself at 25, almost 26-years-old - and this book ties into so much of what I think was wrong about what he was thinking and why he killed himself, and it also helped me to be reading it, because it centered me and gave me perspective - to meditate, to neither be attached nor detached, to understand how violent and toxic society, religion, family, authorities, jobs and other values are.

My friend was too tied to those things and it ultimately killed him because he could not fit well into it, achieve success, happiness, or whatever else that Western society tells you you ought to be. There's that phrase "first world problems", so I don't think it's irrelevant. For example, rates of depression continue to be high in modern society despite wealth and other 'mechnical' solutions like medicine or psychological therapy. Modern society is spiritually sick.

He was South Asian and he told me of the trope of the 'wise Asian' and even though it's a cliche, in this one case I'll concur.. Krishnamurti has extraordinary wisdom.

Having said that, while Krishnamurti thankfully writes simply, it's still quite a radical and difficult philosophy to process and practice. I don't know.. I like the idea of it and I would like to practice it but it seems extraordinarily hard and perhaps it is not even attainable - the world and the pettiness of self always come crashing in - but he has many good things to say and his concept of meditating all the time in terms of being aware of all thoughts and feelings, and understanding their structures, along with rejecting many values, is a good one.