On Breaking Free

The spiritual philosopher J. Krishnamurti once met with a group of psychologists who had invited him to speak to them. In that meeting J. Krishnamurti repeated his well-familiar teaching that the revolution of breaking free can only happen in the ‘here and now’, whereas the psychologists told him that in their experience the healing of their patients takes time. They couldn’t see eye-to-eye in the end on the ‘now versus healing process’ question and probably wasted each other’s time in this dialogue.

J. Krishnamurti rightly reminds us that no healing method or spiritual practice will ever get us to the blessed ‘I Am That I Am’ stage. It’s a revolution that has to take place here and now when the mind finally grasps its own futility. It is ironic that he wrote countless books and had endless seminars describing the ‘final freedom’, yet, few could get to his stage by following his lectures. As of his followers put it, ‘he couldn’t write that well, I also tuned him out while he was talking, I just wanted to hear his melodious voice.’

Enlightenment reminds me of a top of a mountain view. It is nice to see on a post card, and read about but it is not that helpful for someone who is climbing the mountain. Many in fact camp at the valleys and share stories about the magnificent view without ever having witnessed it themselves. This is spiritual by-passing, but hey, if it feels good, who I am to say that it can’t be a nice hobby. The perspective of the psychologists is a different one. They may not know the mountain top view, but they help the climber.

I consider myself a sherpa. I am climbing with my friends towards the top of the mountain, making sure that we haven’t signed up for a a sisyphus job. When you climb the mountain you better let go of the baggage of the past. You also better keep your eyes on the step in front of you, not that you fall off a cliff by constantly gazing at the top of the mountain. The here and now is all we have to work with, the direction has to be right, but otherwise I leave everything else up to life and God.

J. Krishnamurti has been reminding us about the fallacy of the mind. The mind is a product of evolution to learn the lessons of the past, and to ponder possible improvements in the future. It was designed to lead us away from the Now, the only place where we can meet God. Meditation can calm the mind, but it cannot get us to the stage J. Krishnamurti talked about the fact that the mind is like a treadmill we can never get off, constantly learning lessons, constantly improving ourselves, without end.

What our spiritual giants warn us against, is to become Sisyphus, endlessly pushing a stone up the mountain only to find it toll down again as we approach the top of the mountain. That’s what the mind does when it says, ‘I will be more learned, better equipped and more ready the receive the final blessing in a few years’. That’s all self-delusion. However, what we can do is to become aware of all of our own lies, be ready for the transformative self-discovery moments life has in store for us.

If you want break free there is only one thing you can do, live in the Now and let a higher Power do the rest for you. Come to view the message from this perspective, don’t you think that everyone has a shot to reach this ‘final freedom’?