"When we talk about understanding, surely it takes place only when the mind listens completely - the mind being your heart, your nerves, your ears- when you give your whole attention to it"
About this Quote
Krishnamurti points to a radical kind of understanding: not intellectual agreement, but a direct seeing that happens only when the whole being listens. He collapses the usual split between head and heart by saying that mind includes the heart, the nerves, the ears. Understanding is not a thought about something; it is a total response of the organism when attention is whole.
Such listening is choiceless. It is not concentration, which narrows and excludes, but an inclusive, unforced attentiveness in which the chatter of motive, fear, and memory falls quiet. When the self is occupied with defending, judging, comparing, or preparing its reply, there is only reaction. Where attention is complete, reaction subsides and perception flowers. Insight arrives as a living fact, not as a conclusion borrowed from authority or past experience.
This insistence runs through his talks and dialogues: truth is discovered in the act of attending, not accumulated through systems, gurus, or methods. The very attempt to practice a technique already divides the observer from what is observed and perpetuates conflict. Listening completely suspends that division. The mind is no longer resisting or grasping; it is simple, still, awake. In that stillness, understanding is instantaneous because there is no interference.
The point is practical. In relationship, when someone speaks and the body tightens, the memory of past hurts rushes in, and the mind negotiates a counterargument, nothing new can be heard. If, instead, one listens with the whole of oneself, without naming, defending, or seeking advantage, there is a different quality of contact. Often the problem reveals its structure and dissolves. The same applies to observing nature, to learning, to meeting one’s own fear.
In an age of constant fragmentation and distracted skimming, this is both a challenge and a liberation. Whole attention requires simplicity and care, yet it is available now. The experiment is immediate: give yourself wholly to what is before you, and see whether understanding does not come of its own accord.
Such listening is choiceless. It is not concentration, which narrows and excludes, but an inclusive, unforced attentiveness in which the chatter of motive, fear, and memory falls quiet. When the self is occupied with defending, judging, comparing, or preparing its reply, there is only reaction. Where attention is complete, reaction subsides and perception flowers. Insight arrives as a living fact, not as a conclusion borrowed from authority or past experience.
This insistence runs through his talks and dialogues: truth is discovered in the act of attending, not accumulated through systems, gurus, or methods. The very attempt to practice a technique already divides the observer from what is observed and perpetuates conflict. Listening completely suspends that division. The mind is no longer resisting or grasping; it is simple, still, awake. In that stillness, understanding is instantaneous because there is no interference.
The point is practical. In relationship, when someone speaks and the body tightens, the memory of past hurts rushes in, and the mind negotiates a counterargument, nothing new can be heard. If, instead, one listens with the whole of oneself, without naming, defending, or seeking advantage, there is a different quality of contact. Often the problem reveals its structure and dissolves. The same applies to observing nature, to learning, to meeting one’s own fear.
In an age of constant fragmentation and distracted skimming, this is both a challenge and a liberation. Whole attention requires simplicity and care, yet it is available now. The experiment is immediate: give yourself wholly to what is before you, and see whether understanding does not come of its own accord.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
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