No Method of Self-knowledge
Seeking a method invariably implies desire
to attain a result which is what we want.
We follow authority – if not of a person,
then of a system, an ideology, because
we want a result that will be satisfactory,
and give us security.
We really do not want to understand ourselves,
our impulses and reactions, the whole process
of our thinking, the conscious as well as the unconscious;
we would rather pursue systems that assure us
results. But the pursuit of a system is invariably
the outcome of our desire for security, for certainty,
which result is to not understand oneself.
When we follow a method, we must have authorities
– the teacher, the guru, the savior, the Master
who will guarantee us what we desire,
which is surely not the way of self-knowledge.
Authority prevents the understanding
of oneself, does it not?
Under the shelter of authority, a guide,
you may temporarily have a sense of security,
of well-being, but that is not an understanding
of the whole process of oneself.
Authority in its very nature prevents
full awareness of oneself and therefore
destroys freedom, in freedom alone
can there be creativity.
There can be creativity
only through self-knowledge.
by Krishnamurti
from The Book of Life
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