Jiddhu Krishnamurti (1895 - 1986)

Jiddu Krishnamurti
The Pool of Wisdom

THE POOL OF WISDOM

OMMEN CAMP FIRE TALK, 1926

But in so doing, I should like to give you my personal experience -not that I want your salutations or your respect- but because, perhaps, it might help and might give you a distinct idea of what I have in mind.

Some months ago, when I was in the hills, away from people, where there were many woods and many streams, I remember one day walking with a friend, and saying to him: "What a nice place this is in which to meditate." It happened that he went away, leaving me alone for a minute, and I casually turned round, admiring the archway which the trees formed, and then -all of a sudden- I saw my Happiness, my Guru, my Teacher, the Teacher of every one of us, walking towards me. It seemed to me that I looked through Him at all things, through Him at all trees, and I stood there gazing, and astonished that I should see such a wonder, such magnificence and such glory quite unexpectedly, not at that moment yearning for Him to appear. But nevertheless He was there, and as I went to my room He went with me, always leading, looking at me, going down that narrow path which led to my room.

Ever since then it has been my Happiness, my intense joy to see all things through Him, to see trees, human beings, skies, all in Him. If I saw a little thing, an ant or a blade of grass, or the fish in the pond, He filled it and I looked at it through Him. And having such intense Happiness in possessing such a jewel, in entertaining eternally such a Companion, I felt that I must sing, that I must share, that I must make others understand. That is one of the most difficult things -to make others understand and see Him, to make them realize that He is not something outside themselves, something far away, but that He is wherever there is a clean heart, wherever there is a pure mind, and wherever there have been countless disappointments and innumerable sorrows and troubles and immense joy.

Possessing such precious ointment that shall still the many pains, the other night I lay awake thinking in what manner I could bring that Happiness to others, in what way I could convince them that there is only one Temple, one Church, one Light-bringer, one Law-giver, one Truth. In what way could we all arrive at the same place, even though we may walk by different routes, even though some of us may have to use stepping-stones, some on crutches, some with bleeding feet, some with perfect bodies and choosing a shorter path? We must all eventually come where He shall be our eternal Companion; where there shall be no parting, no separation; where there is no sense of loneliness; where there is no unhappiness.

I want to make you realize, to give you enough strength, to give you enough understanding to see the mighty things that are about you for yourselves. What you see and what you have and what you possess is your own. Nobody can take it away; nobody can wrest that precious thing from you. You can never again doubt, you can never again feel that you are alone and struggling by yourself, for you have with you Him, for whom the whole world longs, as your friendly Companion who accompanies you wherever you go, as a Friend to whom you can talk, as a God at whose feet you can worship. You do not desire to possess Him for yourself alone, you want to share Him with others. It is the same with Truth. If you love Truth intensely and yet absolutely for its own sake, you love all. If Truth is the one comfort, and you have that comfort, your desire is to share it with others.

That has been my glory, that has been my Happiness. I have found that which I have desired, that for which I have longed, the one Truth and the one Altar where I can kneel and know that I am there for Eternity, with certainty that nobody can take my glory from me.

For this reason I wish I could give each one of you the power, the strength to see these things for yourselves. I can give you the inspiration, because it is easier for me, having conquered it, to share it with others, but those who have not partaken, cannot partake of it with others. Since I have tasted it, I naturally desire to share it -the Kingdom of Happiness- the only Truth worth possessing. In that abode you can forget yourself, your troubles, your sorrows, for all things are in Him.

We are as fish caught in an evil net of transient things. But if you yourself are the fisherman, if you yourself are the fish, and if you yourself are the net and the water, then the world of sorrow -the world that creates sorrow, pain and fleeting pleasures- ceases to be because you have that which is Eternal.

I felt one day that I had lost that which I thought I had found for Eternity. It was a very good experience; because you must, if you would grow, have those things which you cling to taken away from you for a moment. For some hours I had lost my precious jewel and I cannot tell you how I felt -I was half suffocating, half crying inside, I was going through all the agonies of having lost something which I had once held, I was dazed, I was in a state of Maya, in a state where one sees nothing but confusion. Then I went out to find Him whom my soul adores. Suddenly, as I went along, He appeared in front of a tree and I saw that tree through Him. It was worth losing Him -that little darkness of a few hours- to find Him again, to find that Kingdom of Happiness, that Truth again. Since then I always have Him with me. And living, possessing, and having my being in Him, I wish, like everyone in the world who possesses something really precious, to share with all. But I do not desire you to see the same thing I see, for you must perceive the glory through your own eyes, see the beauty of Him and feel His glory through your own hearts. And then what you have and what you possess and what you have created is your own. I tell you because I know and because that is the only thing worth possessing. I should like you to come and see my Heaven, my part of that garden, and then, when once you have been there, once you have really enjoyed those cool shades of Eternity, then you will find that whatever happens, whatever shadow is passing, leaves no mark. But you leave an imprint on the world, as you give to the world instead of receiving, as you build instead of destroying, as you protect instead of killing.

I would make all of you drink at my fountain, I would make all of you breathe that scented air, so that you can yourselves become creators, geniuses, who make the world happy. If you possess that Kingdom, you do not desire the world. You are the essence of spirituality, you are the personification of Him, and you are always the comforter and the protector of the world.

For this reason you must awaken, you must walk along with me and follow. I should like you to feel the glory for yourselves, to perceive the beauty for yourselves, and to acquire the precious thing for yourselves. And then, when you have found it, you can make people see the reality, make people feel that you are the reality and that they can become part of it.

Do you not see that then all quarrels cease, that all sects, all temperaments, become unified? You are with Him and He is in you. Wherever you go, into whatever climes you wander, you bring comfort; you bring Happiness and enlightenment to those that suffer.

Therefore I would take you into my garden, I would invite you to my abode, I would lead you into that Kingdom of Happiness. Like men of experience, who have suffered and had pleasures and pains, you must walk; whether you walk on your crutches, whether you walk barefoot, it does not much matter so long as you get there. Whether you take one path or another does not much matter, since all lead to the same Kingdom of Happiness.

When you do not understand, it is so difficult to make you feel and realize that it is a certainty and not a dream of mine, not a passing thing that I have invented, with which to entice you.

But if it be imagination, is it not worth possessing such an imagination; is it not worth creating such imagery? But it is not imagination, it is not a passing thing, it is not an invention. You cannot invent such things, you cannot imagine such things, for this Kingdom is real, it is the abode of unchanging Truth.

You, who are all longing, seeking, searching, applying your minds and hearts to find this, I ask you to come and enjoy, to be really happy in all the things that you do, even though you are suffering. I have found it, and if one person can find it, thousands and millions of others will find it.

That is the only Truth, the only Altar, the only Temple where you can worship, where you can be with Eternity, where you can know Immortality. And then you become the real Teacher, you become the Redeemer of mankind, you become the World Lover. When you feel strongly and think strongly of the Reality, and live for that Reality, and keep your heart clean for that Reality, then you are in the Kingdom of Happiness, and you wander forth and give your blessing to the world that needs it.

For this reason I desire, if I can, to exchange with you. You can take all of me; you can take my heart, my mind, everything away from me, enjoy of it, eat of it, because I can always find it again, having once found it. It is the blind who are in need, not those who have already seen, who have plenty. You have not plenty, I have. You have so little, I have so much. You need, and I have more than sufficient. Why not exchange? Why not look at the world through the eyes of Reality? Why not feel the suffering of the world through the heart that is Eternal?

When once you look and feel, you can do nothing else but work, nothing else but love. And when you work and love, combining with that Truth, which is the absolute, the forgetting of self, you become the real disciple, the real follower, the real lover.

Before understanding, you must have this desire to be a part of Him, to be like Him, and to be as the beautiful flower in the field.

Then every word that I shall speak, you will understand; my every whisper you shall hear.