- How Do I Deal With My Deep-Rooted Violence? ➶
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Here is a rough transcription of this video of a 1981 talk by Jiddu Krishnamurti in Ojai, California:
Question:
There is a deep root of violence in me. I know it is there behind my other feelings. How do I deal with it?
Answer:
What is violence?
The shooting of people? That’s part of violence. The hurting of others? That’s part of violence. War, is the essence of violence. With its bestiality, cruelty. Appalling things, war does. And anger, hate, invitation, is violence. Conformity is violence.
I don’t know if you follow all this. And, is one aware of all this, in oneself. That one is conforming all the time to a pattern. To an idea. To a concept. Imitating. Comparing oneself with another. Aggression. Is one aware of all this as violence, or only the killing of somebody with a gun?
You answer (?)
Is it not violence when you believe very strongly in something, another believes equally strongly about some belief, and you are trying to convert the other, and the other is trying to convert you. Conflict. Is that not violence?
This hectic propaganda that’s going on, in the name of religion, in the name of everything. Is that not violence?
(?)
So, what is one to do? The question asked.
First, if one may point out, don’t create its opposite, which is non-violence. I wonder for insta (?), may I do want an explanation of this (?). That is, I’m violent, and I have been trained, there’s part of my habit to say “I must not be violent”.
Follow? I’m violent, and I have created the ideal of non-being violent. So, I’ve a conflict. You follow? Being violent, and not wanting to be violent, is conflict. Right? And that very conflict is violence. I wonder if you see this. Are we communicating?
So, the first realization is not to create the opposite. Right? Then, I am faced with the fact. Not with its opposite. The opposite has its roots in its own opposite. Right? C’mon, c’mon. So I am faced with the reality of violence. Not with the idea “I must not be violent.” Which is an illusion. Is not a fact. The fact is I’m violent. See how we have been trained not to deal with facts?
So I realize I’m violent. I have no idea of trying to become non-violent. Its completely gone out of my blood. So I’m only dealing with fact. Now, how do I look at that fact? As an observer looking at something to be observed, or the observer himself is violent. You get the point? I wonder if you do. Are we together in this? C’mon sirs.
The man, the entity, or the thought that says “I am violent and it must be changed, or transformed to something else.” and the transformer is part of that violence. There is no separate entity, superior entity, who’s not non-violent. Who’s peaceful. You understand (?) That’s under invention, or thought, to escape from the basic fact that I’m violent, and, so, please just follow this, give a little attention — you may be tired — but just give a little attention to this. That is, there is no division between the observer and the observed. Right? There is only the fact. There’s only the observation of the fact, not “I observe the fact”. Right? There’s only the pure observation of that reaction, which in the past, the name, a word has been given to that reaction which is violence.
So I realize the word is not the thing, but the actual movement of that feeling, of that reaction, and I and that reaction are not separate. There is only reaction. This requires, you understand, very close watching. Then you’ll see, when you come to that point, which is you giving tremendous attention to the fact. There’s attention of the fact, and that attention, is like a light put on something, that dissipates the violence.
Have we got it? Not got it from me. See the fact. See how deceptive, we are. It becomes so deceptive, is so dishonest, all this.
So when you allow time to dissolve an issue, that issue increases. Multiplies.
It’s only the mind that sees clearly, acts.
Finish.
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