"Your consciousness is the consciousness of mankind. If that is the truth to you, not an idea, then what takes place? One has lived as an individual, fighting, struggling to express oneself, demanding – you follow? – as a limited, contained, narrow individual. And it is very, very difficult to see the truth that you are the rest of mankind, that in you is the whole of man and therefore his fears, his anxieties, his mischief, his arrogance, his pride, his violence, all that, and his sorrow. And mankind has lived with this sorrow. We have accepted sorrow as part of life, and if we don't accept it we run away from it through every form of entertainment, religious and otherwise. Or we personify this sorrow into an image, which the Christians have done, and think they have solved this problem.

You are the sorrow of mankind. Do you understand? What an enormous perception that is, if you see it. That your sorrow is not yours. Then you don't cry. Then you don't shed tears about your little wounds, your little failures, your little anxieties, and so on. But when you realise you are the representative of all mankind it brings about an enormous sense of vitality, energy. It is only when you are thinking about yourself, your sorrow, that vast energy is limited into a small little channel, and it becomes rather dirty.

Now, is it possible for sorrow to end? If there is an ending in one human being – please go with me for a little while – if there is the ending of sorrow in one human being, who is the representative of all humanity, that ending affects the consciousness of mankind. Do you understand?

Stalin has affected the whole consciousness of man; Hitler, and all the rest of those world people – national people. Through the priest, the idea of Jesus Christ has affected mankind. Right? You will accept that more easily. So when there is a fundamental ending of sorrow in a human being who is the representative of all humanity, then that brings about an action in the totality of mankind – I wonder if I am making this clear? Capito? Do you see the truth of this, the fact of this?"

J. Krishnamurti
Public Talk 6 – Saanen, Switzerland, 1978

The excerpt above this letter is from a series of public talks titled Is It Possible to Observe the Whole Movement of Consciousness? recorded in Saanen, Switzerland, in 1978. This series is programmed to play every Thursday on our Online Radio, starting at 8:30 AM (Pacific Time) and continues throughout the day. The radio player includes a live chat.

We have recently updated the Archives page on our website. We have added information about the various media and kinds of materials we preserve in the vault in Ojai, California. Also included are links to online resources for those who wish to explore the history and work of Krishnamurti. Click here to visit the new Archives page.

The Pepper Tree Retreat reopened its doors on June 2nd. Like all businesses that have reopened since the lockdown, we have made a number of accommodations and changes to comply with state, county, and city regulations. While we want to be able to provide a place of retreat and quiet, we want to ensure maximum protection for everyone. We are looking forward to welcoming you back to the Pepper Tree Retreat. 

We are exploring online programs and will offer two in-depth programs this summer. The first will be at the end of July titled Krishnamurti and His Teachings. This is an introduction to the teachings facilitated by two of our staff, Gianni Garubo, and John Duncan. The second will be in the first week of August titled Krishnamurti on Education. This program will be facilitated by Gianni Garubo and Paul Herder. Each program consists of 5 afternoon online sessions. Registration will open soon for both programs.

Sincerely,
 
Jaap Sluijter
Executive Director