From the second Bombay 1984 talk. Krishnamurti notes that thought has produced both cathedrals and weapons, and asks what the human being is if every claim about origin or revelation, including religious revelation, is itself a movement of thought.
Transcript
What is thinking? Because thought has created the most extraordinary things in life, the great temples, the great mosques, the marvellous cathedrals, the splendour of those marvellous structures, soaring up into the sky, the great paintings, the sculpture, the great poems. Right? And also thought has created the extraordinary instruments of war. Thought has also created all the things in the temples, in the mosques, in the churches. Right? These are facts. You may say, 'No, they are direct revelation from God', when you say that, that is also thought. Right? So, thought has done the most extraordinary things, and also done the most appalling things. Thought has burnt people, call them Heretics and burn them. And thought said, you must follow Marx, Engels, and so on. Thought has been extraordinarily important in our life. Right? Do you understand this? Now, what is thought? What is thinking? Look, enquire, look at it, look at your own way of thinking. You think about your wife – suppose, if you ever do – you think about your wife or husband. What is that thinking when you think about her or him? You have the experience of that person, the image of that person, the nature, the look, the structure, the appearance of that person, which is memory. Right? Right, sirs? And that memory is based on knowledge of that person. Right? And that knowledge is based on the experience with that person. Right? Do you see this? So, thinking is born from experience, knowledge derived from experience, stored in the brain as memory, and reaction to that memory is thought. Right? So thought is a material process. Would you see that? Right, sir? So thought is not sacred. And whatever it creates is not sacred – your Upanishads, your Gita, your Bible, Koran, is not sacred. See what you are accepting the moment you say thought is a material process. It is a material process because the brain, the brain cells contain the past memories, past knowledge, past experience, and from that thought arises. If you had no experience, no knowledge, no memory, there is no thought. Right? So look at it carefully and you will see it for yourself. So thought is a material process. Would you see that? So thought has created God and then thought worships God. Yes, sir ! You're had ! This is very important. Please, look at it. And if thought is a material process, then what are we? You understand my question? What are we, psychologically? Thought says you are Hindu. Thought says you are a great man. Thought says you must achieve enlightenment. Thought says you must meditate. Thought says obey, follow, become like somebody else. So thought says become, both outwardly, if you are a clerk, become the manager, if you are the manager, become the executive, if you are the executive, the chairman. Also, thought says, you are a disciple, you'll eventually be the master, and ultimately the guru, and, still further, enlightened. Thought is constructing all this. I wonder if you realise all this.