In a profound dialogue responding to questions about his own alleged "mysterious experiences" and expansions of consciousness, Krishnamurti cuts through the noise of modern spirituality to deliver a surprisingly grounded message.
Here is a breakdown of his perspective on spiritual phenomena and the true nature of human energy.
The Triviality of "Special" Experiences While many spiritual traditions place a heavy emphasis on terms like Kundalini—which essentially means the release of inexhaustible energy—Krishnamurti warns us not to be mesmerized by the word. Whether these experiences are real, psychosomatic, induced by tension, or just the pleasurable projections of our own desires, he ultimately questions their true importance.
Even if one were to achieve supernatural feats like telepathy, Krishnamurti points out that if everyone could read each other's thoughts, "life becomes terribly complex and rather tiresome". He equates having these spiritual experiences to simply taking a good, clean bath after a hot day. The point of a bath is just to be clean, and you shouldn't give it any immense, exaggerated importance. In the face of a world where man is fighting man and degenerating, chasing a "footling little experience" is ultimately a trivial pursuit.
Beware the "Guru Business" Krishnamurti is highly critical of the spiritual marketplace. He warns against those who experience a small awakening and immediately use it to "set up shop". He describes this as a business where individuals claim to have awakened some peculiar energy, gather disciples, tell them what to do, collect money, and sit in special postures—a practice he dismisses as "tommyrot". If you release a small amount of this energy without the right foundation, you can actually do infinite harm to others. He advises readers not to fall into the trap of gurus who claim, "I know, you don't know, I will tell you".
How to Find Abundant Energy If chasing esoteric experiences isn't the answer, where do we find true energy? According to Krishnamurti, it is far more important to rationally and logically inquire into why human beings behave the way they do.
We currently waste massive amounts of our energy on:
- Fights, quarrels, and pretensions
- Conflict, fear, and ambition
- Strife, loneliness, and depression
When your brain is free of this deterioration and you stop wasting energy on these conflicts, you will naturally possess "all the energy in the world". It is not about forcing an awakening; it is about stopping the leaks.
Emptying, Not Expanding, Consciousness Finally, Krishnamurti redefines the popular spiritual goal of "expanding consciousness." He argues that our consciousness is put together by thought and filled with contents like fear, belief, anxieties, sorrow, faith, and nationalism. Because of this, trying to expand your consciousness just means you are expanding those same contents, becoming more and more self-centered.
The true transformation is not an expansion of consciousness, but rather the denying or emptying of the content of that consciousness. Only when you are completely free of that content can you enter a "totally different dimension".
Takeaway: Next time you find yourself drawn to the allure of mystical powers or enlightened gurus, remember Krishnamurti’s grounded advice. True energy and peace don't come from chasing mysterious phenomena, but from resolving our own internal conflicts and facing our daily lives with a clear, unburdened mind.