803 War and its causes
I'm a pacifist from way back, so when this K quote landed in my inbox I was all ears. My book en.light.en.ment is full of essays on WAR, PACIFISTS, PACIFISM 1, 2, 3; WAR & PEACE CONSCIOUSNESS, WEAPONRY, FIGHTING FOR PEACE. Furthermore, I have a PACIFIST MANIFESTO.
In my book I ask three questions over & over; the other day I added an Afterword:
Along comes K, with a stunningly simple (easy?) take on answering question three ... he has a way with words, that Krishnamurti, and a clarity of mind and expression that is unrivalled, methinks. This is from a talk in Hamburg, I was nine years old then and my family had moved from Hamburg a year earlier ... I had just missed him!
Seeking achievement, you will be a cause of war
"So long as there is nationalism, so long as you are a German or a Russian or an American, clinging to sovereignty, to an exclusive nationality, you are sure to have war. So long as you are a Christian and I am a Hindu, or you are a Muslim and I am a Buddhist, there is bound to be war. So long as you are ambitious, wanting to reach the top of your society, seeking achievement and worshiping success, you will be a cause of war."
Krishnamurti, Hamburg 1956, Talk 1