One of the best things that I have ever heard in my life is a phrase from the great avadhuta, and one of my genuine heroes, U. G. Krishnamurti.
He said: ‘When the “you” is not there, when the question is not there, what is is understanding. You are finished. You’ll walk out. You’ll never listen to anybody describing his state or ask any questions about understanding at all.’
This was based on his own experience after following and being close to Jiddu Krishnamurti for many years. He was sitting in a tent in Switzerland listening to a talk of J. K.’s when he had his final realisation about the nature of existence, which triggered a profound physical transformation that would continue to unfold over the next few years. After this realisation, he knew for certain that he would never have the need to go to listen to someone else speak about the truths of life.
So, coming back to the quote given above, what would it mean to have this kind of real understanding? It would mean to understand that everything is within us and there is nothing that we need from outside. Not only is the truth about existence contained within us as our very own nature, it is also a fact that when we realise this truth, it will express itself in its own way.
Related to this, another quote of U. G.’s tells us: ‘It is also for this reason that if two or more people are living in this state at the same time, they will never get together. They won’t dance in the streets hand in hand: “We are all self-realised men! We belong!”’ That is to say, even though two people may be established in the natural state, it is unlikely that they will be on the same page when it comes to expressing that state.
When Osho was asked if he admired anyone in the world, he said: ‘I admire one man: J. Krishnamurti. I admire him, but that does not mean that I agree with him.’ Later, when J. Krishnamurti passed away, Osho recognised him as an enlightened being and gave him the highest of praise. This is relevant and interesting here because, out of the whole world, Osho admired one man, and at the same he openly disagreed with him.
Now, U. G. was probably an even greater firebrand than Osho and J. K. put together, and I’m not sure he ever admitted to admiring anybody. But the point still stands that even if you have two or more truly enlightened beings in the world, then they may, on the surface, disagree with each other about everything.
To learn from a spiritual master does not mean to mimic or copy him; it doesn’t mean to become a sycophant or a blind a follower of his words. To really learn from a spiritual master means to learn from his inner state, and not from his outer expression and appearance. So, what U. G. was really saying when he said, ‘You’ll walk out’, is that if you yourself come into that same inner state, then you will probably have no interest in sitting around and listening to the opinions and expressions of a man who happens to be in that state as well.
All of this can feel quite dangerous if we are attracted or connected to two or more different spiritual masters. We may find them both to be fantastic in their own ways, but we may also find discontinuities in their teachings. At this stage, if our connection to spiritual masters is still based on how they look and what they say, then we may have a problem. But if we are actually connected to them because we recognise their state, then we should have no problem respecting and loving both masters.
Personally, I appreciate many masters from many traditions. However, if we were to put all of these masters together in a room, then we may get thousands of differences in opinions. But so what? This world is made out of difference. The inner existence of everything in this world is primordially unified, but the outer appearance is beautiful diverse. This is how it is. It is perfect.
So, to be clear to ‘Walk out’ does not mean that we should turn our backs on our spiritual guide when we think that we know everything. To ‘Walk out’ means that we reach a point where we are no longer dependent on the words of somebody else. At this point we are totally free to sit, listen and enjoy, or get up and walk out. But at this point we will no longer take anybody’s words over our own experience. Our conviction will be tremendous. We will starting understanding life perfectly from the inside out. We will then express this in the world in a way that is totally unique, in a way that has never been seen before.
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U. G. quotes source:
U. G. Krishnamurti, The Mystique of Enlightenment
Osho on Jiddu Krishnamurti sources:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8HAAWtQRcfA
Read my own book on the life and teachings of U. G.
