Krishnamurti on Holy Men and Love
October 8, 2009
“Throughout the world, so-called holy men have maintained that to look at a woman is something totally wrong: they say you cannot come near to God if you indulge in sex, therefore they push it aside although they are eaten up with it. But by denying sexuality they put out their eyes and cut out their tongues for they deny the whole beauty of the earth. They have starved their hearts and minds; they are dehydrated human beings; they have banished beauty because beauty is associated with woman.”
My StumbleUpon Page
October 18, 2009 at 2:32 AM
I found out about Jiddu Krishnamurti from your blog. I find this Indian thinker to be very interesting. I found a quote on love [on the web site you link to] that I find inspiring and I’ll post it on my blog. Ciao
October 18, 2009 at 2:38 AM
PS
As regards beauty, sexuality, woman, Krishnamurti puts it very well. Of course I agree on the foolishness of this dehydration that religions often demand from man.
October 18, 2009 at 3:12 AM
@ Man of Roma: I find Krishnamurti somewhat difficult to understand at first since he is not so much attempting to reason with you as he is attempting to get you to look in a meaningful way at what he is describing. Krishnamurti, like the Dalai Lama, believes that experience takes precedence over reason, and reason takes precedence over scripture.
October 18, 2009 at 4:03 AM
I wonder if he considers experience in the way Western philosophers do. In any case diverse approaches are important to enrich one’s mind. [I’ve now read the conversation on him and on ‘reason and observation’ in another of your posts dedicated to this thinker. 'Observation' doesn't seem that different]
As for sexuality, we must nonetheless consider that, as the Spanish philosopher Savater put it, ‘we like it too much’, so every culture did try to regulate it in a way or another. I am not against this regulation, but any denial of sexuality seems instead foolish and unhealthy. As an example, we can observe its results in the perversion of many Catholic priests, who are not allowed to marry and are therefore the most repressed in Christianity.
October 18, 2009 at 4:34 AM
@ Man of Roma: Good points! I also think sexuality has been used as a wedge issue to gain power over people. It is an amazing stretch to imagine that someone besides me has a right — even an obligation — to tell me what to do or not do in the privacy of my bedroom. But once I have accepted that someone does indeed have that right, I have in effect accepted their complete and total authority over me.
Once some folks discovered that claiming moral authority over other people’s sex lives was an efficient way to enslave them, the world changed a bit.
October 18, 2009 at 5:48 AM
@Paul Sunstone
I agree. You’re now considering the theme of power. The sense of guilt many religions produce in people’s conscience, as regards sexuality, that is all these self-punishment mechanisms derived from breaking laws impossible to comply, all this does favour low-self-esteem and weak personalities easier to control, I don’t have many doubts about it.
October 21, 2009 at 12:49 PM
Great quote isn’t it
I do think however that another aspect may be that for truly advanced people sex is perhaps something that’s not necessary, for most of us it’s only detrimental to even try to suppress it.
October 22, 2009 at 1:20 PM
Regarding reason, experience, and scripture, I’ve heard it said that the Buddha taught: “Rely not on the teacher, but on the teaching. Rely not on the words of the teaching, but on the spirit of the words. Rely not on theory, but on experience. Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe anything because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything because it is written in your scripture. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and the benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”
Sexual abstinence isn’t something I think we should aspire to. It’s just as toxic as complete sexual license. There’s got to be a middle ground.