, subtitled ''His Last Journal'', is a book based on a spoken diary of 20th-century
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n philosopher
Jiddu Krishnamurti (18951986). It discusses psychological, social and spiritual issues he addressed throughout his long career, and like previous diaries includes observations of nature remarked for their originality and nuance; it is however unique in being the only one of his works in this format. Originally recorded in , it was first published in print in 1987.
About the work
The text was transcribed from audiotape recordings made by Krishnamurti at his home in
Ojai, California. He recorded the monologues while alone, at irregular intervals and occasionally in batches of consecutive days, between and In print, the recordings are organized in twenty-seven dated sections of a few pages each; in two cases there are multiple recordings on the same date, published in separate sections. The transcription was minimally edited by
Mary Lutyens
Edith Penelope Mary Lutyens (pseudonym ''Esther Wyndham''; 31 July 1908 – 9 April 1999) was a British author who is principally known for her biographical works on the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti.
Early life
Mary Lutyens was born in L ...
, an authorized Krishnamurti biographer and longtime friend.
The work was reputedly prompted by the success of the previously published diary ''
Krishnamurti's Journal''. Due to his advanced age, Krishnamurti opted to dictate the new diary instead of writing it, using a portable
tape recorder
An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...
. Alternating between
second-person and
third-person narratives, and occasionally with the help of an imaginary conversation partner, he delves on subjects that were common concerns during his long speaking career. Among them, the importance of right relationship, the unhealthy desire for
identification, the significance of meditation, the dangers of conditioned thinking, and "the extraordinary simplicity of dying".
A commentator wrote that this and previous diaries are "worth seeking for the sheer power of the language alone while Lutyens stated in foreword, "The reader gets very close to Krishnamurti in these pieces – almost, it seems at moments, into his very consciousness. gist of Krishnamurti's teaching is here, and the descriptions of nature with which he begins most of the pieces may for quieten their whole being so that they become intuitively receptive to what follows.
Publication history
The book was originally published in by
Gollancz in the UK, and by
Harper & Row
Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City.
History
J. & J. Harper (1817–1833)
James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...
in the US. A
trade paperback edition was published in the US in by
HarperOne
HarperOne is a publishing imprint of HarperCollins, specializing in books that aim to "transform, inspire, change lives, and influence cultural discussions." Under the original name of Harper San Francisco, the imprint was founded in 1977 by 13 em ...
. The editions' front covers feature an author portrait; as was the case with ''Krishnamurti's Journal'', there is no table of contents, with the first dated section beginning immediately after the foreword by Lutyens.
Copyright was held by the Krishnamurti Foundation Trust, a UK entity. , publishing rights were managed by Krishnamurti Publications, the global distributor of Krishnamurti works; the book was listed in their online trade catalog as available in several languages and dialects.
Select editions
*
Reception
Soon after initial publication the work was noted by journals on philosophy and current affairs; additionally, Krishnamurti's approach to
choiceless awareness
is posited in philosophy, psychology, and spirituality to be the state of unpremeditated, complete awareness of the present without preference, effort, or compulsion. The term was popularized in mid-20th century by Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishn ...
and to
insight
Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings:
*a piece of information
*the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intui ...
, as presented in this diary, has been commented upon in
psychotherapy journals. The book is one of the sources in a scholarly comparison of the Russian author
Lev Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
's ideas on consciousness with Krishnamurti's exposition of the subject, and it has been cited in diverse works, such as in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
-focussed sociocultural commentaries and academic journal articles on
feminist perspectives of health reform and
globalization
Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of foreign relation ...
.
The book is mentioned in newspaper articles discussing Krishnamurti's worldwide influence on education, and has been a designated text in college-level courses on education and
ecology
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...
. Entries from the diary have appeared in the popular press, while some readers of the work have remarked on its perceived soothing quality.
See also
*
Jiddu Krishnamurti bibliography
* ''
Krishnamurti's Journal''
* ''
Krishnamurti's Notebook
is a diary of 20th-century Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti (18951986). Written during , it was reputedly not intended for publication; the manuscript also became entangled in copyright and custody disputes. The diary was eventually publi ...
''
Notes
References
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External links
"The roots of heaven are in deep abiding silence"From ''Urgency of Change: The Krishnamurti Podcast'', as published at the
Krishnamurti Foundation Trust YouTube channel. This excerpt is part of the original Krishnamurti recording for the first diary entry of Friday, ; it is included in "Episode 100: Krishnamurti on Silence" (published , at time 52:12 to 1:00:15.
{{Jiddu Krishnamurti
1987 non-fiction books
Books by Jiddu Krishnamurti
Diaries
HarperCollins books
Philosophy books
Victor Gollancz Ltd books