is a book by 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). Originally published in 1954 with a comprehensive
foreword by
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxle ...
, it was instrumental in broadening Krishnamurti's audience and exposing his ideas. It was one of the first Krishnamurti titles in the world of mainstream, commercial publishing, where its success helped establish him as a viable author. The book also established a format frequently used in later Krishnamurti publications, in which he presents his ideas on various interrelated issues, followed by discussions with one or more participants. As of 2022 several editions of the work had been published, in print and digital media.
Background
Following his dismantling of the
World Teacher Project in ,
Jiddu Krishnamurti embarked on a new international speaking career as an independent, unconventional philosopher. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
he remained at his residence in
Ojai, California, in relative isolation. English author
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxle ...
lived nearby; he met Krishnamurti in 1938, and the two men became close friends. Huxley encouraged Krishnamurti to write, and also introduced his work to
Harper, Huxley's own publisher. This eventually led to the addition of Krishnamurti in the publisher's roster of authors; until that time Krishnamurti works were published by
small or specialist presses, or in-house by a variety of Krishnamurti-related
About the work
Like the great majority of Krishnamurti texts, the book consists of edited excerpts from his public talks and discussions; it includes examinations of subjects that were, or became, recurrent themes in his exposition: the nature of the selfand of belief, investigations into fear and desire, the relationship between thinker and thought, the concept of
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 ...
, the function of the mind, etc. Following an introductory chapter by Krishnamurti, each of twenty interrelated topics is covered in its own chapter. A second part ("Questions and Answers") consists of 38 named segments, taken from question-and-answer sessions between Krishnamurti and his audience; the segments broadly pertain to the topics covered in the book's first part. The book was edited (without attribution) by D. Rajagopal, Krishnamurti's thenclose associate, editor, and business manager; the included extracts were taken from "Verbatim Reports" of Krishnamurti talks between 1947 and 1952.
Huxley provided a ten-page
foreword as comprehensive introduction to Krishnamurti's philosophy, an essay that "no doubt contributed to credibility and sales potential", and he may have also influenced the overall structure and style of the work. He had read a thenrecent Krishnamurti book in 1941, and was favorably impressed, especially with a section consisting of dialogues and question-and-answer sessions between Krishnamurti and his listeners a practice that normally followed his lectures. Huxley thought they enlivened Krishnamurti's philosophical subjects, and suggested a similar format for the forthcoming book, which also became a common type of presentation in later Krishnamurti
A commentator summarized that in this and other books, "Krishnamurti emphasized the importance of release from entrapment in the 'network of thought' through a perceptual process of attention, observation or 'choiceless awareness' which would release the true perception of reality without mediation of any authority, or guru. Another observed that it was instrumental in making Krishnamurti and his ideas known to a wider audience, as the "first substantial statement of his philosophy to be issued by major publishing houses in Britain and the United States"; noting the work's popularity among the college-age young, others added that the book "anticipated the preoccupations of an up-and-coming youth culture, perhaps helped to form
As in practically every work of his, Krishnamurti did not present this book as containing "a doctrine to be believed, but as an invitation to others to investigate and validate its truth for
Publication history
The book was originally published May1954 by Harper in the US and by
Gollancz in the UK. In the US, it was the second Krishnamurti-authored book to be published by a mainstream commercial publisherunlike in other markets, where this would be the first such publication.
Copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...
was held by Krishnamurti Writings (KWINC), the organization then responsible for promoting Krishnamurti's work worldwide; publishing rights were transferred to new Krishnamurti-related organizations in the mid-1970s (the
Krishnamurti Foundation
The Krishnamurti Foundation is a nonprofit organisation originated with the life and spiritual teaching of Jiddu Krishnamurti. ''Jiddu Krishnamurti'' ( or ; 11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was a philosopher, educationist, spiritual le ...
s), and in to Krishnamurti Publications (K Publications), an entity with overall responsibility for publishing his works
The book was "an immediate success" and was in its 6th
impression by the end of 1954; a 2015 reprint of
a 1975 paperback edition was the edition's Opening to good reviews, it proved to be a "compelling entry" into publishing, helping to establish Krishnamurti as a viable author in the commercial publishing arena. Unlike the editions of the later editions of the work (such as one ), included a variety of Krishnamurti photographs on the front cover. A digital edition in several
e-book
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
formats was first published by HarperCollins e-Books in 2010 .
About a third of the work was included in ''The Penguin Krishnamurti Reader'', a 1970 compilation edited by Krishnamurti biographer
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 ...
, that was also a commercial and critical success. In addition,
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.[Ebury Publishing
Ebury Publishing is a division of Penguin Random House, and is a publisher of general non-fiction books in the UK. Ebury was founded in 1961 as a division of Nat Mags and was originally located on Ebury Street in London. It was sold to Centur ...]
division published a new edition of ''The First and Last Freedom'' in 2013, with an edition-specific
Preface
__NOTOC__
A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a '' foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often close ...
. This was marketed as a
mass market paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, lea ...
by the division's
Rider imprint , and as an e-book by its digital media
As of 2022, according to one source, there had been 95 editions in several formats by a variety of publishers, published in eight languages. Several years prior, the work had also been made available as a freely readable
electronic document
An electronic document is any electronic media content (other than computer programs or system files) that is intended to be used in either an electronic form or as printed output. Originally, any computer data were considered as something inter ...
through , the official Jiddu Krishnamurti online
Select editions
*
* Reprints of this edition may have different covers and author photographs.
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Reception
A Krishnamurti biographer wrote that Huxley's foreword "set the mood to take the work very seriously", and another stated that by the end of May1954 the book was responsible for attracting larger audiences to Krishnamurti's talks.
Jean Burden, in a sympathetic 1959 article in the ''
Prairie Schooner
''Prairie Schooner'' is a literary magazine published quarterly at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with the cooperation of UNL's English Department and the University of Nebraska Press. It is based in Lincoln, Nebraska and was first publish ...
'', partly attributed the increased interest in Krishnamurti to the book, while stating that as it was compiled from his "famous talks", it "suffered, as most compilations do, from repetitiveness and lack of structure. Yet
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Anne Spencer Morrow Lindbergh (June 22, 1906 – February 7, 2001) was an American writer and aviator. She was the wife of decorated pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh, with whom she made many exploratory flights.
Raised in Englewood, New Jerse ...
reputedly found the sheer simplicity of what he has to
''
Kirkus Reviews'' described it as a "clear and intriguing presentation of a point of view which will appeal to many who are finding the more traditional approaches to truth to be blind alleys. A review at
''The Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Constitution'' contended that Krishnamurti's thinking "has the practical ring. It is so clear, so straightforward that the reader feels a challenge in every page". In contrast, ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'', while finding the work's basic message unoriginal, maintained that Krishnamurti's utterances have "a fluid ambiguity and an almost insidious plausibility", before concluding that the work is "all without , and in the present context appears to be mere
''
The Times Literary Supplement
''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp.
History
The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
'' stated that for those who regard conflict "as an unchangeable condition of human life and truth, Krishnamurti's teaching will seem to offer a delusive short-cut to a vaguely beatific freedom. But there is nothing vague about it. It is precise and penetrating." The reviewer thinks that Krishnamurti presents "a reinterpretation of the wisdom of his though he has rediscovered it for himself. Nevertheless,
J. M. Cohen reviewing the book for ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'' (London) wrote, "Krishnamurti is an entirely independent master" adding, "or those who wish to listen, this book will have a value beyond
The book's publication brought Krishnamurti and his ideas to the attention of practicing and theoretical
psychotherapists
Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome prob ...
, setting the stage for later dialogue between Krishnamurti and professionals in this field. It was also responsible for Krishnamurti's long and fruitful relationship with theoretical physicist
David Bohm
David Joseph Bohm (; 20 December 1917 – 27 October 1992) was an American-Brazilian-British scientist who has been described as one of the most significant theoretical physicists of the 20th centuryPeat 1997, pp. 316-317 and who contributed ...
, whose unorthodox approach to problems of physics and of consciousness often correlated with Krishnamurti's philosophical
The work was mentioned in education-related
dissertations as early as it continued to be cited by
educational research
Educational research refers to the systematic collection and analysis of data related to the field of education. Research may involve a variety of methods and various aspects of education including student learning, teaching methods, teacher tra ...
ers in the following decades. It has also interested researchers in
psycholinguistics, drawing favorable remarks about Krishnamurti's views regarding the between the thinker and the thought"; and has featured in discussion of the relationship between
general semantics
General semantics is concerned with how events translate to perceptions, how they are further modified by the names and labels we apply to them, and how we might gain a measure of control over our own cognitive, emotional, and behavioral respons ...
and other
Among other fields, the book has been cited by
occupational therapy papers, articles on
medical ethics, and in original research of contemporary
spirituality. But also in essays "on the social implications of the 'death of utopia, and in addresses to professional geography conferences. It has been quoted in influential works on media and has been commended as an aid to successful
investment strategies In finance, an investment strategy is a set of rules, behaviors or procedures, designed to guide an investor's selection of an investment Portfolio (finance), portfolio. Individuals have different profit objectives, and their individual skills make ...
. Meanwhile, more than half a century after original publication, articles in general-interest mediafor example, articles on
meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
and
mindfulness, favorably featured or mentioned the
The book has inspired artistic endeavors: it has been suggested that it influenced Huxley's writing of the 1962 novel , and a painting exhibition staged in London in 2014 was "derived from two alternative perspectives: the introduction by Aldous Huxley in the book of his long-term colleague and friend, Jiddu Krishnamurti and Krishnamurti's second major opus, The First and Last Freedom". Additionally, the book has prompted comparisons between Krishnamurti's philosophy and
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry.
Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...
's poetry, and has informed the way
art therapy professionals approach their
As of , according to a Krishnamurti Foundation, ''The First and Last Freedom'' had "sold more copies than any other Krishnamurti
See also
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Jiddu Krishnamurti bibliography
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:First and Last Freedom, The
1954 non-fiction books
Books by Jiddu Krishnamurti
Harper & Brothers books
Philosophy books
Victor Gollancz Ltd books