January 31, 2004
A Brush with Krishnamurti
Webwandering early this morning, poking around in the Theosophy/Krishnamurti ranch, I found this quote from Krishnamurti:
"Why are you hurt? Self-importance, is it not? And why is there self-importance? Because one has an idea, a symbol of oneself, an image of oneself, what one should be, what one is or what one should not be. Why does one create an image about oneself? What awakens anger is that our ideal, the idea we have of ourselves, is attacked. And our idea about ourselves is our escape from the fact of what we are. But when you are observing the actual fact of what you are, no one can hurt you. Then, if one is a liar and is told that one is a liar it does not mean that one is hurt; it is a fact."
A very good point, especially for those who tend to idealize themselves. There's a whole other crowd out there. Those who have been persistently devalued as children, who do not know their worth as unique individuals, and feel fear when asked to present their true selves in any new situation. At the edge of the unknown, they project annihilation, and then, of course, they don't go there, thus losing opportunities for experiences that challenge their distorted beliefs about themselves.
It is a very good idea to face the truth about who you really are. Finding that truth takes courage and persistence.