"I don't mind what happens" September 5, 2009
Posted by bodhidude in : Spirituality, articles , trackback
Once during a regular question and answer session with his students, spiritual teacher J. Krishnamurti paused and leaned forward and asked the audience, “Do you want to know what my secret is?”. Everyone sat up and became immensely alert because here was one of the great spiritual teachers of the 20th century and he was about to tell them his secret. Krishnamurti in a soft spoken voice said “You see, I don’t mind what happens”. Who could believe that the secret or really the core teaching of such a great master could be something so simple? But it is just this simple statement and way of being that contains the key to incredible freedom and joy.
It is a state of complete equanimity with life. A state of utter non-resistance to what is. From this perspective our suffering comes from our resistance to the present moment just as it is. When we say NO to what is we immediately create separation and cut ourselves off from life and from our true power. Wanting the present moment to be different than it is could be considered an insane way of life because the one undeniable thing about the present moment is that it is how it is. If we are experiencing an unpleasant situation or pain of some kind denying it and wishing it to be different isn’t going to help because we are denying what is already happening. Rather than making it better it adds the pain of resistance and conflict on top of the already unpleasant situation. It also blocks us from creating something new because we get stuck in fighting whats happening.
When we first accept what is even if its painful or unpleasant we allow ourselves to acknowledge it and fully feel and experience it which clears the way to truly create change. It also gives us clarity to see what can be done so we see what we can do to change a situation or if there is nothing we can do to change it we see that too and at least we can accept it with peace and clarity.
Can you imagine what life would be like if you were ok with whatever was happening? Your state of being would no longer be controlled by external events which you really have no control over anyway. Instead you could derive your happiness and security from within which is where it comes from in my opinion. You would then be free to more fully engage and enjoy life and whats happening because you wouldn’t have an agenda or a need for it to be a certain way. You might still prefer certain things and outcomes and even actively work toward them but you wouldn’t need them to be happy or ok. If we can see the Divine in everything around us, in everyone and in every situation we can appreciate it even if its unpleasant. We can begin to see whats happening as Divine will and get into harmony with it and this is where miracles happen and we can step into a role of Divine co-creator.
Comments»
It is interesting that this post followed your last one, and so soon after my comment on Theosophy elsewhere, because of J. Krishnamurti’s early involvement (or enmeshment might be a better way to put it) in the Theosophical Society. In my opinion, he was wise to reject the Movement at an early age, because the T.S. had gone far astray of Blavatsky’s original teachings & purpose (very soon after Blavatsky’s death, in fact), even in some fundamental areas (and without attempting to justify these changes, but rather distorting or misrepresenting the earlier teachings, implying no change had really occurred). If nothing else, there is an issue with integrity here. Some historians refer to the ascendency of Annie Besant & C.W. Leadbeater (those who instituted these changes, and who originally took J. Krishnamurti as a boy, to groom him to become the next Messiah, more-or-less) as the beginning of Neo-Theosophy, and I agree with this assessment. An emphasis on occult practice over the development of spiritual character ensued and, as the case of Krishnamurti illustrates, a tendency towards sensationalism & even broad delusions became the norm. I do not belong to the Theosophical Society today because I perceive it to be Neo-Theosophical in character, in the sense just described. This is my opinion only, and I’m sure there are some fine people in the group, whom I do not wish to malign. I see that Besant & Leadbeater are still held in high honor, and their teachings emphasized, neither of which conditions can I in good conscience accept. When I speak of the influence of Theosophy on me personally, therefore, and of what I consider to be some very valid teachings & beliefs, I refer most especially to what H.P. Blavatsky taught herself, and secondarily to a smaller line that branched after her death, following W.Q. Judge rather than Annie Besant, and continuing through Katherine Tingley, G. de Purucker & others. This group emphasized ethics & urged extreme caution in all occult matters, even to the point where they closed their esoteric section & became more of a philosphical/humanitarian society than a magickal one.
As to Krishnamurti’s lesson to his students, I have this question: how does one separate detachment from indifference? Where does the virtue of empathy come into play? I understand that we live, move & breath in Maya….that it is an illusion that must be overcome, that it is desire which chains us to the cycle. However, for finite beings, the illusion is relatively real, the suffering real, etc. I don’t see how one can close oneself to, or deny the importance of, the experiences of Maya, however ultimately illusory, without denying one’s essential humanity, even with the understanding that the human condition is a temporary stepping-stone to – or even a veil over – one’s divinity. Is it possible that an Adept sees the trees & the forest simultaneously, so to speak? I’ve heard the phrase: “Inaction in action & action in inaction.” Does an Adept, then, hold empathy in detachment, and detachment in empathy? I’m asking these questions, because I am examining myself, and because the subject is so far beyond me. My initial reaction to Krishnamurit’s message is: What?! No, you have to care, not be detached! But I also sense I’m missing something of the point. I also know I do, personally, get bent out of shape over things I can’t change. In other words, I recognize that my understanding is limited.
Thanks for your comments. I didn’t have the experience you did specifically related to Krishnamurti but I’ve had similar experiences with other “gurus” and teachers. In fact I went through a period of many years going from one teacher to another because in each case after a while I found out something about the teacher that broke my faith or they acted in a way I felt inconsistent with spirituality. After many years of this I realized that it really wasn’t about them, I was giving my power away and looking for truth “out there”. That was a hard but incredibly valuable lesson to learn but it resulted in me taking full responsibility for my path, there are still teachers but their role is much different than it used to be. I was projecting a lot on my teachers and failing to realize that they were human beings and therefore imperfect. This post isn’t really about Krishnamurti although I found this anecdote meaningful because it simply states what I am trying to communicate here.
I understand your points about caring and I share them however in my experience there is a difference between caring and acceptance or surrender to the moment. Not minding what is happening doesn’t mean you don’t care, in fact I think it opens the door to a deeper level of caring and more effective action. My view of this teaching is that its an inner process. It is a inner letting go to the reality of the present moment. It is a dropping of resistance which could be considered the mind saying NO I don’t like what is happening and so don’t want it to be happening. But this is crazy because it is resisting what already IS happening and it can also be very arrogant because it assumes we know how things ought to be. I find that if I am able to be ok with whatever is happening then I touch a depth of peace and joy that exists in the present moment when the moment is unobstructed by resistance. However again this is an inner process in the moment. Once that resistance is dropped one sees whats happening with great clarity and then may be called to take decisive action to change it but the letting go is first before the action. Action taken from resistance and conflict with what is doesn’t tend to be very effective which I think is why we have so much conflict and unresolved problems in the world today. Action that comes from a state of surrender tends to be infused with a different energy, the energy of that deep peace and joy and so can be incredibly powerful.
So I would say I very much do care about whats going on but am also practicing being ok with whatever is going on. Ok in the sense that I derive my peace of mind from an inner source not from an outer one. I find there is a amazing degree of freedom right here right now………but its a daily practice of letting go…….
Also I find this author teacher is very good at expressing the power of acceptance and surrender and how it is not a passive approach to life but rather and immensely free and empowering one….
Tara Brach – author of Radical Acceptance.
http://www.tarabrach.com
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. On Krishnamurti, I didn’t have an experience related to him specifically, but was rather describing his experience as a young man with the Theosophical Society, and knowing that he had rejected it, etc., just from my reading on the history of that organization. They wanted to make him the next Messiah or Avatar, and he basically said ‘no thanks, I need to find my own path, not seek to fulfill your misguided agenda.’ About disillusioning experiences with so-called gurus , I too have been through that – the giving away of my power, as you put it so well.
Your explanation about surrendering to what IS being a step into freedom, not a step into denial, and therefore its empowering one to actually care more effectively, is very well put. Thank you for helping to clarify that issue for me, and also thanks for the website link. I’ve followed it & started by downloading Tara’s meditation book.
“You see, I don’t mind what happens” . . .
I can understand that there is a certain wisdom in this approach to many of life’s circumstances.
What I don’t understand, however, is how such a statement could be meaningful to people who are not in the benign circumstances that it appears Krishnamurti was when making this comment.
Who would say such a thing, for example, when being tortured (let alone “in a soft-spoken voice”)?
Who could even *think* such a thing while being tortured?
Hey Steven
This is certainly easier to practice when things are comfortable however speaking from personal experience I find it really makes a difference when things are tough. It can certainly be a challenge to take this perspective when one is in a painful difficult situation but I think that is possible with practice. I don’t think it means we don’t feel the pain or want the painful situation to end, we might even take powerful action to do something about it. What we become free of is the inner resistance to what is happening which is what turns pain into suffering, it makes things worse. I’ve found that when I can practice this type of acceptance when things are difficult I still feel the pain but there is an inner peace that goes along with it that also results in courage to see it through.
It is funny you mention torture because I just read an account of a Palestinian man who spent 6 years in an Israeli prison and was tortured on a number of occasions. He was a practitioner or meditation and actually had a spiritual awakening while being tortured because the intensity of the experience cause him to dis-identify from his body into a state of pure awareness. He found freedom in that experience which persisted even after he was released. That is certainly an extreme example and one no one would want to have to go through but I think what Krishnamurti was talking about can be applied in any situation.
Yes.