Swanwick Star Issue No. 2 (2009)

J. Krishnamurti & The State of Immanence

What is the real knowledge and what is the difference between to be skilful and to be knowledgeable? Knowledge of all sciences is not a real knowledge. To distinguish a good horse from the bad one, to know the various classes of animals, to have knowledge of all the kinds of birds is not a real knowledge. To know the various metals, to know the various coins, to know the various jewels is not a real knowledge. To know the various kinds of seeds, to know the various kinds of flowers, to know the various kinds of fruits is not a real knowledge. To speak straight away, to have ready wit, to compose poetry extempore, is not a real knowledge. To know the art of singing, to know the art dancing, is not a real knowledge. To know various kinds of pictures, to know various kinds of instruments, to know various kinds of arts including music, painting, sculpturing is not a real knowledge.

All this is only skilfulness and not knowledge. It looks as if knowledge, but real knowledge, is different from these. To know what is going on in other mind is considered knowledge but it is only a skill. That knowledge by which man attains liberation is of a different kind altogether.

Krishnamurti points out to what we are made of and what is not real in us. We sit and let emotions and thought rise and fall by themselves while we are merely aware of them. This is a state of immanence and is pointed out by Krishnamurti. This leads to self knowledge by way of direct perception.

The other state is the state of transcendence, but it is a state of becoming, a state of conscience, caught up in the past and is a process of thought. While a state of immanence is due to an Insight and is a State of Being or To Be, which operates when there is no conscience and is always in the present and never in the past. Thought is necessary to bring us to this point but the jump is due to Insight, is instantaneous and is a quantum jump.

If we watch ourselves we will find that the Movement of Life is independent of us, we just witness it. In the state of Immanence one begins almost in a state of non-duality. As mentioned by Krishnamurti ‘The First Step is The Last Step’.

There is no difference between the meditator, or inquirer, or witness, and the contents of his consciousness. The observer is the observed. There is only pure non-dual, non-conscious awareness. When that state happens there is spontaneous integration within the Consciousness.

– Naftaly Ramrajkar