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Self-education is an issue emphasized in Krishnamurti’s talks, books and dialogues. But, does this mean that a good intellectual understanding and knowledge of his work is required for self-education? Is self-education a new field of study, introduced by Krishnamurti and practiced in the schools run by the various Krishnamurti Foundations? Does one have to join one of these schools (or the centers studying Krishnamurti’s thought) in order to become self-educated? Are those places run by self-educated people who conduct courses and workshops to teach self-education?

Perhaps self-education has nothing to do with any of these. Perhaps self-education begins with an individual – of any country, any race, any nationality, religion, caste, cult or community – who, by observing what is happening around him and in the world, feels the urgency to do something. But, seeing the immensity of the problem, he realizes that the solution has to be as big as the problem itself, that any small action is meaningless and only adds to the confusion.

As he investigates, he will see that the problem is not new but has an ancient origin. The human mind (man) has been responsible for whatever is happening in the outer world. All attempts to change man by reward and punishment have failed. Violence, aggression, greed, lust, fear and anxiety have always existed and continue to prevail. The self-educator sees that there is a link between the condition of the outer world and the inner tendencies of the human mind. He then asks: What is the origin of all this?

When one researches the historical origin, the root, of suffering, one finds that ever since life appeared an in-built, primordial instinct for survival, self-protection, also appeared with it. Without this, the physical organism would have perished all too soon. Though at first there was no thought (self-consciousness) as seen in man today, there was some form of biochemical mechanism which allowed him to distinguish friend from foe, prey from predator. This sense of ‘I’ and ‘you’ divided and separated one from the other, instinctively operating with no psychological overtones, purely on the basis of protection of the physical organism.

However, it seems that a major jump in evolution occurred when thinking man evolved. Unconscious instinct became conscious of itself as ‘me’ in the form of thought. As everything in nature is in constant flux – moving, changing – thought as ‘me’ identified (fixed) itself with all the accumulated memory of past experiences stored in the brain for the purpose of survival and gained stability and finally supremacy. Now, thought could use the stored memories to maintain a continuity as ‘me’ and thereby create a sense of protection of being, existing.

On account of the perceived differences in the outer physical form, color, proportions and the differences in the inner attitudes, views, opinions and tendencies, each human being now considered himself to be a separate individual, different from another. Ignorant of the underlying collective process hidden in his consciousness, which shaped his personal thoughts, feelings and actions, he took himself to be a separate individual with personal experiences of pleasure and pain.

It is important to remember that this evolutionary change took place in the consciousness of the whole species, implying a corresponding change in the functioning of the brain of each member. No one was exempt. Every individual has fear and acquisitive discontent at the root of his thought, feeling and action, whether he is conscious of it or not. Self-education begins with becoming aware of this.

While the rational man will at once accept the need for self-education, he may have difficulty in accepting that his own self is as corrupt as the self which he observes operating in others. This is because, of his own self, he has created a glossy, glamourous, bright image. He may at times become conscious of the darker side when the shocks of life make cracks in his self-gratifying image. But soon the cracks are repaired by beautiful explanations and he becomes blind and deaf to the cunning activities of self-centeredness. The result of this attitude is that he turns his attention to awakening intelligence in others through schools, government, religious organizations, factories, corporations and in his family. This is the game of the self continuing century after century across cultures and civilizations.

For any change to occur in this situation, each person must first see that the self inside and the self outside have the same fundamental structure, character and actions. Then he will see that he must begin with himself.

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