Krishnamurti: The sacredness of learning

A school is a place of learning and so it is sacred. The temples, churches and mosques are not sacred for they have stopped learning. They believe; they have faith and that denies entirely the great art of learning, whereas a school like those to which this letter is sent, must be entirely devoted to learning, not only about the world around us, but essentially about what we human beings are, why we behave the way we do, and the complexity of thought.

Learning has been the ancient tradition of man, not only from books, but also about the nature and structure of the psychology of a human being. As we have neglected this entirely, there is disorder in the world, terror, violence and all the cruel things that are taking place. We have put the world’s affairs first and not the inner. The inner, if it is not understood, educated and transformed, will always overcome the outer, however well organized it may be politically, economically and socially. This is a truth which many seem to forget. We are trying politically, legally and socially to bring order in the outer world in which we are living, and inwardly we are confused, uncertain, anxious and in conflict. Without inward order, there will always be danger to human life.