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Professor Raymond Martin’s list of examination questions from one of
his philosophy courses involving the work of Krishnamurti (Study Questions for a
course in Contemporary Eastern Philosophy, Spring, 1985).
1.) K is concerned with the problems posed by individual and collective
human violence. He thinks there is one and only one solution. What is it? What
is his main objection to alternative solutions? Do you agree?
2.) K teaches that gurus and spiritual disciplines are counter-productive.
Why? Give the best reason you can for disagreeing with him.
3.) "The great religions of the world are the repository for our collective
spiritual wisdom. The wise person will learn this wisdom, and use it as a guide
to his own experience." Would K agree? Explain why or why not.
Do you agree with K? If so, give the best reason you can for disagreeing with K.
If not, explain why not.
4.) Consider: "The clerk, when he seeks to become a manager, becomes a
factor in the creation of power-politics which produce war, so he is directly
responsible for war." Does K mean to imply that you, since you also are
ambitious, are also, in virtue of your ambition, directly responsible for war?
Do you agree? Give reasons for your answers.
5.) Consider: "One of the fundamental causes of the disintegration of
society is copying, which is the worship of authority." Explain in your own
words what K means. Does K recognize any circumstances under which appeal to
authority is all right? What do you think is the most serious problem with his
view? Give reasons for your answers.
6.) "We will learn how to solve our problems when we learn how to give them
more thought and better thought." Would K agree? Explain why or why not. Give
the best reason that you can for disagreeing with K's answer.
7.) Could you live your life effortlessly? What does K think? Do you agree?
If you do, explain why you're not doing it. If you disagree, explain why.
8.) Do you have a self or just the illusion of a self? In either case, what
should you do about it?
9.) Why aren't we fearless? What does K think? What do you think? Give
reasons for your answer.
10.) Consider: "What is important, surely, is to be aware without choice,
because choice brings about conflict. The chooser is in confusion, therefore he
chooses; if he is not in confusion, there is no choice."
Explain in your own words and in considerable detail what K is talking about.
11.) Consider: "Now, if we examine our life, our relationship with another,
we shall see that it is a process of isolation." Explain in your own words what
K means. Give the clearest example that you can, from your own life, to show
that what K is saying is at least sometimes false. Explain why you think this is
an especially suitable example. Now explain how someone could best argue that
what K is saying is even true of your example.
12.) Bhagwan claimed to be contradictory on purpose. K doesn't make any such
claim. But he may be contradictory none the less. Give the best argument that
you can that K is sometimes guilty of an important contradiction. Does it
matter? Give reasons for your answer.
13.) What does K mean by "loneliness"? How much of your life is an attempt
to distract yourself from loneliness _ according to K?, according to you?
14.) When you suffer psychological pain, who is it that suffers? How would K
answer this question? Explain in your own words what K means, so that someone
who had never read K or any other philosopher could understand you.
15.) "K says some confusing things about whether in his view it takes time
to acquire self-knowledge. In some places he says things which imply that it
does, in other places he says things which imply that it doesn't.
Although his words are sometimes unclear, what he means to say is clear enough,
and also consistent." Does K say confusing things on this topic? Give reasons
for your answer. Is there a plausible interpretation of the many things K says
on this topic that is both clear and consistent? Give reasons for your answer.
16.) K talks a great deal about "meditation". What does K mean by
"meditation"? Things that some others call meditation, K would not call
meditation. What are the most important of these? Why does K think that
meditation, as he understands it, is important?
17.) K talks a great deal about memory. He seems to think that memory is
often essential, or that certain kinds of memory are essential, and that memory
is often a hindrance, or that certain kinds of memory are a hindrance. What are
K's views on the importance of memory? What, in K's view, is the relationship
between memory and the self? Do you agree with K's views on memory? Give reasons
for your answer.
18.) Is K an atheist, a theist, or an agnostic? Explain your answer in
considerable detail.
19.) What are K's views on sex and love? Do you agree? Give reasons for your
answer.
20.) Taking what K has to say all in all, what do you think is the greatest
merit of his views? What do you think is the greatest difficulty? Give reasons
for your answers.
21.) Briefly explain what K meant by any five of the eight quoted remarks:
a. "The understanding of oneself is not a result, a culmination; it is
seeing oneself from moment to moment."
b. "Effort is a distraction from what is."
c. "Reality, truth, is not to be recognized."
d. "Action as we know it is really reaction."
e. "Belief is a denial of truth."
f. "Cultivation of the ideal is considered virtuous; but if you look at it
closely and directly you will see that it is nothing of the kind."
g. "The more knowledge a mind is burdened with the less capable it is of
understanding."
h. "I think we shall understand the significance of life, if we understand
what it means to make an effort."
Raymond Martin, 1985
[reproduced without permission from "The
Link" which had permission from Mr. Martin]
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