For nearly six decades until his passing in 1986 at the age of ninety, Jiddu Krishnamurti traversed the globe, delivering spontaneous and captivating discourses to large audiences. Despite his lack of a permanent home, he found moments of respite in Ojai, California, Brockwood Park, England, and Chennai, India.
Krishnamurti's early life took a significant turn when he and his brother were adopted by Dr. Annie Besant, then President of the Theosophical Society. Initially hailed as a potential world teacher by Theosophists, Krishnamurti's perspective shifted dramatically in 1929. He renounced the role assigned to him, dissolved the Order of the Star in the East, and returned all assets associated with it. This bold move was accompanied by his seminal declaration: "Truth Is A Pathless Land," emphasizing the individual's journey to truth devoid of institutional or doctrinal guidance.
From that pivotal moment, Krishnamurti assumed the role of an investigator rather than an authority figure, encouraging individuals to question assumptions and explore the depths of their consciousness. His extensive body of work, estimated at over 100 million words, spans more than six decades of relentless inquiry and dialogue. His teachings, compiled in numerous books and translated into multiple languages, continue to inspire seekers worldwide, inviting them to embark on a profound journey of self-discovery and understanding.
J. Krishnamurti's legacy endures as a guiding light, offering timeless wisdom for those who dare to challenge conventional thinking and explore the complexities of existence.
The Freedom From the Knownis a series of profound discussions between Professor Allan W. Anderson, Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at San Diego State University, and J. Krishnamurti. These conversations took place at San Diego State University in 1974.
At a time of unprecedented outer change in the political and social spheres, is there a fundamental inner change that is demanded of each one of us? In these eighteen dialogues, Krishnamurti suggests that relying on organized religion, science, political ideologies, or the market economy not only falls short in addressing fundamental human issues but ultimately contributes to their creation. According to Krishnamurti, the way to transcend our challenges must begin within the individual mind—through awareness of our personal perceptions of life, self, and others. During these discussions, Professor Anderson refers to many passages from both Western and Eastern religious texts, which he says align with Krishnamurti’s teachings but are often misunderstood.
Completing their 18-part dialogue, Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson explore the futility of control, the prison of knowledge, and how deep silence releases our need for answers and opens a door to the immeasurable.
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In this episode, J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson discuss:
Direction: time, control, will, and an end
The futility of control and the controller as the controlled
Considering whether we can live without control, will, and direction
The division of inner and outer as a symptom
How living only in the field of knowledge becomes a prison
Preserving our energy with silence and opening the door to the immeasurable
Stepping back from the obsession with answers and keeping doubt on a leash
The biblical concept of the peace that surpasses understanding
This 18-part miniseries may be over, but stay subscribed to this feed for more talks by Krishnamurti. For a deeper dive into the teachings of Krishnamurti, check out the Krishnamurti Foundation of America’s ongoing series: The Krishnamurti Podcast
To start at the beginning of this multi-part dialogue on consciousness, spirituality and navigating life with J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson: Click Here
For nearly six decades until his passing in 1986 at the age of ninety, Jiddu Krishnamurti traversed the globe, delivering spontaneous and captivating discourses to large audiences. Krishnamurti assumed the role of an investigator rather than an authority figure, encouraging individuals to question assumptions and explore the depths of their consciousness. His extensive body of work, estimated at over 100 million words, spans more than six decades of relentless inquiry and dialogue. His teachings, compiled in numerous books and translated into multiple languages, continue to inspire seekers worldwide, inviting them to embark on a profound journey of self-discovery and understanding. J. Krishnamurti’s legacy endures as a guiding light, offering timeless wisdom for those who dare to challenge conventional thinking and explore the complexities of existence.
About Dr. Allan W. Anderson:
Dr. Allan Anderson was a poet, author, Professor Emeritus, beloved teacher, scholar of the Oracular Tradition, and a gifted religious linguist. He helped to form the Department of Religious Studies at San Diego State College in 1969. Dr. Anderson later became chair of that department, specializing in Eastern Religions, until his retirement in 1985.
“The search for the immeasurable has no meaning. I can give a meaning to it; it has no meaning. That’s just a supposition, a speculation, or the assertion of a few who think they know. When I have discarded all of that, and the mind is utterly silent, what is the immeasurable? What is the everlasting, the eternal? Not in terms of God and all these things man has invented. Silence in the deep sense of that word opens the door.” –J. Krishnamurti
Ep. 17 – Meditation, Cultivating A Pervasive Quality of Attention
Episode 17
Friday, March 27, 2026 • Duration 59:03
In this philosophical discussion, J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan Anderson consider whether meditation is a practice apart from life, or, the very essence of fully living.
To start at the beginning of this 18-part dialogue on consciousness, spirituality and navigating life with J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson: Click Here
In this episode, J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson discuss:
The many schools of meditation across different cultures
The problem of practicing with an intention to reach a certain state of consciousness
Whether or not meditation covers the whole spectrum of being alive
How divorcing meditation from living creates a lack of meaning
Seeing meditation as a beauty that pervades all activities
Freedom: the mind emptying itself of the burden of others
Conscious living and being awake through the mundanity of all moments
Knowing the past without allowing it to overflow into the present
Regenerating the brain through sleep and mental freedom
“Does meditation cover the whole field of existence or is it something totally apart from life—life being business, politics, sex, pleasure, ambition, death, fear, all that is my life. Is meditation apart from that, or, does it embrace all that? If it doesn’t embrace all that, meditation has no meaning.” –J. Krishnamurti
J. Krishnamurti examines the degeneracy of modern society and religion, where mechanical living has replaced curiosity, inquiry, and direct perception.
To start at the beginning of this 18-part dialogue on consciousness, spirituality and navigating life with J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson: Click Here
This time on Freedom From the Known, J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson discuss:
The human tendency to prioritize mechanical functioning over curiosity, inquiry, and direct perception
Humanity’s impulse to translate nature and beauty into art, rather than fully experiencing presence within it
Religion understood as a quality of attention that regenerates the human mind and enables authentic inner transformation
The necessity of setting aside rigid structures of thought and belief systems built around organized religion
Freeing oneself from psychological conditioning and inherited beliefs about reality, identity, and truth
How humans have divorced conduct, relationship, death, and love from religion
The inevitability of moral and cultural degeneracy in today’s society
“We don’t know, we pretend we know. When a man says ‘Jesus is savior’, it is a pretension. It is saying I know and you don’t know. What do you know in the name of heaven? You know nothing, you just repeat what you have learned from somebody else.” –J. Krishnamurti
Outlining the absurdity of religion, J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson explore the man-made quality of God across all cultures.
Just joining the podcast? Be sure to start with Ep. 1: Knowledge & Transformation to get the most out of this 18-part dialogue on consciousness, spirituality, and navigating life with J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson.
In this episode, J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson explore:
How religion has lost its substance and become ‘utterly meaningless’
The problem with worshipping man-made concepts of God
The sense of security that people seek through religion
Our attachment to religion and the panic experienced when we question it
Why the mind demands more experiences
Despair and loneliness: the reasons we accept religion’s authority over our lives
Freedom, intelligence, and reasoning as central to real spirituality
The absurdity of ‘gurus’ and being influenced entirely by another human being
For nearly six decades until his passing in 1986 at the age of ninety, Jiddu Krishnamurti traversed the globe, delivering spontaneous and captivating discourses to large audiences. Krishnamurti assumed the role of an investigator rather than an authority figure, encouraging individuals to question assumptions and explore the depths of their consciousness. His extensive body of work, estimated at over 100 million words, spans more than six decades of relentless inquiry and dialogue. His teachings, compiled in numerous books and translated into multiple languages, continue to inspire seekers worldwide, inviting them to embark on a profound journey of self-discovery and understanding. J. Krishnamurti’s legacy endures as a guiding light, offering timeless wisdom for those who dare to challenge conventional thinking and explore the complexities of existence.
Ep. 14 – The Vitality of Death
Episode 14
Wednesday, November 26, 2025 • Duration 59:15
Discussing humanity’s deep fear of death, J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson analyze how freedom arises when we understand the inseparable connection of life and death.
Just joining the podcast? Be sure to start with Ep. 1: Knowledge & Transformation to get the most out of this 18-part dialogue on consciousness, spirituality, and navigating life with J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson.
This time on Freedom from the Known, J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson discuss:
The fear and avoidance of death that most human beings experience
Freeing the mind from fear and understanding death as something beautiful
Our many human theories about death and the afterlife
Considering what actually dies outside of the organism
The radical relation of birth and death
The futility of ceaselessly analyzing the content of the mind
How humans have attempted to sell immortality
The destructibility of all man-made creations and concepts
Understanding that living, love, and death are one thing
For nearly six decades until his passing in 1986 at the age of ninety, Jiddu Krishnamurti traversed the globe, delivering spontaneous and captivating discourses to large audiences. Krishnamurti assumed the role of an investigator rather than an authority figure, encouraging individuals to question assumptions and explore the depths of their consciousness. His extensive body of work, estimated at over 100 million words, spans more than six decades of relentless inquiry and dialogue. His teachings, compiled in numerous books and translated into multiple languages, continue to inspire seekers worldwide, inviting them to embark on a profound journey of self-discovery and understanding. J. Krishnamurti’s legacy endures as a guiding light, offering timeless wisdom for those who dare to challenge conventional thinking and explore the complexities of existence.
Ep. 13 - A Different Way of Living
Episode 13
Wednesday, October 8, 2025 • Duration 59:40
Challenging the idea that struggle and conflict are a necessary part of life, J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan Anderson explore a different way of living.
Just joining the podcast? Be sure to start with Ep. 1: Knowledge & Transformation to get the most out of this 18-part dialogue on consciousness, spirituality, and navigating life with J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson.
This time on Freedom from the Known, J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson discuss:
What it truly means to live and face the profound mystery of death
Discovering the meaning of existence through awareness of the present moment
Ways that people attempt to escape from the monotony of daily routine
How to meet the ‘battle of life’ with clarity and compassion
The highest form of education: teaching that there is a way of living without conflict
Being aware of the correct uses of thought and knowledge
The destructive, negative energy that is created through conflict and battle
Considering how love can exist in a world filled with inner and outer battle
Digging deeper into the reality of consciousness, beyond definitions
For nearly six decades until his passing in 1986 at the age of ninety, Jiddu Krishnamurti traversed the globe, delivering spontaneous and captivating discourses to large audiences. Krishnamurti assumed the role of an investigator rather than an authority figure, encouraging individuals to question assumptions and explore the depths of their consciousness. His extensive body of work, estimated at over 100 million words, spans more than six decades of relentless inquiry and dialogue. His teachings, compiled in numerous books and translated into multiple languages, continue to inspire seekers worldwide, inviting them to embark on a profound journey of self-discovery and understanding. J. Krishnamurti’s legacy endures as a guiding light, offering timeless wisdom for those who dare to challenge conventional thinking and explore the complexities of existence.
Ep. 12 - Defining Love Beyond Sex and Pleasure
Episode 12
Thursday, September 4, 2025 • Duration 59:50
Exploring how modern culture often reduces love to sex and pleasure, J. Krishnamurti points to a deeper understanding: love as a mirror for self-knowledge and true relationship.
Just joining the podcast? Be sure to start with Ep. 1: Knowledge & Transformation to get the most out of this 18-part dialogue on consciousness, spirituality, and navigating life with J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson.
In this episode, J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson consider:
How to love without focusing on achievement or reward
Why reducing love to sex and pleasure distorts its true nature
Real love as the total absence of ego
The Christian perspective on love and dissolving the “I”
Pure joy as an effortless state and how this is connected to love
The role of celibacy across spiritual traditions
How chastity can open the mind to clarity and truth
The idea of enjoyment as pleasure
How ambition, nationalism, and identification, can deeply isolate a person
For nearly six decades until his passing in 1986 at the age of ninety, Jiddu Krishnamurti traversed the globe, delivering spontaneous and captivating discourses to large audiences. Krishnamurti assumed the role of an investigator rather than an authority figure, encouraging individuals to question assumptions and explore the depths of their consciousness. His extensive body of work, estimated at over 100 million words, spans more than six decades of relentless inquiry and dialogue. His teachings, compiled in numerous books and translated into multiple languages, continue to inspire seekers worldwide, inviting them to embark on a profound journey of self-discovery and understanding. J. Krishnamurti’s legacy endures as a guiding light, offering timeless wisdom for those who dare to challenge conventional thinking and explore the complexities of existence.
Ep. 11 - The Nature of Hurt
Episode 11
Friday, August 1, 2025 • Duration 59:27
Exploring the ways that religion has been misunderstood and distorted, J. Krishnamurti discusses the nature of human suffering and how a religious mind can move beyond it.
Just joining the podcast? Be sure to start with Ep. 1: Knowledge & Transformation to get the most out of this 18-part dialogue on consciousness, spirituality, and navigating life with J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson.
This time on Freedom from the Known, J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson discuss:
How the word or concept of religion has been abused, distorted, and mischaracterized across time
Religion as a reality beyond thought, belief, and organized systems
Krishnamurti’s powerful redefinition of religion: the total gathering of one’s energy in complete attention
How losing touch with nature and the universe led to the arising of superstition and false religion
The essential role of a completely silent and attentive mind
Understanding suffering and moving beyond it rather than getting stuck in it
Looking into why human beings are hurt in both psychological and physiological senses
The roots of suffering in childhood and dealing with comparison
Becoming aware of our personal hurts and how they have impacted our perceptions
For nearly six decades until his passing in 1986 at the age of ninety, Jiddu Krishnamurti traversed the globe, delivering spontaneous and captivating discourses to large audiences. Krishnamurti assumed the role of an investigator rather than an authority figure, encouraging individuals to question assumptions and explore the depths of their consciousness. His extensive body of work, estimated at over 100 million words, spans more than six decades of relentless inquiry and dialogue. His teachings, compiled in numerous books and translated into multiple languages, continue to inspire seekers worldwide, inviting them to embark on a profound journey of self-discovery and understanding. J. Krishnamurti’s legacy endures as a guiding light, offering timeless wisdom for those who dare to challenge conventional thinking and explore the complexities of existence.
Ep. 10 – The Art of Seeing and Listening
Episode 10
Tuesday, May 20, 2025 • Duration 01:00:01
J. Krishnamurti considers the mechanical quality of seeing and listening that humans often suffer from, and why it prevents us from being free.
Just joining the podcast? Be sure to start with Ep. 1: Knowledge & Transformation to get the most out of this 18-part dialogue on consciousness, spirituality, and navigating life with J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson.
In this episode, J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson consider:
Seeing through the screen of our own prejudices, fears, and egos
The separation between us and our object of perception
Listening through the screen of irritations and personal translations rather than directly hearing what others say
What occurs when we are able to listen without any interference, interpretation, or conclusion
The black and white quality of listening versus non-listening
Giving our total attention to what is being said to us
The way that our minds are oriented towards commercialism
Considering the ways in which we learn, or if there is even learning at all
How the brain can only function within complete security
Action based on ideas such as inaction, and the mechanical quality of our seeing and listening
The living death of never being free and only focusing on what we think we know
For nearly six decades until his passing in 1986 at the age of ninety, Jiddu Krishnamurti traversed the globe, delivering spontaneous and captivating discourses to large audiences. Krishnamurti assumed the role of an investigator rather than an authority figure, encouraging individuals to question assumptions and explore the depths of their consciousness. His extensive body of work, estimated at over 100 million words, spans more than six decades of relentless inquiry and dialogue. His teachings, compiled in numerous books and translated into multiple languages, continue to inspire seekers worldwide, inviting them to embark on a profound journey of self-discovery and understanding. J. Krishnamurti’s legacy endures as a guiding light, offering timeless wisdom for those who dare to challenge conventional thinking and explore the complexities of existence.
Ep. 9 - The Depth of Beauty
Episode 9
Wednesday, March 26, 2025 • Duration 01:00:18
Discussing how passion is derived from being able to remain with sorrow, J. Krishnamurti describes the depth of beauty.
Just joining the podcast? Be sure to start with Ep. 1: Knowledge & Transformation to get the most out of this 18-part dialogue on consciousness, spirituality, and navigating life with J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson.
This time on Freedom from the Known, J. Krishnamurti and Dr. Allan W. Anderson discuss:
Austere beauty and total abandonment of the self
The deep relationship between suffering and beauty
Humility and the beauty of not knowing
Becoming aware of global suffering and less self-absorbed
How people rationalize sorrow in the east and are able to remain with it
Our lack of an intimate relationship with nature
How artificiality has become supremely important in our modern world
Losing the delicacy of the mind, heart, and body
The misguided purpose of education and what students should be learning
Considering the true definition of action in order to understand sorrow
This talk was originally recorded in 1974 at San Diego State University and curated by the Krishnamurti Foundation of America
“Passion won’t come out of sorrow. And, without passion, how can you see beauty? You can intellectually appreciate a painting, poem, or statue, but you need this great sense of inward bursting of passion that creates in itself a sensitivity that can see beauty. It is, I think, rather important to understand sorrow. I think it is related: beauty, passion, sorrow.” – J. Krishnamurti
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For nearly six decades until his passing in 1986 at the age of ninety, Jiddu Krishnamurti traversed the globe, delivering spontaneous and captivating discourses to large audiences. Krishnamurti assumed the role of an investigator rather than an authority figure, encouraging individuals to question assumptions and explore the depths of their consciousness. His extensive body of work, estimated at over 100 million words, spans more than six decades of relentless inquiry and dialogue. His teachings, compiled in numerous books and translated into multiple languages, continue to inspire seekers worldwide, inviting them to embark on a profound journey of self-discovery and understanding. J. Krishnamurti’s legacy endures as a guiding light, offering timeless wisdom for those who dare to challenge conventional thinking and explore the complexities of existence.
About Dr. Allan W. Anderson:
Dr. Allan Anderson was a poet, author, Professor Emeritus, beloved teacher, scholar of the Oracular Tradition, and a gifted religious linguist. He helped to form the Department of Religious Studies at San Diego State College in 1969. Dr. Anderson later became chair of that department, specializing in Eastern Religions, until his retirement in 1985.
"Unless you have this quality of the mind that is really religious, degeneracy is really inevitable. look at the politicians who are supposed to be the rulers, the guides, the helpers, they are degenerates. They are so corrupt, and they want to bring order. They are so irreligious, but they go to church. Man is becoming more and more degenerate, you can see it. " –J. Krishnamurti
About J. Krishnamurti:
For nearly six decades until his passing in 1986 at the age of ninety, Jiddu Krishnamurti traversed the globe, delivering spontaneous and captivating discourses to large audiences. Krishnamurti assumed the role of an investigator rather than an authority figure, encouraging individuals to question assumptions and explore the depths of their consciousness. His extensive body of work, estimated at over 100 million words, spans more than six decades of relentless inquiry and dialogue. His teachings, compiled in numerous books and translated into multiple languages, continue to inspire seekers worldwide, inviting them to embark on a profound journey of self-discovery and understanding. J. Krishnamurti’s legacy endures as a guiding light, offering timeless wisdom for those who dare to challenge conventional thinking and explore the complexities of existence.
“The mind becomes dull, restless, its curiosity is only in the direction of functioning. It has no capacity to inquire. To inquire you must have freedom first." –J. Krishnamurti
About Dr. Allan W. Anderson:
Dr. Allan Anderson was a poet, author, Professor Emeritus, beloved teacher, scholar of the Oracular Tradition, and a gifted religious linguist. He helped to form the Department of Religious Studies at San Diego State College in 1969. Dr. Anderson later became chair of that department, specializing in Eastern Religions, until his retirement in 1985.
Dr. Allan Anderson was a poet, author, Professor Emeritus, beloved teacher, scholar of the Oracular Tradition, and a gifted religious linguist. He helped to form the Department of Religious Studies at San Diego State College in 1969. Dr. Anderson later became chair of that department, specializing in Eastern Religions, until his retirement in 1985.
“It begins there, the desire for human beings to find something more than what thought has put together. Not being able to find anything, they romanticize it, they create symbols, and that's called religion—which has absolutely nothing to do with behavior, with our daily life. So, seeing all of this, both in the West and the East, Islam, Buddhism, it is the same principle of worshipping an image in which they have created. It is the human mind which has created the image. They are worshipping themselves." –J. Krishnamurti
Dr. Allan Anderson was a poet, author, Professor Emeritus, beloved teacher, scholar of the Oracular Tradition, and a gifted religious linguist. He helped to form the Department of Religious Studies at San Diego State College in 1969. Dr. Anderson later became chair of that department, specializing in Eastern Religions, until his retirement in 1985.
“Unless the mind frees itself from fear, there is no possibility of understanding the extraordinary beauty, strength, and vitality of death.” –J. Krishnamurti
Dr. Allan Anderson was a poet, author, Professor Emeritus, beloved teacher, scholar of the Oracular Tradition, and a gifted religious linguist. He helped to form the Department of Religious Studies at San Diego State College in 1969. Dr. Anderson later became chair of that department, specializing in Eastern Religions, until his retirement in 1985.
“If you could, as a professor, teacher, parent, point this out, the impracticality of the way we are living, the destructiveness of it, the utter indifference to the earth. We are destroying everything we touch. And, to point out a way of living in which there’s no conflict. That seems to me is the function of the highest form of education.” – J. Krishnamurti
Dr. Allan Anderson was a poet, author, Professor Emeritus, beloved teacher, scholar of the Oracular Tradition, and a gifted religious linguist. He helped to form the Department of Religious Studies at San Diego State College in 1969. Dr. Anderson later became chair of that department, specializing in Eastern Religions, until his retirement in 1985.
“Western civilization has put this over the whole of the earth through cinema, books, pornography, advertisements, stories. This sense of love is identification with sex, which is pleasure, basically. Can a mind pursuing pleasure, ambitious/competitive mind, can such a mind love? It can love sexually, but love of sex is the only thing.” – J. Krishnamurti
Dr. Allan Anderson was a poet, author, Professor Emeritus, beloved teacher, scholar of the Oracular Tradition, and a gifted religious linguist. He helped to form the Department of Religious Studies at San Diego State College in 1969. Dr. Anderson later became chair of that department, specializing in Eastern Religions, until his retirement in 1985.
"There is suffering of the world and it isn't that one must go through it, but, as it is there, one must understand it and go beyond it. That’s one of the qualities of a religious mind, that is incapable of suffering—it has gone beyond it. That doesn’t mean it becomes callous, on the contrary, it is a passionate mind." – J. Krishnamurti
Dr. Allan Anderson was a poet, author, Professor Emeritus, beloved teacher, scholar of the Oracular Tradition, and a gifted religious linguist. He helped to form the Department of Religious Studies at San Diego State College in 1969. Dr. Anderson later became chair of that department, specializing in Eastern Religions, until his retirement in 1985.
"Seeing and listening have become mechanical. We never see anything new. Even the flower is never new which has blossomed overnight. It is always from the known to the known. A movement in time and therefore time-binding, and therefore never free." – J. Krishnamurti
