The essence of goodness is a mind that is not in conflict
Public Talk 1
Living in goodness
Public Talk 1 Ojai, California
April 07, 1979
What it is to think together? Is it possible for a human mind to undergo a fundamental, radical, psychological revolution? The essence of goodness is a mind that is not in conflict. What prevents everyone here being utterly good? You are the world, psychologically, and the world is you. When you understand yourself, you are understanding the whole human structure and its nature; it is not mere selfish investigation. When you understand yourself, you go beyond yourself and a different dimension comes into being. Note: a total of 21 seconds of missing video is replaced by audio only.
Public Talk 2
What is the relationship between desire, thought and action?
Public Talk 2 Ojai, California
April 08, 1979
How do we, each one of us, create or bring about a good society? If you want to know yourself, you have to discard totally, completely what others have said about you. As long as one or two senses are taking dominance over the others, there must be distortion. Why has man never been able to understand desire, give it its right place and be free of it? What is the relationship between desire, thought and action? When you look at desire completely, without any distortion, that very looking is intelligence. Note: a total of 1 minute of missing video is replaced by audio only.
Public Discussion 1
Can a conditioned mind free itself?
Public Discussion 1 Ojai, California
April 10, 1979
Can a mind that is not clear transform itself? What do we mean by being conditioned? How do I know that my mind is conditioned? Why have human beings given such extraordinary importance to knowledge? Is knowledge necessary in the psychological field at all? What causes hurt, and who is hurt? Note: a total of 50 minutes of missing video is replaced by audio only.
Public Discussion 2
Is there a way of living in which self-centred activity ends?
Public Discussion 2 Ojai, California
April 12, 1979
What is it that we are wanting, seeking? Why do you come and listen to the speaker? What is preventing all human beings having plentiful food, clothing and shelter? Is not the cause of confusion the content of our consciousness? How deeply do I want to be free of self-centredness? Can you observe your reactions without the past telling you it is good, bad, right, wrong - just to observe? When the mind, which is the whole movement of thought, is operating from past knowledge, experience, memory, then it becomes a dangerous instrument that divides and destroys people. Note: a total of 52 seconds of missing video is replaced by audio only.
Public Talk 3
What is the root of fear?
Public Talk 3 Ojai, California
April 14, 1979
What will change human beings, their quality, behaviour and deep-rooted selfishness - what will change each one? Goodness cannot exist as long as there is fear. What is our thinking process? There is an art of listening, to listen not only with the hearing of the ear but also to listen to the meaning of the word, and to go much deeper than the significance of the word, to listen totally. What place has thought if fear is the result of thought? Has thought any place in the psychological world? Is pleasure related to fear? Can you observe the beauty of a mountain, of a tree in a solitary field, just observe and not register? The moment you register, thought takes over. Note: a total of 25 seconds of missing video is replaced by audio only.
Public Talk 4
The art of observing the book of mankind
Public Talk 4 Ojai, California
April 15, 1979
Is it possible for us to read the book of mankind, which has been handed down generation after generation for millennia? Any form of distorted observation will prevent clarity of reading. When the mind is caught in an illusion, is it aware that it is in an illusion? One must learn the art of reading, of observing the book of mankind, without the observer. There is a way of learning which is immediate action. It is not born out of knowledge. Why has man suffered throughout the ages? Note: a total of 1 minute and 8 seconds of missing video is replaced by audio only.
Public Discussion 3
Freedom, love and responsibility
Public Discussion 3 Ojai, California
April 17, 1979
What do we mean by these three words: love, freedom and responsibility? What relationship has one’s self-centred activity to freedom? Is striving for individual fulfilment irresponsible? How will you acquire a depth of inquiry? Listening implies a tremendous attention. Why is one incapable of solving a psychological problem? Note: a total of 4 minutes and 44 seconds of missing video is replaced by audio only.
Public Discussion 4
What is blocking us from change?
Public Discussion 4 Ojai, California
April 19, 1979
What impedes the human mind from bringing about a mutation in itself? The moment you are comparing, you are not observing, you are caught in the movement of comparison. If you don’t compare, what takes place? There is no ‘how’, because the moment you have a ‘how’ you have fallen into a system, a direction and you are lost. Why are you lonely? Mutation implies non-movement of the activities of the self. Note: a total of 1 minute and 11 seconds of missing video is replaced by audio only.
Public Talk 5
What is disorder in one’s life and what is death?
Public Talk 5 Ojai, California
April 21, 1979
If one understands the relationship between sensation and the activity of thought, one can have a sensation but not let thought create desire. The whole thinking process may be the cause of disorder. Is love merely a fulfilment of desire? How can a man who is suffering love? What is death? There is the collective river of human confusion and sorrow. When you have not ended your own sorrow you are part of that stream. Is it possible to keep the brain young? Death and living are very close; they are not fifty years apart, but together. Note: a total of 28 seconds of missing video is replaced by audio only.
Public Talk 6
Meditation is the ending of all the content of one’s consciousness
Public Talk 6 Ojai, California
April 22, 1979
Is there psychological time at all? If you observe closely, without any movement away, the very observation of ‘what is’ undergoes a radical change, which denies time altogether. As long as the brain is registering, that implies time. One needs to register - how to drive a car, to learn a language - but why should there be registration of your hurt? Is it possible not to dream at all? Lack of space brings about various forms of inhibitions and anxieties. It is important to find out if you can have space without the centre. Can the mind not be occupied? That is only possible when you end problems. Can thought come to an end or must it keep everlastingly moving? Note: a total of 23 seconds of missing video is replaced by audio only.