Photo of J. Krishnamurti

15 Quotes on Nature by Krishnamurti

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Human beings have lost touch with nature. We consider nature as something that can be exploited.

Krishnamurti, Fire in the Mind

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Krishnamurti: How do you look at nature? Do you look at it only with your eyes? Is the perception of the long evening shadows and the very small shadow of the midday sun merely a visual perception? That is, do you look at those marvellous shadows only with your eyes? Or do you look at them with your whole being, with all your senses? How do you look at all this? How do you perceive all this? Do you perceive it as though it was something outside you or as something of which you are a part?
Questioner: I think one can actually say that there is a looking in which the seer does not exist. But I don’t want to start there. That’s why I’m coming to you as a beginner, a beginner who says, ‘I look with my eyes’. I want to start from there.
K: I would reply to that: Do you only look? Or do you also hear – hear the sound of the whisper among the deep shadows of the trees, the sound of the breeze and of running water? My question is: Do you listen, see and feel?
Q: Sir, if you are seeing, listening, feeling, then it is a state where everything exists. But I don’t know anything about that. So, I would like to approach it from the point of view of a beginner rather than of any other.
K: Would you agree that human beings have lost touch with nature?
PJ: Yes, completely; because when they see, their eyes move over. They never look directly. They never look – period. They consider it too trivial.
K: That’s just it. They consider viewing nature as something trivial. They consider nature as something that can be exploited.

Why is it that nature and its extraordinary vitality and beauty play so little a part in our lives?

Krishnamurti, How to Find Peace

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To us, nature means very little, and it is significant why it has become of so little importance in our lives. A tree, solitary against the sky, means very little to most of us. We might paint it, describe it or talk about it, but inwardly it means very little. If we don’t know how to treat nature, we will not know how to treat human beings. This is essential to understand, as important to understand as our economic problems. So why is it that nature plays such a little part in our lives? A cloud or sunset, natural phenomena and beauty, why do these things have such little importance? Surely it is an indication of something – should we not investigate it? Why does nature mean so little to the farmer? And the city dweller is indifferent to nature. To appreciate something, there must be sensitivity, a quickening perception of things, but apparently we are not sensitive to nature. Do you ever see the sea, though you live near it? Apparently, we have not noticed it; you see the sea, but your mind is preoccupied with the stock market or you are too busily occupied with talk. Why is it that we are insensitive? If we are insensitive with regard to nature, we must be insensitive to so many things in life. We are extraordinarily insensitive in our relationship with human beings. Where there is gratification in relationship and the search for security, there cannot be sensitivity. And it is only a sensitive person who is considerate. An insensitive person can never know love.

In our greed, in our self-expansive process, in our drive for power, position and authority, we are devastating the earth.

Krishnamurti, How to Find Peace

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As you are the product of environment, when you change, you affect the world. Relationship between people, as we know it now, is a process of isolation. Though we say we are related to each other, we are merely looking over the walls of isolation, and we call that relationship. There can be true relationship only when these walls of isolation are broken. Because human beings in their relationship to nature are so rough, crude, brutal, we are destroying not only the things of the earth but ourselves. In our greed, in our self-expansive process, in our drive for power, position and authority, we are devastating the earth.

It is strange how human beings desecrate nature with their killing, noise and vulgarity.

Krishnamurti, Meeting Life

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It was a place of rare beauty, quiet, isolated, and people hadn’t spoiled it. It is strange how human beings desecrate nature with their killing, noise and vulgarity. But here, with the redwoods and the oak and all the spring flowers, it was really a sanctuary for the quiet mind, for a mind that is as stable and firm as those trees – not from some belief, some dogma or in some dedicated purpose; the free mind doesn’t need these. Looking at those trees that were so extraordinarily still that afternoon, you couldn’t hear any machines; the road was far away, and the nearby house was quiet. There was utter silence. Even the breeze had stopped, and not a single leaf stirred. The new spring grass was a delicate green; you hardly dared touch it. The earth, the trees and the pheasant that watched you were indivisible. It was all part of that extraordinary movement of life and living, the depth of which thought could never touch. The intellect may spin a lot of theories about it, build a philosophic structure around it, but the description is not the described. If you sat quietly, far away from all the past, then perhaps you would feel this; not you as a separate human being feeling it, but rather because the mind is so utterly still, there is an immense awareness without the division of the observer.

Is the function of the brain to go on living like this, acquiring great knowledge and using that knowledge to destroy each other, the earth and nature?

Krishnamurti, Where Can Peace Be Found?

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Humanity has tried every way to bring about peace in the world and in ourselves. The brain, which is a very, very complex affair, capable of extraordinary technological progress, has not solved its problems. Is the function of the brain to go on living like this, acquiring great knowledge in every field and using that knowledge to destroy each other, the earth and nature? We all see this happening. Most of us are concerned only with ourselves, if we are at all frank and honest. There is self-interest in the most highly qualified people, the intellectuals and so on, and in the most primitive people; it is in the educated and the uneducated. The sophisticated and the religious may identify themselves with something noble, but that very identification is part of self-interest. The brain, our brain, is concerned mainly with personal problems. There are problems of mathematics, problems of computers and so on, but basically we are concerned with ourselves. That is a fact. However much we may try to hide the self-interest in noble work, in meditation, in belonging to various groups, self-interest dominates.

We are killing all over the world. Those marvellous, great animals of the sea, the whales, are killed by the million, and the tiger and so many other animals are now becoming endangered species. Man is the only animal that is to be dreaded.

Krishnamurti to Himself

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One saw a bird dying, shot by a man. It was flying with rhythmic beat and beautifully, with such freedom and lack of fear. And the gun shattered it; it fell to the earth and all the life had gone out of it. A dog fetched it, and the man collected other dead birds. He was chattering with his friend and seemed so utterly indifferent. All that he was concerned with was bringing down so many birds, and it was over as far as he was concerned. We are killing all over the world. Those marvellous, great animals of the sea, the whales, are killed by the million, and the tiger and so many other animals are now becoming endangered species. Man is the only animal that is to be dreaded.

To worship nature is an escape from ourselves. We are always using nature, either as an escape or for utilitarian ends – we never actually stop and love the earth or the things of the earth.

Krishnamurti, What Are You Doing With Your Life?

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We never sit down to look at the stars, moon or trees; we are too busy with social or political activities. These activities are escapes from ourselves, and to worship nature is also an escape from ourselves. We are always using nature, either as an escape or for utilitarian ends – we don’t actually stop and love the earth or the things of the earth. We don’t enjoy the rich fields, though we utilise them to feed and clothe ourselves. We don’t like to till the earth with our hands; we are ashamed to work with our hands. So we have lost our relationship with nature. If once we understood that relationship, its real significance, we would not divide property into yours and mine. Though one might own a piece of land and build a house on it, it would cease to be ‘mine’ or ‘yours’ in the exclusive sense, more a means of taking shelter. Because we do not love the earth and the things of the earth but merely utilise them, we are insensitive to the beauty of a waterfall, we have lost the touch of life, we have don’t sit with our backs against the trunk of a tree. Since we do not love nature, we do not know how to love human beings and animals.

When we lose contact with nature, we lose contact with each other.

Krishnamurti, The Whole Movement of Life Is Learning

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Relationship is not only with human beings, but with nature, with the tree and with the animal. When we lose contact with nature, we lose contact with each other. When you lose contact with the birds, the shy and timid quail, you lose contact with your child and the person across the street. When you kill an animal to eat, you are also cultivating insensitivity, which will kill that man across the border. When you lose contact with the enormous movement of life, you lose all relationship. Then you, the ego with all its fanciful urges, demands and pursuits, become all-important, and the gulf between you and the world widens in endless conflicts. So relationship and freedom go together. The denial of what is not relationship, and the negation of what is not freedom, bring about an action of total responsibility. And this is love.

If you hurt nature, you are hurting yourself.

Krishnamurti, The Whole Movement of Life Is Learning

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Nature is part of our lives. We grew out of the seed, the earth, and we are part of all that, but we are rapidly losing the sense that we are animals like the others. Can you have a feeling for a tree, look at it, see the beauty of it, listen to the sound it makes; be sensitive to the little plant, the little weed, the creeper growing up the wall, to the light on the leaves and the many shadows? You must be aware of all this and have that sense of communion with nature around you. You may live in a town, but you have trees here and there. The next-door garden may be ill-kept, crowded with weeds, but look at the flower in it, and feel that you are part of all that, part of all living things. If you hurt nature, you are hurting yourself.

All life is relationship – with others, with nature, with the universe and with the little flower in the field.

Krishnamurti, Where Can Peace Be Found?

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As long as we are caught in the illusion of individuality, however close our relationship with another, however intimate, however personal the companionship in the escape from loneliness, this question must be answered. Because all life is relationship – with nature, with the universe, and with the tiniest little flower in the field; and also in relationship with another human being. We cannot live without relationship. Even the monk who has taken various forms of vows is related. Yet, in our relationships, conflict seems to be all-pervasive. We must start very near to go very far to see whether we can live without conflict and therefore with peace. We must start where we are, with our families, with ourselves.

Healing of the mind gradually takes place if you are with nature, with that orange on the tree and the blade of grass that pushes through cement, with the hills hidden by the clouds.

Krishnamurti to Himself

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We never seem to have a feeling for all living things on the earth. If we could establish a deep abiding relationship with nature, we would never kill an animal for our appetite, we would never harm a monkey, dog or guinea pig for our benefit. We would find other ways to heal our wounds and our bodies. The healing of the mind is something totally different, which gradually takes place if you are with nature, with that orange on the tree, and the blade of grass that pushes through cement, with the hills hidden by the clouds. This is not sentiment or romantic imagination but the reality of a relationship with everything that lives and moves on the earth. Man has killed millions of whales and is still killing them. All that we derive from their slaughter can be had through other means. But apparently man loves to kill things, the fleeting deer, the marvellous gazelle and the great elephant. And we love to kill each other. This killing of other human beings has not stopped throughout the history of man’s life on this earth. If we could, and we must, establish a deep long abiding relationship with nature, with the actual trees, bushes, flowers, grass and the fast moving clouds, we would never slaughter another human being for any reason whatsoever. Organised murder is war, and though we demonstrate against a particular war, we have never demonstrated against war itself. We have never said that to kill another human being is the greatest sin on earth.

If I have not established a right relationship with nature or with another person, how can I ever establish the right relationship with the immensity of the universe?

Krishnamurti, Fire in the Mind

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For Buddhists and Hindus, the outside world is maya, an illusion. I am saying quite the contrary. That is why it is important to understand your relationship to nature, to the outer world. That is why it is important to understand your relationship to the world in which all the misery, confusion, brutality and corruption are going on. Look at that first and then, from the outer, move to the inner. But if you start and stop at the inner, you will have no measure – you’ll worship, you’ll follow Jesus or some guru. That is what you call religion: the rituals, the paraphernalia. We must start with what we see, hear and what we feel outside. How do I look at my wife or husband, my children or parents, who are outside? Take death. When I see a funeral, I begin to ask, What is death? Death is there outside of me, and I begin to inquire. I can’t just go off by myself into a mountain cave and there inquire what death or God is. Of course, I can imagine a lot of things, but if I have not established a right relationship with nature or with another person, how can I ever establish the right relationship with the immensity of the universe?

A religious mind has beauty, which is not mere appreciation of nature, the lovely mountains and the roaring stream, but quite a different sense of beauty; and with it goes love.

Krishnamurti, Meeting Life

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Going to church and worshipping does not make you a religious person, though respectable society may accept you as such. What makes a person religious is the total destruction of the known. In this creation is a sense of beauty, a beauty which is not put together by man, a beauty beyond thought and feeling. After all, thought and feeling are merely reactions, and beauty is not a reaction. A religious mind has that beauty, which is not mere appreciation of nature, the lovely mountains and the roaring stream, but quite a different sense of beauty; and with it goes love. You cannot separate beauty and love. For most of us, love is a painful thing because with it always come jealousy, hate and possessive instincts. But the love of which we are talking is a state of a flame without the smoke. So, the religious mind knows this complete, total destruction and what it means to be in a state of creation – which is not communicable – and with it there is the sense of beauty and love – which are indivisible. Love is not divisible as divine love and physical love; it is love.

Real peace is not only in ourselves but with our neighbours and with the world, peace with the environment, the ecology, peace that is deep-rooted, unshakeable, not a superficial, passing thing but peace of timeless depth.

Krishnamurti, Can Conflict End?

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Can we have peace in ourselves? Peace is a rather complicated word. We give it different meanings depending on our mood, our intellectual concepts, or various romantic and emotional interpretations. Let us not give it various meanings but grasp the significance and depth of the word. Peace of mind, like physical peace, is not merely freedom from something, but the ending of all conflict. That is real peace, not only in ourselves but with our neighbours and with the world, peace with the environment, the ecology, peace that is deep-rooted, unshakeable, not a superficial, passing thing but peace of timeless depth.

All the grass of the world is in one blade.

The Beauty of Life – Krishnamurti’s Journal

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The valley was surrounded by hills, and they were green with plenty of rain. A single raindrop contained all the rivers, and every bank was its playground, like the cities and the green pastures; it is behind all dams and in all the lakes, and of course the sea. What a wonder it is to see a parched land turn green almost overnight after the rains begin, the first fresh green shoot so tender, translucent, delicate. All the grass of the world is in one blade. The cattle became fatter, and the villagers were smiling. Every leaf was washed clean and were sparkling in the soft morning. The little stream became a torrent, only to die to its former trickle in the heat of summer. This is the life of that stream year after year, summer after summer. So life goes on.

These quotes only touch on the many subjects Krishnamurti inquired into during his lifetime. His timeless and universal teachings can be explored using the Index of Topics where you will find texts, audio and video related on many themes. Another option is to browse our selection of curated articles or more short quotes. Krishnamurti’s reply when asked what lies at the heart of his teachings can be found here. Many Krishnamurti books are available, a selection of which can be explored here. To find out more about Krishnamurti’s life, please see our introduction and the biography. We also host a weekly podcast, and offer free downloads. Please visit our YouTube channel for hundreds of specially selected shorter clips. Below, you can learn more about Krishnamurti and our charity which he founded in 1968.

Krishnamurti outdoors smiling

Who Was Krishnamurti?

J. Krishnamurti (1895-1986) is widely regarded as one of the greatest thinkers and religious teachers of all time. He spoke throughout the world to large audiences and to individuals, including writers, scientists, philosophers and educators, about the need for a radical change in mankind. Referring to himself, Krishnamurti said:

He is acting as a mirror for you to look into. That mirror is not an authority. It has no authority, it’s just a mirror. And when you see it clearly, understand what you see in that mirror, then throw it away, break it up.

Krishnamurti was concerned with all humanity and held no nationality or belief and belonged to no particular group or culture. In the latter part of his life, along with continuing to give public talks, he travelled mainly between the schools he had founded in India, Britain and the United States, which educate for the total understanding of man and the art of living. He stressed that only this profound understanding can create a new generation that will live in peace.

Krishnamurti reminded his listeners again and again that we are all human beings first and not Hindus, Muslims or Christians, that we are like the rest of humanity and are not different from one another. He asked that we tread lightly on this earth without destroying ourselves or the environment. He communicated to his listeners a deep sense of respect for nature. His teachings transcend man-made belief systems, nationalistic sentiment and sectarianism. At the same time, they give new meaning and direction to mankind’s search for truth. His teaching is timeless, universal and increasingly relevant to the modern age.

I am nobody. It is as simple as that. I am nobody. But what is important is who you are, what you are.

Krishnamurti

Krishnamurti spoke not as a guru but as a friend. His talks and discussions are based not on tradition-based knowledge but on his own insights into the human mind and his vision of the sacred, so he always communicated a sense of freshness and directness, although the essence of his message remained unchanged over the years. When Krishnamurti addressed large audiences, people felt that he was talking to each of them personally, addressing their own particular problem. In his private interviews, he was a compassionate teacher, listening attentively to those who came to him in sorrow, and encouraging them to heal themselves through their own understanding. Religious scholars found that his words threw new light on traditional concepts. Krishnamurti took on the challenge of modern scientists and psychologists and went with them step by step, discussing their theories and sometimes enabling them to discern the limitations of their theories.

Krishnamurti left a large body of literature in the form of public talks, writings, discussions with teachers and students, scientists, psychologists and religious figures, conversations with individuals, television and radio interviews, and letters. Many of these have been published as books, in over 60 languages, along with hundreds of audio and video recordings.

Three-quarters portrait photo of Krishnamurti

The Krishnamurti Foundation

Established in 1968 as a registered charity, and located at The Krishnamurti Centre, Krishnamurti Foundation Trust exists to preserve and make available Krishnamurti’s teachings.

The Foundation serves a global audience by providing worldwide free access to Krishnamurti videos, audio and texts to those who may be interested in pursuing an understanding of Krishnamurti’s work in their own lives.

In describing his intentions for the Foundations, Krishnamurti said: 

The Foundations will see to it that these teachings are kept whole, are not distorted, are not made corrupt.

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