Photo of J. Krishnamurti

15 Quotes on Silence by Krishnamurti

Curated by THE FOUNDATION STAFF

Silence is a state totally outside the machinery of the mind; the mind cannot conceive of it and the mind’s attempts to reach silence are still part of noise.

Krishnamurti, Commentaries on Living 3

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The mere absence of hate is not love. To tame hate, to force it to be still, is not to love. Silence is not the outcome of noise; it is not a reaction whose cause is noise. The ‘silence’ that grows from noise has its roots in noise. Silence is a state totally outside the machinery of the mind; the mind cannot conceive of it and the mind’s attempts to reach silence are still part of noise. Silence is in no way related to noise; noise must totally cease for silence to be.

The silence of the mountains has a depth the valleys have not.

The Beauty of Life – Krishnamurti’s Journal

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The silence of the mountains has a depth the valleys have not. Everything has its own silence. The silence among clouds and among trees is vastly different. The silence between two thoughts is timeless. The silence of pleasure and fear are tangible. The artificial silence thought can manufacture is death. The silence between noises is the absence of noise but it is not silence, as the absence of war is not peace. The dark silence of a cathedral or temple is of age and beauty, constructed by man. There is the silence of the past and of the future, the silence of the museum and the cemetery. But all this is not silence.

There is a silence that has no reason whatsoever – the silence that must have been at the beginning of the world.

Krishnamurti, The Only Revolution

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Meditation is the silence of thought. Meditation is not an achievement, nor is it the capture of a vision, nor the excitement of sensation. It is like the river, not to be tamed, swiftly running and overflowing its banks. It is the music without sound; it cannot be domesticated and made use of. It is the silence in which the observer has ceased from the very beginning. There is a silence that is really extraordinary. It is not the silence between two noises or between two notes but the silence that has no reason whatsoever – the silence that must have been at the beginning of the world.

Space and silence are necessary because only when the mind is alone, uninfluenced, untrained and not held by experience can it come upon something totally new.

Krishnamurti, Freedom From the Known

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We carry our burdens all the time. We never die to them, we never leave them behind. Only when we give complete attention to a problem and solve it immediately, never carrying it over to the next day or the next minute, is there solitude. Then, even if we live in a crowded house or are on a bus, we have solitude. That solitude indicates a fresh, innocent mind. To have inward solitude and space is very important because it implies freedom to be, to go, to function, to fly. After all, goodness can only flower in space, just as virtue can flower only when there is freedom. We may have political freedom but inwardly we are not free, and therefore there is no space. No virtue, no quality that is worthwhile, can function or grow without vast space within oneself. Space and silence are necessary because it is only when the mind is alone, uninfluenced, untrained and not held by experience that it can come upon something totally new.

When the mind, heart and organism are completely harmonious, there is silence. When one of the three becomes distorted, there is noise.

Krishnamurti, The Awakening of Intelligence

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When the mind, heart and organism are completely harmonious, there is silence. When one of the three becomes distorted, there is noise. Do you see this fact as an idea, a theory, something you ‘should have’? If so, it is all the function of thought. Then you say, ‘Tell me what system I must practise to get this, I will renounce, I will discipline.’ All that is the activity of thought. But when you see the truth of this – the truth, not ‘what should be’ – when you see that is the fact, then it is intelligence that sees it. Therefore it is intelligence that will function and bring about this state. Thought is of time; intelligence is not of time. Intelligence is immeasurable. Only when the mind is completely still – and it can be still, you don’t have to practise or control; it can be completely still – then there is harmony, there is vast space and silence. And only then the immeasurable is.

In TOTAL attention is silence.

Krishnamurti’s Notebook

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To see that mountain peak, so splendid with the evening sun, though one had seen it a thousand times, with eyes that had no knowledge, was to see the birth of the new. This is not silly romanticism or sentimentality with its cruelties and moods, or emotion with its waves of enthusiasm and depression. It is something so utterly new, that in this total attention is silence. Out of this emptiness, the new is.

The silence of the mind is beauty in itself.

Krishnamurti, Beyond Violence

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The silence of the mind is beauty in itself. To listen to a bird, to the voice of a human being, to a politician, to a priest, to all the noise of the propaganda that goes on, to listen completely silently is to hear and see much more. Such silence is not possible if your body is not also completely still. The organism, with all its nervous responses – the fidgeting, the ceaseless movement of fingers and eyes – with all its general restlessness, must be completely still. Have you ever tried sitting completely still without a single movement of the body, including the eyes? Do it for two minutes. In those two minutes, the whole thing is revealed – if you know how to look.

This silence of the mind is the true religious mind, and the silence of the gods is the silence of the earth.

Krishnamurti, The Only Revolution

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The meditation of a mind that is utterly silent is the benediction that man is ever seeking. In this silence every quality of silence is. There is that strange silence that exists in a temple or in an empty church deep in the countryside, without the noise of tourists and worshippers. There is the heavy silence that lies on water, part of that which is outside the silence of the mind. The meditative mind contains all the varieties, changes and movements of silence. This silence of the mind is the true religious mind, and the silence of the gods is the silence of the earth. The meditative mind flows in this silence, and love is the way of this mind. In this silence is bliss and laughter.

Silence cannot repeat itself; only the brain through memory and recollection can repeat what has been – but what has been is not the actual.

Krishnamurti’s Notebook

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Silence cannot repeat itself. Only the brain through memory and recollection can repeat what has been – but what has been is not the actual. Meditation is the total absence of consciousness put together through time and space. Thought, the essence of consciousness, cannot, do what it will, bring about this stillness. The brain with all its subtle and complicated activities must quiet down of its own accord, without the promise of any reward or of security. Only then it can be sensitive, alive and quiet. The understanding of the brain’s activities, hidden and open, is the foundation of meditation. Without it, meditation is only self-deception or self-hypnosis, which has no significance whatsoever. There must be silence for the explosion of creation.

Silence is beyond the dream, beyond the occupation of the deeper mind.

Krishnamurti, Commentaries on Living 1

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The death of occupation of the mind is the beginning of silence, total silence. There is no relationship between this imponderable silence and the activity of the mind. To have relationship, there must be contact or communion, but there is no contact between silence and the mind. The mind cannot commune with silence; it can have contact only with its own self-projected state which it calls silence. But this silence is not silence, merely another form of occupation. Occupation is not silence. There is silence only with the death of the mind’s occupation with silence. Silence is beyond the dream, beyond the occupation of the deeper mind.

Silence has its own movement, and it penetrates into the depths, into every corner of the mind.

Krishnamurti, Commentaries on Living 3

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It was a strange silence. It was not the silence that comes after noise or the brooding stillness before a storm. It was not a ‘before and after’ silence. Nothing was moving or stirring and there was the totality of silence with its penetrating intensity. It was not the hem of silence but the very being of it, and it wiped out all thought and action. The mind felt this measureless silence and itself became silent – or rather it moved into silence without the resistance of its own activity. Thought was not evaluating, measuring or accepting silence, but it was itself silence. Meditation was effortless. There was no meditator, no thought pursuing an end; therefore silence was meditation. This silence had its own movement and it was penetrating into the depths, into every corner of the mind. Silence was the mind; the mind had not become silent. Silence had planted its seed in the very heart of the mind, and though the crows and the cockerels were heralding the dawn, this silence would never end.

Silence is emptiness in which, and from which, all things flow and have their being.

Krishnamurti’s Notebook

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When the mind is silent, that silence is a new dimension. Any rampant pettiness is instantly dissolved because the mind has now a different quality of energy which is not the energy engendered by the past. This is what matters: to have the energy that dispels carrying over of the past. The carrying over of the past is a different kind of energy. Silence wipes the other out; the greater absorbs the lesser and remains untouched. It is like the sea receiving the dirty river and remaining pure. This is what matters. It is only this energy that can wipe away the past. Either there is silence, or the noise of the past. In this silence, noise ceases and the new is this silence. This silence is infinite and the past is limited. The conditioning of the past breaks down in the fullness of silence.

Silence is infinite and the past is limited. The conditioning of the past breaks down in the fullness of silence.

Krishnamurti, The Urgency of Change

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When the mind is silent, that silence is a new dimension. Any rampant pettiness is instantly dissolved because the mind has now a different quality of energy which is not the energy engendered by the past. This is what matters: to have the energy that dispels carrying over of the past. The carrying over of the past is a different kind of energy. Silence wipes the other out; the greater absorbs the lesser and remains untouched. It is like the sea receiving the dirty river and remaining pure. This is what matters. It is only this energy that can wipe away the past. Either there is silence, or the noise of the past. In this silence, noise ceases and the new is this silence. This silence is infinite and the past is limited. The conditioning of the past breaks down in the fullness of silence.

In silence alone is there that which is nameless and timeless.

Krishnamurti, The Network of Thought

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Attention is the total silence of the brain. There is no longer chattering but complete stillness, an absolute silence of the mind and brain. There are various forms of silence – the silence between two noises, the silence between two notes, the silence between thoughts, the silence when you go into a forest and there is a dangerous animal. But total silence is not put together by thought, nor does it arise through fear. The silence of meditation is the operation of the whole of the brain, with all the senses active. It is freedom which brings about the total silence of the mind. It is only such a mind-brain that is absolutely quiet, not quietness brought about by effort, determination, desire or motive. This quietness is the freedom of order, which is virtue, which is righteousness in behaviour. In that silence alone is there that which is nameless and timeless.

Emptiness is energy, and that emptiness exists in silence.

Krishnamurti, The Ending of Time

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Emptiness is energy, and that emptiness exists in silence – or the other way round; it doesn’t matter. There is something beyond. Probably it can never be put into words. But it must be put into words.

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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