“We are concerned with inertia which is so inherent in all of us, which very few of us come upon and actually do something about. We know what to do about laziness, we know what to do about a mind that is dull. You can sharpen it, polish it, freely discuss it; but that is not what we are talking about. We want to go into this question of inertia, which is without the power to act, which is so inherent in all of us, deep down. This inertia is essentially the result of time. This inertia is the result of accumulation. And what is accumulated is time.”
“Habit in any form makes the mind dull, whether it is the habit of pleasure, or the avoidance of pain as a habit. That means, to be on one’s toes all the time, watching. It means to learn; learning is not habit, it is a constant process. Habit forms when you have accumulated through learning, which is knowledge; you say, I have knowledge, I know. It is only the stupid man who says, `I know’. If there is constant learning, how can there be habit? How can habit exist at all?”
“Habit, however convenient, is destructive of sensitivity, habit gives the feeling of security and how can there be alertness, sensitivity, when habit is cultivated; not that insecurity brings alert awareness. How quickly everything becomes habit, sorrow as well as pleasure.”
“A mechanical habit, repeated over and over again can eventually be perfected; only habit can be perfected. Thinking, believing the same thing over and over again, without deviation, becomes a mechanical habit and perhaps this is the kind of perfection everyone wants. This cultivates a perfect wall of resistance, which will prevent any disturbance, any discomfort.”
“Habit destroys freedom; habit of thought, habit of drinking and so on makes for a superficial and dull life.”
– J. Krishnamurti
Most of our life is based on habit. Habit is a result of accumulation and repetition. Habit is found both at physical as well as at psychological levels. At one level it may prove to be very useful and constructive and yet at another level it may be very destructive. Without understanding the nature and structure of habit, we become its slave. Life becomes very limited and narrow when governed by habit. There is no freedom in such a life. The purpose of this workshop is to study the different ways in which habit works in our daily life and to explore the possibility of living without habit. What is habit? How does it arise? How does it function and affect our day-to-day life? What is inertia? How is it related to habit? What is the quality of life which is not the outcome of habit? What is addiction? How does one get addicted? Why does one get used to things? What are the consequences of getting used to a person? All such and many more related questions will be considered and gone into during this workshop. The participants are also free to ask questions of their interests during the dialogues. It is hoped that the workshop will be helpful for the participants to at least understand habit and how to make it work for oneself. Various selections from Krishnamurti’s works relevant to the theme of this workshop will be provided as a reading material to each participant. Also links to the relevant videos of Krishnamurti will be provided. Each participant is expected to devote these two days fully to the study in order to benefit maximum from this workshop.