The Future of Humanity is a dialogue between J. Krishnamurti and David Bohm which took place in Brockwood Park, England in 1983. Starting with the questions - Are psychologists really concerned with the future of man? Are they concerned with the human being conforming to the present society, or going beyond that? - the conversation embarks on the incredible journey of the unconditioned mind and asks if the consciousness of mankind can be changed through time.
KRISHNAMURTI: We are saying, let’s be clear, that the evolution of consciousness is a fallacy… There is no psychological evolution, or the evolution of the psyche.
DAVID BOHM: Yes, and since the future of mankind depends on the psyche, it seems then that the future of mankind is not going to be determined through actions in time.
KRISHNAMURTI: Mind is universal, not polluted by thought. You only have your brain, which is conditioned. You can’t say “It’s my mind” … What lies beyond thought when thought is silent is attention. Attention is without activity of thought …Undirected attention of the mind contacts the brain as long as the brain is silent. Attention can only “be” when self is “not.”
DAVID BOHM: But those cells that are conditioned, whatever they may be, evidently dominate consciousness now, right?
KRISHNAMURTI: Yes. Can those cells be changed? We are saying that they can through insight - insight being “out of time.”
DAVID BOHM: This insight will be through the action of the mind, intelligence, and attention.
KRISHNAMURTI: Where there is that insight, intelligence wipes away suffering.
DAVID BOHM: … there is contact from mind to matter which removes the whole physical chemical structure which keeps us going on with suffering.
KRISHNAMURTI: That’s right. In that ending, there is a mutation in the brain cells.
DAVID BOHM: That mutation just wipes out the whole structure that makes you suffer…
KRISHNAMURTI: Matter is limited, thought is limited.
DAVID BOHM: But we are saying that “the pure energy of mind is able to reach into the limited energy of man.”
KRISHNAMURTI: Yes, that’s right and change the limitation.
KRISHNAMURTI: We are saying, let’s be clear, that the evolution of consciousness is a fallacy… There is no psychological evolution, or the evolution of the psyche.
DAVID BOHM: Yes, and since the future of mankind depends on the psyche, it seems then that the future of mankind is not going to be determined through actions in time.
KRISHNAMURTI: Mind is universal, not polluted by thought. You only have your brain, which is conditioned. You can’t say “It’s my mind” … What lies beyond thought when thought is silent is attention. Attention is without activity of thought …Undirected attention of the mind contacts the brain as long as the brain is silent. Attention can only “be” when self is “not.”
DAVID BOHM: But those cells that are conditioned, whatever they may be, evidently dominate consciousness now, right?
KRISHNAMURTI: Yes. Can those cells be changed? We are saying that they can through insight - insight being “out of time.”
DAVID BOHM: This insight will be through the action of the mind, intelligence, and attention.
KRISHNAMURTI: Where there is that insight, intelligence wipes away suffering.
DAVID BOHM: … there is contact from mind to matter which removes the whole physical chemical structure which keeps us going on with suffering.
KRISHNAMURTI: That’s right. In that ending, there is a mutation in the brain cells.
DAVID BOHM: That mutation just wipes out the whole structure that makes you suffer…
KRISHNAMURTI: Matter is limited, thought is limited.
DAVID BOHM: But we are saying that “the pure energy of mind is able to reach into the limited energy of man.”
KRISHNAMURTI: Yes, that’s right and change the limitation.
