Mind, self and humility

by Michael Colantoni

A man who pursues virtue consciously is unvirtuous

I am only conscious of this activity of the ‘me’ when I am opposing, when consciousness is thwarted, when the ‘me’ is desirous of achieving a result. The ‘me’ is active, or I am conscious of that centre, when pleasure comes to an end and I want to have more of that pleasure; then there is resistance, and there is a purposive shaping of the mind to a particular end which will give me a delight, a satisfaction. I am aware of myself and my activities when I am pursuing virtue consciously. That is all we know. A man who pursues virtue consciously is unvirtuous. Humility cannot be pursued, and that is the beauty of humility.

– The Collected Works, Vol. VI”,321,Choiceless Awareness

What is it to be self-centred?

What is it to be self-centred? When are you conscious of being the ‘me’? As I have suggested often during these talks, don’t merely listen to me verbally, but use the words as a mirror in which you see your own mind in operation. If you merely listen to my words, then you are very superficial, and your reactions will be very superficial. But if you can listen, not to understand me or what I am saying, but to see yourself in the mirror of my words, if you use me as a mirror in which you discover your own activity, then it will have a tremendous and profound effect. But if you merely listen as in political or any other talks, then I am afraid you will miss the whole implication of the discovery for yourself of that truth which dissolves the centre of the ‘me’.

– The Collected Works, Vol. VI”,321,Choiceless Awareness

Until the self is abandoned, the mind can never be free

The self must cease through awareness of its own limitation, the falseness of its own existence. However deep, wide, and extensive it may become, the self is always limited, and until it is abandoned, the mind can never be free. The mere perception of that fact is the ending of the self, and only then is it possible for that which is the real to come into being.

– The Collected Works, Vol. VIII”,312,Choiceless Awareness

Jiddu Krishnamurti