Choiceless awareness

Jiddu Krishnamurti

Choiceless awareness is a major topic in the exposition of Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti (⁠1895–1986⁠). Beginning in the 1930s, he often commented on the subject, which became a recurring theme in his work. He is considered to have been mainly responsible for the subsequent interest in both the term and the concept.

Krishnamurti held that outside of strictly practical, technical matters, the presence and action of choice indicates confusion and subtle bias: an individual who perceives a given situation in an unbiased manner, without distortion, and therefore with complete awareness, will immediately, naturally, act according to this awareness – the action will be the manifestation and result of this awareness, rather than the result of choice. Such action (and quality of mind) is inherently without conflict.

He did not offer any method to achieve such awareness; in his view, application of technique cannot possibly evolve into, or result in, true choicelessness – just as unceasing application of effort leads to illusory effortlessness, in reality the action of habit. Additionally, in his opinion all methods introduce potential or actual conflict, generated by the practitioner's efforts to comply. According to this analysis, all practices towards achieving choiceless awareness have the opposite effect: they inhibit its action in the present by treating it as a future, premeditated result, and moreover one that is conditioned by the practitioner's implied or expressed expectations.

Krishnamurti stated that for true choicelessness to be realized explicit or implicit choice has to simply, irrevocably, stop; however, not as a result of decision-making, but through the ceasing of the functioning of the chooser or self as a psychological entity. He proposed that such a state might be approached through inquiry based on total attentiveness: identity is then dissolved in complete, all-encompassing attention. Therefore, he considered choiceless awareness a natural attribute of non-self-centered perception, which he called "observation without the observer".

Accordingly, Krishnamurti advised against following any doctrine, discipline, teacher, guru, or authority, including himself. He also advised against following one's own psychological knowledge and experience, which he considered integral parts of the observer. He denied the usefulness of all meditation techniques and methods, but not of meditation itself, which he called "perhaps the greatest" art in life; and stated that insight into choiceless awareness could be shared through open dialogue.

Krishnamurti's ideas on choiceless awareness were discussed by among others, influential Hindu spiritual teacher Ramana Maharshi (⁠1879–1950⁠) and, following wide publication of his books, they attracted the attention of psychologists and psychoanalysts in the 1950s; in subsequent decades Krishnamurti held a number of discussions on this and related subjects with practicing psychotherapists and with researchers in the field. His views on the subject have been included in scholarly papers on existential therapy, education theory, and peace research, but they have also been discussed in less formal or structured settings.

In late 1980, almost half a century after he started discussing it, Krishnamurti included the concept in "The Core of Krishnamurti's Teaching", a pivotal statement of his philosophy: "Freedom is found in the choiceless awareness of our daily existence and activity."