Quotes Quotable : Critical Responses to Jiddu Kruishnamurti’s Quotes
by P.V. Laxmiprasad’s
Authorspress, New Delhi, 2021, ISBN: 978-93-90588-44-2 Pp 70.

This critical book on Jiddu Krishnamurti’s Quotes makes an interesting read for certain obvious reasons. We simply read them and enjoy. But we remember them when we need to quote them. Quotes are often cited in speeches and lectures and in writing too. Anyone who cites them is usually regarded as a scholar. Laxmiprasad’s choice of Jiddu Krishnamurti’s Quotes is worth reading. It is recalled that Jiddu krishnamurti was a philosopher to the core. He was a speaker too. Laxmiprasad begins this book with a quote “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth alone triumphs).

He dedicated this book to his teachers who molded him into what he is today. The Preface carries a bit of information as to why and he was inspired to learn about the Quotes.  “Small is beautiful” is proved when we read it from beginning to the finish. The contents include 1) Value of Inspirational Quotes 2) Quotable Quotes by Jiddu Krishnamurti 3) Some more Inspirational Quotes by Jiddu Krishnamurti 4) Conclusion.

Laxmiprasad recollects a famous quote from one of the poems of Robert Frost and justifies his work on Quotes. “The woods are lovely, dark and deep / But I have promises to keep / And miles to go before I sleep / And miles to go before I sleep ( Frost). From here, Laxmiprasad proceeds to prove why Quotes have gained currency in the literary world. He explains a number of examples from the quotes he learnt, practiced and adopted them for his teaching.

Quotes, observes Laxmiprasad, have the power to motivate, inspire and encourage. Of course, there are motivational quotes apart from philosophical quotes. Many quotes contain insight and wisdom and remain condensed into a few words. He observes that the world has created great poets, writers, philosophers and statesmen. Their writings are reflected in the way they created eternal quotes which are universally binding.

Laxmiprasad has presented those quotes by which he was impressed. They include those stalwarts like Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Sri Aurobindo, Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Napoleon Hill, Walt Disney, Emily Dickinson, Confucius, Thomas Jefferson, Jerry Rice, Mark Twain, GB Shaw, Thoreau,   Less Brown, Maya Angelou, Arnold Palmer, Robert Muller, Steve Jobs, Zig Ziglar, Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Helen Keller, Winston Churchill, James Allen and etc. He cited a few references of William Shakespeare’s quotes which are universally popular. “All is well that ends well”. He cited Alfred Tennyson’s quote “to follow knowledge like a sinking star / beyond the utmost bound of human thought”.

When one looks at this book, one finds a serious interest for the quotes. Jiddu Krishnamurti was a n eminent writer and speaker on philosophical and spiritual issues including psychological revolution, the nature of mind, consciousness and evolution, meditation, human relationships and social change.

As Laxmiprasad observes that Jiddu Krishnamurti’s Quotes move us, refresh us and enable us to ponder over the meaning of life in different vicissitudes. He has covered 73 brilliant quotes by Jiddu Krishnamurti. For each selected quote, Laxmiprasad interpreted and evaluated the beauty and meaning of the Quote. Indeed, working on Jiddu Krisahnamurti’s Quotes is really challenging for anyone. He did the work with ease and scholarship.

I present a few quotes from this book for the benefit of readers.  1) “The tears of the entire world have produced the world teacher” 2) “There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass on examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning”. 3) “The significance of Life is living”. More such quotes have been interpreted and analyzed.

Each quote that Laxmiprasad selected would bring out magnificent revelations and philosophical undertones. Man gets solutions to many problems. He probes the psyche of individuals across the frontiers and presents them in succinct beauties. A journey into his world embalms our hearts and soothes our wounded souls. To this end, Laxmiprasad writes that the quotes of Jiddu Krishnamurti serve as an enlightened feast for the world to live in morals. This book is a path finder for the betterment of world against all ills, evils, wrong –doings and emotions. A book of this nature is really difficult for interpretation and Laxmiprasad did it in a style of his own marked by literary elegance and merit.