Intelligence Over Materialism: A Path to Contentment

“To be content with little is comparatively easy. To be free from the burden of many things is not difficult when one is on a journey looking for something else. The urgency of inward search clears away the confusion of many possessions, but being free from outer things does not mean a simple life. Outer simplicity and order do not necessarily mean inner tranquillity and innocence. It is good to be simple outwardly, for it does give a certain freedom, it is a gesture of integrity, but why is it that we invariably begin with the outer and not with inner simplicity? Is it to convince ourselves and others of our intention? Why do we have to convince ourselves and others? Freedom from things needs intelligence, not gestures and convictions, and intelligence is not personal. If one is aware of all the implications of many possessions, that very awareness liberates, and then there is no need for dramatic assertions and gestures. It is when this intelligent awareness is not functioning that we resort to disciplines and detachments. The emphasis is not on much or little, but on intelligence; and the intelligent person, being content with little, is free from possessions. A good citizen is not necessarily a good man, but a good man is bound to be a right citizen, not of any particular society or country. Because he is primarily a good man, his actions will not be antisocial, he will not be against another man. He will live in cooperation with other good men; he will not seek authority, for he has no authority; he will be capable of efficiency without its ruthlessness.” —J. Krishnamurti, From Commentaries on Living 1