31 May Can the change of only a few affect the total human consciousness?
You speak about bringing about a new generation – I speak about it! – will this happen by individuals transforming themselves, which seems impossible, and can the change of only a few affect the total human consciousness?
Right? You’ve understood the question? If the questioner, in our conversation, one of you bring up this point – a new generation is necessary, obviously, depending on education and so on. And it seems almost impossible to rely on every human being changing, to bring about a new society, new culture, a new this. And as that seems almost impossible, will the transformation of a few people, that’s you and I, few people – not the elite – I don’t know why we are afraid of using that word ‘elite’ – the few are the elite, always – will those few affect the whole consciousness of mankind? Right?
I believe the scientists, the biologists and so on, are investigating into the problem of one group of animals, if there is a change in that group of one rat, or one wolf, it affects the whole group consciousness. Right? They are experimenting to that.
We were talking about it the other day to certain scientists. That is, a group of certain species, like the wolf, like various other animal groups, if in that group one has certain experience, it affects the whole of the others. I don’t know if you have not watched the Japanese monkeys. One monkey by chance washed a potato or whatever it was he was going to eat, and it affected then the whole – other groups are doing the same. This is – if you have seen it – so the question is… You understand? It’s very important to understand this. If you as a human being who are the representative of the whole of humanity – right? – because your consciousness is the consciousness of every human being with their struggle, pain, anxiety, loneliness, unhappiness, suffering. That’s your consciousness – it’s not yours, it’s the human consciousness. That is, you as a human being are the representative of all humanity, which is a marvellous truth.
Now, if you are really transformed, naturally you’ll affect the whole of human consciousness. All the great killers of the world, so-called warriors, like – oh, I don’t have to explain all this. The war leaders, who tried to conquer the world, from Genghis Khan to present day, they have affected the consciousness of man. Right? Obviously. You and I have not fought a war, but war has been in the consciousness of mankind, killing, killing, killing, not only the whales and the baby seals, but killing each other. That is part of our consciousness. Now if you see that killing is an abomination, I mean it’s something unholy, and you then take part in killing – don’t say, do I not kill a cauliflower when I eat? – we’re not talking about cauliflowers or tomato – we are talking about human beings killing each other. When you, as a human being, who are the entire humanity, you change radically – change, not new hair, but change at depth, then naturally you affect the mankind.
So from that question arises, are you, as a human being, going to do it, or just carry on, day after day, day after day, the same old pattern being repeated? And say, ‘Will the wars ever end?’ You know, that’s our problem; the wars will end if you end war. So a group of people, and I hope there is a group of people, with all one’s heart, that there are such people in the world. And if they are transformed it affects the whole of the human consciousness.
Public Question & Answer 3 Saanen, Switzerland – 27 July 1982
Source : https://www.jkrishnamurti.org/content/3rd-question-answer-meeting-13
