Krishnamurti's Notebook - Comments and Reviews

Comments and Reviews

Krishnamurti biographer Mary Lutyens wrote in the foreword to the original edition, "In this unique daily record we have what may be called the well-spring of Krishnamurti's teaching. The whole essence of his teaching is here, arising from its natural source." Elsewhere, she observes, "apart from its content, it is an extraordinary manuscript, 323 pages without a single erasure." She devoted a chapter to this book in the second volume of her biography of Krishnamurti, Krishnamurti: The Years of Fulfilment. In it she mentions objections raised against its publication by Krishnamurti associates who had read the manuscript and thought that it presented a picture of Krishnamurti at odds with his public pronouncements. She also provides Krishnamurti's responses to these objections. M. Lutyens had revealed the existence of the process in Krishnamurti: The Years of Awakening, the first volume of her biography of Krishnamurti published in 1975, a year before the Notebook.

Roland Vernon, another of his biographers, mentions that prior attempts (by others) at revealing the existence of the process were suppressed by Krishnamurti, apparently in the belief that the "sensationalism of his early story would cloud the public's perception of his current work".

Shortly after publication of the Notebook in May 1976, Krishnamurti in an unusual move decided to write "for fun" his own review of it. This was partly reproduced in Krishnamurti: The Years of Fulfilment.

The Library Journal stated in review, " insights are, as always, written in plain, nonsectarian language, and give perhaps the best picture we have today of the life of the spirit outside a strictly religious context."

M. Lutyens wrote that the original publication "passed unnoticed by the press both in England and America", yet the book did receive some contemporary publicity. The work's stature has increased since: In its obituary of Krishnamurti, The Times (London), described it as "a remarkable mystical document", while in 2006 the work was cited in a conference paper as "probably ... the most extensive documentation to date of a mystic’s inner thoughts, perceptions, and sensations".

Following this diary's original publication, two other diaries of his were published in book form: Krishnamurti's Journal in 1982, and Krishnamurti to Himself in 1987.