Self-Sacrifice

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Commentaries on Living Series I

 

Renunciation to gain an end is barter; in it there is no giving up,

but only exchange. Self-sacrifice is an extension of the self. The

sacrifice of the self is a refinement of the self, and however subtle

the self may make itself, it is still enclosed, petty, limited.

Renunciation for a cause, however great, however extensive and

significant, is substitution of the cause for the self; the cause or

the idea becomes the self, the " me " and the " mine. " Conscious

sacrifice is the expansion of the self, giving up in order to gather

again; conscious sacrifice is negative assertion of the self. To give

up is another form of acquisition. You renounce this in order to gain

that. This is put at a lower level, that at a higher level; and to

gain the higher, you " give up " the lower. In this process, there is

no giving up, but only a gaining of greater satisfaction; and the

search for greater satisfaction has no element of sacrifice. Why use

a righteous-sounding word for a gratifying activity in which all

indulge?

 

J. Krishnamurti

Commentaries on Living Series I

Chapter 63 'Self-Sacrifice'