“Do you know that even when you look at a tree and say, `That is an oak tree', or `that is a banyan tree', the naming of the tree, which is botanical knowledge, has so conditioned your mind that the word comes between you and actually seeing the tree? To come in contact with the tree you have to put your hand on it and the word will not help you to touch it.”

Indian spiritual teacher, speaker, and writer

Jiddu Krishnamurti was an Indian spiritual teacher, speaker, and writer. Adopted as a child by members of the Theosophical Society, he was brought up to be the expected World Teacher, a figure meant to guide humanity’s spiritual growth. In 1922, he began experiencing painful mystical episodes that changed how he saw reality. In 1929, he broke with Theosophy and dissolved the Order of the Star in the East, the movement formed around him. After that, he spent the rest of his life speaking to audiences and individuals around the world, urging a deep transformation in human life.