Why has sex become so important? | J. Krishnamurti

Summary

J. Krishnamurti and Allan W. Anderson explore why sex has become so important and how it relates to pleasure, love, and social conditioning. Krishnamurti suggests that sex can become an escape—or a rare source of freedom—when people feel constrained in other parts of life. He also argues that neither sexual activity nor celibacy, by itself, establishes whether someone understands love.

The conversation presents love as different from pleasure. In Krishnamurti’s view, pleasure can reinforce division and self-interest, while joy is not something to pursue as a reward. He describes a mind capable of love as one that understands its ambitions, greed, desires, hurts, and images of others rather than merely suppressing them.

Key Reflections and Approaches

• Examine pleasure inwardly: Notice how pleasure operates in its different forms—including sex, status, knowledge, and achievement—and how it may shape relationships.
• Question the role of sex: Consider whether sex has become especially important because it offers an escape from limited freedom or fulfillment elsewhere.
• Look beyond rules and labels: Krishnamurti challenges both the idealization and religious condemnation of sex, arguing that vows or outward behavior alone do not resolve inner conflict.
• Understand rather than suppress desire: He distinguishes self-understanding from harsh denial or attempts to control desire through a principle.
• Notice images and conditioning: The discussion links inner freedom with seeing how personal hurts, fantasies, and fixed images of oneself or others affect relationships.
• Distinguish pleasure from joy: Krishnamurti presents pleasure as potentially divisive and joy as something that cannot be summoned or pursued as a goal.

Presenters and Sources

• J. Krishnamurti — speaker
• Allan W. Anderson — interviewer and conversation partner