"Somewhere along the line in human consciousness, there occurred self-consciousness. (When I use the word "self" I don't mean that there is a self or… - U. G. Krishnamurti

"Somewhere along the line in human consciousness, there occurred self-consciousness. (When I use the word "self" I don't mean that there is a self or a center there.) That consciousness separated man from the totality of things. Man, in the beginning, was a frightened being. He turned everything that was uncontrollable into something divine or cosmic. and worshiped it. It was in that frame of mind that he created, quote and unquote, "God." So culture, is responsible for whatever you are. I maintain that all the political institutions and ideologies we have today are the outgrowth of the same religious thinking of man. The spiritual teachers are in a way responsible for the tragedy of mankind."