"Although
genius is an overused term, in my opinion the word perfectly
applies to Aldous Huxley–a man for whom thinking itself was
an art. In Knowledge and Understanding, a lecture given
at the Hollywood Vedanta Temple, he explores the very nature
of mental processes. His spontaneous exchanges in the intimate
Question/Answer section serve as further insight to the
man."
—Huston
Smith, author of The World’s Religions
I
thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
It gets directly at the heart of the revolution that Huxley
was trying to instigate -
specifically, to challenge the Western mind to
consider a truth that
transcends mere knowledge, a truth that is experiential
and that the Eastern mind knows as enlightenment. And Huxley
does a brilliant job of
articulating the nature and benefits of that deeper truth.
Dana
Sawyer, author of Aldous Huxley:
A Biography
In the course of Aldous Huxley’s
long association with the Vedanta Society of Southern California,
he was an important contributor to the Society’s literary
heritage. His Vedanta-related body of work includes articles,
essays, and introductions, and he was the editorial advisor of Vedanta
and the West for eleven years.
He
lectured at both the Hollywood and Santa Barbara temples. Knowledge
and Understanding, as well as the informal question/answer
session that followed, was recorded on a wire recorder and has
been digitally transferred by the Vedanta Archives and mastered by mondayMEDIA. The
audio quality of the Question/Answer session is less than studio
standard, but the spontaneous exchanges reveal a personable
Huxley. Traditionally, the speaker and interested audience members
would assemble in the "Green House" living room for
discussion.
Knowledge
and Understanding (1955)
showcases Huxley’s wide-ranging intellect, his socially
prophetic vision, and is peppered with wit. This lecture is a must
for Huxley fans and scholars.
Produced
in conjunction with Vedanta Archives, which is in the process of
organizing and restoring a wealth of materials collected over
decades.
Running
Time: 78 minutes
Produced in conjunction with Vedanta Archives and Vedanta Press
*Second
Edition: When we sent the disc out for review, Kendra
Smith noted that Aldous Huxley had a deeper voice than what she
had heard on the first edition disc. In preparing for large-run
replication, Jon listened to as many recordings of Huxley as he
could find. As a result, he determined that the transfer
from wire recording had sped up the voice. It was adjusted
to more closely reflect both the register and speed of Huxley's
speech. However,
there was not enough time on the disc to include all the questions
that are on the first edition. Also, the order of the Q&A was
altered. In both editions, the Q&A session is a selection of
questions and answers.
From Bill Moyers' website (See
Source):
Who was more prophetic,
Orwell or Huxley?
“We were keeping our eye on
1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn’t, thoughtful
Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of
liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened,
we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares.
But we had forgotten that
alongside Orwell’s dark vision, there was another – slightly
older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous
Huxley’s Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among
the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing.
Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed
oppression. But in Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required
to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he
saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the
technologies that undo their capacities to think.
What Orwell feared were those who
would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no
reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read
one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information.
Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be
reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth
would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be
drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a
captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture,
preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy,
and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New
World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are
ever on the alert to oppose tyranny “failed to take into account
man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions”. In 1984,
Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave
New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short,
Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that
what we love will ruin us.”
|
Knowledge
and Understanding 
