The First and Last Freedom

is a book by 20th-century Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti (18951986). Originally published in 1954 with a comprehensive foreword by Aldous Huxley, it was instrumental in broadening Krishnamurti's audience and exposing his ideas. It was one of the first Krishnamurti titles in the world of mainstream, commercial publishing, where its success helped establish him as a viable author. The book also established a format frequently used in later Krishnamurti publications, in which he presents his ideas on various interrelated issues, followed by discussions with one or more participants. As of 2022 several editions of the work had been published, in print and digital media. Background Following his dismantling of the World Teacher Project in , Jiddu Krishnamurti embarked on a new international speaking career as an independent, unconventional philosopher. During World War II he remained at his residence in Ojai, California, in relative isolation. English author Aldous Huxley lived nearby; he met Krishnamurti in 1938, and the two men became close friends. Huxley encouraged Krishnamurti to write, and also introduced his work to Harper, Huxley's own publisher. This eventually led to the addition of Krishnamurti in the publisher's roster of authors; until that time Krishnamurti works were published by small or specialist presses, or in-house by a variety of Krishnamurti-related About the work Like the great majority of Krishnamurti texts, the book consists of edited excerpts from his public talks and discussions; it includes examinations of subjects that were, or became, recurrent themes in his exposition: the nature of the selfand of belief, investigations into fear and desire, the relationship between thinker and thought, the concept of choiceless awareness, the function of the mind, etc. Following an introductory chapter by Krishnamurti, each of twenty interrelated topics is covered in its own chapter. A second part ("Questions and Answers") consists of 38 named segments, taken from question-and-answer sessions between Krishnamurti and his audience; the segments broadly pertain to the topics covered in the book's first part. The book was edited (without attribution) by D. Rajagopal, Krishnamurti's thenclose associate, editor, and business manager; the included extracts were taken from "Verbatim Reports" of Krishnamurti talks between 1947 and 1952.