You Are Not Ready for the Answer… “Give Up!”

“You are not ready to accept the fact that you have to give up. A complete and total surrender. It is a state of hopelessness which says that there is no way out. Any movement in any direction, on any dimension, at any level, is taking you away from yourself.” – UG Krishnamurti

This is one of those statements from UG that I like quite a lot.

What Is Giving Up? Does it Mean 100%?

There are hundreds of thousands of one form or other of Buddhist monk and magi across the globe. They’ve given up their family, their friends, their old ways. In many cases, they’ve promised in hundreds of vowels to give up other things and focus on themselves, on what is inside the mind. Their goal is, of course, to reach liberation. To reach nirvana, nibbana, whatever you want to call it. They want to do what the Buddha did.

Thing is… Buddha didn’t just do that. Buddha, like the statement at the top, gave up everything. Gave up himself.

The real secret, and the one that nobody seems to want to hear is, you must give up everything – including anything to do with your self – to reach the higher states of meditation like Jhana – and to reach nibbana.

One of the main ideas I believe in and used often on my meditative path is this “giving up” idea. I also call it “letting go” – which might be more descriptive and appropriate. It’s a letting go of anything that the mind is focusing on. A letting go of comfort needs, of emotional attachment, of being anything, doing anything special, of acquiring anything.

As you meditate there is really precious little to “do” at all. Most people don’t get that. Many of those who do get it, don’t want to do it. I don’t know how to convince people that letting go is 100% essential to progress… to break the bonds of the mind.

If you are getting into anything resembling the Jhana states during meditation, try “letting go” of any idea you’ll see a Jhana… let go of everything as you become aware of it.

This is what I did, and all the Jhana states came easily (relatively, I mean) as I did so.

Summary

• UG Krishnamurti’s quote points to total surrender — the death of hope and the end of striving.
• True awakening happens only when there’s nothing left to hold onto, not even the self.
• Most monks and spiritual seekers stop short — they give up external things but keep clinging to identity, effort, and attainment.
• The Buddha’s real act wasn’t just renunciation of the world but renunciation of himself.
• “Giving up” or “letting go” is the core principle behind deep meditation and the Jhana states.
• Letting go means releasing attachment to sensations, emotions, goals, identity, and even the idea of meditating correctly.
• Progress in meditation isn’t about doing more — it’s about surrendering completely, doing less, and finally doing nothing.
• The paradox — only by letting go of the desire for Jhana does Jhana arise naturally.
• Real meditation is an act of disappearance, not accomplishment.