Then there is another story about J. Krishnamurti. It seems he was touring outside India giving lectures. A Britisher used to always attend these lectures but then a few days later he stopped coming. He had lost his grown-up son and was so heartbroken that he lost interest in life itself. When he did come back one day, he couldn't contain himself when he heard Mr. Krishnamurti talking about life and philosophy. "What's the use of all this wisdom to me who has lost his only son?" He shouted. Mr. Krishnamurti, so the story goes, just looked at him and the Britisher remembered many of his past lives. He recalled that throughout these lifetimes he had lost his near and dear ones many times. He had himself died many times. It is said that at that instant he realized that it was futile to mourn the death of his son of this life.

Frankly, this story didn't appeal to me fully. I believe in rebirths but it is hard to believe that with one look someone can make another person remember such lifetimes. Again, anyone who believes that a person is born again and again to work out his or her Karma understands that the very concept makes all relations sort of temporary, confined to this life only. But to be free of their entanglement surely isn't something that can happen in a jiffy.