--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Before you can act fully and truly, you…" description: "\"“Before you can act fully and truly, you must know the prison in which you are living, how it has been created; and in examining it without any self-de..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/jiddu-krishnamurti-249_crime_before-you-can-act-fully-and-truly-you-m_3006424.jpg" --- # Before you can act fully and truly, you must know the… ![“Before you can act fully and truly, you must know the prison in which you are living, how it has been created; and in examining it without any self-defense you will find out for yourself its true significance, which no other can convey to you. Through your own awakening of intelligence, through…” quote by Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/jiddu-krishnamurti-249_crime_before-you-can-act-fully-and-truly-you-m_3006424.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/jiddu-krishnamurti-249_crime_before-you-can-act-fully-and-truly-you-m_3006424.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/jiddu-krishnamurti-249_crime_before-you-can-act-fully-and-truly-you-m_3006424.jpg) > ““Before you can act fully and truly, you must know the prison in which you are living, how it has been created; and in examining it without any self-defense you will find out for yourself its true significance, which no other can convey to you. Through your own awakening of intelligence, through your own suffering you will discover the manner of true fulfillment.”” [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True freedom emerges from self‑awareness of one’s mental “prison” and its origins. **In simple terms:** Know your mental limits to be free. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑inquiry for fulfillment. Themes freedom self‑knowledge awakening Mood contemplative serene Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal therapy - meditation - educational curricula Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What mental patterns hold you back? - How can you examine them without bias? A Different Perspective Self‑deception can block insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Act Fully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/act-fully-1742461/) [Awakening Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening-intelligence-4797635/) [Convey Awakening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convey-awakening-4797636/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Examining Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/examining-self-4797634/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Know Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-prison-509148/) ## Related quotes > [“Awakening of intelligence into awareness, Contemplation and realization is the sole purpose of #life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gian-kumar/awakening-of-intelligence-into-awareness-contemplation-and/) [Gian Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gian-kumar/) > [“The young can't help playacting; themselves incomplete, they are thrust by life into a completed world where they are compelled to act fully grown.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-young-can-t-help-playacting-themselves-incomplete-they-are-thrust/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Live every act fully, as if it were your last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/live-every-act-fully-as-if-it-were-your-last/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“This too I know - and wise it were If each could know the same - That every prison that men build Is built…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/this-too-i-know-and-wise-it-were-if-each-could-know-the-same-that/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [If you want to know how many prison cells to build, look at the number of third graders who can't read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-landrieu/if-you-want-to-know-how-many-prison-cells-to-build-look-at-the-number/) [Mary Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-landrieu/) > [You never know you are in a prison unless you try the door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bageant/you-never-know-you-are-in-a-prison-unless-you-try-the-door/) [Joe Bageant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bageant/) > [And I never thought about how the lights don't go out, so you never really rest, in that way. 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Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“The jailers, the Court, everyone in that building – it wasn’t about justice; it was about obedience and intimidation…about maintaining order. Fear accomplished that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-allan/the-jailers-the-court-everyone-in-that-building-it-wasn-t-about/) [Jay Allan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-allan/) > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) ## More by Jiddu Krishnamurti > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I have only one purpose: to make people free, to urge them towards freedom, to help them to break away from all limitations, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/i-have-only-one-purpose-to-make-people-free-to-urge-them-towards/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Its beautiful to be alone. 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And no one can teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/meditation-is-a-state-of-mind-which-looks-at-everything-with-complete/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Learning is the very essence of humility . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/learning-is-the-very-essence-of-humility/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [We need tremendous energy to bring about a psychological change in ourselves as human beings, because we have lived far too long in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/we-need-tremendous-energy-to-bring-about-a-psychological-change-in/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“Life is a movement, a constant movement in relationship; and thought, trying to capture that movement in terms of the past, as memory, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/life-is-a-movement-a-constant-movement-in-relationship-and-thought/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“Meditation is like going to a well, the waters of which are inexhaustible, with a pitcher that is always empty. The pitcher can never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/meditation-is-like-going-to-a-well-the-waters-of-which-are/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [The observer is the observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/the-observer-is-the-observed/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [When we stop fighting with ourselves, we aren't creating anymore conflict in our mind. 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I don't want to make the same mistakes the criminals do! ;)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/taking-notes-while-watching-forensic-files-and-snapped-i-don-t-want/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nations sometimes flourish by denying the crimes that brought them into being. Only when the original invasion, occupation, extermination or usurpation has been safely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/nations-sometimes-flourish-by-denying-the-crimes-that-brought-them/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [“a crime to fell a tree and light it on fire, where coals of hardened shit warmed and stunk up homes,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-crime-to-fell-a-tree-and-light-it-on-fire-where-coals-of-hardened/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. 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