When my action is based on an ideal which is an idea, such as ‘I must be brave,’ ‘I must follow the example,’ ‘I must be charitable,’ ‘I must be socially conscious,’ and so on, that idea shapes my action, guides my action. We all say, ‘There is an example of virtue which I must follow,’ which means, ‘I must live according to that.’ So action is based on that idea. Between action and idea, there is a gulf, a division, there is a time process. That is so, is it not? In other words, I am not charitable, I am not loving, there is no forgiveness in my heart, but I feel I must be charitable. So there is a gap between what I am and what I should be; we are all the time trying to bridge that gap. That is our activity, is it not?
Now what would happen if the idea did not exist? At one stroke, you would have removed the gap, would you not? You would be what you are. You say, ‘I am ugly, I must become beautiful; what am I to do?, which is action based on idea. You say, ‘I am not compassionate, I must become compassionate.’ So you introduce idea separate from action. Therefore there is never true action of what you are but always action based on the ideal of what you will be. The stupid man always says he is going to become clever. He sits working, struggling to become; he never stops, he never says, ‘I am stupid.’ So his action, which is based on idea, is not action at all. – Krishnamurti, The First and Last Freedom