Should we be kinder to the traditional religions?

A Facebook friend recently made this remark about Jiddu Krishnamurti:

My complaint about JK is not that he didn’t give a path, but that he always seems to be telling people that whatever they’re doing is wrong. Some well-worn paths work for some people, and it’s nobody’s mission in life to go around and bring such people to despair over things they feel strongly about.

I have studied Krishnamurti’s work for at least two decades. He did criticize the traditional paths of spiritual practice a lot. So, the question is not whether Krishnamurti had a tendency to criticize the mainstream religions and their methods. It is a fact. Rather, it is whether Krishnamurti’s criticism is valid and whether we should be “kinder” and affirm the traditional paths so that the traditionalists would not get discouraged.

My own take of things is very similar to Krishnamurti’s. I don’t agree with everything Krishnamurti said. But more often than not, I agree with him. To me, he is someone with remarkable insight into many issues. Coming back to the issue at hand — what are the traditional paths? They are essentially spiritual paths that are based on reward and punishment, carrot-and-stick. They are fear-based, and they typically require a certain unquestioning attitude towards the teachings. Pure Land Buddhism, for example, is based…