Jiddu Krishnamurti

Biography

Family background and childhood

Born during the late British Raj, the date of birth of Krishnamurti is a matter of dispute. Mary Lutyens determines it to be 11 May 1895, but Christine Williams notes the unreliability of birth registrations in that period and points to various claims placing his birth between 4 May 1895 and 25 May 1896. She used calculations based on a published horoscope to derive a date of 11 May 1895 but "retains a measure of scepticism" about it.

His birthplace was the small town of Madanapalle in Madras Presidency (modern-day Annamayya District in Andhra Pradesh). He was born in a Telugu-speaking Brahmin family. His father, Jiddu Narayanaiah, was employed as an official of the British colonial administration. Krishnamurti was fond of his mother Sanjeevamma, who died when he was ten. His parents had a total of eleven children, of whom six survived childhood.

In 1903 the family settled in Kadapa, where Krishnamurti had contracted malaria during a previous stay. He suffered recurrent bouts of the disease over many years. A sensitive and sickly child, described as "vague and dreamy", he was often considered intellectually disabled and was beaten regularly at school by his teachers and at home by his father. In memoirs written when he was eighteen years old Krishnamurti described psychic experiences, such as seeing his sister, who had died in 1904, and his late mother. Even from his childhood he felt a bond with nature which was to stay with him for the rest of his life. Writing in his journal Krishnamurti states "He always had this strange lack of distance between himself and the trees, rivers, mountains. It wasn't cultivated."

Krishnamurti's father retired at the end of 1907 and then sought employment at the headquarters of the Theosophical Society at Adyar. Narayanaiah had been a Theosophist since 1882. He was eventually hired by the Society as a clerk, moving there with his family in January 1909. Narayanaiah and his sons were at first assigned to live in a small cottage that was located just outside the society's compound.

Krishnamurti was a vegetarian from birth, and his family were strict vegetarians. He was an opponent of meat eating, based on ethical and spiritual reasons. Krishnamurti was also a "teetotaler, nonsmoker, and practitioner of yoga."

Appropriation by the Theosophical Society

In April 1909, Krishnamurti first met Charles Webster Leadbeater, who claimed clairvoyance. Leadbeater had noticed Krishnamurti on the Society's beach on the Adyar river, and was amazed by the "most wonderful aura he had ever seen, without a particle of selfishness in it."

Ernest Wood, an adjutant of Leadbeater's at the time, who helped Krishnamurti with his homework, considered him to be "particularly dim-witted." Leadbeater was convinced that the boy would become a spiritual teacher and a great orator; the likely "vehicle for the Lord Maitreya" in Theosophical doctrine, an advanced spiritual entity periodically appearing on Earth as a World Teacher to guide the evolution of humankind. This World teacher "was supposed to "overshadow" Krishnamurti by using his body to communicate with humanity. There was no thought among Theosophists of Krishnamurti himself being the World Teacher; he was merely to be the channel through which the World Teacher would speak."

In her biography of Krishnamurti, Pupul Jayakar quotes his reflection on that period in his life some 75 years later: "The boy had always said 'I will do whatever you want.' There was an element of subservience, obedience. The boy was vague, uncertain, woolly; he didn't seem to care what was happening. He was like a vessel with a large hole in it, whatever was put in, went through, nothing remained." Krishnamurti himself described his state of mind as a young boy: "No thought entered his mind. He was watching and listening and nothing else. Thought with its associations never arose. There was no image-making. He often attempted to think but no thought would come."

Following his discovery by Leadbeater, Krishnamurti was nurtured by the Theosophical Society in Adyar. Leadbeater and a small number of trusted associates undertook the task of educating, protecting, and generally preparing Krishnamurti as the "vehicle" of the expected World Teacher. Krishnamurti (often later called Krishnaji) and his younger brother Nityananda (Nitya) were privately tutored at the Theosophical compound in Madras, and later exposed to an opulent life among a segment of European high society as they continued their education abroad. Despite his history of problems with schoolwork and concerns about his capacities and physical condition, the 14 year-old Krishnamurti was able to speak and write competently in English within six months. Lutyens says that later in life Krishnamurti came to view his "discovery" as a life-saving event. When he was asked in later life what he thought would have happened to him if he had not been 'discovered' by Leadbeater he unhesitatingly replied "I would have died".

Preparation as the World Teacher

Mary Lutyens, a biographer, says that there was a time when Krishnamurti believed that he was to become the World Teacher after correct spiritual and secular guidance and education. Another biographer describes the daily program imposed on him by Leadbeater and his associates, which included rigorous exercise and sports, tutoring in a variety of school subjects, Theosophical and religious lessons, yoga and meditation, as well as instruction in proper hygiene and in the ways of British society and culture. At the same time Leadbeater assumed the role of guide in a parallel mystical instruction of Krishnamurti; the existence and progress of this instruction was at the time known only to a select few.

While he showed a natural aptitude in sports, Krishnamurti always had problems with formal schooling and was not academically inclined. He eventually gave up university education after several attempts at admission. He did take to foreign languages, in time speaking several with some fluency.

His public image, cultivated by the Theosophists, "was to be characterized by a well-polished exterior, a sobriety of purpose, a cosmopolitan outlook and an otherworldly, almost beatific detachment in his demeanor." Demonstrably, "all of these can be said to have characterized Krishnamurti's public image to the end of his life." It was apparently clear early on that he "possessed an innate personal magnetism, not of a warm physical variety, but nonetheless emotive in its austerity, and inclined to inspire veneration." However, as he was growing up, Krishnamurti showed signs of adolescent rebellion and emotional instability, chafing at the regimen imposed on him, visibly uncomfortable with the publicity surrounding him, and occasionally expressing doubts about the future prescribed for him.

Krishnamurti and Nitya were taken to England in April 1911. During this trip Krishnamurti gave his first public speech to members of the OSE in London. His first writings had also started to appear, published in booklets by the Theosophical Society and in Theosophical and OSE-affiliated magazines.

Between 1911 and the start of World War I in 1914, the brothers visited several other European countries, always accompanied by Theosophist chaperones. Meanwhile, Krishnamurti had for the first time acquired a measure of personal financial independence, thanks to Mary Melissa Hoadley Dodge – a wealthy American benefactress then resident in England.

Taking residence at Ojai, 'the process', and growing expectations

In 1922 Krishnamurti and Nitya travelled from Sydney to California. In California, they stayed at a cottage in the Ojai Valley. It was thought that the area's climate would be beneficial to Nitya, who had been diagnosed with tuberculosis. Nitya's failing health became a concern for Krishnamurti. At Ojai they met Rosalind Williams, a young American who became close to them both, and who was later to play a significant role in Krishnamurti's life. For the first time the brothers were without immediate supervision by their Theosophical Society minders. They found the Valley to be very agreeable. Eventually, a trust, formed by supporters, bought a cottage and surrounding property there for them. This became Krishnamurti's official residence.

At Ojai in August and September 1922, Krishnamurti went through a series of "disturbing physical symptoms that progressed from discomfort to pain," during which he mistook Rosalind for his mother, interpreted by some of his followers as intense "life-changing" experiences and signs of his advancement along "the path". The initial events happened in two distinct phases: First a three-day acute pain in the neck accompanied by a mystical experience, and two weeks later, a longer-lasting condition that Krishnamurti and those around him referred to as "the process". This condition recurred, at frequent intervals and with varying intensity, until his death.

According to Krishnamurti, Nitya, Rosalind, and Mr. Warrington, it started on 17 August 1922 when Krishnamurti complained of a sharp pain at the nape of his neck. Over the next two days the symptoms worsened, with increasing pain and sensitivity, loss of appetite, and occasional delirious ramblings. He seemed to lapse into unconsciousness but later recounted that he was very much aware of his surroundings, and that while in that state at 19 August 1922 he had "the first most extraordinary experience", in which he felt "at one with his surroundings".

The following day the symptoms and the experience intensified, and he had an out-of-body experience, feeling "the vibrations of Lord Buddha," experiencing peace and a "profound calmness". Krishnamurti also wrote that he had "touched compassion which heals all sorrow and suffering; it is not for myself, but for the world".

Break with the Theosophical Society

Over the next few years, Krishnamurti's self-awareness and alienation from the Theosophical worldview continued to develop. He lost his faith in 'The Masters', and new concepts appeared in his talks, discussions, and correspondence, together with an evolving vocabulary that was progressively free of Theosophical terminology. His new direction reached a climax in 1929, when he rebuffed attempts by Leadbeater and Besant to continue with the Order of the Star.

Krishnamurti dissolved the Order during the annual Star Camp at Ommen, the Netherlands, on 3 August 1929. He stated that he had made his decision after "careful consideration" during the previous two years, and turned against the Theosophical Society's elaborate worldview of spiritual progress, stating that:

I maintain that truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my point of view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or coerce people along a particular path. ... This is no magnificent deed, because I do not want followers, and I mean this. The moment you follow someone you cease to follow Truth. I am not concerned whether you pay attention to what I say or not. I want to do a certain thing in the world and I am going to do it with unwavering concentration. I am concerning myself with only one essential thing: to set man free. I desire to free him from all cages, from all fears, and not to found religions, new sects, nor to establish new theories and new philosophies.

Following the dissolution, prominent Theosophists turned against Krishnamurti, including Leadbeater who is said to have stated, "the Coming had gone wrong." Krishnamurti had denounced all organised belief, the notion of gurus, and the whole teacher-follower relationship, vowing instead to work on setting people "absolutely, unconditionally free." There is no record of his explicitly denying he was the World Teacher; whenever he was asked to clarify his position he either asserted that the matter was irrelevant, or gave answers that, as he stated, were "purposely vague".

Some historical evidence suggests that the ongoing changes in Krishnamurti's outlook had begun before the dissolution of the Order of the Star. The subtlety of the new distinctions on the World Teacher issue was lost on many of his admirers, who were already bewildered or distraught because of the changes in Krishnamurti's outlook, vocabulary and pronouncements–among them Besant and Mary Lutyens' mother Emily, who had a very close relationship with him. He soon disassociated himself from the Theosophical Society and its teachings and practices, yet he remained on cordial terms with some of its members and ex-members throughout his life.

Middle years – Arya Vihara and extra-marital affair

From 1930 through 1944 Krishnamurti engaged in speaking tours and in the issue of publications under the auspice of the "Star Publishing Trust" (SPT), which he had founded with Desikacharya Rajagopal, a close associate and friend from the Order of the Star. Ojai was the base of operations for the new enterprise, where Krishnamurti, Rajagopal, and Rosalind Williams (who had married Rajagopal in 1927) resided in the house known as Arya Vihara (meaning Realm of the Aryas, i.e. those noble by righteousness in Sanskrit). The business and organizational aspects of the SPT were administered chiefly by D. Rajagopal, as Krishnamurti devoted his time to speaking and meditation.

The Rajagopals' marriage was not a happy one, and the two became physically estranged after the 1931 birth of their daughter, Radha. Krishnamurti's friendship with Rosalind became a love affair. According to Radha Rajagopal Sloss, the affair between Krishnamurti and Rosalind began in 1932 and it endured for about twenty-five years. Radha Sloss, daughter of Rajagopal, wrote about the affair in her book Lives in the Shadow with J. Krishnamurti. According to Radha Rajagopal Sloss, Krishnamurti was dependent on his followers to support his way of life, and needed to uphold his image of a celibate guru to continue this support and way of life.

During the 1930s Krishnamurti spoke in Europe, Latin America, India, Australia and the United States. He did not speak publicly for a period of about four years (between 1940 and 1944). During this time he lived and worked at Arya Vihara, which during the war operated as a largely self-sustaining farm, with its surplus goods donated for relief efforts in Europe. Of the years spent in Ojai during the war he later said: : "I think it was a period of no challenge, no demand, no outgoing. I think it was a kind of everything held in; and when I left Ojai it all burst."

English author Aldous Huxley lived nearby; he met Krishnamurti in 1938, and the two men became close friends. They held common concerns about the imminent conflict in Europe which they viewed as the outcome of the pernicious influence of nationalism. Krishnamurti's stance on World War II was often construed as pacifism and even subversion during a time of patriotic fervor in the United States and for a time he came under the surveillance of the FBI.

Later years – wider recognition, legal battles, and final evaluation

Krishnamurti continued speaking in public lectures, group discussions and with concerned individuals around the world. In 1954 The First and Last Freedom was published, which was instrumental in broadening Krishnamurti's audience and exposing his ideas. It was one of the first Krishnamurti titles in the world of mainstream, commercial publishing, where its success helped establish him as a viable author. It consists of edited excerpts from his public talks and discussions, and includes examinations of subjects that were, or became, recurrent themes in his exposition:  the nature of the self – and of belief, investigations into fear and desire, the relationship between thinker and thought, the concept of choiceless awareness, the function of the mind, etc.

In the early 1960s, he made the acquaintance of physicist David Bohm, whose philosophical and scientific concerns regarding the essence of the physical world, and the psychological and sociological state of mankind, found parallels in Krishnamurti's philosophy. The two men soon became close friends and started a common inquiry, in the form of personal dialogues–and occasionally in group discussions with other participants–that continued, periodically, over nearly two decades. Several of these discussions were published in the form of books or as parts of books, and introduced a wider audience (among scientists) to Krishnamurti's ideas. The long friendship with Bohm went through a rocky interval in later years, and although they overcame their differences and remained friends until Krishnamurti's death, the relationship did not regain its previous intensity.

Krishnamurti's once close relationship with the Rajagopals had deteriorated to the point where he took D. Rajagopal to court to recover donated property and funds as well as publication rights for his works, manuscripts, and personal correspondence, that were in Rajagopal's possession. The litigation and ensuing cross complaints, which formally began in 1971, continued for many years. Much property and materials were returned to Krishnamurti during his lifetime; the parties to this case finally settled all other matters in 1986, shortly after his death. Krishnamurti' stance raised doubts in long-time friends and devotees, some of whom got the impression that he was a divided personality unable to live according to his own teachings – raising the question: "If he cannot live it, who can?"

Death

Krishnamurti died of pancreatic cancer on 17 February 1986, at the age of 90. The announcement of KFT (Krishnamurti Foundation Trust) refers to the course of his health condition until the moment of death. The first signs came almost nine months before his death, when he felt very tired. In October 1985, he went from Bramdean, England (Brockwood Park School) to India and after that, he suffered from exhaustion, fevers, and lost weight. Krishnamurti decided to go back to Ojai (10 January 1986) after his last talks in Madras, which necessitated a 24-hour flight. Once he arrived at Ojai he underwent medical tests that revealed he was suffering from pancreatic cancer. The cancer was untreatable, either surgically or otherwise, so Krishnamurti decided to go back to his home at Ojai, where he spent his last days. Friends and professionals nursed him. His mind was clear until the last moment. Krishnamurti died on 17 February 1986, at 10 minutes past midnight, California time. In accordance with his wishes, no memorial service was conducted. His ashes were divided into three parts: For Ojai, India, and England. In India they were immersed in River Ganga in Varanasi, Gangotri, and in the ocean Adayar beach.

Schools

Krishnamurti founded five schools in India, the oldest being Rishi Valley School that he founded in 1928 in Andhra Pradesh, ten miles from Madanapalle, his birthplace. He also founded one in England, Brockwood Park School in 1969, and one in California, Oak Grove School. When asked, he enumerated the following as his educational aims:

Global outlook: A vision of the whole as distinct from the part; there should never be a sectarian outlook, but always a holistic outlook free from all prejudice.

Concern for man and the environment: Humanity is part of nature, and if nature is not cared for, it will boomerang on man. Only the right education, and deep affection between people everywhere, will resolve many problems including the environmental challenges.

Religious spirit, which includes the scientific temper: The religious mind is alone, not lonely. It is in communion with people and nature.

The Krishnamurti Foundations, established in India, USA, and England in the 1960s manage seven schools in India and abroad.

'The teaching' – self-observation and 'vast emptiness'

A keen observer of the beauty of nature, Krishnamurti had strong convictions about the brutality and self-destruction of humanity, urging for an immediate righteousness without conceptual deliberations and thought.

In Krishnamurti's perception, such a righteousness was only possible through a radical transformation of the mind, wholeheartedly but with detachment observing its workings and limitations. He was convinced that he was 'chosen' by an 'immense intelligence' which used his body to convey this message to mankind, but realised at his deathbed that nobody had experienced this 'intelligence' the way he had.

Self-perception: vast emptiness and saviour-role

Peter Michel notes that "Mystical experiences determined Krishnamurti's entire life, and cannot be separated from his teachings." According to Krishnamurti,

an "immense energy and intelligence went through this body," a consciousness which he called "the otherness."

It manifested in the absence of thought, and to Mary Lutyens, his biographer, he said

"If I was writing the life, I would start with the vacant mind,"

while at his deathbed he referred to "that vast emptiness." Krishnamurti saw himself as free and unconditioned,

imploring his audiences to understand his state of being and aiming for such like-minded spirits to transform the world; and he often referred to the totality of his work as the teachings, and not as my teachings. He once compared himself to Thomas Edison, suggesting that he had blazed a trail for others to follow. Those who came after wouldn't need his special gifts: They would only need to turn the switch.

Self-observation

According to the Krishnamurti Foundations, the core of Krishnamurti's teachings is contained in his 1929 statement, in which he rejected the Theosophical Society and their elaborate system of spiritual progress guided by 'Masters'. In this speech, Krishnamurti asserted that "truth is a pathless land" and advised against following any doctrine, discipline, teacher, guru, or authority, including himself.

Shai Tubali notes that Krishnamurti's teachings were essentially dialogical in nature, aiming at 'transformative dialogue'.

Yet, as summarized by John Algeo, Peter Michel observes that "real dialogue is conspicuously lacking; such apparent invitations [to look into this together] were rhetorical introductions to a monologue." According to Krishnamurti, a radical transformation was necessary, a transformation which could be achieved by anyone, without the aid of a teacher or guru.

One has to live "psychologically alone [...] without depending on anything or anyone," living in complete attention to observe and let go of the contents of consciousness.

Asked to summarize the teaching in one sentence, Krishnamurti answered "Attempt without effort to live with death in futureless silence, elaborating that

"death is the end of all you are afraid to lose: Your attachments, your memory, your disappeared friends, your prestige [...] All that is the content of your consciousness. Can you get rid of it right now?"

Krishnamurti also summarized his teachings as stating that truth cannot be reached through organised religion or techniques, but through relationship, self-understanding and self-observation. The mental representations ("images") man has built shield him from fear, but also disturb his perception. Freedom is freedom from these conceptions, and is contained in pure observation, in "choiceless awareness of our daily existence and activity." He dismissed the need for contrived meditation techniques, instead emphasizing the practice of choiceless awareness as the essence of "true meditation".

Influence – 'nobody understood'

While his personal charisma affected many, both Krishnamurti himself and many commentators have noted that his teachings do not seem to have changed any person. At his deathbed he stated that

"[p]erhaps they will somewhat [get into touch with that energy] if they live the teachings. But nobody has done it. Nobody. And so that's that."

He also stated

"if you all knew what you have missed – that vast emptiness."

Krishnamurti tried to convey his experience of "the otherness" to others, but without a 'method', as this would be another "thought-control method." In 1935, Rom Landau asked him "How do you expect to help others?" adding "you forget that we all, millions and millions of us, live in the vast plains at the foot of the mountain." To this, Krishnamurti answered:

How can you expect me to be concerned with what should be done or how it should be done? If you have once lived on a mountain top, you cannot return to the plains. You can only try to make other people feel the purity of the air and enjoy the infinite prospect, and become one with the beauty of life there.

Emily Lutyens once wrote to him:

"You seem surprised that people do not understand you but I should be far more surprised if they did! After all, you are upsetting everything in which they have ever believed – knocking out their foundations and putting in its place a nebulous abstraction."

Mary Lutyens noted a quite utilitarian motive in Krishnamurti's audiences, stating that

"the possibility he holds out of an almost instantaneous psychological transformation in each one of us which will end sorrow and solve all our problems is so irresistible"

Notable admirers and meetings

Notable individuals influenced by Krishnamurti include George Bernard Shaw, David Bohm, Jawaharlal Nehru, the Dalai Lama, Aldous Huxley, Alan Watts, Henry Miller, Bruce Lee, Terence Stamp, Jackson Pollock, Toni Packer, Achyut Patwardhan, Dada Dharmadhikari, Derek Trucks, U.G. Krishnamurti and Eckhart Tolle.

George Bernard Shaw in his later years was acquainted with Krishnamurti and declared Krishnamurti to be the "most beautiful human being" he had ever met. In 1938 he met Aldous Huxley. The two began a close friendship which endured for many years.

When Krishnamurti was in India in 1947 many prominent personalities came to meet him, including Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. In the 1970s, Krishnamurti met several times with then Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, with whom he had far-ranging, and in some cases, very serious conversations. Jayakar considers his message in meetings with Indira Gandhi as a possible influence in the lifting of certain emergency measures Gandhi had imposed during periods of political turmoil.

Krishnamurti was very highly regarded by several leading religious figures in India. Nisargadatta Maharaj described Krishnamurti as 'complete Brahman'. Anandamayi Ma addressed him as the 'Guru of gurus'. When Ramana Maharshi was asked why Krishnamurti dissolved the Order of the Star in the East, he replied "The Order's purpose stood consummated in that the World Teacher had arrived; that is why it was dissolved." He engaged in discussions with several well known Hindu and Buddhist scholars and leaders, including the Dalai Lama.

Several of these discussions were later published as chapters in various Krishnamurti books.

In his later years, he met with many prominent religious leaders and scholars including Swami Venkatesananda, Anandamayi Ma, Lakshman Joo, Walpola Rahula, and Eugene Schalert. In India he also met with many sanyasis and monks throughout his life.

Although Krishnamurti's philosophy delved into fields as diverse as religious studies, education, psychology, physics, and consciousness studies, he was not then, nor since, well known in academic circles. Nevertheless, Krishnamurti met and held discussions with physicists Fritjof Capra and E. C. George Sudarshan, biologist Rupert Sheldrake, psychiatrist David Shainberg, as well as psychotherapists representing various theoretical orientations.