Jiddu Krishnamurti

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Jiddu Krishnamurti : biography

May 12, 1895 – February 17, 1986

Jiddu Krishnamurti (May 1895 – February 17, 1986) was an Indian speaker and writer on philosophical and spiritual subjects. In his early life he was groomed to be the new World Teacher but later rejected this mantle and disbanded the organisation behind it. His subject matter included: psychological revolution, the nature of mind, meditation, inquiry, human relationships, and bringing about radical change in society. He constantly stressed the need for a revolution in the psyche of every human being and emphasized that such revolution cannot be brought about by any external entity, be it religious, political, or social.

Krishnamurti was born into a Telugu Brahmin family in India (British India). In early adolescence, he had a chance encounter with prominent occultist and theosophist Charles Webster Leadbeater in the grounds of the Theosophical Society headquarters at Adyar in Madras. He was subsequently raised under the tutelage of Annie Besant and Leadbeater, leaders of the Society at the time, who believed him to be a "vehicle" for an expected World Teacher. As a young man, he disavowed this idea and dissolved the Order of the Star, an organization that had been established to support it.

He claimed allegiance to no nationality, caste, religion, or philosophy, and spent the rest of his life traveling the world, speaking to large and small groups and individuals. He authored many books, among them The First and Last Freedom, The Only Revolution, and Krishnamurti’s Notebook. Many of his talks and discussions have been published. His last public talk was in Madras, India, in January 1986, a month before his death at his home in Ojai, California.

His supporters, working through non-profit foundations in India, Great Britain and the United States, oversee several independent schools based on his views on education. They continue to transcribe and distribute his thousands of talks, group and individual discussions, and writings by use of a variety of media formats and languages.

Criticism

Helen Nearing, who had known Krishnamurti in the 1920s, said that Krishnamurti’s attitudes were conditioned by privilege because he had been supported, even pampered, by devoted followers from the time of his "discovery" by the theosophists. She also said that he was at such an "elevated" level that he was incapable of forming normal personal relationships.Nearing, Helen (1992). Loving and Leaving the Good Life, White River Jct., VT: Chelsea Green.

In 1991, Radha Rajagopal Sloss, the daughter of estranged Krishnamurti associates Rosalind and Desikacharya Rajagopal, wrote of Krishnamurti’s relationship with her parents, including a secret affair between Krishnamurti and Rosalind which lasted for many years.Sloss, Radha Rajagopal The public revelation was received with surprise and consternation by many, and was also dealt with in a rebuttal volume of biography by Mary Lutyens.. Roland Vernon questions the ultimate impact of the revelations when compared to Krishnamurti’s body of work as a whole.

U.G. Krishnamurti (no relation) reported that the two had almost daily discussions for a while, which he asserted were not providing satisfactory answers to his questions. Finally, their meetings came to a halt. He described part of the final discussion:

Biography

Family background and childhood

The date of birth of Jiddu Krishnamurti is a matter of dispute. Lutyens determines it to be May 12, 1895Lutyens (1995), footnotes 1, 2. but Christine Williams notes the unreliability of birth registrations in that period and that statements claiming dates ranging from May 4, 1895 to May 25, 1896 exist. She uses calculations based on a published horoscope to derive a date of May 11, 1895 but "retains a measure of scepticism" about it.Williams (2004), p. 465. His birthplace was the small town of Madanapalle in Madras Presidency ( Chittoor District in Andhra Pradesh). He came from a family of piousLutyens (1983a), pp. 1–2. Telugu-speaking BrahminsWilliams (2004), p. 466. and his father, Jiddu Narayaniah, was employed as an official of the British colonial administration. Krishnamurti was fond of his mother Sanjeevamma, who died when he was ten.Lutyens (1975). p. 5. His parents had a total of eleven children, of whom six survived childhood.Williams (2004), pp. 471–472.