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Jiddu Krishnamurti
or J. Krishnamurti, (May 12, 1895–February 17,
1986) was a well-known writer and speaker on fundamental philosophical and
spiritual subjects, such as the purpose of meditation, human relationships, and
how to enact positive change in global society. At the age of 34, he publicly
renounced the fame and messiah status he had gained from being proclaimed the
new incarnation of the Maitreya Buddha by the Theosophical Society, and spent
the rest of his life publishing regularly and holding public talks, mostly in
India, Europe and the United States. At age 90 he addressed the United Nations
on the subject of peace and awareness, and was awarded the 1984 UN Peace Medal.
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Krishnamurti was born into a
Telugu Brahmin family in Madanapalle, India, and in 1909 met C.W. Leadbeater
on the private beach at the Theosophical Society headquarters at Adyar in
Madras (now Chennai), India. He was subsequently raised under the tutelage
of Annie Besant and C.W. 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 a world-wide organization (the
Order of the Star) established to support it. He spent the rest of his life
traveling the world as an individual speaker, speaking to large and small
groups, as well as with interested individuals. He authored a number of
books, among them The First and Last Freedom, The Only Revolution, and
Krishnamurti's Notebook. In addition, a large collection 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 home in Ojai, California.
His supporters, working through several non-profit foundations, oversee a
number of independent schools centered on his views on education – in India,
England and the United States – and continue to transcribe and distribute
many of his thousands of talks, group and individual discussions, and other
writings, publishing them in a variety of formats including print, audio,
video and digital formats as well as online, in many languages.
Biography
Family background and childhood
Jiddu Krishnamurti came from a family of Telugu-speaking Brahmins. His
father, Jiddu Narianiah, was employed as an official of the then colonial
British administration. His parents were second cousins, having a total of
eleven children, only six of whom survived childhood. They were strict
vegetarians, even shunning eggs, and throwing away any food that the "shadow
of an Englishman crossed"
He was born on May 12, 1895 (May 11 according to the Brahminical calendar),
in the small town of Madanapalle in Chittoor District in Andhra Pradesh
about 150 miles (250 km) west of Madras (now Chennai).
In 1903, the family settled in Cudappah, where Krishnamurti had during a
previous stay contracted malaria, a disease with which he would suffer
recurrent bouts over many years. He was a sensitive and sickly child; "vague
and dreamy" , he was often taken to be mentally retarded, and was beaten
regularly at school by his teachers and at home by his father.In memoirs he
wrote when he was eighteen he also describes "psychic" experiences, having
"seen" his sister after her death in 1904, as well as his mother who had
died in 1905 when he was ten. |
Krishnamurti's father Narianiah retired at the end of 1907, and, being of
limited means, wrote to Annie Besant, then president of the Theosophical
Society, seeking employment at the 260 acre (1.1 km˛) Theosophical
headquarters estate at Adyar. (Even though an observant orthodox Brahmin,
Narianiah had been a member of the Theosophical Society since 1882). He was
eventually hired by the Society as a clerk, and he moved his family there in
January, 1909. Narianiah and his four dependent sons were at first assigned
to live in a small cottage that lacked adequate sanitation and which was
located just outside of the Theosophical compound. As a result of poor
living conditions, Krishnamurti and his brothers were soon undernourished
and infested with lice.
The
"discovery" and its consequences
It was in April of 1909, a few months after the last move, that Krishnamurti was
encountered by prominent occultist and high-ranking theosophist C.W. Leadbeater,
who claimed clairvoyance. During his forays to the Theosophical estate's beach
at the adjuting Adyar river, Leadbeater had noticed Krishnamurti (who also
frequented the beach with others), and was amazed by the "most wonderful aura he
had ever seen, without a particle of selfishness in it".This strong impression
was notwithstanding Krishnamurti's outward appearance, which, according to
eyewitnesses, was pretty common, unimpressive, and unkempt. The boy was also
considered "particularly dim-witted"; he often had "a vacant expression" that
"gave him an almost moronic look".Leadbeater remained "unshaken" that the boy
would become a great teacher.
Pupul Jayakar, in her biography of Krishnamurti, quotes him speaking of 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, wooly; 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."
Writing about his childhood in
his journal, Krishnamurti wrote: “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 the "discovery", Krishnamurti was taken under the wing of the
leadership of the Theosophical Society in Adyar and their inner circle.
Leadbeater and a small number of trusted associates undertook the task of
educating, protecting, and in general preparing Krishnamurti as the "vehicle" of
the expected "World Teacher".Krishnamurti (or Krishnaji as he was often called)
and his younger brother Nitya were privately tutored at the Theosophical
compound in Madras, and later exposed to a comparatively opulent life among a
segment of European high society in England in order to finish their education.
In spite of his history of problems with school work and concerns about his
capacities and physical condition, the fourteen year old Krishnamurti was within
six months able to speak and write competently in English.During all this time,
Krishnamurti developed a strong bond with Annie Besant, and came to view her as
a surogate mother. His father, pushed into the background by the swirl of
interest around Krishnamurti, sued the Theosophical Society in 1912 to protect
his parental interests. After a protracted legal battle, Besant took legal
custody of Krishnamurti and his brother Nitya.As a result of this separation
from his family and home, Krishnamurti and his brother became extremely close,
and in the following years they often traveled together.
The Theosophical Leadership in 1911 established a new organization called the
Order of the Star in the East in order to prepare the world for the
aforementioned "coming". Krishnamurti was named as its head, with senior
Theosophists in various positions. Membership was open to anybody who accepted
the doctrine of the coming of the "World Teacher".Controversy erupted soon
after, both within the Theosophical Society and without, in Hindu circles and
the Indian press.
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