Life of the master
Jiddu Krishnamurti is not known as a yogi rather more as a philosopher. His life is very interesting and fascinating in a way, among all the masters that we cover in the blog.
So, Krishnamurti was born in 11 May 1895 in Madanapalle in Madras Presidency (modern-day Chittoor District in Andhra Pradesh). His father Jiddu Narayaniah was an employee of British colonial administration and mother was a housewife.
He had a tough childhood. He had recurrent bouts of disease and was often beaten at school and home for his “vague and dreamy” demeanour. Though he was sick, he used to have psychic experiences from childhood and he also spent time in nature.
His father joined the Theosophical society (in Madras) as clerk in 1909, after retirement.
A member of Theosophical society, CW Leadbeater, noticed Jiddu on the society’s beach one day, in April 1909, was amazed with his aura. Leadbeater was convinced that Jiddu had the capability to become a world teacher or Lord Maitreya, a teacher who had the capability of guiding the spiritual evolution of whole mankind.
After this discovery, Krishnamurti (with his brother Nitya) was privately tutored, nurtured and educated by the members of the Theosophical society (including Leadbeater and Annie Besant) for him to transform into the “world teacher”. The training regimen was rigorous and included exercise, sports, yogasanas, meditation, theosophy, school subjects and ways of the British culture.
In 1911 the Society established the “Order of the Star in the East” (OSE) to prepare the world for the expected appearance of the World Teacher. Krishnamurti was named as its head, with senior Theosophists assigned various other positions.
Krishnamurti and his brother Nitya were taken to Europe in 1911 after which Krishnamurti started giving lectures on spirituality all over the world, as his duty in OSE.
In 1922, Krishnamurti had an intense spiritual experience (it was called ‘process’) and he kept on having these experiences till his death. He continued to write and speak for the OSE.
He founded the Rishi Valley Trust while visiting India in 1928.
In 1929 he dissolved the Order of the Star, after careful consideration, implying that he didnt believe he was the “world teacher” as he was expected to be. He resigned from the various trusts and institutions affiliated with the order, and set one goal in his mind: “to set man free”.
From 1930 to 1940 he continued writing and giving speeches all over the world, which were now published by Star Publishing Trust (SPT) which he founded with D. Rajagopal. He stopped giving public speeches from 1940 till 1944, after which he resumed, and the dissemination of his works was now done by Krishnamacharya Writings Inc.(KWI).
He continued setting up institutions and giving speeches till his death in February 1986.
In 1968, he established Krishnamurti Foundation Trust(KFT) with the purpose of disseminating his teachings and managing his institutions.
Many eminent personalities were touched by him including Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, physicist David Bohm, Aldous Huxley etc.
Organization
Krishnamurti set up schools, publishing houses, trusts in his lifetime. Everything is managed by the Krishnamurti Foundation Trust which began in 1968. Now, the Trust operates Foundations, Centres, Schools, Committees and Publications, in more than 35 countries in the world.
Over 60 books, 500 videos and 300 audios is currently available to the public as his teachings. All this material has been translated into more than 30 languages and is expanding its reach to more languages.
Teachings
The entire list of publications can be accessed through the website https://kpublications.com/.
Many videos, text, books and audios are made available in the website https://jkrishnamurti.org/Teachings for free.
The foundation has an online presence through social media websites like twitter, facebook and youtube. Although it doesnt have an official app, there are few apps made by his followers where his works are posted for free.
References
1. https://jkrishnamurti.org/worldwide
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishnamurti_Foundation
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiddu_Krishnamurti
Avadhoota Udyana 