Jiddu Krishnamurti: World Philosopher (1895-1986)

Who was Krishnamurti? Guru, mystic or myth-maker, sinner or saint? It is impossible to say as he was so many different things to so many thousands of people: Gnostic, charismatic, poet, friend, adversary, advisor, a religious man, an atheist, an agnostic, an orator, a lecturer, a teacher, a world philosopher, a chameleon from the jungle of human consciousness who’s escaped into thin air. At last he was free of others’ image-making and judgements. One of the most extraordinary lives ever imagined was actually lived over most of last century by Jiddu Krishnamurti, a poor, dreamy south Indian boy who was adopted by the English aristocracy and became the darling of California spiritual seekers. The enigma of his life is explored and exposed – from the death of his mother when he was young to the adulation he received as a guru figures, from abject poverty to luxurious comfort; from cultish repression to absolute freedom. This most comprehensive life study of J. Krishnamurti was undertaken by Dr. C.V. Williams as part of doctoral research at the University of Technology, Sydney. During the preparation of this biography, the author interviewed more than forty-five persons who were either closely associated with J. Krishnamurti or had extensive comprehension of his philosophy.