Home

Krishnamurti 1895 - 1986 (91)

One is never afraid of the unknown; one is afraid of the known coming to an end.


QUOTES

Freedom

from the Known





Jidu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) was an Indian world thinker and spiritual teacher. Although he was born in India to Indian parents, he did not stop declaring that he had no nationality, that he did not follow any tradition and did not belong to any group. He was born on May 11, 1895 in Mandanapali, near Madras, his mother died in 1905 and the following year his father went with his four sons to live in Adiar, where the headquarters of Theosophy was. (Theosophy is a system of occult beliefs based on the belief that nuggets of divine or eternal truth can be sought in all religions of Mankind). Shortly after their arrival, Krishnamurti was adopted by Annie Besant, president of Theosophy, who was convinced that the boy was the World Teacher the Theosophists had been waiting for. Three years later he was taken to England to be educated. In 1929 Krishnamurti relinquished the leadership role that the Theosophists expected him to play, dissolved the Order, and returned all money and property raised for that purpose.

Since then and for about sixty years he had been travelling the world giving speeches on the need for a radical change in humanity. He did not develop any philosophy or religion; on the contrary he spoke about the problems of life in modern society, about the need to be freed from fear, anger, wounds and sadness, about the ways to achieve security and happiness. He explained the subtle functions of the human mind and pointed out the need to bring a deep meditative and spiritual quality into our daily lives. He spoke wherever he was called - to individuals, small schools, clubs, universities. He has written about 80 books, most of which have been translated into many languages, and hundreds of his public speeches and personal discussions with various scholars have been recorded on videocassettes and audio cassettes. He founded schools all over the world, with basic principles: 1. A global holistic perspective free of prejudices, 2. Concern for man and the environment and 3. Religious spirit mixed with scientific temperament.

In October 1985, after speaking in England, he traveled to India feeling exhausted and losing weight. He had difficulty responding to the scheduled talks in Madras and immediately returned to California where, after a medical examination, it was revealed that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer. He died on February 17, 1986 at his home, having full clarity and talking to students and friends until his last hour.