Jiddu Krishnamurti
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986), Indian
mystic who lived at Adyar, Madras, as a young boy was noticed by the theosophist Charles W. Leadbeater because he had a remarkable aura.
Leadbeater and Annie Besant, both leading figures in Theosophical Society proclaimed Krishnamurti as the vehicle of a coming World Teacher, an
act that led to much controversy.
Krishnamurti subsequently renounced any claims to being a World
Teacher and began a career of writing and teaching. Beginning in the 1920s he spent much time in the United States and Europe, where his books
have enjoyed considerable popularity. He founded several schools and lectured before large audiences in North America, Europe, and India.
The influence of Theosophical Society has been rather significant,
however, despite its small following. The movement has been a catalytic force in the 20th-century Asian revival of Buddhism and
Hinduism and a pioneering agency in the promotion of greater Western acquaintance with Eastern thought.
In the United States it has influenced a whole series of religious
movements, including the I Am movement, Rosicrucianism, the Liberal Catholic Church, Psychiana, Unity, and sections of the New Thought
movement. (edited information from Encyclopaedia Britannica, see Theosophy)
Richard: Actually, I am not ‘debunking’
him per se ... I am whole-heartedly criticising the altered state of consciousness known as spiritual enlightenment. Mr. Jiddu Krishnamurti
happens to be the person most people on this list are familiar with.
I have read Mr. Jiddu Krishnamurti (and many, many other similar
people’s writings) with extreme care and remarkable sensitivity ... because I wanted to know, for myself, where he (and they) were coming
from. The source of their ‘Teachings’ is of the utmost importance to ascertain, for it has vast ramifications for the course of human
history. Consequently, I have read hundreds and hundreds of books ... maybe into the thousands. This is no rash – or rushed – thing that I
did. I wanted to know.
I fully appreciate what Mr. Jiddu Krishnamurti experienced, talked
about and wrote of. It is an amazing thing that not only are we humans able to be here experiencing this business of being alive ... on top of
that we can think about and reflect upon what is entailed. In addition to this ability, we can communicate our discoveries to one another –
comparing notes as it were – and further our understanding with this communal input. One does not have to rely only upon one’s own
findings; it is possible, as one man famous in history put it, to reach beyond the current knowledge by standing upon the shoulders of those
that went before
I am saying that enlightenment is a mirage, a chimera, a delusion, a hallucination
and so on. This is a very responsible ‘debunking’ indeed. (Richard, List B, No. 4a, 9 December 1998).
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