Cont : An examined life - A brief study of two lives.

Cont. : An examined life - A brief study of two lives

Unlike Spinoza, whose life was spurred by an excommunication decree by Temple elders; Jiddu Krishnamurti was embraced by a sect as its next World Messiah. His entire childhood was a preparation for him to ascend a spiritual throne that would have given him unlimited power, authority and sway. But unlike Spinoza again, JK (as he is popularly known) voluntarily cut asunder the ties that bound him, abdicated his position as a leader and declared himself unconditionally free. His story needs to be told in slightly more detail…

The term Theosophy, etymologically derives from its root “God’s wisdom”. It is a kind of syncretistic philosophy, which included esoteric elements from various streams of religious thought: Islamist Sufi doctrines, the mystery of kabbalah, the tantric rumblings of ancient India - all found a place in this system. Its origins can be traced to very beginnings of the Christian era, and has remained in vogue though the ages, often in secret societies, or shrouded as institutions that worked under different names. It is not until the eighteenth century that it started developing a global voice based on writings of Jacob Boehme and Swedenborgian ideas. However, it was left to Russian Helena Blavatsky whose interest in occult and hidden mysteries led to form the Theosophical society, along with Alcott in 1875. The society solidified the fluid beliefs of this ancient movement into a coherent picture of Man’s reality, his relationship with the Universe, and a detailed journey to ascend steps to liberation. “Isis unveiled” and “The secret doctrine” - two books that flowed from the pen of Madame Blavatsky, remain to this day the standard bible for theosophists around the world. To even attempt to read them is an arduous exercise. Unless one is an initiate the Book is never handed over. It is a secret, nocturnal nectar meant only for select prepared individuals. And it was the organizational mission of Theosophy to till the intellectual, moral and spiritual ground of humanity for the coming of the Messiah - an incarnation of Lord Maitreya, a theosophical godhead who incarnates time and again.

It was in such a milieu, in 1909, that Jiddu Krishnamurti was discovered by Charles Leadbeater, a theosophical initiate and a close friend of Annie Besant (President of the society), on the beaches of Adyar in Southern India. JK was the eighth child in his family, and was bought to Madras by his father to continue his education. A picture of Krishnamurti then would have presented a lanky lad, with oiled hair, an aquiline face, broad dark eyes that bespoke a dreamy attitude. Leadbeater was apparently convinced through his occult vision that JK was the sought after Messiah, the reincarnation that they have been so eagerly waiting for. Both Ms. Besant and he, adopted Krishnamurti along with his brother Nitya to their fold. And thus began a period of indoctrination into the mysteries of Theosophy, a purification of the vessel for descent of God. JK was cloistered and sheltered from public appearances. They wanted to get him ready before proclaiming to its members, which incidentally ran into thousands across the world that the Messiah had arrived. The brothers were sent to England for a more well-rounded education, and also to get JK out of his genetically shy self. The plan seemed to work, and JK soon began to embrace the dignity and manners a western education could provide, and his thinking and talks reflected the new born maturity in this handsome young man.

It was in 1922 that the brothers, for the first time since their adoption, found themselves alone in Ojai, California, without the hawk like supervision of Theosophists. Jk’s brother Nitya was diagnosed with Tuberculosis, and the valley proved to be ambrosic to his deteriorating health. JK’s mind, by then was saturated, inundated with theosophist propaganda and practices. Dreamy by nature, the serene atmosphere of this retreat, in the fullness of Californian spring, bought in him a vague sense of unrest. He was becoming increasingly disinterested in authority, and his psyche began to undergo a definitive transformation. He constantly spoke of “The otherness” during those times - A state of being that was utterly unpolluted by dogmas and beliefs. And then in 1925, His brother Nitya died, despite assurances by his masters that he would survive. In that intense heat of grief, JK underwent an inner mutation, the mind rolling back into itself, completely freeing himself of all philosophical encumbrances. The change was cataclysmic, irreversible. For the next few years, his public speeches indicated his dis-allegiance with the movement, and spoke of truth in terms antithetical to Theosophical principles. Finally, in 1929, during the world wide convention held in Netherlands, Krishnamurti formally disbanded the order of the star (a hierarchical structure in theosophy). In one of the moving statements in spiritual history, Jk set him totally, unconditionally free of all obligations in his search for truth. Hear it in his own words:

..”I maintain that truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my point of view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or coerce people along a particular path. ... This is no magnificent deed, because I do not want followers, and I mean this. The moment you follow someone you cease to follow Truth. I am not concerned whether you pay attention to what I say or not. I want to do a certain thing in the world and I am going to do it with unwavering concentration. I am concerning myself with only one essential thing: to set man free. I desire to free him from all cages, from all fears, and not to found religions, new sects, nor to establish new theories and new philosophies...”

With this short, poignant, radical speech, JK abdicated his role in Theosophy. He spent the next 60 years of his life, travelling all over the globe, talking to varied audiences, gently indicating to them the cunning structure of authority, and the blasphemy of transformation according to a religious tradition. What Satre, Kafka , Camus and Kierkegaard started in contemporary literature; of Man having to find his inner way to salvation alone, without any props whatsoever – is consummated in JK; whose world view , unlike them was optimistic, regenerative and therapeutic. Scientists, educators, writers, men and women from diverse walks of life; discovered in his conversations a sudden insight into the nature of their own selves; and often became better human beings than anything else…

What then is his essential message! For one, he did not believe in gradual transformation of Man. Any system, no matter how subtle and profound it may be, cannot be a path that could lead to individual liberation – (he never used the term God). It is by understanding the very structure of thought, memory and process of “self”; not to overcome it, or modify it – but just by perceiving its movement that one realizes the core of one being as completely free, undivided and limitless. His core philosophy is that there cannot be any discovery with a conclusion. He urged open dialogues, dialectic, public and private talks - always urging and warning his listeners not to take him at face value, but to think and discover along with him. His disillusionment with Theosophy percolated into every fiber of his being and manifested itself as a complete and unequivocal disassociation with any kind of religious faith throughout his life.

His works, talks and writings have been collected in more than twenty volumes. I personally enjoy and recommend his three volumes of diaries titled “The commentaries on Living”. It is the most accessible of all his works. In it, in a series of common place events, dialogues and circumstances, JK draws vivid insights into the web of one’s psyche and root of disorder. The language, the humaneness and his extraordinary sensitivity to life is captured with rare literary felicity worthy of a Marcus Aurelius.

So, in conclusion, Both Spinoza and JK spent a lifetime standing outside the pale of received wisdom. To each, a truth was vouchsafed, and they lived by it, every inch of their lives. Such truth must indeed have had great strength and veracity; otherwise, how else could we justify the tremendous courage, integrity and power they bought to bear upon life. The intellectual tremors from their existence still vibrate noiselessly in the corridors of philosophy the world over - touching and transforming the fabric of existence.

God bless…

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