J Krishnamurti: A life of Compassion beyond Boundaries [a biography by Roshen Dalal]

Answers to key questions on the book 

1. Do you think the life and teachings of J. Krishnamurti have become more relevant today? If so, why? 1A. Though J. Krishnamurti’s teachings have always been relevant, they are even more so today, in a world divided by race, religion and caste. His understanding was that all human beings are essentially the same, as they are motivated by the same emotions, fears, ambitions and desires. All divisions, therefore, are superficial. He spoke against identifying with any nation or religion, as such identity created a divided world. At the same time, he showed how through self-knowledge, one could gain a different understanding, going beyond these common perceptions. 

2. Why have the depictions of Krishnamurti been so divergent till now? On the one hand we have a huge following of his views and ways in the public and on the other hand, biographies, like those of Radha Rajagopal Sloss which are considered seminal works on Krishnamurti have such criticism about his life and relationships. What is your view on this and how do you tackle these differences in your book?

 2A. Krishnamurti did not see himself as a guru, and did not want followers. Yet, those who closely follow his teachings venerate him like a guru. They do not want to know or hear anything about him that in public perception may be considered negative. Some biographies of those who had been associated with him, thus present a sanitised version of his life. Radha Rajagopal Sloss’s book is also very personal, and not entirely negative, but she did provide a critique of certain aspects of his life. She wrote this book in defense of her parents, Rosalind and Rajagopal, with whom Krishnamurti was once very close, though he later rejected them totally. In my book, I have attempted to present a balanced view of the different aspects of Krishnamurti, the person, while at the same time recognising his immense contribution to the world. 

 3. Why did you feel the need to write a biography of the philosopher and educator when there were many accounts available of his life and teachings? 

3A. There are indeed numerous biographies of Krishnamurti, and considerable analysis of his educational theories as well. But there is no other book that presents his life, his philosphy, and his educational theories in a single volume. In addition, a number of people associated with Krishnamurti have written their memoirs after his death, and for the first time aspects of these have been incorporated into a biography. As I am a historian, I went deeply into various sources to create an objective and historical view of his life and teachings, linking his early life and theosophical influence with his later philosophy. This is also something unique in this book, which thus transforms our views on him, presenting a composite picture of his life. 

 4. In the book we find interactions of J. Krishnamurti with a varied range of people from Theosophists, nationalists, writers, politicians and social reformers from pre-independent and independent India, and especially quantum physicists and psychologists. How do you think he negotiated such terrains and have meaningful conversations with people from such diverse fields? 

4AKrishnamurti himself said he did not read much, and when he read, it was often detective fiction. But he did read articles in magazines on the latest theories and developments, and watched documentaries. His friends and associates also explained to him the finer points of topics he was interested in. But there was another dimension to his ability to have meaningful discussions with people from diverse fields, and that was his contact with some unknown source, a vast emptiness, through which he could grasp and understand the complexities of any subject. 

 5. How did your long association with J. Krishnamurti as a topic of research for a book emerge? What sustained your interest in him for so long?

 5A . Ever since I read J Krishnamurti’s magical words, ‘Truth is a pathless land’, I never lost my fascination for him. Then, I came across many people associated with Krishnamurti and began to delve deeper into his philosophy, and also its application in practical terms. I met those who had changed through their association with Krishnamurti and his teachings, yet he himself said no one had completely understood or lived his teachings. There were also so many different and fascinating aspects of his life. What could it have been like to have been proclaimed a messiah at the young age of 14? In his case, truth seemed stranger than fiction, and that too held my attention.

 6. While your biography also goes beyond the partisan views to depict him in a more humane way, what do you think was special about Krishnamurti ? 

6A. Krishnamurti spoke about eternal truths in simple terms, without quoting other texts and without any jargon. Yet even while travelling around the world and speaking incessantly to disseminate his teachings, there were different and human aspects to him. Despite this, I feel Krishnamurti was a messenger of truth, urging people to change their consciousness, and providing a new way to do so. 

7. What are the major contributions of a visionary like Krishnamurti to society and humanity? How can we understand his legacy better? 

7 A. Krishnamurti wanted to bring about a new world, through the transformation of individual consciousness. Self-knowledge was the key to change. In every part of the world there are people who pray and meditate, yet act without any empathy or compassion. Krishnamurti saw the root of the problem, he pointed out how individuals constantly escape from themselves, through entertainment, ambition, and a desire to become something one is not. Could one look within and understand oneself? This is one of the key aspects of his philosophy, and if every person who desires a better world, could do this, the world would indeed be transformed. Even an attempt in this direction would help one to understand his legacy.

Sri Aurobindo

[I am reducing the number of blogs I have; this post was earlier in another blog]

Sri Aurobindo ( Aurobindo Ghose) was born at Kolkata (Calcutta) in India on 15 August 1872, but at the age of seven, was sent to England to study. Returning to India as a young man in 1893, he worked for some time in the state of Baroda, but gradually got involved in the Freedom Movement against the British, who ruled most of India at this time. He had already begun certain Yoga practices, and when in prison for his actions in the struggle for freedom (1908), he received a divine revelation. He left British India and entered the small territory of Pondicherry in south India, which was then under the French. Here he could not be pursued by British authorities, and giving up politics he founded an ashram, and developed his own philosophy.
His basic philosophy is what he called Integral Yoga. The aim of this, according to him, is ‘to enter into a higher Truth-Consciousness or Divine Supramental Consciousness in which action and creation are the expression not of ignorance and imperfection, but of the Truth, the Light, the divine Ananda (bliss).’ He did not prescribe any fixed method for this, but suggest various ways to make oneself receptive and open to receive the divine, including surrender and devotion, meditation, and the watching of one’s actions.
The divine has to be brought down into the whole being, including the cells of the body.
He believed in the evolution of the human life and mind towards an ultimate spirituality and an increasing universality. The light and power of the spirit, also called by him, the ‘Supermind’, presiding over human evolution could transform human consciousness and remould life on earth. He was joined in his ashram in 1920 by ‘The Mother’, a Frenchwoman named Mirra Richard. While the Mother ran the ashram, Aurobindo remained in seclusion, reading, studying ancient texts and writing.
His philosophical works include The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga, TheIntegral Yoga, the epic Savitri, a poem with 24,000 lines and several other works, as well as commentaries on all the major ancient texts.
In these works he questioned many traditional concepts of Indian philopsophy, including the commonly accepted views of the world as Maya or illusion, and of Karma. He believed that the world is a real manifestation of the divine, and should not be seen as unreal. The concept of karma implies that all aspects of existence depend on the workings of universal energy. However, it is not a simple law of reward and punishment as is commonly perceived, but something extremely complex.
He stated that no religion revealed the whole Truth. He said, ‘ The Divine Truth is greater than any religion or creed or scripture or idea or philosophy.’ Though he had made a deep study of Hindu texts, as he developed his philosophy, he ceased to identify with Hinduism. He wrote, ‘The Ashram has nothing to do with Hindu religion or culture or any religion or nationality. The Truth of the Divine which is the spiritual reality behind all religions and the descent of the supramental which is not known to any religion, are the sole things which will be the foundation of the work of the future’.
After his death in 1950, the Mother continued to run the ashram and later set up Auroville, an international city near the ashram.

Reason

'I am and always have been one of those natures who must be guided by reason, whatever the reason may be which upon reflection appears to me to be the best.'
Socrates, in dialogue with Crito.

The richness of poverty

From a Sufi text:
'The Lord of the Spirit and the Word [Jesus] used to say: "My daily bread is hunger, my badge is fear, my raiment is wool, my mount is my foot, my lantern at night is the moon, and my fire by day is the sun, and my fruit and fragrant herbs are such things as the earth brings forth for the wild beasts and the cattle. All the night I have nothing, yet there is none richer than I!".' (From the writings of Al-Hasan al-Basri, a Sufi saint from Basra in Iraq, who died AD 728; trans. A.J. Arberry.)

Sri Aurobindo

(first published 2003)
Concepts such as the One Reality, Maya and Karma have permeated Indian consciousness. Indians, no matter what their class, caste, or religion are familiar with these terms, which date back to the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutra and Shankara. Since then, there have been numerous refinements and analyses of these concepts, and notable among those who provided a fresh view of these ideas, is Sri Aurobindo.
Born in Kolkata on 15 August 1872, Aurobindo Ghose was a philosopher, poet and mystic. He was educated mainly in England and after his return to India in 1892 and took up various administrative and teaching posts and then began to seriously study Yoga. Between 1905 and 1908, he was one of the main nationalist leaders of the extremist school. Imprisoned in 1908, he experienced a ‘divine revelation’, and two years later when there was again a threat of imprisonment, escaped from British India to the French territory of Pondicherry (now Puducherry) where he started an ashram. He was joined in his ashram in 1920 by ‘The Mother’, a Frenchwoman named Mirra Richard, who took over the running of the ashram, while Aurobindo devoted himself to reading, studying ancient texts, and writing philosophical works including The Life Divine, Integral Yoga, the epic Savitri , a poem of 24,000 lines, as well as commentaries on The Bhagavad Gita, the major Upanishads, and other texts.
In these works, Aurobindo, a profound thinker, presented his philosophy and ideas. His basic assumption was that life is still evoving, and a human being is not the highest stage of evolution – a higher being will one day emerge. The light and power of the spirit, called by him, the ‘Supermind’, presiding over human evolution, would transform human consciousness and remould life on earth.
To Aurobindo, there is One Reality, but there are also individual souls. The world is not Maya or an illusion, but real, and needs to be perfected through the spiritual and material evolution of every living being. On karma, Sri Aurobindo challenges the popular concept of a divine accounting system which extends through the successive lives of a person. Instead, he dwells on the nature of cosmic energy, which incorporating all the complexities of one’s inner and outer life, takes one in a particular direction, depending on one’s inclinations and stage of lif. Karma is thus linked with the process of evolution. Growth requires experiences of different kinds, both pleasurable and painful, and Aurobindo says, “the soul may of itself accept or choose poverty, misfortune and suffering as helpful to its growth, stimulants of a rapid development, and reject riches and prosperity and success as dangerous and conducive to a relaxation of spiritual effort... Cosmic existence is not a vast administrative system of universal justice with a cosmic law of recompense and retribution.” Instead it is a movement of the energy of nature, which provides, within the cycle of rebirth, whatever is needed for the next step in its evolution.
Sri Aurobindo died in 1950. His works need to be better known, as he provides a vision of a different world, a perfect creation, which will arise when each individual evolves. For him, there is no nirvana or moksha, providing an escape from sorrow and impermanence, but rather the material world made immortal, through the descent of the divine spirit.