Krishnamurti has been accused of personal hypocrisy in concern to certain of his teachings. A number of people who knew him through the years pointed out that Krishnamurti’s life expresses something of the Indian lifestyle, for he was supported, even pampered, through the years by devoted followers. The questions then arise as to whether his attitudes were conditioned by indulgence and privilege. Interestingly, immediately after disbanding the Order of the Star in 1929, Krishnamurti had himself addressed the issue of a liberated human being living in the material world and how such a person might be perceived by others.
“There is nothing in liberation as such to preclude further activity in the phenomenal worlds. There can, of course, be no compulsion since freedom from compulsion is implicit in the idea of liberation. But if the liberated life so wills, it can manifest itself in the world of matter and in so far as it enters into those worlds it will come under the law of those worlds, which is evolution. What we have therefore to grasp if we can – and it is not an easy matter – is the idea of a liberated life building up fresh instruments for its self-expression and those instruments, being in the world of form, have in them the outward appearance of individuality … It does preserve what may be called a sense of self identity, it still looks out on the world through its own eyes and refers all its experience to itself but this Self is not the Ego.” (March 1930)
In her 1991 book, Lives in the Shadow with J. Krishnamurti, Radha Rajagopal Sloss, the daughter of Krishnamurti’s associates, Rosalind and Desikacharya Rajagopal, wrote of Krishnamurti’s relationship with her parents including the secret affair between Krishnamurti and Rosalind which lasted for many years. The public revelation was received with surprise and consternation by many individuals in the Krishnamurti community, and was also dealt with in a rebuttal volume of biography by Mary Lutyens (Krishnamurti and the Rajagopals, 1996).
Sloss’s allegations were centered around the notion that the secret liasion indicated that Krishnamurti had lead a deceptive double life in that he was believed to be celibate by his public following. A later biographical volume by Roland Vernon (Star in the East: Krishnamurti, the Invention of a Messiah), questions the ultimate impact of the revelations when compared to Krishnamurti’s body of work as a whole.
Krishnamurti’s once close relationship to the Rajagopals deteriorated to the point that Krishnamurti in his later years, took Rajagopal (head of Krishnamurti Writings, Inc.) to court in order to recover donated property and funds, publication rights for his works, manuscripts and personal corespondence being withheld by Rajagopal. The resulting litigation and cross complaints continued for many years, and were not resolved until after the death of Krishnamurti in 1986. Krishnamurti’s biographer Mary Lutyens placed the preponderance of responsibility for the acrimony of the lawsuits and resulting damage to Krishnamurti’s reputation on the personal animosity of the Rajagopals resulting from their loss of influence in Krishnamurti’s life (see Lutyens below).
Perhaps the harshest critic of Jiddu Krishnamurti, the way he operated, the things he taught (such as “choiceless awareness” and “the art of listening”), is U. G. Krishnamurti.
“There is nothing in liberation as such to preclude further activity in the phenomenal worlds. There can, of course, be no compulsion since freedom from compulsion is implicit in the idea of liberation. But if the liberated life so wills, it can manifest itself in the world of matter and in so far as it enters into those worlds it will come under the law of those worlds, which is evolution. What we have therefore to grasp if we can – and it is not an easy matter – is the idea of a liberated life building up fresh instruments for its self-expression and those instruments, being in the world of form, have in them the outward appearance of individuality … It does preserve what may be called a sense of self identity, it still looks out on the world through its own eyes and refers all its experience to itself but this Self is not the Ego.” (March 1930)
In her 1991 book, Lives in the Shadow with J. Krishnamurti, Radha Rajagopal Sloss, the daughter of Krishnamurti’s associates, Rosalind and Desikacharya Rajagopal, wrote of Krishnamurti’s relationship with her parents including the secret affair between Krishnamurti and Rosalind which lasted for many years. The public revelation was received with surprise and consternation by many individuals in the Krishnamurti community, and was also dealt with in a rebuttal volume of biography by Mary Lutyens (Krishnamurti and the Rajagopals, 1996).
Sloss’s allegations were centered around the notion that the secret liasion indicated that Krishnamurti had lead a deceptive double life in that he was believed to be celibate by his public following. A later biographical volume by Roland Vernon (Star in the East: Krishnamurti, the Invention of a Messiah), questions the ultimate impact of the revelations when compared to Krishnamurti’s body of work as a whole.
Krishnamurti’s once close relationship to the Rajagopals deteriorated to the point that Krishnamurti in his later years, took Rajagopal (head of Krishnamurti Writings, Inc.) to court in order to recover donated property and funds, publication rights for his works, manuscripts and personal corespondence being withheld by Rajagopal. The resulting litigation and cross complaints continued for many years, and were not resolved until after the death of Krishnamurti in 1986. Krishnamurti’s biographer Mary Lutyens placed the preponderance of responsibility for the acrimony of the lawsuits and resulting damage to Krishnamurti’s reputation on the personal animosity of the Rajagopals resulting from their loss of influence in Krishnamurti’s life (see Lutyens below).
Perhaps the harshest critic of Jiddu Krishnamurti, the way he operated, the things he taught (such as “choiceless awareness” and “the art of listening”), is U. G. Krishnamurti.
No comments:
Post a Comment