Have you ever heard of the elite philosopher who was a big influence on Bruce Lee? In addition to that, he also influenced many prominent personalities like George Bernard Shaw, Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, Jawaharlal Nehru—and the list goes on. Does it ring any bells?
Let me give you a clue: he was born in India, in Andhra Pradesh, that too in Madanapalle, a town which is in proximity to our Tirupati. Do you get it?
Origin of the Enlightened One
You can stop scratching your head—I'm talking about the greatest philosopher to have ever walked the earth, Jiddu Krishnamurti, an Indian who has influenced the world with his philosophies of life and unfortunately, most of us are unaware of him, let alone his ideas.
His story started in Madanapalle, where he was and adopted into the Theosophical Society by Annie Besant at the age of 14. The Theosophical Society was hunting for young minds to fill the role of “World Teacher,” a guide for humankind's spiritual evolution. Along with him, many other young minds were trained by the society, but Jiddu stood out among them for a reason. The society believed he would be the perfect choice for the role.
The World Teacher of the Theosophical Society
And the day came when the Theosophical Society wanted to make the big announcement. But Jiddu walked up to the stage and proclaimed he was not a World Teacher and completely dissed the idea of it—which made the crowd go bonkers. Then he quit the society and started spreading his ideas of consciousness. For he was an enlightened being—people could feel the aura around him.
Kahlil Gibran once said, "When I walked into Jiddu Krishnamurti's room, I walked into a wall of love." He carried with him a pleasantness, and with that, he spread his ideas.
Establishment of Schools
A Documentary on KFI schools
He would often proclaim he was not a preacher, but still, his ideas found the attention of many great personalities, simply because his thoughts resonated with life. He established many schools under the Krishnamurti Foundation India. These schools rejected the notion of conventional education and primarily focused on the spiritual freedom, which is imperative to true learning.
There are a few schools that are based on the innate ideologies of Jiddu, and one such school is located in Madanapalle—Rishi Valley School, which was founded in 1926 Krishnamurti himself. It is an epitome of holistic education, different from the perfunctory learning which is evident in most of the schools.
How He Spread His Ideologies
Unlike many Gurus, he never wrote a book or took any disciples. He simply travelled the world and spread his ideas with utmost conviction, often organizing discussions with people, which were recorded. These recordings reached the world, and as the word spread, many felt the need to awaken. His talks primarily focused on God, Fear, Acceptance, Freedom etc, which are the common queries pestering our minds, and he offered so much clarity on these things with profundity, his vision is truly transcendental.
Please do watch his speeches on YouTube—I'm sure he will transform you as he did the entire world.
Well folks hope you find some answers to your mind-boggling questions with Jiddu Krishnamurti's insights , meet you in the next blog.
