Who was Krishnamurti?
Love is the most practical thing in the word. To love, to be kind, not to be greedy, not to be ambitious, not to be influenced by people but to think for yourself. These are all practical things and will bring about a practical, happy society. — Jiddu Krishnamurti
In 1875, the Russian writer Helena Blavatsky established a religious movement called Theosophy. The group embraced all religions and sought to prepare the world for the next incarnation of the Messiah. They taught about secret “Masters” around the world who possessed spiritual wisdom. After Blavatsky died in 1891, the organization was taken over by Annie Besant, a British writer and Freemason who campaigned for women’s rights.
Besant began preparing the world for the appearance of a spiritual emissary called the World Teacher. In 1909, fellow Theosophist Charles Leadbetter “discovered” a 14-year old boy named Jiddu Krishnamurti on the private beach of Theosophical Society headquarters in Adyar, India. Leadbetter, who claimed powers of clairvoyance, said Krishnamurti, “had the most wonderful aura I’d ever seen.” The boy was from a Brahmin family, the highest caste of Indian society. His mother, who’d died when Krishnamurti was ten, had a premonition her son “would be remarkable.” He was quiet and inert and many thought him to be simple minded.
