Chapter 2: The Unanticipated Path: Evolution from Boy to World Teacher
The boy’s name was Jiddu Krishnamurti. He was the eighth child of her mother, so she named him Krishna. Annie Besant adopted Krishnamurti and his brother Nityanand, and J. Krishnamurti thought of her as his surrogate mother.
On his discovery, Leadbeater and other trusted people of the Theosophical society undertook the task of educating him and preparing him ready for the global stage.
He and his brother Nityanand (Nitya) were initially trained and groomed in Madras, which is now called Chennai. They then travelled to different countries to learn new skills and languages. Within six months, Krishnamurti was able to speak and write English well. Within two years of being found, from 2009 to 2011, he was put in charge of the Order of the Star in the East (OSE), an organisation setup to get the world ready for the next “World Teacher”.
He was trained, educated and groomed for almost 20 years until being announced as the world teacher. At a Theosophical society event in 1925, it was announced that Krishnamurti will soon be named the world’s leader.
Teachings: The Path
Krishnamurti in his famous book, At The of Feet of the Master, describes how he learnt about the Truth from his master. The path to truth can be followed if one meets the four eligibility criteria:
- Discrimination: One should be able to discriminate, good vs bad, right vs wrong, selfish vs unselfishness, important vs unimportant, useful vs useless, more useful vs less useful, truth vs falsehood, accuracy vs exaggeration, real vs pretend, etc
- Desirelessness: One should guard against the common desires e.g. trying to shine compared to others, appear clever, unnecessarily meddling in other people’s business, etc. The desire should be for the higher purpose, e.g. to be like the master, etc.
- Good Conduct: We must practice self-control (mind), self-control (action), tolerance, cheerfulness, one-pointedness and have confidence in what we stand for
- Love: Is about existing for others, it should be free of sins – the sins of superstition, cruelty against animals and gossiping about others. We should not hurt anyone and be helpful, however helpful does not mean interfering in someone’s life
Chapter 3: The World Stage
Jiddu Krishnamurti, the head of the OSE, was planned to make the announcement that he is the World Teacher, “the coming messiah”, on the international stage during a Theosophical Society event held in the Netherlands in 1929. Nearly three thousand people came from all over the world to see the event and hear J Krishnamurti speak. The time had come for Buddha to return to the planet.
Krishnamurti took to the podium to deliver the speech and shocked everyone present at the event. He dismantled the OSE organisation and rejected the position of the “World Teacher”. He said that it would not be correct to bind people into a belief that is defined by a teacher, a belief is an individual’s choice and should be left to the person to find the truth.
Below is an excerpt from his speech, full speech can be found here.
“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 to coerce people along any particular path. If you first understand that, then you will see how impossible it is to organize a belief. A belief is purely an individual matter, and you cannot and must not organize it. If you do, it becomes dead, crystallized; it becomes a creed, a sect, a religion, to be imposed on others. This is what everyone throughout the world is attempting to do. Truth is narrowed down and made a plaything for those who are weak, for those who are only momentarily discontented. Truth cannot be brought down, rather the individual must make the effort to ascend to it. You cannot bring the mountain-top to the valley. If you would attain to the mountain-top you must pass through the valley, climb the steeps, unafraid of the dangerous precipices.”
The goals of the Theosophical Society and the Order of the Star in the East were different. The OSE was disbanded, and the search for the world teacher was over. The Order of the Star was broken up by Krishnamurti, but that didn’t mean the Theosophical Society was dismantled as well. The Theosophical Society continues its mission of promoting universal brotherhood, comparative religion, and the exploration of human potential.
To know more about K Krishnamurti’s teaching and what he meant by “pathless path”, please go to page 3.
Bhavin Shukla 
Leave a comment