John L. Waters
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Jiddu Krishnamurti's Dream
John L. Waters
February 25, 2002
© Copyright 2002 by John L. Waters. All Rights
Reserved
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Jiddu Krishnamurti's dream was to have many other
people directly sense what he called "the other," "the
immensity," and "the benediction". Krishnamurti's
great desire was to have other people sense the
mystical Presence he himself sensed. Late in his
life, however, Krishnamurti expressed disappointment
that after all the decades of his teaching, so very
few persons had actually been transformed into truly
more sensitive and more blessed persons.(1)
Below are four important parts of Krishnamurti's
teaching. These topics came up over and over again in
Krishnamurti's public talks and in his conversations
with individual luminaries. For example, in the HSU
Library there are two videos of Krishnamurti giving a
public talk at Madras, India, as well as videos of
Krishnamurti having a conversation with Jonas Salk,
Pupul Jayakar, Iris Murdoch, David Bohm, and Huston
Smith.
1. Krishnamurti often stated that truth is a pathless
land. He said that no one can show you the way. You
have to find the way yourself.(2) Note, however, that
Krishnamurti was a slow student.(3) He wasn't a good
follower of others' ideas and/or methods. Perhaps
this is why in school he didn't learn a lot of math
and science.
2. On many occasions Krishnamurti lucidly described
in words what he called "the benediction," "the
immensity," and "the other."(4)
3. At the age of two Krishnamurti was sick with
malaria. For many years he suffered recurrences of
painful symptoms.(5) It can be suggested that
Krishnamurti's cultivation and use of the mystical
sense served as a healing anaesthetic, and as a way
for him to transcend his personal limitations and
overcome his limitations as a student and become an
outstanding teacher nevertheless.
4. Krishnamurti often talked about what he called
"the vacant mind," "the empty mind." Krishnamurti
talked about how in deep meditation the mind becomes
empty.(6) Perhaps Krishnamurti was repeatedly
renewing the sense of blessedness he often felt in his
young childhood: No thought. No verbalization. Just
a keen sense of the beauty of physical objects. Note
that Adi Da, formerly known as Franklin Jones wrote
about renewing the sense he felt in his young
childhood. Adi Da called it "The Bright."(7)
According to Krishnamurti, in deep meditation there is
no scheming, planning, plotting, or thinking. In
deep meditation there is no self-consciousness, no
sense of a separate, named, personal self. Some call
what is accessed in deep meditation the "universal
mind." Some call it the "supermind." It is the
universal, coordinating intelligence. When you go
into deep meditation your perceptions are heightened.
You see better than before, with an extraordinary
clarity. Colors appear to be very vibrant and
intense.
From his early twenties Krishnamurti travelled and
gave talks. At a young age he was recognized by the
Theosophists and he gave talks at meetings of
Theosophists. In 1929 at the age of thirty-four he
disbanded the Order of the Star of the East which the
Theosophists had created to honor him as The Messiah.
At that meeting he gave his famous "Truth is a
pathless land" speech. For the rest of his life
Krishnamurti maintained that he wasn't a way-shower.
Many people were disappointed in him, because they
expected Krishnamurti to be more of an authoritarian
and tell them his opinion and lead them onto the
future way.
Hypothetically, certain individuals are sensitive to
this mystical sense and they develop a sensitivity to
sources of "spiritual" energy. Jiddu Krishnamurti
became such a source, as did Meher Baba. Like
Krishnamurti, Meher Baba suffered from a debilitating
illness when he was still a young man.(8)
Jiddu Krishnamurti didn't study under any yoga master
but his spiritual development derives from the Hindu
tradition. His development may be compared to the
spiritual development of Papaji, Nityananda, Adi Da,
Meher Baba, and Gopi Krishna. The young Krishnamurti
was tutored by the Theosophist Charles Leadbeater who
believed that he had a special psychic or telepathic
access to Kuthumi who was considered by Theosophists
to be an ascended master. Krishnamurti was taught
that as the "New World Teacher" and "Messiah" he would
in due time become the earthly vehicle for this
master. Krishnamurti, however, rebelled against his
tutor and the Theosophists and disassociated himself
from them.
Jiddu Krishnamurti rather doomed himself to failure
because he wanted so much to share his sense of The
Divine with other people BUT he denied that there is
any way for a teacher to lead others. Consequently
many people came to visit with Krishnamurti and went
away disappointed because he resisted any effort to
help people understand how to sense "the benediction."
He brought up questions and he commented on the human
situation. Krishnamurti baffled many people, but he
also stimulated people. He was a provocative modern
cosmopolitan character.
Krishnamurti talked a lot about the dissolution of the
"me" and the dissolution of the ego. Krishnamurti
talked a lot about obtaining peace and happiness by
means of the dissolution of the ego, ceasing to plot,
plan, and strive. However, in his article "Jiddo
Krishnamurti and David Bohm" printed in Skeptical
Inquirer Magazine July/August, 2000 Martin Gardner
said Krishnamurti had just a "watered-down form of
Buddhism."(9) Buddha also emphasized that he had
found his way by himself. The Prince Siddartha didn't
follow any guru or master. Krishnamurti often read
and quoted from the teachings of Buddha.(10)
Now consider Jiddu Krishnamurti's special talent.
Consider the idea that by learning to sense the way
Krishnamurti sensed, a person's creative inspiration
is tapped and the person is the most creative he or
she can be. In Krishnamurti's case, this integration
enabled him to project healing power (from time to
time different people senses this)(11) as well as use
words to describe what he sensed as he was functioning
in this way, of sensing and projecting the healing
power. In his book, "Krishnamurti's Notebook,"
Krishnamurti described his sense in words. His
descriptions help a person understand what a mystic
senses...how the mystical perception affects a person.
Footnotes and Bibliography
1. See page 4 of the article entitled "Krishnamurti
as I knew Him" by S. Balasundaram, located on the web
at http://www.katinkahesselink.net/kr/K_bala.htm
This website was accessed on January 25, 2002.
2. http://www.kfa.org/truth.htm
This website was accessed at 10:41AM on January 8,
2002.
3. Sloss, Radha "Lives in the Shadow with J.
Krishnamurti" Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1991
pp 22 and 36.
4. Krishnamurti, Jiddu "Krishnamurti's Notebook"
Harper & Row, Publishers, New York 1976 pp 9, 23, 25,
26, 31, 33, 34, 38, 41, 42, 44, 49, and 136.
5. Sloss, Radha "Lives in the Shadow with J.
Krishnamurti" Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1991
p 21.
6. Krishnamurti, Jiddu "Krishnamurti to Himself"
Harper & Row Publishers San Francisco 1987 p 82.
7. Adi Da "The Knee of Listening" The Dawn Horse
Press 1995 pp 33-47.
8. Purdom, C.B. "The God-Man" George Allen & Unwin
LTD London 1964 pp 18-21.
9. Gardner, Martin "David Bohm and Jiddo
Krishnamurti" Skeptical Inquirer Magazine July/August
2000 Volume 24 Number 4 pp 20-23
10. http://www.buddhanet.net/bvk_study/bvk22a.htm
accessed on February 23, 2002
11. Krishnamurti, Jiddu "Krishnamurti's Notebook"
Harper & Row, Publishers, New York 1976 pp 9, 23, 25,
26, and 33.
7:00PM Thursday, February 7, 2002
10:00PM Thursday, February 21, 2002
10:30AM Sunday, February 24, 2002
John L. Waters
The information on this page represents that of John Waters and not
necessarily that of Humboldt State University. John Waters takes full
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This page is maintained by: John Waters
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