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Review

Star in the East: Krishnamurti, the Invention of a Messiah
Roland Vernon
(London: Constable, 2000)

Review by Anne Ruth Frank-Strauss

The title and subtitle of this new book about Krishnamurti are likely to raise some eyebrows in the K-world. Roughly two thirds of this extensive text is a lengthy narrative of Krishnamurti's early years under the wings of the Theosophical Society, brought to a close by his official resignation from his role as the new Messiah in 1929, while only the remaining part is dedicated to the more than fifty years of his mature life and teaching. Why is so much emphasis laid on a period in Krishnamurti's life that in later years he himself dismissed as irrelevant? The author, Roland Vernon, argues that the Theosophical Society was "one of the principal agents facilitating the spread of non-affiliated religious philosophies in the 20th century, which eventually transformed into contemporary New Age thinking." He maintains that a direct connection exists between the life and work of the founder of Theosophy, Madame Blavatsky, and that of Jiddu Krishnamurti. He was, Vernon concludes, "one of the first and most widely publicised figures to present eastern spirituality in a context comprehensible to those conditioned by western theological and philosophical traditions." Roland Vernon, born in 1961, is a young author who never met Krishnamurti and, unlike Mary Lutyens, the meticulous chronicler of Krishnamurti's life and work, he was not an eye-witness, but rather represents the first of the posthumous generations who have to rely on the testimony of survivors and written and recorded documents to find their own way to an understanding of the "Krishnamurti phenomenon". For him Krishnamurti is above all else a historical figure, which leads him to pose the question: who was Krishnamurti and how did his role as the world-wide and most respected spiritual teacher of the 20th century come about? Vernon approaches this ambitious enterprise as an adventure, with an open and curious mind, in a brilliant writing style and, in spite of his obvious fascination with his subject, with a firm commitment to impartiality. But, he confesses in his Author's Note and Acknowledgments: "There is no immunity from his [K's] demand that a reader probe and question the deepest reaches of his or her accepted world view, and one cannot but emerge at the other end of a journey such as this with a readjusted perspective of life and living."

He retells with some relish the fantastic and by now legendary story of the neglected Brahmin boy whose apparent emptiness and selflessness provided his Theosophical patrons with the perfect vessel for their World Teacher project. And, until the age of 34, Krishnamurti remained, at least outwardly and notwithstanding his rising doubts and rebellion, under the patronage of the eminent Theosophical leaders C.W.L. Leadbeater and Annie Besant. Supported by thousands of believers, he displayed all the qualities of a beautiful Christ-like figure. His teaching took on the messianic style that was expected of him and his own inner development followed a corresponding series of moments of transformation ("And I come to those who want sympathy, who want happiness, who are longing to be released ...") when his charisma was so overwhelming that crowds of devotees prostrated before him. In contrast, there were periods of conflict and revolt, when he seemed unwilling to accept the burden of his role and he came to be seen, in the eyes of the world, as an elegant young socialite, playful and humorous, living in idleness and luxury, surrounded by adoring women.

Beginning in 1922, the experience generally known as the "process", unsettling and puzzling as it was for his Theosophical guides, was the first decisive step away from their control. "On a personal level, he felt for the first time a reconciliation between his private searching self and his public theosophical profile", writes Vernon. "It provided Krishna with the soil in which his new-found spirit of confidence and independence could take root." This experience foreshadowed the official break with Theosophy in his later pronouncement dissolving the Order of the Star. It was "the defining moment of his life and the final curtain of his epic Theosophical drama."

But after this turning point of his life and teaching, the World Teacher project was far from dead, stresses Vernon, "and although use of the term was tactfully withdrawn by those loyal to his wishes, much messianic speculation continued to be centred on the figure of Krishnamurti well beyond the 1930s, and continues to this day."

Krishnamurti pursued his life's work, now free from the sectarian restraints of the Theosophical Society, and became an "international statesman of spirituality", always sensitive to the rapidly changing cultural and social values in different parts of the world. After his retreat at Ojai, California, during World War II, Krishnamurti adopted a new teaching style characterised by a total abandonment of mystery. Gone from his speech was the poetic messianic imagery and from then on he referred to himself as K. Again and again he implored his audience to listen and question, "rather than stare in meditative wonder at 'the speaker'". From being the Saviour uttering cosmic truth, he became a personal counselor, responding to the crisis within each individual psyche.
On the occasion of his visits to India, beginning right after Independence in 1947, K found a fresh audience who welcomed him as "a new type of guru, emancipated and free of superstition, yet still, to their minds, steeped in the Vedantic philosophy of their fathers." In the Western world the stage was set for Krishnamurti's message in the '50s and '60s, when rebellious young people began questioning any form of authority. Krishnamurti's contempt for organised religion, nationalism, nine-to-five jobs and bourgeois respectability fell on fertile ground, though his point that "the only revolution" had to take place in the mind of the individual was often missed.

Vernon does not conceal the fact that, on a human level, Krishnamurti showed some attitudes and character traits that contradicted his saintly image. To his credit, the author does this in fairness, with tact and without a trace of sensationalism. He understands that these inconsistencies did and still do disturb many of K's adherents, who find it hard to reconcile the love affair, the lawsuits and the harsh side of K's nature with their projected image of a holy man - not to mention the many paradoxes of his teachings which one has to grapple with.

Krishnamurti claimed not to be an authority and invited questioning of his teachings, while at the same time being deeply convinced of the truth of his message, which admitted no contradiction. He was "only a short step away from the claim that K was a messenger of divine revelation whose mission was nothing less than the redemption of mankind." This claim the author sees mirrored up to this day in the attitude of his "followers", who would passionately deny that this term was applicable to them.

In his last chapter, the author tries to speculate on Krishnamurti's future place in history and concludes: "Judgement cannot be cast on Krishnamurti, because his historical niche is still in the early days of construction; but it is doubtful that he will ever rise to the cultural pre-eminence of the great religious leaders, most obviously because it is so clearly on record that he forbade the establishment of a doctrinal system in his name." And, he continues: "The great achievement of his life was not that he rejected the throne that was Christ's (because it is questionable that he ever did) but that he succeeded in stepping out of his robes, adorned as he was with every sacred trapping short of a halo, and sat down instead with ordinary human beings, to thrash out the practicalities of living a religious life in a modern secular society."

Anne Ruth Frank-Strauss, March 2001

[Reproduced on Alpheus with the kind permission of the author]

 

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Copyright © 2001 - G.W. Schüller

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