U. G. Krishnamurti facts for kids

Quick facts for kids U. G. Krishnamurti
Born	Uppaluri Gopala Krishnamurti (1918-07-09)9 July 1918 Machilipatnam, Madras Presidency, British India
Died	22 March 2007(2007-03-22) (aged 88) Vallecrosia, Italy
Education	University of Madras (Bachelor's Degree)
Notable ideas	The natural state (see Life After the Change)

Uppaluri Gopala Krishnamurti (born July 9, 1918 – died March 22, 2007) was a thinker and speaker. He questioned common ideas about spiritual freedom. As a young man, he followed a religious path. But he later decided it wasn't for him. U.G. said he went through a huge physical change when he was 49. He called this event "the calamity."

He believed this change brought him back to a "natural state." He said this was a rare, biological event. It had nothing to do with religion. Because of this, he told people not to try to reach this "natural state" as a spiritual goal. He felt that our thoughts and ideas often get in the way. He said his own understanding came from experience, not from thinking or guessing. He often told people, "There is nothing to understand."

U.G. was not related to another famous thinker, Jiddu Krishnamurti. However, they met many times because they were both involved with the Theosophical Society. U.G. sometimes called Jiddu his "teacher." But in the end, he rejected Jiddu's teachings too. He believed that nothing spiritual could or should be taught.

About U.G. Krishnamurti

Early Life and Spiritual Search

U.G. was born on July 9, 1918, in Machilipatnam, India. He grew up in a nearby town called Gudivada. His mother passed away soon after he was born. His wealthy grandfather, a lawyer, raised him. His grandfather was also part of the Theosophical Society. U.G. joined this group when he was a teenager. He felt he "inherited" this connection from his grandfather.

During his youth, U.G. tried many spiritual practices. He wanted to find moksha, or spiritual freedom. From ages 14 to 21, he did many exercises. He wanted to see if moksha was truly possible. He also wanted to find someone who had truly reached this state. He wanted to make sure they were not being fake.

He spent seven summers in the Himalayas with Swami Sivananda. There, he studied yoga and practiced meditation. In his 20s, U.G. went to the University of Madras. He studied psychology, philosophy, and science. He left before finishing his Master's degree. He felt that Western answers to big questions were no better than Eastern ones.

His Quest for Answers

In 1939, when he was 21, U.G. met a well-known spiritual teacher, Ramana Maharshi. U.G. asked Ramana, "Can you give me this thing called moksha?" Ramana Maharshi replied, "I can give it, but can you take it?" This answer changed how U.G. saw the "spiritual path." He later said Ramana's answer felt "arrogant." But he also said it put him "back on track."

In 1941, U.G. started working for the Theosophical Society. He worked in their library. Soon after, he went on a lecture tour for the Society. He visited Norway, Belgium, Germany, and the United States. He returned to India and married Kusuma Kumari in 1943. He was 25 years old.

From 1947 to 1953, U.G. often went to talks by Jiddu Krishnamurti. He started talking directly with Jiddu in 1953. U.G. said they talked almost every day for a while. But he felt his questions were not being answered. Their meetings eventually stopped. U.G. described their last talk:

I asked, "Is there anything real behind your words?" And he said, "You have no way of knowing it yourself." That was the end. "If I can't know it, you can't teach it. What have I been doing for seven years? Goodbye, I don't want to see you again." Then I left.

After this, U.G. kept traveling and giving lectures. Around this time, he said he was "puzzled" by some psychic abilities he seemed to have. In 1955, U.G. and his family went to the United States. They went for medical treatment for his oldest son. They stayed there for five years.

Time in London

U.G. later separated from his family and moved to London. One day, he was sitting in Hyde Park. A police officer told him he would be arrested if he didn't leave. With only five pence left, he went to the Ramakrishna Mission in London. The leader there gave him money for a hotel room. The next day, U.G. started working for the Mission. This lasted for three months. Before leaving, he wrote a letter to the leader. He said he had become a new person.

Around this time, Jiddu Krishnamurti was also in London. The two Krishnamurtis met again. Jiddu tried to help U.G. with his marriage problems. But U.G. did not want his help. Jiddu convinced him to attend some of his talks. U.G. went, but found them boring.

In 1961, U.G. ended his marriage. It had been an unhappy one. By then, he felt "detached" from his family. He then left London and lived in Paris for three months. He used money from selling his unused return ticket to India. He spent his time trying a different type of cheese each day. With only 150 francs left, he decided to go to Switzerland. He had a small bank account there. By mistake, he took a train to Geneva instead of Zurich, where his bank was.

Early Swiss Period

After two weeks in Geneva, U.G. could not pay his hotel bill. He went to the Indian Consulate for help. He felt lost and hopeless. He said he was "finished." He asked to be sent back to India. But the consulate refused to pay for it. A consulate employee, Valentine de Kerven, offered U.G. a place to stay. Valentine and U.G. became good friends. She gave him a home in Switzerland.

For the next few years, U.G. was not interested in questions about enlightenment. He did not try to find answers. But by 1967, U.G. was again thinking about enlightenment. He wanted to know what that state was. Sages like Siddhārtha Gautama were said to have reached it. He heard Jiddu Krishnamurti was giving a talk in Saanen. U.G. decided to go. During the talk, Jiddu described the state. U.G. felt Jiddu was describing his own state. He explained it like this:

When I listened, something strange happened. I felt he was describing my state, not his. Why did I want to know his state? He was talking about movements, awareness, silence. "In that silence, there is no mind; there is action." All sorts of things. So, I am in that state. What have I been doing for 30 or 40 years? Listening to people, trying to understand his state, or the state of Buddha or Jesus? I am in that state. Now I am in that state. So, I walked out and never looked back.

He continued:

Then, very strangely, the question "What is that state?" changed. It became "How do I know I am in that state, the state of Buddha, the state I wanted so much?"

The next day, U.G. kept thinking, "How do I know I am in that state?" No answer came. He later said that when he suddenly realized the question had no answer, something physical and mental happened. It felt like "a sudden 'explosion' inside." He said it blasted "every cell, every nerve and every gland in my body." After this, he began to experience what he called "the calamity." This was a series of strange physiological changes. They happened over a week. They affected all his senses. Finally, it felt like a death-like experience. He described it:

I call it "calamity" because people think this is fantastic, blissful, full of love or ecstasy. But it is physical torture. It's a calamity from that point of view. Not a calamity for me, but for those who expect something wonderful.

On the eighth day:

Then, on the eighth day, I was sitting on the sofa. Suddenly, there was a huge burst of energy. Tremendous energy shaking my whole body. And with my body, the sofa, the chalet, and the whole world. Shaking, vibrating. You can't create that movement. It was sudden. I don't know if it came from outside or inside, below or above. It was everywhere. It lasted for hours. I couldn't stand it, but I couldn't stop it. I was completely helpless. This went on day after day.

The energy doesn't feel the body's limits. It's not interested. It has its own power. It's very painful. It's not ecstatic, blissful, or any of that nonsense. It's truly painful.

U.G. could not explain where these "calamity" experiences came from. He said it happened "even though" he was looking for enlightenment. He also said the calamity had nothing to do with his past life or how he grew up. He often said the calamity happened to him by chance. He insisted he could not share that experience with anyone else.

Life After the Change

U.G. said his life could be split into two parts: before and after the calamity. After the calamity, he claimed to live always in what he called "the natural state." This was a state of pure physical, sensory living. It was marked by thoughts that came and went, but did not stay. U.G. also said that in the "natural state," he lost all his learned knowledge and memories. He had to re-learn everything. It was as if "...the slate had been wiped clean."

After his calamity, U.G. often traveled the world. He did not hold formal talks. But he spoke freely to visitors and those who sought him out. He gave his only formal public talk after the calamity in India, in 1972.

Nagaraj asked, "U.G., what are you trying to say?" U.G. replied, "It depends on you, not on me. You don't seem to understand this. You are the only way I can express myself."

His unusual ideas and direct way of speaking made him famous. People had very different opinions of him. Some thought he was enlightened. Others thought he was just a charlatan (a fake). More books and articles about U.G. and his ideas kept appearing.

Many of his group discussions and interviews have been published. You can also find audio and video of him online.

Health and Lifestyle

U.G. was known for his unique health and eating habits. He carried a "portable kitchen" in a small suitcase when he traveled. He ate a lot of salt and cream. He said "no meal should take longer than a few minutes to prepare." After 1949, U.G. never saw a doctor or took medicine. He believed the body would take care of itself. People often told him he looked good when he was old. U.G. would reply, "that's because I don't eat healthy food, I don't take vitamins, and I don't exercise!"

His Passing

U.G. passed away on March 22, 2007, in Vallecrosia, Italy. He had slipped and hurt himself. He was in bed for seven weeks before he died. Three friends, including his long-time follower Mahesh Bhatt, were with him. Mahesh wrote in his book about U.G. that U.G. died alone. Mahesh and the others left the room for a short walk. They wanted to give U.G. some quiet time to pass away peacefully. In February 2007, he had given his final speech, "My Swan Song."

U.G. had asked that no special ceremonies or funeral rites be held after his death. He also did not leave instructions on what to do with his body. Mahesh Bhatt cremated his body the next day. True to his own ideas, U.G. did not want to be remembered after he died.

U.G.'s Views

I have no teaching. There is nothing to keep. Teaching means something you can use to change. Sorry, there is no teaching here, just broken, unconnected sentences. What is here is only your understanding, nothing else. So, there is no copyright for anything I say.

I have to always say the opposite of my first statement. Then the second is opposite of the third, and so on. My goal is not a comfortable idea. It is to completely deny everything that can be said.

U.G. said that humans cannot change, whether it's a big change or a small one. He said these ideas were not a "teaching." They were not meant to help people change. He believed the body and its actions are already perfect. He thought trying to change the body was wrong. It went against the peace and harmony already there. He saw the "self" as an illusion. It was created by thought and kept alive by the "need" to change the world or oneself.

U.G. also disagreed with the idea of a "thinker." He turned Descartes' famous saying "I think, therefore I am" on its head. He said there is no one thinking, there is just thinking. He went further, saying: "What is there is about thought, but not thought itself." He believed human self-consciousness is not a thing. It is a movement. It is always unhappy and insists on its own importance.

While U.G. denied a single mind for each person, he accepted the idea of a "world mind." He said this contained all human knowledge and experience. He also called it a "thought sphere" (atmosphere of thoughts). He said humans live in this thought realm. The human brain acts like an antenna. It picks thoughts based on its needs. U.G. believed all human experience comes from this thought process. The "I" or self-consciousness in humans comes from the need to feel continuous. When this continuity breaks, even for a moment, its control over the body breaks. The body then returns to its natural rhythm. Thought also falls into its natural place. It can no longer bother or control the human body. Without this constant connection, thoughts just disappear.

In its natural state, the body's senses work on their own. They are not controlled by an "inner self." The glands (like the ones linked to Hindu chakras) become active again. U.G. said the pineal gland, or Ajna Chakra, takes over the body's functions in the natural state. Thought does not.

U.G. also said people came to him (and to gurus) for two reasons. First, to solve their real daily problems. Second, to solve a made-up problem: the search for spirituality and enlightenment. He insisted that this search comes from our cultural environment. Society wants people to fit in. But it also makes them want to be special. So, achieving enlightenment is seen as a way to be "special." Because of this, gurus and spiritual teachers use this desire. They pretend to offer ways to reach this goal. But U.G. said these teachers never deliver. They cannot deliver, because the goal itself (enlightenment) cannot be reached.

Man is just a memory. You understand things around you using the knowledge put inside you. You might need an artist to explain their modern art. But you don't need anyone's help to understand a flower. You can handle anything, you can do anything if you don't waste your energy trying to reach imaginary goals.

U.G. said, "The so-called self-realization is finding out for yourself that there is no self to find. That will be very shocking. It will blast every nerve, every cell, even the cells in the marrow of your bones."

I am not against reason, just not rational. You might find a logical meaning in what I say or do. But that's your doing, not mine.

See also

• Myth of Progress
• Nihilism
• Skepticism