Here's an interesting email. It is not difficult to understand how some people could find Krishnamurti "elitist" or stand offish. He had an absolutely regal bearing and a steady brook-no-nonsense seriousness which was a bit formidible to the faint of heart. And he was raised by an elite and wealthy crowd in the highest ranks of English society. Yet if you read his "Commentaries on Living," and the several other books which consist of his interviews with people you realize that he had met and talked with literally thousands of ordinary people one on one. Mary Luytens last book about him, about his last days, was called "The Open Door" referring to the fact that his door was always open to anyone. An earnest seeker who had the courage could usually gain personal access to him if his time and schedule permitted.
Also, I knew a woman who had given up everything to go to Ojai and live and enroll her son in the Ojai school. From her stories I can confirm the reader's statements that there existed around Krishnamurti the same kind of hierarchical group of adherants and gossip mongers that gathers like barnacles around any holy person I have ever known. Completely missing the whole point they are endlessly maneuvering for position and hoping for some sign that they are the most-annointed by the master. This seems to be an occupational hazard for spiritual teachers.
As to the reader's idea that K. was probably homosexual it should be noted that after his death his dearest female friend wrote a book about the long affair she had with Krishnamurti, who was widely believed by his followers to have been celibate. This book caused a big scandal among the "Krishnamurti people" and the author was no doubt much chastised for writing it, but there is little doubt that her account was true. Some people feel it was one of Krishnamurti's few shortcomings that he did not deal with the issue of sex and sexuality more directly in his teachings (not that he did not mention it at all; he seemed to consider it not that important).
To me Krishnamurti is endlessly amazing, and the more I read about him the more amazed I am. He is one of those rare men whose life one could study for a lifetime and still not be finished. I am not surprised at the reader's statement that some of his followers actually made little shrines to him and worshipped him. I have often been tempted to do the same. He was simply so high that he seemed worthy of worship. But knowing that he would have totally abhorred by that restrained me. The highest respect one can offer him is not worship, but to actually make the journey he speaks of, oneself.
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Re: IS THEOSOPHY EVIL?
Hi Billym---this thread has been really interesting to me as I lived in a Theosophist town for over 20 years and even experienced Krishnamurti on a wonderful hiking trail. This town is in Ojai, CA where K lived and died. Constantly touted as 'spiritual' but full of reptiles to a noticable degree.
I have known many many people who worked at or whose children attended Oak Grove School, attended many wonderful full moon meditations at Meditation Mount, knew the incredible woman, Zelma Wilson,who designed Meditation Mount-met with Beatrice Wood several times, doing drawings of her feet in '94, that was a good thing-have gone to seminars at the Krotona Institute-worked with Krishnamurti-ites-was a personal attendent to one for 7 years in an all veggie/holistic Krishnamurti household...
The one thing that set them (both K people and Theosophists) apart from the rest of the world is that they are vegetarians who don't use animal products. There is a retirement village there in Ojai, and I knew several people there and went to Theosophist estate sales when they died. It appeared that they were a chaste bunch - the elderly Theosophists were often un-married virgins who had had very interesting careers, many many men were homosexuals and devoted to K to the point that several that I knew set up little mobile shrines to him where ever they went...The local paper for years would print his Oak Grove talks in entirety...
So with this, in hindsight, unusual immersion with both Theosophists and Krishnamurti in my normal realm of living, again I find the information in this thread to be very interesting. I had many good experiences with both groups which WERE interconnected - I am familiar with K's history - I did have several interludes, which again in hindsight, with much pondering, and yes, meditations to open up answers still known only to the universe, which could be construed as reptilian evils perpetrated upon or witnessed by me, but having given my memory a thorough workout, only by the Krishnamurti crowd. Several quite diabolical persons who had gone to 'his' schoolings and would seem to be above the actions committed violated sacred trust. K had been dead for about seven years when I started to delve into his writings which were ALL ones I had put aside, by myself, until I matured enough to 'get them'.
His works were what seemed to me, a well rounded philosophic student of life and experiences, as transcribed to the local paper, were no more than confusing gobbledy gook-the same reaction I have while attempting to read the bible or Blavatsky. I have several tomes that I have come to enjoy and perhaps it was the seasoning of age that allowed me to immerse in his works, but also the actual knowing of perhaps 100-200 of followers of both camps, was the real seasoning I needed. I intuited that K was probably a homosexual, he came off a lot like a priestly type, his disgust of whether or not the local housewife's even knew of his presence in town, ever thought about the profundities he shared bothered me. Elitist in an odd way-Just a few things about him personally that stuck in my craw. I mean, did he ever feel ME around HIM? Did he ever mingle with others outside his cloistered life? He was accessible, but there is nothing more elitist than Ojai vegans, especially Oak Grovers! . There were several that were very evolved and knowledgable but there were many losers, liars and poseurs as well. Lots of materialists in this bunch, not a few who were determined to get their kids into Oak Grove because Mary Steenburgen's went there, and a few other Hollywood celebrities were active in the school, all very nice people though, whereas the Theosophists seemed like Shakers to me. Like I said, most were unmarried and lived very frugally.
The full moon meditations with the 'sermon' being on the powers of astrological events were wonderful. Going out on the balcony and chanting while a wizardly type man gonged the gong was GOOD, the people there were GOOD. This I know from my own open perceptions. Here is Meditation Mount's site-showing the bibliography list of mainly Alice Bailey's works, published all by the Lucis Trust-http://www.meditation.com/books/bibliography.htm
I was reminded of the Lucis Trust from one of the threads that Meditation Mount always told that they had a meditation room at the United Nations. I was intrigued by that, the peace for all nations was stressed for group meditations. I have received packets of meditation materials from them for years. Nothing pro Kissinger or NWO included, at least liminally. Perhaps it is sub-liminal. I have a packet that I have retrieved in front of me. If you would like me to scan it for your perusal I will.
Again, I found this to be a very interesting line of discourse and a wealth of information. Provided me with many flashbacks of the interesting life I have led and witnessed. Please Billym leave my name off of this if you think it is worthy of adding to the collection-Peace and power.
["S"]
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