Constance Jones, “Krishnamurti Foundations,” in J.
Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann, eds., Religions
of the World (Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-Clio, 2002);
J. Krishnamurti, Commentaries on Living, from the
Notebooks of J. Krishnamurti. Edited by D. Rajagopal, 3
vols. (Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Publishing House,
1960); ———, Education and the Significance of Life
(San Francisco: Harper, 1953); ———, The First and
Last Freedom (San Francisco: Harper, 1954); ———,
Freedom from the Known (San Francisco: Harper, 1969);
———, Talks and Dialogues of J. Krishnamurti (New
York: Avon, 1968); J. Krishnamurti and David Bohm,
The Ending of Time (San Francisco: Harper, 1985); Mary
Lutyens, Krishnamurti, 3 vols. (New York: Farrar, Straus
Giroux, 1988).
Krishnamurti, U. G. (1918– ) unorthodox
teacher of philosophy of “no self ”
U. G. Krishnamurti is an original teacher in the
Hindu tradition, who believes that conscious
thought is the enemy of true knowledge.
Born into a BRAHMIN family on July 9, 1918, in
Andhra Pradesh, India, U. G. Krishnamurti was
exposed by his family to many forms of Hindu-
ism as well as the philosophy of the THEOSOPHI-
CAL SOCIETY. His childhood home was visited by
monks, SWAMIS, pundits, GURUS, and religious
scholars, who engaged in constant conversations
on philosophy, religion, occultism, and metaphys-
ics. He studied classical yoga with Swami SIVANA-
NDA of Rishikesh and visited Sri RAMANA MAHARSHI
in Tiruvannamalai.
At the University of Madras (Chennai), U. G.
Krishnamurti studied philosophy and psychol-
ogy. He married in his 20s and had four children.
He became a public speaker and delivered ora-
tions for the Theosophical Society, becoming
acquainted with J. KRISHNAMURTI (no relation),
the person chosen in 1914 by Theosophists as the
“world teacher.”
U. G. Krishnamurti’s teaching centers around
a radical notion that so-called SELF-REALIZATION
is actually the discovery that there is no self to
discover. There is a “natural state” for humans
that simply happens, without thought and with-
out effort. Thought is an enemy because thought
cannot touch anything living and cannot capture,
contain, or express the quality of life. Further,
religious and spiritual teachings that reduce the
quality of life to thought and systems of thought
are polluting to the spirit of humanity. Anything
based on knowledge through thought is an illu-
sion. Any moment of experience cannot be cap-
tured or given expression. Once the moment is
captured, it is made a part of the past. In this
way, U. G. Krishnamurti challenges the way that
society is organized, in its political ideologies,
legal structures, and religious institutions. What is
necessary for survival of the human organism are
an intelligence of the body and awareness of the
moment of existence.
U. G. Krishnamurti continues to teach in Swit-
zerland, India, and the United States.Further reading: Mahesh Bhatt, U. G. Krishnamurti—a
Life (New Delhi: Penguin India, 2001); U. G. Krish-
namurti, Mind Is a Myth—Disquieting Conversations with
the Man Called U. G. Edited by Terry Newland (Volant:
Dinesh, 1988); ———, The Mystique of Enlightenment:
The Unrational Ideas of a Man Called U. G. Edited
by Rodney Arms, 3d ed. (Bangalore: Sahasramana
Prakashana, 2001); ———, Thought Is Your Enemy:
Mind-Shattering Conversations with the Man Called U. G.
Edited by Anthony Paul Frank Noronha and J. S. R. L.
Narayana Moorty (Bangalore: Sowmya, 1991).Krishnananda, Swami (1922–2001)
philosopher of advaita Vedanta
Swami Krishnananda was a great scholar of San-
skrit scripture, who shared his learning in many
books and lectures. He served the Divine Life
Society in Rishikesh as secretary for 40 years.
Subbaraya, later named Swami Krishnananda,
was born on April 25, 1922, the eldest of six
siblings in an orthodox Madhva BRAHMIN family.
Raised through the example of his father’s holi-K 244 Krishnamurti, U. G.