J. Krishnamurti, Joel Kramer & GurusJK was very non-traditional (relative to most of the gurus in India, anyway) in his approach to most things human and “spiritual,” and was, like Joel, all about looking at things as they are, not as we are told they are supposed to be. Being in many ways very anti-authoritarian, JK had many differences with the Gurus of India about many things, like detachment and meditation, for just two examples. He did not endear himself to his “fellow gurus” in that he pretty much pulled their intellectual & spiritual rugs out from under them on a frequent basis. But also like Joel, he often did it merely by turning their own words and ideas back on themselves.

JK had been raised from and early age by Theosophical Society in India to be the new Avatar (Christ-like figure) on Earth. But in 1929 at age 34, at the peak of his power and fame, he’s famous for announcing at a very large gathering of his highly devoted followers in 1929 the Netherlands that he was dissolving his “official” spiritual world organization (Order of the Star) that had been set up for him, and would no longer be teaching as their spiritual preceptor.

He said that Truth Is A Pathless Land, and that no guru, no “Dispeller of Darkness” as it is sometimes defined, could do it for you, nor even TRULY show you the way. Certainly they cannot truly take on your karma as at least some of them allege. He went so far as to say the teacher-student or guru-disciple relationship destroyed both people.

(I suppose his sponsors nearly had heart attacks when they heard him say he was dissolving the organization, but I guess if they believe you to be a Christ-like figure, you can get away with anything you want.)

So JK, baed in Ojai, California, did continue to teach for any years until his death, but as an independent individual, not as a “world teacher” type of guy.

I have to say, whatever JK’s failings might have been, you have to respect someone who at 34 years of age can walk away from what would most likely been an intoxicating — and irresistible — experience for most people. Joel has a similar anti-authoritarian streak in him that’s a few miles wide. (So does my #3 mentor in life, Kevin Cullinane. You’ll Kevin on my AmericanYogi.us website, where I discuss more social, political and economic issues from a more yogic and Americanist perspective — Yoga for the WEST of Us.)

Problem is that it seemed to me JK spoke at a level that was difficult for most people to relate to. Because of his upbringing and training as a new Christ-like figure, he was probably so removed in so many ways from ordinary life, as most of us know it, that it’s doubtful he could really relate to the people who were listening to him. In fact, Joel claims that one of the first things he noticed the first time he listened to some tapes of Krishnamurti is that he did not understand it. Not something a hyper-intellectual is used to.