"Krishnamurti – Everyone Should Find Their Own Spiritual Path"

Photo by NEOM on Unsplash

I want to tell you a story today about a really interesting man I studied about in seminary in Berkeley so many years ago. His name was Jiddu Krishnamurti. He was born in 1895 into a Hindu Brahmin family in Mandanapalle, which is in the southeastern part of India. The Brahmins were and are considered the highest caste in India. (The word Brahmin is not to be confused with the word Brahma – the creator god of the Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva). Nor should it be confused with the word Brahman which is considered ultimate reality or what the western religions would call God. Brahman, according to Hindus, is everything. It is the creation itself. It is in all things, kind of like a consciousness in all things. And Hindus say Brahman is the ultimate reality which cannot be understood or described by humans.

Krishnamurti’s father was an official in the British administration in India. He later moved his young family to Adyar India which happened to be the headquarters of the “Theosophical Society.” The Theosophical Society had been founded in New York City in 1875 by Helena Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott. Eventually, the headquarters of the Society moved to Adyar India where it is still located today. The beliefs of the Theosophical Society include promoting a so-called “wisdom religion” which integrates science, philosophy and religion. The religious ideas of the Society drew from Hindu and Buddhist teachings and the scientific ideas originally included what was known of the universe in the late 19^th century. Krishnamurti’s mother died when he was 10 years old. He had several other siblings and was very close to one brother in particular. That brother’s name was Nitya.

So, this is where I have to take a detour and tell you about the word “syncretism.” If you look up the word, it will tell you that syncretism “describes the blending of different, often contradictory, beliefs, cultures, or philosophies into a new, cohesive system. It occurs through cultural interaction, conquest, or globalization. It impacts religious beliefs by modifying, diluting, or evolving traditional practices.”

Simply put, human beings are syncretistic. We copy each other. We imitate each other. We mimic each other, and we do this is all the time with all things. Think about food for example. There are so many instances of syncretistic food. Consider “TexMex,” or so-called, “Asian Fusion,” “Korean tacos,” French/Vietnamese dishes and so many more. The list is long. In fashion, humans do the same thing. We borrow, copy and integrate fashions from other cultures. The Christmas tree is a good example of syncretism. Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, brought the Christmas tree tradition from Germany to the UK. Once the royals had Christmas trees, the British elite followed suite. And then, of course, so did the American elite and finally it became an American tradition. We do these type of things with music too. Jazz is African rhythms played on European instruments. Country music blends Irish folk music with American music. The bottom line is humans are syncretistic in just about everything we do and this certainly includes religion.

If you go back to ancient Judaism, 3000 years ago, you will find the Jews were henotheistic meaning they believed in many gods. It was just that their god was YHWH, and they had a special covenant with “him.” If you read the Old Testament which is the Hebrew Bible, you will see the mention of “other gods” throughout the Torah and the Psalms. Christians included Hebrew scripture as the Old Testament and did not change any of this. Ancient Jews believed God rewarded people or punished them in this life. There is no mention of heaven and hell in the Old Testament. Ancient Jews believed that when you died good and bad people alike went to “Sheol,” which was a place where everyone was in a kind of nether existence, almost like a sleep. Sheol certainly was no paradise. Sheol is referenced throughout the Old Testament more than 60 times.. And the Jews did not believe in devils either. There is no devil in the Old Testament.

Satan is mentioned in several places in the Old Testament – like in the Book of Job, but Satan in Hebrew means “adversary” or “accuser.” Satan’s job was to challenge people (like Job) to see if they were really being faithful to YHWH. Later Christians created Satan as the devil and said the snake in the Garden Eden was the devil. This not what Jews thought or believed. It is not what they say today, and the Old Testament is their scripture.

Throughout most of Jewish history, the land of Israel was conquered and controlled by numerous powerful neighbors. This included the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans and on and on. In 536 BCE, the Persians conquered the land of Israel from the Assyrians. The King of Persia, Cyrus the Great, allowed the Jews to return to their homeland from Babylon where they had been exiled by the Assyrians. Cyrus even gave them funds to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem, the remnants we see today as the so-called, “wailing all.” Cyrus told the Jews, they could have their own nation back, they just needed to pay tribute to him and recognize his supremacy as king. The Jews were jubilant and they proclaimed that Cyrus was the Messiah – sent from God. This is clearly stated in the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 45. By the way, the word, “Messiah,” in Hebrew means the anointed one and Cyrus was anointed by God according to the Old Testament.

The Jews in Israel were controlled by the Persians for 200 years until Alexander the Great invaded. So, what as the Persian religion? It was Zoroastrianism – a religion founded by the prophet Zoroaster or Zarathustra as he is also called. Zoroaster lived somewhere around 1000 BCE. What did the Zoroastrians believe? They believed in only one god whom they called, “Ahura Mazda.” They were completely monotheistic.

According to the Zoroastrians, God created the world and initially he created one man and one woman who lived in a paradise. Unfortunately, the first man and woman were forced to leave paradise because of their sins.

Zoroastrians believe in angels and devils. The major devil is Angru Mainyu. According to the Zoroastrians, the world is a cosmic battle between good and evil, between God and the devil. God sends prophets to instruct his people. A messiah is to be sent by God (a Saoshyant) to save humans. The end times will come along with a judgement day. During the judgement day, the dead will be raised, and the Messiah and God will determine who is to go to hell and who is to go to heaven.

Now – does all of this sound familiar? It should. These ideas found their way into Jewish thought somewhere around 300 BCE during the time of the Persian control of Israel. Many scholars suggest these Zoroastrian ideas then found their way into Judaism and then into Christianity. I would agree. This is a great example of religious syncretism. Keep in mind the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament was written down during this period. I think many Biblical stories such as the story of Adam and Eve were influenced by the Zoroastrians.

In just about every religion, you can find syncretism. Buddhism, for example, borrowed heavily from Hindu thought including the ideas of karma, reincarnation, moksha or nirvana and other ideas. Islam and its holy scripture, the Qur’an, includes the Genesis story of Adam and Eve. It includes Noah and Abraham who is considered the founder of Islam. It includes most of the Jewish prophets and it includes Jesus and his virgin birth from Mary. It includes a judgement day when Jesus will come back to earth to judge the living and the dead. To me Islam was influenced by Christianity, which was influenced by Judaism which was influenced by Zoroastrianism.

What humans do with religions is they take ideas from other religions and then they are changed and modified. Nothing ever stays the same. As I say, religions do not fall out of the sky. They are all human made. And no religion stays the same. They change and evolve and adapt to newer ideas. Then sects of religions form because people “who know better” reform the religion. Just consider the Baptists. In the United States, there are 36 different Baptist denominations.

And how about Christianity itself. There are over 45,000 different sects of Christianty – not 45,000 churches but 45,000 different sects each believing something a little bit different.

So now, back to Krishnamurti.

The Theosophical Society is just another example of syncretism. It blends eastern religious ideas with various philosophies and science. It is still around today with some 35,000 members and, as I mentioned, it is still based in Adyar India.

When Krishnamurti was about 14 years old, he was “discovered” by Charles Leadbeater, a British subject, and member of the Theosophical Society in India. Leadbeater was a former Anglican priest and a self-proclaimed psychic. When he found Krishnamurti, he proclaimed that he had a “wonderful aura” and was probably incarnation of “the Lord Maitreya,” a Buddhist saint who would be born to become “The World Teacher” who would initiate the evolution of humanity and show humans divine wisdom.

Krishnamurti’s father allowed the Theosophical Society to adopt him along with his brother Nitya. They were raised and educated by the Society for many years. Apparently, Krishnamurti was not a good student. In fact, he had an aversion to studying and he did poorly in school. This didn’t bother the Theosophists because they said the World Teacher would just use his body to communicate ideas to humanity from the Lord Maitreya. Krishnamurti himself was not that important. He was just the channel for Maitreya.

In 1911, the Theosophical Society established the “Order of the Star in the East” to prepare the world for the expected appearance of the World Teacher ie: Krishnamurti. Through many years of training and indoctrination, biographers say that Krishnamurti developed a “well- polished exterior, a sobriety of purpose, a cosmopolitan outlook and an almost beatific detachment.”

In 1922, Krishnamurti and his brother Nitya traveled to Ojai Valley in California which eventually became his home. In Ojai, Krishnamurti developed a keen sense of nature of which he particularly felt he had a close relationship.

He claimed to have an out-of-body experience which provided him with some insightful spiritual wisdom. In 1925, Nitya died from tuberculosis. This shook Krishnamurti to his core, and he began questioning the Theosophical movement and his supposed role as the future “World Leader.” In 1929, he dissolved the Order of the Star of the East and removed himself from the Theosophical Society. Its members were horrified by this action. But this did not result in disintegration of the Society since it is still around today.

When Krishnamurti left the Theosophical Society, he stated: “I maintain that truth is a pathless land. You cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my point of view, and I adhere to this absolutely and unconditionally. The moment you follow someone, (some idea), you cease to follow the truth. I am concerning myself with only one essential thing: to set (humans) free. I desire to free (humans) from all cages, from all fears, and to not found (new) religions, new sects, nor to establish new theories and new philosophies.”

Upon seeing and hearing what Krishnamurti had done, Charles Leadbeater stated, “the Coming (of the World Teacher) has gone wrong.”

Throughout the remainder of his life, Krishnamurti continued to speak in organizations around the world, including the United Nations. He died at age 90 in 1986. Krishnamurti summarized his life’s teachings by stating, “the truth cannot be reached through organized religion or techniques, but through relationship, self-understanding and self-observation. Understanding the self only arises in relationship, in watching yourself in relationship to people’s ideas and things; Things like the trees, the earth, and the world around you and within you. Relationship is the mirror in which the self is revealed. Without self-knowledge there is no basis for right thought and action.”

One of Krishnamurti’s famous quotes is” “A mind that is full of conclusions is a dead mind. It is not a living mind. A living mind is a free mind, ever learning and never concluding.

I must say, some of Krishnamurti’s words seem a bit abstract to me. What I do find curious is that at age 14, he was identified as a future World Teacher, a role he later abandoned at least as far as the Theosophical Society was concerned. Yet, in some ways he did become a teacher and he certainly spent nearly all of his long-life giving lectures around the world – this despite his apparent lack of a strong intellectual background.

I have to concur with some of Krishnamurti’s conclusions. In my view, all human religions are human made. Perhaps they provide some truths but never “The Truth,” because, I believe, The ultimate truth of existence is beyond what our human mind can comprehend. And I have to agree, reaching conclusions on philosophical and religious matters is a good way to close your mind and prevent yourself from finding new truths. It is always so important to keep an open mind and be willing to consider other ways of thinking and not dismiss alternative views out of hand.

To be sure, I do not agree with many of Krishnamurti’s ideas. For example, he suggested the universe had no cause. He said the Big Bang Theory was contrived just to have an answer for what started the universe. This way of thinking makes no sense to me. The Big Bang Theory is, indeed, a theory, but it is backed up by some pretty hard science.

Many of Krishnamurti’s ideas sound very nihilist – meaning the world and life have no purpose. They just exist. However, he did not agree with Nihilism per se. He stated that Nihilism was just another ideology or belief system whereas his teachings emphasized that “truth is a pathless land” which to me sounds a bit abstract.

But Krishnamurti is a good example of how a religion can start. If Krishnamurti had continued to follow the Theosophical Society’s ideas that he was the world teacher – we might have had another religion and possibly a new cult.

Jiddu Krishnamurti continued to teach—or more accurately, to "speak" or "share insights"—despite not considering himself a teacher. He felt compelled by a sense of urgency to help humanity. The focus of his work he said, was a "sharing" aimed at prompting self-investigation. He rejected the role of gurus, teachers, or authority because he believed that true understanding must come from within oneself, not from a master-disciple relationship, which he believed leads to dependency and conformity. He did not believe in mysticism although he claimed to have had mystical experiences. (Another contradiction).

To be sure, Krishnamurti had his critics. Some said his teachings were vague and abstract. Some said his teachings provided no concrete ways to deal with daily life or effect change in the world. And some said, Krishnamurti was often haughty, arrogant, and elitist. Some of these observations seem to be valid.

These said, it is curious that Krishnamurti would have agreed with key Unitarian Universalist principles. He did believe in the interconnected and interdependent web of all existence. He believed everyone should explore and continue seeking their own truth. He believed he was a part of nature. He believed human beings invented religions, and he frequently stated that "man has invented versions of God" out of fear and confusion, making the concept of God a form of self-projection or self-worship.

Personally, I think his criticism of religion is a bit harsh and not true in many instances. But, humans have, indeed, invented religions and continue to do so. Will new religions continue to be created in the modern world. I think the answer is yes. One only has to look at the myriad of religions created in America during the last two hundred years. The list is long.

I do agree with Krishnamurti that rather than just accepting the ideas proposed in another religion or accepting the ideas of some proclaimed prophet, every human being needs to find their own truths. But I will say, this takes work. It is not a passive action at all.

I know you have heard me talking about the importance of spirituality which I define as a person’s personnel connection with “other.” The “other” can be defined in many ways. It may be a connection with a particular religion, but it can also be a connection with nature, with the universe, with interconnected web of existence of which we are a part as our UU principles state.

Developing spirituality takes work. It is not just a blind following of some religious idea or some philosophy. It is a continuous action. I would agree with Krishnamurti that finding truth is a very personnel matter. It means reflecting and questioning yourself on all you think to be true and all you think is not true. It means keeping an open mind. It is so very easy for people to just accept a particular viewpoint which can have the adverse effect of closing one’s mind.

It is important to realize that spiritual insights usually have an emotional component. A sense of awe and wonder and love are part of spiritual experiences. It is important to allow your emotions to help guide yourself to truth and to spiritual development while all the time keeping an open mind and preventing yourself from becoming entrapped in a rigid outlook which is oftentimes caused by relationships with other people, other philosophies and other ways of thinking.

As Krishnamurti said, "True education is to learn how to think, not what to think."

 “In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand. No one on earth can give you either the key or the door to open except yourself.”

Reverend Christopher McMahon

UU Chatham

May 31, 2026