Theos-Talk Archives (May 2001 Message tt00016)

I am reposing after reformatting to make it easily readable.

___MKR___


A Star in the East :Krishnamurti, the Invention of a Messiah
by Roland Vernon
Hardcover - (March 2001) 336 pages

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Roland Vernon's biography of Krishnamurti, subtitled The Invention of a 
Messiah, could also have been called simply Understanding the 
Man.Krishnamurti's life has been well chronicled, but Vernon keeps his 
sights on the people and events that shaped Krishnamurti's life. We learn 
about Charles Leadbeater, the allegedly pedophilic discoverer of and tutor 
to Krishnamurti; Annie Besant, the notorious social activist and 
Krishnamurti's second mother; and the mysterious and painful "process"that 
brought Krishnamurti to enlightenment. Besides the influences on his public 
persona, Vernon is also fascinated by the sometimes contradictory and less 
well-known private side of Krishnamurti. He had close ties to his brother 
Nitya, whose death galvanized Krishnamurti to forsake the organization that 
created him. And he carried on an extended clandestine affair with Rosalind 
Williams Rajagopal, his early companion and later wife of his friend and 
business partner. Not quick to pass judgment,Vernon looks at various 
perspectives of these people and events,unafraid finally to come down with 
his own well-reasoned opinions. Star in the East depicts Krishnamurti as a 
complex man who encouraged everyone to think for themselves. --Brian Bruya

> From Publishers Weekly
Vernon, a professional writer educated at King's College, Cambridge,offers 
the most comprehensive Krishnamurti biography to date, 
promising"water-tight impartiality." He presents detailed accounts of the 
New Age teacher's life (1895-1986) and career in chronological order, using 
primary and secondary sources scrupulously quoted as well as un attributed 
interviews with students, friends and colleagues. However,Vernon's 
objectivity is a fairly unreflective one that often fails to systematically 
interpret and connect the details of Krishnamurti's life and career to 
important trends of his time. Vernon fails to recognize, for example, that 
Krishnamurti's story does not so much herald the arrival of Eastern 
mysticism in the West as it clearly describes and anticipates the 
construction of a unique Eastern mysticism by the West. Also, Vernon does 
not detect the apparent influence of Victorian notions of sexuality and 
hygiene on Krishnamurti's early trance inductions and later physically 
punishing purification experiences (known collectively as the 
"Process").The custody and training of young Krishnamurti by the 
Theosophist Charles Leadbeater clearly involved what would today be viewed 
as child sexual abuse, and the author's reluctance to acknowledge it as 
such precludes a more comprehensive and accurate psychological 
interpretation of Krishnamurti's important religious experiences.However, 
this biography is still the best available, providing a wealth of detail 
that will be appreciated by followers of Krishnamurti.

> From Library Journal
Vernon offers a compelling account of the legendary Krishnamurti,groomed 
from childhood as the Theosophical Society's messiah and spiritual savior 
of the world. With penetrating analysis, the author sifts through 
controversies surrounding Krishna's tutelage under the notorious Annie 
Besant and Charles Leadbeater, who initiated the transformation of a shy 
and apathetic boy into a dynamic and spiritual genius. The author carefully 
handles Leadbeater's infamous sexual perversion, misogyny, and various 
deceits (such as forging "At the Feet of the Master," purportedly penned by 
Krishna). The author candidly but fairly examines the life of a molded 
messiah whose travels, emotional development, and maturing spiritual views 
culminated in his astonishing 1929 dissolution of the Order of the Star, 
declaring that "Truth is a pathless land, unapproachable by any path, 
religion, or organized belief." This is a balanced study of a world teacher 
who, in denying his own messianic role and spiritual authority, became, 
ironically, even more influential and left behind a legacy of schools in 
the decades to come. Recommended for all libraries to fill the void of 
comprehensive treatments of this figure. Loren RossonIII, Nashua P.L., NH



Book Description

The extraordinary story of Krishnamurti, hailed early in life as the 
messiah for the 20th century, is told here in the light of a century of 
changing spiritual attitudes. It is a tale of mysticism, sexual scandals, 
religious fervor and chicanery, out of which emerged one of the most 
influential thinkers of modern times. Krishnamurti was "discovered" as a 
young boy on a beach in India by members of the Theosophical Society, 
convinced that they had found the new world leader, a spiritual savior as 
historic and as influential as Jesus himself. By the 1920s he was 
attracting worldwide press attention and people flocked to his talks in the 
thousands. In 1922,Krishnamurti broke with the society and set out on a 
teaching mission of his own as a secular philosopher of spirituality. He 
ultimately had a career that spanned six decades, founded seven schools, 
published 50 booksand encompassed thousands of talks. This extraordinary 
story is told forthe first time by Roland Vernon in the full light of 
20th-century attitudes ina narrative that is as compelling as any novel.

About the AuthorRoland Vernon lives in Somerset, England with his wife and 
children.