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Thinkers

Jiddu Krishnamurti

Indian Modern · South Asia · 1895 to 1986

Indian speaker who urged people to follow no teacher or doctrine, himself included, and to watch their own minds. He gave up the role of World Teacher in 1929.

What it is

Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895 to 1986) was an Indian speaker and writer who taught that people should be free even of teachers, and should look closely at their own minds instead. He was born in Madanapalle in India and died in Ojai, California.

As a boy he was taken up by the Theosophical Society, a religious body led at that time by Annie Besant, which raised him to be its expected World Teacher, a figure who would guide human spiritual growth. In 1929 he broke with the society and gave up that role. He went on giving talks and writing.

The main ideas

  • No teacher, no authority. He called for total spiritual freedom, even from teachers.
  • Awareness of oneself. The way forward he described is steady awareness of one's own mind and daily life.
  • Leaving a role. Brought up to fill the part of World Teacher, he gave it up in 1929.
  • Foundations for the work. Foundations in several countries carry on his work.

What it looks like in practice

Picture someone who has joined a group, read its books and followed its steps for years, and still feels nothing has changed. Krishnamurti would ask them to put the method down for a while and simply watch what their own mind does in an ordinary day: what they fear, what they want, what they tell themselves. This is an illustration of his line of questioning, not a passage from his writing.

Books and moments

  • Commentaries on Living (1956 to 1960) is one of his books.
  • The break of 1929 is the moment when he left the Theosophical Society and gave up the part it had prepared for him.
  • The foundations exist in several countries to further his aims.

Questions and criticism

  • A teacher with no followers. He called for freedom even from teachers, yet kept giving talks and set up foundations. It is fair to ask how a teaching that rejects teachers can be passed on.
  • Method and its absence. Readers ask whether looking closely at one's own mind can be taught to others, or only found by each person alone.
  • An organisation and its absence. In 1929 he left the Theosophical Society, yet foundations in several countries now work in his name. It is fair to ask how a call for freedom from authority sits alongside such institutions.
  • A role given to a child. He was raised from childhood for a part chosen by others, and later gave it up. It is fair to ask how freely a person can think after such an upbringing.

Close neighbours

The pages on Gandhi and Vivekananda cover other modern Indian thinkers.

Written by epchē in our own words, and checked against independent sources on 29 October 2026. The sources are listed below.

Who they connect to

Runs parallel to

  • Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) · His stress on watching the mind clearly echoes Buddhist mindfulness, though he rejected every school and teacher. (scholars disagree about this link)

Other Indian Modern thinkers

Sources we used

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