Patrick M. Foster

The Last Guru: the Significance of J. Krishnamurti for the Modern World Patrick M. Foster

Jiddu Krishnamurti was one of the most well-known spiritual teachers of the 20th Century. Though he himself refused to be considered anyone's guru (and he had followers administering his schools and foundations, supporting his material life, reading his books, and attending his talks), he was nonetheless embraced as guru by many. Krishnamurti also denied being Hindu or Indian or a philosopher, but his teachings assumed much of the traditional Indian religious worldview--even as they warned against following one's cultural and psychological conditioning. J. Krishnamurti's life work is still very close to us (he died in 1985), but it is time we began to look critically at this larger-than-life figure. In some ways he is the last of the gurus--for the worldview within which guruhood makes sense is in transition to a new worldview where that side of Indian and New Age spirituality will fade away. And, ironically, Krishnamurti was himself instrumental in the beginning of this worldview transformation. This is the first serious investigation of Krishnamurti's teachings, of his identity, and of his place in the spiritual life of the modern world.