Teaching
He said that there is no such thing as enlightenment and no self to realise. In his view the search itself takes people away from their 'natural state', in which they always are, and that state cannot be brought about by any effort. 4
Who it is for
For readers who want a blunt challenge to the ideas of spiritual seeking, gurus and enlightenment, in plain conversation rather than a method.
Life and places
- He was born on 9 July 1918 in Masulipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, and was brought up by his grandparents in Gudivada. 2
- He lectured for the Theosophical Society in India and abroad and broke with it in 1953. 2, 6
- In December 1963 he met Valentine de Kerven in Geneva, and the two moved to Saanen-Gstaad in Switzerland. He founded no schools, ashrams or meditation centres. 1, 2
- He died on 22 March 2007 in Vallecrosia, Italy. 2
Where to start
- The Mystique of Enlightenment (1982), edited by Rodney Arms. In its first part he tells his own story, including his visit to Ramana Maharshi; his friends' website offers the book as a free PDF. 3, 4
- The Courage to Stand Alone records his conversations in Amsterdam in 1982 from tape; it is also offered as a free PDF on his friends' website. 3, 5
Public context
- He is not the same person as J. Krishnamurti. He listened to J. Krishnamurti's talks for some seven years and later met him every day for discussions. 4
Works
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The Mystique of Enlightenment
Book · 1982 · Dinesh Vaghela, Goa
Conversations with U.G. Krishnamurti, compiled and edited by Rodney Arms. In the first part he tells the story of his life in his own words.
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Mind Is a Myth: Disquieting Conversations with the Man Called U.G.
Book · 1987 · Crest Associates, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat
Edited conversations between U.G. Krishnamurti and various questioners in India, Switzerland and California in 1983 and 1984, edited by Terry Newland.
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Thought Is Your Enemy: Mind-Shattering Conversations with the Man Called U.G.
Book · 1990 · Sowmya Publishers, Bangalore
A book of conversations with U.G. Krishnamurti, edited by Antony Paul Frank Noronha.
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The Courage to Stand Alone: Conversations with U. G. Krishnamurti
Book · 1997 · Plover/Autonomedia
A book of conversations with U.G. Krishnamurti.
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No Way Out: Further Dialogues with U.G.
Book · 1991 · Akshaya Publications, Bangalore
Recorded dialogues with U.G. Krishnamurti, transcribed and edited by Frank Noronha and J. S. R. L. Narayana Moorty, with an introduction and an essay on his ideas.
The short summaries are ours.
In their own words
Short passages in the words of U. G. Krishnamurti, each with its source. Where the quoted text is not in the language of this page, a translation follows and says whose it is.
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All that you do makes it impossible for what already is there to express itself. That is why I call this 'your natural state'. You're always in that state. What prevents what is there from expressing itself in its own way is the search.
The Mystique of Enlightenment · Part One, 'U.G.', first conversation (PDF page 3) · ugkrishnamurti.in Recorded: Compiled from conversations in India and Switzerland, 1973 to 1976, and edited by Rodney Arms. -
There is no power outside of man. Man has created God out of fear. So the problem is fear and not God.
The Mystique of Enlightenment · Part One, 'U.G.', opening section (PDF page 2) · ugkrishnamurti.in Recorded: Compiled from conversations in India and Switzerland, 1973 to 1976, and edited by Rodney Arms. -
When the movement in the direction of becoming something other than what you are isn't there any more, you are not in conflict with yourself. If you are not in conflict with yourself, you cannot be in conflict with the society around you.
The Courage to Stand Alone: Conversations with U. G. Krishnamurti · Part I, 'You Don't Have To Do A Thing', Amsterdam, September 1982 (PDF page 4) · ugkrishnamurti.in Recorded: Conversations in Amsterdam, September 1982, recorded and edited on tape by Henk Schonewille; transcribed and edited by Ellen Chrystal. -
Awareness has no meaning to me because awareness is not an instrument to be used to understand anything, much less to bring about a change there. First of all, there is nothing there to be changed.
Thought Is Your Enemy: Mind-Shattering Conversations with the Man Called U.G. · Chapter 1, 'No Mind, No Soul, Only the Body', answer to 'Do you make any distinction between awareness and consciousness?' (PDF page 11, first of the two copies of the chapter in the PDF) · ugkrishnamurti.in Recorded: Discussions in several countries between 1985 and 1990, edited by Frank Noronha and J. S. R. L. Narayana Moorty, who say they edited minimally. -
I was surrounded by all kinds of religious people. I felt that there was something funny in their behavior. There was a wide gap between what they believed and how they lived. This always bothered me.
No Way Out: Further Dialogues with U.G. · Chapter 5, 'Religious Thinking is Responsible for Man's Tragedy: A Journalist's Interview with U.G.', first answer (PDF page 51) · ugkrishnamurti.in Recorded: Interview with a journalist who is not named; transcribed and minimally edited by Frank Noronha and J. S. R. L. Narayana Moorty.
Documented teaching relationships
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Personal encounter with Ramana Maharshi
In his own account in The Mystique of Enlightenment, U. G. Krishnamurti visited Ramana Maharshi once and asked him whether he could give him what he had; his friends' timeline dates the meeting to December 1939.
Self-reported · ugkrishnamurti.in , ugkrishnamurti.in (2)
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Personal encounter with J. Krishnamurti
U. G. Krishnamurti says he listened to J. Krishnamurti's talks for some seven years and then met him every day for discussions; his friends' timeline records extended discussions in December 1953.
Self-reported · ugkrishnamurti.in , ugkrishnamurti.in (2)
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Personal encounter with Swami Sivananda Saraswati (Rishikesh)
U. G. Krishnamurti says that between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one he often went to meet Swami Sivananda and practised yoga and meditation; his friends' timeline dates the first meeting to 1932.
Self-reported · ugkrishnamurti.in , ugkrishnamurti.in (2)
Teaching relationships are documented statements. They confer no trust and do not attest realisation.
Sources
- Life and Background (The Natural Man, by K. Chandrasekhar Babu) · ugkrishnamurti.in Biographical sketch on a website run by his friends; admiring, not independent accessed 12 Oct 2026
- Key Events · ugkrishnamurti.in Timeline of his life on the friends' website; dates not independently checked accessed 12 Oct 2026
- Books & PDFs · ugkrishnamurti.in The friends' website offering his books as free PDFs accessed 12 Oct 2026
- The Mystique of Enlightenment, ed. Rodney Arms (Goa 1982) · PDF on ugkrishnamurti.in His conversations of 1973 to 1976, compiled and edited by Rodney Arms; bracketed editor's notes add biographical facts accessed 12 Oct 2026
- The Courage to Stand Alone, transcribed and edited by Ellen Chrystal · PDF on ugkrishnamurti.in His conversations in Amsterdam, September 1982, from tapes recorded and edited by Henk Schonewille; editorial additions in square brackets accessed 13 Oct 2026
- U. G. Krishnamurti: A Life, by Mahesh Bhatt (Viking, 1992) · PDF on ugkrishnamurti.in Biography by his friend, the film director Mahesh Bhatt, reproduced on the friends' website with the publisher's courtesy; admiring, not independent accessed 13 Oct 2026
Compiled by us from the sources listed. Last checked 13 Oct 2026.
This description is factual. It contains no recommendation, ranking or assurance. Statements about effects are those of the respective source.