Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) was an Indian-born spiritual teacher who turned down the role of world savior that the Theosophists had raised him for, and spent sixty years giving talks around the world. Frederick and Myra Pinter were among his close friends in New York. He stayed in their Manhattan apartment, and Frederick warned him that his own organization was being taken from him.
WHO WAS KRISHNAMURTI?
He was born 11 May 1895 in Madanapalle, southern India. In 1909 Charles Leadbeater of the Theosophical Society noticed him at the Society's headquarters in Adyar and believed he was the vehicle for a coming "World Teacher." Annie Besant, the Society's president, took over his upbringing and education in England, and in 1911 the Theosophists founded the Order of the Star in the East with Krishnamurti at its head.
In 1922 he and his brother Nitya settled in the Ojai Valley, California, which became his lifelong home. Nitya died there in 1925. On 3 August 1929, at the Star Camp in Ommen, Netherlands, Krishnamurti dissolved the Order and declared that truth cannot be reached through any organization or teacher. For the rest of his life he spoke each year in India, Europe and the United States. He died in Ojai on 17 February 1986, aged 90.
RAJAGOPAL AND FREDERICK'S WARNING
D. Rajagopal managed Krishnamurti's business affairs for decades. In 1944 Krishnamurti formed Krishnamurti Writings Inc. (KWINC) to hold the land, donations and copyrights given for his work, and in time Rajagopal was left in sole control. According to Mary Zimbalist, Rajagopal often visited the Pinters in New York and talked freely over drinks about what he was doing. Mary Lutyens adds that Frederick heard complaints from donors that their money was not going to Krishnamurti's work, and he urged Krishnamurti to act before he lost all say in his own organization.
Rajagopal refused Krishnamurti's requests for information and for a seat back on the board. The break came in 1966-68, and a lawsuit followed in 1971. Mary Zimbalist notes that Rajagopal's 1972 countersuit involved Mr. Pinter's papers. Much of the property was returned in Krishnamurti's lifetime, and the rest was settled in 1986.
TIMELINE OF THE PINTER CONNECTION
June 1950 - Krishnamurti stays with Frederick and Myra at 200 West 59th Street while giving five public talks in New York.
About 1960 - Staying with the Pinters again, Krishnamurti hears Frederick's warning about KWINC.
4 September 1965 - Frederick dies in Manhattan, aged 65.
September 1966 - Back in America for the first time since 1960, Krishnamurti visits Myra; she sends a car each day to take him to his talks at The New School.
1968 - He visits Myra again in New York.
July 1969 - A niece of Frederick Pinter, Mrs. Foster, comes to tea with Krishnamurti in Switzerland.
April 1971 - Krishnamurti calls on Mrs. Pinter in New York.
29 January 1972 - Myra dies in New York City.
March 1972 - "Mr. Pinter's papers" come up in Rajagopal's countersuit.
SOURCES: Mary Lutyens, Krishnamurti: The Years of Fulfilment (1983) and Krishnamurti and the Rajagopals (1996); Mary Zimbalist, In the Presence of Krishnamurti, https://inthepresenceofk.org/ (Issues 5, 10, 15, 17 and 21); Wikipedia, Jiddu Krishnamurti.
This post was researched and drafted with the help of Claude, an AI assistant, and reviewed by Nancy Cunningham.
